The tenant

A terrace of our house overlooks another small house. It is occupied by a quarrelsome woman and her family. Our family is the tenant of that house. Our family means my two aunts and I, and there is a war between these houses; We have been fighting for rent and occupation of the house for couple of years. Now this war is not limited to court only, but has entered in our minds also.

This story starts from the time of partition of India and Pakistan. At that time government had given permission to anybody to settle in any closed or locked house. We had four houses and a shop. We lived in one house and other three were locked, and there was no one to run our shop so it was also locked. So there was no other option but to rent those houses to the first person who wanted. Ultimately all houses were occupied as our rent was very low. The shop was also rented but at a bit higher rent. This all income was not enough to sustain our family of my granny and her five daughters and a son. It was the period of recession and labour was cheap so everyone worked. Girls worked in house and dad used to go to factory as working hand. At that time only my small aunt and daddy used  to go to school, all others did some or other work.

Now that period is over and everyone has settled, my three aunts are married, little aunt has a job in hospital, one aunt looks after house and dad has got a government job and is transferred to other city, granny is dead and I live with my two aunts in our ancestral house. This house according to my aunty is 400 years old.

The real problem is with one renter only. She is Kali and she has not paid any rent till now. Her family is full of variety, her husband is not working and only work in his mind is puffing bidies. Her daughter has taken divorce and works in others houses as maid. She has a daughter and son from previous marriage. Kali’s first son is living elsewhere with his family and her last son is a eunuch and does road shows wearing saree and earns better than other members. Kali herself goes to railway lines to collect coal dropped from goods train.

My aunty firmly thinks that our ancestors had worked very hard to build that house and now we should sell that house and do ceremonies for peace to their souls from that money. For selling this house we need to make Kali vacate that house.

Aunty had already lodged a case in the court but winning the case takes many years. So to throw Kali out of house was a Herculean task and dad had already taken himself out of this matter I remember how my big aunty used to come to take me from my school to court where we would meet the small aunty. My big aunty used to come walking from our house to my school some 5 kms away, we went also walking to the court. Sometimes our case hearing would start very late so we missed our lunch or sometimes my big aunty brought tiffin along and we ate in court compound.

There in the court I had made friendship with an advocate. At that time I was in second std and my friend was somewhat 40’s with grey hair. We used to play cards in lobby when our hearing was going on. I never entered the courtroom. He was a great artist as he made some good toys of paper every time I went to him. It was like a fortune to me and I used to display these toys to my friends in school and in our society.

One day I saw my aunty giving hundred rupees to the court pune. I asked aunty what it was for she said it was to move our file up, I didn’t quiet understand that. Next time when we went to court I asked about this to my friend, he said rather showed me by emptying all my books on his table and formed a pile. He then asked me to suppose that my book was last then what I will do to take it on top. I said I would remove it when teacher is not seeing and put it in 2^nd or 3^rd place, actually I did this in class but in reverse way to get my book down from top so that it is checked last. Well then I asked, “What will happen to others files?” he explained that others can do the same. I was very sad to hear this as hundred rupees at that time meant much for my aunty.

My other personal problem was going to school. I never liked to go to school, but my little aunty assured strictly that I went to school regularly. But I was always a step ahead from her. My favourite was this trick, my big aunty used to hold my wrist tightly and take me to bus-stand in morning. After all I was studying in the best school of the city. She never left my hand even while waiting for bus with her. Then I would request to loosen the grip on the pretext that my hand was paining, then she would loosen my hand a bit. I will wait for 2-3 minutes and suddenly point in the direction of the bus and say, “ See, bus came”, aunty would turn her head to see for a second or two, in that direction and I shake free my hand and cross the road and go on the other side and whole bazaar watched. I never cared for the traffic. It was not possible to go home till small aunty didn’t go on her duty, so I had found a friend, one electric board maker where I went and sat for two hours. I used to watch all their activities, it was a shop cum godown behind the main road. They even offered me tea but I never drank as my aunty had taught not to trust anybody and eat or drink. I was not afraid of big aunty so I used to return home after my small aunty went away. I used to even sign my diary myself on the name of aunty for not doing homework.

Auntie’s desire  to make Kali vacate that house was growing stronger. Even Kali used to openly abuse and never missed a chance to fight, but it was not possible to fight them from front so aunty adopted “Chanakya’s Policy”. One day we caught a small snake from near our tree. It was not poisonous so we fed it and kept it in a basket. Then late on that night my aunty and I went in our terrace, aunty told me to check if anyone was around, there was no one. Our street was empty. Kali as usual was sleeping out of her house; she slept out always except during monsoon. Aunty closed the terrace door from inside, stealthily went near the parapit and hurled that small snake on Kali and both of us hid inside. Snake landed on Kali and she fell down in shock and was so stunned that she could not react for few minutes and then she shouted in her loudest voice and full street gathered to see, nobody could find us. It was just for few minutes but we really enjoyed a lot. But aunty was disappointed as her target was to give a big heart attack to Kali. Then onwards Kali started to sleep inside. Well, better luck next time.

My aunty was a nurse in an orthopaedic hospital so getting a laxative wasn’t a problem. Then I was assigned the task to mix that in their drinking water. I was sort of expert in such things as I had the habit of stealing what I liked. I sneaked in morning when everyone was busy in work and mixed that powder in their water pot. We anticipated quick effect but I think as the powder was of government, effect came late in evening. Whole society except us had no toilets, and there was always a long line for it, even there were no stoppers in the door, so it was quiet embracing when you are sitting and someone opens the door. Kali’s family members were lucky as it was evening and not morning, they fully occupied all toilets. We could hear the sound of bucket filling till late night (there was no system of flush at that time). Next day their door didn’t open till late and nobody went on their job.

Now it was Kali’s turn for revenge. She threw fish leftovers and what not, the stench of the packet was awful and it landed directly in our terrace. This continued for 2-3 days, then aunty was angry and threw those packets back in her home, something like boomerang. Then that stopped.

There were fights also sometimes between us, in one such fight aunty had pointed her finger and was cursing Kali when her last bit my aunt’s finger hard like a dog, it started bleeding and we took her home, she was crying in pain, so I got angry over him, I mean her. I knew that Kali’s euinuch son was doing road shows wearing pink saree and black blouse. So one day I bought some itchy powder, anyway shopping was my hobby, I used to buy locks, mirrors, knives and what not. But it was not possible for me to go there as aunty had frightened me that if you go there Kali will throw acid on you, so I was scared. Then I found a boy gave him one rupee and a guava from our tree, his task was to apply that powder in all clothes of the road show. The boy did his work well and I gave him another guava. Then it was show time, I reached the road where that euchich used to perform before time. Then the show started and the effect started after 10 minutes, when the body perspired. He, I mean She, whatever started taking off all his clothes, people were aghast and ran away, who would like to see an eunuich undress. Due to so much noise police came in and took him away and left him after giving sound thrashing plus he was forced to change his area as people there didn’t allow him to perform.

Well well such fights continued but Kali didn’t leave our house.

At present I have completed my studies and I have left aunties behind, even Kali has grown old. We have won the case also, but still the orders to vacate the house have not come. Aunty is asking me to prepare my children to fight this case as maybe she thinks she won’t live to throw Kali out of our house.