Gulab Part 5

Gulab Part 5

There is this amazing quality we have as all living beings - the ability to understand something without even saying a word. The communications that happen without saying the actual words are the ones that you understand the best and most accurately. This is because, in my opinion, you skip the process of actually thinking about what to say, bringing the words to your lips, the other person listening and then the brain processing the information the ears have received.  You respond directly and instantly through your body language, eyes, smile, eye contact…it is so powerful that no words are needed to validate the feeling. Most of the times, your second brain, which is your GUT is true. They call it GUT feeling for nothing…

When Gulab and Sarita Ben looked at each other, the same unsaid communication made it very obvious that Gulab does not want to go and neither does Sarita Ben want her to go? They became a team, partners and friends the very moment without signing a pact, shaking hands or sending a friend’s request.

Santram, who almost broke down seeling his daughter change sides, comes two steps closer and grabs Gulab’s delicate wrist firmly.

“That’s it, lets go”.

This short sentence was enough for Gulab to scream on top of her lungs and crying “Father, please...do not take me with you, please please please..I beg of you”.

Sarita Ben was still in shock, as she did not really expect Santram to show such aggression, she was frozen to her place. As Santram was treading outside with full force and literally dragging Gulab with him, he looked back and said, “Thank you Sarita Ben, you did a great job”. And sealed the final blow with a sarcastic grin on his face.

Gulab stopped dragging herself and yelled, “Baabaaa…my chappal got out of my feet, let me get it back...this floor is so rough…I am bleeding.” As he looked back and down on the floor, there was a brown rubber thong, lying in the middle of the corridor and a trail of blood leading up to Gulab’s feet.

“Go Get it Quickly, I will get an Auto Rikshaw to get to the station”.  He keeps walking through the corridor and suddenly Gulab hears a loud thud…the sound of something heavy falling on the ground. She rushes out to find Santram lying flat on the ground with his ass up and face smashed into the dirt.

“What happened Babaaaa, OMG! You stepped on the welcome earthern lamps full of oil and that’s why you slipped, you should have been careful Babaaa” .

“Gulaaab… Oh god…Oh..I cant move, my arm..I. fell on my right arm, it is not moving…take me to the doctor please, call hakeem sahib”.

The earthern lamp or the Diya is usually put on the first step of the door, but who put the diya during the day, it is not even Diwali…Gulab looked around just darting her eyes around the whole hostel and there she saw a can of “Kachi Ghani Mustard oil” hidden behind the Lady Bird bike which is secured with a rusty chain and Harrison lock.

 “Come on girls, we have no time to waste, I want two girls here to take Sanram Ji to the hospital”. She flicks her long black plat and there goes the side glance with a mischievous smile, swinging past like a Diva that she is.

Roopa and Sahili come down rushing from the first floor of the hostel and support Santram to stand up so that he could get to the auto rickshaw that was going to take him into the hospital.

Around 10 pm, the same noisy auto rickshaw that sounds more like a tractor stops in front of the hostel gate and Santram with Gulab steps outside with a cast on his right arm from the tip of the finger to the point on the neck that could strangulate him if it were one mm further towards the neck. He could hardly walk and had a bandage on his ankle covering his entire foot.

For the first time in his entire life he was going to spend night with so many women around him. He is not allowed to travel or move around a lot until his cast is taken out, which would be around 6 weeks. Although, he is a Eunuch, but has never stayed with other women, he always conducted himself as a man with dignity and pride!