The Dream Builders by Oindrila Mukherjee

Author:Oindrila Mukherjee
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Tin House Books
Published: 2022-10-15T00:00:00+00:00

THE UNPAVED LANES OFF THE highway led to a smattering of small villages nestled against the distant backdrop of the craggy brown Aravalli hills. He drove through them until he reached a clearing with no more signs of life, just a row of makeshift shops with signs advertising electrical goods, bathroom tiles, plumbing supplies, paint, light fixtures, and other hardware. All the shops were shuttered.

When they climbed out of the car, the sky rumbled and dark clouds rolled over it. The construction site, which looked like a large meadow whose grass was overdue for a trim, had been separated from the street by a wall of hay.

Ashok swung his leg over and beckoned to Maneka.

“Are we allowed?” She looked around, as if a cop might come by any time.

“It’s a piece of abandoned land, not fucking Trump Towers. Come on.”

“But people own this. They have paid for it. People like my father,” she said as she walked over to him.

Ashok led her to the tall white sign that stood in the middle of the overgrown grass like a scarecrow. They craned their necks to read what it said. Jannat. Bhatia Developers. 01223 2584613.

The ambiguity lay in the fact that Jannat could be this grassy field itself, a paradise by virtue of its distance from the madding crowds, or it could be something you could access by calling the phone number provided. Just like numbers scrawled on bathroom walls of bars in Hollywood movies or those listed at the back of men’s magazines, this one implied that untold pleasures were just a phone call away.

“Does this look like heaven or hell to you?” Ashok asked.

Maneka looked around, searching for the answer in the landscape. “It’s earth, isn’t it?” she said, finally. “Neither heaven nor hell.”

“That’s one way of looking at it.” He narrowed his eyes. “Such a sensible, unromantic thought.”

“I’m a realist.” She shrugged.

“Not really,” he said. “You still believe in many things. Far more than most people who live in this town. It’s unfortunate.”

“Why?” she asked.

“You are going to keep getting disappointed.”

She began to walk across the grass. “Well, I’ll only be here another month. What new, disappointing things could I possibly discover in Hrishipur?”

Ashok felt an emotion he had thought was buried deep inside. Not love or sorrow or anything that intense, but a quiet, low rumble of guilt.

“It’s actually quite pleasant here,” she shouted as she walked away from him. “A lot more pleasant than the property itself might have been. Can you imagine this place converted into high-rises with lifts and shops and cars, and generators pumping electricity, and a gym and indoor swimming pools and restaurants serving chow mein and chili chicken?”

“Don’t forget Ruby Tuesday and Subway.”

They laughed together. Maneka collapsed onto the ground.

“I can’t believe I am laughing. I have stayed awake nights thinking about this place.” She waved her hand around. “And my parents, my poor parents.” She turned her face away from his. “My father did a foolish thing. For the past few years, my parents have not owned a home.

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