Panchayat S1 E2

Vikas goes to the office and tries to enter, but the door is locked from inside. He bangs at the back of the house until Abhishek wakes up. Its only 9 am, but since the whole village is up at the crack of dawn, Abhishek is a very late sleeper in Phulera. A Panchayat meeting is in session and the topic of discussion is about 13 solar panel lights that need to be installed through the village. The village struggles with power cuts and the solar panels will enable creation and storage of electricity through the day so that at night that energy can be used to power lights, etc. As Abhishek is about the start the discussion, her realises that the Panchayat has already decided where 12 out of the 13 panels will be installed - one in their homes each. This village is not some model village, rather the corruptions and hegemonies of India exist here as well. Abhishek knows not to contest this, but rather is about to say that the 13th panel be installed in front of the Panchayat office. Before he can speak up, someone suggests planting it next to a tree in one corner of the village. The tree is haunted and the argument is that perhaps having a light there will scare the ghost away and make the area accessible for the villagers once again. Everyone loves this idea and the resolution passes. I can hear Abhisheks eyes rolling in the process. Later that night as he sits down to study for the CAT, there is a power cut. He has a tube light torch that he places next to his desk for light. He continues to study while fanning himself. The tube light runs out of battery, so he resorts to lighting a candle except, when he begins to fan himself, the candle goes out. Oh no! Poor guy, he could really use that solar panel. And so this is exactly what he tells Vikas the next day. Vikas tells him its too late. He should have spoken up yesterday but now that peoples minds are made, it will be impossible to change them. Also Brij Bhushan wants to use the Bhoota Ped as an election issue next cycle, so it will be impossible to convince him otherwise. The only solution possible is that Abhishek somehow gets rid of the ghost and then the tree will not need the 13th solar panel. Abhishek realises that this is his only option, so he decides to investigate the tree When he goes there, sure its dark and dingy, but he cant really find any supernatural elements. It is just a huge banyan tree in a dark forest. Abhishek decides to get to the bottom of the mystery. So he traces the story from the earliest person who was haunted - each person has a different story. Someone heard a rustle, another heard a crackle and yet another swears that it was a thud. Ultimately, he traces the story back to a teacher in the village. The science teacher is the first and only person who says with certainty that he saw the ghost. He describes the ghost in great detail and tells Abhishek that he was scared for his life and glad he was able to make it out alive. Abhishek is now at a dead end. But something about this story seems fishy to him. He mentions to the teacher that he is surprised and fascinated that an educator would hold such views and would love to share them with the strict District Magistrate who in interested in knowing how the school is running. Later that night, Abhishek is at his wits end, as he discusses with his Delhi friend, Prateek. Prateek believes in ghosts and tells him that the story is likely to be real. Just then the science teacher shows up at Abhisheks doorstep. He confesses that while he really did see the ghost, he was also incredibly high weed. So technically, it could have been the weed and NOT an actual ghost that started the whole myth. Abhishek tells him that he needs to come clean to the village because they cannot have everyone fearing the tree for another 14 years. This is the price he asks for not telling the District Magistrate about the story of the ghost. The next day, the science teacher sits in front of the Panchayat in the village and tells them the truth. Manju Devis reaction is hilarious. She beats him because she has fallen twice and torn an expensive sari in that area because he husband makes her run through those parts of the forests. The teacher leaves with an apology and tells them not to tell the villagers about his mistakes. Abhishek has a solution for this as well. He proposes that Pradhan ji sleep under the tree for three days to prove that the ghost has been driven away. This can be used as an example of personal sacrifice for votes during the next election cycle. This idea appeals to Brij and Prahlad. Abhishek finally gets what he wants. The solar panel outside his house allows him to study at night by its light. At the tree, we see Brij Bhushan and Prahlad camping out and obviously no ghost appears.