Aboli

Part 4

Randhir drove back from Dabolim airport after dropping off his parents. While they were supposed to depart the next day, their international flight outbound from Mumbai got preponed and they had to rebook their Goa-Mumbai flight at the last minute and rush to the airport. By the time he got back their flight was en route to Mumbai, and he drove his SUV toward the Fonseca home where the Roce ceremony of Violet, who had been Randhir's schoolmate, was being celebrated. Ruiz Fonseca was a trusted employee of the Shekhawat Group of companies while his wife Mabel was a teacher and colleague of Anju. Randhir was obliged to attend both the Roce and the wedding next day, just like Sanyukta was supposed to fill in for the absence of her mother who left for Madgaon that morning. Anju could not avoid the trip as she was appointed evaluator for the Grade 10 examination papers, and she would be gone for a week. Although she was worried about leaving Sanyukta on her own, her daughter reassured her that she would take care of herself. 

As Randhir arrived Parth directed him to park his car toward the nether end of the lane closer to the beach as the parking spots nearer to the Fonseca home were already taken. By the time Randhir entered the decorated and brightly lit matov (pandal or marquee) the Chuddo ceremony had begun. While the kakonkar or the bangle-seller offered them, the bride's maternal uncle slipped colourful glass bangles in green, yellow and red on the bride's wrists, a pre-Christian ritual practised even today in traditional Goan Catholic homes. As in Hindu tradition glass bangles symbolise married life of the bride, meant to be broken only on the dead husband's coffin, and widows would stop wearing ornaments and glass bangles. The bangle-seller was then dispatched with a token offering of a measure of rice, a coconut, some bananas and money.

Plastic chairs were set up in the midst of the matov on the bare ground, for the bride and her bridesmaids to be seated for the ceremony. The guests occupied seats around the periphery. Starting with the parents, the family and friends of the bride poured ladles of coconut milk called Roce over the bride and the other girls, in a symbolic anointing. Almost in the end Parth and Randhir lined up to douse Violet with the leftover Roce and it was only then that Randhir noticed Sanyukta seated in a soaking wet T shirt and shorts beside Violet's cousin and maid of honour Eva. As per custom he poured some Ros over her head too, causing her to shudder even when there was no cool breeze blowing. Clearly she had not expected him to be there and she just stared at her feet suddenly feeling self-conscious, knowing his eyes were boring into her. As he stepped aside, Parth and her gang followed, showering her with all the remaining Ros, making a slippery mess at their feet. 

Ceremonial songs were sung by the family members as they poured water over Violet, then leading her indoors for her bath in privacy. The other girls were led to the well and doused with bucketfuls of water to wash the coconut milk off their bodies. Someone offered Sanyukta a drink and she gulped it in a go, her throat having gotten parched by the sight of Randhir pouring the Roce over her. Meanwhile the guests were offered drinks and refreshments and the Kunbi women who were invited to perform their folk dance began swaying to the music in their knee-length red sarees. They wore white blouses and scarves around their waists, and their hair was decked with bright coral aboli garlands. As Violet returned she was led to the dance floor by her family and soon everyone joined in the revelry, celebrating the bridal shower. Randhir danced with Violet to do his bit and then quietly grabbed a beer, making conversation with an acquaintance.

Just then Parth came toward him, looking a bit anxious. "Bhai, have you seen Sanyukta?" he asked. Randhir had not seen her after she fled out of his sight to bathe near the well. "Try calling her, maybe she went home to change." Randhir tried to mollify him. Parth showed him her phone that she had left with him for safe-keeping. "I have been trying to call her landline but there is no response. There is nobody there,  Anju aunty has gone to Madgaon for a week for evaluating papers." Parth told him. Parth and Randhir split up, going in opposite directions, trying to locate Sanyukta. On an impulse Randhir went toward the beach to look for her. It was pitch dark and he could spot nothing. Just as he turned around he heard a muffled sound. Immediately he started in that direction, trying to locate the source. As he stole quietly he could clearly hear voices, it sounded like Sanyukta was in the company of some boy. 

What he saw shocked him out of his wits, he could see her lying helplessly on the sand hidden behind a rocky outcrop, and a boy was trying to undress her forcibly while she sobbed and tried to put up a weak fight. Randhir shouted angrily, alerting the boy who turned around and fled as soon as he recognised Randhir. It happened so fast that although Randhir tried to chase him, he made good his escape. He rushed back to Sanyukta, grabbing her and trying to make her stand but she sank back on the ground. He realised she was under the influence of something, though he could not smell alcohol or any obvious drug. He called Parth who joined him in about five minutes. Randhir quickly explained to him the situation. "Someone spiked her drink with a predator drug. Listen, you get back to the party, tell them I dropped Sanyukta first as she was feeling unwell and then left to go home. If they know about this they will worry, and they have a wedding to celebrate tomorrow. If she does not recover we have to admit her to a hospital."

Parth helped Randhir move Sanyukta on to the backseat of the car. Randhir first dropped Parth off back at the Fonsecas and then made his way homeward, taking care to drive the car to the back of his home from where he effortlessly carried her to his room, placing her in the bathtub. He made some saline solution, stripped off his clothes, changed into shorts and then forced Sanyukta to drink the salt water hoping to induce her to throw up. In a while she felt nauseous and he carried her to the WC to help her out. He then ran warm water into tub and let her soak in, as he tried to revive her, checking her breathing, her pulse and her pupillary response. She began responding verbally, though he could not make out what she was mumbling, instead he called Parth updating him, assuring him that she was secure in his room and that he need not worry. Back in his bathroom he realised he had to get her out of the water and change her clothes. He drained the tub, picked up a large towel and gently stripped her clothes off, drying her hair and body.

He carried her to his bed and slipped one of his longest T shirt on her, then proceeded to blow-dry her hair. He rinsed off her clothes and hung them to dry on the washing line above the tub. He went to the kitchen and made a large pitcher of lemonade, carrying it back to his room. She was semi-conscious by then and he helped her down some of the drink. "Who did this to you Sanyukta, tell me, who was it?" He asked her cautiously. "He said I was a whore, just like my mother. My mother is not a whore Randhir, nor am I. Why did he try to hurt me? I hate him." She was rambling. "Tell me his name!" He tried to stay calm. "Hold me close, I like it when you do that, I feel so safe." Saying so she threw her arms around him, grasping him tightly. "Please don't let me go, I am scared. He touched me, like Daddy used to and I hated Daddy!" Randhir felt as if his heart had stopped beating. He could hardly believe what was happening, the drug was causing a regression, her mind was creating a link between her present trauma and her repressed childhood memories. 

He felt sickened. She had been abused as a child by her father, the drug was making her disgorge horrors from her past. Nobody knew about this, he was sure. "Daddy said if I told anyone he would kill Mom. I did not want her to die, so I never told anyone, not even Mom. He said I was Harsh Shekhawat's bastard child and he would use me like Harsh used Mom. But you are not my brother Randhir, Daddy got a DNA test done, it proved that he was my father. Then he began beating Mom for bearing him a daughter, and he used to call her you father's keep. If Mom wept he would hit both of us so she was afraid to cry." As she spoke he could sense warm tears coursing down her cheeks. He caressed her tenderly, trying to comfort her in her distress. "Mom never betrayed Daddy, even after he died in the accident. Then why did he hurt her Randhir?"She wailed. Randhir felt like a curtain has been lifted from over the past. Anju and Harsh had been in love in their youth, but Anju was forced to marry Kishore Agarwal and Harsh went on to marry Renuka. Anju or her daughter were never mentioned at the Shekhawats, Renuka had issues with Harsh's connection with Anju as they had all been together in college. 

Kishore always suspected Anju's fidelity and became a violent alcoholic husband who molested his own daughter until fate cut his life short, liberating the two women from his abuse. The deeply scarred Sanyukta had buried the abuse in her past and instead tried to seek solace through her deviant behaviour. This was probably the first time she had confessed, under the influence of the drug. He felt an urge to protect her, to erase all the wrong she had been subjected to. "Sanyukta, please tell me who tried to hurt you on the beach." He needed to know. " It was Vishad. Don't be angry with me Randhir, I did nothing wrong. Just hold me, don't leave me, please." She refused to let him go and he held her close until she was fast asleep. He tucked her into bed gently and covered her with the duvet. Grabbing a couple of sheets he lay down on the couch, a storm raging in his head. Vishad Singh Shekhawat, his parasitic cousin, he had to find a way to deal with him. If he ever tried to touch the girl again he would break every bone in his body.