Chapter 6
Three days later, RK was walking to his room when he stopped hearing a song coming from Madhu's room. The door was partially open, so he peeked in to see Madhu lying on the bed reading a book and humming an old Hindi song.
Waqt ne kiya kya haseen sitam
tum rahe na tum, hum rahe na hum
The song was one of RK's favorites, and listening to her sweet voice, he found himself mesmerised and stood there at the door for a while.
"You have a good voice." He said after some time as she switched songs.
"Aap" Madhu turned back immediately and stood up, startled. "I...You're early today..." she stammered, looking everywhere but straight at him.
"I am sorry I am not dressed yet." she said with her gaze piercing the floor, her voice suddenly serious.
"It is ok. You look good in these clothes. Why do you wear those sleazy clothes anyway?" He asked.
"Because you're my client!" She blurted, looking up towards him, then added. "I mean...I never wore those clothes...they are so...but Tony said clients like them and if you're not happy with me, you will sell me again."
RK was startled at the innocence in her voice. Was she really so naive? He had never considered how she came to work as a call girl, but over the last week her behavior had convinced him that she wasn't as shrewd and street-smart as he had first assumed.
"You can wear whatever you like. Those clothes don't suit you anyway." He said and saw a beautiful smile light up her face. Suddenly though, her expression changed and she looked really disturbed.
"I am sorry. I know I am not beautiful and don't know how to dress well in modern clothes like you all like. But I can try. Please don't send me back..."
"Who said you're not beautiful?" RK interrupted her, then corrected his own words. "I mean...you're fine whatever you wear. I don't care. In this house, you can wear whatever you like."
Madhu meekly nodded, while RK turned and left for his own room.
That night, RK didn't come to Madhu's room. Having waited an hour past RK's usual time, Madhu stepped out to peek at RK's room, just to check if he was already asleep and she could quit waiting. She opened the door connecting their rooms as quietly as possible and tried to peek in. The lights were on but she couldn't spot him, when his voice startled her.
"You?" RK said, closing the door of the wardrobe in front of which he had been standing.
"Sorry" she shrieked, startled, and turned to leave but RK held her hand, stopping her.
"Woh..sorry...I just came to see if you had slept so I could sleep too...you didn't come tonight so..."
"It's okay Mitisha. You could have knocked and come rather than sneaking in..."
"I...I didn't want to wake you in case you were asleep..."
"Hmm..." he said, leaving her hand. "I was packing. I am going to Bangalore for a week in the morning. You go sleep."
Madhu looked at RK and opened her mouth as if to say something, then turned back and left for her room. RK felt strange, mostly at himself. He didn't need to give her that information and yet he felt compelled to. Even more remarkably, he felt curious to know her reaction and was a touch disappointed she didn't say anything.
Two hours later, unable to sleep and still wondering about these question, he gave up the struggle and slid next to a sleeping Madhu in her bed to get a couple of hours' rest before his flight.
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(Two days later)
Patil was coming back from tending the garden in the backyard, when he heard a faint murmur coming from the adjoining room. He followed the sound to find Madhu standing outside the temple room, her dupatta on her head and her eyes shut in prayer. He was about to yell at her, then stopped seeing the sincerity on her face as she prayed. He stepped back outside Madhu's view, and watched as she carefully finished her prayers, bowed and left from there, trying not to be seen. He noticed how careful she was not to touch anything and didn't even enter the room itself.
A little while later, he knocked at her room with her breakfast. She opened the door and greeted him with her usual smile. Even though he had always been rude to her, she had been unfailingly polite.
"Thank you Patil ji" she said as he handed her the tray. He looked around in her room - it was neatly tidied up and she sat on the chair reading a book like he'd often seen her do.
"Do you want anything else?" he asked her.
"Patil ji...woh..umm..."
"Tell me...whatever it is."
"Can you send a money order and a letter for me? It's my brother's birthday today. I can't go out to buy a gift for him, but I can send him my wishes and some money so he can buy whatever he wants."
Patil nodded in affirmative, a touch surprised at her request and she squealed in excitement.
"Thank you thank you Patil ji. Thank you so much." she said and ran inside, bringing an envelope to hand over to Patil, along with the money and a note with the address.
Patil looked over the address and counted the money. The envelope was sealed but there was a name on it. "To, Manav From, Madhu didi" it read.
"Madhu?" Patil read aloud and looked questioningly at Madhu. She clenched her eyes, realizing her mistake, then nodded.
"Yes, that's my real name."
"Madhu?"
"Madhubala" Madhu nodded.
"Then Mitisha?"
"When they...they bought...they said...they changed everyone's names..." she said, her eyes swam with pain and for the first time Patil felt a tinge of sympathy for the girl.
"Your brother, is he younger than you?"
"Yes, he will turn 14 today. He is in boarding school. All this is for him only..." Madhu answered.
Patil nodded, then turned to leave when Madhu called from behind. "Thank you Patil ji" he turned and saw tears in her eyes, then left her room.
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(Four days later)
RK entered his house to the sound of laughter coming from the kitchen. Curious, he kept his luggage in the living room and walked to the kitchen. He was stunned to see Madhu cooking along side Patil, both engrossed in conversation.
"Arey bitiya, you leave it. I can do the rest."
"No Patil kaka. Let me do it. You should rest some. Anyways I have nothing to do and I love cooking. Sit down. Here, taste this."
"No no Madhu bitiya. I already over ate at lunch."
"But halwa is dessert no kaka. At least taste it."
"Very nice. You know, Gajar Halwa is Rishabh baba's all time favorite. You should keep some and give it to him tomorrow when he comes."
"No no kaka. I will not step out of the room in front of him. And you also don't tell him anything. What if he gets angry and sends me back..."
"He won't. I am there no. You don't worry Madhu bitiya."
"Patil!" RK yelled, startling both of them. "What's going on here?" he screamed as they looked at him. The bowl in Madhu's hand fell and the hot halwa fell over her arms. She hissed in pain.
"Rishabh beta..."Patil started to speak, but RK interrupted him, focusing his attention on Madhu instead
"Did I or did I not tell you to stay inside your room and not interfere around the house?"
Streams of tears dotted her cheeks as she stood rooted to her place.
"Don't forget your actual worth, your aukat!" RK shouted, and Madhu ran out of the kitchen back to her room.
"Rishabh bete..."
"Don't, Patil kaka. I thought you couldn't stand her. And now you're cooking with her, happily chatting. Did you forget..."
"I didn't forget anything. But Madhu bitiya not as bad as I assumed. Her life..."
"I don't care about her life or her. Don't forget she is also a woman. Deceitful, shameless, lying creature. How can you believe her? Her, a mere prostitute. Even you know she is in this house only for my use. Don't get so used to her..." He yelled and walked away to his room, leaving a perplexed Patil stranded.
A couple of hours later, RK was in his room, drinking whiskey. The house was eerily quiet after RK had sent Patil home early. He had seen Dipali in Bangalore, walking around his office in Sikander's arms. That was one of the companies Dipali had asked for as alimony in her divorce filing, and while none of the proceedings were done yet, Sikander and Dipali were already showing off the company to a prospective buyer to sell it off. The buyer was one of RK's core competitors and seeing him happily willing to first buy and then shut down permanently a business that RK had so painstakingly built made him cringe. His efforts, his employees, his reputation - he knew nothing mattered to Dipali, who just wanted the money from selling off the business, but despite everything, he hadn't yet grown so heartless that he could ignore it all. He felt furious, yet helpless, and in that anguish he had cancelled his remaining meetings and flown back to Mumbai early. Yet, even here at home there was no peace. If anything, he felt worse sitting in the same room where his marriage, his emotions and all his relationships had been so heartlessly mocked.
Drunk, stuttering, he strolled into Madhu's room a while later. Seeing her, she stood up from her chair. But instead of the faint smile she had given him of late, she unzipped her kurta and started undressing as soon as RK reached near her, her eyes shut.
He held her hand, and she stopped, opening her eyes.
"I am sorry. I will not forget my aukat again." she said.
In response, RK simply hugged her and hung his head on her shoulder. She realized he was drunk and tried to support his weight.
"Aukat? Even I don't have any aukat left, who am I to remind you of yours?"
"Rishabh ji what are you saying?" she asked.
"Rishabh?" RK pulled himself away. "You know who else called me Rishabh. My mother! No, my so-called mother."
"Sorry" she muttered as Rishabh stuttered on his feet and she tried to support him. Hearing Rishabh from Patil kaka had made her used to that name.
"What's your name?" he suddenly asked.
"M..Mitisha.."she responded.
"But Patil kaka was calling you something else, right? Madhu? Is that your real name?"
Madhu nodded slightly. "Yes. Madhubala."
"Madhubalaaa. Then why did you lie to me haan? Why did you lie to me so much?" Rishabh's voice and temper had both suddenly risen.
"Three years! Three years I gave you everything you asked for and you continuously lied to me. Why? Why? Tell me. What was my fault? Wasn't I good to you? Or was it that I was too good to you? Why did you lie to me? If you wanted to be with him, why did you marry me?"
"Rishabh ji" Madhu struggled to control a hysterical RK. Eventually she enveloped him in a tight embrace and patted his back, trying to calm him down.
"I am sorry. I am sorry." she continuously muttered, understanding that Rishabh's anger was directed not at her but someone else. It wasn't like she had any answers to Rishabh's questions. Just like she didn't have any to her own.
'Why', he muttered. 'Why', Madhu thought, thinking about her own life as she stroked RK's back to calm him down.
Bekarar dil is tarah milein
Jis tarah kabhi hum juda na the
Edited by teekay - 9 years ago
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