Kolkata, India : Inside a dark, dank house off a crowded intersection in this city's south, a family has gathered to observe a strange transition.

In the middle of the huddle, a thickset, old man squats on the floor, concentrating all his attention on a young boy perched on a footstool. "This is how the noose should be waxed so that it slides easily and gags the neck," the bare-chested, suntanned man tells the boy, continuing to rub an assortment of herbs and ripe bananas on a long piece of rope.

In these lessons, veteran hangman Nata Mallick is trying to pass on to his grandson Prabhat the secrets of a family trade that he considers essential for the good of society.

"After I'm gone, my grandson will hang bad people who deserve to die," says Mallick, an 82-year-old who hanged his first convict when he was 16. Since then, he has carried out the death sentence given to 23 others.

Mallick's son got as far as assisting his father in the last execution in West Bengal in 1991, but then decided to choose another calling.

"Now I have my grandson who is ready to take on the mantle from me," Mallick says proudly as members of his family observe in silence the interaction between the teacher and his young student.

How good the lessons have been will be known June 25 when Mallick and Prabhat hang Dhananjoy Chatterjee, who has been given capital punishment for the rape and murder of a 14-year-old girl in 1988.

"My grandson will do it. I'll just supervise. I'm sure he will do a clean job," Mallick says.

Prabhat too sounds confident. "I've learnt what had to be learnt. Now I have to go and implement it."

Authorities have turned down Chatterjee's repeated request for clemency and barring any unforeseen development he will be executed at the crack of dawn June 25.

Some doubts still linger because the convict's parents have filed a strange petition in court asking that their son's hanging to be put off till they die.

The hapless parents have told the court that they are old and would not live beyond a few more years and asked the authorities to wait till their death before hanging their son.

But Mallick is taking no chances and is readying his heir for the task on June 25.

"We have been doing this job for three generations. My son is not interested but my grandson is ready," Mallick said.

The grandson will tie the convict's hands, put the hood over his face and pull the lever.

Besides teaching Prabhat the tricks of the trade, Mallick has prepared him for any prick of the conscience.

"When I had doubts, I asked my father and he said I was doing a service to my country. I've told the same to my grandson," Mallick says. "And he agrees."

http://www.keralanext.com/news/index.asp?id=39569