A Fine Balance (90 page)

“Don’t mind me,” he said. “I’m inspired by the poet Yeats. I find his words especially relevant during this shameful Emergency. You know—things falling apart, centre not holding, anarchy loosed upon the world, and all that sort of thing.”

“Yes,” said Dina. “And everything ends badly.”

“Ah,” said Mr. Valmik. “Now that is too pessimistic for Mr. Yeats. He could never have written that line. But please come to my office, day after tomorrow, and I will bring you up to date.”

“Office? Where?”

“Right here,” he laughed. “This broken bench is my office.” He tenderly patted the pen he had reinserted into the plastic sheath. “Mrs. Dalai, I must thank you for listening to my story. Not many people have the time these days to indulge me. The last opportunity I had was a year ago, with a college student. We were both on a very long train journey. Thank you again.”

“You’re welcome, Mr. Valmik.”

After he left, a fresh group of youngsters became engrossed in plundering the mango tree’s sparse green treasures. Their effort and excitement were amusing to observe. Dina sat for a few minutes longer before starting back to her flat.

A police sergeant and constable were joined in argument with two men over the question of the padlock on the front door. The scene had been rehearsed frequently in Dina’s mind; she felt no sense of crisis. One phase of life was concluding, another beginning. Time for the latest instalment, she thought. A new patch in the quilt.

She recognized the two men, the landlord’s goondas. Their hands looked so different, she realized, thanks to Beggarmaster. The fingers were bent in grotesque ways, misshapen, of incongruous lengths, as in a child’s drawing. The man was dead but his work lived on.

“What is it, what do you want here?” she bluffed.

“Sergeant Kesar, madam,” he said, plucking his thumbs out of his belt where he had stuck them aggressively while addressing the goondas. “Very sorry for the trouble. There is an eviction order for this flat.”

“You can’t do that. I’ve just come from my lawyer, he is applying for a court injunction.”

The bald goonda grinned. “Sorry, sister, we were first.”

“What do you mean, first?” She appealed to Sergeant Kesar: “It’s not a race or something, I have a right to go to court.”

He shook his head sadly; he had a long professional acquaintance with the goondas, and was waiting for the day when they could be put away in the lockup. “Actually speaking, madam, there is nothing I can do. Sometimes the law works just like a lemon-and-spoon race. The eviction has to take place. You can appeal later.”

“I might as well bang my head against a brick wall.”

The goondas agreed with her, nodding sympathetically. “Courts are useless. Arguments and adjournments, testimony and evidence. Takes forever. All those stupid things are unnecessary under the Emergency.” His partner rattled the padlock, reminding the law to get a move on.

“Please, madam,” said Sergeant Kesar, “will you open it now?”

“If I refuse?”

“Then I would have to break the lock,” he said sorrowfully.

“And what will happen after I open it?”

“The flat will be emptied out,” he murmured, shame making his words indistinct.

“What?”

“Emptied out,” he repeated a little louder. “Your flat will be emptied out.”

“Thrown out on the pavement? Why? Why do they behave like animals? At least give me a day or two so I can make arrangements.”

“Actually speaking, madam, that’s up to the landlord.”

“Time has run out,” said the bald goonda. “As the landlord’s agents, we cannot allow any delaying tactics.”

Sergeant Kesar turned to Dina. “Don’t worry, madam, your furniture will be safe. I will make sure they treat everything carefully. My constable will guard it. If you like, I can send him to hire a truck for you.”

She found the key in her purse and unlocked the door. The goondas tried to rush in, as though it might spring shut again, but were foiled by Sergeant Kesar’s arm. Like a traffic policeman, he held it up to block them.

“After you, madam,” he bowed, following behind.

The first things they saw were the tailors’ cardboard cartons stacked in a corner of the verandah. The goondas started to take them out.

“Those are not my boxes, I don’t want them,” Dina burst out, directing her anger at the absent ones –
they
had abandoned her,
they
had left her to face this alone.

“Not yours? Good, then we’ll take the boxes.”

She put away clothes and knickknacks into drawers and cupboards, trying to stay a few steps ahead of the goondas as they began to carry the furniture outside. Sergeant Kesar waddled about after her, anxious to help. “Have you decided where to transport everything, madam?”

“I’ll go to Vishram and phone my brother. He will be able to send his office truck.”

“Okay, I’ll keep an eye on those two. Anything else I can do while you are gone, madam?”

“Are you allowed to help a criminal?”

He shook his head sadly. “Actually speaking, madam, the criminals are those two, and the landlord.”

“And yet I am being thrown out.”

“That’s the crazy world we live in. If I did not have a family to feed, you think I would do this job? Especially after the ulcers it has given me? Since the Emergency began, my ulcers began. At first I thought it was just stomach acidity. But doctor has confirmed the diagnosis, I have to be operated soon.”

“I am very sorry to hear that.” She found the screwdriver on the kitchen shelf and handed it to him. “If you like, you can remove the nameplate for me from the front door.”

He seized the tool with joy. “Oh, most certainly. I will be happy to, madam.” He went off, his guilt a tiny bit assuaged, and was soon huffing and puffing over the tarnished brass plate, sweating as he wrestled with the screws.

“What?” screamed Nusswan through the telephone. “Evicted? You call me after the furniture is on the pavement? Digging a well when the house is on fire?”

“It happened suddenly. Can you send your truck or not?”

“What choice do I have? It’s my duty. Who else will help you if I don’t?”

The men had almost finished when she returned to the flat. Pots and pans and the stove from the kitchen were the last to be carried out. The constable stood guard over all of it on the footpath. Her household, stacked in this manner, did not seem like very much, she thought, did not seem capable of filling the three rooms, or the twenty-one years of her life spent in them.

Sergeant Kesar was relieved that rescue was on the way. “You are so fortunate, madam, at least you have somewhere to go. Daily I see cases where people end up making the pavement their home. Lying there exhausted, lost, defeated. The amazing thing is how quickly they learn to use cardboard and plastic and newspaper.”

He requested Dina to inspect the rooms before handing over custody of the flat. “Are you sure you don’t want the stuff on the verandah?” he whispered.

“It’s not mine – garbage, as far as I care.”

“You see, madam, whatever is left here automatically becomes the property of the landlord.”

“That’s us,” said the goondas, grabbing the boxes. They shut the front door and slipped a fresh padlock on the hasp. Sergeant Kesar completed the formalities; cyclostyled documents were signed in triplicate.

Then the two goondas turned their attention to the boxes, eager to examine their unexpected bonus. “Wait a second,” said the bald one, lifting out a handful of black tresses. “What rubbish is this?”

“Why rubbish?” laughed his partner. “Hair is just what you need.”

The bald one was not amused. “See what’s in the other box.”

Sergeant Kesar watched them for a minute, then hitched his thumbs in his belt. He was ready for action. He remembered the murders of the two beggars – the infamous Case of the Hair-Hungry Homicide. Here was the chance he was waiting for. He unbuttoned the flap of his holster, just in case, and whispered instructions to the constable.

“Excuse me,” he said politely to the goondas. “You are both under arrest for murder.”

They laughed. “Heh-heh, Sergeant Kesar is becoming a joker.” When their wrists were smartly handcuffed by the constable, they protested that the joke had gone too far. “What are you talking about? We haven’t murdered anybody!”

“Actually speaking, you have: two old beggars. This is a perfect prima facie case. The murdered beggars’ hair was chopped off and stolen. Now the hair is in your possession. It tells the whole story.”

“But we just found it here! You saw us open the box!”

“Actually speaking, I didn’t see anything.”

“You have no evidence of murder! How do you know it’s the same hair?”

“Don’t worry about that. As you were saying earlier, silly things like evidence are not necessary anymore. Nowadays, we have nice things like the Emergency and
MISA.”

“What’s
MISA
?” asked Dina.

“Maintenance of Internal Security Act, madam. Very convenient. Allows detention without trial, up to two years. Extensions also available on request.” He smiled sweetly and turned to the goondas again. “I almost forgot to tell you – you have the right to remain silent, but if you do, my boys at the station will process your bones to help you confess.”

The two were made to squat with their handcuffed hands draped over their heads. Sergeant Kesar was not yet ready to take them in. He stuffed the hair back in the box. “Exhibit A,” he said to Dina. “Don’t worry, madam, I’m waiting here till your truck comes. Who knows how many of your possessions will vanish if I leave. Once you are safely on your way, I’ll take these dogs to the station.”

“Thank you very much,” said Dina.

“No, thank you. You have made my day.” He checked if his holster flap was secure. “You like Clint Eastwood films, madam?
Dirty Harry?”

“I’ve never seen them. Are they good?”

“Very thrilling. Highly action-packed dramas.” He added with a wistful smile, “Dirty Harry is a top-notch detective. He delivers justice even when the law makes it impossible.” Lowering to a whisper, he asked, “By the way, madam, how did the hair come to your verandah?”

“I’m not sure exactly. There were two tailors working for me, and they had a friend, a hair-collector, and – I’m not sure, they’ve all disappeared.”

“Lots of people have disappeared in the Emergency,” he said, shaking his head. “But you know, you may have been unknowingly mixed up with homicidal maniacs. Thank your stars, madam, that you escaped unharmed.”

“But then, these two goondas are not really guilty, are they?”

“Actually speaking, they are – of other crimes. They definitely deserve jail, madam. It’s like debit and credit, double-entry bookkeeping. In a way, Dirty Harry is also an accountant. The final balance is what’s important to him.”

She nodded, watching a flock of crows rooting in the congealed gutter across the street. They jostled and squabbled over tidbits. Then the truck arrived.

“You have children?” she asked Sergeant Kesar, while Nusswan’s men loaded the furniture.

“Oh yes,” he said proudly, pleased by her question. “Two daughters. One is five years, other is nine.”

“They go to school?”

“Oh yes. The older one is taking sitar lessons also, once a week after school. Very expensive, but I do overtime for her sake. Children are our only treasure, no?”

When the truck was ready, she climbed in beside the driver and thanked Sergeant Kesar again for his help. “My pleasure,” he said. “All the best, madam.”

“The same to you. I hope your ulcer operation goes well.”

The driver took a while to reverse the truck, for the way was narrow. Emerging through the gate, she saw Ibrahim behind the pillar, holding out his tin can to passersby.

As the truck passed, he tried to lift his hand to his fez in farewell. But the pain in his shoulder stopped him. He tugged at the collar of his sherwani instead, and waved.

S
orry I’m late,” said Nusswan, kissing Ruby’s cheek and then hugging his sister. “These never-ending meetings.” He rubbed his brow. “The truck brought everything safely?”

“Yes, thank you,” said Dina.

“I suppose your beggars and tailors and paying guest have all wished you Au Revoir.” He laughed at his joke.

“Stop it, Nusswan,” said Ruby. “Be nice to her, she has been through a lot.”

“I’m only teasing. I can’t tell you how happy I am that Dina is back.”

His voice grew softer, and filled with emotion. “For years and years I have prayed to God to bring you home. It hurt me so much, you choosing to live alone. In the end, only family will be of help – when the rest of the world turns its back on you.”

He swallowed a lump in his throat, and Dina was touched. She helped Ruby set the table, fetching the water jug and glasses. They were in their usual place in the sideboard. Nothing had changed here in these many years, thought Dina.

“No more humiliation with tailors or beggars,” said Nusswan. “No need for them, you don’t have to worry about money anymore. Just make yourself useful in the house – that’s all I ask.”

“Nusswan!” scolded Ruby. “Poor Dina always used to help me. One thing she is not is lazy.”