December 14, 2008. Vineet Alurkar’s phone rang early – too early. A voice, shakily, said: “Come quickly. Something has happened to your father.” He doesn’t remember the drive. He only remembers reaching Karve Nagar faster than ever.

By the time he reached Swapna Nagari Society, the lane was already thick with people he faintly recognised. He brushed past them to reach his uncle Vivek Deuskar, who didn’t waste words. “He’s gone. Murdered.”

Just like that. No cushion, no warning. “And in a strange way I was grateful, because the suspense of not knowing is its own kind of torture,” says Vineet as he recollects the fateful day 17 years ago when his father Suresh Alurkar, owner of the iconic Alurkar Music House, was murdered in his apartment behind the society.

The memory remains hazy for Vi

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