The Blue Eyed Boys of Bombay

I have dabbled in so many professions and businesses that I have lost chronological count. But memories get jogged and surf up to clarity. As if it has happened now…

My childhood friend stayed a floor below me. His father belonged to the now extinct profession of being a negative artist. Since we were both out of college and also since we belonged to lower middle class families, he suggested a profession for us. Printing stationery.

Tucked away in a chawl, off the busy arterial road of Dadar, was a quaint treadle machine. And a composing board of alphabets of various fonts and sizes. Each and every alphabet was handpicked and set in a case and placed on the treadle for printing.

It was one of the evenings in the late 80s or early 90s that a friend called to say his bosses wanted some business cards printed.

The Andheri East Police Station is conveniently placed on the junction of the Andheri Kurla road and the ever busy Station road of Andheri.  I walked inside the main gates and turned left towards a small room with a plate dangling on the entrance saying “Anti Narcotics”

I saw two handsome, young dudes who looked like the cops in the films (especially since both were in plain clothes) The spark in their eyes suggested the importance of the department that they were handling.  We sat down to think out the design and the look of the business card. Futuristic, it was when the card was finally designed and printed. For the boys who looked sure of where they were headed. Assistant Inspectors of Mumbai Police, Pradeep Sharma and Vijay Salaskar. Black coloured cards with their names and details etched in silver and white, respectively.

After a few years, a few friends passed the police exams together in the same batch.  It called for celebration and I was invited. The SRP grounds are located on the SRP Camp off the western express highway in Jogeshwari. A huge lung of expanse with small little barracks for houses. I remember sitting on the ground enjoying the camaraderie. I also remember being introduced to a quiet reticent guy named Daya Nayak who was, I believe, part of the group that passed out.

Friends turned foes, Vijay Salaskar and Pradeep Sharma rose in their respective careers in spite of the controversies around their special duties. Experienced and backed by a solid network of informers.

Encounter specialists were the new celebrities of the era. Media coverage, movies inspired, glamour and style.

The Blue Eyed Boys.

Time changes a lot of things.

Pradeep Sharma, Praful Bhonsle, Ravindra Angre, Nitin Vichare, Daya Nayak, Sachin Vaze. The list is long.

Consequence of circumstance. And now Vijay Salaskar.

The hole is too wide and open and looking dangerous. Someone in the know and in charge has to think and think fast. Before terror throttles the city permanently.