'I AM BAD!' (Short Story)

“Yes, I am bad, I agree I am bad!” was Bhola's exasperated response to Madhav’s constant goading to know why he has stopped going to school. On his way back home from the village school, Madhav had made a detour to the garbage dumping yard near the highway, in search of his classmate, Bhola who had not attended school for a month.  The new Head Masterji had asked him to meet Bhola and find out why he was absent from school.  His twenty classmates had followed him in a search of Bhola.

“Yes Madhav, I am bad. I have stopped going to school, I have failed the exams too. Masterji always punishes me for disturbing the class. I don’t like to go to school. I don’t like to study. I am happy here. Go and tell our Head Masterji!” Bhola turned away from his classmates and busied himself in sorting the garbage. He wanted all of them to disappear from his sight.  All his classmates, except Madhav, who were silent spectators until then, suddenly broke into a wild dance yelling and screaming, “Bhola is bad! Bhola is really bad! What can he do, coz he’s gone mad!” peeved by their behaviour Madhav shouted, “Shut up guys, and let me speak to Bhola!” He then ran down to the bottom of the garbage mound and stood in front of Bhola, “Head Masterji had asked me to inform you. Now it is up to you to attend a school or not. We will not bother you. Bye.” He then ran up the mound towards the highway closely followed by his classmates screaming and yelling their way back home.  

It was quite late at night. Mithi had completed all her work and squatted in front of her shack wondering what had happened to Bhola. He always returned home before dusk. Just then she heard the rattling sound of Bhola’s garbage, getting up to take it from him she asked, “What’s the matter with your son, why are you late? Are you not feeling well?” “” Nothing Maa.” Muttered Bhola and dragged his feet into the shack. He lay down on the mat spread on the floor and said, “Maa, I am not hungry. I am going to sleep now”. “But why Bhola, what‘s the matter with you? Did anyone say anything to you? I too will not eat. How can I eat when you will remain without food,  Bhola!” Mithi lay beside her slumbering son and cast a vacant gaze at the aluminium sheet roof of the shack.

Mithi worked at the construction site near the highway. When she had just crossed the threshold of the fifteenth year, her parents had married her to Shambu, who worked in a garage in the nearby town. Within a span of two years of married life, Mithi was blessed with Bhola, but within a month of becoming a mother, she could not save Shambhu from the fatal attack of dengue. She had tried her best to be both the father and mother figure to Bhola, but she felt that she was unable to take Shambhu’s place in Bhola’s life.

“Bhola, why don’t you go to school? Why do you have to pick rags when I can earn enough for the two of us? Rest at home today. Don’t go out anywhere. I’ll return home early. On my way back, I will visit Raghu doctor’s clinic and get medicine for you. I want to see you happy my son. Do rest at home today.” After a sleepless night, Mithi had risen up early in the morning, prepared and served breakfast to her son. She was about to step out of her shack, she heard footsteps at its entrance.

“Bhola, are you home? Is anyone there?”

Bhola and Mithi looked at each other when they heard a deep male voice call out to them. Gesturing to Bhola to remain inside, Mithi stepped out of the shack and met a gentleman in his late thirties, who greeted her with a smile, “Namaste, I am Spandan Pant, the village school headmaster” Mithi looking puzzled replied, “but, Bharat Masterji…” “I am the new headmaster” Spandan smiled while adjusting his spectacles on the bridge of his nose and continued, “Bhola has not been attending classes since school has reopened after the summer vacation. I had asked Madhav, his classmate to get Bhola to meet me. Then I decided to meet Bhola..” Before Spandan could explain the purpose of his visit, angry Mithi called her son, “Bhola, come out immediately, your masterji is here. What is this?  Why you are not going to school? Come here immediately!” Bhola quietly stepped out of the shack and stood beside his mother. Spandan quietly observed the thin woman in her mid-thirties, but wizened with hardships and paucity, she looked worried about her son, the slim teenage boy, whose face and dishevelled hair was lined with dirt. Bhola quietly stood beside his mother with his head hung low enough to touch the ground. Spandan bent his tall slim frame forward, placed his hands on Bhola’s shoulder and said “I hope you and your mother are in good health Bhola. I am Spandan, the new headmaster. Would you like to help me today with my work at school? Don’t worry; you will not attend any classes today, for sure. Agreed?” He looked at Bhola and waited for him to respond. Bhola remained silent and refused to look up and acknowledge Spandan’s presence.

This annoyed Mithi, “Bhola, don’t be so rude! Masterji has come all the way to meet you. I will get your medicines and get you from the school on my way back home from work. Bhola!” Mithi shook Bhola’s hand urging him to respond. “I will not go to school…” replied Bhola under his breath.

“What! You will not go to school, you idiot! Why you want to ruin your and my life!” raging Mithi gave vent to her anger and raised her hand to strike Bhola. Spandan intervened and said “Behenji, don’t lose your cool. I will take Bhola to the doctor and walk him back home.”

Mithi fighting back tears looked and Spandan and said, “Masterji, I am anxious about my son. I don’t know what to do. Please help me!” Sensing her distress, Spandan held the sulking boy close to him and said, “You have nothing to worry about Bhola. He is a fine boy and you should be proud of him. We shall meet you when you return home. Bhola, can you take me to Raghu doctor’s clinic?” Bhola looked at his mother, who cupped his face in her hands and said, “Beta, don’t remain alone, be with masterji till I return from work. You are my flesh and blood. I don’t want to see you suffer in your life.” Bhola saw tears trickle down his mother’s eyes and whispered, “Okay mother.” 

Bhola walked quietly beside Spandan on his way to the doctor’s clinic. Attempting to break the silence Spandan said, “Bhola, I am really a very bad man” Bhola stopped abruptly and stared at Spandan. “No masterji, you are not bad, I am bad” Spandan looked at the boy and asked “Bhola, I am bad because I waited for a month for you to come to school and instead of visiting your home to meet you, I sent Madhav to you. Bhola, what makes you think you are bad, just because you were absent from school for a month?” Bhola remained silent. Spandan then asked Bhola about his mother and father and their life after his father’s death. When they reached the doctor’s clinic, Spandan knew that Bhola had worked in a motor garage after his father’s death, while his mother worked at the construction site close to the highway. The garage owner used to ill-treat Bhola and used to find an excuse to beat him. In a fit of anger, Bhola had struck the garage owner with a spanner. The garage owner had complained at the local police station. Consequently, Bhola spent a year at the Delinquent Correction (Remand) Home. Bhola was eleven years old when he returned from Remand Home and his mother enrolled him in the village school. Bhola did not like the school either because his class teacher and the headmaster always used to find some excuse to beat him up or punish him by making him stand out of the classroom. Often his mother would fall sick and could not go to work, so they had to remain hungry that day. His mother fell seriously ill for many days. The doctor said that her lungs had gone bad and needed a lot of medicines. Then Bhola began working as a rag picker for food and his mother’s medicines. When she recovered from her illness, she forced Bhola to go to school and she returned to work at the construction site. He avoided going to school and continued picking rags so that he could buy medicines for his mother.

Dr Raghu greeted Spandan and Bhola, when they reached the Primary Health Centre and checked Bhola’s temperature, lungs and pulse rate. He diagnosed Bhola with fever and gave him medicine for the day... Bhola found that Dr Raghu and Spandan were childhood friends and had studied together in the village school. Bhola liked the doctor, who, according to him, was a jolly and generous person. Bhola had never seen him angry and had a hearty laughter. Dr Raghu always used to offer him herbal throat lozenges and today Bhola expected the doctor to give him a few along with the medicine. Somehow the doctor missed it.  When Dr Raghu lovingly patted Bhola’s head and asked him to visit him the next morning for a follow-up, Bhola laughed and said, “Doctorji, you have forgotten something.” Doctor wondered aloud, “What did I forget Bhola?” Bhola, with his eyes twinkling with amusement, coughed aloud and pointed towards the jar of herbal throat lozenges on the doctor’s table. All of them laughed while the doctor handed a few lozenges He lovingly patted Bhola’s head and asked him to visit him the next morning for a follow-up from the jar to Bhola. Spandan mocked the doctor “Dr Raghu, you are bad, very bad! How could you forget this? You really are bad!” This made Dr Raghu laugh out loud and pull out his smartphone from his coat pocket. “Spandan, how can I forget your favourite song?” Said the doctor and played a popular English song video. He held the phone in front of Spandan and Bhola to view the video.

“Bhola, you enjoyed the song?” Dr Raghu smiled at the boy. Bhola smiled smugly and replied “I like this song very much. I only understand ‘I am Bad’ phrase in the song. I have seen it many times.” Bola’s reply puzzled Spandan who asked “Where did you see this video Bhola?” Bhola grinned from ear to ear and said, “At the motor garage. Ravi used to watch this song and my other song videos. He used to see many action movies and crime movies. He liked to see all the superhero movies like Superman. He always used to laugh and tell me, ‘All bad people are in the news and movies, all bad people are famous.’ He used to make me play cards with money when the garage owner used to go to the city on business. Quite often he used to get caught stealing money from the garage owner’s safe and I used to get beaten up.”

Bhola looked at Spandan and Dr. Raghu who looked sombre and lost in their thoughts.  “Sir, did I say anything wrong?” Bhola asked Spandan. Spandan hurriedly replied, “Not at all Bhola, did Ravi ever show this video to you? Raghu, do you have the video on making of the Thriller video? Could you show it to us, if you do?” The doctor guffawed and flicked on the requested video on his phone and gave it to Spandan and Bhola with aplomb “At your service Sir”. Bhola watched the video spellbound and when it was over, Spandan asked him, “So Bhola, what would you say about this video?”

Bhola gaped at the two men and said “Wah Sir, all those ghosts are not real ghosts, they are men. It is not easy to do all this!” Spandan patted Bhola’s shoulder and said, “Yes my boy. So you see it is not easy to do a good job and make everyone happy. Tell me, did you like this video?” Bhola chirped his response, “Very much Sir, I liked it more than the ‘I am Bad’ video!” Doctor, as usual, roared with laughter and opened his lunch box to pull out a sweetmeat “peda”. He offered it to Bhola and said “Bhola, this is your reward!” the conversation with Spandan and Raghu made Bhola appear fresh and cheerful. He thanked the doctor and broke the sweet into three and offered a piece each to the two men. They laughed and graciously accepted the boy’s offering.

Once Spandan and Bhola had stepped out of the Health Centre, Spandan looked at his wristwatch and exclaimed: “Twelve thirty already!"Time for the midday meal! Bhola, are you not hungry? Would you like to join us for lunch?” Bhola could feel the pangs of hunger and nodded his head in consent. Spandan smiled and placing his right arm on Bhola’s shoulder said, “Boy, do you know who cooks the midday meal? You will see today. You have many new things to see today at school.”

Bhola saw a prison van at the school gate and refused to move ahead. Spandan laughed pulled Bhola’s arm “Don’t worry Bhola; the police is not here to arrest anyone. They have brought the midday meal the prisoners cook for the school students. And look, what they take back with them apart from the empty vessels.” Spandan pointed towards the school gate and Bhola saw the school students come out holding baskets full of vegetables. They placed the baskets in the police van and the empty food vessels too. Bhola cast a questioning look at Spandan, who replied “All the students grow these vegetables in the school garden. It is part of your school studies. So, will you like to grow vegetables for your midday meal?” Bhola marvelled “Wah! That’s wonderful, growing vegetables for my meal!” Spandan and Bhola had the meal of rice, daal, potato, cabbage and ladies finger along with the students in the verandah of the school building. They washed the utensils with the dishwashing powder and stacked them in the storeroom. Bhola saw a new building behind the main building and all the students enter it through its main entrance. Spandan approached him and said, “That is the school auditorium and your Mother has also helped in its construction. The village constructed it under the MNREGA scheme. I am sure you must have heard your mother speak about it. This is movie time. Would you like to go home or see the movie?

Bhola was speechless and silently moved into the auditorium along with the students. It was a big hall with a stage and they sat down in front of the stage. This afternoon, the students saw a movie on the Solar System, the Sun, Moon, the nine planets. When the movie was over the students queued out of the building to the classroom and Bhola remained in the courtyard wondering what to do as Spandan was nowhere in sight. He wanted to thank him and return home.  

“So Bhola, ready to go home” Bhola started on hearing  Spandan’s voice and saw him approach him from the Auditorium. Do you want to see what the students are doing in their classroom? Come, let’s see” they went into a classroom and saw the students draw the nine planets, the sun and the moon and write about them under the pictures they had drawn in their notebooks. Spandan asked one of the students why he was doing this. The student replied that he was making a note of what he had seen and understood from the movie and they would discuss it with their teacher in the group discussion class the following day. Then they would make models and play games on the solar system.

When Bhola stepped out of the classroom along with Spandan, he found the undergrowth that was in front of the main building was cleared. Spandan could read his mind and said “Few of the students work in the garden and few of them work in the ground in front of you to make a playground out of it. Once the ground is made, you will play football, volleyball, basketball and badminton there. Come I will show you the garden.” Spandan led Bhola to the right of the school building where he saw a beautiful garden full of flowering plants, vegetable plants, creepers, shrubs and bushes. Spandan told him the students use to take a turn to work for a week in the garden and the next week in the playground. The students studied language, science and Mathematics while working in the garden and the playground.

Bhola and Spandan heard the school bell ring marking the end of the day at school. “Bhola, why don’t you join us for the Day End School Assembly? Let’s go” They headed towards the courtyard where the students and teachers had assembled for the assembly. Master Dinanath, one of the senior school teachers addressed the assembly and called the leaders of each class to present their report and plan. Bhola saw Madhav from his class walk to the head of the assembly to stand beside Master Dinanath and announce, “Today, our class has cleaned the classroom, the school ground and worked in the garden. Tomorrow morning, we will help the people in the neighbourhood of our home to clean the neighbourhood and we will submit the report of the neighbourhood cleaning drive in the morning assembly. Sir, here is the detailed report of the work we have done in the classroom, school ground and the garden with the signature of our teachers.” Madhav handed a sheet of paper to Master Dinanath who then announced, “For the work, the students of class ten have done today, you can go to Guptaji in the office and collect your day’s scholarship for the work you have done.” Bhola saw his classmates move in single file towards the office in the main building. He looked perplexed and heard Spandan laugh gently in good humour. “Bhola, the school gives the students a daily scholarship of Rupees one hundred and fifty for the work you do to clean your neighbourhood, school as well as in the garden and courtyard. You can either collect it daily at the end of the day or get the money deposited into your account in a bank at the end of the month. The school helps you to open student account in the bank in the village.” 

Bhola was dumbstruck; he used to get only two hundred rupees after spending the whole day in his garbage dumping yard. At school, he would not only earn a decent scholarship but also get a good midday meal, study and play with his friends. He stood rooted to his place.

“Bhola would like to attend school from tomorrow?” asked Spandan. Bhola looked at Spandan and asked, “Sir, could you tell me about yourself?”

Spandan smiled and replied, “Why not! I am Spandan Pant. My father used to teach at this school. I studied in this school. I went to the city for higher studies and also taught in a college there. The Government advertised for teachers and headmasters for their new project and that is how I am here in front of you. Bhola, it is easy to be bad, but more rewarding and delightful to be good. Good not only to and for yourself but also to and for others too. That is how we live in a happy family, happy nation and happy world.”

“Bhola, are you there?” Bhola saw his mother at the school gate call out to him. Spandan gestured to her to join them. She hurried towards them and asked Spandan, “Masterji, I hope Bhola did not trouble you the whole day?”

“Not at all, in fact, I have confused Bhola, so he is unable to decide whether he should attend school or stay at home,” Spandan replied in reply to Mithi’s query.

“Bhola, what have you decided?” Mithi asked her son.

“I will be here tomorrow, Sir” replied Bhola looking at his mother.

Image Source:

www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/india-will-need-100-yrs-to-end-child-labour-report-115061100677_1.html

Child labourer in India. Picture: internationalsaviour.blogspot.com 

MATRIMONY

“Shalini, please open the door! Vishnu, could you open the window or the skylight. Vaishali! Help me open this door!” Vasudha cried out aloud while frantically knocking at the bedroom door.

“I could not open the skylight and the window, let’s open the door. Vaishali, hurry up! Will you!”  Vishnu rushed to the door closely followed by Vaishali and the three of them threw their weight on the door in their attempt to open it.

“Bang!”  Locked door relented to the pressure and the three of them literally fell into the room. Vishnu rushed to switch on the light while, Vaishali and Vasudha rushed to the centre of the room. The whole room was illuminated with the light Vishnu had switched on. They were shocked to see the motionless figure of Shalini sprawled on the bed. Vaishali grabbed the water jug from the bedside table while Vasudha held unconscious Shalini up in their effort to revive her. Meanwhile, an empty bottle of sleeping pills lying on the floor caught Vishnu’s attention. “Vasudha, Vaishali, it’s an emergency. We have to rush Shalini to the hospital. Get her to the front door while I get the car.” Vishnu rushed out of the house to get the car from the garage.

Vishnu and Vasudha were young software engineers in their late twenties working for a multinational company. After three years of courtship they had tied the knot and moved to a new city with a new job. Shalini was Vishnu’s sister, was in her late thirties, working as a clerk in a social welfare organisation and lived two blocks away from them. After Shalini had lost her parents, Vaishali’s father got her employed in the social welfare organisation and helped her with accommodation in a working women’s hostel close to her workplace. Vaishali was their cousin sister, who lived in their village ancestral home and was on her annual visit to her cousins.  Vishnu’s mother and Vaishali’s father were siblings and had raised their children together to foster strong bonding between them. Vaishali had just graduated from college. She had begun working in the village Aanganwadi. Vaishali was very close to her cousin sister Shalini, who was a mother figure to her ever since she lost her mother to pneumonia, when she was just six years old. Shalini was a slow learner in her childhood and was a dim witted person to her family and friends, except Vaishali. Both of them would share their happiness and sorrow and confide in each other too. 

“Don’t worry we have washed out the pills from her stomach. She will regain consciousness within the next few hours. We will keep her in the ICU for the next twenty four hours. You can go home and rest, Mr. Vishnu. You know the hospital’s visiting hours. Take care.” Said the doctor approaching the anxious trio huddled together in the waiting area in front of the Emergency ward. “Thank you doctor, you have really helped us. Can we discharge Shalini and take her home if she recovers completely within the next twenty four hours?” asked Vishnu, who jumped to his feet and warmly held the doctor’s hand to express his gratitude.

Three of them decided to spend rest of the night in the visitors’ lounge and return home only after Shalini had regained her conscience. Once they were in the visitors’ lounge, Vishnu broke the silence ever since they had left home for the hospital, “Vaishali, it’s because of you that Shalini visited us and agreed to stay at our home. She does not communicate with us at all. I telephone her once a week and she keeps the conversation brief saying that she has lot of work to do. She is very close to you and it was you who woke us up and called to help Shalini. Do you know what has been troubling her of late to take such a drastic step?” Vaishali burst into tears. Vasudha held Vaishali close to her and console her.

Vasudha gently urged Vaishali to settle on a bench in the lounge and went to get water for them to drink. Vishnu squatted on the floor in front of Vaishali and held her by her hands, “Vaishali, you know Shalini is out of danger. So, please tell me what has been troubling her so that we can together help her out. You have to be strong for Shalini if you really love her. Please tell me.” Just then, Vasudha walked back to them with three paper cups of water in a tray. She offered it to them and sat down on the floor beside Vishnu. Vasudha could sense that the two had been conversing while she was away. “Vaishali, I know you are a very strong girl. You are the one who will be able to help Shalini and you have to tell us how we can help you to do it.” Vasudha spoke calmly while she looked at Vishnu and Vaishali.

 Vaishali emptied the glass of water trying to moisten her parched throat. She wiped her tears and lips and said, “Vishnu, it’s strange that you do not know what Shalini di has been going through of late.” “Please tell me, we want to know” Vishnu urged her to speak.

With sad eyes Vaishali looked at Vishnu and Vasudha before she began to speak “Shalini di always feels that she is the cause of Mausi and Mausa’s death. They died worrying for her that she is a dim witted girl and they could not get her married. My father had to help her with a job and accommodation at the hostel. When she last visited us in the village, my father had nearly confirmed her doubt when he asked her to fulfill her parents’ last wish to marry and settled down in life. He made her register on few matrimonial sites. That is the main cause of all the trouble Shalini di faced. I will never forgive my father for that” overpowered with grief and resentment, Vaishali burst into tears. Vasudha got up and sat beside her and held sobbing Vaishali close to her. The room echoed Vaishali’s sorrow while Vishnu helplessly looked at his cousin.

Vaishali regained her composure and continued with her narration, “Many people contacted Shalini di, but all of them were fraudsters. They used to telephone her and write emails to her and after exchanging few emails they would ask her to send money to them or mobile phone or even help them by receiving valuables like gold and currency that they would courier to her that they would collect from her when they would come to meet her. One gentleman, who said he was working in UK  asked her to send the size of her ring finger so that he would bring the engagement ring along with him when he would come to meet her in India. The morning he was to fly in to India, Shalini di received a phone call from a stranger, who introduced himself as a customs officer calling her from the airport. He had seized fifty thousand pounds in cash from her husband’s baggage and wanted Shalini di to go to the airport and get him cleared from the customs. Fortunately, Shalini di’s room mate was with her and she helped her out. She spoke to the caller and asked him to describe the man he said was Shalini di’s husband. The description he gave was completely different from the photograph the person had emailed to Shalini di while corresponding with her referring to her profile on the matrimonial site. Her roommate had called off asking the caller if he had any proof that he is a customs officer and Shalini di is the culprit’s wife.  Her roommate had coaxed Shalini di to register a complaint with local police station and then with the FIR details log a complaint with the matrimonial site. Shalini di was too scared to take such an action. Her roommate then logged a complaint with the matrimonial site on Shalini di’s behalf. At least more than twenty such fraudsters had approached Shalini di through the matrimonial sites she had registered with. The most disgusting experience she has had is in the form of Yahoo messenger messages, emails and phone calls for sexual dates. Shalini di was quite disturbed and she had called me. She could not understand the messages she was receiving until I explained them to her tonight.” Suddenly Vaishali hid her face in her hands and burst into tears.

Quite shocked by all that he heard from Vaishali, Vishnu got up and pulled Vaishali up from the bench and said with a gruff voice, “Don’t stop Vaishali, and tell me what happened!” Struck by Vishnu’s intent look on her face, Vaishali stopped crying, slummed back on the bench and continued with her narrative “When I arrived this morning, I was glad and equally surprised to see Shalini di at the station instead of you and Vasudha. Shalini di told me that she had taken the day off from her work and she wanted me to help her. She took me to her hostel and Vishnu, I had telephoned you from there. She took me to a cyber café close to her hostel and showed me all the messages and emails she had received from the fraudsters. I was shocked to read the emails and the messages asking for money or sexual favours. I was repulsed reading them. There were only a couple of emails where they had directly asked Shalini di if she would ask them for any financial help in her subsequent correspondence with them. This irked Shalini di and she had stopped corresponding with them. She showed me an email she had received today and the person had given his phone number and asked her to call her in the evening. I checked the person’s profile and it was of a wealthy Indian businessman from Australia and the cell phone number in the email was that of India.  I pointed this out to Shalini di and she asked me to use the telephone number in the evening to find out the truth. Meanwhile, I convinced Shalini di to stay at your place while I was in the city. She always avoids you and Vasudha because she feels inferior to both of you. Though she is way older than the two of you, but she always fears being a burden on you. Quite reluctantly she came along with me to your house. In the evening, at nine thirty, after dinner, when both of you had retired to bed, Shalini di reminded me to make the phone call. Before making the phone call, I switched on my computer, opened the person’s profile on the matrimonial site and dialed the number using Shalini di’s phone. The person who replied had strong African accent. When I asked him few detailed questions on his country of residence and why he had given me an Indian phone no, he replied that his parents lived in Australia while he spent most of his time in India for his business. I had checked the number using the phone number detection software. The number was registered in the name of a mobile phone shop somewhere in the south-west India, but the caller said he was in Delhi. He called off saying that he was dining and would call back after some time.” Vaishali stopped and looked at her listeners who seemed to absorb every word she uttered.

“Vaishali, do want some more water?” Vasudha asked. “No, I don’t. Let me continue. Shalini and I moved into the bedroom as we did not want to disturb you with our conversation. While waiting for the phone call Shalini told me about an automobile engineer, who befriended her from a social networking site and had invited her to meet him in a cafeteria at the other end of the city. When she met him there, he feigned to have lost his wallet and was in dire need of money to immediately pay for his mother’s hospital expenses. When Shalini di explained to him that she did not have any savings, he bid her good bye. She had a person seeking living-in relationship with her. She had people from every part of the globe pretending to be a suitor, but with dubious intentions. Just then the man called. I put the phone on speaker phone and answered the call. The man, in his African tone, blatantly said that he wanted to have telephone sex and began making obscene noises. I yelled at him that I would give his number to the police and disconnected the call. The call had shaken us up and made Shalini di burst into tears. I consoled her and asked her to be with me while I informed the two of you about this incidence. Shalini di seemed quite reluctant to share her experience with the two of you, but ultimately gave up to my persuasion on one condition, that she would sleep on the settee in the living room and not with me in the bedroom. I then forced her to sleep in the bedroom and I moved out into the living room. After a while, I heard a tinkling sound from the bedroom and that’s when I rushed to you for help.” Vaishali silently looked at her audience. Vishnu cleared his throat trying to dispel the overpowering grip of emotions “Did you know that Shalini used to take sleeping pills?” “She had told me once about a doctor from her workplace had prescribed sleeping pills to her as she was unable to sleep at night. I remembered it only when you showed the empty bottle in the room.”  Vasudha looked at Shalini and asked “What about the complaint Shalini di’s room mate had filed with the Matrimonial site?” Vaishali looked sullenly at Vasudha and replied “Shalini di was too scared to follow up. She did not want anyone to know about all this. She felt quite ashamed of herself. You can’t blame her for this.” said Vaishali, as if trying to justify her cousin’s actions. “Vaishali di always was under Mausaji and Mausiji’s control. She did not develop her ability to discern the shades of gray. Mausaji a

Shalini, please open the door! Vishwa, could you open the window or the skylight. Vaishali! Help me open this door!” Vasudha cried out aloud while frantically knocking at the bedroom door.

“I could not open the skylight and the window, let’s open the door. Vaishali, hurry up! Will you!”  Vishwa rushed to the door closely followed by Vaishali and the three of them threw their weight on the door in their attempt to open it.

“Bang!”  Locked door relented to the pressure and the three of them literally fell into the room. Vishwa rushed to switch on the light while, Vaishali and Vasudha rushed to the centre of the room. The whole room was illuminated with the light Vishwa had switched on. They were shocked to see the motionless figure of Shalini sprawled on the bed. Vaishali grabbed the water jug from the bedside table while Vasudha held unconscious Shalini up in their effort to revive her. Meanwhile, an empty bottle of sleeping pills lying on the floor caught Vishwa’s attention. “Vasudha, Vaishali, it’s an emergency. We have to rush Shalini to the hospital. Get her to the front door while I get the car.” Vishwa rushed out of the house to get the car from the garage.

Vishwa and Vasudha were young software engineers in their late twenties working for a multinational company. After three years of courtship they had tied the knot and moved to a new city with a new job. Shalini was Vishwa’s sister, was in her late thirties, working as a clerk in a social welfare organisation and lived two blocks away from them. After Shalini had lost her parents, Vaishali’s father got her employed in the social welfare organisation and helped her with accommodation in a working women’s hostel close to her workplace. Vaishali was their cousin sister, who lived in their village ancestral home and was on her annual visit to her cousins.  Vishwa’s mother and Vaishali’s father were siblings and had raised their children together to foster strong bonding between them. Vaishali had just graduated from college. She had begun working in the village Aanganwadi. Vaishali was very close to her cousin sister Shalini, who was a mother figure to her ever since she lost her mother to pneumonia, when she was just six years old. Shalini was a slow learner in her childhood and was a dim witted person to her family and friends, except Vaishali. Both of them would share their happiness and sorrow and confide in each other too. 

“Don’t worry we have washed out the pills from her stomach. She will regain consciousness within the next few hours. We will keep her in the ICU for the next twenty four hours. You can go home and rest, Mr. Vishwa. You know the hospital’s visiting hours. Take care.” Said the doctor approaching the anxious trio huddled together in the waiting area in front of the Emergency ward. “Thank you doctor, you have really helped us. Can we discharge Shalini and take her home if she recovers completely within the next twenty four hours?” asked Vishwa, who jumped to his feet and warmly held the doctor’s hand to express his gratitude.

Three of them decided to spend rest of the night in the visitors’ lounge and return home only after Shalini had regained her conscience. Once they were in the visitors’ lounge, Vishwa broke the silence ever since they had left home for the hospital, “Vaishali, it’s because of you that Shalini visited us and agreed to stay at our home. She does not communicate with us at all. I telephone her once a week and she keeps the conversation brief saying that she has lot of work to do. She is very close to you and it was you who woke us up and called to help Shalini. Do you know what has been troubling her of late to take such a drastic step?” Vaishali burst into tears. Vasudha held Vaishali close to her and consoled her.

Vasudha gently urged Vaishali to settle on a bench in the lounge and went to get water for them to drink. Vishwa squatted on the floor in front of Vaishali and held her by her hands, “Vaishali, you know Shalini is out of danger. So, please tell me what has been troubling her so that we can together help her out. You have to be strong for Shalini if you really love her. Please tell me.” Just then, Vasudha walked back to them with three paper cups of water in a tray. She offered it to them and sat down on the floor beside Vishwa. Vasudha could sense that the two had been conversing while she was away. “Vaishali, I know you are a very strong girl. You are the one who will be able to help Shalini and you have to tell us how we can help you to do it.” Vasudha spoke calmly while she looked at Vishwa and Vaishali.

 Vaishali emptied the glass of water trying to moisten her parched throat. She wiped her tears and lips and said, “Vishwa, it’s strange that you do not know what Shalini di has been going through of late.” “Please tell me, we want to know” Vishwa urged her to speak.

With sad eyes Vaishali looked at Vishwa and Vasudha before she began to speak “Shalini di always feels that she is the cause of Mausi and Mausa’s death. They died worrying for her that she is a dim witted girl and they could not get her married. My father had to help her with a job and accommodation at the hostel. When she last visited us in the village, my father had nearly confirmed her doubt when he asked her to fulfill her parents’ last wish to marry and settled down in life. He made her register on few matrimonial sites. That is the main cause of all the trouble Shalini di faced. I will never forgive my father for that” overpowered with grief and resentment, Vaishali burst into tears. Vasudha got up and sat beside her and held sobbing Vaishali close to her. The room echoed Vaishali’s sorrow while Vishwa helplessly looked at his cousin.

Vaishali regained her composure and continued with her narration, “Many people contacted Shalini di, but all of them were fraudsters. They used to telephone her and write emails to her and after exchanging few emails they would ask her to send money to them or mobile phone or even help them by receiving valuables like gold and currency that they would courier to her and they would collect from her when they would come to meet her. A person of Indian origin from Japan and contacted Shalini di and even visited her. He told her that she looked more pretty and fair in her profile picture on the Matrimonial site than in reality. A few months after his visit, a woman telephoned Shalini and asked her if she was in contact with that man. She told Shalini di that she was his living-in partner in India and he has absconded with her money and other valuables. She had found his telephone no and was contacting all the ladies listed in his phone book. Then Shalini di had a gentleman, who said he was working in UK asked her to send the size of her ring finger so that he would bring the engagement ring along with him when he would come to meet her in India. The morning he was to fly in to India, Shalini di received a phone call from a stranger, who introduced himself as a customs officer calling her from the airport. He had seized fifty thousand pounds in cash from her husband’s baggage and wanted Shalini di to go to the airport and get him cleared from the customs. Fortunately, Shalini di’s room mate was with her and she helped her out. She spoke to the caller and asked him to describe the man he said was Shalini di’s husband. The description he gave was completely different from the photograph the person had emailed to Shalini di while corresponding with her referring to her profile on the matrimonial site. Her roommate had called off asking the caller if he had any proof that he is a customs officer and Shalini di is the culprit’s wife.  Her roommate had coaxed Shalini di to register a complaint with local police station and then with the FIR details log a complaint with the matrimonial site. Shalini di was too scared to take such an action. Her roommate then logged a complaint with the matrimonial site on Shalini di’s behalf. At least more than twenty such fraudsters had approached Shalini di through the matrimonial sites she had registered with. The most disgusting experience she has had is in the form of Yahoo messenger messages, emails and phone calls for sexual dates. Shalini di was quite disturbed and she had called me. She could not understand the messages she was receiving until I explained them to her tonight.” Suddenly Vaishali hid her face in her hands and burst into tears.

Quite shocked by all that he heard from Vaishali, Vishwa got up and pulled Vaishali up from the bench and said in a gruff voice, “Don’t stop Vaishali, and tell me what happened!” Struck by Vishwa’s intent look on her face, Vaishali stopped crying, slumped back on the bench and continued with her narrative “When I arrived this morning, I was glad and equally surprised to see Shalini di at the station instead of you and Vasudha. Shalini di told me that she had taken the day off from her work and she wanted me to help her. She took me to her hostel and Vishwa, I had telephoned you from there. She took me to a cyber café close to her hostel and showed me all the messages and emails she had received from the fraudsters. I was shocked to read the emails and the messages asking for money or sexual favours. I was repulsed reading them. There were only a couple of emails where they had directly asked Shalini di if she would ask them for any financial help in her subsequent correspondence with them. This irked Shalini di and she had stopped corresponding with them. She showed me an email she had received today and the person had given his phone number and asked her to call her in the evening. I checked the person’s profile and it was of a wealthy Indian businessman from Australia and the cell phone number in the email was that of India.  I pointed this out to Shalini di and she asked me to use the telephone number in the evening to find out the truth. Meanwhile, I convinced Shalini di to stay at your place while I was in the city. She always avoids you and Vasudha because she feels inferior to both of you. Though she is way older than the two of you, but she always fears being a burden on you. Quite reluctantly she came along with me to your house. In the evening, at nine thirty, after dinner, when both of you had retired to bed, Shalini di reminded me to make the phone call. Before making the phone call, I switched on my computer, opened the person’s profile on the matrimonial site and dialed the number using Shalini di’s phone. The person who replied had strong African accent. When I asked him few detailed questions on his country of residence and why he had given me an Indian phone no, he replied that his parents lived in Australia while he spent most of his time in India for his business. I had checked the number using the phone number detection software. The number was registered in the name of a mobile phone shop somewhere in the south-west of India, but the caller said he was in Delhi. He called off saying that he was dining and would call back after some time.” Vaishali stopped and looked at her listeners who seemed to absorb every word she uttered.

“Vaishali, do want some more water?” Vasudha asked. “No, I don’t. Let me continue.” Replied Shalini and continued with her narration “Shalini and I moved into the bedroom as we did not want to disturb you with our conversation. While waiting for the phone call Shalini told me about an automobile engineer, who befriended her from a social networking site and had invited her to meet him in a cafeteria at the other end of the city. When she met him there, he feigned to have lost his wallet and was in dire need of money to immediately pay for his mother’s hospital expenses. When Shalini di explained to him that she did not have any savings, he bid her good bye. She had a person seeking living-in relationship with her. She had people from every part of the globe pretending to be a suitor, but with dubious intentions. Just then the man called. I put the phone on speaker phone and answered the call. The man, in his African tone, blatantly said that he wanted to have telephone sex and began making obscene noises. I yelled at him that I would give his number to the police and disconnected the call. The call had shaken us up and made Shalini di burst into tears. I consoled her and asked her to be with me while I informed the two of you about this incidence. Shalini di seemed quite reluctant to share her experience with the two of you, but ultimately gave up to my persuasion on one condition, that she would sleep on the settee in the living room and not with me in the bedroom. I then forced her to sleep in the bedroom and I moved out into the living room. After a while, I heard a tinkling sound from the bedroom and that’s when I rushed to you for help.” Vaishali silently looked at her audience. Vishwa cleared his throat trying to dispel the overpowering grip of emotions “Did you know that Shalini used to take sleeping pills?” “She had told me once that her doctor colleague, had prescribed sleeping pills to her as she was unable to sleep at night. I remembered it only when you showed the empty bottle in the room.” Replied Vaishali.  Vasudha looked at Shalini and asked “What about the complaint Shalini di’s room mate had filed with the Matrimonial site?” Vaishali looked sullenly at Vasudha and replied “Shalini di was too scared to follow up. She did not want anyone to know about all this. She felt quite ashamed of herself. You can’t blame her for this.” said Vaishali, as if trying to justify her cousin’s actions. “Vaishali di always was under Mausaji and Mausiji’s control. She did not develop her ability to discern the shades of gray. Mausaji and Mausiji always dealt with her on what she did as right or wrong. Unlike you and me Vishwa, Shalini di studied in the village school. She came to the city only when she got the job in the social welfare organisation. She suffers from low self esteem. Please don’t misunderstand” “reading between the lines" muttered Vishwa and suddenly he retorted "Do you think I don’t know my sister!” He calmed down, looking imploringly at Vaishali said, “Vaishali, we really need your help” Vaishali sat down on the floor beside him and said “Anything for Shalini di, Vishwa. Anything” Vishwa looked at her and said, “Can you extend your stay with us and help us collect all the necessary information to file an FIR and follow up with the matrimonial site. You have to help me with Shalini di too.” Vaishali stood up and said “In fact, we had been to the police station this afternoon. The Inspector on duty listened to us and said that he has filed many such complaints and asked us to file an FIR, but Shalini di refused to. Let me visit the ICU and check on Shalini di.”

nd Mausiji always dealt with her on what she did as right or wrong. Unlike you and me Vishnu, Shalini di studied in the village school. She came to the city only when she got the job in the social welfare organisation. She suffers from low self esteem. Please don’t misunderstand” “reading between the lines" muttered Vishnu and suddenly he retorted "Do you think I don’t know my sister!” He calmed down, looking imploringly at Vaishali said, “Vaishali, we really need your help” Vaishali sat down on the floor beside him and said “Anything for Shalini di, Vishnu. Anything” Vishnu looked at her and said, “Can you extend your stay with us and help us collect all the necessary information to file an FIR and follow up with the matrimonial site. You have to help me with Shalini di too.” Shalini stood up and said “In fact, we had been to the police station this afternoon. The Inspector on duty listened to us and said that he has filed many such complaints and asked us to file an FIR, but Shalini di refused to.”