Who let the dogs out? 

Every dog has his day. So, it is finally happening, or is it just feel-good another dream, that the police have actually opened up their mouths to display a set of mean teeth? And are they chomping away with glee.

From the way the broth is boiling over, it seems that the cat has finally got Narvekar’s tongue, forcing (feigning?) the poor guy to squirm away in pain. A little birdie perched on the compound wall of the adjacent Holy Spirit cemetery, tells me that all the nurses at Hospicio are keeping Tivim’s ‘in’famous skirt chaser at arm’s length. While the doctors have ordered a stiff-upper lip curfew. Phew! So much heat generated over one cheeky cricket fan molester, responsible for many a sore backside (no pun intended please).

Meanwhile, even as Narvekar’s blood pressure does a jugalbandi of sorts, threatening to burst a couple of veins, I saw a smirk breaking into a raucous laugh, when a fellow-shopper mentioned Narvekar’s name at the Panjim fish market. The joke that evoked the belly tickling, being, that when the heart machine at the GMC showed normal results, arrested politicians yelled at the doctors that the machines were out of order. They sincerely believed that the equipments are telling lies, like they so often do, thus discrediting their ‘innocence.’

For once, I want to send flowers to the police chief honcho for baring his teeth and barring the home-grown thief into a corner. It is common knowledge, that a cornered dog always puts up a lame fight in the face of a pack. But true to dog policy, the coward is also known to spring back ferociously, after nursing his wounded pride. Ditto with Narvekar. Same with Jayalalitha. Actually, come to think of it, this is one pair that could hog the headlines, if they ever think of coming together, politically that is. And what a successful marriage of ‘convict’ion this would be.

Three’s a crowd, it’s often said. But perhaps, with the axe falling on Zuwarkar, Godinho and Narvekar, the common man could safely heave a sigh of relief, that justice triumphs, even if temporarily. But, a pessimistic acquaintance thinks otherwise. She is of the belief (and she’s very convinced about this), that the next election will have the terrible trio reclaiming their lost honour with a thumping majority. ‘The people are to be blamed for this,’ she opined, ‘they eat off these guys, drink their alcohol and eat their chickens during election time. 

These are the same people who then go and vote for these scoundrels,’ she fumed, even as I nodded my head furiously in agreement. 

And she’s damn right. 

I saw this happening soon after the cops had arrested Zuwarkar a few weeks back. Shops down Taleigao were forcibly shut - by the henchmen of the crore-cribbing-crook, to make a show of solidarity even as shop owners grumbled at their loss of business. ‘Why should we down our shops if the police have caught him,’ said one vocal entrepreneur. ‘So, why don’t you roll up your shutters then,’ I prodded. She, of course, was more scared that the goondas would flex their chicken-fed muscles and thus, give her a bad time, henceforth. These are also the same people who took the freely distributed bottles of alcohol, a day before the recent municipal elections. And then, they blame the politicians for exploiting gullible fools.

My little winged friend says that two more politicians are also on Parrikar’s hit-list. And won’t it now get merrier with five crooked chefs stirring the cauldron of corruption. How thick can this broth get? We only have to wait and watch while Goa tethers on the brink of another man-made calamity. By then, it could be the end of this government as well. Meanwhile, the plot thickens...

Ethel Da Costa
July 16, 2001

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