Part 36
Khalid did not have to face anything. Babuji had prepared
himself for a lengthy verbal duel with the army captain and the officer also
was in no mood to relent. I was afraid matters would go out of hand when Amma
suddenly appeared on the scene.
“What is all this going on? Please calm down, please”, these
words were addressed to Babuji. Then she turned towards the uniformed officer.
“Khalid has been working for us since he was a 15 year old
kid. We know him very well, my son, we know he is not capable of doing what you
are accusing him of having done. I am sure you also know what you have said is
false. I am just like your mother, can you swear by me and say that the allegations
you made against Khalid are true, can you?” Swearing was very common among
Kashmiris, swearing by one’s mother, swearing by one’s father, swearing by one’s
children and so on. This tool was used as some kind of an emotional blackmail
and Amma was trying to do exactly that. Would it work with this man?
“Well, Aunty, since you vouch for him so strongly, I will
not take any action but tell him to keep away from us in the future” .The
moment he said these words he turned
around and walked out. So the Kashmiri way had worked, Amma had done what I
thought was impossible. There was a look of triumph on her face as she turned
towards Babuji.
“See, how I handled him, without shouting, without getting
angry? You were needlessly blowing your top off. I have noticed you have
started losing your temper at the drop of a hat, since Bittuji came. You never
used to get angry in this manner, what has happened to you?” Babuji looked at
me and smiled sheepishly.
“Nothing is wrong but if such things happen one is bound to
lose one’s cool. You don’t expect me to be a silent spectator, do you?”
“No, I don’t but I also don’t expect you to shout the way
you have been shouting since the morning. First, over the phone, and now, with
this army man! You men don’t understand that some things can easily be taken care of with love, men
know only one way of solving a problem and that is violence, learn something
from me” ,Amma said and gave me a mischievous look. She wanted me to know how
smart she was.
There was no doubt that Amma was a very intelligent woman.
She may have been illiterate but she was not a fool. Ours had been a joint
family, comprising lots of people. We shared a common kitchen. Each member knew
what his or her work was. There were lots of women in the house. There were
daughters and there were daughters –in law. The senior most daughter-in law was
in charge of the kitchen, she was the one who would supervise everything. The
other daughters-in-law were given various house hold chores. Someone would look
after the breakfast, someone would oversee the evening tea and the daughters
would normally look after the serving part. Amma was the head of the family and
the commander-in chief. It was she who distributed the work amongst the women folk;
it was she who made decisions on what was to be cooked and what was not to be
cooked. She was also the finance minister of the house. Babuji would give her a
fixed amount every month and she would use this money judiciously. If anyone
needed money for incurring any expenditure meant for running the house, she was
the one who would be approached. Mind you, Amma was no ordinary woman and we
had just seen a small example of that. She was short in height but not in stature
and had just cut a tall ,gangling officer to size.
Amma informed us that lunch had been served so we dutifully
marched towards the living room. Khalid had already laid down the
paraphernalia. He was unusually quiet and naturally so. I wondered where he had
hidden himself when the officer came for him. I was sure it was the invisible
hand of our dear Amma which had kept him away in some corner of some room. Amma
was a very resourceful lady and one could underestimate her at one’s own peril!
The gogji suen was superb and I enjoyed it thoroughly. Amma
had put in her best culinary talent into use. I recalled that she had never
been a good cook because she hardly ever entered the kitchen but now that she
had been compelled to start cooking, she had not taken her job lightly. Now I could
say she was a cook par excellence. Eating and enjoying my food, I forgot the
events of the morning and my mood changed for the better, I even managed to
crack a joke or two. Surprising what good food can do to your spirits! But the
moment we finished eating and went back to the baithak, my problems returned to
haunt me.
I had not one but many problems. The foremost among them was
how to inform Babuji and Amma about Anita’s coming to Srinagar. How would they
react? The news would come as a shock to them. They may not have been like
other grandparents, in the sense that they were not very conservative but I
could not brush aside the fact that they were not modern either. The only hope I
had was their love for me, it was this love which might become my savior. That
was the only light I could see in the overwhelming darkness around me. The
second problem was my own uncertainty and the doubts I had about what Anita had
said. It was impossible for me to fathom how she would manage to come all the
way from Chandigarh to Srinagar. What plans had she made? How would she be able
to give her parents the slip? The more I thought of it the more confused I became.
She could have told me a lie to prevent me from creating some kind of a ruckus
at the time of her marriage. I knew whatever Babuji had told Suri Sahab about
sending me to Chandigarh was pure and simple bluffing. Maybe Mr. Suri had
fallen for that bluff and in order to prevent anything untoward from happening
had asked Anita to tell me what she did. Of course, it was clear that whatever
Anita had told me had been said at the behest of her parents but what about
those last few whispered words? The very fact that she had said them meant
something was definitely going on inside her head.
“What are you thinking, Bittuji? Are you thinking about what
happened in the morning? Forget about it, we are there with you, so why worry? They are evil people, just keep away from
them. If they stay here for long, they will ruin our beloved Kashmir. I am
telling you, Bittuji, these Hindustani soldiers should leave otherwise we will
soon see the waters of The Jhelum turning red, there will be blood flowing all
around, mark my words!” I looked at this wizened old lady and wondered what she
meant by all this. Little did I know that what she had just said would prove to
be prophetic!
“No, Amma, I am not thinking about the morning at all, I
have already put that behind me.” Here I was speaking the truth.
“That’s like my loving son. Put your head on my lap, the way
you used to when you were small”. I did exactly as she said and immediately
felt as if all my troubles had disappeared. I lay down like this and I don’t
know when I dozed off. Suddenly I heard someone shouting and I got up with a
start.
“Khalid you stay at home, you are not going anywhere, do you
understand?”
“Babuji, I have to go to the baker’s and get some katlam,
you know Bittuji loves to have them with his evening tea”.
“Khalid, are you mad? There is a curfew outside, they will
catch you and no one will be able to do anything and how do you expect the shop
to be open today? Do you think the kandhur is Bittuji’s relative that he will
open his shop on the day of a curfew?” Kandhur meant a Kashmiri baker, a baker
who baked rotis etc in the Kashmiri style.
“There have been many curfews in the past six months Babuji.
I know how to beat the curfew and I also know that the Kandhur sells stuff from
his home. Believe me Babuji, the soldiers will not be able to see me, I will be
taking a by-lane. Let me go, please!” I looked at Khalid in utter astonishment.
This man, who had almost been whisked away by the army in the morning, was
ready to take the risk of going out just because he wanted me to have my
favourite katlams! What a man! I could only wonder in amazement at the love he
must have had for me and the family. This was the kind of love we had shared
with our Muslim brethren, this was the way I had seen Kashmiris treat one
another, regardless of their religious faith. And now I was told that Muslims
wanted to kill us all! From what I had seen in the last couple of days, how
could I believe the nonsense I had been fed?
“Khalid, you go, don’t listen to him”. Khalid gave a triumphant
grin and rushed out. Babuji glared at Amma but did not say a word. While Khalid
and Babuji were having this conversation, I had not moved at all, I was still
lying down with my head on Amma’s lap. It felt extremely comforting. How I
wished I would continue like this and just escape from the harsh reality around
me! But how long could I escape, not for long, not for long at all.
“Babuji, there is something I want to tell you”. I had got
up into a sitting posture now.
“Yes, Bittu, what is it?” Babuji asked me lovingly.
“I lied to you in the morning about Anita”. I knew this
would infuriate him, he did not like any one telling lies.
“You mean to say you lied to me? I can’t believe it. We used
to call you Satyawadi Harishchand, when you were in school because you always
believed in speaking the truth, do you remember?” Raja Harishcandra was a king
of the ancient times about him it was said that he sacrificed his kingdom and
even his family for the sake of truth. Babuji was right, I had developed a
reputation of being a truthful boy.
“I had no other choice but to tell lies. Anita is getting
married day after tomorrow but she will not follow the wishes of her parents.
She has booked her air ticket for Srinagar and she will be here on the morning
of the tenth. I can never forget the expression on Babuji’s face. His jaw fell
open, his hands started trembling and his anger started mounting!
What was I in for? I shuddered.
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