The next morning, they followed the rice

When a pest inspector arrived, Raju took him straight to the panel. The inspector crouched beside it and shone a torch along the bottom edge. One end sat slightly above the ground, with a gap leading toward the lane behind the pandal.

He marked it as a possible entry point. Then he asked Mitali to show him where the other supplies were stored and where the rubbish bags waited for pickup. She led him around the back of the serving area, past the shelves and out to the lane. It was a short walk. It was also the route nobody had thought to check during the evening rush.

Back at the counter, they worked out what the committee could fix that day and where treatment might be needed. Mitali had the bhog schedule open on her phone so they could plan the work around serving hours.

One last round before closing

The next evening, Raju served bhog until the queue thinned. When the last visitor left, he handed the keys to Mitali and reached for his torch.

“Ek minute,” he said. “Pichhon-ta dekhe ashi.” One minute. I’ll check out back.

He walked past the rice shelves, checked the side panel and stopped at the waste collection point. By the time he returned, Mitali was waiting at the gate with two cups of cha.