Just when I am about to hang up, someone picks up the phone. I have just over a minute left now. 'Hello?' 'Hello. Can I speak to Mr Utpal Chatterjee?' I say hurriedly. 'Speaking.'
'Mr Chatterjee, I am Ram Mohammad Thomas.'
'Ram Mohammad . . . what?'
'Thomas. You may not know my name, but I helped you out in Singhania Hospital, where your son was hospitalized. Do you remember?'
'Oh, my God.' Suddenly the tone changes completely. 'I have been desperately seeking you for the last four months. Thank God you have called. You saved my son's life, you have no idea how much I have tried to—' I cut him short. 'Mr Chatterjee, I do not have much time. I am a participant in a quiz show and I need you quickly to answer a question for me.'
'A question? Yes, of course, I am ready to do whatever you want.' Less than thirty seconds are left now. All eyes are on the wall clock, busily ticking away the seconds.
'Tell me, very quickly, in which one of Shakespeare's plays is there a character called Costard? Is it a) King Lear, b) The Merchant of Venice, c) Love's Labour's Lost or d) Othello?'
The seconds tick away and there is silence from Chatterjee.
'Mr Chatterjee, can you tell me the answer?'
Only fifteen seconds are left by the time Chatterjee replies, 'I don't know.'
I am dumbfounded. 'What?'
'I am sorry, I don't know the answer. Rather, I'm not sure. I don't remember this character in The Merchant of Venice or Othello. It is either from King Lear or Love's Labour's Lost – I am not sure which.'
'But I can only give one answer.'
'Then go for Love's Labour's Lost. But as I said, I am not very sure. Sorry, I cannot be more helpf—' Prem Kumar cuts him off. 'Sorry, Mr Thomas. Your two minutes are up. I need your reply now.'
The music in the background doesn't sound suspenseful any longer. It is positively chilling. I go into a deep thought.
'Mr Thomas, how well do you know this Mr Chatterjee?' Prem Kumar asks me.
'I have met him just once.'
'And how good an English teacher is he?'
'I have no idea.'
'So can you trust his reply, or would you rather go by your own instinct?'
I make up my mind. 'I will go by my instinct, and my instinct tells me to trust the answer given by Mr Chatterjee. It is C. Love's Labour's Lost.'
'Think again. Remember, you give me the wrong answer and you not only don't win the hundred million rupees, you also lose the ten million rupees you have won till now.'
'My final answer is still C
'Are you absolutely, one hundred per cent sure?'
'Yes.'
'I am asking you again. Are you absolutely, absolutely, one hundred per cent sure?'
'Yes.'
There is a crescendo of drums. The correct answer flashes on the screen.
'Oh, my God, it is C. You are absolutely, one hundred per cent correct!' Prem Kumar stands up.
'Ram Mohammad Thomas, you are the first person on this show to have won a hundred million rupees. Ladies and gentlemen, history has been made! And now we simply have to take a break!'
The audience goes wild. Everyone stands up and claps for more than a minute. Prem Kumar's face is flushed. He is perspiring profusely.
'So how do you feel?' he asks me. '
Q Bzzg Cnzxp!' I say.
Prem Kumar looks baffled. 'Excuse me, what did you just say?'
'I said I feel great,' I reply and look up. I see Shankar smiling at me from above. And it seems that Goddess Durga is really looking out for me tonight.
THE THIRTEENTH QUESTION
We are still in the commercial break. Prem Kumar is in a corner, conferring with the long-haired producer. I look around the studio, at the nice panelling, the spotlights, the multiple cameras, the high-tech sound system. Many members of the audience are watching me, wondering perhaps what is going through my mind.
Prem Kumar ends his consultation and walks up to me. He has a sinister grin on his face.
'Thomas, we don't know how you have managed to answer eleven questions so far, but there is no way you will be able to answer the final question.'
'We'll see.'
'No, I'll see. Prepare yourself to lose all,' says Prem Kumar and sits down on his seat.
The studio sign changes to 'Applause'. The signature tune comes on. The audience claps loudly.
Prem Kumar looks at the camera. 'Ladies and gentlemen, we are standing at the brink of a historic moment, not just for this show but perhaps for posterity. Ram Mohammad Thomas, an eighteen-yearold waiter from Mumbai, has gone further than any other contestant on this show.
He is now about to create another milestone. If he answers this last question correctly, he will win the biggest jackpot in history – one billion rupees. If he fails to give me the correct answer, he will lose the single largest sum of money ever to be lost by an individual in sixty seconds – one hundred million rupees. Either way, history will be made. So please clear your minds, fill your hearts and join me in saluting once again our contestant tonight, Mr Ram Mohammad Thomas!'
The studio sign changes to 'Applause'. Everyone, even Prem Kumar, stands up and there is sustained clapping.
