‘At least 199 killed in heat wave in Andhra Pradesh in the past week’ read a story in Tuesday’s newspaper. Resting in Bangalore after two days of travel in Andhra Pradesh, we sighed, “It could have been 202, including the three of us.” Four days later, in Kochi, we were to read another report, ‘Krishnagiri-Kolar hooch death toll crosses 100’, and thank our stars for still being able to see each other. After four days on the road - sleeping on open terrace, train berths, inside and atop rickety buses - the hard bed in a lodge in Dharmapuri was a luxury. By the time we woke up on Wednesday, it was already past 9 am. Nazeeb had joined us. It would remain a mystery who had opened the door for him. In two hours, we
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