by Pran Kishore
‘You need not worry. You show your shawls to Raja Sahib. He will pay you as much as you like.’ Malla Khaliq gave him confidence. The two friends took his leave and sat in the shikaarah.
‘My son, turn the boat towards Dalgate,’ Narayan Joo said to the boatman.
‘Why? What do you have to do there?’ asked Malla Khaliq.
Narayan Joo smiled and said, ‘When your Nisar Ahmed returns after completing his medical training, you should first get him to cure you of your forgetfulness. Don’t you remember that today is Makhan Lal’s daughter’s wedding?’
‘Oh yes. I am really out of sorts.’
Makhan Lal was a big fruit merchant. He paid thousands of rupees to the ruling party as donation for which many rulers often visited him. When Narayan Joo and Malla Khaliq reached his bungalow, there was great hustle and bustle there. Very little time was left for the reception. The two friends managed to congratulate Makhan Lal who was busy chatting with ministers. Then he came to Narayan Joo and Malla Khaliq and embraced both of them. He escorted them to the reception hall. Malla Khaliq glanced all around. He saw a few girls busy preparing the rangoli on which the groom would stand awaiting the bride. He was lost in ruminations when someone placed a hand on his shoulder. ‘As-salaam-alaikum, Haji Sahib!’
Malla Khaliq lost his train of thought and looked behind him to see Haji Ramzan standing there. He had received a marriage proposal of his son for Parveen. Haji Ramzan embraced him.
Malla Khaliq asked him, ‘When did you return from Delhi?’
‘Just yesterday. Parvez Ahmed, too, has arrived here.’ Haji Ramzan looked towards his right and called out to a handsome youth standing there, ‘Parvez, come here. Here is Haji Sahib, proprietor of Gul, Gulshan and Gulfam.’
With much courteousness, Parvez greeted Malla Khaliq. Malla Khaliq was quite pleased with what met the eye and his heart felt the pleasant warmth of trust and confidence. Seeing Haji Ramzan there, Narayan Joo stood up and said to him, ‘As-salaam-alaikum, Haji Sahib! When did you come?’
‘Just yesterday.’ Then he introduced his son Parvez to Narayan Joo. It took Narayan Joo no time to like the young man.
While they were enjoying this warm tête-à-tête, the sound of the conch resounded in the air. The groom had arrived. All the friends and relatives came out to receive the guests. The women came out in the porch of the house and started their wedding lays. The little girls ran barefoot to have the first look at the bridegroom. All the aunts of the bride sang full-throated:
Yindiraazi brwanh brwanh ratha sawaaryey
Haaryi aav varnnyey dyivaa dyev
(The groom, like the God Inder, riding his chariot,
Comes to marry our darling, our pretty mynah)
All the kith and kin and friends of Makhan Lal offered the groom their flower garlands. Then the groom was led to the vyoog.
Malla Khaliq cast affectionate glances at them and then at Parvez, who was standing just near the vyoog. He was thinking about the wedding of his own daughter. He continued staring at the face of the bride till he discerned the face of Parveen in the face of the pretty daughter of Makhan Lal. He snapped out of his dream when the bride and bridegroom were being escorted to worship the family deities.
All the guests left one by one. Narayan Joo and Malla Khaliq drove towards Gagribal. Having passed Dalgate, Narayan Joo placed his hand on Malla Khaliq’s hand and said, ‘Haji Sahib, what keeps you preoccupied?’
‘Nothing in particular.’ Malla Khaliq tried to evade details, but his friend knew well what Malla Khaliq was absorbed in. ‘The boy is really charming,’ said Narayan Joo. ‘You should not dither but send your consent without delay.’
‘You read my mind. But Haji Ramzan did not even utter a word about this issue.’
Malla Khaliq worried that Haji Ramzan might have heard about the trouble with Jane.
Narayan Joo laughed and said, ‘Haji Sahib, why are you being so naive? You go and start preparations for the marriage. Didn’t you see how fervently Haji Ramzan introduced his son to us?’
The car stopped near Nehru Park. Narayan Joo said to Malla Khaliq, ‘Be happy. You should seek counsel of your wife and take this alliance forward.’
Malla Khaliq alighted from the car. He caught sight of fresh pomegranates on a vendor’s pushcart. Without haggling, he bought two kilograms of the fruit and sat in his shikaarah to go home.
Noor Mohammad was sitting alone in a corner and puffing on his hookah. His wife, having washed all the clothes, came in while drying her hands with the bottom of her headcloth. ‘Why are you still here? Is all well?’
‘I am just worried about Nisar Ahmed. I hope he qualifies in the test. His result is expected this month.’
‘Judging by the look on your face, I thought something serious had happened. Has he ever failed in any examination that you are worried this time? Take it from me he will do very well. Get up now, please. You know you have to go to the market.’
Noor Mohammad was also anxious about his father. ‘I do not know why Abba is so late.’
‘He has been here for over half an hour! Now get up and change.’
Noor Mohammad stood up and started changing his clothes.
Parveen brought pomegranate in a bowl and kept it before her father. Malla Khaliq, placing his hand on her head, looked at her face and said, ‘If you were not here, who would take care of me?’
Parveen looked at her mother and said, ‘Do you hear what he says?’
Aziz Dyad smiled. ‘Yes, yes. This is what I have earned after serving him for all these forty years.’
‘But I know Abba quite thoroughly. Nobody can equal him in flattering people.’
‘Yes, particularly when he flatters his daughter and daughters-in law,’ said Aziz Dyad.
Malla Khaliq selected a big pomegranate and offered it to Parveen. ‘Take it, my darling. This is your share, the biggest one.’
‘But how can just one pomegranate suffice for me?’ She stretched out her hand for another one. ‘Take this one too, darling.’ Parveen took both the pomegranates and walked to the isle. Then in one dash, she went to the rear swamp.
Aziz Dyad could make out that something good had happened that made her husband so happy. She asked him, ‘What is so special today that you shower so much affection on Parveen?’
‘Today I saw Ramzan Joo’s son, Parvez Ahmed. I can’t describe in words how handsome and courteous he is.’
‘Where did you see him?’
‘At the wedding of the daughter of Makhan Lal of Gulab Bagh. He had come along with his father. Narayan Joo also liked the boy. He told me that I should not miss the alliance.’
‘Were you able to talk about this with Ramzan Sahib?’
‘How could I talk about this over there? But the way he introduced his son to me clearly showed that he was interested. What is your opinion? Should I send them our consent?’
‘Yes, but wait until they send a message one more time.’
Malla Khaliq sat leaning against the pillow, and brought his hookah nearer. ‘Thank God. Perhaps happy days are coming back to us.’
‘All will be well. You should just take care of yourself now. You should not get upset over every trivial thing.’
Razaq was washing some crockery near the water tap behind the houseboats. He saw a big round pomegranate roll towards him like a cricket ball. Razaq was so startled he could hardly hold the cup in his hands. Parveen stood at a distance, chuckling. She came near him and said, ‘Why don’t you pick it up? It is a pomegranate after all, not a hand grenade.’
He picked up the pomegranate and tried to return it to Parveen. She took out another pomegranate from her pocket. ‘See, I have one for myself. That one is for you.’
Razaq cast one glance at the fruit in his hand and then looked at Parveen’s face.
Parveen said, ‘Stupid. He never understands anything.’ Saying this, she laughed and went away, romping like a gazelle. Razaq stood transfixed, gazing at her retreating figure.
Noor Mohammad looked through the window of his room and saw his father ambling near the ghat and looking towards the lake. He grew nervous and ran to meet him. Malla Khaliq was now on the steps of the ghat. Noor Mohammad asked him, ‘What are you doing here, Abba? Is all well?’
‘I am anxious because Amir Joo is late. Raja Sahib’s spouse has asked me thrice about the shawls since morning.’
‘He might be afraid of Abdullah Shah.’
‘There he comes. Go and tell Rani Sahiba that the shawl vendor is here.’
Amir Joo’s boat touched the ghat. ‘As-salaam-alaikum! Haji Sahib. Am I too late?’
‘Come on now without further delay.’
Malla Khaliq had spoken highly of Amir Joo’s art, so Rathinder Singh and his wife were eager to see the shawls. ‘Let us see what you have brought for us.’ Amir Joo spread out his shawls. Meanwhile, Noor Mohammad came in and whispered something to Malla Khaliq.
Abdullah Shah’s shikaarah had touched the ghat. He seemed to be in a mood to quarrel. On coming nearer, without a salaam, he said to Malla Khaliq, ‘So nice of you! You decided to sever our lifelong relations. Could you not wait for a day or two?’
‘If I could wait, why would I have ever asked Amir Joo to come urgently?’ Malla Khaliq explained his position.
‘That means Sul Joo was right. How did this pauper dare take over from Abdullah Shah who has always saved him?’ Saying this, he dashed into the drawing room of Gul. On stepping in, he bowed before Raja Rathinder and his rani, saying, ‘Good morning, Your Highness!’
Seeing Abdullah Shah there, Amir Joo felt as if he had been struck by a thunderbolt. Raja Rathinder Singh looked at him in surprise.
‘Haji Abdullah Shah, the renowned shawl merchant at your service. I arrived from New Delhi just today. Haji Sahib had sent me a message.’ Saying thus, Abdullah Shah snatched away the shawl from Amir Joo’s hands. Shoving him aside, he threatened him in their vernacular, ‘Now you will see how I am going to ruin you.’ Then like a typical unreliable salesman, he exaggerated the qualities of the same shawl. Amir Joo, with his head hung low, stood up, came out to the isle and walked up to Malla Khaliq. ‘This is what I feared. Haji Sahib, you have ruined me. I had kept these shawls hidden for a purpose.’ He went to his small boat and rowed sorrowfully towards his house.
Noor Mohammad said to his father, ‘What will this hapless person do now?’
‘It is God’s will. The poor chap tried to convince me, but how would I know that this Abdullah Shah would resurface so suddenly.’
Inside the guest room, Raja Rathinder Singh and his rani were already spellbound by Abdullah Shah’s art of persuasion.
Noor Mohammad came near his father and murmured to him, ‘He has already swayed them. Who knows how much he will swindle from them!’
‘Amir Joo had prepared these shawls painstakingly and kept them hidden for his own daughter’s wedding. He wanted to sell them without letting anyone know.’
Abdullah Shah came out cheerfully and walked up to Malla Khaliq. ‘Thank God. The people of royal dynasties always appreciated good shawls. Look at other nobles of today, they cannot even recognize a donkey from a horse.’ Casting his glance around, he said, ‘Where did that beggar Amir run off to?’
Neither Malla Khaliq nor Noor Mohammad gave him any reply.
‘So, should I take leave of you? I have yet to go home.’ Saying this, he tried to keep the bundles of currency notes in his pocket, but Malla Khaliq caught hold of his hand and took him behind the houseboat.
‘What do you want?’ Abdullah Shah asked Malla Khaliq.
‘Our commission,’ said Malla Khaliq, with his hands extended.
‘Since when have you started asking for commission, Haji Sahib?’
‘Just from today. You know we too have to run our house.’
Feeling constrained, Abdullah Shah took out six hundred rupees from the bundle and handed over the money to Malla Khaliq. Malla Khaliq kept the money in his left hand and extended his right hand again to Abdullah Shah, saying, ‘I mean commission. I am not asking for alms. You have been earning at our houseboats for the last forty years. Today is my turn to get the total commission of all these years from you.’
Abdullah Shah separated eight thousand rupees from the bundle of notes and handing them over to Malla Khaliq said, ‘You are looting a poor fellow.’
Putting the money into his pocket, Malla Khaliq said, ‘I will ask Raja Sahib, how much he has paid you. In case you have to pay some more, I shall certainly get that from you.’
Abdullah Shah cast a fierce glance at him and hurried out of the scene, saying, ‘Yes, yes. My father has left behind a fortune for me.’ He sat in his boat, and called out to Malla Khaliq, ‘Haji Sahib, you have not been fair to me.’ When his boat moved away, Noor Mohammad came near his father, and asked him in a broken voice, ‘What is this, Abba? You have violated your lifelong principle of not taking commission from anyone.’
Malla Khaliq took out all the money that he had extorted from Abdullah Shah and gave it to Noor Mohammad. ‘Please go and give this money to Amir Joo.’
When the sun rose, the Dal Lake was enveloped by clouds. It looked like it would rain soon. But after noon, the clouds dispersed and the sun shone again. Malla Khaliq said to his wife, ‘All of us are here together today – is it not a good idea to spread a sheet outside in the open and have our meal?’
Aziz Dyad could hardly believe her ears. It had been a long time since her husband had suggested something like this. He called her daughter and all her daughters-in-law and within no time, all the arrangements had been made out in the sun. Aziz Dyad deputed Parveen to summon everyone. Qadir was the first to appear. Seeing him, Malla Khaliq was very happy and asked him to sit beside him.
While handling out the rice bowls to her daughters-in-law, Aziz Dyad said to Zoon, ‘Will you please see where Razaq is?’
‘He might still be serving lunch to the guests in the boats,’ said Noor Mohammad. ‘Sit down, he will come by himself.’
Razaq had finished serving Rathinder Singh and his family. He poured coffee for Mrs Mundra, cleaned the table and came out.
Naina Mundra took her coffee and sat down on the sofa. She heard the laughter of Malla Khaliq and the chatter of women outside. She drew aside the curtain and saw Malla Khaliq’s family relishing their lunch together. She heaved a cold sigh. In the meantime, her maid entered the room and said, ‘Baba has had lunch and is having a siesta.’ Mrs Mundra looked at her and asked her to sit. The maid squatted on the carpet near her feet. Mrs Mundra drew the curtain aside again. ‘How happy they are together, Tulsi Bai! How fortunate they are. Do you remember the last time Mr Mundra had the time to sit with us for lunch?’
‘Sahib is too busy with his work. He has such a big business, how can he afford such leisures? He is shouldering such a huge responsibility. And this family has hardly anything to do. They sit all the day at their home,’ Tulsi Bai said.
Mrs Mundra sighed again and said, ‘ Yes, you are right. How can he find respite from his work?’
She handed over the cup to Tulsi Bai and then reclined, resting her head against the sofa.
Malla Khaliq’s family finished their meal, except Razaq who was sitting aside and was still eating. He intermittently, but very warily, kept eyeing Parveen. She, too, seeking one excuse or another, kept looking at him, making sure she was not being watched. Noor Mohammad washed his hands, and stood up to get the hookah when someone called him. ‘Noor Mohammad, I have a letter for you.’ It was the postman who handed over the letter to him and sat in his boat to count the letters.
Noor Mohammad checked the envelope. It was a letter from his son Nisar Ahmed from Jaipur.
‘Abba, it is from Nisar Ahmed. Congratulations, Abba. Nisar Ahmed has passed the examination with a first division.’ Malla Khaliq could not contain his joy and stood up. He held Noor Mohammad in a tight hug. The he turned to his wife, ‘Are you still sitting there? Go and make preparations for a niyaz. Our Nisar Ahmed is
now a doctor.’
All the family members came one by one and greeted Noor Mohammad. Mukhta was surrounded by her sisters-in-law. Ghulam Ahmed embraced Noor Mohammad, and Ghulam Qadir also kissed his forehead. The whole family rejoiced. Parveen lifted Aziz Dyad in her arms and gave her a swing. Aziz Dyad screamed, ‘Parveen, you will drop me and powder my bones.’
‘I will not leave you unless you tell me what gift you have for me on this occasion.’
‘I will make you a dress of brocade on your wedding.’
On hearing the word ‘wedding’, she let her mother go and moved aside in a huff. Everyone else burst into laughter.
On hearing this cheerful din, Mrs Mundra craned her head out of the window of the houseboat. Rani Ranthambore also watched the spectacle inquisitively. Malla Khaliq caught sight of Mrs Mundra and came running near her. He broke the good news to her. ‘My grandson Nisar Ahmed is coming home after graduating from medical school!’
Rani Ranthambore heard the news and congratulated him. Malla Khaliq then ran to her and said, ‘Thank you, Your Highness. I can hardly believe that our Nisar Ahmed is now a doctor. He is the first doctor in our clan.’ In the meantime, Raja Rathinder Singh had also come to the veranda. He also congratulated Malla Khaliq, saying, ‘It is really a matter of pride for all of you.’
‘I can hardly believe that the little child who used to play here in our compound is now a doctor. Doctor Nisar Ahmed!’
Watching him from a distance, Aziz Dyad said to Noor Mohammad, ‘Go get your father here. I am afraid he might go mad with joy.’
Noor Mohammad went near his father. Malla Khaliq said to him, ‘Come here, Noor Mohammad.’ He then said to Rathinder Singh, ‘Nisar Ahmed is his son.’ Rathinder Singh congratulated him.
‘It is all because of Abba,’ Noor Mohammad said to him. Then he said to his father, ‘Amma is calling you there.’