In the dim light that his mobile handset gave him, he dialed Satish’s number. “Please pick it up, Sats”, he told himself, “I’ll die of boredom otherwise”. There was a crisp click and a voice spoke, “Hello”.

 

Raju was stunned. It was not Satish, but a melodious feminine voice. Raju sat up in the dark. He thought he must have dialed the wrong number, but he also knew the voice had magnetism, and he was killing time anyway. He said, “Hello, is this the Electricity Board?” The voice on the other side said, “Wrong num… wait a minute. What number did you dial? We are trying to reach the Electricity Board ourselves. It is my birthday and all my friends are here …Sorry, I am boring you with all this, could you give the Electricity Board’s number please?”

 

Raju was in a fix. He had not bargained for this. He had to act fast to redeem the situation. He said in a hurry, “Actually the Electricity Board’s phones are not working since the lights are off.” That sounded reasonable to the Voice, and she said, “Oh. I see.”

 

Heaving a sigh of relief, Raju said, “Happy Birthday, Miss……”. “Janaki Ramaswamy. Thanks. Hope the lights come back soon. Bye.” and the phone went dead.

 

Raju took out his bike and drove the short distance to the Electricity Board office. There was a flurry of activity there, and Raju did not know whom to enquire with – they all looked busy and important (at least, in the dark). He went up to a man sitting in the far corner who seemed relatively free and said, “Please can you tell me what is wrong? And when can we expect the lights back?” The man stifled a yawn and said, “If I knew what was wrong, I would not be sitting here. But I know it will be sorted in within an hour.” This puzzled Raju. “If you do not know what is wrong, how can you be so sure?” he asked. The man laughed and said, “I have been with the Electricity Board long enough to know this. Trust me.” Raju went out scratching his head.

 

He was contemplating what to do when the idea struck him. “God in heaven” he told himself, “why am I still here?”

 

He quickly went home, changed into his favourite T-shirt and jeans, and clutching the emergency light, set out on his mobike. He was out of his compound and on the main road when he suddenly realized he did not actually know where he was headed. He quickly dialed the number again and hoped Janaki would pick it up. It was picked up after a few rings and he asked for Janaki.

 

When Janaki came on the line, he told her, “I am calling from the Electricity Board regarding the lights.” Janaki said, “What a relief, we have a party and … wait a minute, how did you know we did not have lights?” Raju said, “Madam, there are no lights anywhere”. Janaki said, “Oh. I see. So, when are we going to get the lights back? My party is already ruined.”

 

Raju said, “Madam, it will take a long time, the main transformer in the area has burst, and there is a small fire. However, do not worry, I have asked somebody to send you an emergency lamp so that you can have your party.”

 

Janaki said, “That’s very kind of you. How long will it take for the emergency lamp to reach us?” Raju replied, “Please give me your street address, and I will have someone start straight away.”

 

He carefully wrote down the address and set off on his mobike. He knew the place was not far off and he had friends there. Actually, he reminded himself, Satish had recently moved to the vicinity.

 

It was not easy as the roads were pitch dark and there were cattle moving all over the place. Obviously, the cattle could see in the dark because they did not bump into him at all – he was bumping into them all the time. 30 minutes, a few dusty roads, and some dirt and grime on his shirt later, he found himself on the street mentioned by Janaki.

 

He stopped a passer-by and said, “Excuse me, could you tell me where Sheetal Apartments is?” The man said, “ It is at the end of the road. By the way, be careful of the dog in that Society, it does not bark, it bites.”

 

Raju went to the end of the road and identified Sheetal Apartments. The watchman was there with a lantern at the gate, but so was the dog. Raju was scared of dogs. He went ahead, beyond the gate, and decided to jump the fence quietly. With great difficulty, he climbed onto the compound wall, balancing himself carefully first on one knee and then hauled his heavy frame onto the wall. He set the emergency lamp next to him on the wall and carefully stood up, making sure not to overbalance himself.

 

He was just about to jump over, when the lights came on, to the tumultuous cheering of all the children around. Raju was tall and lanky, and it made an interesting sight to see someone standing on top of the wall with a lamp, which he obviously did not use when it was dark all around.

 

Raju was in a fix. He was caught unawares. To make a bad situation worse, the watchman and the dog had seen him by now, and were advancing menacingly towards him. Never before in his life had Raju wished the lights would go out as he did just then.

 

Suddenly, the door of the ground floor flat opened and he heard laughter, applause and the tune “Happy Birthday….” being sung in earnest. Raju knew he had lost out. He cursed everyone he could think of for putting him in this situation.

 

Just when he was giving up all hope, he heard his name being called. “Raju, what are you doing up there? Please come down, are you not going to wish Janaki?” It was Satish. The watchman quickly backed away giving Raju dirty looks for being on the wall, and the dog followed suit to complete some unfinished business – checking out the new black and white cat that belonged to the neighbouring Society.

 

“Janaki, this is Raju my friend. Raju, meet Janaki, my cousin from Delhi.” Raju could not speak. So, he had not dialed a wrong number at all! The power of Janaki’s voice had fooled him into thinking he had, and into saying something stupid, which in turn had landed him in this situation.

 

Looking at the emergency lamp in his hand, Janaki said to Satish, “I know your friend works for the Electricity Board.” She looked at him and said, “Thanks for getting the lamp.” Raju smiled back at her.

 

Satish looked at Raju, then at the lamp, and did not know what to say. “Raju, you did not tell me you were joining the Electricity Board. When did you join?” Raju was about to say, “30 minutes ago” but decided to keep quiet and not complicate an already complicated situation. He just smiled at his friend.

 

Not able to contain himself, Satish burst out laughing, saying, “Now I know why the Electricity Board never seems to work. They have dimwits like Raju working for them. Come. Let’s party!”