Last week, three boys from Patna set off on an ill-planned expedition to catch Dawood Ibrahim. Why did they do this? Not out of patriotism, nor revenge, nor a need to prove their nobility or manhood. They wanted only the cash reward that would rid them of the drudgery of studies and the life-long servitude to duty that studies are training for. They were found and brought home from Delhi, I imagine, sheepish but cheerful.

Illustration/Amit Bandre