Devrai

Push harder, Shesh.

-Is that enough? -Come on, push harder.

I'm enjoying it.

I have to save him.

Where is Parvati?

-Scoundrel. Will you sell Parvati? -Shesh, calm down. Keep quiet.

-Scoundrel. -Shesh.

That...

Please carry on with the treatment.

-Your relation to the patient? -He is my brother.

That's my husband, Dr. Sudesh Gore, a scientist at NCL.

-Patient's name? -Sheshshayee Desai.

-Guardian's name? -Whose?

-I mean, your name. -Mrs. Seena Gore.

-Patient's age? -Thirty-five.

Education?

He didn't complete his M.Sc.... So B.Sc.

-Marital status? -He's not married.

Occupation?

He looks after the family business of mangoes in Konkan.

Okay. We need your signature in case ECT is needed.

Your address and phone number.

Okay?

Yes.

That injection has put him to sleep. But he will be awake soon.

Devrai. What is devrai?

It's a sacred grove. In Konkan, there are patches of dense, virgin forest.

Trees of a very wide variety grow together in a devrai.

According to our custom, no one cuts or disturbs them.

We had a devrai near our house. As children we used to play there.

Shesh wanted to do research on the devrai.

Was this his first attack? Or has this happened before?

No idea. He lives in the village while we live here in Pune.

We got a call from a servant

saying that he had gone crazy and to go there immediately.

So we rushed and brought him to Pune.

A highway is being built through our village.

Without warning, Shesh attacked the construction supervisors.

He thought that they were going to destroy his devrai.

That was the first time he created such a scene.

Otherwise he is an aloof type. He keeps to himself.

He just sits quietly by himself.

He has always been like this.

But unpredictable. When he'll be happy or angry, you never know.

How does he manage the business?

The orchards are old, and there is a trusted servant, Shambhu.

Shesh is single. Things work out.

Doctor, the patient is asking for her.

May I see him?

Okay. But don't talk too much.

All right.

You go ahead, I'll join you.

Okay.

I was so embarrassed.

All my colleagues had demanded a party after my promotion.

They had all come to our house for the first time.

The date had been fixed two months earlier.

Who would have thought there would be such a mess?

My bosses, my subordinates, everyone was there.

-I'll get them down in ten minutes. -So soon?

Did you see the time? What do you mean, so soon?

-You keep everything ready. -It's late already. Will do.

Hello? Yes.

The same applies to patents.

Getting a patent makes sense if your business is going to grow.

Otherwise what is the use? It is of no use.

-Congratulations, Dr. Gore. -Thank you.

Congratulations.

Hello.

-Hello. Hello. -Congratulations.

-Thank you. Hello. How are you? -Great.

Whom will you manage? Tell me? Whom will you manage?

Tell me. Whom will you manage?

Move aside.

Whom will you manage?

What will you get patents for? What do you know about mangoes?

You'll get a patent for devrai? You'll sell devrai?

-You pimps. -What happened?

You cut down trees. You scoundrels.

-Tell me, what do you know about devrai? -Did I say anything to you?

-Tell me, what do you know about devrai? -He is possessed.

-Mr. Desai, please... -You are a scoundrel.

-You want to cut devrai. -What will you do?

Who does he think he is?

-Shesh, what's wrong? Calm down. -Will you sell Parvati? Scoundrel.

-What happened? -Shesh. Keep quiet. Shesh.

Will you sell Parvati? What do you know about this?

-What nonsense is this? -What do you know about this?

Did you invite me for this?

Mr. Shah, please calm down.

You come here, I will show you.

It's dangerous to have such a man in the house.

-I know Mr. Shah. But... -Mama, come here.

No...

Don't tell me. Hey, you come here.

-Come here, I will show you. -It is all right.

-Sorry. Please carry on. -I know. I simply cannot digest it.

Actually, Mr. Shah gave me your phone number.

I have been embarrassed before the entire office.

Dr. Gore, I understand how hard it must've been for you.

But you are a scientist. You should understand.

Blaming him is of no use.

I told you to invite Kalyani. He'd have sat inside with her.

But you insisted on letting him mingle with the other guests.

It wasn't insistence,

but would it have been right to lock him up in a room?

The poor fellow is our guest for a few days only.

Guest. Poor fellow.

When did you come?

I came as soon as I got your call. How is he now?

-Don't even ask. -What happened?

I was so worried.

In fact, I was thinking of coming to meet him earlier today.

He got so violent during the party.

The doctors asked us to bring him to the hospital immediately.

They gave him an injection. We had to call an ambulance.

-Ambulance? -Damn it.

The party was a total fiasco.

How can you talk like that?

Deven slept just a while ago.

He was really scared. Did he say anything?

I avoided that topic. We talked about his school.

You must be hungry. Wait. I'll get you something.

You sit here. I'll make coffee.

When Shambhu called, I didn't think it was so serious.

But I thought I should go and check anyway.

My last visit there was when mother died over five years ago.

Being alone for so long would make anyone irritable.

It's been a long time since I last met him.

Not after Aunty asked me to leave.

Does it still hurt you?

Not really. So much water has flowed under the bridge since.

I'll come tomorrow to see him. Will he be home by evening?

Who knows? I'll give you a call.

Okay. See you then.

Your house is so far away. Why don't you stay over tonight?

No. I've to go to work tomorrow.

Are you still angry?

Your brother is crazy.

What a scene he made before my colleagues.

He thinks he is so smart.

What do you mean smart?

He has been so lonely ever since Mother passed away.

Nothing has gone well for him. No research, no wedding.

And to top it all his fiery temper.

Who stopped him from completing his research?

If he wanted to study at the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore,

he should have worked hard.

But how could he go, leaving Mother all alone in the village?

Don't you know how intelligent Shesh is?

They say very bright people are more likely to lose their balance.

They cannot accept any disappointment easily.

He would have calmed down in a while,

but you... Was it really necessary to call an ambulance?

What if he'd gone violent again?

The only son in the family. No father to control him.

No one to oppose any of his whims.

You are wrong.

He was always fighting with Mother because she wouldn't let him have his way.

But what can I say now?

He's given you a chance to complain.

I have to quietly listen to whatever you say.

Breakfast. Breakfast.

-Devu, stop it. -I am coming.

Here. Give it to him.

Hello. Yes, speaking.

Oh, God. I'll be there soon.

Shesh had another attack last night.

Devu, you go to Sameer's house after school.

I have to go and see your uncle at the hospital.

I am not sure how long it will take.

Why are you staring at me like that?

I am flying to Bangalore this evening for a seminar.

Maybe you forgot, so I just thought I'd remind you.

Doctor, why shock treatment?

Don't worry. ECT is absolutely safe. Okay?

Follow me to the doctor's office. We need Mr. Desai's case history.

But what else do you need me to tell you?

All that you can remember. It'll help us in the diagnosis.

All right.

I must've been hardly two years old when my father died.

Mother took over the family business then.

Shesh is five years older than me.

He hated to be called brother. So I call him Shesh.

He topped the district in the matriculation exam.

Later, he missed admission to medical college by just four marks.

Mother was very upset.

But it didn't bother him much.

He said he wanted to do research on devrai.

Then he came to Pune to finish college.

But he took four years to complete his bachelor's degree.

Yet he barely got a pass in class.

He came to Pune and slowly, his behavior changed completely.

How was his personality originally, and how did it change?

He was a very happy, playful person.

He used to pamper me a lot.

I'm enjoying it.

That is enough now.

Who knows what happened to him after he came to Pune?

Even during his holidays, he'd spend hours roaming in the devrai.