Blind Faith
Sagarika Ghose

CONTENTS

DEDICATION

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

2002

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

COPYRIGHT

ABOUT THE PUBLISHER

DEDICATION

For IS and TS

And all those willing to make a leap of faith

1
January 2001
ALQUERIA, GOA

When the plane from Delhi to Goa exploded in mid-air and plummeted into the Arabian Sea, the sky wavered momentarily like a computer screen ribbed by static.

Below the falling airliner, the sea curved into a bay. Smooth ocean’s forehead against a springy hairline of palm. The waters of the bay were calm, ploughed occasionally by barges carrying manganese ore to big ships parked on the horizon. When the plane plunged in, the bay became a painting in which the colours had dissolved.

At this very time, a fire raged on the seashore. In the seaside village of Alqueria, Sharkey’s Hotel burnt as strongly as the aircraft had before it hit the water. Fire engines along the beach sent blue flashes into the coconut trees. A lone figure sat upright on the beach, tense with accomplishment. Villagers gathered at the seafront, staring at the sky, at Sharkey’s, at the shards of plane sticking out from the water.

We are constantly reminded, noted Father Rudy, priest of the Church of Santa Ana, that even after centuries of evolution, the human remains as wild as any animal.

Alqueria. Tiny fishing village in north Goa. That night Alqueria was surrounded by fire. In the water, a burning plane. On land, a beach hotel in flames. The papers carried the news next morning:

South Wind Airways flight SW 448 from Delhi to Goa, crashed into the Alqueria bay in north Goa last night. There are no reported survivors and navy divers are continuing their search for bodies. The black box has been found. Eyewitnesses say they heard a thunderclap and an explosion that looked like a fireworks display.

The international conspirators who claimed responsibility for the bomb were the outer splinter of a cell gearing up to collaborate with more complicated international organizers elsewhere in the world. This explosion was only a small local rehearsal. A case study. A test of patterns of airport and aircraft infiltration.

The year was 2001 and it was January.

Eight months later, other aircrafts would cut through tall buildings on the opposite side of the world to herald a new century.

But in Goa the bombers had unknowingly interfered in another plan.

A plan that went unreported in the newspapers.

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