GUT

1

Currey Road, a narrow street normally populated by office workers, was quiet that day. While heading down, Mane was counting the massive pillars in the middle of the road. The monorail passed above his head. He calmly walked by the India United No.1 mill, remembering his old days, he was saddened. It was pouring heavily, and there was a faint aroma of food drawn towards him. He craved for kanda bhajis and walked towards the stall.

Mane ordered a plate of kanda bhaji while standing under the shop's extended canopy. The vehicles halted at the red light. People continued to rush down the street in groups. He stretched his hand outside the shade to see if it had stopped raining.

"Mane kaka, hi ghya tumchi bhaji!" exclaimed the owner.

Mane grasped the plate of hot, crispy bhajis in his hand. He recalled a similar day while savouring the bhajis. His coworkers at the mill had ordered the same dish at this stall. They finished their meals while laughing and talking about the current issues.

“Hasn't it been a year now, since these strikes are happening?”

“Yeah, and now I don't see any sign of them increasing our wages. “Mr. Samant had initiated a great revolution but now it is time for us to decide how to continue with our lives!”

“I heard about a job opening in the mortuary in KEM hospital. They pay a good amount to the staff workers. It is also close to BDD.”

“But won’t it require some medical expertise?”

“I don’t want to waste much time on this. It would be better if I find another job.”

“We are only 23 years old. We can still complete the necessary training in one or two years and begin working. This employment also provides safety, something that our mill jobs were just promising.”

“Yes, I think I do not have any problem with it. ”

This was the day he decided to pursue his older ambition of working in medicine.

"Kaka paise?", inquired the shopkeeper. Mane gathered his thoughts and realised that his plate was empty. "How much does it cost?" "fakta 15." He paid the owner and went back to work at KEM hospital.

He entered the hospital and stopped near the reception area, when a woman in a white coat waved at him.

"Are we meeting today?"

"I'm not sure. I'll notify you if anything happens."

“Ok.”

After meeting Mane kaka, she walked to the pantry. She had been working here for almost ten years. She met him for the first time while studying human anatomy in a morgue at KEM hospital. A nurse arrived to inform her that the patient in ward 15, bed number 10, needed to be checked. She was about to leave to check on the patient when she received a phone call.

“Good afternoon ma’am. Is this Manasvi Tambe?”

“Yes, who’s this?”

“Ma’am, I am speaking from HDFC bank. You haven’t paid your loan. It has been a month. If not paid until the coming week then we will have to take strict actions.”

“I am trying to repay the loan. I am facing some….… ”

Before she could explain her issues, they hung up on her. She chose to ignore this for the moment and proceeded to the patient. She entered the ward and continued her routine examination. She noticed that the patient's heart rate was slower than usual and his condition was severe, so she decided to inform Mane kaka.

2

Sarang assisted the packers and movers in unloading all of the necessary equipment. The truck couldn't wait for long because of the narrow street and constant honking. He paid them the agreed-upon amount and went inside to begin unpacking. The previous medical shop was in a smaller gala across Tata Memorial Hospital. He and his wife had found this pharmaceutical company. But his wife insisted on forming a larger corporation that would include her research and development unit. He accepted the offer half-heartedly, and they bought one unit in the Kohinoor Mill Compound. He heard a scooter being parked outside.

“Sarang! Have the packers and movers left?”

“Manasvi, I am inside the R&D unit!”

She dashed to the R&D room, terrified of what he might discover. He was looking for a temporary location for the boxes. She was relieved because everything had been taken care of. She recommended putting the boxes in the restroom closer to the shop. She asked if he had eaten lunch yet. He refused, so they ate lunch in the pantry room.

“Do you have any appointments today? I am really exhausted after this shift. I was thinking that we can go watch a movie tonight “

“We are yet to set up the medical shop , which will go upto 5pm. And later, I wish to work in my research lab. ”

She agreed after some arguments. They began unpacking and stacking the store after lunch. Her focus was still split. She kept checking her phone for a message from Mane kaka. It was 5 p.m., and there was still no news.

“Are we done?” asked Sarang.

“Yeah”, replied Manasvi with a lack of enthusiasm.

Her phone finally rang. Mane kaka was on the other end of the line. She inquired when they should meet. He told her to meet at 6 p.m. She told Sarang the change in plan because she had an emergency at the hospital. He walked away with disappointment.

Mane called Manasvi and informed her of the deceased. At 6 p.m., the body would be transported to the Sewri crematorium. Mane had already informed the guard that they were on their way to retrieve the deceased. The deceased's family was informed that the patient died as a result of contagious disease and that they were not permitted to take the body for cremation. Instead, the body would be taken by a hospital personnel. A group of people drove the body to the crematorium in an ambulance and handed it over to Mane. A stone-filled dummy coffin was carried in front of the family, who stood far away from the crematorium. Mane and his associates returned to the mill by car. The drive from Sewri Crematorium to Kohinoor Mill felt long that day. Mane shivered slightly as he looked at the gate from far before approaching them. Manasvi hosted her medical setup, which she had begun this morning. The body was too heavy to carry from one location to another, but they managed to move it on a stretcher. Manasvi quickly wore her coat and started with a scalpel. At the research lab, Mane and his friends closed their sleepy eyes.

A group of three surgeons surrounded the body. It lasted for quite some time. Finally, the operation was completed. She successfully removed the liver, heart, cornea, lungs, pancreas, heart valves, kidneys and skin.

The organs were placed in sterile containers and wrapped in moist ice. This took some time. Inspector Kolte and Mane had gone for a cigarette break but became restless when they realised it was already daybreak. They dropped their cigarettes and crushed them with their feet. They dashed into the operating room where they found that everything had been cleaned and the containers were ready to be transferred. Inspector Kolte was assigned to transport the organs with the help of some of the associates to the port. Manasvi and Mane stayed back to close the mills and check for any leftovers.

The mill was only 15 minutes away by MBPT. Driving early in the morning made it much faster. Inspector Kolte was overjoyed as the packaging and surgery was completed in time. The monsoon winds fueled his desire to race down Rafi Ahmed Kidwai Rd to the Port. He called the ship's owner to inform him of their arrival. They were summoned to the Coal Bunder. Kolte parked on the other side of the street, leaving one of the associates instructions, in case of emergency. They chose to walk with some space between them through the slum's narrow streets to the port.

He was walking along when he noticed a light coming from an aperture on the right and realised it had to be the ship niche. He told everyone to stand back and sent one of his associates ahead to check the ship. He rang the ship's owner. When one of the associates noticed a man picking up his phone, he warned everyone. Inspector Kolte and two other employees came forward. Two of the associates were instructed to remain behind and hide in one of the crevices created between the houses.

Manish bhai greeted Inspector Kolte and directed his employees to bring the container inside. One of his men approached Manish bhai and whispered something to him, assuring him that everything was fine. Manish bhai handed out an envelope containing the agreed-upon sum. Inspector Kolte was never supposed to open the envelope; instead, he was supposed to hand it over to Mane, who would then distribute it to the rest of the team.

3

Inside the mill compound, everyone was waiting for Inspector Kolte. As they moved inside through the gate, they were amazed to see such a vast empty space of non living machines occupied by the equipments of a pharmaceutical company. It was natural to imagine what it would have been like when the mills were running. All dark, with light filtering through the large door in the research lab. It took some time for them to process the grandness fading into darkness. The hypnosis was broken when people began to chatter. Inspector Kolte was speaking.

Everyone gathered around Manasvi and Mane, hoping to see some money. Inspector Kolte took the envelope from his pocket. Mane extended his hand to receive the money. "Did you have any problems dealing with Manish?" Inspector Kolte shook his head in denial. He opened the envelope and turned it upside down. Everyone was relieved when they found five bundles of 500 rupee notes. Everyone thought to themselves that it was worth putting their lives in danger right now. It had cost Rs. 2.5 lakhs. Mane began counting the money, while others also set their eyes on his hand movement as each note striked the other. He then divided the money and handed it to everyone involved, starting with Manasvi. It was 6 a.m., and everything outside was quiet. There were only a few joggers and a newspaper vendor visible. It wasn't difficult to slip away without being noticed.

Mane was amused by what he was able to pull. Others were also smiling as they walked back to their homes or places of business. They couldn't believe that this plan would be successful without being caught or making some blunder.

This became a routine. The organs from some bodies were packaged and exported to the countries whereas in some cases the body was kept in the pharmaceutical company. The body was then used by the medical students and doctors for study purposes, research and experimentation. The organs were sent to other countries as food for animals. These animals were crossbred in research labs in different countries. They consumed a lot of food unlike others. They were fed with human flesh. To preserve these rare species, the bulk of human organs and flesh was sent to these labs.

Manasvi's life revolved around practising medicine during the day and researching at a pharmaceutical company at night. Manasvi still owed a significant sum to repay her education loan. She instructed Mane to bring one corpse on alternate days to conduct research and the mill workers enthusiastically agreed as it made easy bucks.

One day, Kolte was strolling at the outskirts of Sewri, near the port, to supervise the trade and export the packaged organs. He walked through the densely populated slums on the port's outskirts in a narrow street with water spilled all over it. There was an outlet to the city's sewerage line near the end of the port. It also had a pipeline that connected to the Kohinoor mills to drain the medical waste. Blood was flowing into one of the sewerage lines. Kolte suddenly realised it was the sewerage of the Kohinoor mill.