House of Cards: A Novel Read online

  ‘No, she is from Mangalore, which is in your state, Karnataka.’

  ‘Oh, okay.’

  It was getting dark outside the window of the moving train. Alex was thinking about Anita. ‘She is unlike the girls in Goa. She is different.’

  For the last two years, she had been in Panaji, the capital city of Goa, working with her maternal uncle Freddy Roderick. After she had completed her Bachelor of Arts degree, Anita’s uncle had asked her, ‘What will you do sitting at home? I am a dealer for Alembic Pharmaceuticals. Why don’t you come and help me?’

  Her aunt had also insisted. So, Anita had started working in her uncle’s office in Goa.

  The real reason for bringing her there was that her uncle and aunt wanted to introduce her to the young and suitable grooms in Goa. Anita was a good singer and always sang for the church choir. She was not interested in studies. She had completed her degree but her main interest was interior decoration. Even though she worked hard in her uncle’s office, she worked harder at home-decorating her aunt’s house. Anita never made the first move when it came to boys. At Marx’s wedding, Alex noticed that she was more beautiful than the bride herself and immediately set his eyes on her. She was fair and had lustrous hair. Many young bachelors wanted to date her.

  Alex smiled. Though he had just told Sanjay that she was his girlfriend, he knew that Anita was more than that—he would marry her. He remembered how he had gone out of his way to get her phone number and check her travel itinerary. He would go to Uncle Freddy’s house without reason and sit there for hours. He had been worried that some young man would move faster than him and make away with Anita, but Uncle Freddy was smart and had suggested, ‘Young boy, don’t worry. Take her to parties, picnics and get to know her. But don’t talk of marriage right now.’

  Uncle Freddy was older, wiser and more experienced. He liked Alex. Sometimes, Alex felt uncomfortable when he visited Uncle Freddy’s house. Financially, they were much better off than Alex and his family. They had a nice house and a car. If he wanted to marry Anita, he must maintain her lifestyle. Otherwise, people in the church would laugh at him. After going out with Anita, he realized that she was shy and had been raised differently. She did not care about money. But things were not easy when he met her father.

  Anita’s father, Mr Pinto, was a strict man. He believed that women must work. He was a senior and honest officer with Mangalore Fertilizers. Apart from Anita, he had two sons—one in the merchant navy and the other based in Delhi. Pinto’s family was religious and they never missed Sunday Mass. They regularly contributed to the church and were good Christians.

  When Mr Pinto came to visit Anita from Mangalore, Alex met him—but Mr Pinto did not even bother to talk to him. He passed a comment: ‘Oh, our Anita is so beautiful. She is getting marriage proposals from places like the merchant navy.’

  Alex himself felt that he was only an MBBS doctor and could not compete with any of these proposals, unless he owned a nursing home. The only way to get engaged to Anita was to go to the Middle East, make money, come back and marry her.

  But how could he share all this with Sanjay?

  While Alex was lost in these thoughts, Sanjay started talking about some professor’s post that was vacant in a college in Goa. Alex said, ‘Tell me, Sanjay, do you want to remain Dr Jog’s assistant forever, or do you want to make money at some point?’

  Sanjay did not reply. For now, his aim was to get as much experience as he could and then get a postgraduate degree. Money was not a priority, even though he was not from a rich family.

  A short while later, dinner arrived. Sanjay asked, ‘Alex, what time does this train reach Hubli?’

  ‘You talk as if you don’t know your own state. Ask me anything about Goa. I can tell you whatever you want to know.’

  ‘Goa is small and you have lots of relatives there. But I don’t have any relatives in Hubli. I have never even been there. I only know that it is near Dharwad which is famous for its pedas.’

  ‘How do you know that?’

  ‘Sometimes, Professor Jog brings pedas from Dharwad and gives them to the staff.’

  ‘Where are your relatives then?’

  ‘Oh, I have a small family—a mother and a sister. I don’t have a father. My sister is married to a bank clerk and they live in Belur. My mother stays in T. Narasipura.’

  ‘You know, Sanjay, Dharwad is also famous for Hindustani music, good colleges, great musicians and she-buffaloes!’

  ‘It sounds like you know more about Dharwad than I do.’

  ‘Yes, Panaji is around three hours by car from Belgaum. I have a few cousins who study in Hubli and Dharwad. But Hubli is also notorious for theft. The maximum thefts take place at the Hubli junction. People say that it is as bad as Bombay.’

  Another passenger joined the conversation: ‘That’s really true. Once, I lost all my luggage at that junction.’

  The passenger continued, ‘My name is Keshav Rao. I work in the government Secretariat in Bangalore. During one of my journeys, I was travelling from Kolhapur via Hubli and all my bags disappeared at night. The next morning, I had to get down at Bangalore in the baniyan and lungi that I was wearing the night before.’

  Alex added, ‘There will always be thefts in Hubli because of the crowd. Once, I also lost my bags at Londa junction!’

  Sanjay was not a seasoned traveller. So he was shocked listening to Keshav Rao. He was scared that if he lost the small bag with his clothes, he would have to attend the wedding in his baniyan and lungi too. He picked his small bag up from the floor and kept it under his head so that it would be safe and he could use it as a pillow for the rest of the trip too. Soon, he nodded off to sleep.

  3

  The Beautiful Thief

  After completing an intricate mehendi design on Surekha’s hand, Mridula got up and wiped her hands on her old sari. She was content and happy with her accomplishment. No one in the village could design mehendi as well as her. So she was invited to all her classmates’ weddings. She was helpful and even assisted with miscellaneous jobs at the marriage locations. Surekha was Mridula’s classmate and a close friend. All the unmarried girls from their class were invited that evening for the mehendi ceremony in Hubli.

  On the eve of the wedding, the clouds were dark and looked ready to pour down. It was the end of Shravan—the rainy season. Though it was only 7 p.m., it was as dark as midnight. Surekha, the bride, was in her room in the wedding hall. She was feeling low. She had lived in the secure arms of her loving family till today but now, she had to step into the outside world with an unknown man. Her eyes were moist just like the clouds—ready to burst into tears at any moment.

  In the wedding hall, the atmosphere was joyous. The rustle of the silk saris, the sweet smell of the incense sticks, the aroma of fresh jasmine flowers and the mouth-watering sweets made the entire atmosphere very festive.

  Surekha’s father had worked in many towns and cities and, therefore, he had many acquaintances and friends. Most of them had come for the wedding. However, the groom’s family was from Bangalore and only a few could come. Arrangements for their stay had been made in the same building on the first floor.

  Mridula was washing her hands in the bathroom to get rid of the sticky mehendi when she heard the sound of raindrops. The rain started slowly and its intensity gradually increased. Water started entering the wedding hall through the open windows.

  Rain brings different emotions to different people. For Mridula, the rain was synonymous with joy—it was nature’s gift. She thought, ‘The earth is full of dust and is dry in the summer. Rain settles the dust, washes away the dirt and makes the world green. It inspires creativity in poets and artists, but during a wedding, it only brings tension.’

  Suddenly, the lights went off because of the heavy rain. Surekha’s mother, Leela, became jittery. ‘Oh my God! The groom’s family and friends are here from Bangalore and they have high expectations.’

  Then she saw Mridula and told her, ‘Hey