Jalebis

 It all started with jalebis. They ones Ghasiya Ram made, sometimes so thin and crispy laden with sweetness and other days they were thick bulbous dripping with sugar syrup as if it would soak away all the sadness and saltiness of the world. The jalebis were her one weakness, coming back from work , she saw the rehri everyday . Ghasiya Ram parked it next to the entrance of the railway station . It was seductive to the least , the sweetness was the call of the freedom to run away and escape the zamindari’s roving eye . Ammaji was her mistress and she knew that she would never let her go or let her lead a life . She wanted to be free , marry someone of her choice , not the ugly , wispy standby driver she was pawning her off to .

Sheela was the young maid ,beautiful ,comely figure , 18 year old with a long long plait that hit her bottom every time she walked , she was just about everything from the safai wali , organiser, cleaner of everything , polisher of the silver , masseuse , to the chai wali humming to some obnoxious hindi movie song , but also helping herself to the tidbits of supari from the paandaan! Her fascination was the silver kajal stick of Ammaji that was carved with a peacock feather … it was what she wanted to own but .. there was always a but in her dreams and reality.

Chaudhary Hasan Khan , the biggest landowner of the district , ruled over his family and servants with an iron fist . He was also the Pir designate , the political nominee and also the largest employee of labourers in this part of Bihar . They were closer to Nepal than to rest of the India and everyone slipped there for contraband stuff .

Her father was one of the couriers who went to and fro , sometimes for Baby’s noodles and sometimes the T-shirt’s which Chotu sahib wore ! It was a strange world . Chaudhary Sahib wore pristine kurta pajamas with twinkling buttons ,some said they were diamonds , some said they were pukhraaj but they shone like anything. His kurta pajama , whiter than white was made by Rafiq Masterji who was a tailor from the British times and was of an age which no one could tell but his pauncha was the broad one unlike the narrow mori favored by the young set and by his younger brother . 

It was a household with a lot of undercurrents , and everyone wanted to be the king . It seemed as if all were fighting to be closest to Chaudhary Sahib , to be the heir apparent and control the purse strings .A strange imbalance had occurred , the older employees loyal to the older guard were faithful to Pir Sahib , and knew the Gaddi would carry on under him following the tenets of religion , maryada and izzat ;  a growing portion wanted the younger more debonair Chaudhary who promised freedom and looser cash handouts and also the forbidden alcohol!