Fiction: An Irrigation Department engineer has to build a dam project that will wash away villages
An excerpt from ‘Root and Branch’, by K Subramanian, translated from the Tamil by the author.
Black News 
The next morning at ten, I met my boss – Ramanujam – and gave him all the material I had gathered and the blueprints for the project.
“You have done a thorough job,” he said appreciatively.
“I have done whatever I could to the best my ability,” I said.
“Mister! You must set aside your modesty on important occasions. Otherwise, you will not make any progress in life.”
I kept quiet. The silence was disturbed now and then only by the sound of papers being shuffled hurriedly by the boss. “Seems like you have worked the whole night.”
“It was not so difficult, Sir. This project has been taken up several times in the past. But it did not progress beyond the blueprint stage.”
“Why?” asked the boss, raising his head slightly. There was a trace of worry on his face.
“Because the government did not want to submerge so many villages. That is why.”
“What is your own view on the proposed project? Are you in favour of it?” asked the boss, in a low, confidential tone.
“Do you think that the government is going to bother about my opinion? If it approves the project and issues an order, I will execute it. We are government servants.”
There was silence again.
“May I tell you something...
