19-12-2018, 10:05 AM
Part - 52
Before I could answer, the door swung open, and a man's voice called out "Who is it... ?" the tone challenging. The man, who stood there, was a thin scraggly fellow, probably in his mid-thirties, with unkempt stubble on his face, and wild disheveled hair that was in dire need of both a cut and a wash. His face was lean, with hollow sunken cheeks, and a crane-like neck, with a prominent Adam's apple.
He wore a tattered sleeveless vest, and a pair of loose baggy trousers that had definitely seen better days. By the scared expression on Alkha bhabhi's face, I could quickly make out that this was her asshole of a husband. "Uhh ... this is Jignesh bhai..." I heard Alka bhabhi explain to her husband, her voice trembling.
"Who Jignesh bhai..." her husband demanded, staring at me angrily, before turning on his wife again. "Jignesh bhai..." Alka bhabhi repeated her voice a plaintive plea " ... I told you about him, na..." she continued earnestly, walking up to him. As she walked up to him, I saw her saying something in a fierce whisper to her husband, her eyes blazing with fervor.
Suddenly, some sort of realization dawned upon the main, and his scraggly face creased into a broad grin, displaying a set of yellowed and tobacco-stained teeth. "Arreee ... Jignesh bhai ... why didn't you tell me before..." he exclaimed, chiding his wife, as if she'd not said that before. Opening the gate of their verandah, he practically ran towards me, and grabbing hold of my hand, shook in enthusiastically.
As he came close to me, I could make out that man was reeking of some cheap country liquor, the offensive smell mixing with that of the paan masala that he seemed to have his mouth filled with. "I am Kamlesh..." he said grinning from ear to ear, continuing to pump my hand, even as Alkha bhabhi stood there with a pained look on her face. Looking at him, I wondered how such a filthy man had managed to marry a lovely woman like Alka bhabhi.
"Arree ... why are you standing outside, sir ... please come in ... please..." Kamlesh bhai said, sounding so eager to please that I wondered what the hell was going on. "Uhh, no thanks ... I better go..." I answered with a polite smile. "Oh no, how can we allow that ... for so many years we have lived in the neighborhood ... and this is the first time you have honored us by your presence ... you must at least step in for a glass of water..." he went on effusively, bobbing his crane-like neck to and fro.
"Arree baba ... let Jignesh bhai be ... he must have work to do..." Alka bhabhi spoke up from behind, gauging my discomfiture, and trying to help me out. "You shut up, you silly woman..." Kamlesh bhai snapped at his wife " ... what work will he have at this time... ?" dismissing his wife. Turning to me again, he grabbed hold of my hand, and said "At least come in for some time ... have a glass of water please..." his tone so subservient that I could not refuse him.
"Oh, OK..." I answered with a smile, as I put the bike on its stand and followed him into their house. Alka bhabhi's husband was a tailor by profession, and they ran their little business from the house itself. As a result, the living room was converted into a makeshift tailoring shop, with a battered old sewing machine in one corner of the room, while pieces of cut cloth were lying scattered all over the room. There was practically no furniture in the living room except for single diwaan with a couple of old bolsters, and a few cheap plastic chairs.
The floor was strewn with little pieces of cloth, some cheap toys, and a battered old black & white TV was perched on top of a wobbly stool in one corner, the only channel available being Doordarshan. A little girl of about 3-years was sitting on the floor, watching TV, and upon seeing a stranger enter their house; she got up and hid behind her mother's saree. There was an old wooden cradle, with a cloth tied across it, and I presumed Alka bhabhi's second baby, was sleeping in it.
As I entered the room, Alkha bhabhi began to hastily clear the diwaan that also doubled up as a single cot, making place for me to sit. Today too, she was attired in a simple pale yellow cotton saree tied the Gujarati way, with a matching blouse under it.
As she bent forward to pick up the junk strewn across the cot, the pallu of her saree fell forward, and I was once again treated to the sight of her disproportionately large swollen 34-D breasts straining inside her blouse, her milky white fleshy belly, and those hips flaring out into a heavy voluptuous ass, so typical of Gujarati housewives especially after they have given birth to children.
I noticed that she was no longer wearing those red glass bangles that I'd seen adorning her milky white hands the other day. Instead they were replaced by a thick black plastic bangle on one hand; the other wrist being bare save for a red thread tied to an amulet. Flashing me a nervous smile, she muttered "Ohh, Jignesh bhai ... I am so sorry ... our house is in such a mess..." embarrassed at me having to see the condition they lived in.
Her husband had gone into the single bedroom in the house, and using the moment, I asked her softly "Bhabhi, your husband ... umm ... how does he know about me... ?" still unable to figure that out. She glanced at the bedroom door nervously before answering in a low voice "Oh, Jignesh bhai ... I am sorry ... I didn't want to tell him about you ... but what could I do ... he searched through my purse ... and found the money you had given me ... and demanded to know where I had got it from..." her words coming out rapidly, as she kept herself busy with picking up the stuff lying around in the room, and keeping an eye on the bedroom door at the same time.
Pausing for a breath, she continued "If I hand't told him ... he would have accused me of God only knows what ... and made life miserable for me ... so I told him that I had approached Mayuri ben for help ... and that she had spoken to you ... and that you had agreed to help us ... and that you had given her the money ... which she gave to me..." finishing her explanation. I rolled my eyes, as I thought to myself "Great ... now not only does this scumbag know about it ... but also the gossipy old Mayuri ben..." my annoyance evident on my face.
Seeing the expression on my face, Alkha bhabhi came up to me, and said "I'm very sorry, Jignesh bhai ... I'm very sorry ... I could not think of what else to tell him..." in a voice so apologetic that I instantly felt sorry for her. Smiling, I replied "Oh please, bhabhi ... why are you apologizing ... I was just curious..." putting a soothing tone to my voice. Just about then, Kamlesh bhai came out, buttoning up and old shirt.
As soon as he came in, he ordered Alka bhabhi "Arre, what are you doing here ... go inside and get some water for Jignesh seth..." making it a point to refer to me a seth. As Alka bhabhi went into the kitchen quietly, he invited me to sit on their diwaan, while he himself sat on one of the plastic chairs. As Alka bhabhi came out carrying a glass of water in a tray, he said "Saheb ... Alka told me about the big upkaar you have done for us..." putting on a sufficiently subservient tone.
As I took the glass from Alkha bhabhi, I just smiled wanly at him. "At first, I scolded her for troubling you ... but then later I thought ... after all, aren't neighbours supposed to help each other ... what to you say, seth... ?" he continued, continuing to grin like an idiot, annoying me further. "And Bhagwaan has sent big people like you to this world ... to help small people like us only, na ... what do you say, seth... ?" he continued. I nodded my assent, and mumbled something in assent.
After the heavy meal, I was feeling very thirsty, and asked Alka bhabhi for another glass of water. As she went into the kitchen, Kamlesh bhai slid his chair closer to me, and leaning forward, said "Seth ... why don't you do one thing ... why don't you buy this house from our landlord ... then you can get the rent, na ... instead of that haraami..." dropping his voice to a conspiratory level.
"What do you say, seth... ?" he prompted for the umpteenth time; something which was beginning to get on my nerves. "What a conniving, bastard..." I thought to myself. Before I could respond, Alka bhabhi came into the room, and I used the opportunity to change the topic. Looking at her, I said "I am sure you to have start your cooking now, bhabhi ... so I will take your leave now..." rising up from where I sat, and handing her the empty glass.
Before she could say anything, her husband jumped out of his chair, and catching hold of my hand said "Arre ... how can we let you go so soon, saheb ... after all this is the first time you have come to our gareebkhaana..." trying his level best to hold on to me for some more time.
As I began to protest, he cut me off by saying "Nahi, nahi ... how can I allow that ... I am a poor man ... but my wife cooks well ... and after all ... you are alone also now na, seth ... what will you go home and eat now..." dragging me inside once again. I protested again and told him that I'd eaten out and was not at all hungry, but he was in no mood to listen to me. "Arre, seth ... you are a jawaan mard ... I am sure you will have some place in your stomach for our simple khaana..." he insisted, smiling ingratiatingly again.
Perplexed, I looked at Alka bhabhi, who was also looking at me with a helpless expression on her face. I felt sorry for this lovely woman, who was cursed to live with this useless son-of-a-bitch for the rest of her life. As both of them looked at my face, waiting for my answer, I quickly made up my mind, and said "OK ... but only if Alka bhabhi promises me that she will not make anything else apart from the pulaav that she was planning to make..." looking in the direction of Alka bhabhi with a smile.
"Arre ... how can that be..." her husband began to protest, but I cut him off. "I will stay back only on that condition, Kamlesh bhai..." I said with a smile, but in a firm tone that let him know that I was not going to entertain any more discussion on that. "Sure, seth ... sure ... whatever you say..." agreeing to me immediately, as he ordered the poor Alka bhabhi to go in and start cooking immediately.
"Asshole..." I muttered under my breath, hating the man more and more with each passing moment. Before Alka bhabhi went into the kitchen, she gave me a grateful smile that conveyed more than words ever could. I sat down on the cot once again, and began to play with their shy 3-year old daughter, trying to befriend her. Kamlesh bhai had followed his wife into the kitchen, and I could hear him arguing about something with his wife, but I couldn't make out the words.
I could hear Alka bhabhi whispering to him fiercely, and he responding to it angrily. After a few moments, he came out of the room. I ignored him, and continued to play with the little girl, who was still too shy to be comfortable with strangers.
Before I could answer, the door swung open, and a man's voice called out "Who is it... ?" the tone challenging. The man, who stood there, was a thin scraggly fellow, probably in his mid-thirties, with unkempt stubble on his face, and wild disheveled hair that was in dire need of both a cut and a wash. His face was lean, with hollow sunken cheeks, and a crane-like neck, with a prominent Adam's apple.
He wore a tattered sleeveless vest, and a pair of loose baggy trousers that had definitely seen better days. By the scared expression on Alkha bhabhi's face, I could quickly make out that this was her asshole of a husband. "Uhh ... this is Jignesh bhai..." I heard Alka bhabhi explain to her husband, her voice trembling.
"Who Jignesh bhai..." her husband demanded, staring at me angrily, before turning on his wife again. "Jignesh bhai..." Alka bhabhi repeated her voice a plaintive plea " ... I told you about him, na..." she continued earnestly, walking up to him. As she walked up to him, I saw her saying something in a fierce whisper to her husband, her eyes blazing with fervor.
Suddenly, some sort of realization dawned upon the main, and his scraggly face creased into a broad grin, displaying a set of yellowed and tobacco-stained teeth. "Arreee ... Jignesh bhai ... why didn't you tell me before..." he exclaimed, chiding his wife, as if she'd not said that before. Opening the gate of their verandah, he practically ran towards me, and grabbing hold of my hand, shook in enthusiastically.
As he came close to me, I could make out that man was reeking of some cheap country liquor, the offensive smell mixing with that of the paan masala that he seemed to have his mouth filled with. "I am Kamlesh..." he said grinning from ear to ear, continuing to pump my hand, even as Alkha bhabhi stood there with a pained look on her face. Looking at him, I wondered how such a filthy man had managed to marry a lovely woman like Alka bhabhi.
"Arree ... why are you standing outside, sir ... please come in ... please..." Kamlesh bhai said, sounding so eager to please that I wondered what the hell was going on. "Uhh, no thanks ... I better go..." I answered with a polite smile. "Oh no, how can we allow that ... for so many years we have lived in the neighborhood ... and this is the first time you have honored us by your presence ... you must at least step in for a glass of water..." he went on effusively, bobbing his crane-like neck to and fro.
"Arree baba ... let Jignesh bhai be ... he must have work to do..." Alka bhabhi spoke up from behind, gauging my discomfiture, and trying to help me out. "You shut up, you silly woman..." Kamlesh bhai snapped at his wife " ... what work will he have at this time... ?" dismissing his wife. Turning to me again, he grabbed hold of my hand, and said "At least come in for some time ... have a glass of water please..." his tone so subservient that I could not refuse him.
"Oh, OK..." I answered with a smile, as I put the bike on its stand and followed him into their house. Alka bhabhi's husband was a tailor by profession, and they ran their little business from the house itself. As a result, the living room was converted into a makeshift tailoring shop, with a battered old sewing machine in one corner of the room, while pieces of cut cloth were lying scattered all over the room. There was practically no furniture in the living room except for single diwaan with a couple of old bolsters, and a few cheap plastic chairs.
The floor was strewn with little pieces of cloth, some cheap toys, and a battered old black & white TV was perched on top of a wobbly stool in one corner, the only channel available being Doordarshan. A little girl of about 3-years was sitting on the floor, watching TV, and upon seeing a stranger enter their house; she got up and hid behind her mother's saree. There was an old wooden cradle, with a cloth tied across it, and I presumed Alka bhabhi's second baby, was sleeping in it.
As I entered the room, Alkha bhabhi began to hastily clear the diwaan that also doubled up as a single cot, making place for me to sit. Today too, she was attired in a simple pale yellow cotton saree tied the Gujarati way, with a matching blouse under it.
As she bent forward to pick up the junk strewn across the cot, the pallu of her saree fell forward, and I was once again treated to the sight of her disproportionately large swollen 34-D breasts straining inside her blouse, her milky white fleshy belly, and those hips flaring out into a heavy voluptuous ass, so typical of Gujarati housewives especially after they have given birth to children.
I noticed that she was no longer wearing those red glass bangles that I'd seen adorning her milky white hands the other day. Instead they were replaced by a thick black plastic bangle on one hand; the other wrist being bare save for a red thread tied to an amulet. Flashing me a nervous smile, she muttered "Ohh, Jignesh bhai ... I am so sorry ... our house is in such a mess..." embarrassed at me having to see the condition they lived in.
Her husband had gone into the single bedroom in the house, and using the moment, I asked her softly "Bhabhi, your husband ... umm ... how does he know about me... ?" still unable to figure that out. She glanced at the bedroom door nervously before answering in a low voice "Oh, Jignesh bhai ... I am sorry ... I didn't want to tell him about you ... but what could I do ... he searched through my purse ... and found the money you had given me ... and demanded to know where I had got it from..." her words coming out rapidly, as she kept herself busy with picking up the stuff lying around in the room, and keeping an eye on the bedroom door at the same time.
Pausing for a breath, she continued "If I hand't told him ... he would have accused me of God only knows what ... and made life miserable for me ... so I told him that I had approached Mayuri ben for help ... and that she had spoken to you ... and that you had agreed to help us ... and that you had given her the money ... which she gave to me..." finishing her explanation. I rolled my eyes, as I thought to myself "Great ... now not only does this scumbag know about it ... but also the gossipy old Mayuri ben..." my annoyance evident on my face.
Seeing the expression on my face, Alkha bhabhi came up to me, and said "I'm very sorry, Jignesh bhai ... I'm very sorry ... I could not think of what else to tell him..." in a voice so apologetic that I instantly felt sorry for her. Smiling, I replied "Oh please, bhabhi ... why are you apologizing ... I was just curious..." putting a soothing tone to my voice. Just about then, Kamlesh bhai came out, buttoning up and old shirt.
As soon as he came in, he ordered Alka bhabhi "Arre, what are you doing here ... go inside and get some water for Jignesh seth..." making it a point to refer to me a seth. As Alka bhabhi went into the kitchen quietly, he invited me to sit on their diwaan, while he himself sat on one of the plastic chairs. As Alka bhabhi came out carrying a glass of water in a tray, he said "Saheb ... Alka told me about the big upkaar you have done for us..." putting on a sufficiently subservient tone.
As I took the glass from Alkha bhabhi, I just smiled wanly at him. "At first, I scolded her for troubling you ... but then later I thought ... after all, aren't neighbours supposed to help each other ... what to you say, seth... ?" he continued, continuing to grin like an idiot, annoying me further. "And Bhagwaan has sent big people like you to this world ... to help small people like us only, na ... what do you say, seth... ?" he continued. I nodded my assent, and mumbled something in assent.
After the heavy meal, I was feeling very thirsty, and asked Alka bhabhi for another glass of water. As she went into the kitchen, Kamlesh bhai slid his chair closer to me, and leaning forward, said "Seth ... why don't you do one thing ... why don't you buy this house from our landlord ... then you can get the rent, na ... instead of that haraami..." dropping his voice to a conspiratory level.
"What do you say, seth... ?" he prompted for the umpteenth time; something which was beginning to get on my nerves. "What a conniving, bastard..." I thought to myself. Before I could respond, Alka bhabhi came into the room, and I used the opportunity to change the topic. Looking at her, I said "I am sure you to have start your cooking now, bhabhi ... so I will take your leave now..." rising up from where I sat, and handing her the empty glass.
Before she could say anything, her husband jumped out of his chair, and catching hold of my hand said "Arre ... how can we let you go so soon, saheb ... after all this is the first time you have come to our gareebkhaana..." trying his level best to hold on to me for some more time.
As I began to protest, he cut me off by saying "Nahi, nahi ... how can I allow that ... I am a poor man ... but my wife cooks well ... and after all ... you are alone also now na, seth ... what will you go home and eat now..." dragging me inside once again. I protested again and told him that I'd eaten out and was not at all hungry, but he was in no mood to listen to me. "Arre, seth ... you are a jawaan mard ... I am sure you will have some place in your stomach for our simple khaana..." he insisted, smiling ingratiatingly again.
Perplexed, I looked at Alka bhabhi, who was also looking at me with a helpless expression on her face. I felt sorry for this lovely woman, who was cursed to live with this useless son-of-a-bitch for the rest of her life. As both of them looked at my face, waiting for my answer, I quickly made up my mind, and said "OK ... but only if Alka bhabhi promises me that she will not make anything else apart from the pulaav that she was planning to make..." looking in the direction of Alka bhabhi with a smile.
"Arre ... how can that be..." her husband began to protest, but I cut him off. "I will stay back only on that condition, Kamlesh bhai..." I said with a smile, but in a firm tone that let him know that I was not going to entertain any more discussion on that. "Sure, seth ... sure ... whatever you say..." agreeing to me immediately, as he ordered the poor Alka bhabhi to go in and start cooking immediately.
"Asshole..." I muttered under my breath, hating the man more and more with each passing moment. Before Alka bhabhi went into the kitchen, she gave me a grateful smile that conveyed more than words ever could. I sat down on the cot once again, and began to play with their shy 3-year old daughter, trying to befriend her. Kamlesh bhai had followed his wife into the kitchen, and I could hear him arguing about something with his wife, but I couldn't make out the words.
I could hear Alka bhabhi whispering to him fiercely, and he responding to it angrily. After a few moments, he came out of the room. I ignored him, and continued to play with the little girl, who was still too shy to be comfortable with strangers.
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