‘I know. It was stupid. Maybe I wanted to see how upset you’d be.’
‘Did you get your answer?’
‘I’m sorry.’
It seemed to make no difference to her. She only had eyes for the horse and the whip that drove it through the night.
I didn’t know how much of me was left or how quickly I might fade. I didn’t know about you then. Maybe the only way to die as myself was to get Ellen’s love back. I needed to be gentle again once I’d broken Bibhuti the way he’d asked me to. Maybe it would be easier to be gentle after we’d scratched that itch. Cheating his death might brace me against my own and with that strength I could be a balm to others. I rested my hand on Ellen’s. I’d put my ring back on and it felt loose. I fell into the Indian night with her and drifted to the sound of hooves.
30. World Record Number 6: 27 one-arm chin-ups in 42 seconds (2003)
It is always a painful lesson to learn when a friend you once were trusting with your life turns and bites you. I experienced this only twice: first time as young boy in my native place when my best friend Adil tried to kill me, and again much later when Rajesh Battacharjee did the same.
First time was actually more painful than the second. As a young boy in Cuttack I was always very gymnastic, developing strength of fully grown man plus great flexibility from very young age. This was due to the work I did with my father on our farm. It was very physical and I enjoyed it for practical benefit of my family. When the day’s work was done I would perform tricks for my own pleasure, doing chin-ups around my village. This came about quite naturally as there was an abundance of locations there: lower branches of tree or bamboo roof of orange seller or railway bridge over banks of Mahanadi River. Many arms of goddess Durga statue made a lovely spot for practice before their requirement in Durga puja which Cuttack is famed for across the nation.
The other children could only watch with much admiring. Each day they would set a new challenge for me, higher numbers added to my target, and I would break every one. Only Adil, my best friend of all, did not like the attention this brought to me. He became low in spirits and stopped walking to school with me. When the other children gathered to give me my latest challenge he was on his own at the other side of the yard. Final setback occurred when Adil brought a surprise challenge to me after weeks of no communication. He proposed a contest to see who could perform the most chin-ups from the railway bridge. He had been training in secret and wanted to prove that he was now stronger than me.
At first I did not accept his challenge as I was worried for his safety. He was not as comfortable with big heights as I was. But Adil would not rest until I had given in to his request. As his friend I had to accept that his desire was serious and based on personal honour. We would not let the adults know. We would go out to the bridge on a chosen day and there we would learn once and for all who was the stronger. Our friends would be witness and the result would put all quarrels behind us.
Chosen day came calling and we all took the long walk out to the bridge. Heavy feeling of guilt hung over us and also great excitement. When we arrived at the bridge and saw the river lying in wait below I gave Adil one last chance to drop his idea. But he would not.
‘I am stronger than you,’ he said. ‘Everyone will see it and then they will follow me instead.’
‘I do not care who they follow,’ I told him. ‘I just want you to be my friend again.’
‘We will never be friends. I will beat you and then we will not speak again. I have decided this and you cannot change it. Now hurry.’
I wanted to cry when I heard his cruel words but no tears were coming at this time. Perhaps my heart was broken but I was too sad to hear it snapping. And so we went together to the bridge where it began its span across the river. We climbed down to the spot where the railing provided the best place to hang from. Friends staying on the bank to watch with much trepidation. We lowered ourselves together from the railing. Adil could not swim so a situation over the water was not on the cards. The sand fifty feet below which would make a painful landing if we should fall. We looked at each other hanging there and promptly began the chin-ups in matching sequence.
All was fine at first as we kept nice pace without tiring. Adil had indeed been training hard, as I could clearly see his strength had improved from steady motion of each lift. It was actually a great feeling to be exercising God-given energy alongside my friend in surroundings of nature, with the sun shining on the water and a fine current from the air tickling my feet. I let out a laugh. But Adil did not share in my joy. He was very serious, concentrating hard on beating me.
I realised at this moment that my only hope of restoring our friendship was to win the contest. If Adil won he would keep his promise to shun me. To win my place back in his heart I must teach him valuable lesson of his limitations and the peace to be found in accepting the role the almighty had laid out for him. So I pressed ahead with greater purpose, putting more effort into my lifts. He looked across and saw me outstripping him with ease. I hoped he would be disheartened and stop his foolish pursuit of me.
Instead he became very angry and upped his speed. This proved too much for him. His strength left him and he began to struggle. He could no longer lift himself in smooth action. His arms wobbled and he was forced to slow down. Still hanging there but in no fit state to support himself. He looked down at the sand below and his eyes filled with panic. But he would not climb up because it meant declaring himself beaten. He hung there like a twisting rope and refused all my efforts to relieve him.
The ground fifty feet below was looming and my confidence extinguished. I had to stop my chin-ups to focus all energies on maintaining my grasp. I was forced to climb up in order to preserve myself. I reached safety and turned around to pull Adil up: he was no longer there. Only a scream where he had been.
I felt a sickness and looked down expecting the worst. Adil was lying in the sand below, perfectly still like he had been painted there. Our friends clambering down the banks to aid him. Time became shrivelled like apricot stone. I made my way down to the river in state of shock to find Adil already expired. Nothing could revive him, it was too late.
Seeing my friend broken in the sand brought many feelings rushing in at once. Anger that he had not listened to me. Sadness that death must bend its grip around us even before we have prepared for it. Most of all I felt a powerful desire to give up myself to the almighty’s pleasure. I said a promise at Adil’s side that I would gain revenge for his expiry by living my life in the right way, making full use of all the opportunities at my fingertips.
After my painful experience with Bollywood I was very keen to rediscover old self, and this is why I poured all effort into breaking two records in close succession. The first of these was detailed in previous chapter. In quiet period between them I took a trip to Tadoba Tiger Reserve in Nagpur where Shubham had long expressed his desire to visit. This to show him his father still loved him despite my decision to remain in old conditions instead of grabbing Bollywood riches. Sighting of majestic big cats brought revival in possibilities and restored the family love to previous level. Shubham provided one moment of anguish when he tried to touch a tiger as it crossed the track behind our Gypsy. Fortunately the tiger was too far away and I pulled his arm back inside before any harm could come.
Shubham was happy to have his father back and this time also allowed me to patch things up with my wife. With every effort peace was returning to our home and my decision to keep the next records simple met with approval all round. No special training required and no risk to my person. No complicated measures or preparations. This record was conducted in Mumbai’s historic Victoria Terminus, a proud landmark for all attending (the happy event took place some years before unfortunate scenes at same location which sent dark echoes around the world), and received live telecast on New Delhi Television and Star TV. To this day I cannot pass the magnificent building without recalling to that time and reliving the joyful emotions which accompanied the day.