Read The Gurkha's Daughter Online

Authors: Prajwal Parajuly

Tags: #FICTION / Short Stories (single author)

The Gurkha's Daughter (23 page)

BOOK: The Gurkha's Daughter
12.07Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

We argued, too. She wanted the books out of the bathroom. I didn't. She said I could take whatever book I was reading and bring it back with me. That way, my magazines and newspapers wouldn't clutter the floor. I told her I'd try, and she looked victorious.

“Finally, you take maid's advice,” she said.

“You don't have to refer to yourself as that. You're a friend.”

“No, no, I am maid—once maid, always maid,” she sang in an off-key voice.

“You're not a maid. You're friend.” These days, I sometimes ignored my articles, too.

“No, maid,” she argued.

“Stop it, stop it, goddamnit,” I screamed. The intensity astonished me.

Her eyes grew bigger, and I could see the fear in them. I had never seen that look before.

I couldn't sleep very well that night. I knew she wasn't doing so well either. Should I have apologized? But it was she who kept ranting about being a maid. She was a maid, sure, but she was so much more than that. And what was she if not a maid? My head was heavy with thoughts, and when four Tylenols and every possible sleeping position didn't help, I staggered to the bathroom with a random book, hoping it'd distract me.

The light was already on, and crouched on the commode, reading a book, was Sabitri.

“Sorry.” I closed the door and went back out into the narrow hallway. “I didn't know you were here.”

“I didn't want to disturb you by put the light in living room on. I will be right out.”

She came into the living room wiping her hands on her shirt. “So you're reading in the bathroom now?” I tried smiling.

“I do that from long time back.”

“But you made fun of me.”

“And you yell at me,” she retorted.

“It's your fault.”

“No.”

“You are not a maid.”

“You are IT professional; I am maid. It's simple.”

“I am sorry I screamed at you.”

“It's fine. It's okay. Don't do again.”

“I won't.” My voice was soft.

“Thanks. Screaming is scary.”

“I know. I am sorry. Are we fine now?”

“I don't know.”

“You read in the bathroom?” I chuckled.

“You teach—taught me.”

“I am a great teacher.”

“A good teacher never yell at his student.”

“See, you are not my maid. You are my student.”

“Okay, I agree. I am student.”

Once we had established what she was in relation to me, Sabitri brightened up and told me about her early-morning phone call with her parents. She seldom spoke to them, and her conversations always involved money. Sometimes the parents were happy, and often they were dissatisfied. They had begun building a house—a cement house, she said—and depended on her to finance it. She wasn't bitter about it, but she wasn't too happy either. She said she made all that money—more money than her father could ever dream of—so she should help them out, especially because she lived in a gorgeous apartment and had
such an easy life. When the demands for money kept increasing, she told her mother she'd send them a fixed amount of $500 every month. They'd have to budget accordingly. I seethed at their selfishness but stayed silent, which was strange because I didn't keep a whole lot to myself these days. When Columbia rejected me a few weeks later, for instance, I didn't hesitate to tell her about it.

“I am not depressed, because I knew I wasn't good enough,” I said, switching on the TV.

“Promise me you will not be angry,” she interrupted.

“No, I won't.” I turned the TV off. “I promise.”

“I am still afraid you will be getting angry.”

“I promise I won't.”

“First, I think I will take GED.”

I was amazed. I couldn't have been prouder. She was taking the American high school equivalency exam. That she even knew about it astounded me.

“Wow, you will do very well. I am so happy.”

“But that's not the main issue.”

She was about ready for the GED. With her diligence, she could prepare for anything. “What's it?” I asked.

“You didn't get Columbia.”

“No, I didn't get into it.”

“So what? Will you go home?”

“I guess. Let me hear back from NYU, although I don't know if I will be accepted. It's almost as tough as Columbia.”

“I talked to a lawyer about this,” she said.

Wow, she had a lawyer, I thought, and repeated it aloud.

“Yes, Anne's son is a lawyer. His friend is an immigration lawyer.”

The articles in her speech sounded beautiful.

“What did he say?”

“You promise you won't be getting angry?”

“No.”

“Okay, first listen to what I am going to say.”

“All right.”

“Do not interrupt me.” Another commendable word. I was a good teacher.

“Shoot,” I said.

She cleared her throat. “I know I am only servant.” She raised her hand when she saw I was about to say something. “I don't even belong same kind of family as you do. And I am your servant only. No one will have to know. I am citizen of America. You need to stay in country legally. You can marry me. It won't be real. No one has to know.” She was nervous now and didn't look at me. “And after marry, you can continue your job. We can get divorce in no time. Please don't be getting angry at me.”

“You're not a servant,” I said. “You've never been a servant. You're not even my student. You and I—what we have is different. You're the only reason I am here today. I'd probably have given up a long time ago and returned to Darjeeling had it not been for you. You will never, never, never call yourself a servant, promise me that.”

She sat there, unmoving.

“I would be lying to you if I said how many times the thought didn't occur to me,” I said. “It came to me every day and every night, but I have too much respect for you to broach it. I thought it would anger you, that you'd think I took this relationship for granted, so I didn't bring it up.”

“You should have brought it up.”

“And spoil this great thing I have with you?”

“And what thing do we have, Amit?” It was the first time she had used my name.

“We know it's special, it's different, so why mess it up?” This sucked the life out of me. We aren't a very vocal race, and I've never been comfortable with talking about feelings.

“You're angry, are you?”

“I'm not. I just think I shouldn't marry you just so I can stay in the country. We will get married when I get a green card on my own account. I'll marry you because you're the one person I want to get married to.”

“It's because I am servant, I know. You don't have to be married to me in real.”

She began to cry. I let her.

G
LOSSARY
OF
F
OREIGN
W
ORDS

Words may have alternative meanings. Each word has been translated in the context used in the book.

THE CLEFT

Aamaa
: mother

aatmaa
: spirit

adivasi
: indigenous people

arrey
: Oh!

Baba
: father

bajiyaa
: rascal

Bhaanjaa
: nephew

Bhauju
: sister-in-law; a brother's wife

bokshee
: witch

chiwda
: beaten rice

chyaa
: expression of disgust

Daai
: brother

darji
: tailor

dera
: rented place

dhaarey
: fattened-up head louse

gori
: a white woman

halla-gulla
: hustle-bustle

harey
: exclamation conveying frustration or surprise

Hulas
: Nepalese cigarette brand

jumraa
: head louse

jwaai
: brother-in-law

kaam
: thirteenth day purification rite; takes place thirteen days after a person's death

keti
: girl

khaini
: tobacco

khanchuwee
: glutton

khasi
: goat meat

kuiree
: white woman

Maaiju
: Aunt

maiyya
: sister-in-law

pagli
: mad

potey
: necklace worn by married women

saasu-buhaari
: mother-in-law/daughter-in-law

shlokas
: hymns

sindoor
: vermilion powder worn on a married woman's hair parting

sishnu
: nettle leaves

Teez
: festival observed by Hindu women for the wellness of their husbands

Tihaar
: festival of lights; also known as Diwali

tole
: neighborhood

tutey-futey
: broken

Yeshu
: Jesus

LET SLEEPING DOGS LIE

baandar
: monkey

Bahini
: sister

beedi
: cigarette

Chui-Mui
: tiny teddy bear that became popular after being featured in an Indian song called
Chui-Mui

Dashain
: Hindu festival celebrating the victory of good over evil

Eid
: Muslim festival

haathi
: elephant

kukkur
: dog

lakhs
: a lakh is a hundred thousand (rupees in this case)

meetha paan
: betel leaf not coated with tobacco

Memsaab
: Ma'am

Musalmaan
: Muslim person

naani
: child

Namaaz
: prayer

Namaste
: greeting by bringing the hands together

oooof
: expression of dismissal

paan
: betel leaf

paanwalla
: shopkeeper

tamasha
: spectacle

zardaa paan
: betel leaf coated with tobacco

A FATHER'S JOURNEY

abbui
: an expresskurtion of fear

arabpatis
: billionaires

Baahun
: Brahmin

Battis Mile
: 32
nd
mile, a town near Gangtok

chulhai nimto
: invitation for the entire family

chyaa
: expression of disgust

crorepatis
: millionaires

Femina
: a women's magazine

gundagiri
: hooliganism

hajaarpattis
: people worth thousands of rupees

Jaisi
: Brahmin sub-caste

janaai
: sacred thread

jwaai saab
: son-in-law

Kaiyas
:
Kaiya
(singular) is a derogatory, if widely used, term for a businessman of Indian origin

kundalis
: horoscopes

kurta
: loose-fitting shirt

Laal Bazaar
: the farmers' market in Gangtok

laddoos
: ball-shaped sweets made of flour and sugar

lakhapatis
: people worth lakhs (a lakh is a hundred thousand) of rupees

lobhi
: miserly

Matwalis
: castes that incorporate drinking in their rituals

Rakhi
: sacred thread sisters tie around their brothers' wrists. Sometimes, the Rakhi is used to establish fictive kinship (i.e. Rakhi brothers and sisters)

MISSED BLESSING

adda
: place of assembly

bekaamey
: useless

burfee
: Indian sweetmeat

chema
: aunt; mother's younger sister

Dashain
: Hindu festival that celebrates the victory of good over evil

khadas
: silk scarves

kinema
: fermented soya

mama
: uncle; mother's brother

naati
: grandson

nana
: sister

paneer
: cottage cheese

parshad
: offering to god

tika
: blend of uncooked rice, yogurt, and vermilion smeared on one's forehead by elders on the day of the Tika

Tika
: the most important day of the Dashain festival, during which elders offer “tika” to youngsters

NO LAND IS HER LAND

aaimaai
: woman

ban-baas
: exile

bajiyaa
: rascal

chamchagiri
: sycophancy

chutiya
: bastard

condo
: butt

daura suruwal
: traditional Nepali outfit worn by men

Dzongkha
: the official language of Bhutan

gho
: Bhutanese national costume for men

Haasnu rey
: asking you to smile

khaini
: tobacco

khukuri
: curved Nepali knife

kira
: Bhutanese national costume for women

kukkur
: dog

loo hera
: look at that

lyaa
: Oh!

Marwari
: from the Indian business community

Ram's ban-baas
: the fourteen-year exile of Rama, the Hindu god

randi
: whore

singara
: fried or baked triangular pastry with savory filling

thet
: alas

wah
: wow

THE GURKHA'S DAUGHTER

Aayo big Gorkhali
: a popular song meaning “Here come the brave Gurkhas”

alooko achaar
: potato salad

Appa
: father

Bada
: uncle

Badi
: aunt

bhara-kuti
: toy kitchen set

Budi
: wife

cheena
: astrological chart

dhog
: gesture of joining the palms in front of one's forehead

didi
: an older sister or cousin

dosha
: unfavorable alignment of stars

gauri bet
: cane

gheeu
: clarified butter

guniu-cholo
: the traditional Nepalese outfit worn by women; a type of sari-blouse

havan
: sacred fireplace

jaabo
: useless

jardiyaa
: alcoholic

kala sharpa dosha
: the unfavorable alignment of stars

laurey
: Gurkha soldier

Magar
: a caste

Manglik
: person born with the mangal dosha, usually considered unlucky

mit
: name by which one summons one's fictive brother, established by the miteri ceremony

miteri
: fictive kinship

mitini
: name by which one summons one's fictive sister, established by the miteri ceremony

Numberee
: term used by soldiers in the Gurkha regiment to summon others of the same year

pittu
: team game played by toppling a slab of stones with a ball

puja
: offering/prayer

Punditjee/pundit
: priest

Ra-ra
: a brand of noodles

safa tempo
: a three-wheeled public transport vehicle

Sahib
: officer

sel-roti
: Nepali doughnut made of rice powder

tongba
: alcohol

PASSING FANCY

Gayatri Mantra
: a Vedic chant recited to remove obstacles

salaami
: bonus win

THE IMMIGRANTS

Ammamama
: oh my god

Baba
: father

chee
: expression to convey disgust

chee hou
: expression to convey disdain

chutney
: sauce

hapshis
: blacks

kaam garne
: servant

kurti
: a loose shirt, shorter than the kurta

BOOK: The Gurkha's Daughter
12.07Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

Other books

Hearts at Home by Lori Copeland
The Apocalypse Ocean by Tobias S. Buckell, Pablo Defendini
Shadow by Amanda Sun
Beautiful Outlaw by Emily Minton
The Drifter's Bride by Tatiana March