The Fallen Widow

6. Haveli's Dark Past

Huddled around the burning evening tandoor, Meh'r-Bano reported the day's events to her best friend Tasneem huddled with her eighteen year old daughter Gulshan who listened with eagerness. Tasneem cooked piping hot, bubbling rotis for her large family. Gulshan couldn't concentrate on her books.
"Your Shafiq deserves a good kicking!" Tasneem wiped the sweat from her brow. 
Gulshan grabbed Meh'r-Bano's wrist and tugged her. 
"Tell me, Baji. Tell me everything." 
Staring into the evening starry sky, Meh'r-Bano pictured the opulence of the haveli unable to describe it into words. The magnificent haveli had to be experienced, touched and breathed in. Words did not suffice. 
"As soon as you come through the towering gates, pressurized water fountains jet water into the air. It's like an outside air conditioning system."
"Woah!" Gulshan pinned her eyes in awe. 
"The dome belongs to the central haveli. The size and the location of the haveli depends on the rank of the family member. Choudhary Dilawar-Baksh resides in the large, and central haveli. Do you see the dome from your terrace?"
"Yes!" Gulshan nodded her head
"The marble encrusted dome belongs to the central haveli. I have not been permitted to enter it. The entry of Choudhrani Malaikah's haveli leads to the lobby which has polished marble  flooring."
Tasneem's three year old son rubbed his moist eyes with tears searching for comfort from his mother after his brother snatched the hot roti from his hand. Tasneem ripped off a piece from the fresh roti and slapped it in his hand. She didn't want any distractions listening to Meh'r-Bano. 
"The verdanah is supported by tall black and white pillars dressed with thin muslin drapes blowing in the wind and veiling the ladies of the household. Inside her haveli, the staircase has pink sandstone floors. The wooden railing polished like marble. Soft like a new born baby's skin. Every Choudhary that ruled Jahanpur has his portrait on the hallway." 
Wide eyed with excitement, Gulshan looked at her mum. 
Tasneem elbowed her daughter. "Go see what your sister is doing. Change her pants and prepare her for bed."
"Gulshan, once I get paid we will go to the valley and buy books." Meh'r-Bano celebrated. 
Gulshan leaped forward and hugged Meh'r-Bano. "Thank you! Thank you! My dream has come true."
Meh'r-Bano stroked her crazy curly hair. Teaching Gulshan secretly four evenings a week was one of her joys. Gulshan knew how to read and write in Urdu. She began to form words and create her own sentences. 
"I knew it, I knew you were destined for better things." Said Tasneem flipping the roti into the chakoor. 
"Just be careful in the haveli. You know what it is like with the bastard Azaad."
Meh'r-Bano held her hand and assured her she would be safe as no one was allowed in  Malaikah's haveli as every part of the courtyard was divided into separate havelis.
"It's enormous. Choudhrani Malaikah's haveli is private and at the back of the grounds. The central haveli belongs to Choudhary Dilawar-Baksh and his wife. Choudhary Shah-Nawaz has his own haveli which I haven't seen. There's so much to see and explore."
"Make sure you tell me everything!" Gulshan bounced. 
"How is Shafiq?!" asked Tasneem trying to show she cared. 
"He's awful. Wajahat Ali damaged his back tooth out. Tomorrow he will be going to the dentist in the city to get it chiselled. I feel bad."
"Why should you feel bad? Didn't Choudhrani ask you to come? He prohibited you. They should know that we obey Choudhary's orders. They put food on our table, and money in our hands. He should be grateful they want you to work for them. They don't have to pay you. This is their gratitude." 
Meh'r-Bano was excited at the possibilities that lay ahead. There was so much she could do with the money earned. At the moment Gulshan was her first regular student she taught. Gulshan was eager, a fast learner despite the many responsibilities she had at home caring for her siblings, she found time to revise, and study. 
Tomorrow was an exciting day for Meh'r-Bano. She would teach the two grandchildren of the noble Choudhary household leading her to the path to hold a private audience with the ruling Choudhary.

****

Allah Ditta stood obediently in front of Dilawar-Baksh in his bedroom. The old man was tired after a shopping trip for his favourite granddaughter and relaxed on his soft mattress. He wanted answers from Allah Ditta. The mission he laid out to him for the past year was testing his patience. 
"Have you found them?" Dilawar-Baksh snapped at his loyal aide. "How long has it been? For nineteen years I have not laid eyes upon my grandchildren. Where could my wretched daughter in law hidden them?" He hacked a cough. Allah Ditta grabbed the metal cup and helped the angry old man take a sip of cool water. 
Shahgul made her way into her bedroom finding her husband in a coughing state. She knew the reason for the increase in his blood pressure. His estranged daughter in law. After a perilous battle with his brother, Muzzamil, his son was killed in the attack. The attack was sudden and deadly. Whilst, Dilawar-Baksh's son, Shah Jahan raised a wall protecting the land he claimed as their own, his uncle, Muzzamil Qureshi arrived with a convoy of guards armed to the teeth for a bloody battle. Soon, after Shah Jahan was killed in the attack, his distraught wife, Surraya escaped from the bloody soils of Jahanpur fearing for the safety of her children. Bearing the burdensome name of Choudhary would one day cost them their life. So she left and never returned.