Boudi answered with the equanimity of a sage in her voice, ‘That would be limiting of Allah to know just one language. He used Arabic because he thought it was apt for the revelation.’
‘But why?’
‘You don’t question the word of Allah,’ said Boudi.
‘When you meanyou, do you mean Muslims or do you meanmeas well?’
‘Where is all this coming from? Did Maa–Baba say anything?’
I shook my head.
She sighed and came and sat next to me. Boudi said, ‘Hindus and Muslims have always found pretexts to cut each other to pieces. You see when the British left, we didn’t kill our British oppressors who persecuted us, partitioned us, but we killed each other. We forgave the British immediately, but we will never forgive our own people. Like when Kashmir is no longer an issue, we will find a new reason to be at each other’s throats and it might last another hundred years for all we know.’
‘Will it ever end?’
‘Not in our lifetimes, Raghu, not in our lifetimes. But things can change, right? Look at your Maa–Baba. They have accepted me in their little ways, have they not?’
‘They have, I guess.’
‘You still don’t know where Brahmi is?’ she asked. I shook my head. ‘She will reach out. Don’t worry.’
I am sure she will. But when?
30 November 1999
Dada’s birthday has always been a dull affair. One-armed hugs.Paesh. Maangsho. Pulao. And that’s it. No gifts. No big smiles. No hullabaloo. But today was different. A certain excitement had gripped the Ganguly household. The house was being wiped and dusted and swept clean. Two maids and Maa–Baba had turned the house upside down and were putting it back together.
‘There’s a puja in the evening. Pundits from Kali Baari are coming, it’s for Anirban’s birthday,’ said Maa.
With Brahmi’s abandonment of her school and me and our love, everything had been a little fuzzy. It’s been eleven days now. I have checked the newspapers every day for any suicides in the Gurgaon area.
Thankfully Maa–Baba or even Dada haven’t noticed the bereavement on my face for Maa’s new obsession with Zubeida Boudi’s pregnancy hardly gives her time, and during her spare time I’m usually outside Brahmi’s house, looking for signs of life.
I took no part in the day’s proceedings. Instead, I stared at the landline, willing it to ring, knowing full well she wouldn’t call.
As our apartment slowly transformed into a temple, I left the haze of the agarbatti smoke behind and went looking for Arundhati, who had been looking for me as well.
‘Boyfriend?’ I asked as we walked around in the apartment’s park.
‘Yes. He asked, me and I said yes. On the last day of the exams,’ she said.
‘Sahil knows?’
‘Not yet,’ said Arundhati. ‘But Rishab is going to tell him today.’
Arundhati told me she was thankful to me for making me meet him. Quite frankly, I couldn’t find it in my heart to be happy for them. How could they decide on pursuing a new relationship, fall in love, when a friend of theirs was going through what she was? I faked a smile and congratulated her and wished her the best of luck. They were not really my friends. They just filled the hours in my day.
It was still early evening when I was sent to Dada’s house in order to fetch him and Boudi.
I rang the bell and waited. Through the rusted iron mesh of the gate, I saw Boudi’s swollen red eyes staring back at me. Dada came and got the door while Boudi disappeared inside the bathroom to wash her face. She came out smiling. I was asked to watch television while Dada said he needed to talk to Boudi. Pumping the volume of the television to the maximum, I pinned my ears to the door to discern the nature of the assault that had reduced Boudi to tears.
‘I can’t wear this,’ said Boudi, crying again.
‘It’s just for one day, Zubeida. Maa will be happy if you wear this. Everyone will be old and married in today’s puja. No one’s going to look at you, trust me. Why don’t you look at it this way? Maa is finally accepting you! Her friends from the kitty and the colony will be there. It’s her way of showing you that you’re a part of our family.’
‘Anirban, I can’t!’
‘It’s just for an hour . . . Fine, do what you will do then,’ mumbled Dada and stormed out.
