Page 18 of A Shimla Affair
Beeson nodded, a malicious glint in his eye. He clearly did not believe us. ‘Very well … we will find a way to loosen your tongues. Arrest them!’
And so, in the darkness of the evening, we were taken away from the hotel, against our will.
Filth and dust covered my palms and feet. I felt pains and bruises all over my body.
The three of us had settled into an exhausted silence, trying to fall asleep on the hard floor of the prison cell. My only comfort was the sound of my sisters’ slow descent into rhythmic breathing and the graze of Charles’ letter under my petticoat, where I had hidden it as soon as he gave it to me.
I crawled to where a sliver of light from the lamp around the corner shone through and opened the letter, straining my eyes to read it.
Dear Nalini,
Ever since I met you, I find myself writing down all the things I want to talk to you about. When I have a nice meal, I find myself thinking: I wonder what Nalini would think of it! When somebody has an interesting anecdote, I want to catch your eye and see your reaction.
I was thinking about the story of Latukika, the one that your father used to tell you, and I must say it also makes me think ofThe Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Latukika’s three friends helped her exact revenge on the mad elephant, and Dorothy’s three friends helped her defeat the Wicked Witch so Dorothy could return home. I guess the difference is in their motivations: while Dorothy just wanted to go home, Latukika wanted a channel for her anger and to restore justice. What kind of emotion is revenge, if it gives us the passport to take drastic actions?
Besides the world of Oz, which I am happy to discuss with you over and over, I was wondering if you would like to accompany me to an official evening at the club. It would mean a great deal to me and also to the Shimla gossipmongers. I am assuming it would be a public acknowledgement of the admiration I hold for you, and honestly, would thrill me to bits. If you say yes, I will ask your sister for permission.
I hope you will accept my invitation, Nalini, nothing could make me happier.
I crumpled up the letter, wishing for sleep to swallow me whole.
Morning brought us release and an announcement that two lawyers, Mr Rajput and Mr Sood, had secured our bail with a letter of support from the Viceroy’s office suggesting our virtuous character.
Outside, Ratan Babu waited for us, dressed in a Western suit, reaching immediately for us as we emerged. Next to him was the other lawyer, Mr Sood, who I suspected to be his compatriot at the Shimla Circle. He was tall and lean, with a handsome face that would have pleased any mother when the time came to find a suitable match. He wore glasses and a Western suit as well, along with an impeccably tied turban. He had a thin, groomed moustache and surveyed us closely when we walked towards him.
We folded our hands in greetings and gratitude.
‘Mr Sood immediately arranged the money for the release … and Mr Nayler went out of his way to secure the letter.’
That caught me by surprise but also brought me relief. So, Charles cared enough to appeal to the Viceroy for our release. In that moment, it was all the support I could ever wish for.
Noor folded her hands in gratitude, her voice almost breaking. ‘I thank you, Mr Rajput. It was hard for me to accept at first … anyway, thank you, both.’
Ratan Babu held her hands and stopped her from continuing with the folded hands gesture. ‘This is the least. You wait and watch. They will pay for it; they really will.’
‘Thank you, Mr Sood, we are ever grateful for your help in our bad times,’ Afreen spoke up.
Sood, in turn, lowered his head, folding his hands. ‘Please, Bhabhiji, never ever say that again. If I can help the innocent of our land, I would move mountains to make that happen.’
He bowed individually to each of us. Looking at me squarely in the eye when he knew my sisters weren’t listening, he said, ‘Guruji has decreed … all of us must come to each other’s aidto fight the demon that enslaves us all. Until that happens, we cannot be our true selves. Shimla calling.’
While Ratan Babu simply fussed over us, promising again and again that he wouldn’t let them take the hotel away from us, Noor stepped aside and asked Sood, ‘Brother, tell us, what can we do to repay you?’
‘The time will come when we all must support each other, Bhabhiji. Just stand by Hindustan in its time of need and nothing more would have to be done.’ With a final look directed at me, he asked us to let him take his leave, and we made our way back to the hotel.
‘The Viceroy wrote us a letter of support while Lord Beeson arrested us?’ I asked. ‘That’s so contradictory.’
Noor shook her head. ‘Don’t be fooled into thinking of it as a kind gesture. By providing us this letter, Beeson has effectively taken away the hotel from us. If we try to challenge their decision in court, we will stand no chance with this arrest recorded in our names. The Viceroy can withdraw his support at any time, calling us criminals who are in violation of our support to the British. We have been cornered.’
I wandered around the hotel like a ghost, my white sari trailing behind me as the events of yesterday ran through my mind again and again. Something in me had changed. While I didn’t know exactly why, I knew somehow thathowI felt would never be the same again. Some things, no matter how well depicted, can only be felt in person. Like love. And violence—the experience of which is much more intense than one would have ever imagined.
When I finally went back up to our room to change, as tiredness threatened to sweep over me, I had an urge to gothrough the papers, postcards and photographs our father had left us. I picked up one of the very last ones he had sent to us from England.
My darling girls,
This monument you see on the postcard is Nelson’s column at Trafalgar Square.
It’s been a site of great battles and revolutions. Lord Nelson had helped Britain secure victories against France in the Napoleonic Wars. The square itself has, for years, been the site for political demonstrations and gatherings—a place where people have come together to raise their voice against injustice, no matter their differences with each other. For example, the Irish protested here before Bloody Sunday. Yet, what is truly astounding for me is when women suffragettes held protests at the square, demanding rights for women in 1908—right beneath Nelson’s column, Emmeline Pankhurst addressed thousands of women, asking them to fight for their rights. Together, the suffragettes used force and violence, bombs and arson, gunpowder and acid, kerosene and paraffin, even attacking Winston Churchill! Whatever it took, however it took, to get what they deserve.
