One and Three Quarters

The 'dalal' acts as a catalyst. He rides pillion on the two-wheeler of a person who dreams of owning a four-wheeler. This institution of dalals has an ancient history, and Langdya is living proof of its continuity.

Young Pitambar is known in the village as 'Langdya' because one of his legs is shorter than the other. Each day, he reluctantly limps his way to a ramshackle school to please his unlettered father. While his heart is not in studies, his eyes are on the Maths teacher, Gengage's wife. Langdya is looking for a formula to get rich by climbing the ranks in the school oflife. Chancing upon the secret affair between the school principal and the Music teacher, and using the magic wand of blackmail, he finds his way to the local politician's office, landing a henchman's job. Next step, he is on a fast-track to the Mantralaya in Mumbai. He is egged on and counselled by Latthya the tomcat, whose language he inexplicably understands. Latthya, no less a fixer than Langdya, comes from a community of cats that is a sucker for gossip and local politics.
Part social satire, part fable, Shrikant Bojewar's One and Three Quarters is a stinging commentary on the moral decrepitude that ails post-Independence India and the curious workings of its sociopolitical machinery.