KANHAIYA MAY HAVE been a mere servant in the household, but his was a classic case of an old employee acting like the master of the household. He connects with their special moments of joy and sorrow and participates in them like a member of the family. He was over the moon when he heard from Munni about Krishna’s wedding plans, excited as though a member of his own family was getting married.
It was late in the afternoon and Kanhaiya had stretched out on the cot in his cubbyhole at the rear of the house, his face beaming as he hummed a Pahari song and snapped his fingers to its beat. He sat up as he heard Kesar Kaur’s voice approaching, remonstrating, with a touch of kindness, ‘Get up, lazy bones! Lie there and snap your fingers, that’s what you’d like to do all day!’ Kanhaiya’s heart swelled as he registered the unexpected sweetness in her tone. Her face was flushed with exhilaration and Kanhaiya couldn’t resist the quip, ‘Come on, Bibi ji. I was singing a bhajan.’
‘Bhajan my foot,’ Kesar Kaur retorted.
‘I swear upon the mother cow,’ Kanhaiya protested his innocence and tried to change the subject. ‘If you want to hear about music and dance, Bibi ji, I must tell you about the performances that we used to have in our villages. It must have been October or November when a group of minstrels visited our lands. Ah ha! What an evening he created, that son of a brahmin. What a voice he had, Bibi ji! Could capture the notes better than a koel. And what a handsome face, maacho like the softness of fresh white butter, Bibi ji. You could just keep looking at him. And then he would put the ghungaroos around his ankles and dance to the tune of the bells with a delicacy that would put any maacho prancing peacock to shame. An experience of a lifetime it was, maacho, that evening in our place.’
If Kesar Kaur had been in her usual frame of mind, she would have delivered half a dozen stinging sermons to Kanhaiya by now. For a change, she smiled absently as he continued with his chatter. He read her silence as a sign of consent and resumed, ‘There was that time when I went to Murree, Bibi ji, to Murree. There was this minstrel performing there, Bibi ji, but…’
‘Enough of that for now,’ Kesar Kaur interrupted. ‘Yours is a real case of verbal diarrhoea. There’s no stopping once that tongue of yours starts. Get up right away and come with me to the bazaar. We have to get some clothes for Krishna bibi. Don’t you know she’s getting married soon?’
‘Married?’ Kanhaiya feigned such surprise that his mouth stayed ajar and his vocal cords could be seen.
Waving his hand over his balding pate, he doubled over to retrieve his slippers from under the bed and left with Kesar Kaur.
Satnam came home soon after their departure and went into the Baba’s room. He was lying on his bed, eyes closed as he hummed with unusual exuberance:
Keep chanting the name of Lord Ram
Keep patience in your heart
He Himself will resolve your tasks
He, Lord Ramachandra, Raghubir
‘Satnam ji!’ the Baba exclaimed as he saw Satnam in the doorway. ‘Will you please take me to meet him?’
‘Meet whom, Bapu ji?’
‘The one who has restored my dignity, my place in this world.’
‘He will come to you himself, Bapu ji. What’s the rush? He hasn’t been too well and that’s why he hasn’t been able to come sooner.’
‘But who is he? What’s his name?’
‘He’s no stranger to you. In fact, you know him quite well.’
‘I know him? In that case, why these riddles from all of you? Why don’t you tell me plainly? I asked Krishna and she also went around in circles. It is strange, this whole mystery that you’ve created.’
‘But is there anything special that you want to tell him?’
‘I just want to convey my gratitude to him. I want to kiss the feet of the man who has demonstrated both his nobility and his morality in such an incredible fashion. Let me tell you, Sardar ji, that we live in an era when just a few rupees can turn the character of a person. And here’s a man who was safeguarding a fortune of some thirty thousand rupees in gold and silver for almost six months, who was keeping a young woman in his house and treating her like his own sister. There’s this thought that keeps going on in my head. Is he someone of rare benevolence, someone like the legendary King Vikramaditya? Or is this something exceptional that he’s done for our family? So, please tell me who is this person.’
‘Okay, Bapu ji. Since you are so impatient, I’ll tell you everything about him. But the fact is that I’d come to discuss a few other matters with you, and I’ll request you to hear me out on these first.’
‘Please go ahead.’
‘It’s about Krishna.’
‘About Krishna? What is it?’
‘She is an adult now, you know.’
‘No doubt about that. She is going to complete eighteen this July.’
‘And it’s high time that we started thinking about her marriage.’
‘Marriage?’ The Baba looked carefully at Satnam as a frown flitted across his face.
‘That’s right,’ Satnam with a touch of anxiety about the Baba’s demeanour.
The Baba was silent for a moment. ‘There’s merit in what you say, Satnam ji. The girl is of a marriageable age, but it isn’t easy to find the right sort of match for her.’
‘Easy or difficult, the fact is that you can’t have daughters sitting at home forever. We’ll have to do something about it.’
The Baba again slipped into silence as he pondered over the subject. ‘I don’t know what the future holds for this girl, Satnam ji. I’d put in a fair bit of effort while we were still in the village but couldn’t find a suitable boy for her. There was no dearth of boys, of course. But how could I latch such a lovely and accomplished girl with some good-for-nothing fellow. There was a chap who looked alright but unfortunately, he turned out to be a ruffian. I still think that he would have been a good match for her if he’d shown some character. I know that Krishna was also fond of him. They’d grown up together in the village.’
‘Who was that, Bapu ji?’
The Baba again lowered his head, deep in thought.
‘Was it someone related to the family?’ Satnam persisted.
The Baba maintained an uncomfortable silence.
‘What’s wrong, Bapu ji? Why have you become so reticent? I’ll stop asking if it’s something you don’t want to talk about.’
‘Satnam!’ the Baba looked at him with the expression of one who is on the verge of confessing a major crime. ‘Son, I’ve been very dishonest with you. I am sure that the Ishwar will punish me for this. But let me just say that my intentions were pure.’
‘What are you talking about, Bapu ji?’ Satnam moved up to sit closer to the Baba and asked.
‘I know what I am talking about, son,’ the Baba lowered his eyes in embarrassment as he spoke. ‘Your family will start looking at me and Krishna with revulsion once you’ve learned of our secret.’
‘May the Waheguru never bring that day, Bapu ji. Anyone who looks with revulsion at you or Krishna isn’t just a godless soul but one who is denouncing God and all the goodness that flows from Him. So let me know what’s this big secret that’s bothering you?’
‘The fact is, Satnam, that the girl that you call Krishna actually has another name.’
‘Is that all? What’s the big deal about this? I’ve known this for quite a while, Bapu ji. That her name is Naseem, that she was born in a Muslim family and that you’ve raised her like your own child. Krishna told me the whole story herself. But did you really think that by bringing a Muslim girl into a Sikh family, you might have defiled the Sikh faith? Allow me to say that this kind of logic is absolutely baseless. The Sikh faith isn’t so fragile that it would get affected by such a small thing. Moreover, our family has always stayed clear of this kind of thinking. My Muslim friends often came to our place and had meals with us.’
Satnam’s words lifted an immense burden from the Baba’s shoulders. Flinging his arm around the young man’s shoulder, he pulled him close and sighed, ‘Ah! Such kindness. But Satnam, is Bibi Kesar Kaur also aware of this situation?’
‘She knows everything, Bapu ji. Krishna’s the one who told her about it. Anyway, let’s leave this topic for now. I was worried that you were going to drop some real bombshell on us, but this is really a case of digging up the mountain and finding a mouse. There’s more important stuff that we need to discuss, particularly about Krishna’s marriage.’
‘But why didn’t you tell me that you already knew about this?’ the Baba continued in the same vein. ‘I’ve been spending sleepless nights for no reason, agonizing over the fact that I’ve committed a grave sin by bringing a Muslim girl into this ho…’
‘Come on, Bapu ji. Let’s drop this topic now and focus on the real subject. You were going to tell me something about Krishna’s marriage.’
The Baba paused for a while. But this time, he was ready to speak.
‘The fact is, Satnam, that I would ideally like to find a Muslim lad for this girl. I know that her parents aren’t going to come back into this world, nor are they going to restrain me in any way. I know that they will happily accept any match that I find for Krishna. And yet, I have this feeling that if I get her married to a non-Muslim boy, my soul will not rest in peace. I’ll have this remorse that I’ve been less than conscientious in discharging my responsibility. The rest is up to you. She is your sister as much as she’s my daughter.’
‘I was pretty sure, Bapu ji, that you would like to find a Muslim boy for her. And let me assure you that I’ll keep your concerns front and centre in whatever I do. In fact, I had your preference in mind ever since I embarked on this project.’
‘In that case,’ the Baba’s face lit up with joy, ‘please go ahead and find a boy for her. I’ll be happy to accept whoever you chose. You’ve already taken care of the issue that was worrying me night and day.
‘But do tell me … is there a boy that you have in mind?’
‘There is one, indeed.’
‘And who is he?’
‘A Muslim.’
‘From where?’
‘The Pothohar region.’
‘Which village?’
‘Chakri.’
‘From Chakri? From our village?’
‘That’s right.’
‘How’s that possible, Satnam? What’s his name?’
‘Yusuf. You know him well.’
‘Yusuf? That one-legged blacksmith’s son Yusuf?’
‘Indeed! And I believe that he is the ruffian that you had mentioned in Krishna’s context.’
The Baba turned his face away in disgust as he heard Yusuf’s name. He also took umbrage over Satnam’s audacity in proposing that fellow for Krishna. He was still mulling over an appropriate response when Satnam continued, ‘It appears, Bapu ji, that Yusuf’s name has triggered some unease. But the difference between the Yusuf you knew and today’s Yusuf is like the difference between the earth and the sky. Weren’t you just asking me about the name of the one whose benevolence was comparable with King Vikramaditya? Well, that’s Yusuf for you. It’s due to his gallantry and courage that you’ve been able to meet Rukman bhabhi. And it’s his honesty that had him safeguarding your trunk for six whole months before handing it over to you. There is no doubt that six months ago, he was an absolute ruffian, wholly untrustworthy, unreliable, and whatever else you’d like to call him. But I am willing to guarantee that Yusuf today is pure, 24-carat gold, more angel than human if you ask me. How did he transform so radically in such a short span of time? I believe that the credit for achieving that miracle goes to Krishna.’ Satnam sat beside the Baba and gave him a succinct account of all that had transpired over the last six months. When he finished, the Baba’s eyes were moist with emotion, his face showing respect, affection and gratitude in equal measure.
Satnam paused for a short interval before resuming with a smile, ‘So, Bapu ji, do you still think Yusuf unworthy of asking for Naseem’s hand from you?’
The Baba responded with a deep sigh that seemed to form the word ‘tathastu’. So be it! His face gleamed with a joy that he had rarely experienced in his seventy plus years as he exclaimed, ‘Ishwar! How can you work such miracles? What kind of gems do you hold in your treasury? My benefactor! I am enchanted.’
The Baba was in a trance as he gazed at Satnam with the same moist eyes, his hand gently stroking Satnam’s back as his lips could be heard whispering, ‘Satnam! Ishwar will repay you in full with his blessings. Please take me quickly to Yusuf. Or bring him to me. I want to kiss his feet and caress his head.’