Creatures of the Night

Delhi 1995

There is no place like Delhi in winters. It is the time to dress, enjoy your food and get together with your friends and family just to have good fun. It is also the time for weddings when all the goodness of spirits comes together. We were invited to the wedding of the daughter of our Bengali boss to a Punjabi groom. We read the card several times and landed up five minutes before 7pm, the time that was printed for the first of the ceremonies. We entered the pandal and did not find anyone inside. We must have come to the wrong place, my wife exclaimed. She took out the big four page invitation card and read the address again and walked up to the security fellow at the gate who confirmed that we had indeed come to the right place but far too early….after all this was a Punjabi baaraat coming and it seemed all the other guests knew, including the bride’s parents, and hence were in no hurry to reach the venue. Since the place was not too far from India Gate, with a baby in tow, we took an auto rickshaw and went over to the lawns there for a stroll.

After half an hour, we once again reached the venue and to our utter delight we found the bride’s dad around….arrey D, S…esho esho….Our attendance was marked. We sat down waiting for some nice hot kebabs and snacks to be served but it was a little too early for that. I even took a walk behind the screen to see the place where the dinner would be laid but that space seemed bereft of any activity. They had just begun to light the fire in the mud oven….and my heart said, tandoori kebabs will shortly follow! We saw some other guests trickling in and D was amazed to see the women folk who, in the middle of January, were wearing sleeveless blouses and no winter clothing to protect while she had a pure wool cardigan and a Kashmiri shawl wrapped around her. I made a gesture to her with my thumb pointing towards my mouth in the most elementary code language that they must have taken a good number of shots of alcohol before entering the marriage venue. Nothing protects like a good spirit down your throat. I said try that and you can also show off your sari and jewellery.

We waited patiently for the baaraat and the kebabs to arrive but no one other than us was in any hurry for now the bar was open and people seemed to have just started enjoying the evening. One good thing about the bar having opened was that some nice, hot kebabs started circulating and I made sure anyone who passed by our seat with a tray was stopped once, asked what he was carrying and, more often than not, a couple of pieces were picked up and passed on to the much embarrassed wife who, after a while, threatened to walk out if I did not stop my shameful antics. Till this day, I have not understood why eating what you liked was seen as shameful…if I did not eat, someone else would and I was hungry too. After the afternoon lunch, I had not touched a morsel and the barbecue food was manna from the heaven. Anyway, after a while, saw some of the dinner trays had a small fire lit under them signalling that anyone in hurry could eat. This was the opportunity we were waiting for. We walked up to our Boss and handed him an envelope and asked him to give it to his daughter who was now busy getting married. I told him that we had to reach home early as our little girl had school the next morning. The gentleman man agreed and asked us to eat well before we left- you must try out all the fish delicacies! So the plates were filled along with the near divine jalebi with rabdi combo which, according to me, is the best dessert on a winter night. Next we hailed our three-wheeled chariot to go home. By now it was almost 10pm and the temperature had dropped drastically. D covered our girl with her shawl to stop the gust of cold air beating on her tender cheeks.

The auto fellow dropped us about five hundred metres away from our house and we started walking. All the houses seemed shut and no one was outside….no, not all were inside. There was one bungalow where there was a light in the portico and, as we approached nearer, saw an old man in a checked lungi with a woollen cap, a heavy sweater, a muffler round his neck pacing slowly up and down. It was my father who was out alone in the winter night and he quickly opened the gate as he saw us approach.

How many times do I have to tell you that I am not a kid anymore? Why do you have to wait for us outside? If you do this, we will never be able to go out anywhere at night.

The old man did not argue but I knew, he would keep doing this as always. I had seen him since childhood when he would ask me to return home after sunset. It didn’t matter how early I left the house, even if it was before sunrise, but I necessarily had to be back at a good time. When in my teens, I returned home late, I always found him waiting for me outside the house…anxiously and patiently. It never mattered whether it was the middle of a scorching summer or ice cold winter….he would be walking up and down, never to stop till the last of the people of the household had come into the comfort and safety of the home.

Mumbai 2005

My flight landed at Mumbai after 11pm. It would have landed at least thirty minutes earlier but for the congestion in the sky. I loaded my suitcase in a kali-peeli taxi and headed home. The only time you can have a smooth ride in Mumbai is before 7am. After that it did not matter what the time was, mid-afternoon or mid-night, you were bound to be caught up in traffic snarls on the dug up roads of the so called Economic Capital of India. By the time I stepped out of the cab, it was well past mid-night but, fortunately, I had the keys to the house and wouldn’t have to ring the bell to wake up the people inside. I slowly turned the key and opened the main door just enough for me to squeeze inside. It was completely dark inside with all the lights out except for a small green night lamp which I could faintly see illuminating my mother’s room facing the main entrance. Like a stealthy thief I felt I had entered without anyone noticing and had started to walk towards the master bedroom when a stuttering faint voice spoke up…

Eshey geshish Shibu…you’ve come Shibu?

She had suffered a stroke about fifteen days ago and was not keeping well at all. Her health was going downhill and almost every day the decline was becoming apparent. She had to be given sedatives at night to make her go to sleep and here she was awake when the whole world slept.

Hain Ma…yes mother. Why are you awake so late, Ma?

I walked into her room. She tried to shift her body slightly to make room for me to sit but wasn’t successful. I helped her a bit and sat down next to her, holding her hand. She smiled and held my hand as tight as she could. I patted her forehead with my other hand. We spoke a little but were together for quite some time. I offered her some water to sip and helped her go to the toilet. After she returned to her bed, I asked her to go off to sleep. She nodded her head. I went to my room, changed and before hitting the bed returned to do one last check on her. She was now sound asleep like a baby. I said a little prayer…she had been suffering for long and may the lord heal her or relieve her of her pain.

Mumbai 2022

It was the end of a hectic month when business pressures were at their peak. Travelling to cities, meeting clients and brokers, going through a deluge of mails and crunching data, reviewing the preparations and progress on a daily basis ended that night of 31^st March with the news pouring in from all locations about businesses retained and new accounts acquired. The mood was upbeat and after all reports of the day’s collections were done, we all went out to celebrate at a nice place not far from the office. I had already told D that my dinner surely would not be at home that night and that she should go off to sleep as I would be very late in returning home.

No business celebrations are ever complete without the spirits flowing out of the bottles and flowing into the veins of the men. This inevitably leads to the food getting much delayed for you cannot tell these spirited men and women that it is getting late guys….you will be mocked to the world’s end for being a sissy. At the earliest possible opportunity, I walked up to pick up a little food as my tummy was almost full eating the finger foods that were getting served while I gulped a couple of fresh line sodas and virgin mojitos. Finally, excused myself at around 1am, as if the Cinderella’s time to stay at the ball was over, and walked out. Drove down home and at around 1.30am, slowly unlocked the first of the two entrance doors. Before I could even put the key into the hole, the door swung open with D standing there. I did not know whether to get angry or not. I still asked….

Why are you awake? I had told you that I would be late in coming home. Why don’t you ever listen to me?

I just couldn’t sleep.

I realized it was April One now…All Fool’s Day and here was a Fool Number One waiting endlessly.

Epilogue

I wonder why in all our stories since childhood they spoke about bad and evil creatures stepping out in the darkness of the night. These creatures would wait to pounce upon the good men and suck up their blood. In life I have been amazed by these night creatures instead who have stayed awake till I came back home in the deep of night. What kept them up in the cold winter’s night when all had shut themselves in the comfort of their homes; why do they stay up and awake when their bodies are failing just to get a glimpse of their hale and hearty sons walk into the house; to be waiting alone without any fuss just to make sure I returned home in good shape having driven late in the night after a long day ….it feels so blessed to be waited upon. I don’t like the hanging bats but I do love these Batmen and Batwomen in flesh and bones in my life.

SS