***
The next morning they left the house together for their off-campus jobs. After taking the subway to Fulton Street, the three men split off in different directions.
Lucky's job was straightforward. His main responsibilities were running the counter, taking care of the money, and managing purchasing and billing. Being an excellent MBA student, his responsibilities were easily managed. The owner was also a good person and fed him lunch, so Lucky was extremely happy at his job.
When Raj reached the restaurant, he saw Nitu getting ready for the buffet. She watched him come in, and then looked at a man standing by the register. "He's the guy," she said flatly, pointing at Raj. The man at the register was broad-shouldered and overweight, with a potbelly that hung over his belt. It looked as though he hadn't shaved in several days, which gave his face a slightly sinister look, and he didn't seem to be someone who enjoyed people. He approached Raj and said, "Yes?"
"Madamji asked me to come for the job," Raj said politely.
"Which job?" the man asked.
"Cooking," Raj answered.
"Kid, like you can cook?" the man laughed loudly, and Nitu snickered while she filled the napkin dispensers. Suddenly the kitchen door opened and madamji came out.
"What's going on?" she asked.
"Namaste, Madamji," Raj said.
"Did you hire this kid?" the man bellowed.
The woman's features sharpened, and she didn't even look at the man when she replied in a low hiss. "This is my father's restaurant. You don't tell me what to do." Straightening her shoulders, the woman stood taller and pushed her hair off her face. She closed her eyes and took a long, deep breath in, and then slowly exhaled, as though she were trying to cleanse the bad air that hung over them. When she opened her eyes, her countenance had softened and she smiled at Raj.
"You can go downstairs and put on an apron," the woman said. Raj put his head down and started walking as she directed.
"Hey! Wait. Where are you going?" the man shouted.
"Let him go," the woman said through clenched teeth.
Poor Raj kept walking down into the basement. He could hear their fighting, and although he couldn't make out everything clearly, he learned that the man was the manager of the restaurant and the woman's husband. It was obvious that their relationship wasn't exactly cordial, but Raj didn't know what to do. Yesterday he was celebrating his good fortune at finding a job, and today he was already in jeopardy of losing the job despite the fact that he hadn't done a single day's work. He put on the cooking gown that hung on a hook, and just stood at the bottom of the stairs for a while, debating his options, not that he had many. The shouting went on for some time, and then Raj heard a loud bang, as though someone had opened the main door and slammed it shut with great force. Raj's stomach lurched, and he decided that he was probably better off leaving immediately.
He took off the apron, threw it back on its hook and started up the stairs, only to be intercepted halfway up by madamji.
"What are you doing down there? Do you want a special invitation?" she said. Raj shook his head and followed her up the stairs, trying not to notice the exaggerated way she swayed her hips. Once in the kitchen, madamji began explaining everything. Raj tried to focus on her instructions, but was distracted by his overwhelming relief that he still had a job. Regardless of what he thought of her inappropriate flirtations, Raj couldn't deny that she had gone out of her way to protect him, and he owed her a debt of gratitude.
Madamji introduced Raj to the other kitchen staff. He was supposed to work under a senior Punjabi man named Dalbir. As a test of his culinary skills, madamji asked Raj to cook paneer makhani, and then she stepped out of the kitchen to check on Nitu's progress on setting up for the buffet.
"Where are you from?" Dalbir asked.
"Delhi," Raj answered. It wasn't exactly a lie; Raj had worked in Delhi for some time, and he thought that he stood a better chance with a Punjabi if he said he was from Delhi and not Kashmir.
"Student?" Dalbir inquired as he passed Raj the ingredients for the dish.
"Haanji," Raj answered and started cooking. Dalbir watched his technique closely. Quickly Raj cooked the dish, added coriander dressing, and asked Dalbir to taste it.
"Mast," Dalbir said, licking his fingers. "I'm impressed!" He patted Raj on the back, and then told him to take the dish out to the women. Madamji sat at a table, and asked Raj to take the chair beside her. Taking a spoonful of the paneer makhani, she looked at Dalbir through the window on the kitchen door before bringing the food to her lips. Dalbir gave her a thumbs-up sign.
"Hmm?perfect. Very good," she said, running her tongue over her lips in an exaggerated fashion. "You are officially hired."
"Haanji, Madamji," Raj nodded. Madamji turned in her chair and asked Nitu to get some flour from the basement, then turned her attention back to Raj.
"You don't have to call me madamji. You can call me by my name - Manpreet," she said, and she placed her hand on Raj's hand, which was resting in his lap.
"Haanji, Madamji? sorry. Manpreetji," Raj said. Manpreet laughed.
"Don't be scared. I am your new friend," she said, still holding his hand in hers.
"Haanji," Raj nodded.
Manpreet heard Nitu coming up the basement stairs, and quickly withdrew her hand. "Go help Dalbir in making the buffet, Raj," she said as she got up from the table.
Raj went back to the kitchen and followed Dalbir's instructions for the buffet food. He immediately took a liking to Dalbir, and found him to be a very kind, patient, and helpful manager. As Raj cooked, he kept looking through the kitchen door, trying to observe the patrons' reactions to the food they kept piling onto their plates.
At around 3 pm, the buffet was over, and it was a quiet time for the restaurant. Manpreet encouraged Raj to eat from the leftovers at the buffet, and since he hadn't had breakfast and had worked hard the whole day on an empty stomach, he gladly took her up on the offer. The buffet had a wide variety of Indian food, including vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes. Raj made up a plate with a little of everything, and took it to the basement to eat. The best part was the gulab jamuns, a sweet dish that was Raj's favorite. Raj kept shoveling food into his mouth because soon he would have to start preparing for the dinner crowd. Dalbir, who was also eating with Raj, understood Raj's situation well and didn't disturb him.
Manpreet had left the restaurant, but not before telling Dalbir that her husband Pankaj would come for the evening shift and manage the restaurant. Raj was not happy to hear that Manpreet would not be there all evening, and that he might have to deal with Mr. Singh without her protection. He was careful to follow Dalbir's instructions perfectly so that there wouldn't be any problems with the food, hoping this would be enough to keep Mr. Singh happy, or at least satisfied enough to leave Raj alone. Raj even tried to be pleasant to Nitu, although she didn't treat him very well. The happier he could keep these people, the easier his life would be, so he smiled at Nitu whenever he saw her.
At around 6 o'clock, Pankaj pulled up to the back entrance of the restaurant in a big pickup truck. He entered through the kitchen's rear exterior door and found Raj.
"Hey you! Go unload the truck," he barked.
Raj nodded and quickly went outside, and Dalbir tried to follow him to help unload, but Pankaj stopped him. The restaurant had no equipment for the task, and Raj had to carry 100-pound bags of flour and rice on his back to the basement. But Raj had the build for the job, and after a heavy lunch, he actually looked forward to some physical exertion, so he unloaded the truck without complaint.
Pankaj sat on the concrete steps next to the loading dock, chewing his paan and spitting out half-chewed betel nuts mixed with saliva near Raj whenever he came to pick up another load. Raj ignored him, and when he'd finished unloading the truck, he went back into the kitchen. Dalbir had been watching Pankaj from the doorway, and was disgusted by his behavior. But he wasn't su
rprised by it, and he knew that this was just the beginning of the harassment. Raj would not have an easy time with Mr. Singh, but as long as he kept Manpreet happy, he'd be okay. Dalbir reassured Raj of this fact as he handed him a cool lassi from the refrigerator and told him to take a break for a few minutes.
Soon customers started arriving for dinner, and Nitu took their orders and gave them to Dalbir. Raj and Dalbir worked well together, quickly learning each other's methods and preferences, Raj knowing which jar of spice to hand to Dalbir and when, and Dalbir passing him chopped onion and garlic just as the coriander seeds began to sizzle in the oil. Their communication was silent but completely effective, and the evening passed quickly as Raj enjoyed his time with Dalbir. For his part, Pankaj knew better than to berate Raj in front of his customers, so the hours Raj spent in the kitchen with Dalbir were all the more pleasant for the fact that Pankaj made himself scarce. Raj did notice one person that Pankaj was not making himself scarce around, however, and that was Nitu. He'd actually spent an inordinate amount of time with her, following her around like a puppy and looking for even the smallest reason to lay his fat hands on her, which she seemed to enjoy. Raj didn't think Manpreet would approve of her husband's behavior, but it was none of his business. The more time the old man spent flirting with Nitu, the less time he spent harassing Raj.
By 10 o'clock, most of the customers had cleared out, which meant one thing: It was drinking time for Pankaj. He sauntered into the kitchen, pleased with himself after an evening of flirting with Nitu, and took a big bottle of beer from the refrigerator while grabbing a mug. After downing half the mug in a few large and loud gulps, he offered it to Raj. Raj respectfully declined, telling Pankaj that he didn't drink alcohol. Pankaj laughed derisively and belched. He then turned to Nitu, who had joined them in the kitchen, and began flirting with her again, this time right in front of Raj and Dalbir. Nitu flirted back, occasionally taking a drink of his beer.
A few beers later and Pankaj was flat out drunk. He got up from his chair, but lost his balance and dropped his mug, shattering the glass and splashing beer all over the kitchen floor. Dalbir asked Raj to pick up the pieces of broken glass and mop the floor, and told Pankaj to just stand where he was until Raj had finished. Raj dropped down to his knees and began to carefully collect the broken pieces of glass, but Pankaj was not a patient man on a good day, let alone this evening after his earlier emasculating argument with Manpreet. He tried to walk out of the kitchen, but the combination of his inebriation and a floor slippery with beer was too much for him, and he fell down hard on his hands and knees. Raj moved quickly to help him up.
"Mr. Singh, are you okay?" Raj asked, grabbing him under his arm. Pankaj stood up with Raj's support, and then looked at the floor, which was now covered in beer, broken glass, and his own blood. The sight of the blood made him livid, and with unexpected speed, he yanked his arm away from Raj and slapped him across the face.
"You bastard! Why did you not clean the floor quickly?"
The slap was the last thing Raj had expected, though perhaps he should have been more prepared. His face turned bright red, and his body trembled with barely controlled rage.
"Don't show me your anger, boy!" Pankaj bellowed. "I want to see how long you survive here! I will smash you like a cockroach every day!" Blood was dripping from Pankaj's hands where he had cut them on the glass.
"Stop!" Dalbir shouted as he inserted himself between the two men before Pankaj slapped Raj again. Dalbir was older than Pankaj, and he was from Manpreet's family. Combined with the fact that he was also the restaurant's main chef, Pankaj had no choice but to respect him.
Dalbir told Raj to go to the basement, while he kept one hand on Pankaj's chest. Tears stung Raj's eyes, but he listened to Dalbir and turned to walk down the stairway. Once he was safely in the basement, Dalbir ran Pankaj's hands under the faucet and wrapped them with two clean dishtowels. The entire time, Pankaj kept cursing Raj with unrelenting venom. Dalbir let him rant, and then he then walked Pankaj outside, called for a taxi, and sent him home.
After the taxi pulled away, Dalbir went down to the basement and found Raj in the corner, shaking and crying. Dalbir went to Raj, and like a father, took him into his arms. Dalbir was an old soul. He knew that Raj wasn't crying because of one slap, and he suspected that Raj had a lot in his heart that he never shared with anyone. While he admired the kid for wanting to keep his struggles private, Dalbir knew that a man who carried such a burden often condemned himself to a sad and solitary existence. Dalbir stroked the back of Raj's head, and assured him that he would talk to Manpreet and that Pankaj would never dare to touch him again.
When Raj had calmed down, he and Dalbir went back to the kitchen, where they discovered that Nitu had already cleaned up before leaving. Dalbir smiled to himself, surprised at Nitu's uncharacteristic display of consideration.
He asked Raj if he would eat before he left, even offering to cook okra for him. It was fairly late, and Raj knew that Vijay and Lucky would be waiting for him to come home for dinner. He asked Dalbir if he could take the food home, and Dalbir made sure he took extra rice and roti. Raj accepted the bags of food, and turned to face Dalbir.
"I'm sorry about?well, you know. I shouldn't have gotten so upset. Thank you for your kindness."
"No need to thank me, son. But if you do feel the need, I will tell you what you can do for me. You can promise me that you will come back here tomorrow, understand?" Dalbir said.
"Yes, sir. Thank you for the food, and thank you again?for everything," Raj replied, offering Dalbir a weak smile. Dalbir walked him outside, and watched Raj as he disappeared down the street, heading for the subway.
When Raj reached home, Vijay and Lucky were waiting for him for dinner, just as Raj had anticipated. They had cooked for Raj, but they were excited when they discovered that he had brought food from the restaurant. Their dal and rice wasn't nearly as appetizing as the food Raj had cooked all night, and they shared the meal happily. Raj was glad that he could provide food for his friends, particularly since he still didn't have any money. He promised that on the days he worked in the restaurant, he would bring food home for all of them. Raj didn't want to spoil his roommates' happiness with any talk about his day, so he didn't mention what had happened with Pankaj. He was extremely tired, both from physical exertion and emotional exhaustion, and when they made up their beds that night, Raj was the first to fall asleep.
Namaste New York: A Novel Page 14