The Rediff Special/Sivasubramaniam
'He does not trust anyone, not his followers, not his people, not his wife. That
is what life has taught him, never believe anyone, never trust anyone'
I woke up when it was very bright. I thought it was ten or eleven in the morning, but it was only seven.
I had slept only for three hours, yet I felt fresh and rejuvenated.
"Do you want to take a bath?" Before they could complete the
question, I said yes. That was what I wanted most, a cool bath. My legs
weighed a ton when I stood up. The cool breeze that swept
through the thick foliage pepped up my spirits.
I followed them to the river. The water was cool and I think it
has an inexplicable quality to calm you down. Soon I felt calm and serene inside. Suddenly, I saw some men walking towards
the river. All I could see were a few khaki-clad pants. I saw a small
boy alongside a man with a huge moustache. This must be Veerappan,
I thought. But all of them had such intimidating moustaches.
Finally I recognised Veerappan. He looked different
from the photograph that we had seen. His hair was long, he was
even thinner. I recognised him only because of his nose. I
began to shiver.
"I think you are scared. You might not have seen such a thick
jungle before. Relax," he spoke to me as if he had known
me for years.
I said, Namaste, water dripping from my hair
and body.
He ordered a cup of tea for me even though
I told him I had already had a cuppa. "You are cold. A cup of hot tea will
cheer you up. Why are you so scared? Have you not seen people
like us before?" he asked.
"This is the first time in my life that I have seen guns so close,"
I said. He didn't speak to me much after that. His men and he spoke among themselves
for a long time. I listened to them from a distance, observing all his gestures. Slowly, I began to relax.
Then we were served dosa and tea. It was an unusual experience for me to have dosa, tea and sambar in the thick jungle. It took me some time to realise that I was far away from civilisation. But what is civilisation?
I had the same breakfast that I have at home, in the city. I could
see all the magazines available in the market, including
English magazines like Frontline. Even though he cannot
read English, Veerappan goes through all the magazines just to see the pictures.
After some time, he turned to me and said, "I don't believe in you journalists.
I don't like newspapers. They do not know what I feel about
life. They always take the side of the government. They do not
report the truth. I decided to meet you
because your report was not biased." I did not respond, just
kept quiet.
Around 11.30 am, I saw a crowd of nearly a hundred people coming towards us,
villagers from the nearby areas. I discovered later that
they visited Veerappan regularly and it was from them that he
got news of what was happening outside the jungle. All of them came bearing
gifts. Bananas, coconuts, rice, vegetables, whatever they harvest.
What surprised me was the way Veerappan treated them. All of them
were served an excellent meal and coffee. By six in the
evening, they were ready to return. It was then I saw his
favourite assistant Govindan opening a bag that he carried
on his shoulder. I had not paid attention to the bag till
then. It was actually a bedsheet
tied up like a bag. When he opened it, I could not believe
my eyes. It was full of money, bundles and bundles of notes.
There must have been at least Rs 400,000. He opened
each bundle and distributed the notes to all those who had come.
I think he gave between Rs 200 and Rs 500 rupees to each of them.
The moment the villagers left, all of us moved on. We must
have climbed 2,000 feet. I wondered why they had
abandoned the earlier camp so fast. Govindan told me, "The police
may catch some of the villagers and when tortured, some
of them might divulge our hiding place. That is why we moved so fast."
Veerappan is very devout. You find it difficult to believe,
do you not? I too could not believe my eyes when I saw
him performing a pooja of all his weapons in the morning and evening.
He ate only after the pooja. I watched all this in surprise. Watching
a smuggler perform a pooja was a new experience for me.
Two days passed and I had not got my interview.
I was scared that he would get angry if I asked him some probing
questions. After staying with him for two days, I began
understanding the man a little bit, and gained some courage as well.
I was under the impression that there was a connection
between Veerappan and politicians, but the truth was different.
It is true that he was used by a couple of MLAs earlier, but they ditched him later. I saw anger and contempt in Veerappan's eyes
when he spoke about the politicians and the police.
I do not blame the police for their failures. The jungle
is so thick that it is very difficult to catch Veerappan and his men. Twice in
1994 I tried to reach them, but could not do so. Later, they told
me they were sitting close to my path and saw me going by.
I never knew that somebody was there, watching me!
I do not how to describe Veerappan. Sometimes he would
be extremely cordial, warm and friendly, telling us anecdotes and
stories, but the very next moment, he could be a different personality.
He was unpredictable. If he did not like a question, his face
would change, he would raise his gun, growl and shout. His change
of moods used to frighten me a lot. So I used to think twice
before shooting off a question. He does not trust anyone, not his
followers, not his people, not his wife. That
is what life has taught him, never believe anyone, never trust
anyone.
It was one of the biggest moments in my life. But when the interview
appeared, many people did not give credence to it. They were convinced
that I had made up everything. They suspected the pictures too.
That was why I decided to interview him on video. It was only
after they saw Veerappan on television that people believed me,
that they were convinced that a person called Veerappan existed.
They also heard his side of the story.
I cannot justify his actions,
how can I? Whatever it is, a murder is a murder. He justifies
his actions, saying, "They are after me, they want
to kill me. So, what is wrong in me killing someone who is trying
to kill me?"
I was curious to know why he wanted to surrender. He said he
was tired of remaining inside the jungle, away from people and
civilisation. But he does not want to go to
jail. He reasons it thus: "I can meet and talk to at
least 400 people every day if I remain inside the jungle. But inside
the jail, how many people can I see? I think jungle life is better
than jail life."
As told to Shobha Warrier; Veerappan's pictures: Courtesy Nakkeeran
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'If the police kills two of his men, Veerappan kills four policemen'
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