Original Konkani Story: Hanv Vanzood Nhay
Author: Sheela Kolambker
Translator: Mitra Borkar
The door bell rang. “Who could it be at this early hour,” I opened the door hesitantly and was taken aback to see a police inspector at the door. Unseemly thoughts came to my mind. The children were at school and my husband had left early for office. I was a bundle of nerves. Could it be an accident or some mishap? I could not utter a word. I just stared at him, openmouthed. Gauging my confused state he asked, “ You are Mrs. ——“?
-Yes, I confirmed
-Do you know Indu?
-Of course, what’s the matter?
-She is admitted to the hospital.
-What for?
-She set herself ablaze,s he is breathing her last in the hospital, but repeatedly calling your name.
If you could come with me….
-Please come in. I’ll be ready in a minute.
-It’s o.k. I’ll wait for you in my jeep. Please come soon. He turned and walked away with a thudding sound of his heavy boots on the floor. I was appalled. Did she burn herself or was she set on fire? Hurriedly I draped myself in a sari, took the keys and stepped out. I could see the neighbours standing in their balconies with suspicion in their eyes to see a police inspector questioning me. I explained to my neighbour next door, “You know my friend Indu, who drops in often to see me. Her in-laws tried to burn her to death. She is longing to see me, that is the reason he has come here, to take me to the hospital. Please keep these keys and some cash to get something from a hotel when the children return from school…also please look after them till my husband comes back from the office and do inform him about this.”
This must have dispelled the suspicion in her mind as her reply was compassionate and gentle, “Keep the cash please. I’ll do the needful, don’t worry about the kids. Go, hurry up”, she said taking the keys.
I got into the jeep. There must have been a whirlpool of gossip behind my back…..I smiled in spite of myself.
“Did Indu really burn herself or……”
…”In her statement she said that her sari caught fire when she was lighting the stove.”
… “What is the degree of burns?”
“I doubt whether she will survive the next twenty-four hours”. He replied in a worried but angry tone. I was surprised at his concern -as if someone close to him was undergoing this agony.— “In her delirium she is calling out your name. That is of course the first reason I have come to take you and then I feel she is deeply attached to you. So perhaps you could convince her to tell the truth. We could teach the husband and the mother-in law a lesson.”
— “People would think twice before committing such heinous crimes, if police inspectors like you with humane feelings worked up into a passion to fight injustice.”
— “Hmmm,” he grunted and fell silent.
Indu…my childhood friend… fair, chubby faced, long but thin tresses of hair and with large impressive eyes…large but disquieted, timid eyes. We used to call her a frightened rabbit…a timid rabbit who would get scared at the drop of a leaf.
There were reasons for her timidity. Her mother had expired at her birth. Her father remarried and Indu had to stay at her uncle’s house. She grew up listening to taunts and sarcastic remarks from her grandmother and from her aunt. She was scared of everybody. Any raised voice was enough to make her nervous, any admonitions would turn her death-pale. Sometimes we would try to have fun at her cost and continuously just stare at her… immediately she would recoil. She was very naive, sentimental, snivelling…tears would swell her eyes for any simple reason. As the saying goes, ‘The midwife might not have fomented her eyes at birth’… it seemed so.
She did not continue her studies after school, but she learnt tailoring and embroidery instead. Her uncle got her married to a boy from Bombay; he had perhaps his own reasons to get rid of her by marrying her so far away. Although I pursued my studies we remained friends. First time she came back after her marriage…it was during Ashaad Pavi, she was the same, nothing had changed. I tried to tease her a little, be a little naughty with her, asking her to share her experiences, but she remained unaffected. I recollect it now. At that time I was too busy with my college studies to realise that in the last 3-4 years after that, she had not visited her uncle’s house.
I was engaged to boy from Bombay. Knowing that I too would have to settle in Bombay, away from my people, I began to think of all the relatives and friends from Bombay. Lo! I remembered Indu and I felt assured of some support.
After my marriage, I dropped in to see her, along with my husband. It was a nicely furnished flat. She introduced me to her mother-in-law and her husband. He seemed to be cool and introvert. Her sister-in-law was married. I thought that Indu’s husband was a perfect match for her. We chatted for a little while over a cup of tea and snacks. I gave her my address and invited her over. My happiness knew no bounds when Indu suddenly visited me one day. I too was eager to share my happy moments, some chats, gossips, lonely moments away from home…everything. There was no stopping me from my outpour. I was so engrossed in telling her all the details that I felt a little embarrassed when I noticed that Indu was gazing fixedly at a distance without paying attention to me. Without giving her a chance to talk, I had gone on blabbering.
-Indu, are you listening?
-Yes, of course. am. Carry on.
-No, now you tell me about yourself. It has been four years since you are married now —What about
having children? Is it a five year plan?
-Not exactly.’
-So?
-Don’t you feel that a couple should come together to have children?’
-What do you mean?
-Mercy! Why don’t you understand?’ She was annoyed at me. I felt sorry for her. I drew her close and comforted her. That touch of warmth broke her restrain. She broke down and began to cry inconsolably. I let her calm down and then what she narrated to me entirely shook me.
She had dreamt of a happy life after her marriage. A spacious flat in Bombay, a doting husband, loving mother-in-law — she had it all but there was a hitch. At night, her mother-in-law insisted on spreading her bedding between the two beds.
-But whatever for? Why the hell?
(To be continued…)
