Chapter 3: The Arithmetic of Exhaustion

Kaurav found himself calculating the days like a prisoner marking time on a cell wall. January 3rd had been the beginning—that arbitrary date when their nomadic existence commenced. The Bharat Rang Mahotsav in Delhi on the 5th, then the Poorva Express that should have carried them back to Howrah on the 7th but didn't, fog having claimed ten hours of their lives while they waited in stations that smelled of urine and stale tea. By the time they reached Howrah, it was past three in the morning, and they had scrambled for a Chhota Hathi—that ungainly vehicle that served as transportation for those who couldn't afford better options.

Six AM departure in a Scorpio for Bishnupur. Another performance, another return journey at four in the morning. Kolkata the same day, then Guwahati by air, then Malda, then back to Howrah with the same battered