Another man was distantly related to his fiancée’s family. He was eager to drag Maan off to meet them, but Maan pleaded that he had to return to Brahmpur by the early afternoon train. He explained that his brother, who was ill and in hospital, was due to become a father any day now. The man appeared surprised at Maan’s new-found sense of family obligation, but said nothing further. But Maan, feeling on the defensive, could no longer bring himself to mention the subject of his outstanding loan.
One debtor implied in a circuitous and inoffensive way that now that Mahesh Kapoor had resigned as Minister of Revenue in the neighbouring state, Maan’s outstanding loan had stopped preying so frequently or pressingly on his mind.
Maan managed to get back about an eighth of what he had lent, and borrowed about the same amount from various friends and acquaintances. This came to just over two thousand rupees. At first he felt disappointed and disillusioned. But with two thousand rupees in his pocket, and a train ticket back to bliss, he felt that life was pretty good after all.
13.9
TAHMINA BAI meanwhile visited Saeeda Bai.
Tahmina Bai’s mother had been the madam of the establishment in Tarbuz ka Bazaar where Saeeda Bai and her mother Mohsina Bai had earlier lived.
‘What shall we do? What shall we do?’ cried Tahmina Bai in high excitement. ‘Play chaupar and gossip? Or gossip and play chaupar? Tell your cook to make those delicious kababs, Saeeda. I’ve brought some biryani – I told Bibbo to take it to the kitchen – now tell me, tell me everything. I have so much to tell you –’
After they had played a few games of chaupar, and exchanged endless gossip, together with some more serious news of the world – such as the effect that the Zamindari Act would have on them, especially on Saeeda Bai, who had a better class of customer; and the education of Tasneem; and the health of Tahmina Bai’s mother; and the rising rents and property values, even in Tarbuz ka Bazaar – they turned to the antics of their various clients.
‘I’ll be Marh,’ said Saeeda Bai. ‘You be me.’
‘No, I’ll be Marh,’ said Tahmina Bai. ‘You be me.’ She was giggling away in high delight. She grabbed a flower vase, threw the flowers onto a table, and pretended to drink from it. Soon she was lurching from side to side and grunting. Then she made a lunge for Saeeda Bai, who whipped the pallu of her sari out of reach, ran, screaming ‘toba! toba!’ to the harmonium, and quickly played a descending scale through two octaves.
Tahmina Bai’s eyes grew blurred. As the scale descended, so did she. Soon she was snoring on the carpet. After ten seconds, she heaved her body up, cried ‘wah! wah!’ and collapsed again, this time squealing and snorting with laughter. Then she leapt up again, upsetting a bowl of fruit, and flung herself on Saeeda Bai, who started moaning in ecstasy. With one hand Tahmina Bai reached for an apple and bit it. Then, at the moment of orgasm, she cried for whisky. And finally she rolled over, belched, and went off to sleep again.
They were almost choking with laughter. The parakeet was squawking in alarm.
‘Oh, but his son is even better,’ said Tahmina Bai.
‘No, no,’ said Saeeda Bai, helpless with laughter. ‘I can’t bear it. Stop, Tahmina, stop, stop –’
But Tahmina Bai had begun enacting the Rajkumar’s behaviour on the occasion when he had failed to grace her with his poetry.
Bewildered and protesting, the traumatized Tahmina pulled an imaginary but very drunk friend to his feet. ‘No, no,’ she cried in a terrified voice, ‘no, please, Tahmina Begum – I’ve already, no, no, I’m not in the mood – come, Maan, let’s go.’
Saeeda Bai said: ‘What? Did you say Maan?’
Tahmina Bai was having a giggling fit.
‘But that’s my Dagh Sahib,’ continued Saeeda Bai, amazed.
‘You mean that that was the Minister’s son?’ said Tahmina Bai. ‘The one whom everyone is gossiping about? Balding at the temples?’
‘Yes.’
‘He couldn’t grace me either.’
‘I’m glad to hear it,’ said Saeeda Bai.
‘Be careful, Saeeda,’ said Tahmina Bai affectionately. ‘Think of what your mother would say.’
‘Oh, it’s nothing,’ said Saeeda Bai. ‘I entertain them; he entertains me. It’s like Miya Mitthu here; I’m not a fool.’
And she followed it up with quite a good imitation of Maan making desperate love.
13.10
THE first thing Maan did when he got back to Brahmpur was to phone Prem Nivas to find out about Savita. She had been as good as her word. The baby was still inside her, unexposed as yet to the joys and woes of Brahmpur.