Hole walli Haveli

“Death comes,” she said to me. “It comes, like the only moment of truth in your life and you have no way of fighting it, because you know that your time is up. You accept it because you have no choice.”.This is what Dadi told me on her deathbed moments before her time was up. She went peacefully almost as if she had been waiting for that embrace of solace all her life. Before I closed her eyes, I saw them sparkle like they never had before – her lips wore a coy smile, almost inviting and flirtatious. I cried then, not only because she was gone, but because she had found peace in some infinite cuddle, freed from the burdens here.

So, there she was, gone, passing the relay of life onto me. How selfish I thought, to leave me here, so I could live my life only to wait for that one moment of truth called death. I felt jealous that she had left me behind, out of anger, which perhaps emanated from my love for her, I closed my eyes and I pinched her cold body. I felt no guilt, only an immense sense of satisfaction the kind one feels when one is craving for something sweet and someone offers them a chocolate éclair! Who said life was unfair. I was twelve then, and I felt the pleasure of taking revenge. It soared in me like a drug-induced high, and then nestled itself somewhere, quietly.

Before I kissed her for the last time, I slipped my fingers into her clenched mouth and pulled out her dentures. Later that day, some distant relatives and Chotay Mamoo came and took care of the last rites for Dadi, then she was gone forever lying under mounds of earth.

Chotay Mamoo decided to take me to his house, where I was to live with his five children. All I took from Dadi’s house with me were her dentures which I cleaned rigorously and then placed in a clay cookie jar. It felt a little strange to be carrying a part of Dadi in a jar, but that was all that was important to me.

Chotay Mamoo’s house, which he had inherited from Dadi after a great deal of coercion, had been built in some earlier part of the century. Due to my grandfather’s proclivity for nature, he had the house built around an aging Mango tree. Dadi narrated to me once how she had argued with him to have the tree cut so that they could build a “normal-looking” house.

“But Beta, your Dada, tauba! tauba! Who could fight with a genrail who had served during World War II. He insisted that the tree would stay and the house would be built around it.”

The tree, however, died a few years later and so all that was left in its place was an empty piece of land around which the house stood. Due to this, children in the neighborhood started calling it the “hole walli haveli.”

Chotay Mamoo being an Architect himself had a penchant for ancient buildings so he spent large sums of money to retain the house in its original form. It had seven rooms with high ceilings, a large circular veranda that looked onto the spot where the Mango tree once stood, and a garden going all around the front of the house.

On the day of Dadi’s death, I entered the house holding Mamoo’s hand and I felt my heart sink. Compared to the colossal haveli, I felt like a dwarf about to be annihilated. I can not remember whether it was my imagination or what, but I heard a loud rumbling come from the centre of the house and then disappear. It was like the house had swallowed me whole and then spat me out. I tightened my clasp on mammo’s hand and looked up at him. He smiled back at me and said, “Don’t worry beta, everything will be fine, Dadi is gone, but I am here.” All of a sudden, Mumani appeared out of one of the rooms crying, “Hai mera beta, now you are really alone in this world, but don’t worry hum hain na. Come let me show you your room. And what is this you are holding, what’s in it?” She pointed to the jar. “Nothing Mumani, just some cookies that Dadi made before she…” My voice trailed off and streamed down my cheeks.

Chotay Mamoo had three girls and two boys. The eldest was Masooma, then Sultana, and the youngest daughter, Nirvana. Dadi told me once why they named the last girl Nirvana. “Beta, when the third child was again a girl, your Mumani thought her fate was being tested by Allah so she named her Nirvana in order to reach some inner peace”. After saying this, Dadi laughed with such force that her dentures fell out of her mouth. After the third girl, Mamoo and Mumani were blessed with two sons, Rahim and Karim. Again, Dadi explained to me the reason behind these names, it was because they felt Allah had finally answered their prayers.

But, Dadi had never liked Chotay Mammoo or his wife, who she thought were mean people.

Every Sunday evening, Chotay Mamoo visited Dadi in her tiny flat in Soldier Bazar, accompanied by his five children, Mumani never came with them. The flat seemed packed to capacity on such occasions.

“Amma why don’t you get an air conditioner, it is so hot here,” Chotay Mamoo would complain with sweat beads covering his upper lip.

Dadi would stare at him and mumble something audible to only her. She had told me once that Chotay Mammoo had kicked her out of the hole walli haveli after Dada died. This flat was bought by Dada when he was alive so she settled here.

“But why did Chotay mamoo do this to you, Dadi?” I asked her.

“Aray baba, why do you ask such questions. Come and sit here. After your baray mamoo and your parents, hai hai all of them died in that mua car crash, I was left all alone. I asked your Chotay Mamoo to come live with me. Buss, after that all he and his wife cared about was how to get rid of me and take over the haveli.”

At this point, Dadi could not say more, it was too painful for her to carry on so she would heave a long sigh, get teary-eyed and say,” But I have forgiven them. All I want is to be with your Dada now, I don’t care about jaidad. But, Beta one must not hurt others like this”.

When Dadi was alive, every night before going to bed we shared a ritual. She would hand me her dentures, which I washed and placed into a glass of water she kept beside her bed. After waking up, the first thing Dadi did was to put them in her mouth after which she felt ready to face the world. One day, she could not find them so she yelled out to me.

“Aray beta, ab main duniya ko kiya moo dekhaongi! Meray daant kahan hain?!”

In my new room at Chotay Mamoo’s I kept the jar with her dentures next to my bed. Whenever I missed Dadi I opened the jar and looked at her false teeth lying at the bottom. This comforted me, as if Dadi was smiling at me. After a few days, I decided to take the teeth with me everywhere I went. That way, I thought Dadi could be with me all the time.

Compared to Dadi’s flat, this house was enormous, Mumani always complained about it. Whenever she wanted something from a remote corner of the house, she would ask Rahim to fetch it on his bicycle. Upon receiving orders from his mother, Rahim, my age, would jump on his cycle and start peddling furiously to accomplish the mission. On such occasions, Karim who could not stand his elder brother doing favors for their mother, would immediately take on the challenge and run for the item in question. Mumani was always pleased to see this, she would look up at the sky thanking Allah for bestowing her with such obedient sons.

The eldest, Masooma had finished her Bachelor’s degree in Home Economics and spent most of her time standing in front of the mirror or watching Indian Movies. On some days, after Chotay Mamoo left for office she would wear a sari and heavy makeup. Then, she would emerge from her room and descend the long spiral staircase slowly, heave her bosom up and down melodramatically and then yell at the top of her voice.

“Karim! Rahim! Chalo chalo mera samaan uthao, I am leaving this house for Bollywood. Yejan par meray talent ki koi qadar nahi.”

At this point, Mumani would appear from the Kitchen, look at her daughter, shake her head and say, “Have you gone mad again?. Do acting in your susral, not here…” After this she would take her chapel and throw it at Masooma. “And take off that makeup, you look like an actress…” Seeing her mother angry, Masooma would postpone her plans to leave the house, until the same obsession of hers surfaced on another day.

Unlike Masooma, Sultana and Nirvana who were in grades 9 and 10 respectively, focused all of their energies on their studies. Though they were apart by a year, they acted as twins, they wore the same clothes, had the same hairdos and liked the same food. Mumani referred to them as one entity by calling them “ana”. Ana were always studying and were hardly visible in the house.

One day, Chotay Mamoo came home early accompanied by a young man. It was an unusually hot day and all of us had retired to our rooms for a siesta. Shamsoo Kaka came and woke me up, “Sahib wants everyone to come downstairs for tea.” Groaning and feeling irritable, I dressed and went to greet the guest. Mumani and Masooma were already seated wearing their best clothes, Rahim and Karim had refused to come and Ana were also absent form the scene.

“Come beta, meet Sikander , he is going to make a documentary on our haveli. He is a good friend of mine, just come back from the States.” Mammoo patted Sikander on the shoulder.

“Hello Manju,” Sikander shook my hand. He was an extremely handsome man, almost like a hero from some Indian movie. I looked at Masooma, who winked at me and smiled, biting her lower lip. Mumani blushed and looked away.

“So Sikander will stay with us for the next few weeks. Please make him feel comfortable and cooperate with him. This is going to be a very important documentary.” Said Chotay Mamoo.

Over the next few days, Sikander busied himself in the haveli lugging his camera everywhere he went. He found the haveli fascinating. For hours, he would stand in front of a particular pillar or an ancient tree and capture it on film. He was unaware of Masooma who secretly followed him , at times dressed in her favorite sari. For her it was like her dream come true. Not only was Sikander himself “hero material’, but he had a camera which she hoped would make her famous. Every day she locked herself in her room for hours and practiced new dance steps. Perhaps, one day Sikander would ask her to perform for his camera and she did not want to put up a poor performance.

Of late, Mumani had started taking an interest in her looks and clothes. In the afternoons after she sent the children for a nap to their rooms, she would sit in the veranda with Sikander and chat for hours. One afternoon, finding the heat too oppressive in my room, I decided to take a stroll in the garden. As I cut through the veranda, I saw Mumani and Sikander holding hands.

“Why don’t you leave him and come with me to the States?” Sikander said to Mumani as he held her hand close to his face.

“I want to, but I can’t, after all I have my kids to think about,” Mumani said blushing under his intense gaze.

My heart started beating fast and I quickly returned to my room.

Later that evening, I overheard Chotay Mamoo and Mumani chatting over a cup of tea. “I think Sikander would make an excellent husband for our Masooma. Don’t you think?” Mamoo asked sipping his tea.

“Well, we hardly know him and he is too old for her,” Mumani replied, taking an enormous bite of Chanay ka halva.

“What do you mean, I have known him for many years. Though he was a few years my Junior in college, I got along very well with him. He is like that, age doesn’t matter to him, he is very friendly with everyone. I am hoping that he too will agree with my idea.”

Mumani shook her head and changed the subject. “What is it with this Manju carrying your mother’s dentures everywhere? I think it’s really strange. That kid has lost his mind. As if five children were not enough in this house, now we have a mental case on our hands. I wish he would grow up quickly and leave, I don’t like him.”

“Oh ho, let him. What’s it to you. He is only a kid and don’t forget he was very close to Amma. After all, she is the one who has brought him up. And why do you always call my amma “your mother”? You never respected her when she was alive, can you at least do that now when she is dead! May Allah rest her soul in peace.” Chotay Mamoo looked up at the sky.

Mumani shifted restlessly in her chair, “If you loved her so much, why did you leave her to rot in that little flat?”

“You! Shut your mouth! You are the one who could not bear to have her here. Such a large haveli, she could have easily been invisible in one corner saying her prayers. What else do you want now, even the haveli is in your name?” Chotay Mamoo raised his voice.

“Saying her prayers! What are you talking about, even in old age she would do such such fashion, she even got her dentures replaced every few months! No wonder the poor chap is carrying them around, it’s because of the importance your mother gave to them” Mumani was fuming with rage.

Chotay Mamoo finished his tea silently and left.

I put my hand in my pocket to feel the dentures and tightened my grip on them. I realized that day that Mumani did not want me in the house. A strange feeling stirred in my stomach much like the one I felt when I had pinched Dadi’s cold body.

Though Chotay Mammo was always busy, he made it a point to take all the kids out on the last Sunday of the month. On such outings, he would usually drive us to Paradise Point or Hawks Bay for a day long picnic. Mumani would cook a feast and we would spend the entire day away from the haveli, basking in the sun, swimming and eating. Masooma would bring a tube of something called “fair and lovely” which she would apply to the exposed areas of her body and then sit under her umbrella all day long, reading “Stardust”. At times she would yell at Rahim or Karim to bring her some lemonade or to massage her feet. When Rahim rushed to please his sister, Karim would follow suit for fear that his brother may score extra points with a future actress of Bollywood. Ana would sit in one spot during the day out and read to each other, oblivious of their surroundings.

On the last Sunday of June, Chotay Mamoo decided to take us to the French Beach for a barbeque. Since Sikander was around he extended the invitation to him as well. As usual Masooma was hovering around, her heart skipped a beat when she heard her father invite Sikander. Immediately, she started planning on how she would get this attention on the Beach and take him to a private spot where she would show him her new dance moves, including some exciting pelvic thrusts.

“You guys go ahead, I won’t come. It would be excellent to film the haveli when it is quiet and no one is around, and by the way, I am allergic to the Sun”. Sikander said smiling.

“Are you sure? it will be great fun if you came along yaar”. Chotay Mamoo tried to convince Sikander, but he declined and insisted that he would be able to work better that way.

Mumani had already marinated some meat for the Barbeque so we were all set to go. Masooma looked despondent. ” Are you okay?” I asked her, concerned. She looked at me with sadness filling her large eyes,” Yeah Manju I am fine, but it’s good to feel what I am feeling, it will do me good to go through these sad emotions as an actress. One learns a lot from real situations.” I nodded, eyeing her heaving bosom.

“Come along everyone, we are getting late!.” Chotay Mamoo was already in the car waiting for us. “Where is your amma?” he asked Masooma.

“I don’t know, Abba. Karim go check on amma and also bring me “Lata’s Sad Songs” from my room.”

Soon Karim came back to the car to announce that Mumani was not coming since she had a headache. “Oh ho, one of those migraines again, I told her to keep taking her medicine, but that woman is impossible!” Chotay Mamoo slapped his hand on the steering wheel. “Okay, fine let her rot I mean rest we will go without her.”

Soon we were on our way to the Beach. I sat in the back seat with the other four children, mulling over what Mumani had said to Chotay Mamoo about me. So, she wanted me to leave the haveli, just like she kicked Dadi out, I thought to myself. The feeling of revenge was stirring in my stomach again. I slipped my hand in my pocket to seek for Dadi’s comfort. As soon as I had touched the dentures, an idea popped into my head.

“Chotay Mamoo….”

“What’s the matter Manju, are you not well? You look awfully pale” Chotay Mamoo looked at me through the rear view mirror.

I kept silent.

“Manju! What is wrong with you?”

“ I … Chotay Mamoo, I..” I wondered if I could outdo Masooma’s acting.

“What?! What is the matter, Manju?” Chotay Mamoo turned his head to look at me.

“I left the dentures at home, Chotay Mamoo” and with this I started crying.

Rahim and Karim looked at me for a few seconds then looked at each other and started laughing. Masooma smiled. Ana were quiet.

“It’s okay, Manju they will be there when we get back, so just relax.” Chotay Mamoo tried to calm me down.

As soon as I realized we were not turning back to go to the house, I started sobbing louder. Then the sobs turned to screams and loud wailing. Chotay Mamoo’s jaw dropped as he saw my tantrum from the rearview mirror. “Manju! Calm down, you are a grown up boy now!” He was irritated.

“Oh come on Abba, let’s just turn around and get those fangs, I won’t be able to enjoy my time if he sulks all day long” Masooma came to my rescue.

Chotay Mamoo had never declined Masooma’s wishes, so soon we were on our way back to the Haveli. I tightened my grip on Dadi’s dentures and remembered the time when an older boy from the neighborhood had beaten me up and I had come home crying. “What the matter meray lal? Who did this to you?” Dadi hugged me and asked. When I told her about the bully, she got up, put on her burqa and stormed out of the house with her walking stick. She found the boy and gave him a thrashing with her stick. In the end, the boy went down on his knees to beg for forgiveness. At that time I had taken a vow to do something special for Dadi.

“Now go inside and hurry up” Chotay Mamoo said as he stopped the car at the front door.

“Can you please come with Chotay Mamoo?” I asked sheepishly

“Why? Why can’t you go alone?” Chotay Mamoo

“You can also check on Mumani and see if her headache is better then she can come with us”

“Oh okay, that’s a good idea” Chotay Mamoo smiled at me.

I followed Chotay Mamoo as he headed towards his bedroom. As we reached the room, we both heard some strange sounds coming from inside. I looked at Chotay Mamoo.

“Oh her headache is really bad, she is moaning so loudly!” Chotay Mamoo said as we entered the room together. Then what we saw made us both scream.

Sikander was on top of Mumani and both of them were naked.

“What in God’s name is going on?!” Chotay Mamoo whispered under his breath, feeling weak from the shock.

“It’s not what you think it is” Mumbled Sikander as he struggled to get into his pants.

“What?” Screamed Chotay Mamoo, looking at this wife, then Sikander and then back at Mumani.

And then as Chotay Mamoo realized what he had seen, he screamed at the top of his voice.

“I want you to get out of the house right now, get out, get out!! And you,” he pointed to his wife, “get out too, I never want to see your face again!” He screamed and then stormed out of the room.

Both Mumani and Sikander dressed quickly and ran after Chotay Mamoo.

I walked towards the bed and sat down. That strange feeling in my stomach had disappeared. I slipped my hand into my pocket and took out the dentures. Dadi was smiling at me as usual and outside the Hole Walli Haveli basked in the hot June Sun.