SOME SECRETS MUST NEVER BE REVEALED OR EXPOSED - Part II

I quickly hid my head under the window pane. My body was shivering convulsively, and I could not get a hold of it. I tried taking deep breaths to calm myself down from what I had seen. The murder was so fresh a thought in my mind that it prevented me from thinking of solutions. After a few minutes of intense thinking, I realised that calling the police for help would be the best solution. I took out my phone from the back pocket of my jeans and dialled 999 with haste. Unfortunately, the network was too low to make contacts, and I cursed the government for not establishing an exemplary network system in the town. I was so engrossed in finding a solution that I had hardly noticed that I was utterly drenched in sweat due to fear. Evidently, I was of no help; therefore, I decided to head back to my apartment and said to myself that I would report the crime the following day. 

I was about to leave when I heard mumbling from the dining room. I froze for a while. The two men were having a conversation with each other. I gathered every ounce of courage left in me and peeked through the window yet again. The scar-faced man was saying something to his partner in crime in an undertone voice. I could neither hear nor interpret what he was saying to his pal. Suddenly, the second man turned around and came face to face with his partner. He had a stern countenance and held a sharp, steely knife, still stained with blood. He was smoking a cigar in his mouth and took a deep puff of it. He then said in a loud and clear voice.

"Dispose of the body somewhere no one in this town can find. Inform everyone in the colony that she moved to another city after finding a better job. These are commands from our boss."

The former wore his gloves and tossed the immobile dead body over his shoulder. The second man started speaking again.

"You do know why we were ordered to kill her, don't you?."

"Yeah."

The second man grinned and began laughing like a lunatic. He again took a deep puff of his cigar and continued.

"This silly woman was trying to know our whereabouts and our motives. How dare she? Not only did she know that we were murderers but also that we were members of the deadliest criminal organisation, ' The Illuminati'. Poor Ms Plank died a painful death. Alas! She had to pay for her sins. Trying to inform the police about our following motives. Yes, she deserved such a painful death. 'The Illuminati' must never be exposed. Well then, let's get going, shall we?"

I was just amazed and wonderstruck. For a second, I thought the world had paused for a while. Did I hear it correctly? I was asking the question to my conscience again and again. "What, 'The Illuminati'? " I believed that Illuminati was nothing more than a rumour.

My body had started releasing adrenaline in an excess amount that my legs were not moving even on my command. I managed to hide behind a bush somehow. I saw the men carrying away the body along with them. I stayed there until they left and immediately made my way home. The fear and horror were so immense that I couldn't sleep that night. The dead body of Ms Plank kept coming into my inward eye, making me feel uneasy and anxious. The first ray of sunlight entered my room no sooner than I got ready to go to the police station. A thought struck me just as I was about to leave my apartment. The woman killed last night must have done the same thing, informing the police about the criminal organisation. I suddenly realised that I was about to repeat the same mistake which Ms Plank committed, which resulted in her death.

I thought I would also die a throbbing death if I complained about the organisation since they are 'The Illuminati' and will surely come to hunt me down. I steadily went back to my room and seated myself on my bed. I tried to console myself that my decision not telling the police about the murder last night was best for me and convinced myself that "Some Secrets Must Never Be Revealed Or Exposed'.
Tenzin Norsang

Letter from Bhairavi Jani with ❤️

Dear Leaders and Members of My Good School, 

My school’s motto was: “Youth Shall Rebuild the World.” Our entire education process and curriculum was centered around the thought that learning is a life-long activity and schools must prepare students to be life-long learners. Understandably, the teachers too would teach with a method that nudged curiosity in us and inspired action. Often, the learning was done outside the classroom with well curated,long or short excursions. We had our own student parliament, elected by the students, every year. We fought elections with much fervor and the elected student government was given significant empowerment to decide on school rules, holidays, academics and student festivals and activities. 

 

When at school, India was not some distant idea for us, she was a person, fully present in our lives. We understood our relationship with our country from experiences both academic and otherwise. I think our founder’s vision was to prepare the young to act constructively for society, nation and the world, whenever and however the opportunity presented itself.

 

What I learnt at school became my talisman in life. I looked at each opportunity professionally or personally to unlearn and learn constantly. Life has now become my school. Therefore in 2014, when I decided to drive across India for 51 days with three friends, there was not much hesitation in my mind and heart. I had done this kind of learning for several years, through travel and meeting people everywhere. What I discovered in those 51 days and also from my travels for over two decades form the beating heart of my first book: “Highway to Swades – Rediscovering India’s Superpowers.”

What Highway to Swades expedition taught me was that our country is full of amazing people and their wonderful stories. Stories of love, harmony, peace, enterprise, nature, creativity, knowledge, commitment, inclusion, heritage, culture, assimilation, individualization, community, wellness, beauty, sacrifice, rituals, food and the arts. I call them India’s superpowers and the book tells stories of Indians from across the country and all walks of life who live and strive for these superpowers. 

 

What writing this book taught me was that we each have our own superpowers and we can call them to action for ourselves, our loved ones and for society at large. One of my superpowers is to listen and the other is to write and therefore I continue to engage with Indians everywhere and of all ages to understand more about who they, what they do, why they do it, what are their aspirations and dreams etc. This gives me immense hope as I think as a people we may be content but at the same time we are ambitious for our future as individuals and as a nation.

 

It is with this thought, that I want to engage with all of you, to listen more, to have meaningful dialogues and to see if individual or collective action is possible for what we care deeply about.

 

Looking forward!

 

Love,

Bhairavi

Find it all in this journey across 🇮🇳 

The River of Dreams

Power of Enterprise

Power of Nature

Power of Heritage

Power of Creativity

Power of Knowledge

Power of Food

Power of Beauty

Power of Wellness

Power of Assimilation

Power of Inclusion

Power of Individual

Power of Community

Call to Action

More when we meet Bhairavi at My Good School 

Tolerance - Blog with us

 We celebrate Value Tolerance this month; share a blog post, and send your posts to LF@ebd.in.

placerccw.org

Draw, think, speak and write about Tolerance; Arav is working on the poster and album cover for the Podcast.

Tolerance is also an essential thing in life. Tolerance does not mean giving up one's own way of life. Tolerance follows the motto 'Live and let Live'. Tolerance understands another person's beliefs, practices, and habits without necessarily accepting or following them.

It is adjusting to others a little, giving up just a little to make someone else happy. It understands that everyone has more or less the exact basic needs of oneself. It realises that, ultimately, everyone wants to be happy and peaceful. We should understand that following does not help others alone. It helps oneself greatly when one is tolerant, the mind expands, and regular selfish junk is replaced with new peacefulness and calmness.

Tolerance is an important concept that helps people to live together peacefully. Tolerance also means that you don't put your opinions above others, even when you are sure you are right. Tolerant people show strength in that they can deal with different views and perspectives.

Read a post from our archives:
https://www.brewingknowledge.com/2021/04/happiness-and-tolerance-invincible.html