Smile of my Ayi
CHARUVI DEMBLA
Baba was a precise man.
He woke up at 8:15 everyday.
He left for office at exactly 8:57.
Reaching at 9:30.
Ayi used to cook dinner at 9:00 pm.
Baba would arrive home at 9:30 and sit on the head of the table.
Ayi served us dinner.
But never ate with us.
Baba finished and went for a walk at exactly 9:55.
He'd go out and smoke exactly 2 cigarettes during his walk,
And walk back in at 10:30.
By then ma would always be asleep.
I wonder why ma ran to bed at exactly 10:15.
Ayi always told me to stay in my room after dinner and not come out till I felt the morning sun on my face.
And I quietly listened to ayi.
I'd hear baba scream at ayi at 11 pm.
Shouting "utho".
The rest of the voices were always muffled.
An hour later babas voice would disappear.
As if he had gone off to sleep.
But at 12:15 I'd hear ayi cry softly.
But this was only the weekdays.
On weekends baba was home all day.
Ayi was in the kitchen hiding away.
Baba drank 3 glasses of whiskey starting at 7:30 pm.
On those nights I could hear ayi sob all night,
After the noise of breaking bottles and utensils at 10:25.
Monday morning ayi would cover her face.
She'd stay in her room all day.
Sometimes her dupatta would fall away,
And I'd see scars cover her lengths.
And by Wednesday things would seem normal again.
As I grew up,
Ayi changed.
She still loved me like a mother,
But nothing else seemed the same.
But things changed that night.
I was only 12 then,
When ayi grabbed me from my bed,
At 3 in a the night,
Hid me in her pallu,
And carried me away.
She said we were visiting nani for a while.
Baba didn't love me much I feel.
He smiled when he saw his bottle of whiskey,
He smiled when went to smoke his cigarettes,
But he never smiled when he looked at me.
I could never really understand why.
So I liked staying at Nana nanis instead,
They smiled and played and made me feel safe.
I finally knew what feeling at home meant.
A year passed away and I finally saw ayi smile today,
When she saw the divorce papers arrive in the mail.
Ayi took me for ice cream tonight.
She said she was finally free.
She said she could finally live in peace.
Editor's Note: If you also have something to write about or speak about, do it now. We encourage our audience to be the ‘voice of change’.
Baba was a precise man.
He woke up at 8:15 everyday.
He left for office at exactly 8:57.
Reaching at 9:30.
Ayi used to cook dinner at 9:00 pm.
Baba would arrive home at 9:30 and sit on the head of the table.
Ayi served us dinner.
But never ate with us.
Baba finished and went for a walk at exactly 9:55.
He'd go out and smoke exactly 2 cigarettes during his walk,
And walk back in at 10:30.
By then ma would always be asleep.
I wonder why ma ran to bed at exactly 10:15.
Ayi always told me to stay in my room after dinner and not come out till I felt the morning sun on my face.
And I quietly listened to ayi.
I'd hear baba scream at ayi at 11 pm.
Shouting "utho".
The rest of the voices were always muffled.
An hour later babas voice would disappear.
As if he had gone off to sleep.
But at 12:15 I'd hear ayi cry softly.
But this was only the weekdays.
On weekends baba was home all day.
Ayi was in the kitchen hiding away.
Baba drank 3 glasses of whiskey starting at 7:30 pm.
On those nights I could hear ayi sob all night,
After the noise of breaking bottles and utensils at 10:25.
Monday morning ayi would cover her face.
She'd stay in her room all day.
Sometimes her dupatta would fall away,
And I'd see scars cover her lengths.
And by Wednesday things would seem normal again.
As I grew up,
Ayi changed.
She still loved me like a mother,
But nothing else seemed the same.
But things changed that night.
I was only 12 then,
When ayi grabbed me from my bed,
At 3 in a the night,
Hid me in her pallu,
And carried me away.
She said we were visiting nani for a while.
Baba didn't love me much I feel.
He smiled when he saw his bottle of whiskey,
He smiled when went to smoke his cigarettes,
But he never smiled when he looked at me.
I could never really understand why.
So I liked staying at Nana nanis instead,
They smiled and played and made me feel safe.
I finally knew what feeling at home meant.
A year passed away and I finally saw ayi smile today,
When she saw the divorce papers arrive in the mail.
Ayi took me for ice cream tonight.
She said she was finally free.
She said she could finally live in peace.
Editor's Note: If you also have something to write about or speak about, do it now. We encourage our audience to be the ‘voice of change’.
Write to us and send recordings at- democraticcharkha@gmail.com
Comments
Post a Comment