Days passed. It was rumored that Tamami was off drugs and Kabira had arranged for him to attend a makeshift akhara.
Gulab Deen was in a lively mood when he came to see Ustad Ramzi. He offered many apologies for not visiting earlier. He said it was not done out of disrespect, and enumerated many reasons for being held up.
“Tell me Ustad,” he finally asked, “Why is Tamami not exercising in this akhara? Forgive my saying this, but there are no differences between two brothers that cannot be resolved.” Without waiting for an answer, he added, “Tell me that I can count on your forgiving him if I were to bring Tamami to you. A treasure is wasting before my eyes, Ustad! A treasure!”
Ustad Ramzi was infuriated by the promoter’s suggestion that he exercised some influence over his own brother. In his heart he had not yet renounced his right to make decisions about Tamami’s life.
“I wish to have nothing to do with him,” he replied. “You can continue arranging fixed fights for him and making a living off it.”
“As God is my witness, Ustad, it was a true fight!” Gulab Deen swore, kissed his fingers with reverence, and raised them to touch his eyes. “True as true! Sher Ali issued the challenge and Tamami accepted it. Fair as fair. I know of no fixing. Both men are hot-blooded and neither would agree to such a thing.”
Gulab Deen once again denied knowledge of any wrongdoing in the fight between Tamami and Sher Ali. Then he got up and took his leave of Ustad Ramzi.
❖
Everyone in the clan realized that, though Ustad Ramzi may have turned Tamami out in a fit of anger, it would grieve Ustad Ramzi if they ostracized his younger brother as well, for in the end there would be a rapprochement between the two. Besides, they admired Tamami’s talent and strength. When they learned that Tamami had started attending the makeshift akhara, they went there to assist him with his exercises and to spar with him.
Tamami had cut down on his exercises. He stopped after just a few hundred leg-squats. But the trainees were still unable to throw him off his feet. His robust constitution continued to triumph over the adverse effects of addiction, even though he was still on drugs. Kabira often saw Gulab Deen take Tamami out in the evening. Since Tamami had no source of income, Kabira could guess where the drugs were coming from.
A couple of days later Tamami told Kabira that he had appointed him his manager.
“I have become your manager?” Kabira asked with some surprise.
“Yes, Kabira,” Tamami confessed in an embarrassed tone.
“And who appointed me? You?”
“Yes. Gulab Deen asked me to appoint you my manager so that someone could take care of my affairs.”
“Gulab Deen said that? Huh!” Kabira’s brow clouded over. There was something wrong with the way Gulab Deen was manipulating Tamami’s professional affairs. It made Kabira apprehensive. He decided to have a word with Gulab Deen.
“Tamami will be fine once he sees that he does not need Ustad Ramzi to arrange his challenge fight,” Gulab Deen told Kabira. “He is still used to him making all his arrangements. You are his manager now. He trusts you and listens to you. Tell him that everything will be all right.”
When Kabira brought up Tamami’s use of drugs, Gulab Deen looked at him in silence for a few moments. Then he spat out a shred of tobacco from his cigarette, and looked hard at Kabira with a strange gleam in his eyes.
“If Tamami loses a fight he could always win in a challenge bout.”
“Don’t say that again!” Kabira cut in angrily. “It is one thing for him to prolong an exhibition match. Throwing away a fight would destroy his name.”
“You are right,” Gulab Deen said in a changed tone. “It will not do. We should ask Tamami to stop. He listens to you. First talk to him yourself. Then, if you need me, I will come with you and we’ll get our pahalwan to see the error of his ways.”
Gulab Deen’s words had raised strange fears in Kabira’s mind, and he decided that he must go and see Ustad Ramzi to bring about a reconciliation between the brothers.
When Kabira mentioned his intent to Tamami, his face brightened.
Kabira was glad to see that.
❖
A crisp wind was rustling the paling leaves on the branches of the banyan and holy fig trees. The sun was westering and its last light was falling on the gates of the akhara. Some trainees were arranging wooden planks outside the akhara and a few others were lying on wooden benches, having their bodies rubbed with mustard oil.
Ustad Ramzi sat in his customary place by the side of the akhara. He shaded his eyes to see who was entering the enclosure. The others had recognized Kabira and stopped their activities. It was Kabira’s first visit since Ustad Ramzi had expelled Tamami from the akhara. The trainees regarded him inquisitively and when Kabira came up and greeted Ustad Ramzi, they drew nearer.
Ustad Ramzi had a feeling that everyone in the akhara was watching him. He felt his throat contract. He softly returned Kabira’s greeting. Catching Ustad Ramzi’s uneasy glance, one of the trainees brought a chair for Kabira. Another brought glasses of sardai.
Finally Kabira spoke: “Ustad, Tamami made a mistake. I have come to ask you to forgive him.”
Ustad Ramzi was hardly looking at Kabira. He only heard the words. Now, more than ever, he felt the intense gaze of the trainees on him. He felt a sharp expectancy in them.
“When did he become such a lord that he could not come himself…”
“He will come. I will bring him, Ustad. He needs you,” Kabira said quickly and in one breath. “Forgive him!”
“Forgive him for what?” Ustad Ramzi roared. “For befouling the akhara with his deeds, this place that five generations had kept pure?”
As Kabira listened with his head bowed, Ustad Ramzi felt his resolve weakening. But he could feel the gaze of the trainees still riveted on him. It made him angry.
“Why does he need my forgiveness?” he sneered. “He did not need me when he participated in the fixed bout and smeared his fathers’ honor. Now what does he need me for?”
“He has a manager and a promoter now,” Ustad Ramzi’s voice trembled as he cast a glance at Kabira. “Souls find angels of their kind. Now all of you can win ever greater glories for yourselves.”
Ustad Ramzi’s anger was spent. Kabira could have broken his defenses with another plea, but he maintained a respectful silence.
The moment weighed heavily on Ustad Ramzi.
“Why don’t you answer?” he shouted, more in irritation at the silence than to elicit a reply.
A few trainees moved forward to console Ustad Ramzi. They took charge of the situation and turned on Kabira:
“It would be best if you left now.”
“Ustad has not forgiven Tamami. Take him that message. “
“Why did he not come here himself? Now he need not bother.”
Kabira quietly rose to his feet. Ustad Ramzi had turned his face away to master his feelings. Without speaking another word, Kabira left.
“Get lost! Don’t show your face…I don’t wish to see his face again!” Ustad Ramzi shouted after him.
❖
Tamami was sitting up on his charpai carefully tying the folds of his turban. He had taken a bath and dressed, in expectation of his reconciliation with Ustad Ramzi. Hearing Kabira’s footsteps he looked up, but the expression on Kabira’s face immediately told him that his visit to Ustad Ramzi had been unsuccessful. Tamami’s spirits sank.
He felt helpless again. His fixation on the title had made him dependent on Ustad Ramzi’s acceptance of his life and actions. Even when he broke from him he did not break mentally from that relationship. Others, too, bound him to it. With Ustad Ramzi’s overpowering hold on the affairs of the clan and the akhara, Tamami was always advised that his hopes lay in seeking Ustad Ramzi’s forgiveness. The more Ustad Ramzi became distant, the more remote this possibility seemed to him. And when others saw how obsessed Tamami was with Ustad Ramzi’s acceptance, the more they felt Tamami needed to address his relationship with Ustad Ramzi.
❖
For the next few months, Tamami fought several pahalwans in exhibition matches. Most of these bouts ended in draws. Using Tamami, Gulab Deen began to advance his small group of pahalwans, of which Sher Ali was the most prominent. After his fight with Imama, which he had won on a technicality, Tamami was now considered a high-ranking pahalwan. When a pahalwan’s bout with Tamami ended in a tie, his rank advanced. Gradually, pahalwans who did not have the same experience or skill as Tamami were held to be his equals. The clan elders saw what was happening, but were unable to do anything about it.
Soon, the crowds that came to see the fights grew impatient with Tamami’s draws. They were the people who had watched Tamami train for his fight with Imama. They had rooted for him, applauding and jumping to their feet every time he performed a clever maneuver, but were disappointed at Tamami’s winning so few of those bouts. When they saw that he did not use his advantages and gave the bouts away, they began heckling him. When even that did not bring about a change, they cheered Tamami’s rivals.
Tamami’s visits to the akhara became irregular. It was rumored that he had had a falling out with Gulab Deen over the latter’s promoting Sher Ali at Tamami’s expense.
One day the news came that the police had arrested Tamami on charges of drug possession. The next day it was heard that he had been released after Gulab Deen posted bail for him. It was rumored that the promoter had himself tipped off the police, to place Tamami in his debt financially. Nobody knew the truth, but after that incident, Gulab Deen was seen exercising greater control over Tamami. He had also arranged a three-bout match between Tamami and Sher Ali.
❖
Gulab Deen came to see Tamami at a time when he knew Kabira would not be around. Tamami greeted him nonchalantly. His body was beginning to show the impact of his addiction more visibly. He had lost weight. His girth had decreased and dark rings had appeared around his eyes. Tamami hadn’t gone to the akhara again that day. He had been lying on the charpai since morning.
Gulab Deen said, “Hope everything is going well with your routines,” as he looked around.
“Yes,” Tamami answered listlessly. “Are the preparations for the bout done?”
“Preparations! Preparations! I don’t know. To your question I would say both yes and no.”
Tamami looked up but did not ask what he meant. Since his arrest—which Kabira had hinted was orchestrated by Gulab Deen— Tamami had developed a secret dread of the promoter.
“There are problems with the bout, Tamami,” Gulab Deen continued. “I worry for you.”
A troubled look appeared on Tamami’s face, but he remained silent. He was trying to concentrate his thoughts.
“This has to be a longer fight,” Gulab Deen said. “You cannot finish it too soon. And you must cede the first fight to Sher Ali.”
Tamami sat up. “Kabira said I should not give away the fight,” he said angrily. “I am not going to let Sher Ali defeat me! No!”
“Did I ask you to cede the series?”
“I am not going to lose the fight! Kabira told me you would ask me to lose a fight one of these days. I am not going to do it!” Tamami looked impatiently towards the door. He wished Kabira were there.
“Kabira is my friend too, and his advice is always good to have, especially since he is also your manager. But I have a very good reason for arranging the bout in this manner, Tamami. That reason I can only tell you, as it concerns you alone, not Kabira.”
“What reason?”
“It has to do with what happened between you and Ustad Ramzi.”
Tamami’s expression remained tense, but he felt an anxiety mixed with eagerness.
“Brothers should not fight,” Gulab Deen continued. “My heart has been heavy since Ustad Ramzi broke his ties with you. I could not do anything. But that does not mean you should be made to suffer. Enough is enough.”
Tamami now listened attentively.
“I went to see Ustad Ramzi the other day,” Gulab Deen said. “I asked him to come and inaugurate the fight. But…” here Gulab Deen hesitated.
“But what?”
“He would not come. I said to him, Ustad Ramzi, do not bear ill will against your own brother. He would be honored to have you at the akhara when he fights. He needs your blessings, I said.”
Tamami looked expectantly at the promoter.
“But Ustad Ramzi is a stern man—and proud. He suffers, but will not change his mind. Unless…”
“Unless what?”
“Unless he knows that the title would be lost by his clan if he did not come,” Gulab Deen said slowly. A few moments passed without comment from Tamami, but the promoter carried on confidently. “You must lose the first fight. Then Ustad Ramzi will ask himself if it was because he was not there. He will see that his brother needs him. He is the way he is, but he would not willingly torment anyone. You know it as well as I do. What must be said to his credit, must be said. He is hurting, too, and he will relent when he sees that you require him to be there with you. His pride will be satisfied and he will come for the second fight. The second fight could soon follow, perhaps in a month’s time.”
“In a month’s time…?”
“In a few weeks, then,” Gulab Deen said quickly. “Ustad Ramzi will come. And once he is there, he will find it hard not to reconcile with his brother. What happened between you is a shame, but blood is thicker than water. Now is our chance to correct the error. You decide. I have not told Kabira. He may not understand. If he speaks to someone in the clan, Ustad Ramzi might find out, and then he will never come. He is a proud man. You know your brother better than I do. You tell me if he would come if he were to find out.”
Tamami remained silent.
“Tell me if there is anything I can do,” Gulab Deen said.
“Are you sure Ustad Ramzi will come?” Tamami asked. “How can you be certain?”
“Think carefully about what I have told you, then ask yourself. You will have the answer. Trust me, he will come.”
Tamami was quiet.
“There’s another thing,” Tamami said as Gulab Deen prepared to leave.
“What?”
“I haven’t had my…” Tamami began haltingly, “I feel my head will break apart if I do not…”
❖
The news spread quickly that Tamami had lost a fight to Sher Ali. It was also announced that the re-match would be held a month later. Kabira had accosted Tamami immediately after the bout, but Tamami refused to say anything.
“I feel exhausted,” he kept saying. “You know I would not throw a fight.”
When he saw that Kabira did not believe him, Tamami began arguing and broke into tears. Kabira then went to see Gulab Deen, whom he had seen quietly slip away after the fight ended.
Kabira thought Tamami’s body might be rebelling against his drug addiction. Despite his vigil in the last weeks, he had noticed that Tamami was increasingly drugged. At times he would jump out of his charpai in the middle of the night, brushing his clothes wildly, complaining of insects crawling over his body. Kabira saw that there were no insects, either on Tamami’s skin or on the charpai. Since summer, when he had kept the charpais in the sun, there had been no bedbugs either.
Sher Ali had looked strong in the akhara and was far more agile than Tamami. As Kabira was not certain that Tamami’s defeat was entirely the result of Gulab Deen’s orchestration, he was taken in by his convoluted arguments.
A rumor spread that Tamami had taken money from Sher Ali to draw the fight and that Tamami had done it to pay for his addiction. Kabira listened helplessly to the comments people made.
Kabira wondered if Ustad Ramzi would make up with Tamami, but he could not find the courage to broach the subject with him again.
❖
Ustad Ramzi remained impassive upon hearing that Tamami had lost the bout to Sher Ali. It seemed that he had either expected the news, or else he was too sad to react in any way.
He wondered despondently if addiction and the lure of money had driven Tamami to lose fights and dishonor the clan. Ustad Ramzi did not go to Gulab Deen to settle the matter with him, as some suggested. He told himself there was no point in doing so.
When a pahalwan held himself back before an opponent in an akhara, he betrayed his oath to the clay of the akhara. Tamami had broken his oath out of greed. Once faith with one’s creed had been broken, it did not stop at one disgrace; a storm of evils was bound to follow. In days to come there might be more. A canker was eating away at Tamami’s soul and it could not be carved to any perfection, Ustad Ramzi told himself.
With a final effort he shut his heart to Tamami and all thoughts of him.