Shala (25 page)

It was half past eleven by the time she arrived. I was expecting her to ask me what I was doing there, but she did not. Instead she came by smiling.

‘What took you so long?’ I asked.

‘Juvekar wouldn’t leave me,’ she said, glancing around.

‘Did she have a doubt?’ I blurted out.

‘Doubt?’ she laughed. She probably does not use that word and was amused at the expression. ‘What doubt?’

I did not answer. I should not have asked. In all probability, she may have confessed to Juvekar.

‘She knows,’ she said, giving me a quick glance.

We both smiled.

This time I was not worried about finding ways to stretch the conversation. I was going to talk about our camp. It had been a week since we returned from the camp, but its memory was fresh in my mind.

‘The camp was fun, wasn’t it?’

‘Yes. Very nice. I was hoping it would never end. Manjrekar sir is really bindaas, no?’

‘Pethkar ma’am too,’ I said. ‘Manjrekar sir mingles with us boys a lot, but Pethkar ma’am was a revelation.’

‘But she’s partial,’ she said. ‘She favours that Hibiscus team a lot.’

‘You mean the birdies group?’

‘Birdies?’

‘We call the four of them birdies. They chatter away all the time.’

‘Aiyaa, really? I didn’t know that. Come to think of it, they
are
birdies. They chat a lot and try to impress ma’am all the time.’

‘They are always acting smart in class,’ I added.

I did not know what to say further. My chest was not pounding, but I was at a loss for words. I saw a man entering the lane. She glanced in that direction and we fell silent for a while. The man came walking down and I expected him to look at us, but he merely glanced and went past, lost in his own thoughts. Our town has many nosy people, and I was preparing myself to answer in case he asked something.

‘We should not stand here,’ she said. ‘I have to give a shopping list to the kiranawallah. Will you come along?’

I was tempted to decline. To be seen walking with her in broad daylight! It was a huge risk, but I decided it was worth it.

We turned back and went towards the tamarind tree. The usual crowd of people reading newspapers sat under it. A few cycles were parked there. I could spot some familiar faces, but no one bothered to look at me. It was a busy road. The sun burnt brightly. We moved to a shop next to the tree.

It dawned on me that no one bothers you when you are not bothered! No one in the world can bring any harm to the confident man. He is almost invisible. I used to assume people on the road are waiting to stare at us, gossip about us, point fingers at and tease us. But nothing of the sort happened. The world was busy doing its own thing. People were busy reading newspapers, the banana seller was selling bananas, and bullock carts moved along the road carrying their loads. We walked on our own—Shirodkar and I—but no one cared to glance at us. As if we did not exist! We could see everything, but no one could see us!

I stood outside while she went into the kirana store. The store was crowded. It was probably a ration store as I could see a row of tin drums lined up and people waiting to buy kerosene. Sacks filled with grains, coconuts, wheat, peanuts and what not were stacked outside. Huge drums of kerosene were kept on the steps while plastic buckets hung from the top. A strange, mixed smell of oil and jaggery tinged with that of kerosene pervaded the air.

Shirodkar stepped out after handing over the shopping list. ‘Let us wait here,’ she said. ‘He is packing a few things. He will deliver the rest later at home.’

We stood under the tree. It felt good standing there.

‘We haven’t played the word game in some time,’ she said.

‘Yes. No one gives us a free period.’

‘How come you know the names of so many films?’ she asked.

For a moment, I did not know how to answer. My secret was not known to anyone. But then I realized there was no need for secrets between us. Whatever was mine was hers as well.

‘Well, I have a book,’ I began. ‘It is actually a book of songs, but it lists the names of all the old movies. I will lend it to you someday.’

‘Aiyaa, really? No wonder you know all the names.’

The very thought of lending the book to her made me happy. I wondered what else I could give her.

‘Are you not getting late?’ she asked.

‘No, it is fine. They know that I am at the tuition class.’

‘But the class got over long back. Won’t your Aai be waiting for you?’

‘Aai won’t be waiting but Ambabai would be for sure.’

‘Ambabai?’

‘My elder sister.’

‘Aiyaa! You call her Ambabai?’ she said, laughing.

‘Yes,’ I said. ‘She’s a real Ambabai—fussy and nagging all the time.’

‘My Akka is not like that,’ she said. ‘She’s very nice. She used to help me with my homework earlier but nowadays she does not have time.’

‘Don’t you fight?’ I asked. ‘Ambabai and I are constantly at loggerheads.’

‘Little One and Raju fight all the time,’ she said. ‘But Akka and I don’t. I have an argument with Little One once a while. But then we form two groups—Akka and I on one side and Little One and Raju on the other. We have two parties.’

The very thought tickled me. It must be such fun to have two parties! I was itching to ask whether her Akka had a boyfriend, but then I checked myself. She wouldn’t have liked it. She may be called Akka, but I was sure that she was good-looking and had many boys pining for her. It would make our life much easier if she set the trend of having a boyfriend.

It was fun talking of home, but that wasn’t enough. I knew I had to come up with something better. But words eluded me. I looked at her and saw the lovely light in her eyes. She was with me, but that was not enough. I had to say something different. But then keeping quiet was better than idle prattle. I could have stood there for eternity without saying a word. The way we had sat in the temple the other day.

Just then, Ambabai’s friend Marathe—the one with the long, sharp nose—walked up. I had not seen her coming. Not that I could have done anything about it.

‘Aiyaa! Mukund! What are you doing here?’ she said, looking at me once and then at Shirodkar.

‘Nothing, really. I was just chatting,’ I said in a calm and composed voice. ‘How come you are this side of town? Is
this
your ration store?’

‘Yes,’ she said. ‘But I have not come for ration right now. Wanted to buy some sewai.’

She smiled at Shirodkar. I wondered how Shirodkar would respond, but she smiled sweetly in return—as if they had known each other all along. Shirodkar asked me later who she was.

‘Ambabai’s friend,’ I answered, the moment she stepped into the store. ‘You know her?’

‘No!’ she said. ‘Isn’t she beautiful?’

‘Yes,’ I said. I was eager to tell her she was the only one among Ambabai’s friends whom I liked, but I checked myself.

‘Ambabai’s friends are spread out all over town.’

‘Really?’ she asked. ‘It is not the case with our Akka. She has a few select friends.’

‘That’s good,’ I said. ‘Ambabai’s friends are a real pain.’

‘Why?’

‘They roam around the town acting like spies.’

‘Spying on whom?’ she asked, a smile playing on her lips.

‘Who else but me?’ I said, angrily.

‘Hutt! How you exaggerate!’ she said.

Her words were music to my ears, like the sound of coins tumbling out of Naru mama’s trousers. I wanted to hear their melody again and again. We say
Tchah
! It sounds crude. But the way she said it!
Hutt
!

‘We should not be standing here,’ I said.

‘Why? Because you may bump into another one of your sister’s friends here?’ she asked, with a teasing smile.

‘Yes.’

‘Then where shall we stand?’

I was silent for a moment.

‘I will find a suitable place.’

‘No, no,’ she said. ‘You had better come home.’

‘Home?’

‘Why? What’s wrong with that?’

My chest started pounding again. The idea seemed good, but I was not sure whether I would have the guts to go there. I wondered why she was calling me home. In such situations, no one invited the other person to their homes.

Just then, Marathe came out of the shop. She probably did not have much to buy and hence was out quickly. She smiled sweetly looking at both of us and said, ‘Tell Tai to get my book when she comes to college tomorrow.’

‘Sure.’

That’s it! I muttered to myself, mentally slapping my forehead. Had it been someone else I may not have bothered, but I could not afford to ignore Marathe. And now she had given me the task of informing Ambabai, which meant she would surely know of my meeting with Shirodkar. I was tempted to run behind her and request her to keep my little secret safe. She seemed to be reasonable. After all, she had smiled seeing Shirodkar. She could be trusted. But I did nothing of the sort. I just stood there while Marathe turned and went her way.

‘Hey, girl. Come and take your bag,’ the shopkeeper called out to Shirodkar coming out of the shop.

She went in to collect her bag. We had to leave now.

‘Shall we?’ she asked, looking at me. ‘Which way are you going?’

‘The same way,’ I said. I then steeled myself and asked what I had wanted to for a long time, ‘Will you bunk class one of these days?’

She was lost for a moment and then, realizing what it meant, said, ‘Let me see.’ She gave a knowing smile and said, ‘Achha.’

I had to decide what to tell Ambabai. It was clear Marathe would tell her everything, so there was no point in hiding anything.

Ambabai sat near the dining table reading a book. I washed my feet and then came into the room.

‘I met Marathe today,’ I said. ‘She has asked me to tell you to get her book to college tomorrow.’

‘Where did you meet her?’

‘While returning from my tuition class. I was talking to a girl from my class when she came into the ration store to buy some sewai…’

Ambabai looked at me for a moment. She would never have expected me to openly state that I had been chatting up a girl from my class. She kept looking incredulously at me for a while but did not say anything. She continued reading her book. My ploy had worked. I decided—it was best to be bindaas. There was no need to fear anyone.

T
he next day when I reached our adda there was no one except Chitre. He was not busy with his experiments as usual, but seemed to be lost in thoughts, his head resting against the wall. I sensed something was amiss. There must have been some fight at home.

‘What yaar! Some fight at home, huh?’ I asked.

He shook his head in the negative.

‘Then?’

He did not reply. He kept his bag down. The window grills had already been put. The doors were ready and the tiles had been laid in most of the rooms. The plastering work was complete. Surya’s father had visited a few days back and mentioned that the work would be complete soon and that we would have just one room to ourselves. The rest would be rented out.

I sat near the window. I knew Chitre would confide sooner or later.

‘My bottle burst, yaar,’ Chitre said, without a preamble.

‘Don’t tell me!’ I said, getting up.

‘Yes!’

‘How come?’

He did not reply for a while. He wiped his lips with the back of his palm and then said, ‘I was studying Science this morning. There was no one at home. Aai-Daddy had left for office and Raju was in school. It was just me and that Devaki. She came out after having a bath and asked me to help her hook her bra.’

‘Then?’

‘She was in her petticoat. She stood with her back to me and asked me to hook it up.’

‘Then? Did you?’

‘What else could I do? It was a little tight. She then thanked me smiling and went and wore her saree.’

‘Then what happened?’

‘What else was to happen? My bottle burst then and there. I could not even stand. I went straight into Daddy’s room and closed the door.’

My chest was pounding. The way it pounded while reading
Apsara
magazine during the Diwali holidays.

‘I went and changed my underwear,’ Chitre continued. ‘And then I left.’

I heaved a sigh of relief. Thankfully Surya and Phawdya were not present. They would have asked a thousand questions. Chitre looked miserable.

‘Not much leaked,’Chitre said, ‘but I am really scared.’

‘Let it be,’ I said. ‘You were the one who used to say there is nothing to be scared of.’

‘That’s true. But this Devaki is there all the time. What if she comes and stands before me like that again? My studies will go for a toss!’

‘Why don’t you go and tell your mother?’ I asked.

‘Tell what?’

‘Tell her what she does.’

‘Are you mad? One does not discuss all this with mothers!’

I was at a loss of words. Chitre was looking dejected.

‘Do you get such feelings while talking to Kevda?’ I asked.

‘Tchah! It really feels nice when I talk to her,’ he said.

I wanted to probe him more and, if asked, would have told him about Shirodkar but Surya entered.

‘Ichibhana, what are you guys discussing?’

‘Nothing really. Just talking about some girls,’ Chitre said, winking at me. It worked. Anything else and Surya would not have believed us.

‘Which girl are you talking of?’

‘Sakhardande. Look at the way her breasts are popping out!’

‘She must have found someone to fondle her,’ Surya said. ‘It is damn easy for girls to find someone. It is us who are unlucky.’

Surya needed just a small cue to get started. He went and sat by the window looking out. Phawdya came in as usual, running up the stairs.

Surya was hoping to see Sakhardande, but she did not turn up. Soon Gumaste from class eleven passed by. She had recently joined school. Most of the girls wore a saree and blouse, but some wore trousers and a shirt. Gumaste is on the fatter side and wears the shirt one size too small; it hugs her plump body. Surya
had
to make a comment.

‘Bhaji lo…bhaji…’ he shouted the moment she came closer and then added, ‘Pumpkins….Buy some pumpkins!’

We all burst out laughing. Two other girls accompanying Gumaste looked up. They would not have seen us as Surya had ducked by then. When they were right below the building Surya shouted again, ‘Bring the pumpkins! We have some customers here!’