A Book In A Month - Chapter 26

Here they were, in Dhaka, back in their seedy hotel, having been wined and dined in high style at Keiths aunts fabulous home.

“If your family isn't well off, simply comfortable, I'd like to see how the rest of India lives. I mean to say, all we see around us is poverty.” Clara mused, “Your aunt is not poor.” She fell into silence, feeling, somehow that she had been cheated. Cheated out of meeting a genuine Indian family, having, instead to hob nob with these aristocrats who made her feel insubordinate. They were a welcoming group, on the whole, but became edgy when Keith asked about his mother, which he was bound to do. It had to be accepted that his mother had come through a dreadful ordeal with remarkable fortitude, but to the extended family that she had left behind, there had been a feeling of bereavement that they had only recently been able to confront. For Keith it was devastating news. His mother had lost her husband and children and she had been raped. How could he come to terms with that? “Keith, are you OK about all this?” She looked at him. He had said very little since his aunts revelations.

“Sort of numb. How could my mum be so normal, well balanced, happy. Yes, that's what she was, Happy. I don't think she had the right to be happy; to erase the memory of her dead family. It doesn't make any sense to me.”

“We are complicated beings, who are born to survive no matter what. I guess that's what your mum did, she survived. She got as far away from the danger as she could, became a different person in a very different country to India and started all over again.” Jane said. “Like a lot of people who have been through a war situation, she probably chose never to speak about it again, If nobody knew what she'd been through, why would they ever bring it up? That helped her stay emotionally safe.”

“Fair play, Jane, you make it all sound straight forward. Surely Natasha would have gone stark raving mad after what she went through?” Said Clara rather insensitively.

“Thanks girls, but right now, I'm sorry to say that you're not helping. I need to let this sink in.” Keith stood up and left Clara and Janes room. “See you at dinner was all he muttered as he pulled the door to.

*

The next visit to the penthouse apartment had allowed enough time for Keith to adjust to the news about his mothers life before leaving for England. He was no longer numb, now he had become frazzled by the welter of emotion and noise in his near bursting head. He had been meditating to help himself through these dark days, but found his powers of concentration constantly under attack from the random frantic thoughts he was generating. He realised he was becoming manic. Mad. He had told the girls that he had to get through this day and then he would need time to himself to heal. Clara and Jane could see that he was distressed and agreed that time out was what they all needed. They suggested that he postpone today at his aunts,. He could say he had a stomach upset, that could buy him anything from a day to a couple of weeks. The trouble with that idea, in Keiths opinion, was that his aunt would send around some fancy doctor to cure him. Then he would be seen as a liar.

No, it was decided that they would have to go, as arranged and then take a breather. Which was why they found themselves amongst Keiths family in the huge living room, overlooking the teaming city of Dhaka.

Their host and her less well off sister had transferred the photos and postit notes to a large display board , one of a set of four that had been purchased especially. The board was the type used at the smarter conferences with a covering of dark blue, fuzzy fabric and brushed aluminium frame and a box of sticky backed velcro discs. They were ready to attach anything they wanted to the boards.

The first thing, how ever, was to eat. They sat for lunch, four courses, with wine. They made small talk, about England and their families there and about India and life in general. After an hour and a half they were ready to continue their quest to complete the family tree. The snaps were brought back out of pockets, bags and folders. They finished Keiths mothers generation fairly quickly, with no fresh, or upsetting revelations. They next turned their attention on to his Grandmothers generation. The mood darkened, again as various couples were placed above their branches of the family. Keith asked what the problem was. He wanted to know what was going on. He could sense growing aggression at his questioning. There was something wrong. As more images were posted, it became clear that no one had an image of his grandfather. He was surprised at this and suggested that they write the chaps name on a postit and stick it where his picture should be, just as they had done with other members of the family. The suggestion was greeted with silence and sideways glances.

There was no husband for his grand mother. In India, even for Anglo Indians, this was a definite no no. His grand mother had made the terrible mistake of falling in love with a man. Unfortunately for her and her family he was not the man she was promised to. That was a terrible thing. It brought great shame upon the family. Her lover would not, could not, marry her as he already had a wife. She refused to marry the man chosen for her. He was a very honourable man. It bought great shame on his family.

She left this family to live with her man. She was not allowed to stay. It would be the same today. Later she had a child. She and the child were welcomed back just before partition. Her father had died by then and her mother had missed her, but by all accounts it was a very uneasy truce. The aunt implied that money had changed hands and it was this that had greased the wheels of diplomacy. Her lovers wife had wanted to come back to him and his company didn't approve of his domestic situation with his lover. She had to go. Partition separated them for along time.

*

John and Dylis met for coffee. They have become confidantes. Seeing each others homes has made them closer. They found that they had much in common, from their similar taste in décor to their loss of partners to cancer. Dylis asked John about their first few encounters. She wondered why he was so rude to her. After a lengthy debate, they came to the conclusion that he had become wary of women. His reticence had been the scourge of his later life, despite loving women, he had also begun to resent them for the pain he had felt at losing his lovely wife. He said he had been forced to live a lie. Dylis is surprised that he expressed his feelings in such a way. “Hating women, if it was heart felt, surely was not living a lie?” she reassured him, “It was more of a reaction to his situation. Nothing to get so dramatic about.”

John passed the statement of as a joke, saying “The lie was stuff like not being allowed to fart aloud, in public.” they both laugh at this, but Dylis suspected that there was a tinge of truth about the living a lie part of their conversation. She moves the subject onto India and John relaxes again into his normal self.