Part 41
I had never seen Babuji taking the support of anyone or
anything. People of his age had started using walking sticks but Babuji was
still strong and fit enough to have refused the use of any such crutch. He
would still walk with a straight back. Every step that he took belied his age.
But here was the strong old man finding it difficult to take the few steps up
to the verandah. Abdul Sahib put his arm around Babuji and propelled him forward .
“Hey,Abdul, what are you doing here at this time? Did these
people call you? I am sure they must have thought I am not going to come back,
I know how worried Bittu’s mother must
have been!” He removed Abdul’s arm and started walking by himself. His voice betrayed no sign of any pain
whatsoever.
“No, Abdul, I am fine, I don’t need any help. I felt a
little giddy as soon as I entered and that is why took the support of the wall,
now I am absolutely fine” Babuji started
walking confidently but one could make out the effort he was trying to make in
order to look normal. He looked at me and patted me on the shoulder, without
saying a word. The three of us walked into the living room. Amma jumped up with
such alacrity that I had not seen in her for a long time. She came close to
Babuji but did not touch him. She looked into his eyes, looked at his face and
seemed to be satisfied with what she saw.
“What took you so long? Didn’t you know we would be worried?
This is the first time after your retirement that you have come so late, why?”
Amma’s words may have sounded angry but her tone was bereft of any such
emotion. There was an element of terrific relief in her voice. Had we not been
around, she would have certainly embraced him but such an act was not possible
in front of others. I don’t remember
having seen them in any kind of
physical contact, hadn’t even seen them touching hands, let alone holding each
other’s hands. A younger couple would not have been able to show this kind of a
restraint.
Babuji simply refused
to take help from any one of us. He took off his shoes and then walked towards
his favourite corner at the other end of the room. He was still wearing his
jacket and trousers and therefore found it a bit difficult to sit on the floor.
Normally, by this time he would have been in his night clothes but his schedule
had been rudely upset.
So far I had not been able to muster enough courage to look
at Babuji’s face, I was afraid of what I would see there. I knew even a slight
scratch on his face would send me into a mad frenzy. As Abdul Sahab took his
place beside Babuji, I finally managed to have a good look at Babuji. His face
was unscathed and that came as a great relief, no wounds, no injuries, and no
signs that he had been physically harmed. The army had spared him, as I had
thought they would. I sat down in front of him. He looked tired and haggard.
There was a strange look of despair in his eyes. I had seen anger in those eyes
but never this kind of a dispirited look. Babuji was a man who would always
exude confidence, a man who, even if his feelings were hurt, would never let
his face show such emotions. Tonight, he looked different, he looked dejected,
he looked sad and above all, he looked broken. They may not have had the
courage to break his bones but they had surely succeeded in breaking his
spirit. Suddenly, his eyes fell on the sleeping figure of Khalid. The very fact
that he had not noticed Khalid so far spoke volumes about his mental state. The
moment Babuji entered a room, any room, he would observe everything in just one
glance but tonight he had failed to notice Khalid. This was not the Babuji we
knew!
“Who is that, lying over there?”
“It is Khalid, Babuji, he was tired so we asked him to take
some rest”. I didn’t see any point in burdening him with all the gory details.
“Bittu, do you think I am a fool? I know Khalid better than
you do. He is not the one to lie down until all of us have had dinner and
moreover he never sleeps in this room. Whenever he needs rest, he goes up to
his own room, something is wrong, terribly wrong”. The moment he said these
words he bounded up much the same way as Amma had when she had seen him enter
the room. He walked up straight to where Khalid was lying and stared at him
hard. I could see his facial muscles harden. After staring at Khalid for some
time, he looked straight at me and Abdul Sahab. His eyes had suddenly turned
red, was it anger or pain? He did not make any attempt to touch Khalid. He came
back and resumed his place.
“You know what that beast of a major told me? He said his
men had seen Khalid walking towards Kanya Kadal and had not stopped him as they
were aware he was going to meet his family. The fool I was, I believed him. I
had gone to look for Khalid and all this time I had been satisfied that he was
safe, had I known the truth, by God, I would have killed that major with my bare
hands, not that I am not going to do so now! Look what they have done to him,
just see his face, it is battered beyond recognition. What was his fault? Tell
me Bittu , what had he done, you tell me Abdul, what crime had Khalid
committed?” The smoldering fire of
anger, which had been lying dormant for so long, had finally erupted into
flames.
“Babuji, please calm down, your anger will not help, it will
only make matters worse and it is not good for your health” Abdul Sahab spoke
softly but strongly.
“Anger is the only thing that will help; we cannot take all
this lying down. We have to fight, Abdul, we have to fight”.
“How do you suppose we can fight them Babuji? They are the
Indian army, they have all the power in the world, and they can crush us like
insects. It is better to keep quiet and see to it that we do not do anything to
provoke them”.
“What had Khalid done to provoke them? Is he a criminal? Is
he some kind of a maniacal killer?” Babuji was a handsome man with a very good
looking face. With each word that he uttered his face started becoming totally
contorted with rage. “And do you know what the major told me? Why did it take
me such a long time to come back? Listen to me and you will realize how mad the
Indian army has become or maybe it was already mad? I was told that Khalid was
a foreign spy;I was told all my friends who came to see me were enemies of the
state. I was told that you, yes, you Abdul, were a part of a huge conspiracy
against India. You are a Pakistani spy, Abdul and so are all my friends, the
friends with whom I have spent my whole life! Do you know what they want? They
want me to snap all ties with you people, the major went to the extent of
warning me that it was for my good and the good of my family that I leave
Kashmir. Imagine, Abdul, Imagine Bittu, imagine, Dhanvati, I am being asked to
leave my native place, my beloved Kashmir. Let me tell you, they can kill me
but they cannot take Kashmir away from me or me away from Kashmir!” His words
were resonating in the room like thunder.
“Babuji, it is no point talking about all this. The army is
only doing its duty. The Indian army feels that this movement for freedom is a
threat to India and they have every right to try and crush this movement. Don’t
forget Babuji, almost all your Kashmiri Pundit relatives and friends were
forced to leave because they were afraid of us, afraid of Muslims. We cannot
escape our responsibility for the current state of affairs, Babuji, we cannot”
Abdul said emphatically.
“Tell me Abdul, did you ask my son to leave? Did any of my
Muslim friends ask him or ask my brother to leave? Just because a couple of gun
toting groups started spreading terror by killing some Pundits ,doesn’t mean
that you people, that the whole Islamic community is our enemy? The army is
acting in a manner that suggests all Muslims are to be taught a lesson and a
lesson for what? A lesson for demanding freedom? Is fighting for freedom a
crime? We have always believed that freedom was our birthright, haven’t we?
Listen, Abdul, I am going to fight these people till my last breath, I am not
going to leave Kashmir and I am not going to surrender to these vultures in uniform,
have I made myself clear? Now no more discussion on this”. Babuji was exhausted
and he leaned back and rested his head on the bolster behind him. Abdul and I
exchanged glances. Amma and Sayeeda were sitting like living statues, statues
which someone had tried to break but had not succeeded.
“I am going to serve dinner, everyone must be hungry, Abdul
and Sayeeda, you also have dinner with us, I will not take no for an answer”.
Amma meant every word that she said.
I will help you, Amma”. Sayeeda said and both the ladies
walked into the kitchen. Khalid was still sleeping soundly but soon I would
have to wake him up, he had not eaten since the morning.
“Abdul, I need your help, I know I can rely on you” Babuji
had got up again and there was renewed energy in his voice which took me by
surprise. I wondered what was to come now.
“There is some good news, wanted to tell you, but have been
busy the last couple of days”.
What good news could
there be? Had Babuji become a little
soft in the head after the shocks he had undergone since the morning?
“Of course, Babuji, I am ready to help in every possible
way. What do I have to do, just say it and it will be done”. Abdul also sounded
as if he was also thinking the way I was.
“First, let me give you the good news. Our Bittuji is
getting married.” What was Babuji up to?
“Hey, Mubarak, Mubarak, congratulations, we had no idea.
When is the marriage and when do we have to go to Amritsar?” Abdul asked and he
was genuinely happy at hearing the news.
“The engagement took place in Amritsar and Amma wants the
marriage to take place in Srinagar. By the way the girl is a Punjabi, but that
does not matter. The situation here is such that Lalaji and Bahuji will not be
able to come; we also don’t want them to come. The girl’s parents are also not
coming for the same reason. The girl will arrive on the morning flight from
Delhi day after tomorrow. I want a couple of favours from you, Abdul”
“Anything for you Babuji” .
“I want you to make arrangements for Bittu to go to the
airport and to….” Babuji seemed a little hesitant to carry on.
“Come on, Babuji, what else?”
“Well, Abdul, the marriage is yet to take place. The girl,
whatever her name is. ..Oh yes, it is Anita, cannot stay in our house, not
before they get married. I want you to let Anita stay with you till the
marriage takes place” .I was totally flabbergasted. This was the last thing I
had expected. This man had gone through so much pain the whole day and yet he
had not forgotten me and my problems. I could not help but remember the last
words of one of the plays of G B Shaw play-
“What a man! Is he a man?”
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