Day 12 in Bangalore

So like I predicted, the moment my colleagues arrived, it was work work work. As you can see, I stopped at Day 5 and am now continuing from Day 15.

Once we moved from the apartment to UTC, everything was in full swing. The momentum just grew, and before we knew it, it was already December 3^rd morning – THE DAY!

Day one was chaotic! There was no proper organization, everything and everyone was everywhere….it was unbelievable. Not everything was bad though. Things went as smoothly as it could under the circumstances. Many people were helpful, although sometimes, too many cooks spoiled the soup.

Day two was better. Things were more organized, people knew what they were supposed to do; we managed to find a rhythm. Of course, the photocopying and printing was constant. In fact, I was still printing up till the last day of the Tribunal!!

Day three was more relaxed. It was the ending of the testimonies and presentations and it was only a half-day event. My duties were not over though. As I was in-charged of taking care of the jurors, my problems started as soon as they started deliberating! The printer we provided to them was not working and it took Rosmah and me three trips to 9 Marks Inn to fix the printer. And still….it did not work!!

Day four was supposed to be a fairly free day for us but no….Rosmah and I were up super early to get the damn printer fixed!! Thank God for the spare printer that we had with us. If you’re wondering why we didn’t replace the spoiled one with the spare one….don’t bother asking…it’s another story altogether.

Day four was also judgment day. After years of blood, sweat and tears, it all came down to this. Was the tribunal going to decide in our favour? Were we convincing enough in our evidence and calls for justice? Did our messages get through to them?

Judgment: The tribunal found in our favour!! YES!!! Almost all my colleagues were emotional. Even the lawyers had tears in their eyes. It was a momentous occasion. We all know how hard we’ve worked towards achieving this, and to have our work validated and recognized….what a feeling it is!!

The renowned law professor Upendra Baxi mentioned that the indictment was really good. The jurors had initially thought that the indictment was written by the lawyers. Upon finding out that it was not them, but rather us at PAN AP who came up with 274 pages of solid facts and evidence, they were highly impressed. Upendra even said that it was worthy of 3 PHDs!!! Now that’s a compliment I’ll take to my grave!!

Post-tribunal: we had a de-briefing session. Boss gathered all 5 of us to thank and congratulate us for a job very well done. I was especially singled out, quote “Shakun…you were the best! Everyone was jumping on you to get this and that printed and all, and you just kept cool. It was good that you managed to keep cool!”

The four days just flew by. Up until now, I still can’t believe that the tribunal is actually over!! I was supposed to leave on December 9^th, but having talked to some people here, Rosmah and I decided to extend our stay till the 12^th. This would give us ample time to go sightseeing and shopping. This was such a last minute decision and I haven’t even given thought to the added expense this would cost me. But I know that, should I not extend my stay, I would regret having miss sightseeing and shopping.

I suppose I can say that I deserve this short holiday and that the extra expense is a bonus for me.