The Wise Woman and Other Stories: The Best of Mannu Bhandari by Mannu Bhandari

Author:Mannu Bhandari
Format: epub

My heart hurt more than my body. What hurt the most was that Papa watched it silently and didn’t say anything. He didn’t stop Amma or even comfort me.

Sitting in my room I cried for hours. I prayed – God, give me any pain you want, just let Papa be like before. If he starts working again, I can tolerate everything.

The first date of the hearing was six months away. Kant mama had tried his best to speed things up, but the law works at its own pace, not Kant mama’s. I think he was paying all the lawyers’ fees, possibly hiding it from Mami, because I don’t think she would let him spend even a paisa.

The first hearing went well. When we heard this, shivering in the cold of winter, a wave of warmth rippled through us.

The situation at home was getting from bad to worse, especially Amma’s health. I thought she had caught some disease that was eating her away from inside. In my hygiene class I had read up on diseases and their symptoms and it looked like she had phthisis – she would easily catch a cold in the winter and cough for months.

A letter came from Baba: ‘Be brave, my dear, when sorrow comes it surrounds you from all directions. But these days will surely pass. The mills of God grind slowly, but surely.’

The second hearing happened in April. It was hard to get an early date. Papa had been released on bail a year ago and there were still two hearings to go. If this was the pattern then there was at least another year of hearings left. I shuddered when I figured this out. How could we continue like this – Munnu in the village, Papa on the terrace, me in my room and Amma in her bed?

I don’t know how I managed to take my matriculation exams. I still passed in the second division. There was no one to celebrate. Everyone was so listless that they were unable to feel happiness or sadness.

In July a new situation arose. The village only had a middle school. What to do with Munnu? What was I going to do next? There was no question of my going to college in Aligarh. I knew that 75 rupees would not stretch to feed the two of us, let alone educate us. Baba sent Munnu directly to Umesh chacha’s house and informed us. He knew the situation at home. Papa was shaken by the letter, Amma started crying. ‘I should have let my boy stay illiterate, why did I send him away? Why didn’t I get to see him once? Everyone knows Leela’s temperament; my poor boy will die a slow death.’ She continued to weep for two days. Papa kept quiet, like a sentenced man. Why was Amma crying like this? Wouldn’t Papa have done anything if he could have?

After two days she said, ‘I think we should send Asha there as well. She can go to college there.

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