The Earthspinner: a Novel by Anuradha Roy

Author:Anuradha Roy
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2022-05-18T00:00:00+00:00

2

In the main street near Moti Block, Akka stood waiting at Sharma-ji’s grocery store for his weekly donation of five rupees and saw the blind calligrapher tap his way down the street. He was coming from the direction of the pond. She observed the old man’s progress with an impassive gaze, secure in the knowledge that she could stare without being noticed.

“Do you need any help?” she said in a cooing voice as he came closer. “Where is it you went? You look so hot!”

“Ah . . . just that way . . . it is nothing.”

“That way? Into the wilderness? Where?”

“Oh, you know, I felt like a walk. Hadn’t seen that side for so long.”

“The pond? You went all that way?”

“Oh no, not to the pond,” the old man stammered, at a loss for a quick lie. He shuffled away, tapping his stick, before she could ask another question.

“But there is nothing else in that direction . . .” she called after him, then turned to Sharma-ji, rolling her eyes. “Who does he think he’s fooling, that senile mole?”

Sharma-ji laughed as he fished out five rupees for her basket. “He went to see the future son-in-law at work, yes or no? Get ready for some beef-eating next door, Akka, and prayers five times a day. The mullahs are on their way to your neighborhood.”

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