In Veerappancountry-II
Shali Ittaman

Gogi must have been hardly 24 years (I remember him telling me that he was not married). For a man his age, I should say he appeared quite collected at the end of such a day.

I was soon to realize that the place had a manner of transforming and affecting people in ways one could hardly fathom.

That night I hardly slept. It wasn’t so much the events of the day that kept me up as the anticipation of meeting the most important man in the area the next morning - Special Task Force chief T Harikrishna. I had been told he was a tough nut…

The Special Task Force had been reconstituted after Veerappan had killed Deputy Conservator of Forests P Srinivas the previous year and Harikrishna was the new star. (Under the new dispensation, special commando units from the center and the state had taken over from foresters in the search of the elusive brigand.)

I was at the STF camp early next morning to meet my man. Harikrishna had just been back after his morning jog… he was still in his sweatshirt. I could not help notice how casually his AK 47 graced a chair at the other end of the room.

Harikrishna could certainly hold a polite conversation. He told me as much as he could about operational details, without compromising himself or his team. There was, of course, the Rambo element in him, which, I would say, was on full display.

Then I popped the question: What do you think if I were to visit Gopinatham (Veerappan’s native village) and try to get the people there to fix me an interview with Veerappan?

I thought he would have me in fetters then and there for making such a proposition. Strangely, he only smiled…! Getting no reply from him, I pressed him again…

He could see I was serious… Quite smartly, therefore, he said: “You can go where you choose…. If the elephants don’t get you, Veerappan certainly will..” With that he stood up very courteously, shook hands with me and showed me to the door...To be continued

Tomorrow: Nightout at Gopinatham Village

Click for Part I