Maya's Revenge

Maya and Chanda

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Birpur is a small town on the Indo-Nepal border. Winters are harsh, and it gets foggy at night. Most of the town sleeps early as there is not much to do in the evening. Mostly open in the nights are paan beedi shops at the corners of cross roads and roadsides. Nihal Singh owned one such shop near Gol Chowk and his wife, Jigna had a small tea shop near it. Nihal Singh was short in height and so was his wife. They both were dedicated towards their family which consisted of their two daughters, Maya and Chanda and Nihal Singh's mother Tara. He had a small hut near the outskirts of Birpur. Jigna and Nihal Singh used to commute to the city every day on a bicycle. Maya was 16 years old and Chanda was 14. They were both very beautiful and had taken on their mother. Nihal Singh had made it a point to ensure that both Maya and Chanda were schooled. Tara used to look after them at home when Nihal Singh and Jigna used to be away working in the city.

Their small hut was their world. Tara used to sleep with Chanda in one corner and Nihal and Jigna used to sleep with Maya on the other corner. Tara and Jigna used to wake up early in the morning at five everyday. After waking up Tara used to go to relieve herself of nature's call in the nearby fields. Meanwhile Jigna used to go out to collect cow dung from nearby fields. It was used for smearing the floor of the hut and also cow dung cakes were used for cooking. Upon returning Jigna used to smear the floor outside the hut every morning with fresh cow dung she used to collect on her way back from the fields. Once Tara was back she used to clean the clothes for everyone in the family and put them up for drying by spreading them on a wire tied at one end to the roof of the hut and the other end to a nearby tree. Jigna meanwhile woke up the kids. She used to accompany them to the nearby fields to help them get relieved every morning.

Maya and Chanda were usual girls. But Maya stood out for one thing. She was aggressive and extremely stubborn right from her childhood and never used to yield easily for anything, even a small thing like her comb or her toys. It did not matter who was standing against her. Jigna sometimes worried about her. Nihal Singh however was not worried thinking she was just another stubborn child and would grow out of her stubborn nature with time. Chanda was more thoughtful and was more intelligent. She kept her cool, rarely lost her temper and was more diplomatic.

"Maa humko aisi hi kanghi phir dila dogi?" (Mother, will you get me a similar comb again?) Chanda asked her mom as she looked at the beautiful comb she was using to comb Maya's hair, while getting ready for school. Jigna replied "Haan papa ko bolo wo agli baar jab Raxaul jaayenge toh le aayenge" (Tell your father, he will bring it, the next time he goes to Raxaul). Nihal Singh, when he used to have additional cash, used to travel to Raxaul ( a small town bordering Nepal) and used to purchase toys, small fancy items for young girls or women and keep it at his paan shop. Last time he had gone to Raxaul was 3 years back and had brought combs and toys for Maya and Chanda. Whereas Chanda broke all her toys, in a few days, and lost her comb, Maya had all the toys and her comb till date. Chanda never cried for her toys or her comb, for her they were just toys and nothing more. But for Maya they were "her" toys. She was very particular about her things and knew how to take care of them. Chanda rushed outside the hut looking for her father.

Jigna cupped Maya's hair in a bun behind her head. She was never ready for a ponytail. Her reason for this also concerned Jigna. She used to say, in case of a fight at school, a ponytail is a disadvantage. Often she would return home from school with her uniform soiled with dirt, and bruises all over her body. She was not the one to take anything lying down. Chanda never got into trouble with anyone at school. She was diplomatic and knew how to make friends and keep them too. Whereas it was always me against the entire world for Maya almost every two or three days.