First Look at the Tower

The girl stared at the beauty in front of her eyes. She couldn’t resist it. She took her phone, opened the camera app and asked a passer-by to stop and take her photo.

The boy who she stopped was in a hurry, so he took the phone and clicked a very blurred, not at all focused image of the girl and went off on his way.

One look at the photo and Devaki was sure that the photo was trash. She had just deleted the photo when a hand came over her shoulder and said in a French accent, “Keep Z ‘ands behind your back, miss.”

“यह क्या हो रहा है?” Devaki said immediately, forgetting that she was in France. As an Indian, Hindi was the first thing that came out of her mouth whenever she was in trouble.

“Ma’am, please speak in English or French.” The officer said.

“Sorry, what is happening here?”

“You are being arrested for violating the law. I am officer Jean Belrose.”

“B-B-But, which law have I violated? I am just a tourist here. I don’t even KNOW how to violate a law!”

“Oui, oui. That’s what everyone says. Now come with me, quietly.”

Devaki sat down in the police vehicle. She was accompanied by Jean, the officer and another person. Devaki wasn’t able to see the person. Maybe they were another outlaw, maybe an actual one. She was worried. Her flight was going to leave in seven hours and she still had to go back to her hotel to pack her bags.

“Ou m’emmenez-vous?”

“A la poste de police.”

“Pourquoi?”

 “Parce que tu as commis un crime.”

“Quel crime?”

“Je te parlerai au poste de police.” 

“D’accord, madame.”

“What was he saying to you, miss?” Devaki said. She had known French for quite a while now, but the locals always found a way to talk so fast that she never understood anything.

“’E was saying that ‘e wanted to know where and why ‘e was being taken.”

“And?”

“And ‘e is quiet now. I would like some quiet from my left end too.”

“Mmm-Hmm” Devaki was silent all the way to the police station.

At the police station, Devaki was frisked by the police woman, Jean and then asked to produce her passport. She did so and the Indian foreign delegates were called for.

While waiting, Devaki realized that the person in the car with her was the boy she had asked to click her photo. Overcome with curiosity, she asked, “What are you doing here? What did you do?”

The boy Pierre, said, “I don’t know. I was getting late for my evening shift and then this policeman came in and took me in.” Judging by his accent, Devaki was quite sure that Pierre was French.

“Okay.”

Jean interrupted, “You people are here because you violated a law. You were in it together, so we ‘ave brought you at the station.”

“WE violated a law?” Devaki was surprised, she didn’t even know Pierre and Jean was saying that she had violated a law with his help?

“Oui.” Jean said.

“Je ne connais cette fille! Comment je peux commis un crime avec elle ?” Pierre said, shocked in the same way Devaki was.

This was getting way too creepy for both of them. Apparently, after this little, ‘chit-chat’, the ‘violators’ were taken to separate cells.

A few minutes later, a man appeared in the cell Devaki was locked in. “Hello! My name is Amit. I represent the Indian Government here. After you were taken in, the police station called my office and I was sent here. Apparently, you’ve not commited a huge crime and it won’t be that difficult to veer you away from this place. Also, I think you have a flight soon?”

“Yes, I have my flight at 2 a.m.”

“Okay. So, we’ll have to solve all this before 11.”

“Yes. But please tell why I was arrested and brought here.”

“You clicked a photo.”

“A PHOTO!?!?!”

“Yes.”

“How’s that a crime?”

“Well, you took a photograph of the Eiffel Tower at night. Am I right?”

“Yes.”

“That’s a violation of the copyright law.”

“But the tower was built ages ago and why only at night?”

“Let me explain to you, the tower was fitted with lights in 1980s and it’s builder/engineer is still alive. So, the copyright will remain till seventy years ater his death.”

“Oh.” Devaki was surprised. Such minute attention to details just to make sure the law is obeyed? She was really impressed.

“Yes. Now, why did you take the photo?”

“For my personal use. To act as a memoir.”

“Okay. Then it’s fine. You won’t be charged anything.”

“Thank goodness! So can I leave?”

“Not so fast. You need to prove that. Also, that boy who was taking the picture, do you know him?”

“No, I just met him. He appeared to be in a hurry.”

“Fine. I’ll get you out of here. Just come with me and do what I say, ok?”

“Yes sir.” Devaki didn’t want to be in the criminal records, especially not away from her home, in France.

They went outside and saw that Pierre was brought there too, with a person Devaki guessed was his lawyer.

Jean greeted them again and introduced another man, her senior, Paulo. He was an old man, balding and had an accent different to that of Jean or Pierre.

“Bonsoir! Today, I will be presiding this meeting. Please have a seat everyone.” Paulo said.

“Sir,” Jean spoke up, once everyone was seated, “These people ‘ave violated the copyright law and ‘ave taken a photo of Le Tour Eiffel at night.”

“D’accord. Do you ‘ave something to say, miss?” Paulo asked, looking at Devaki.

“Yes, I’m from the Indian Government and I would like to represent her. According to the law, the photo can be taken for personal purposes. Devaki was doing just so.”

“Oui, mais pourquoi ai-je été entraine la-dedans ? ” Pierre asked the Major.

“Well, you took the photo. So, you were a big part of this.” Paulo explained the whole situation to Pierre.

Pierre was speechless, “I-I…..”

“Now, miss. I know we took your phone, but do you mind opening it and showing us the pictures you took?”

“Sure.” Devaki said, taking her phone out of Paulo’s hand and entering her passcode. She then opened the gallery and showed Paulo the photo which she had taken back from the recycle bin.

“This is very blur. This doesn’t show the Tower at all! I don’t think this will be a violation of the copyright.”

“So, it means we were brought here for nothing?” Devaki was surely surprised. First they say that you’ve violated a law, then they say you haven’t. What are they doing?

Both the officials were getting up and said in a sync, “Yeah, we are very sorry for that.”

Now, the police went out of the room and the others were left to discuss.

“So, now what Amit sir?”

“Now you are a free person. You can go back to the hotel and pack your bags.”

“I missed my shift for THIS?” Pierre said, abruptly pointing to the space around him.

“Sorry.” Devaki apologized, feeling very sad and embarrassed of herself.

Amit and Pierre’s lawyer went off their ways and Devaki was left alone with Pierre at the station. They decided to take a ride together as it was peak time and no cabs were free. The police had offered to help and since they were in the same neighbourhood, both of them were taken in the same car.

“So, what do you do?”

“Um, I am a photographer in a studio.”

“And yet you took a blurred photo.”

“That ‘blurred photo’ was the only reason we are still roaming freely.”

“C’est vrai.”

“Oh la la! Tu connais francais?”

“Yes, a little.”

“Nice.”

“Oh! Look the Eiffel Tower’s lighting is looking so pretty.”

“Yeah, I don’t think I’ll look at the tower at night same as before.”

“Why?”

Pierre said, “Well, it was the main reason I got almost-arrested.”

“Oh yes! But as a tourist, I still like it.”

“I don’t know, this is something I watch every day, yet it seems that I am looking at it for the first time. It looks beautiful, but it seems that it has some secrets in it that makes it even more beautiful.”