Packed with residents, the din of colony
premises was hushed to whispers and stiff sobs. 65 year old Radha Kerkar, one of
them, had passed away after being born and married here in.
Built at the fulcrum of Indian
Independence, Shantashram was one of the first co-operative housing societies of
Bombay (now called Mumbai). 5 storey buildings starting from Block A all the way
to Block O, a volleyball court, two open air badminton courts, a lush green
garden, 2 walkways circumventing the garden and a large community hall –
Shantashram was a self-contained universe in itself.
Dotted with coconut palms, it was as
stunning then, as it was today.
Now, many builders were eyeing the plot to
redevelop it, but the housing officials were evasive. They wanted to retain the
expanse of land which would then be crammed with buildings by the builders. Only
two families had sold their flats to date. No one who was born here wanted to
leave. Even if they did leave for studies and work abroad, they held onto their
share of the flat.
Despite its splendour and sheer beauty in
a polluted city like Mumbai, Shantashram was a very incestuous place to live in.
Most residents were related in some way or another.
Radha Kerker lived in M Block with her
family: one husband, twin daughters and a new born son. The infant however bore
a striking resemblance to H-Block’s Sandesh Hegde – The Smoking Bachelor as he
was popularly known.
Radha had always been prim and proper,
but it seems that these prim and proper types were always the ones to live the
most scandalous lives. She’d been born Jaya Nadkarni in H Block, where she lived
with her over-fertile mother who popped ovum like a popcorn vending machine. Her
parents had 14 children. Jaya was the oldest and helped bring up her sisters and
brothers. At a suitable age she was married to M Block’s Suresh Kerkar. When she
was married, as was true in India in the mid-70s, her first and last name
changed and she acquired a whole new identity. From Jaya Nadkarni she was now
Radha Kerkar.
Radha and Suresh had an arranged
marriage. They never dated.
As both the Kerkar and Nadkarni families
belonged to the same sub-caste, Suresh Kerkar’s mother thought Jaya would make
the perfect daughter-in-law. Coming from a large family, she’d be well behaved,
unspoiled and faithful. Her light complexion was an added attraction as there
would then be some hope of a fair-skinned child in the dark Kerkar world.
As a young man, Suresh Kerkar was too
busy studying and never noticed Jaya. So when his mother suggested Jaya as a
prospective bride, he simply shrugged “okay.” As long as the girl would clean,
cook and keep him, he was fine with anybody. His mother had selected her, so it
had to be a decent choice. After all, who worried most about a man? His mother,
right?
A quick marriage in Santashram’s society
hall followed by a routine honeymoon in Matheran’s Circuit House, for three
days, and he was back into his books. When he changed her name from Jaya to
Radha, Suresh Kerkar was at his proactive best as a husband.
Housework and two stunning
black-beauties, the twin girls that followed precisely nine months after the
marriage kept Radha busy for the first couple of years. By then Suresh had just
become someone who gave her money to run her house. Radha Kerkar’s life was as
humdrum as any middle-class woman’s who had not much exposure. Her only sizeable
move was from the 4th floor of H Block to the 5th floor of
M Block.
She never really noticed him, but Sandesh
Hegde was always there in his balcony at H Block smoking his Marlboros. It was
only when the twins went to kindergarten that Radha had the time to stand out in
her balcony, breathe the air, and look out.
Radha, after dropping the wailing twins
at school, would always have just enough time to make their lunch and a cup of
tea for herself. Sipping her well boiled brew in solitude was the only luxury
she had.
One rainy morning as she took her first
sip, she looked at Sandesh. He was a laid back guy who was never hassled or
stressed. A bachelor, he was rich enough to live comfortably on the dividends
from his dead father’s provident and mutual funds. She’d been his neighbor since
childhood, but had never really noticed him before. Her strict mother had never
allowed playing with boys.
With dead parents and in-laws, a husband
who was studying for a Ph.D. and young children at school –Radha Kerkar’s
existence was rather unpopulated now. At that precise moment when she saw
Sandesh, her heart lurched and life took on a new meaning. There was an
excitement that Radha had not known in four decades of her existence.
They began with furtive glances, and then
progressed to waving to each other and looking away. Then, they held their looks
just long enough till they became meaningful smiles. Their little games
continued until one day Sandesh winked and Radha blushed.
The neighbors began to talk. At the newly
widowed Priya Kulkarni’s flat, four neighbours dropped in for a condolence
visit.
“Radha’s 40!” mentioned Madhuri Kamat.
“Closer to menopause,” sniggered Sunanda
Rege.
“You know the other day she forgot her
umbrella in the rains. Her children were soaked but she was smiling and
giggling,” informed Dr. (Mrs) Mina Pai.
“I even saw her peck Suresh on his lips
when he got back from work. The things people do in love, I tell you,” added
Mrs.Cawasji, the much-loved solitary Parsi of Shantashram colony.
Love changes lives. Radha Kerkar suddenly
became super-efficient and time-conscious. She also lost a bunch of weight.
She’d wake up at the crack of dawn and cook breakfast, lunch, tea-time snacks,
and a hot dinner by
She’d then help Suresh get ready: iron
his already ironed shirt from the dhobi,
stack his books, notepads and files over the shoe rack so he would remember to
carry them on his way to the University, tie his tie, and pack his separate
lunch and afternoon snack boxes for work. Sometimes, if he was getting late, she
even spoon-fed him breakfast as he got ready for work. Basically, other than
washing his bum and physically bathing Suresh, she’d do everything for him,
happily. She had the same routine with the twins.
She would then come back to her M Block
and instead of climbing four flights of stairs, she’d climb six. She’d make her
way up to the terrace that spanned the entire colony from Block A to O, and walk
down another four flights of the H block. She’d then burn five hundred calories
during hard core passionate sex, and then walk back up the stairs, across the
terrace, down the six floors and back to school.
Picking up her twins from school, they’d
all walk back, eat together, and sleep like babies-- tired, happy and satiated.
Heaven or hell, wherever Radha’s dead mother-in-law was now, must have been very
happy. Finally a fair infant was born into the Kerkar family!
People began to whisper, however. He
looked nothing like Suresh Kerkar. The resemblance to Sandesh Hegde, the smoking
bachelor, was so striking that the only thing missing in the new born infant was
a nicotine stick between his tiny bunched fingers. The senior members tried to
hush the matter. After all, both lovers were from Shantashram they explained to
the gossip-mongers. Had the father been a Mohmeddan from Saifee Manzil or a
Ciristaon from Pinto Villa, that would
be something to tattletale about. While Suresh Kerkar was too busy to notice, it
remained the entire colony’s not-so-well-kept secret to date.
Now Radha’s grown up and almost-
legitimate son, lifted one end of the plank and Suresh lifted another. Two more
men were needed… and the bunch of women looked towards Sandesh Hegde, waiting
for him to step in. They exchanged furtive glances at each other as well. But
Sandesh did not move.
Just then two other men stepped in and
took Radha’s corpse into the hearse. Just as the door shut, Sandesh lit a
cigarette, turned around and walked away.
This time however, no one noticed the
tears that started to trickle through.