It was a lazy, Sunday afternoon. I seriously do not seem like doing anything on those days apart from sleeping on the bed with a warm enough blanket and maybe a cup of coffee with a good book or a good movie. That would make an ideal Sunday afternoon. That day, however, this usually attractive and pleasurable habit seemed to repulse me. But then, I always have a remedy - Vishwa! I decided to pay him a visit. Now, do not ask me where he finds the money to maintain the house. All I have ever seen him do is talk to people or narrate stories and eat-n-drink at Ramu's.
His house was clean and tidy. Everything was in its place - organised. Surely, a guy cannot keep his house so neat. There must be a bai behind all this. Still, where did he find the money to appoint her? There are a lot of dimensions to Vishwa that I still need to understand.
Vishwa's trunk was there and I peered into it, with curiosity. Among all the other stuff, there was a yellowed envelope in it. Knowing it would be indecent to look into it without his knowledge, I asked him if I could open it. Looking at the envelope, Vishwa smiled. I couldn't comprehend.
"Vishwa, what is it that you are smiling about?" I asked.
"The envelope you are holding right now, has a story associated with it" he said.
I settled down and so did he before he began narrating in his usual, lucid style:
"As you know, I never stay in one place. I keep going to different places. And wherever I go, I do not beg for money or food. I try to find myself a job and feed myself through that.
It so happened that on one of my tours, years back, I happened to stop in a village. I felt that I could stay in that village for a few months and rest myself before moving on. So, I decided to contact the Chairman of the village. That Chairman was a big, tough-looking guy, but hollow from inside. He was respected because his family was the richest in the village and half the people in the village were in debt for generations - taken by their forefathers from the forefathers of the Chairman.
Before going to the Chairman, I had gathered enough information about him - that he had two wives and 3 daughters, that he also had a mistress, his house was the only one in the village to have a transistor and also that he was obsessed with English. Though he did not know English, he wanted his children to learn English. I went to him and introduced myself. I asked him for shelter, a job and did not forget to mention my fluency in English.
That did it! I was offered a room in his house, so that I could take English classes for his daughters. The deal was that I need not pay anything as rent or for food or anything else. There was a catch - he wouldn't pay me for the classes as well! He was smart!
I agreed to take the English classes - with a condition that other people in the village may also attend. Though slightly reluctant, he agreed. And my English classes began.
People of all ages came. I am not being vain, but I was good-looking enough to get all the young women in the village to enroll for classes. And following them, came the guys! The numbers were huge - around 60, I guess. 60 people for an English class, back then, in a village was huge! I stayed in that village for around 3 months. People there got attached to me and me, to them. In all their little fights, petty daily issues, I could see life brimming out. They were illiterate. They were uneducated. However, let me tell you, they were alive!
Coming back to the English class, I must confess, I did not make much progress except that the Chairman's daughters learnt quite a bit.
One night, the Chairman's eldest daughter came to my room. She was a very beautiful girl. She had beautiful eyes that I still, sometimes, see in my dreams! "Vishwa Sir, I have something to give you" she said and gave me the envelope. She ran out blushing! To be frank, I could see that coming. For a few days I had observed that she took special initiative in tending to my needs. However, I wasn't ready for it. Besides, what would the Chairman think of me? Forget thinking, what would he do to me - with all those musclemen of his!? I still clearly remember what the letter - now in your hand - had.
'Dear Vishwa Sir,
I not know how to write this. If English is bad, please maafi.
From the day I saw you, you are in my heart. I stay cannot without seeing your beautiful face with that thin muchi. I talk to father. You talk also to father and arrange marrage. I will not live without you'
After about an hour or so, she came into the room on the pretext of calling me to dinner. She asked about the letter. I said "See, it should be 'I do not know' not, 'I not know'. It is not 'maafi' in English. It is 'Please forgive me'. Instead of 'I stay cannot' you must write 'I cannot stay'. For 'muchi', it is moustache. It should be 'You also talk to father' and the spelling is 'marriage'. This is all I can tell you."
I could see she was terribly heartbroken. She went away crying. I knew it would be disastrous for me to stay there any longer. So, the next day, I told the Chairman that I had spent quite sometime in their village and would like to move on. He agreed and gave me some money, to cover my expenses till I found the next stop. I left that very day."
I was silent for a while. "Vishwa, if you still see those eyes in your dreams, why didn't you accept her?" I asked.
"Come on! You don't expect me to be tied down to a single place, do you? I can't take all that responsibility of a family. It is not my cup of tea. Yes, sometimes I do feel that I need to have someone that I can call family. But, the very next moment I realise that it is not for me. Don't bother about all that. Come, let's go and have something at Ramu's" Vishwa said, getting ready to go out.
His house was clean and tidy. Everything was in its place - organised. Surely, a guy cannot keep his house so neat. There must be a bai behind all this. Still, where did he find the money to appoint her? There are a lot of dimensions to Vishwa that I still need to understand.
Vishwa's trunk was there and I peered into it, with curiosity. Among all the other stuff, there was a yellowed envelope in it. Knowing it would be indecent to look into it without his knowledge, I asked him if I could open it. Looking at the envelope, Vishwa smiled. I couldn't comprehend.
"Vishwa, what is it that you are smiling about?" I asked.
"The envelope you are holding right now, has a story associated with it" he said.
I settled down and so did he before he began narrating in his usual, lucid style:
"As you know, I never stay in one place. I keep going to different places. And wherever I go, I do not beg for money or food. I try to find myself a job and feed myself through that.
It so happened that on one of my tours, years back, I happened to stop in a village. I felt that I could stay in that village for a few months and rest myself before moving on. So, I decided to contact the Chairman of the village. That Chairman was a big, tough-looking guy, but hollow from inside. He was respected because his family was the richest in the village and half the people in the village were in debt for generations - taken by their forefathers from the forefathers of the Chairman.
Before going to the Chairman, I had gathered enough information about him - that he had two wives and 3 daughters, that he also had a mistress, his house was the only one in the village to have a transistor and also that he was obsessed with English. Though he did not know English, he wanted his children to learn English. I went to him and introduced myself. I asked him for shelter, a job and did not forget to mention my fluency in English.
That did it! I was offered a room in his house, so that I could take English classes for his daughters. The deal was that I need not pay anything as rent or for food or anything else. There was a catch - he wouldn't pay me for the classes as well! He was smart!
I agreed to take the English classes - with a condition that other people in the village may also attend. Though slightly reluctant, he agreed. And my English classes began.
People of all ages came. I am not being vain, but I was good-looking enough to get all the young women in the village to enroll for classes. And following them, came the guys! The numbers were huge - around 60, I guess. 60 people for an English class, back then, in a village was huge! I stayed in that village for around 3 months. People there got attached to me and me, to them. In all their little fights, petty daily issues, I could see life brimming out. They were illiterate. They were uneducated. However, let me tell you, they were alive!
Coming back to the English class, I must confess, I did not make much progress except that the Chairman's daughters learnt quite a bit.
One night, the Chairman's eldest daughter came to my room. She was a very beautiful girl. She had beautiful eyes that I still, sometimes, see in my dreams! "Vishwa Sir, I have something to give you" she said and gave me the envelope. She ran out blushing! To be frank, I could see that coming. For a few days I had observed that she took special initiative in tending to my needs. However, I wasn't ready for it. Besides, what would the Chairman think of me? Forget thinking, what would he do to me - with all those musclemen of his!? I still clearly remember what the letter - now in your hand - had.
'Dear Vishwa Sir,
I not know how to write this. If English is bad, please maafi.
From the day I saw you, you are in my heart. I stay cannot without seeing your beautiful face with that thin muchi. I talk to father. You talk also to father and arrange marrage. I will not live without you'
After about an hour or so, she came into the room on the pretext of calling me to dinner. She asked about the letter. I said "See, it should be 'I do not know' not, 'I not know'. It is not 'maafi' in English. It is 'Please forgive me'. Instead of 'I stay cannot' you must write 'I cannot stay'. For 'muchi', it is moustache. It should be 'You also talk to father' and the spelling is 'marriage'. This is all I can tell you."
I could see she was terribly heartbroken. She went away crying. I knew it would be disastrous for me to stay there any longer. So, the next day, I told the Chairman that I had spent quite sometime in their village and would like to move on. He agreed and gave me some money, to cover my expenses till I found the next stop. I left that very day."
I was silent for a while. "Vishwa, if you still see those eyes in your dreams, why didn't you accept her?" I asked.
"Come on! You don't expect me to be tied down to a single place, do you? I can't take all that responsibility of a family. It is not my cup of tea. Yes, sometimes I do feel that I need to have someone that I can call family. But, the very next moment I realise that it is not for me. Don't bother about all that. Come, let's go and have something at Ramu's" Vishwa said, getting ready to go out.
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