RECAP

Rajni has compromised with the situation. She is very much back to normal. To comfort her, Malini is behaving in an unexpectedly pleasant mood. She prepares special breakfast for everyone and plans a full-day outing on coming Friday. On being questioned if she is ready to lose her business for a day, she says that it is karwa chauth on Friday and as such they would not have too many customers. All the women are excited about the outing, while Sandhya is contemplating observing the karwa chauth fast for Bhargava.

CHAPTER 15

Soon the much-waited Friday came knocking at the door. Since early morning, there was a lot of hustle and bustle in the brothel. Women were busy having a bath, dressing up, asking each other what would look better on them; it seemed as if they were getting ready for a marriage party. Malini, standing at a distance, was watching them engaged in their activities. There was a calm and composed smile on her face. 

Only Sandhya was sitting in an isolated corner, complaining of headache and dizziness. 

“Come on, Sandhya. Why don’t you pop in a disprin and quickly get ready?” urged Chakori. 

“Chakori! You know, I’m averse to these antibiotics. Please, don’t force me to come along. You all go and enjoy yourselves,” said Sandhya. 

“Please, Sandhya ma! Come with us,” requested Kaya. 

“Dear, why don’t you understand? I’m feeling very unwell,” Sandhya told a white lie, “I don’t want you to take care of me throughout the outing. It will spoil your programme as well. Please, don’t bother. I’ll soon be alright.” 

“Should I stay back for you?” proposed Rajni. 

“No, Rajni. It’s just a headache; I’m not going to die. All I need is a little rest. You please go with them,” Sandhya said. 

“And, what will you have? Who’ll cook for you? I don’t think you’ll be able to cook yourself,” said Malini. 

“Don’t worry, di. I’ll manage it on my own. You just take care of them.” 

“Are you sure?” 

“Yes, di.” 

“Okay, then. Come on, girls. Let’s go,” Malini summoned them. Soon, they all left. 

Sandhya was now alone. She first massaged her worn-our body and then indulged in an elaborate bath. 

She came out of the bathroom clad in a towel and stood naked in front of a mirror. She watched herself from head to toe and blushed as she saw her body radiating with an extraordinary glow. Today, she was going to adorn herself exclusively for Bhargava. 

She, now, opened her cupboard and took a scarlet coloured sari out of it. As she dragged it out, a wedding necklace fell on the floor. She picked it up. It belonged to her mother. She kept on looking at it and caressing it for a few moments. And, the images of that unfortunate day started floating in front of her eyes. 

Barely sixteen, she had come to this city with her mother. Her father had passed away. Maamu had proposed that they lived with them. He had also promised to find a suitable job for her mother. They stepped on the railway platform looking for maamu. He was nowhere to be seen. They tried their best to locate him, but failed. 

Sandhya’s mother grew restless. She did not have his address or contact number. He used to call her from a public telephone, where sometimes she used to drop a message for him. Now, she was not even carrying that number with herself. She was so sure that he would be waiting for them at the platform. 

“Relax, ma! Maybe he got stuck somewhere. Just wait for some time, he’ll surely come,” young Sandhya assured her mother. 

Suddenly, an explosion happened in the other corner of the platform. It was not so intense, though a few people were injured. Maybe it was meant just to terrorise the public. But it did create havoc on the platform. People started running in all directions. 

As the area where Sandhya was standing with her mother appeared comparatively safer and unaffected by the blast, most of them were heading towards them. Soon all hell broke loose there. Everyone started pushing each other. Many of them fell, while the others trampled over them. Sandhya clung to her mother in fear. 

Soon the crowd dragged her mother away from her. Sandhya tried to hold on to her mother as tight as she could. In this attempt, her mother’s wedding necklace that she wore to keep her dead husband’s memory alive got loosened and she diminished from her daughter’s eyes. 

Now, all Sandhya had was her mother’s wedding necklace. She cried, wept, shouted for her mother, but all in vain. She had lost her forever. Destiny landed her in this trap of flesh trade, from where she could never escape. Not that she never tried, she definitely did. But eventually she had to accept it as her fate. 

Today, the sight of this wedding necklace brought alive all those moments that she had buried somewhere deep in her subconscious. 

“Ma never discarded it even after bauji’s death. She always said that he still lived in her heart. It always reminded her of his existence. Now, it will remind me of Bhargava ji,” thinking thus she wore it around her neck and began to drape the sari. She also wore glass bangles.  

Once again, she looked at herself in the mirror. She truly looked like a married woman. She smiled and began to arrange puja ki thali. 

She, now, made her way to the temple. On the way, she happened to see many women elaborately dressed up. They smiled at her, thinking she was one of them. Sandhya too smiled back at them and reached the temple. 

After praying for the well-being of Bhargava, she touched the feet of a pujari who came her way. 

“Sada suhagan raho,” he blessed her of marital bliss. 

As she prepared to leave, she heard a woman’s feeble voice, “Beti!” 

She turned and found an old woman sitting in a wheel chair accompanied by her husband. The woman gave her an apple and some flowers and said, “I know it’s your karwa chauth fast. You can have this prasad in the night after your puja.” 

Sandhya found that the old woman’s face bore the reflection of her lost mother. She bowed to touch her feet. 

“Ooi… you forgot to wear sindoor!” exclaimed the woman as she looked at Sandhya’s parting of hair, “Let me put it in your parting.” Saying this, the woman took some sindoor from her thali and drew a long line in Sandhya’s parting. 

Sandhya felt as if she was really wedded to Bhargava. How much she missed him! 

“Oh God! Please let me just see him on this day,” she prayed silently and went back to home. Today, she wanted to call it a ‘home’ instead of the brothel. 

She again prayed for his long life and started waiting for him, though there was hardly any possibility of his arrival. She waited for the whole day, but he did not come. Why would he? He must be playing the faithful husband today. 

It was now dark. Moon was threatening to rise from behind the clouds. Thinking that Bhargava would not come, Sandhya cried in her heart several times. Hunger and distress gave her a headache, something she was faking in the morning. 

After sometime, Malini and party came back. They all looked so elated. They were telling Sandhya what a great day they had, how much they enjoyed and what all they did, while she was still complaining of a severe headache.

                                                                                   
                                                                To Be Continued...