A rich beggar

Rina Tuladhar (Baniya)

Riya is excited, while making coffee for her husband and herself at the bedroom coffee table. After a month-long foreign trip, her husband Ranjeet, a business tycoon of the city, returned home today.

Ranjeet is lying on his back on the luxury bed and searching for his favourite TV channel. Perhaps, he is looking for Fashion TV, in romantic mood. His crave for sensual pleasure is unlimited.

With two coffee mugs in her hands, Riya came and sat next to her husband. She placed the mugs on the side-table. He dragged her in and gave a tight hug.

She also replied by leaning her head on his chest.

She was waiting for him to say something. She looked at his face, just to find that some change has occurred. He was thinking over some other issues.

"What are you thinking over?" she asked, touching his chest hair. Eyes closed, he did not reply.  She knew, he was worried about his business and her love for him did not mean that much for him.

He suddenly stood up. He opened his suitcase, pulled out the branded dresses and ornaments and said, "I bought all these things for you. I just forgot to give you. My secretary did shopping for me. Check them out, if they are of your choices."

"I know, the choices are of your secretary, always," there is satire and pain in her voice.

"How can I find time for shopping for you in my business trip?," Ranjit replied indignantly. He took out a file form the suitcase and sat on the sofa, then became busy with his cellphone.

Riya did not even go to the things. He always brings a pile of gifts for her, as if he is obliged to. For her, the gifts did not carry her husband's love. She was not looking for lifeless objects but for his warm love. She sat sipping coffee silently on the bed. A moment of silence followed.

Ranjeet again fell on the bed and asked Riya for a peg of whiskey.

"I've brought coffee," she said shortly.

"I won't take coffee. Make a Blue Level."

She went to the cupboard, took out the bottle and a glass, added some ice-cubes from the fridge in it. She handed it to him and he swallowed it up in one sip.

She has something else in her heart, but asked, "Would you like to listen to a story?"

"Story? Ha ha ha. Do you think I'm a child?" he joked.

"What to do? I'm not lucky to have a child…" she tried to relate it to some other topic but it was not making any sense to him.

"You know what is it about? A hungry beggar," she threw a clue.

"OK, go ahead," he said disgracefully.

Riya started : Once, there was a rich merchant. One day, a beggar came to his home and said, "Sir, I' terribly hungry. Please give me some food."

The merchant gave him some money. He came back again and asked for some thing to eat again. The merchant gave him more. He went and came back again. The merchant gave me gold ornaments. Similarly, he went and came back. The merchant again gave him diamond ornaments. But the beggar again came and asked for food.

The merchant yelled," What a beggar ! I've given you that much but you are still not satisfied. Can't you buy food with that money?"

The beggar left with tears in his eyes. Riya ended the story.

"Oh. Is that the end of your story?" Ranjeet made fun of her.

It was always like this. Feeling of sentimental Riya was never red by materialist Ranjeet.

"Then. I'll start my story. He jumped over Riya's body. He finished over making love of his kind. Her heart shattered into pieces. Her pain was not different from that of a raped woman. This is not the first time Riya felt like this. A routine, it was in her married life.

Ranjeet started snoring soon. Tears fell from Riya's eyes, as she got up and went to the sofa. She stared at the ceiling and threw eyes on everything in the room. The room was decorated with imported luxury items. I'm one among those items – I'm a decoration of the room when he does not need me and when he needs me, the rooms turns out to be a brothel. She ground her teeth in anger for a while and then slept.

It was a home only till my mother in law was here. She passed away quite normally, just because of a heart attack. Her dream of seeing a grand children wad not fulfilled. Only two people make this family. It has been ten years I'm waiting for a child. I visited a doctor but I was told that both the husband and wife should come.  I always failed to take him along with me. He said it was not necessary for him to meet a doctor because he knew that he had no problem. He openly told me that he had made two of his girlfriends pregnant. What an insult for me!

I was shocked by his announcement, which came like a thunder. It was darkness everywhere. I could not see anything and felt dizzy. It is my ill fate, I shouted, it was like crying of an animal in front of a butcher.  He showed off his masculinity. We had quite a long discussion over this issue. I left the home, as it was impossible for me to live with a man like that. Where could I go? A lonely woman I was. I stayed with my parents for some months and my relatives suggested me to return here. I came back to this dark cage again. This place gives me mental torture, if not physical. I did fight, shouted and protested. But I failed to find a solution. I said to myself, "I will find a way out one day."

Riya got up from the sofa, poured some water in a glass from a jug and sat on the sofa again. She continued her thoughts – It's my fault. I also am a woman, affected with the stereotype thinking that a husband constitutes a woman's entire world after marriage. I've been loving and respecting my husband, as if he is my all-in-all.  And in return, I've always been expecting a pint of love from him. Like the hungry beggar, asking for food. Wife of such a big business tycoon, I'm a beggar.

In fact, he does not need me. He just needed a beautiful woman to show in grand parties of businessmen. It is not necessarily me, whom he needs. He has big choices to make in hotels, wherever he goes.

X X X

"Riya. Get up!" a call woke her up. She was sleeping on the sofa. Ranjeet did not even ask her why she was sleeping on the sofa.  He made an order, "My flight is at 12.00. I have to leave the house at 10.00. Pack my things."

"Flight at 12.00?" Riya was not surprised. It was also not a new thing. He came yesterday and today he is going again. Their lifestyle is like this.

"Yes. Flight at 12.00. I'm going to attend a business conference in Singapore. It may take a week for me to return as I have some other things too, to handle."

"If so, why did you return for one day," Riya was a bit angry.

"It's none of your business," this is his usual response. He went to the bathroom.

She did not hurriedly obey him this time. She was still sitting on the sofa. He came out after taking a bath and shouted as he saw that she was still sitting there.

"What the hell you are doing here? I'm getting late."

"You are getting late. I'm not," Riya also shouted back. Ranjeet's eyes were full of anger.

Unwillingly though, she packed his suitcase. She was completely silent.

"Where is my breakfast?" he was annoyed.

Riya did not reply. She picked the phone and dialed at the kitchen and said, "The master has asked for his breakfast."

Her behaviour apparently agitated him. "What has made you angry?"

She did not reply. She went to the sofa, after completing her duty.

"Won't you come to see me off at the airport?" he asked, with full control over his anger.

Riya briefly answered, "No."

Ranjeet left the room for the airport, without even looking back.

After the husband's departure, Riya was alone in the room. She trembled like an outraged woman. She shouted," Why? Why Riya? Why are you like this? Where is your existence? Where is your life?"

She hurriedly opened the window. She looked out of the window – she saw that the Sun, from the clear blue sky, is giving warmth to the earth. Her face glowed.

She withdrew and opened a drawer with a loud noise. Turned all the contents upside down and picked out what she needed – her educational certificates – and she smiled.

X X X

Two weeks later. Ranjeet came back to the airport, after completing his tour. The wife, who used to be there every time, was not there. He felt something uneasy and took a taxi to his home.

"She used to call me continuously or send me emails, but this time, she did not contact me at all. She was fuming when I left," he was murmuring in the taxi.

He was expecting his wife to wait for him at the door. She was not there. He sat on a sofa at lobby. He hoped that she would appear soon but she did not come. His servants appeared instead. He did not feel comfortable, and asked, "Where is Riya?"

One of them replied that she is in her bedroom. He quietly entered the room. She was standing upright there.

He was quite upset that she did not come to receive him. He jetted a question in anger, "Then, you are still angry with me?"

"I was waiting for you," Riya spoke with weighty voice. It did not seem to be her voice. And she did not have the respect she used to show. He was a bit confused.

She slowly moved in front of him. She had a bunch of papers. She stood straight, looked into his eyes. He saw that she did not have that look with which she used to beg for love. He failed to say anything, when she was looking at him with eyes full of anger.

"You better try to understand the meaning of the hungry beggar."

"Oh, you are angry because I did not understand your story?" he tried to cover the situation with some humourous touch, without knowing how serious the situation has turned.

Riya produced the paper bunch to him and said, "Take it. Read these papers. And sign on them."

Ranjeet could not guess what was going around. He took the bunch and browsed. It was documents of application for divorce, already been signed by Riya.

"You scoundrel. What do you think of me? What do you want?"

"I want my rights. That I cannot win by asking, but fighting for it," she roared confidently.

"You want divorce? OK. OK! I can marry fifteen women like you," he replied.

"You may marry again. I've been watching your misconduct for years. But, keep it in your mind, I will get my rights back. The legal process of divorce will go ahead. Porperty…., I will not compromise on anything. Just remember," she said. She was just different.

"Legal process? Ha ha ha. What do you know about all this? Legal process. Huh?" he was still underestimating her.

"Marital sexual exploitation is my issue. Legal provisions today are rights of we, the women," she has completely changed.

"What the hell are you talking about? Are you all right?" he tried to be a bit soft.

Riya then replied with low tone, "I did not went outside to eat that is available in the hotel. I only agreed to eat the pure thing that is cooked at home. That is why I'm always hungry."

"Don't talk things in roundabout way. Say your thing directly," he tried to fix the situation.

"Straight and frank. I will seek divorce from you on the ground of sexual exploitation,"

"OK. You will be in loss. This is not going to affect my life. You women are like pairs of shoes for me," he was talking indifferently, as if he does not have blood in his heart.

"Ha ha ha," she laughed off loudly and said, "You will understand what effect it will make to your life when the character of the business tycoon will go for auction. I have the thing in my hand, which will make your character suitable for auctioning in the bazaar. Media is everywhere. I have collected all the evidences of your misconduct. The loose character of the business tycoon will go to the streets. Ha ha ha," she laughed loudly again, as if Goddess Durga has entered in her.

Ranjeet suddenly kept numb. He was puzzled, like a man who has lost his destination.

"Just keep waiting for me. I will come to see you again with arms of law and media," Riya went out, shouting and she did not look back.

Translated by Razen Manandhar