by Pran Kishore
‘Yes, I accept it.’ The usual warmth and cheer were missing from Narayan Joo’s voice. Malla Khaliq grew nervous. ‘Narayan Joo, are you well? Why do you sound so low?’
‘Who is there beside you?’
‘Nobody. Has something happened?’
‘How can I tell you about the calamity Ghulam Qadir has caused?’
Malla Khaliq stood rooted to the spot. Narayan Joo sensed this, yet he continued, ‘I received a call from Vijay Kumar last night. He told me that the Bombay police have apprehended Ghulam Qadir. Karmakar of Delhi who used to meet Jane quite often was with him. The drugs were found hidden under the inner lining of his bag.’
Malla Khaliq shuddered. His eyes grew dim and he felt darkness closing on him.
‘Now there is nothing to worry about. By some stroke of luck they landed in Bhonsley’s lockup. Vijay Kumar will see him first thing today and find a solution to this.’
Malla Khaliq snapped out of his silence. ‘I always knew this evil son of mine would bring great misfortune to this family. That premonition has always haunted me. He has brought shame on our entire dynasty. He has killed us while we are alive. Now tell me how to convey this message to my family. And what will I tell Zeb?’ He gasped for breath and torrents of tears poured from his eyes.
‘Why don’t you talk? Tell me what I should do now.’
Hearing a cold sigh, Narayan Joo replied, ‘That is what I am pondering over. I hope the plane arrives today. I have to leave for Bombay in two days. I will talk to Raina Sahib and implore him to grant me a ticket from the special quota, if not for today, for tomorrow. As soon as I arrive there, I will meet Bhonsley Sahib. You don’t worry; let us see what God has decided for us. Don’t tell anyone this. We will somehow have Qadir released.’
‘Yes, please reach Bombay somehow.’
‘All right, you keep calm. You may keep Noor Mohammad informed; I trust him as I trust you. Have faith and see how Mother Sharika alleviates our troubles.’
Malla Khaliq’s face had turned dark as if smeared with soot. He felt as guilty and tainted as a criminal who was about to be sent to the gallows. With the ration card in hand, he stood petrified, like a statue. Aziz Dyad, who had been looking for him, entered the houseboat. When she found him standing there, clad in a thin phiran, she said, ‘What are you doing all alone here in this freezing cold?’
Malla Khaliq stood looking melancholic. She said with much affection, ‘I think you are anxious about Nisar Ahmed’s marriage and Noor Mohammad’s helplessness.’
Malla Khaliq paid no heed to her; he had forgotten everything. His heart was sinking. Then he let all his pent-up anger loose on her. ‘Let them do whatever they like, you need not plead for them!’
‘Poor Noor Mohammad too is caught up in a quagmire. Nisar Ahmed says that he won’t marry any other girl. What can Noor Mohammad do?’
‘Have all of you decided not to let me live? If I am a hurdle in everybody’s way, why don’t you slay me once and for all so that everyone is set free? That would surely release me too from this unrelenting suffering.’
Aziz Dyad had never seen her husband so angry and upset. She said, ‘I don’t know what has happened to you; every trivial thing infuriates you. You will freeze into an ice sculpture here. Come, Zeb is waiting with tea for you. You can do whatever you want later on.’
Malla Khaliq put the ration card in his pocket and cursed himself. ‘I should not have rebuked poor Azi like that. The time is not far when I will run after every human being like a mad dog.’ Outside, it had stopped snowing. He thought it proper to inform Noor Mohammad about Qadir. But if he left before having his tea, his wife would suspect that something was wrong. He therefore contained himself and walked to the kitchen.
As soon as he entered the outer gate of the lawn, Noor Mohammad, who was busy shovelling snow from the veranda, flung the spade aside and ran to meet his father.
Malla Khaliq said to Noor Mohammad, ‘Let us go upstairs and talk.’
Noor Mohammad held his father’s hand and helped him climb up the stairs. He made him sit down in the sofa. Climbing up had made Malla Khaliq’s lungs gasp like bellows.
‘What is the problem, Abba? Is Amma well?’
‘I will tell you all. First give me a little water.’
Noor Mohammad ran to fetch water.
‘Oh my God, have mercy on us!’ Saying this, Malla Khaliq leaned against the pillow. Noor Mohammad came with a glass of water. He was followed by Doctor Nisar and Mukhta. Nisar did not lose any time in taking out his stethoscope. Trying to smile, Malla Khaliq said to him, ‘My Doctor Sahib, I am perfectly well. Why do you take out your telescope?’
Nisar made him lie down and started examining him. After a while he said, ‘There is no need to worry, it is a mild bronchitis. The mercury has dipped all of a sudden, and it has snowed much before it should. He has congestion.’ He took out a bottle and a couple of tablets from his bag and made his grandfather swallow them with water. Finally he asked him, ‘By the way, how come you came here so early on such a cold morning?’
‘All is fine. In fact, I had gone to see Ramzan Joo because he had to go to Jammu. Then I wanted to see you and give you new-snow greetings.’
Noor Mohammad did not believe what he said. Malla Khaliq turned to his daughter-in-law. ‘My dear daughter Mukhta, you have lost your new-snow bet. Tell me, what will you serve me?’
‘I would certainly like to serve you a wild duck, but the government has banned killing of wild birds.’
‘So am I to leave this rich home on an empty stomach?’
‘Should I make you a pot of simmered turnips?’
‘Yes, that should be fine. But remember to add mutton fat to it. Not today, but we will fix up another date for the feast.’
Nisar Ahmed remarked sarcastically, ‘Yes, it is fatty mutton that has jammed your lungs.’
‘Oh no, I was just joking with your mother. You may ask your grandmother how long it has been since we cooked any meat.’
Nisar Ahmed looked at his watch, and said to his grandfather, ‘Abba, may I leave? I have to reach the hospital; we are running a camp there. I once again advise you to abstain from going outdoors as it is getting colder day by day. I think we must somehow or the other send Abba to Jammu or Delhi so that he is safe from the chill.’
Mukhta suggested that Abba go to Delhi to spend some time with Parveen.
‘What? May I fill your mouth with candies for this suggestion! Do you mean that I should live at my daughter’s house and eat her food? By the way, if I have to go anywhere, it will be to Narayan Joo’s house in Bombay. He has been insisting that I live there with him during the winter months.’ Malla Khaliq gave her a clear reply.
Nisar said, ‘Of course, he might be going to visit his son soon. You could accompany him.’
‘And what will happen to your old grandmother? Remember, I was fed pure milk and ghee in my youth; this chill cannot do me any harm. God save you! You may leave now.’
Mukhta followed Nisar Ahmed out and then went into the kitchen.
Noor Mohammad cast a searching glance at his father’s face and asked, ‘Abba, you don’t look well. Have you received some bad news from Bombay?’
Malla Khaliq said, ‘Shut the door first.’
‘Abba, what should we do now? Bombay is no Kashmir where we could approach a Prahlad Singh, beg him to free Qadir by bribing the authorities.’
Narayan Joo was already packing his luggage when Malla Khaliq and Noor Mohammad reached his house. Narayan Joo cursed his friend for venturing outdoors in the cold.
Noor Mohammad said, ‘That is what Nisar Ahmed advised him. He has contracted bronchitis. He advised us that we should send him to some warm place outside Kashmir, maybe Jammu or Delhi.’
Malla Khaliq got angry. ‘Are we here to settle the issue of my cold or to think of some remedy for the thunderbolt that has struck us because of that scoundrel?’
Narayan Joo lost his cool too. ‘Are you the only one who is anxious
? Don’t you see how I am already packed and waiting for the call from Raina Sahib? It is impossible to get a ticket for today, but he will certainly arrange one for tomorrow. I beseech you not to get so nervous.’
‘Could Vijay Kumar go and see Bhonsley Sahib?’ Malla Khaliq asked.
‘Yes, he had gone to see him, but Mr Bhonsley is presently on a trip to Nagpur. He is back the day after tomorrow.’
Noor Mohammad nervously said to his father, ‘So Mr Bhonsley might not know anything about this issue.’
‘How does it matter?’ his father asked him.
‘If he were on duty nobody could torture Ghulam Qadir.’
Hearing this Malla Khaliq was aflame with rage. ‘But I pray that they strip his skin off. They should chop him into pieces.’ He started coughing violently.
Narayan Joo stood up, saying, ‘I will get him water to drink; you please rub his chest till then. This is the result of some of our sins.’ He went to the kitchen and Noor Mohammad held Malla Khaliq close to him and rubbed his chest. ‘Nisar Ahmed has told you so many times that you should not get angry. You know how your blood pressure shot up just the day before yesterday.’
‘Let my blood pressure increase and let my skull burst; I wish for relief from this perpetual agony.’
In the meantime, Narayan Joo brought water.
Passing the tumbler back to Narayan Joo, Malla Khaliq said, ‘Qadir is a vagabond, a drug smuggler, and my other son is Naba Kantroo’s son-in-law and a stooge of Abdullah Shah’s. He did not even call us from Bombay.’ Saying so, he became breathless again.
Narayan Joo said to Noor Mohammad, ‘Your Doctor Sahib has rightly advised him to spend the winter in a warmer place. Haji Sahib, should I arrange for a ticket for you as well?’
Noor Mohammad seconded Narayan Joo. ‘Abba, Lala Sahib is right. How long will you suffer like this? Sitting here you are imagining the worst. If you manage to meet Bhonsley Sahib in person, he will surely be lenient. He respects you a lot.’
‘All that respect is now smudged by this drug smuggler of ours. How will I face Bhonsley Sahib in Bombay?’
Narayan Joo said, ‘See, even if I succeed in freeing Ghulam Qadir, I may not be able to motivate him to come back. If he does not respect you, his father, why would he respect me?’
‘Ghulam Ahmed is also there. I will find out where he is staying from his father-in-law.’ Malla Khaliq said all this to save himself from going to Bombay.
Seeing his father being so stubborn, Noor Mohammad said, ‘What are you saying, Abba? He used to play tricks with Ghulam Ahmed when he was here, think what he can do with him there in Bombay. If we don’t act quickly, they will take Qadir to the gallows.’
‘Let them hang him there, he deserves that. I will not go to rescue him.’
Narayan Joo lost his temper and said, ‘All right, let his wife die here many times a day. And you can watch the apple of your eye Bilal wither away before his prime.’
Malla Khaliq grew quiet and finding himself helpless, said yes. ‘I hope that my visit to Bombay will dispel the eclipse that has gripped Zeb’s destiny. But how will I convince my wife Azi that I am going to Bombay only to get rid of my bronchitis?’
‘Leave that to me. You go now. I will arrange for the tickets.’
Having made the decision, Malla Khaliq and Noor Mohammad left for home.
Malla Khaliq had no courage to face his wife, and he used Noor Mohammad as a shield. Noor Mohammad feigned anger and said to his mother, ‘Why can’t you stop Abba from going out in the cold. You should have seen him this morning. He is suffering from acute chest pain. He has contracted bronchitis.’
Noor Mohammad with his pretend displeasure convinced his mother that his father needed to go to Bombay along with Narayan Joo. She immediately said, ‘You should follow what Nisar Ahmed has advised you to do.’
‘But how can I leave you all here alone?’ Malla Khaliq was still trying to seek an excuse to stay back, but Aziz Dyad said, ‘Nobody is going to take me away.’
‘What rubbish! I meant how will you cope with all the household work unaided?’
‘I will come and stay here,’ Noor Mohammad said.
Finally it was resolved that Malla Khaliq would accompany Narayan Joo to Bombay. All the kith and kin, including Parveen, were informed. Parveen came with her father-in-law to see him before his departure.
Seeing Parveen, Malla Khaliq looked around and asked Ramzan Haji, ‘Was Parvez Sahib not able to come?’
‘He has left for Delhi, Abba,’ said Parveen.
‘Some foreign customers are expected to arrive soon, that is why he had to leave in a hurry,’ Ramzan Haji added. It had been decided that Parvez would take Parveen along to Delhi later on. Malla Khaliq gently asked, ‘I think Parveen also was to accompany him to Delhi?’
‘Yes. All of us are going together to Delhi, but after a month or so.’ Ramzan Haji allayed his fears.
Malla Khaliq was now eager to reach Bombay. Never in his life had he kept any secret from his wife, but now he kept his head hung like some shamed criminal and he willed time to pass faster. Finally that day passed. Parveen was to stay for some days. In spite of that Malla Khaliq ate dinner earlier and retired to bed. If she had inquired about Ghulam Qadir, he would have no option but to lie; he considered lying the biggest sin.
Parveen was with her mother in the next room. She said, ‘Some evil eye has jinxed our home. No one in the family has any peace of mind. Ama Lala or Qadir should have kept Abba’s health in mind and postponed their trips to Bombay.’ Her mother in her turn tried to assuage Parveen’s anxiety. ‘My dear daughter, what else could they do? It’s not like they have any job here. You need not worry about me. Noor Mohammad will come to stay here until your Abba returns. You should forget about our problems. You tell me honestly if you are happy at your in-laws’.’
‘They love me more than they love their own daughters.’
‘And what about Parvez Lala?’
‘I don’t know. I fail to understand him. He blows hot and cold. He spends hours on the phone.’
‘He has to, because his business is spread far and wide, even in Saudi. Your Abba says that these days most businesses are run on the phone,’ Aziz Dyad said.
Parveen forced a smile on her lips. ‘I told you, he takes me shopping, to the cinema, and does everything to keep me happy. But many a time, he sits aloof from me, as if he does not even know me.’
‘Try to understand, my daughter, men have to cope with all kinds of problems. When there is some trouble in matters of business, they get so upset that they don’t want to talk to others. I am praying that God bestows the joy of a child upon you. Then he will worship you.’
Malla Khaliq woke up before dawn. After having his bath, he entered houseboat Gul and offered his nimaz. Then he prayed, ‘Oh my Allah, with a heavy weight on my heart, I am leaving my home because of my love for my offspring. Have mercy on me and help me return with respect. Be kind to the one who has lost his way and show him the right path. May his wife’s destiny return to her the joys of married life. I beseech you for nothing else.’
With a sad smile, Zeb looked at Parveen and said, ‘Even if Abba really succeeds in bringing Qadir back, he is not going to give up his ways. You need not worry about me; I will seek refuge at my Dastagir’s feet. He alone will show me the right path. Whatever Qadir becomes, I will still continue praying for him. Abba would have finished his prayers by now. Give this bag to him.’
‘What is in it?’ asked Parveen.
‘Dry morels. Qadir loves dry morels cooked with minced meat balls.’
‘Why don’t you give it to him yourself?’
‘No. I don’t have the nerve to do this.’
Parveen took the small cloth bag from her and was about to leave, but Zeb held her back. ‘Oh yes, one more thing. Did you see the Srinagar Times day before yesterday?’
‘No, I did not. Did any news about Qadir appear in it? Is he well?’
‘The matriculation exam resul
ts have been announced in the papers and Razaq has stood first. I would have never known who that Abdul Razaq was if his photograph wasn’t there beside the news. See what good news I have given you this morning. He used to study till midnight in his shed.’
Heaving a sigh, Parveen stood up. Zeb looked at her forlorn face. ‘Are you not happy to hear this?’
‘Extremely happy, and I know Abba will be happier than I am.’ Parveen sat back down.
‘Razaq always told me that he would come at the top, rise as high as the cliffs of the Zabarwan. And I always laughed at him and asked him to mind his job of scrubbing and cleaning. I sneered at him saying that he would remain doing the dishes till it was dusk and not be able to see even the Sulaiman Teng mountain far away.’
‘My Dastagir will always help him.’
Parveen felt as if her heart was being crushed. Holding her tears back, she rose and left the room saying, ‘What will I get from nursing such dreams? Once lost in life, one is lost forever. May others go on gaining scores, what does it matter to the one who has lost?’
These words struck Zeb’s heart like arrows. She sat near the windowsill and was lost in her own worries. How can I tell this foolish girl that I have lost everything after I thought I had gained everything I wanted. Qadir, who said he was ready to sacrifice his life for me, deserted me after Bilal’s birth. She recollected how Qadir once took her on a trip to Lolab. Her mother was alive then. He made an excuse to Abba that Zeb’s mother wished to spend a few days with her. She remembered how he took her on that trip in a car borrowed from his friend. She remained lost in her memories and days of the past seemed to return in all their freshness. In her imagination, she roamed in the forests of love; Qadir was dressed like the heroes in films. Putting his arm round her waist, he walked her to the foothills. They saw children of the tribesmen searching for something amidst rocks. The thunders from the previous night had made the morels and black mushrooms pop up from the sandy earth. Qadir turned to Zeb and said to her in a filmy manner, ‘What do you say, my darling? Why don’t we go to collect a basketful of morels and present them to Abba?’ Zeb had replied in an equally filmy way, ‘My lord, the idea is not bad.’ ‘Then what are we waiting for?’ he had said. Both ran towards the ravine. ‘You please stay here while I search beyond the rocks.’