SIXTEEN
The outskirts of Nirmala Niketan had been flooded due to incessant rains since morning. The sun was out of sight and the day had become dark. Hailstones along with cold wind were piercing the body.
Navya set foot in the ashram and heard someone weeping.
She was curious and wanted to find out the source of that sound.
Nivedita was in charge of the young girls and as Navya saw her rushing out of a room, she stepped forward.
"What's the matter Nivedita, who's crying?"
"Ma'am two young girls have arrived today, and it will take time to bring them under control."
Navya entered the room and dragged the crying girls near.
"What happened dear, why are you crying… what is paining you?"
"I'll be dying, I am losing all my blood... I want to go home… to my mother."
"Come on! Who's screaming here… who's it?" A hoarse voice shouted.
As the robust figure of Rampiyari with her fierce eyes appeared on the doorway, the children got so frightened that they stopped crying at once and looked at her in awe.
"Nivedita! Prepare these two… we are expecting customers tonight."
Navya was surprised. Can any woman be so terribly ruthless? A woman is supposed to be a mother figure!
"Where are you sending these young girls, Rampiyari?"
Navya went near.
Rampiyari could estimate the astonishment in Navya's voice and snapped "They will go to an Arab country… why are you so surprised… are you experiencing this for the first time?"
"I'm scared… I want to go home… Maa!" One of them cried out.
As Rampiyari pushed off, Nivedita went to the children and said lovingly...
"All right, all right, I'll look into it. Come on, we will get cleaned first!”
Navya's dry eyes got flooded after a long time.
… How easily we judge these outcasts and stamp them Sluts! Whores! Hate them, when most of them are the victims of the situation. Their own fathers, grandfathers, brothers and sometimes mothers... who are supposed to protect them are responsible for that condition of their beloved ones… and in most cases it is fixed at the time of their birth as a girl is considered to be a sheer burden. So many Navyas are not even allowed to open their eyes outside their mother’s womb. They are immersed in milk, thrown into the sewer, fed with salt at their birth... and people who wash their hands off are freed from all their responsibilities… not only men, women like Rampiyari, Nivedita and Navya are there too. The real bearers of the patriarchy are women after all.
Before leaving Nirmala Niketan in the afternoon, Navya looked for the girls again. She didn’t even know their names.
Nivedita could manage to feed the children.
Navya caressed the children to learn about the cause of their reaching the home.
Tutul fell asleep before she could answer.
Manira was brought from Agra. She was one of the five sisters. Her father had sent two of her older sisters for household work. As selling to a customer could fetch a much higher price, he sent Manira here. The twelve year old, intelligent girl understood that her father had sold her for big money.
Surprised Navya asked Manira "Who is a customer?"
"He, who will buy me for a lot of money and put me to work."
Navya was surprised by the behaviour of Nivedita, how wonderfully she was tackling the young children so they could have the motherly care away from their home at least for a limited period of time.
She also came to know that the father of the younger girl, Tutul had reported to the police about the missing child and police came over to enquire with Nirmala Niketan too.
The police couldn't find anyone as Rampiyari had adopted an innovative way to screw people over. She hid the medicated girls in big wooden boxes, under some clothes and the boxes were covered and loaded with both necessary and useless items over them. No one could ever guess that children were hidden in those boxes.
Navya came to know that Nivedita had tried to save young girls before. But only getting them out of that home could not save those girls… sometimes they were placed into the fire instead of the frying pan and were burnt to death.
The world is becoming a dangerous place.
Navya went and sat next to Tutul. Manira had cried a lot and fallen asleep.
"What's your name?"
"Everyone calls me Tutul but at school I am known as Tandrima."
Tutul broke into tears.
Both the girls were put to sleep through heavy medication as they were crying a lot.
Nivedita informed Navya that as she was from Delhi, Tutul was to be sent out of the city as soon as possible. The police were troubling them though they were bribed handsomely.
Navya stroked Tutul's head and she looked up at her with tearful eyes. She wiped her tears but kept on whimpering.
"I want to go to mamma. Maa will prepare my favourite fish, it's my birthday." Tutul sobbed.
Navya hugged the girl and said "Oh! Is it? Then we should have a party today."
"No, I will go home. My friends will come."
"Tutul, now tell me, how did you get here?"
"My mother was getting ready to celebrate my birthday… as she was preparing my favourite dish, didu became very angry."
Tutul could hear her grandmother scolding her mother.
'... stop thinking only about your daughter. You know none of us like your daughter's favourite fish.' "Didu grabbed the cooked fish and threw it out. Maa was crying. I went out to see the dogs fighting over the discarded fish. A taxi pulled up and the people inside requested me to show them Roy uncle's house."
As she was explaining, they asked her to sit in the taxi.
"And they have brought me here."
