Aaduri was of a very inquisitive nature. She seemed intimate from the very first encounter. It was with her that Riziya spent some time. She had a television set in her house. She kept asking Riziya about how long she had been married, what had transpired on the nuptial night, and how much Suman loved her. But could one reveal everything! She was most eager to tell and hear juicy tales.
Whenever Riziya spoke to Aaduri, she was reminded of Reshma Bhabi from Sadnahati. She was exactly like Aaduri. Both of them loved fun and buffoonery. Riziya missed her terribly then. All her thoughts drifted towards Sadnahati. She remembered the gossip sessions on Reshma Bhabi’s terrace and the banter between the sisters-in-law. Fulsura’s face, too, came floating before her eyes. Who knows what the state of affairs was in her household. In such moments, Riziya would feel utterly despondent. She would simply sigh in silence. But Aaduri would urge her on. ‘Achchha, and what happened then? Why don’t you tell me, was it Dada who first…’
Then, Riziya, mixing exaggeration with bits of truth and fiction, managed to reveal just this much about her relationship that, Suman and she loved one another, but their parents did not agree to the relationship, and so they ran away from home and got married, and lived in Islampur before moving to Konnagar.
The moment the word ‘love’ was mentioned, Aaduri would begin her interrogation. Who was it who proposed first, how the two of them used to communicate with one another. Riziya used to get annoyed at such times. She had a smile pasted on her face and ignored several queries. But there was something that made Riziya thoughtful – Aaduri had gone on asking her things for a month, but she never said anything about herself! And if she was asked something, she too smiled and avoided saying anything. If asked about Abinash Babu, Aaduri only said, ‘He’s a highly educated man, his knowledge is as vast as the ocean.’
Riziya was unable to understand how Aaduri had got married to an elderly man like Abinash Babu and how she was so happy! Her small room had a colour TV, a cot, a cupboard, and so on. She did no work to speak of. She had nothing to do besides cooking for herself and then eating, and watching television.
Aaduri did not really have much to do with any of the other residents of the housing colony. Riziya realized that she was not very educated, and there was a rustic simplicity about her. But she was also terribly obstinate. Which was why Riziya was very cautious in her conversations with her, lest she was caught out. Riziya did not want anyone to find out that she was from a Muslim household, and that her real name was Riziya and not Reena. Nonetheless, it was with Aaduri that she developed a friendship. The two of them chatted all the time, except on Sundays. And this became a matter of gossip in the housing colony. Riziya discerned that most of the people there did not view Aaduri favourably.
Sumitra, the Bihari from the house on the right side, said with a smirk one day, ‘Ooh aurater songe beshi milmish nahi koro, Behenji.Ooh khub ekta achchha aurat nehi!’ (Don’t get too close to that woman, sister. She’s not such a nice woman!)
Sumitra’s comment prompted various questions in Riziya’s mind. In the month or so that they had been acquainted, she hadn’t noticed anything untoward!
It was a Saturday morning. Suman had gone out in search of work. Abinash Babu had assured him that he would find him something. They had been in the housing colony for about a month and a half, and Riziya had seen Abinash Babu a few times but never spoken to him. Of course, there was no reason for her to speak to him either. Abinash Babu had never come of his own accord to talk to her. Riziya was curious about him. Aaduri didn’t reveal anything either. But Riziya had observed him walking to or from the house. The gentleman wore black-rimmed spectacles and carried a bag slung on his shoulder. Whatever people might think about Aaduri, everyone was in awe of the solemn man.
At a slight distance from the lane leading to the colony was a Shani temple, with an idol of the ever-wakeful deity. Come noon, womenfolk got ready to offer puja to Lord Shani. It wasn’t just on Saturdays, Shani’s designated day, that people went to the temple. Family life involved a lot of fear of harm, and the threat of misfortune was always present. And all this was nothing but Shani’s wrath, his angry gaze. And so, people offered puja in the Shani temple to satisfy him. Hindu women appeared before the deity with various kinds of offerings in order to secure domestic well-being. Sumitra used to come and call Riziya, ‘Kahan giya, Behenji? Chalo aaj Shani mandir mein puja de aaye.’ (Where are you, sister? Let’s go and offer puja at the Shani temple today.)
‘I’m not going, Behen. You go.’
‘Why? What happened? Don’t you do any puja in your family?’
‘Yes, sometimes.’
‘But I’m all alone. Why don’t you come along with me?’
‘Why don’t you go with Aaduri? I think she’ll go.’
‘That woman is not allowed to enter the temple.’
‘Why’s that?’
‘Didn’t I tell you, she’s not a…’ But before Sumitra could finish saying that, Aaduri was observed coming their way. Sumitra turned around and walked away hurriedly. Aaduri sensed what had happened and laughed as she entered Riziya’s kitchen. ‘Has the Bihari slut run away?’
Riziya looked at her and asked her in astonishment, ‘Is she afraid of you?’
‘Not just her. Everyone here is afraid of me.’
‘Why’s that?’
Aaduri’s eyes widened as she laughed, and she said, ‘Because I’m supposed to be a witch, and I’ll eat them up!’
‘What do you mean?’
‘Oof! It’s nothing! No one talks to me out of fear of the Babu. I can’t tell you how happy I am that you’ve come here. All these days I used to think that I must be someone from one of the TV serials. Caged inside the television. How long can one keep on watching TV, tell me?’
‘You too can go out. She just said that you’re not allowed to enter the temple. Is that true?’
‘Who knows! I’ve never gone there in the four years that I’ve been here. But I’ve heard people say that. Who gives a damn if they don’t allow me there! Is Lord Shani the only god? There are so many gods. Forget about all that. There’s a nice film on TV in the evening, starring Prosenjit. You’ll come, won’t you?’
‘But today Abinash Babu…’
‘He’ll be late today.’
‘Achchha. I’ll come.’
After Aaduri left, a host of questions arose in Riziya’s head. How unabashedly she had retorted, ‘Is Lord Shani the only god? There are so many gods!’ If one of their gods was angry, a hundred others arrived for rescue. Riziya knew what shirk was. And what monotheism was. In this bad time, her mind was suddenly turning to thoughts regarding God. She was unable to reconcile the beliefs of these folk with the idea of monotheism she had learnt from Maulana Tahirul. Riziya suddenly fell into a spell of absorption. She felt terrified to think about the imminent future and likely threats. She had not prayed in a long time. She had not spoken in solitude with her Allah. She finished the task in hand quickly. After that she went to the water tap and carefully performed the ritual ablutions. She laid out a clean odna like a prayer mat and gazed at it for a while.
It was dusk. The faint melody of the azan came wafting from some faraway mosque. Focussing her entire consciousness, she stepped upon the prayer mat. She wept as she lay prostrate in concentrated sejda. There was no one anywhere. She was face to face with her Allah. She had no inkling when Sumitra came and stood at the door. Sumitra pushed open the unfastened door slightly and was shocked by what she glimpsed momentarily through the door gap. What was Behenji doing? Mulla jaisa namaz kar rahi hain! She’s praying like a Muslim!
As soon as Riziya entered Aaduri’s room to watch television, she fell into terrible embarrassment. There was a picture of Jesus Christ on the wall. Sitting just beneath that, in a corner of the bed, was Abinash Babu. He had a cup of tea in his hand. Aaduri was sitting on the other side of the bed, with a pillow tucked on her lap, gazing at the TV intently. As soon as Aaduri spotted her, she said, ‘Come, my dear. You’re late! You missed the beginning. Debashri has just…’
As Abinash Babu put down his cup, he said chidingly, ‘What do you watch all day and night?’
Riziya wanted to exit the door right away. She did not want to come in the way of the time the husband and wife had to themselves. But she had to stop when he addressed her. He asked, ‘Is Suman back?’
‘No.’
‘I’ve found him some work for the time being. Suman told me everything about you.’
‘What did he tell you?’
‘Quite a lot. Anyway, forget that, why are you leaving? Do sit down.’
Riziya advanced slowly and sat down beside Aaduri. Aaduri turned down the volume of the TV. Abinash Babu addressed her again. ‘I heard that you were unable to complete your graduation. You were a brilliant student. But you can resume your studies here. If you’d like to do that, let me know, all right?’
