Displaced

PROLOGUE I was reborn in this monastery at the age of sixty. Shraddha belongs to a life, I have left far behind. A life in which I was a different man; violent and ambitious. Today I am content and at peace with myself. Dispassionately, I remember the man I was, before being ordained as a monk. I had never accepted the laws imposed by the powerful. I had learnt early in my life that the poor do not have a choice and the rich do not share the gift of prosperity. So I made my own rules to acquire some of this prosperity; thereby becoming a criminal. I was hence, a monk who had once dared to be different. I had never been a conformist; a renegade, perhaps? In more than sixty years, I have seen a world full of people who have done the right things and chosen the right paths. They live predictably, reach predictable positions in life and perhaps, will pass away predictably. I, however, was not so lucky and was forced by circumstances to grow up unpredictably. In the process I ended up charting an unpredictable path for myself; at times leaving a mess in its wake. Such is the story of my life, the story of a displaced child. The story of a refugee destined to be a monk; a man who could have met God, but chose to lead the devil’s pack instead. It is a testament to the sacrifice of a single life to the ever increasing lust for power over others. CHAPTER-I BLOOD IN THE SNOW Wangmo, like a true daughter of the tribe, sprang into action. She caught hold of my arm and we ran out of the nunnery, climbing the hill behind it. We were trying to get as far from the exploding bombs as was possible in this snow clad night. It was still snowing; the bright moonlight and the snow helped us in maintaining our direction. “Keep climbing; hide in the rocks,” she told me as she ran down to two nuns, who were still screaming for help. I scrambled up the hill, as fast as my little feet could carry me. From behind a big rock, further up on the hill, I looked down at the monastery. Four or five shadows were climbing the hill; perhaps it was Wangmo and her group of nuns. It seemed futile; bombs were landing all around and no place seemed safe. “A-chhe , get behind some rocks. It is not safe up here.” I shouted to Wangmo. The shadows kept coming towards me; my voice could not be heard over the din. Soon more aircrafts came and continued the bombing of the area. Some bombs started landing on the hill. I hugged the ground and lay still, praying. Splinters hit the rocks around me and I waited for one to pierce through me. The bombing continued for more than an hour and then, there was silence. Miraculously I was still safe and unhurt Ours was the biggest monastery complex in the region and most of it was on fire. As dawn broke, looking around the boulder, I saw total destruction. Bodies of monks lay strewn in the snow, around the rubble, that was once a monastery. CHAPTER-VII NYIMA AND REBIRTH IN DELHI I could sense her body becoming tense and knew that she was awake. She made no attempt to resist and I could feel the eagerness in her body. I felt a thrill go up my spine, as she turned towards me. Softly we were holding each other as if to make the moment last forever. In silence we felt each other for a long time, caressing and loving each other’s body. I still recall the moment when we felt our love and words were not necessary. After a while, we had managed to disentangle ourselves from our clothes and we lay hugging each other in Nyima’s quilt. Soon our young bodies took control and in a few minutes it was over. Rest of the night, we lay holding each other, kissing each other; I was in love. CHAPTER-XII WORKING FOR RASHID ‘R’-company was mainly dependant on smuggling, drug running, extortion, betting(matka), real estate and other illegal money making enterprises. However, the present situation had thrown up a number of fresh opportunities in the region. Narco-terrorism had come of age and most syndicates were thriving on all the criminal activities associated with terrorism. ‘R’-Company, stayed away from terrorist activities of any kind. Rashid was aware that the syndicate which learnt to operate on an international scale was the one which would win the rat race and survive in this world of deceit. CHAPTER-XV NARCOTICS AND BROTHERS IN AFGHANISTAN Rashid had been in constant touch with the ISI, for a long time. As it turned out, the ISI was looking for an alternate means to supply ‘R’ Company with Afghan narcotics, after Shaad’s death. It suited both the parties and a plan was worked out by the ISI. This was before the hit on Shaad was executed. Rashid was to stay in Dubai as it was not safe for him to venture out; he asked me to coordinate the deal. The ISI helped us to reach out directly to the drug lords of Afghanistan. Mid-eighties had not seen any improvement in the Soviet control of Afghanistan. The mujahedeen factions were still exacting a heavy price from the Soviet Occupational Force. The man I was to meet was the commander of one of the countless tribal militias, fighting the Soviet Army. ISI was assisting them in their war and the CIA was covertly financing them. CHAPTER-XVI TRANSNATIONAL ORGANISED CRIME However, the big players of TOC were not ready to accept us on board, so easily. We had transhipped the consignment onto a waiting speed boat off the Spanish coast of Galicia. The moment our men off loaded on land, they found themselves surrounded by the local Mafia. Our client had already been warned by them to stay out of the deal till the deal was cleared by the local Mafia. I was contacted by my man and told that the locals wanted fifty per cent of the shipment and only then would they allow us to deal in their territory. After a lot of pondering, I rang up Vasily. “The Spaniards are not allowing us to deal in their territory. Can you help me?” “I thought that you had an understanding with them. Chang, you have to learn a lot before you can master the ways of crime.” He told me with his customary guffaw at the end. “Nobody dares to challenge Vasily in the world of international crime. You want to make me a partner, make another visit to Prague. We will discuss it over a few drinks, with some blondes.” He was not flustered and here I was sweating and fuming. “Brother, I would love to be under your wings. However, I have a peculiar situation on the docks in Galicia. What can you do now?” I asked him with concern. “Give me a few hours, I will get back to you.” He told me and disconnected his phone. CHAPTER-XVIII THE DIGITAL LIFE First step in money laundering is the ‘Placement’. It is the riskiest part of the process. Illegal money is inserted into legitimate financial institutions like banks. This is generally in the form of a number of cash deposits in banks in various countries, keeping every deposit below the level which has to be declared to the government. This involves a large number of accounts which are on different names, genuine or fake. Aseem kept a track of all our European drug deals and with the help of Nikki opened a number of accounts in European countries. Some money was directly deposited to settle our deals. Some was moved to and fro from India, using the non-banking channel of ‘hawala transfer’. Second step in money laundering is the ‘Layering’. CHAPTER-XX THE MONK SURVIVES “I am not at peace with myself, Achhe; happiness eludes me.” I told her on our way to the monastery, the next day. “You have done well for yourself. However, you are living with two men inside you; the Tibetan monk and the Khampa warrior.” She replied.