In the midst of an early October breeze somewhere in the outskirts of the city of Bombay, a middle-aged man hastily inhaled the rest of his tall cigarette while barely able to glance at the newspaper, “Psychologist strangled to death. Tapes and Patient at Large!” He thought to himself that it was an unfortunate coincidence and proceeded to set up inside one of the rooms. Turning on his tape recorder, the man proceeded to check his microphones. The tape started recording his session, “October 12, 1980. The subject name is Tulshiram Motwani, charged with one count of attempted murder by the Bandra Police. For the official record, my name is Dr. Saket Ram, PhD appointed as the mandated forensic psychologist for the convicted, by the honorable High Court to determine if the accused is fit for trial.”
The subject, Tulshiram was escorted into the room by the guard in a straightjacket. The fabric of the standard government issued straightjacket was worn out and could be easily ripped by even a toddler. For some reason, the subject played along to the charade that the jacket was effective in restraining him.
The doctor proceeded with the session, “Kindly state your full name, father’s name, date of birth and age for the record please.” Turning on the recorder, the tapes started revolving around its axis, the subject started his response, “My name is Tulshiram Motwani, son of Sadashiv Motwani. My date of birth is June 13, 1945 and I think that puts my age at 35.”
The doctor upon looking over the charge sheet, “Are you aware of the charges filed against you?”
The subject shuttered with fear, “Yes.”
“Well, were you in charge of your actions, Mr. Motwani?” asked the Doctor who was searching for the slightest of tells in the face of the accused.
Sounding genuine, he replied “I am not insane. You can call me Ram. My mother and Siya used to call me only by Ram.”
“Is this Siya, your ex-wife as stated in your charge sheet?” asked the Doctor.
Ram jumped on to the question, “Siya was the love of my life. I haven’t seen her since the divorce. Please let me go!”
The Doctor leaned into his microphone, “The subject sounds agitated while mentioning about his ex-wife and his mother. To be further explored…”
Ram asked the Doctor, “Why are you talking to yourself?”
The Doctor with the smile replied, “My notes form part of the official record. My observations are integral to this investigation.”
“So, I have to be extra careful on what I talk to you huh?” Ram asked with a smirk on his face.
“The subject sounds intelligent in his responses…” the Doctor stated, but before he could finish his sentence, he noticed that Ram had started sniffing something from across the table.
“I couldn’t help but notice the ash on your shoes and the smoke smell on you. Can I have a drag? It has been a while…” asked Ram much to the surprise of the Doctor.
“Maybe a little too intelligent…” the Doctor finished his sentence, only for Ram to interrupt, “I won’t describe myself as intelligent. I am just observant like the old man.”
“And who is this old man? Your father?” asked the Doctor who noticed that the accused’s face turned even more agitated at the mention of his father.
The room was filled with silence for the first time during the conversation. After waiting for a couple of minutes, the Doctor proceeded, “Ram, how would you describe your relationship with your father?”
“I would rather not talk about it.” Ram replied. The Doctor noticed that Ram has hesitant to look at him while answering to the question.
“Do you remember the statement you gave the Police during interrogation?” asked the Doctor.
“No…” replied Ram who was a bit restless, was moving within his chair back and forth. The old heap of wood...