I did not wanted this sister of mine to know about my problems, but when I called up Shruti she said it will be best to let them know. The more people know about it, safer I will be there.
Shree was Shiv’s sibling, the cousin who was the main reason behind my not being eager to return home. They together with help of Shiv’s wife Seemana made their mother and younger brother leave home. I was a witness to all that drama and I really loathed them for that.
I have seen this woman for a couple of years, how shamelessly she chased her brother in law. No wonder her mother in law preferred to get away from there with him before that evil woman corrupts him.
She chased me for quite a long time to get me married to her brother which I and every one else refused because everyone agreed on one point, its dumb to marry among relations. It always complicates thing. If one of the relationships is strained the effects damage the second one. Any way, I loathed that creepy brother of hers, Krishno. He was too disgusting with his over eagerness to be over friendly with me. That’s one thing I really don’t like in people. I have simple way of acting myself; if I am madly in love with someone I will marry him. If I cant I will be just friend with him. Not lover or lover-like.
When they realized that I won’t give him an inch of space he married and Seemana never took the entire episode casually.
Shree brought me over to her in-law’s place first, which was a few minutes journey from my ancestral home.
“Stay here for a few days, and then we will see if I can shift you back to home. Shiv and his wife have turned it into pure hell. Their creditors are coming there and spilling out all sorts of abuses on every one who dares to enter that house.”
“You have not met Chanchal and ma in Rajpur, have you? Chanchal have joined Jhumamasi’s Delhi office a few months ago.”
“They were about to shift to Rajpur, so you all could be together.”
“Of course I heard it from Shruti because Chanchal and ma have shunned every connection with us. I wish ma was back here, Shiv is making my life miserable. He is sucking me dry, I have to take care of his family while he throws away his money for fun.”
So Shiv has found out another host, after sucking his mother dry for years now it’s his sister’s turn. I really did not wanted to go back to that house but I did not had any other place to go. Shruti has told me she will meet me there as soon as possible. Till then stick there no matter what.
We were talking in her bed room. It was still under construction, she lived with her in-laws in two bedrooms in ground floor, the first floor was almost finished, only doors were to be fitted.
“Will it be alright for you to sleep in the bedroom upstairs with Mithu’s Ayah?” she asked.
As if I had any choice. I consented.
The stalkers:
Sulata has told me repeatedly to not tell anyone back at Kolkata what happened in Rajpur. I too had the same plans but the duo in train and dakshineshwar has shaken that resolution a little. Remaining was done by the news that chanchal and aunty were in Jhumamasi’s grip.
I spilled out the whole story to Shree and her husband Sumit. She heard silently and said she had similar suspicions.
I never liked Sumit or Shree much. Shree has always been a jealous and manipulative woman and God knows why she had always her eyes fixed on me. Sumit was one of the rudest and selfish people I have ever seen. His over eagerness to mix with me has caused a lot of annoyance in Shree’s heart so I kept a cold distance from him and he despised me for that.
I spent the night upstairs with Mithu’s ayah. I did not like that girl an inch. She was hardly seventeen or eighteen years old but there was a shadow of horrible corruption on her face. It appeared that she did not have much control over her animal instincts and that was too visible on her countenance.
Next day was Sunday, Shree asked me to get ready to visit my home, to check what the situation there is. Whether it is possible for me to shift there.
We reached the house within half an hour. Shree loved to walk whenever it was feasible so we did not boarded a bus.
The house looked like no one has lived there for years. We were intercepted at the gate by one of Shiv’s creditors. “Please tell Shivda that Sona was looking for him.” He said.
We opened the gate and entered, the house was full of bushes and overgrown weeds, forget about the garden, even the courtyard has given away to weeds. Quite big weeds have sprung out of the cemented pavement, wherever they have found a place to germinate.
Seemana came down from upstairs and on seeing me started to howl at the top of her lungs, “I am so glad you are back safe. Chaitali came to meet your brother; she said there were goons who were stalking you in Rajpur.”
Shree looked at me with an exasperated expression on her face. We left after a while. Seemana kept on asking me to return there.
We have hardly taken ten steps out of the house when I saw a car approaching us; it was of the same model and colour, same model of those cars which used to stalk me in Rajpur. The same model which I have seen from Shruti’s uncle’s home’s window. I felt like missing a heart-beat.
We took a bus to return but just before we were about to turn into Shree’s lane I saw a car of same model and make waiting patiently near it.
“They can’t be the same car, may be you are too scared or as they know where you are going they have hired similar cars to scare you.” Shree said after listening to every thing.
“I think it will be best if you shift to home. I will take care that Shiv and his wife don’t bother you. You will be safe there. Safer than any other place. I would have kept you here but my mother in law will create a drama.” Shree said.
It was decided that I will shift to my room next day.
Shangri-la
First of all, a brief description of Shangri-la and its residents. It was a spacious two storied building. Surrounded by quite a big garden this gave it ample enough of privacy. Especially because that garden had big trees, which have mostly grown on their own. So, they gave that house a flimsy curtain like covering. A thing which I loved in my youth, it saves you from the eyes of neighbours and passers by.
Right now there were two families living there. Shiv, seemana their daughter and another family, the Mandals, comprising of mother and son. This family has lived in that house for years, without paying a single penny, reaping the benefits of the quarrel going on between my father’s siblings.
They were requested to vacate the premises years ago, but two of my uncles asked them to stay there, in their rooms. That gave them immense power and spies to my uncle. Spies and paid guard dogs.
They were four, husband, wife and a son plus a daughter. The daughter had an affair with Shiv, but his mother and every one else objected because neither the daughter nor her mother were very chaste, so he backed off and the girl got married to someone else. She had a very bad relationship with her in-laws, extremely bad one but finally she walked away with her husband and was well settled. The son did not bother to study; he dedicated his life to the local party office and used to spend all his days and often nights serving them. So many times I have seen him scaling the wall past midnight, startling the dogs.
Two of my father’s siblings had their rooms in the house locked up, third one, Shruti’s father lived in Mumbai. They all occasionally visited the house.
I used to sleep in a bedroom in the first floor, but after returning I noted that Shiv and Seemana were using that room so I shifted to the rooms of Shruti with their permission. It was in the ground floor.
The Mandals lived just across the verandah of my rooms. The house was separated into two sections by a passage entering the courtyard.
Just like all old houses this house too had completely separate sections for the family members and outsiders.
The outsiders were not allowed in the inner courtyard. They had to wait in the garden, outer verandah or drawing room (my present bedroom).
A system which was maintained strictly even when Shiv’s mother lived in that house. A tradition which has been pulled down to dirt by Shiv and Seemana. I noted with great fury that his creditors used to go straight into the courtyard and holler for him.
I even noted them going upstairs without even knocking at the door.
Since my return to Shangri-la after my parent’s death I have noted that the residents of it maintained quite a distance from neighbours. This was quite normal because it took a lot of energy to cross the garden and communicate with other neighbours, and very frankly the neighbours too were not very keen to mingle with the residents.
The main gate opened on a narrow street, narrow but very busy. Traffic moved on that street all night through. The boundary wall was cluster free when I first returned but then slowly some small shops opened there. All these boys were great friends of Shiv and all of them were his creditors.
After returning from Rajpur I noted a new shop has popped up there, a tea shop. A man and his wife were running the show. Shree told me Shiv spends most of his time there. He has stopped going to office and spends most of his time either there or in our village home, an hour or so from here.
“He is selling off every thing there. He does not cares if it is his or the property of others. Every one is furious at him. But he has created a big stronghold in the village.” Shrre remarked.
The more I was listening the happier I was becoming that I had to re enter that house. Without any one to stand beside me, and the only residents of that place were the ones who had played direct or indirect role behind my landing in Rajpur.
I called Chaitali to tell her that I have shifted to my home. She promised she will be there in the evening.
I was in my room when she came. “Meet Sanjay, Sanju, and Shruti’s college mate.”
I just stared at that person. If I was not wrong he was the same person who has stalked me from Rajpur. “How are you didi? Where is Shruti?” he asked.
“I am so happy to see you back here safe and sound. We all were so scared for you.” Chaitali started to speak in an unusually loud voice, loud enough to draw attention of Mrs. Mandal and Seemana.
“Let’s go inside and talk.” I asked her. I instantly started to dislike her. There was something ruthless and sly in her face, a thing which I have never noticed before. But my main reason behind disliking her was her companion.
“I spend most of my time with Chaitalidi now. People call me her shadow.” Sanjay smirked.
I just could not understand how he appeared here and attached him with her. That means she had some connection with Jhumamasi, well that was not impossible because she was Shruti’s chum. So she might have been Jhumamasi’s agents or girls here. I decided to keep my mouth shut.
I should have done something else too, shun her from then onwards but I did not, I did not wanted them to get suspicious before Chanchal and aunty were warned.
So they both attached themselves like a pair of leeches to me.
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