Free Shala by Milind Bokil Page A

up having an argument. Chitre had once found the key to his father’s wooden cabinet and shown us the coloured bottles lined up inside; bottles of amber, green, brown and other colours. There was one in the shape of an eagle.
    Chitre says after the argument his daddy shuts himself in the room and doesn’t open it for a long time. He is quite a gentleman actually and never shouts at us. In fact, he entertains us once in a while, playing some old vinyl records.
    Chitre was referring to a book to make a magnet-powered car. The parts lay scattered around him. I could not spot his younger brother Raju. His mother was probably busy in the kitchen and I could hear their arguments out in the verandah.
    ‘Joshi, do you promise me not to tell anyone?’ Chitre asked, while tying the battery cells with a rubber band.
    ‘What about?’
    ‘Kevda had come visiting our house last evening.’
    ‘Don’t tell me!’
    ‘Yes. But don’t tell anyone; especially Surya.’
    ‘Why did she come?’
    ‘She came with her mother. They had some errand in this part of the town.’
    ‘Did you speak to her?’
    ‘But of course! I had no choice you see. She was sitting right there! She asked me whether I liked her speech.’
    ‘What did you say?’
    ‘I said it was quite nice. I also told her that we clapped for her.’
    ‘Did you tell her that Surya pines for her?’
    ‘Of course not! Are you a chutiya? And promise me not to tell anyone. Surya will kill me if he finds out.’
    ‘Did she stay for long?’
    ‘Yes. Her aai is a chatterbox. They were here for quite some time.’
    ‘What all did you talk about?’
    ‘Nothing in particular. I don’t remember anything.’
    ‘Come on saale. Tell me!’
    ‘I swear on my mother! I don’t remember anything. Time just flew. We spoke of everything and nothing, actually!’
    ‘Saale , you like her, isn’t it?’
    ‘Come on!’ he said, trying to brush me off. But I knew that his voice lacked conviction. He avoided my eyes and I knew. I was about to probe him further when his mother came out and sat down to read the newspaper. The discussion remained incomplete and I left soon after.
    I was jealous of Chitre. How I wished Shirodkar would come to my house someday? Chitre was a lucky bastard. Kevda had visited his house on her own accord.

    I then decided to make friends with Misal. One day when Desai was absent, I asked him to sit next to me. We can sit wherever we wish during Redkar sir’s class. I casually approached him saying, ‘Don’t you stay near Natyamandir?’
    ‘Yes, that’s right. But not near it,’ he clarified. ‘I stay near the road leading to the big stone well.’
    ‘Does anyone we know stay towards your house?’
    ‘No one from our class. Dhande stays that side, but much ahead; closer to the other village, in fact.’
    ‘Good. No girls living that side,’ I added, hoping he would talk about girls.
    He was quiet for a while as he was busy copying some equation, which Redkar sir had written on the board.
    ‘Actually; Mande does live near my house and so does Shirodkar.’
    I suddenly sensed the hollow in my stomach. Despite knowing for a fact, hearing him say so made me nervous. I had to tread carefully now.
    ‘No. I don’t think she stays there,’ I challenged him. ‘Does she not stay near Kanifnath temple?’
    ‘No. That’s in the other direction. She stays quite close to my house, in fact,’ he clarified.
    I did not want to pursue the line of conversation further lest he smell a rat, and changed the topic.
    ‘I would like to see that old stone well. I am told it’s massive.’
    ‘Yes, that’s right. It is really a big one.’
    The big stone well is one of the key attractions of our town. No one knows when it was built or who built it, but it has been around for ages. Earlier, everyone used to draw water from the well, but ever since the Municipality has laid water pipes, it has been out of use. It is rumoured the well never goes dry. I had seen it long