The Hijra (The Eunuch)

Life was about to turn around for Maya and that created an emotional overload of joy and fear looming large in equal abundance. Not too long ago their only living maternal uncle fell critically ill. As a result of the choices he had made in life he had no one to turn to. Maya felt responsible mainly because he lived all by himself. Amrita, her sister had settled in Bengaluru with her husband while Maya lived in the family home in Mumbai with their younger brother Dev, who was on a year long trip to Europe.

Please take me home with you, I don’t want to breathe my last on a hospital bed, Uncle implored Maya. Maya had made immediate arrangements to shift him to her house. When she settled him in Amrita's room, she went to where her late parents' wedding picture hung. " Your brother is going to be just fine" she spoke to her mother, who looked like an Indian movie star, no less, of the sixties. She reminisced her parents’ sweet bickering.

"I had a marriage proposal from a very wealthy and good looking man from South Africa, I still regret rejecting it," she would say when Papa annoyed her.

"He owes me a debt of gratitude!" Papa would retort. Their life together wasn’t perfect but they did not let go, they made it to the finishing line.

Maya put her uncle to sleep after lunch which had his favourite bhindi (okra) and daal. His breakable frame wrapped loosely in a white cotton sheet looked different from the person he used to be, an unsociable arrogant six footer. His face half buried in the pillow replicated his sister’s. Maya patted his forehead softly enough to not disturb him.

"Maya didi chai "Ahmed bellowed and Maya signalled him to be quiet. Ahmed was the 'Man Friday' of the household, entwined in Maya’s life enough to be taken for granted and reliable like family, he had originally started off as a peon (low ranking worker) in their father's office. After his demise, Maya had employed Ahmed to help her around the house. Over the years he had assumed more roles in exchange of love, respect and money, in that order. Besides running countless errands , he often found himself included in their family matters and general gupshup (gossip). The content of the gupshup would range from neighbours to hard core politics to spiritualism and would not be complete without the steaming cups of chai.

"The old man should have married, at least his last days would not be so lonely" he said to Maya, sipping his chai with a prolonged slurp, visualizing the time he himself would have with no one by his bedside. A familiar history of quickly aborted marriages shared by both Ahmad and Maya had kicked off the chat.

" Yes, I agree, no one should die lonely. Clearly uncle did not care enough to shoulder the responsibility that came with the fruits".

Few months ago, Maya met someone through a common friend with whom a bond had blossomed into a potential relationship He was to migrate to a distant land and had proposed to her. In his company, Maya found herself opening up to the dreaded option of marriage, a second marriage

A decision had to be made and soon. It felt that was the last opportunity granted to her. It could well be the last ship to sail. She made a commitment and it brought a relief yet the dread of it not coming through, consumed her. Now she had something to lose, something priceless. She let dread make the choices and incessantly prayed for her wish to be protected. Superstitions, which Maya earlier mocked as a mental disorder, began to appear sensible and true. She started reading signs as good and bad. Guilt crept in easily and her actions were carefully orchestrated.

Few weeks later, one morning, as Maya went on with her chores and the Radio FM resounding in the background, the shrill doorbell rang.

We must get it changed, she thought, how could Ahmed have picked this one , it never fails to startle. As a practice, she peeped through the window sheers and what she saw startled her as much as the doorbell. A Hijra, draped in a bright red saree stood at the door.

Maya knew enough about them but never had personal encounters. Having been deprived of normal paid work, they resorted to unconventional ways to earn a living, like visiting places where there has been a child birth or a wedding, to bless the people concerned in exchange of a certain amount. On the flip side, if they were turned away, it could be an invitation to a curse which eventually brought ill luck. They are believed to possess unique intuitive powers to predict the future.

The Hijra wore her hair in a tight bun. The oily waves of her curly hair shone in summer light. The baby pink lipstick on her dark face added to the intended glamour. Her right hand, from the wrist halfway through to the elbow adorned with multi-coloured bangles rested on the veranda door.

Maya tried to rise above the sinking feeling , predictions terrified her. She lead herself out .

"Hello dear, my name is Champa, what’s yours?", the Hijra said.

" Maya", she replied trying to avoid eye contact.

" You look nervous! I cannot understand why people are so scared of us." Champa came closer and stared at her, "For whatever you are going through there is a solution, share with me" Maya took a step back.

" Um.." Maya struggled" I am planning to get married soon " her mouth felt dry as desert,

" At your age there could be a number of obstacles including the unforeseen ones".

Maya stood still not sure how to react , the glitter on the pink Bindi stuck on her narrow forehead, distracted her.

"Can you get me a glass of water? "

Maya nodded and as she rushed to fetch it, the Hijra added " and some green mung beans too. “ She returned and she was told to soak the mung beans in water, and drink it. All this while, the Hijra wore a lopsided smile displaying authority. Maya drank the mung -soaked water and then Champa asked for money. By now she had succeeded in making Maya believe that things would not go as planned unless Maya conformed to the ' ritual' .

Maya accelerated inside to fetch the money hoping to eliminate any probability of a negative outcome. The Hijra snatched the amount of Rs 4000 from Maya’s hand and tucked it in her ill-fitted blouse.

Was she afraid I would change my mind?, Maya wondered..

" I will come back tomorrow", the Hijra said.

" Why tomorrow?" Maya frowned.

"Do you think hurdles are averted easily?" and left swinging her hands in sync with her hips.

Unable to make sense Maya returned to her room , anger building towards the eunuch, and her own naivety. She looked in the mirror and what stared back was a tired, intimidated face. She hid her face in her hands and wept with convulsive gasps until she had no energy left. She let herself crash on the single bed. Motionless, she stared at the fan and fell asleep as though hypnotised by the motion of the circling blades.

A couple of hours later, there was a knock at the door.

" Didi, didi. .!", she heard the Ahmed's muffled voice.

"What is it bhai", she replied halfway through getting back to consciousness.

"Uncle is asking for you", he replied, now his voice sounding real.

"Could you please fix chai, I will be out in a minute', realizing it was going to be dinner time soon.

She rubbed her palms till they felt warm and placed them on her eyes and ran them through the rest of her face in a soft rhythm. When she finally sat up, she felt clear in her head though extremely fatigued. She once again stood before the mirror. This time she saw a face she had forgotten. The creases of self -doubt had been ironed out by an awakening. The bondage of fear had snapped and it was as though she had, literally woken up from a spell that had controlled her for weeks.

That night Maya slept peacefully. The morning that followed brought the same routine with the chores in tow yet it seemed different She sipped her chai and hummed with the song played on the radio. The doorbell rang and Ahmed rushed to answer but Maya stopped him.

"I'll get it, it’s for me" she said and rose to open the door not in any particular hurry.

" Oh hello, How are you", this time Maya greeted the Hijra first, with struggled courtesy.

Before she could reply, Maya turned her attention to the mali (gardener) who was watering the plants in the building compound,"Shanker, could you please come in later and check one of my plants, it doesn’t look healthy",

"Ok didi, I will once I finish this", he replied with a ear to ear smile, showcasing his perfect set of white teeth, which Maya often wondered were real but never dared to ask.

Returning her attention to the Hijra she said, "Sorry about that, this little plant is sick and needs prompt attention"

" No problem,... yesterday I told you about the..."

" Oh don’t bother, it's not necessary now, "

“But we need to finish the ritual or it will bring bad luck, very bad luck!" the Hijra’s tone mildly aggressive.

"Actually, you are right, except for the tense. Yesterday, by a stroke of sheer bad luck I lost Rs 4000", Maya said, her arms crossed.

This made the Hijra uneasy and she fumbled for words.

"Blame yourself if you have to encounter problems!" she tried once more. On realizing she was losing grip, the Hijra spoke with a silly grin. "If everything goes well with you, I will take a brand new sari from you"

"This may disillusion you but I think I have done enough charity already", Maya said and turned to Ahmed who had been a keen onlooker," Please offer her tea and snacks before she leaves" she said glancing at the Hijra and swayed back inside.

"Chai lau...?" Ahmed offered to get tea . Without answering, the Hijra left in a huff, Ahmed rushed inside.

" Maya didi, you gave her Rs 4000/- ?”

"Yes" she replied without looking at him

" Didi, you could have given it to me instead, I would have blessed you for this and all your future lives". Maya laughed tapping his shoulder "It was a cheap deal! For Rs 4000 I got my strength back. Moreover I don't regret her taking the money considering they have no other source to decent income. It’s our mind that plays tricks, we allow it so we can safely blame others."

They exchanged knowing glances as he crushed tobacco on the palm of one hand with the thumb of another.

"Now let’s walk uncle to the library."