Standing in front of the entrance, I called out. The dappled dog sitting in a hollow which it had dug for itself under the margosa, barked.
The courtyard wall was shoulder high. Patches of plaster had peeled off at many places. At the plinth the bricks were bare. The wall, it appeared, had caved in and developed a hump. In the gate there was a window made of rough unhewn planks. Pushing my arm in through the window, I undid the inner latch and pushed the gate in. The dog got up from under the margosa and rushed at me. Hurriedly I shut the gate. With face upraised the dog went on barking. Taking Titoo in her arms Gurmeet beside me moved away a little. I again called loudly. Nobody responded. The dog, it seemed, was by now tired of barking and relaxing its tail, was moving towards the margosa. Moving close to me Gurmeet conveyed something through her eyes. Holding a goat by the ear Milkhi was coming towards us. Seeing us he smiled gently. I touched his feet. He accepted my greetings and shook hands with me. I cast a side glance at Gurmeet. She put Titoo down and holding her dupatta by its edge, bowed and touched Milkhi’s feet. The goat continued bleating. Milkhi pushed in the gate and then pushed the goat into the house.
I too got in. Titoo who was holding his mother’s finger also came in. Milkhi took Titoo in his lap and putting his cheek to Titoo’s, caressed him. The dog had stopped growling but still it occasionally stared at us with hostility.
It was June and very hot. As the sun climbed the sky higher the earth would get heated more and more. Dust storms would blow. The winds would become so hot that it would appear as though they were blowing from out of a furnace.
At sunset when the air had cooled down a bit, we had left the city. It was a five mile long unmetalled path but was good enough forcycling. I had seated Titoo on the frame bar and Gurmeet on the carrier and pedalled down to the village. But by the time ! reached the village crossing, the sweat and dirt had completely befuddled me and flagged my faculties.
It was dusk, A blanket of brown haze covered the sky. Milkhi took the huge string cot from under the margosa and put it in the courtyard in front of the room. He brought another cot from the room. We sat down. He was staring at the uncovered face of Gurmeet and Gurmeet was staring at me. Asa matter of fact, having been brought up in a city and being a matriculate, she had been arguing with me on our way to the village that she would not touch the feet of my cousin. She would greet him with a ‘Sat Sri Akal.’ I would say, “My cousin is an old fashioned man. If you touch his feet he would be pleased and you will lose nothing.” She had touched his feet but against her wishes. Seeing Gurmeet with her uncovered face, Milkhi was perhaps peeved. He went in to fetch cold water from the pitcher. I asked Gurmeet to cover her face. She hesitated but when Milkhi came with a pail of water, she pulled her dupatta over her forehead. Handling me a tumbler of water he seated himself near me on the same cot and said, “This is how it should be. See how nice she looks!” I gulped a mouthful of water and laughed. Gurmeet turned her face aside. Titoo took the tumbler from me and started drinking the water.
“Tea or lassi?” Milkhi said.
“Neither is needed. We have taken water cold and sweet like lemonade.” I said.
“No, you must have something. Wait a bit. Let me milk the goat.” Taking the pail he moved towards’ the goat. He lifted a big basket. Two kids rushed towards the goat; they started licking and then sucking its teats. Hardly had a few drops gone down their gullets when Milkhi wrenched the kids away from the goat. Holding them by their necks he pushed them under the basket once again. He washed the teats with water from the pail and started milking the goat.
Gurmeet smiled. “Ever taken goat’s milk?” I asked her.
She made a wry face.
“Do you know Gandhi used to take goat’s milk? It contains all the vitamins. There is in it the vitality of all the thirty six types of food and the essence of all the herbs that grow in the forest,” I said.
“Alright, drink down the whole bucketful.” She laughed and polled the edge of her dupatta up to her nose.
He brought from inside an earthen put containing sugar. He undid the string tied round the neck of the pot, took three handfuls of sugar from it and put it into a brass pan and having poured four to five tumblers of water into it, he started mising the surgar with a ladle. After mixing half a tumbler of milk into the pan he brought the pan to us. Titoo took half a tumbler and said, “It is sour.” Gurmeet took one tumbler and said, “No more for me.”
“It could not have tasted well without ice. Isn’t, Gurmeet?” said Milkhi and laughed. I too laughed. I took one tumbler. Half of the pan was still filled with milk.
“Like sparrows you have just dipped your beaks. Take some more.” He filled a glass and offered it to Gurmeet. She did not even stretch her hand. At last I took the tumbler and tried to put it to the lips of Titoo. He withdrew. Somwhow I drank the whole tumbler. Milkhi drank the rest. He removed the tumbler and the pan.
“We won’t get any vegetables here, brother. I should get washed moong dal. It will cook soon” he said.
“It is alright.” said I. “Where is the mortar and pestle? Please give salt and chillies. We will grind the condiments ready for use the time you come back.”
“You take rest. I will do the cooking. You are guests.. Should I make you work for me?”
“With such a beautiful woman in the house why should you work? How nice she will look baking chapatis here.” I laughed.
Speechless, he stood there. I felt he had gulped bitter saliva down his throat. He said, “She will cook for me today but who will do the cooking tomorrow?”
“She will cook tomorrow as well. Keep her for a month or so, if you so desire. I have no objection.”
I laughed loudly. Gurmeet moved her dupatta a litle and cast angry glances at me.
“Brother, which woman will stay here in these conditions?” His words were tinged with sorrow. He brought the mortar and pestle and placed them near the hearth on a platform.
“Ask him if the chillies are vary bitter,” Gurmeet said as she broke the stem of a chilly, two chapatis into four pieces and was about to come to me with the tray when he remembered something. He handed over the tray to Gurmeet and said, “Put the bowls near the fire. Wrap up the chapati. I just forgot to serve drink to my brother.” Hurriedly, he went into the room and came out with a dirty bottle of home brewed liquor and put it under my cot. He brought water in a pail, gave me a glass tumbler and said, “Brother take, a gulp of this bitter beverage.”
“No, brother, there is no need for this. It is so very hot. Let us take food only. No drink please”
“No, little brother, heat kills heat. We won’t take much. Just two light refreshing pegs.”
We started drinking.
“Mother, Father is bad.” Titoo was telling Gurmeet.
Just one peg each and we were dead drunk. Milkhi heaved a sigh and said, “Little brother, what is a house without a woman! Nothing avails without a woman.”
“Brother. You think of woman at such a ripe age! You should have made some arrangement earlier. Never mind, a man can bring a woman home any time he wishes.”
“But brother mine, she should be a decent one.”
“By decent you mean a woman whom you have married in a solemn ceremony,” I said.
“What else? This is what I say.
I can buy a woman any time. But
one who has not been faithful earlier, how can she be faithful to me?”
“No, brother, a woman may be bad natured and also of doubtful character but if a man loves her and gives her warmth and affection, she will never desert him.”
“Enough to eat, good clothes tb wear and a loving man in attendance. What else is love? But these purchased women, the ill begotten ones, leave without a hint and disappear into thin air.”
“Ever bought a woman of this type?”
“Why should I have brought home such a woman? But such things are frequently heard.”
“She Rande’s son Kare had brought home such a woman? But such things are frequently heard.”
“She Kande’s son Kare had brought home such a woman. She lived with him for just two months. It appeared as if she, the illegitimate one, belonged to this place. But when she left nobody could even guess where she had gone. and with whom.”
“Brother, should I bring one for you?”
“God forbid, I am fine without’ such a one.”
“Any harm if we buy a decent one?”
“If decent, there is no harm.”
“She will be a decent woman and will do the entire household work. She has a son and a daughter. Speak up if you would have her.”
“Well, what use is a woman to me now? I am alright without a woman.”
He filled another peg. After gulping it down he said, “Gurmeet Kaur, bring the food. Put some more ghee in the dal.”
Both of us ate the food. Titoo had already eaten and was lying asleep on my cot. Mikhi had put another cot near mine. He brought druggets, bed sheets, pillows from the front room. I put the sleeping Titoo into my lap. Milkhi made all the three beds. After taking food, Gurmeet started cleaning the utensils. Milkhi said, “No, Gurmeet Kaur, please lie down and take rest. I shall clean the utensils myself.” When she did not agree, he lay down on his bed. We went on talking while Gurmeet cleaned the utensils.
The sky was still hazy. Only a few stars could be seen. But a breeze had started blowing. The breeze was not exactly cool, but it did soothe. After talking a while we were silent. Then we fell asleep. At dawn I felt that Milkhi had been tossing in the bed the whole night.
It was still dark when i Gurmeet got up and prepared tea. After washing my face and hands, I took tea in a glass. Gurmeet also took her tea. We made Titoo drink tea when he was still sleepy. Though sour, the tea tasted well. But we could take only a little of it. I put on my troursers, placed the turban on my head and checked the air in the tires of my cycle.
“Little brother, why are you getting ready? Let us go out to the fields and ease ourselves. Take your bath. Have breakfast. You can go afterwards.”
“No, brother, it will get very hot as the sun climbs. We will take lunch at home and, also have our bath there.”
“Don’t be in such a hurry, O you big officer. It won’t get that hot after all.”
“There is no particular reason for being in a hurry. It is better to travel when it is cool. We will ease ourselves on the way if necessary.”
He laughed loudly, wrapped the scarf round his head, tied his beard in a knot and filled a pail from the hand pump. Taking me by the arm he said, “Let’s go to the fields.”
When we returned, I was in a hurry once again. He filled a bucket with water and ordered me to take a bath. He said to ”Gurmeet, “Put the tea pot on the fire again. I will milk the goat. Make strong tea. You did not enjoy your tea in the morning.”
He accompanied us some distance to see us off. On the way Titoo complained of pressure in his bowels. Gurmeet helped him to ease himself and took him to a near by well to wash his hands and bottom. Milkhi stood silently near me. I too kept quiet. Gurmeet was coming towards us with Titoo in her arms. Milkhi moved his kops gently, “You have a talk about that matter. Maybe it will materalize.”
“Which matter?” I was startled.
“The one about which you talked last night… the woman with a son and a daughter.”
For a moment I thought, and then said, “I shall find out and write to you.”
“Why bother about a letter. I shall come down myself. Just send a message.”
Gurmeet had come closer. I touched Milkhi’s feet. He accepted my greetings and shook hands with me. Gurmeet too touched his feet. Milkhi caressed Titoo’s cheeks and kissed him. We set out on our journey. After a while I looked back. Milkhi was walking back to the village but as he walked, he would look back at us time and again.