‘Then why was Fulsura crying?’
Fulsura smiled then. As if nothing had happened. She stirred. ‘Listen to her! Why on earth would I cry? I was just…’
‘There’s no need to hide anything from me. Tell me what’s happened.’
All of them were silent now. Reshma was at a loss regarding what to tell her. Having been caught lying by Riziya, she really began to weep now. In between her sobs, she said, ‘Your Dulha Bhai has given me talaq, dear Rizi! Talaq!’
‘Talaq!’
Riziya was stunned. Muslim women were familiar with the word ‘talaq’ right from their childhood. It was something compared to an unnatural death. But they also knew that no one ever divorced his wife without a reason. That was the plight of wayward, loud-mouthed women of bad character. But why would Dulha Bhai divorce an innocent girl like Fulsura? And that too because of Riziya? After all, she was barely acquainted with Dulha Bhai. She had hardly even spoken to him! Riziya was unable to understand any of what was going on. She felt dizzy the moment she heard the dreaded term. She was at a loss for words for quite a while. She quietly sat down on a plastic chair next to Fulsura.
Is this how talaq happened? The marriage contract was snapped on a sudden whim on her husband’s part although Fulsura was not at fault! If marriage was a contract, then talaq could be given or received on the grounds of breach of contract. But could it happen just because the husband wanted that? Could a policeman fire his weapon at will simply because he was carrying one? If he fired illegitimately, he would be punished. But what about illegitimate talaq? The woman was no longer his wife. She was now a stranger. Was the husband freed of all responsibility in a moment? Terrible! A host of questions hovered in Riziya’s mind. But most of all, she was curious about her role in Fulsura’s talaq. Why was her name associated with this terrible, heinous act?
‘How did it happen? And how am I connected with it? It’s driving me mad!’
Fulsura narrated her tale. Riziya and Reshma heard her with full attention. What she said was more or less like this:
They didn’t make too many enquiries prior to the marriage. Rahman Dada had agreed seeing it was a wealthy ostagar family. But subsequently it was discovered that he was indeed a man of qualities! He returned home drunk every night. Fulsura protested against that. She tried to restrain him. Sometimes he wouldn’t return home at night. It became unbearable. There were quarrels almost every day. The astonishing thing was that not a single person from his family helped her. No one said that Jamir was wrong. They said, ‘Oh, but he didn’t harm you in any way, daughter-in-law! He didn’t starve you. He didn’t beat you when he was drunk.’ It was Fulsura who had to listen to disparaging remarks. Each of her married sisters-in-law visited their parents’ house and laid the blame on Fulsura. They said she was the one who hadn’t learnt how to adjust. That made Fulsura leave in rage. It was going to be two months since leaving home.
‘Doesn’t anyone at home know?’
‘At first, I didn’t tell anyone out of shame. Later, I informed Dada. Your Dulha Bhai had come on the day of Dada’s son’s mosolmani. Dada informed Maruf about everything. There was an arbitration meeting on the matter. But he’s like a dog’s tail. He doesn’t listen to anything.’
‘And then?’
‘One day he arrived at my father’s house in his drunken state. I tried hard to conceal that. But can one hide the stench of alcohol? I said a lot of things in anger that day. That must have been about a month back. I said I wouldn’t stay with such a husband. All they have is money, and that’s all they think about. Last night, his nephew came and told me, “Mami, Mama has divorced you!” Tell me what should I do now?’
‘Does anyone else know about the divorce?’
‘No. I couldn’t tell anyone. If Abba hears about it, he’s bound to get a heart attack at his age and die.’
‘Listen, after all, the stench of alcohol is nothing new in your house! Raqib too comes home drunk. I think you’re hiding something. What’s the real reason?’
Fulsura was silent. Reshma gaped at her in curiosity. What other reason could there be? Fulsura sobbed for a while. And then she said, ‘He suspects me! He says I had something going on with Maulana Saheb. He heard from somewhere that Maulana Saheb was carrying on with a girl from the Miya household. Isn’t that you, Rizi? But he thinks it’s me.’
Reshma was astonished. Her eyes wide in disbelief, she exclaimed, ‘What are you saying! Were you, too, up to something?’
Neither of the girls laughed at her joke. Riziya turned grave. She didn’t feel like asking any more questions. Things had gone so far! How amazing! There was talk about Maulana Saheb in another village too. But they had thought that no one knew. How terrible! Riziya was embarrassed and dejected. Fulsura said, ‘Tell me, who can I talk to about this? If I do, then you will be exposed. Maulana Saheb too would be disgraced. I was his student. He was our teacher.’
Reshma asked Fulsura, ‘But why does he suspect you? You could have told him about Rizi. That would have ended the matter.’
‘Jamir didn’t believe me! I spoke a lot about Maulana Saheb after I went to my in-laws’ place. I used to do that to make him stop drinking. But despite that, when he heard from somewhere that a girl from the Miya household…’
Riziya silenced her excitedly. They were in a fix. What was the way out now? Reshma suddenly swore, ‘The fucking son of a bastard! How dare he divorce you! Does that drunkard even know what divorce means? I’ve heard that even Allah’s throne trembles at it. Allah is ashamed of him. What a terrible thing the bastard’s done! We have to inform people now, Rizi! After all, it’s not simply about romance between them, it’s a religious matter.’
Riziya didn’t say anything. Her head was full of various knotty questions. On the one hand was the fact that word about her had spread in all quarters, and on the other was the matter of Fulsura’s divorce. What could she say? She suddenly rose. She said, ‘No one has to be told now, Bhabi. At least you shouldn’t tell anyone. Not even Dada. I’m off now. However long it takes, be quiet until I return.’
Riziya walked out of the room, leaving them wondering.
Fulsura asked Reshma, ‘Tell me Bhabi, are we really divorced then?’
‘It’s a complicated matter, sister! What can I say? But tell me, what happens when someone drives a car without knowing how to drive?’
‘There’ll be an accident.’
‘That’s it!’
Fulsura didn’t say any more. She didn’t cry either. She sat in silence.
Riziya trembled in rage. She got dressed as soon as she reached home. She put on the borkha. She veiled her face. She only informed her Mami. ‘I’m going out for something important.’
‘Where are you going at evening time?’
‘I’ll tell you later. I won’t be long.’
‘Are you going alone?’
‘No, I’m taking Amina along.’
But she didn’t take Amina along. She first took an autorickshaw, and then a bus. She knew where Fulsura’s in-laws’ house was. She had been there once for the wedding reception. She went there directly. No one in Sadnahati knew about the divorce, but many people in this house knew. When they heard that a woman had arrived from Jamir’s in-laws’ house, a lot of them were surprised. Jamir had divorced Fulsura, her folks had been informed. It was her parents who ought to have come. But no, it was a young woman who had arrived.
Riziya asked for Jamir. She wanted to speak directly to him. Seeing the way she spoke, and the aura she carried, Jamir’s folks didn’t say anything. He was summoned. He appeared dejected. Why was such a wealthy young man looking so stooped? Was it out of guilt? Riziya had expected him to be angry. People did utter ‘talaq’ in anger. Riziya was asked to sit. In the presence of a couple of murubbis, she asked Jamir, ‘Did you divorce Fulsura, I mean your wife?’
Jamir did not reply. He was silent. He nodded in agreement. But Riziya was quite insistent. ‘Why? What was her fault? Didn’t you love her?’
Jamir now replied despondently, ‘I loved her a lot!’
‘Then?’
