Djinn Patrol on the Purple Line - Deepa Anappara Page 0,76
now, like she has secrets I can’t guess.
The puja is being held near Aanchal’s house, but closer to the highway, so that important Hindu Samaj people don’t have to trudge through our basti’s muck. I hope the men from the dhaba with the disco-light Ganpati and the auto-stand won’t tell Ma they have seen me before.
A red canopy has blossomed like a gigantic red rose in front of the dhaba. Below it, brown rugs have been rolled out on the ground. In the middle of the rugs is a brick square piled with firewood.
The workers at the dhaba are making puris. This is the best bit of the puja: we are going to get free food at the end of it. I feel sorry for Pari and Faiz because they are missing out on a feast. Pari’s ma has gone off to work, leaving Pari alone at home to study. Pari doesn’t even mind because she likes studying.
The pandal is empty except for a few Hindu Samaj people dressed in their trademark saffron clothes. They wander around with their heads held high, pointing out to others the things that need fixing. Then I see a woman running toward us, her hair loose and wild, a blanket slipping down her shoulders, trailing behind her and gathering dust. She sits down at the very edge of the pandal, near its entrance from the direction of the highway. Her back rests against a pole that looks as if it could crash any moment. Ma and I go to her, but Runu-Didi stays behind so we won’t lose our spots.
“What happened?” Ma asks the woman I recognize as Chandni’s ma. Then Ma shouts at the men from the dhaba, “Get her some water. Hurry.”
One of the dhaba-men brings Chandni’s ma a steel glass, water filled to its brim. She drinks it quickly, looks at Ma, and says, “I went to the police station.”
“Why?” Ma asks.
“I wanted them to attend the puja, so that they could hear the baba talk about Chandni. My daughter, who is missing.”
Ma nods her head. “I heard.”
“But those animals beat me here”—Chandni’s ma touches her neck—“here”—she twists her left hand to touch her back, just below her blouse and above her sari skirt—“and here too.” Now she touches her legs. “I asked them why they’re not looking for my child, and they said, We’re your servants or what? They asked me, Why do you people pop out kids like rats when you can’t take care of them? We’ll be doing the world a favor if we wipe out your slum.”
I think of the words RODENT BAIT STATION written on a metal box in our school playground, next to a paved area where the midday meal food is unloaded from vans.
“You take your grievances to baba,” a man tells Chandni’s ma. “He will help you. But now, in the name of Lord Hanuman, stop with all this rona-dona. We spent a lot of money to organize this event.”
Chandni’s ma smiles an embarrassed smile, draws in her sniffles, and smooths her hair with her bruised hands. The dhaba-wallah takes his steel glass back.
I don’t know why the Hindu Samaj man said they spent a lot of money on the puja. The money came from us. Every Hindu gave what they could to the men from the Samaj who went around the basti with a bucket into which we dropped coins and rupees. The Samaj and their goondas are so scary, no one dared to say no to them.
“The police will change their tune,” Ma tells Chandni’s ma, “now that baba himself is on our side. A holy man like that wouldn’t even have glanced at people of our caste before. Things are changing for the better. See, even the smog is less today.”
People start arriving for the puja. They take off their chappals and shoes before they step inside the pandal. A Samaj man appoints three boys to watch over everyone’s Poma and Adides and Nik shoes. Ma, Didi and I forgot to remove ours.
Thumper-Baba appears with the pradhan, Quarter and his gang-members, and Wrestler-Man. Maybe Wrestler-Man is not just the pradhan’s informer, but also an important member of the Hindu Samaj. I edge closer to the pole so that the baba won’t be able to hit my back.
“My dear child,” the baba tells Chandni’s ma, “you have had to endure so much. But worry no longer. I’ll solve every one of your troubles.”