Calcutta, India 1946
[[Begin.->waking]]Jahanara was sleeping soundly.
[[zzz...->wake up!]]“Jahanara wake up we are going to be late!”
[["Huh?"->ugh]]Jahanara peeled her eyelids open in a blurry effort to rise herself out of her stiff hostel single bed. She hadn’t got what felt like more that three consecutive hours of sleep. Partly because of the mattress, partly because of the stress. It was the day of the exam, and Jahanara wasn’t thrilled about walking into class and reciting the same pages of latin that have been stirring in her brain for the past month, The voice that was yelling her name from down the hall shouted it again once she turned the corner into Jahanara’s hostel room, this time clear and loud enough to force Jahanara to jump.
“Jahanara! How inconsiderate! You ask me to wait for you to get ready yet you haven't even gotten up!”
[[“Ayesha I’m sorry I was studying late…”->“I’m sorry I-”]]
[[“Alright let me just get my things..”->“alright let me just”]]
The women burst through the doors into the blazing August heat. //A miserable day for an exam,// Jahanara thought, //I miss the cool sheets of my bed only even more.// The two sprinted towards the tram station on their usual path along the main road, their sandals slapping against the stone ground as they ran. Many of the drivers on the road turned their heads as the two women flew past their stalled cars in traffic, spitting hot fumes into the already sweltering air. There was tons foot traffic aswell. Coolies moved large carts of bundled wood along the street with bikers weaving by their carts. Boot blackers gathered around a nearby restaurant, bargaining their service to the white G.I. men who wore their huge black boots, even on hot days like this.
Jahanara looked far down the street and saw their regular morning tram load in a crowd of white clothed figures, the rest of her class. The students piled in and the tram let out loud chime of the bell on its departure. A couple young men managed to crawl through the tram windows at the last second as the tram started to leave.
“Ayesha look! The tram only just left!” Jahanara shouted victoriously “you think we can catch it at the next stop?”
“It's taking a left up there! If we run, we could cut through the alleyway and meet up with the tram at the next stop. Or we can just wait for the next bus. We’ll be a little late but at least it is guaranteed”
[[Let’s run!->Let’s run, we can cut through the buildings this way!]]
[[We can wait.->We can wait, I'd rather not run in this heat I might pass out!]]
"Let’s run, we can cut through the buildings this way!"
Jahanara and Ayesha cut across the street to enter the alleyway feeding into the next road over. Upon entering the alleyway the shade of the tall buildings cooled the air on their skin. The two of them ran along the alley street walls until they entered a small space between the buidlings where a group of three were playing in the water around a broken water pump enjoying the heat. The Sun lit this courtyard-like area directly. A grey haired man and his grandson were splashing eachother with the water that spilled out of the pump. Jahanara and Ayesha slowed their sprint to a fast walk, distracted by the scene between the buidlings. As Jahanara scanned the area her gaze locked on a young man, around her age, who was spilling a bucket of water on himself. Jahanara stared at his body glisten with sparkling water, but quickly shyed away once she met eyes with him. Jahanara quickened her pace a bit after the encounter and entered another alley way leading into the street on the other side of the collection of buildings.
"Your too obvious when you ogle at boys," Ayesha teased.
"Hahaha! You say I ogle?"
"You know who I mean! You were practically drooling!"
(link: "Was not!")[(set: $flirt_reason to 1)(goto: "Coming out onto the street")]
(link: "So?")[(set: $flirt_reason to 2)(goto: "Coming out onto the street")]
(link: "[say nothing]")[(set: $flirt_reason to 3)(goto: "Coming out onto the street")]
"We can wait, I'd rather not run in this heat. I might pass out!"
The two slowly cut across the street weaving through the stalled cars, occasionally feeling the exhaust from the buggies cough out onto their feet as they squeezed through towards the bus stop on the opposite side of the road. When the two reached the bus stop they stood around a small group of people crowded at the edge of the sidewalk forming a line starting at the curb.
Down the street there was a broken water pump spewing water into the street. Childeren started gathering around the pump with buckets and started splashing eachother in the heat. As Jahanara scanned the area her gaze locked on a young man, around her age, who was spilling a bucket of water on himself. Jahanara stared at his body glisten with sparkling water, but quickly shyed away once she met eyes with him. Jahanara pretended she had never seen him but her blushes were obvious Ayesha.
"Your too obvious when you ogle at boys," Ayesha teased.
"Hahaha! You say I ogle?"
"Of course you do! You were just drooling at that man over there I saw you!"
(link: "Was not!")[(set: $flirt_reason to 1)(goto: "Waiting_for_the_bus_still")]
(link: "So?")[(set: $flirt_reason to 2)(goto: "Waiting_for_the_bus_still")]
(link: "[say nothing]")[(set: $flirt_reason to 3)(goto: "Waiting_for_the_bus_still")]
Jahanara lept out of bed. She pulled her clothes out of her drawer and threw them over herself in a forced energy. She was exaushted to the point of collapsing, but the risk of being late to class sparked a rush adrenaline through her. She bathed last night so decided that she could skip it this morning. Along with her prayers, but she would just have to wait to do those later. Jahanara equipped her headdress for the day as the two of them ran trough the outside hall, down the stairs and through the Hostel lobby and past Satyajit, the Hostel owner who was busy looking through a drawer of old addresses and papers when he was startled by the sound of two women stampeding through his hostel lobby.
“Morning girls! You look ready for class this morning.”
Jahanara slowed near Satyajit to get a word in, despite Ayesha’s pulls at her arm towards the door.
(set: $askedq1 to 0)
(set: $askedq2 to 0)
[["We would be there already if I wasn't forced to stay up all night for this surprise exam!"->Question to Satyajit 1]]
[["How are you this morning, uncle?"->Question to Satyajit 2]]
[["Just wanted to wish you a good morning. See you!"->first exit]]“I’m sorry I-”
“No time to apologize. Come on, I have your things you can borrow my book just for today because we’re going to be late.” Ayesha dropped her book on Jahanara's legs.
[[Jahanara lept out of bed->leap]]“Alright, alright, wait let me just-”
“I’m not waiting any longer! Look I got together your schoolwork, you can borrow my book just for today because we’re going to be late.” Ayesha dropped her book on Jahanara's legs.
[[Jahanara leapt out of bed->leap]]Eventually the bus dropped the two women off at the University of Calcutta
Class was slow and formulaic. The test never happened, and the professor instructed a basic latin rehearsal exercise. At the end, the professor made a statement about the school being closed tomorrow, but did not explain. Class ended early. Jahanara and Ayesha flocked back to the hostel with the other students. While crowding onto the tram Jahanara heard murmurs regarding a holiday the following day. She was confused. Since when was there a holiday this early in August?
[[...->AUGUST 16TH, 1946 8:55 am]]The next morning Jahanara wandered the hostel, confused. Her colleagues had been quite studying in their rooms all morning. It was a strange environment. Jahanara would usually be able to wander through the hostel rooms, conversing with her collegues. But today was stressful. With no trams running, the day felt slow. Jahanara felt a little trapped in the hostel. However trapped she was, she wasn't going to spend her whole day exhausting her wrist on rewriting latin phrases.
Jahanara seeked out one of her closer friends Sumathi. Sumathi was in her hostel bedroom along with Ayesha, they slept in the same group bedroom which was closest to Jahanara's.
Sumathi wasn't doing her Latin work either, which was surprising.
“Do you know what holiday it is today?” Jahanara asked.
Sumathi didn't look Jahanara in the eye. “This isn’t a holiday didi." she responded. "I’m not sure what is happening today but it isn’t celebration.”
Jahanara felt odd. She turned to Ayesha who was sitting with Sumathi on her bed attempting to read.
"Ugh! It gets so hot in this Hostel! We shouldn't have to be cooped up in here all day!"
Jahanara sat on Ayesha's empty bed across from the two.
[[To Sumathi, "Decided not to seize this down time for studying?"->To Sumathi1]]
[[To Ayesha, "You can power through it!"->To Ayesha1]]
[["I'm just going to go find something to do"->Jahanara's not empty room]](set: $watched_stomp to 0)
After a while sitting alone she decided to open up the balcony doors and survey the area around the hostel. The air was still and hot, but uncomfortably dry. She could feel the air parch skin on her face as she stepped outside. Just as still as the air were all of the cars parked lifeless on the side of the road. For the first time in Calcutta, the loudest sounds were the songs the birds called out as they circled each other. As Jahanara listened to their ballad, a piercing shout cut the still air in half. She turned towards the sound of the cry. A group of what looked like fifteen or twenty men, all surrounded a muslim man. Before she could see why they were collecting a loud snapping sound shot out from the congregation. Jahanara ducked her head back into her room out of instinct, but was still unsure as to why. She felt paralyzed by fear, but something inside her pulled her gaze back to the sound. What she saw made her wish she hadn’t.
The Muslim man lay on the ground surrounded by a crowd of Hindu men towering over him. Under his cap his face was dark and bloodied. His mouth was moving, Jahanara could tell, but what he was murmuring through his blood choked cries was indistinguishable. Jahanara watched the man writhe on the dusty ground, just as the men around him did. After a short while, one of the men bent down towards the bloodied figure, covering Jahanara’s view of it. An arm raised from holding a coconut shell, and came down with the loud snap she heard before. The coconut shell broke upon the man's head and he left out a painful shriek. Just as the shell broke another bearded man from the circle carrying a stick entered the melee and beat the muslim man.
The large stick came down with a crack once, twice, three times. Upon the third strike the congregation transformed into a maelstrom of arms and fists upon the muslim and the sounds of fighting dulled to a slow thumping against the man’s raw, broken body. Jahanara noticed a man raising his leg so as to stomp on the muslim's head.
[[Jahanara escaped back inside->Back inside of her room]]
[[Jahanara Watched->stomping]]
Through the chaos the Hostel doors remained closed and so too did Jahanara’s balcony. Screams from the outside world pierced the walls of the hostel and flooded the thought of all who took shelter behind them. It couldn't protect them from everything. From one side of the building, the words “Allāhu akbar” pushed through the walls and from the other the words “Vande Mataram.” Satyajit was sitting behind his lobby desk, solumley listening to the hell play out just outside his hostel walls. He could only think of his daughter and her child he had left in the care of his wife on the other side of town. He was happy to know they were safe, being in the center of the hindu locality. However, Satyajit was filled with regret. Regret he hadn’t seen this coming. Regret that he hadn’t prepared some plan of action for himself and his hostel. Granted, before today, being near where the Hindu and Muslim majority area's met was never a problem.
Satyajit knew very well that he was now in a battlefield, and his hostel, the source of income for him, his wife, his daughter Aisha and her precious bundle Bhim, was a likely candidate of collateral damage. It was grim, but even in his old age, Satyajit needed to be the breadwinner for not just her daughter still, but now for her abandoned, fatherless Bhim. This was all Satyajit thought between those sleepless nights in Calcutta.
[[...->room]]
Satyajit thought about how much longer they would have to stay hidden and stationary during the fighting. The hostel was an old, yet reliable building. One that has stood the test of time and disaster (fires, storms, etc.). However, Satyajit, who was still pessimistic about the busses arriving in time, didn’t know if his hostel could house a class of stranded women in case their evacuation never arrived. Unadmittedly by Satyajit, his paranoia regarding the bus originated from a more mortal fear. A strong, but unspoken fear. One that felt too uncomfortable to address in case that would make it too real. That fear was of the presence of two women. Up until now this mortal fear had stayed hidden and unspoken, but now Satyajit needed to make sure it stayed that way, for if the wrong person found two muslim women in his hostel…
As Satyajit was making preparation for the student’s evacuation, Jahanara lie still in her bed with the balcony doors closed. There was no sound from outside at this time, the war of the religions, which was playing out just outside those balcony doors had given pause. It was at this point Jahanara thought about taking a peek outside the doors again. it could be her only fresh air for a while. Maybe the nightmare had stopped.
[[Open doors->opendoors]]
[[Don't open doors->dontopendoors]]
Jahanara pulled the balcony doors open slowly and peeked outside the door frame so as not to be seen by many. At first, what hid behind the balcony facade was not new at all. It was the same street, same buggies parked on the side of the road, still driverless in these times, but just as her eyes adjusted to the sunrise lit morning, the air was cool and refreshing until a foul stench wafted its way into the room and stung Jahanara’s nostrils. It was the alien yet instinctively recognizable stench of blood and human flesh. Jaharana stepped out onto the balcony just enough to peer over the edge. Sitting just under her balcony was a cart with a cloth draped over it. The cloth was bloodied and obviously hid a body under it which had obviously been rotting away in the daily heat. The body’s feet stuck out of the cloth and Jahanara could tell that the shoes on the body belonged to the muslim man who was beaten to death in the street the first day of the riots. She could not bare to stare at the body anymore. Jahanara stared down the street and realized that she had been foolish. None of the fighting had stopped. Screams could still be heard all around calcutta, setting a soundtrack of horror behind what she had known as home for so long. However, this shift in her hometown had struck terror into Jahanara for she knew not if this was her home anymore. Jahanara flew back into her room. When the doors had been closed, the stench of the body hung in the hostel room amongst the beds. Jahanara couldn’t stay cooped up in her room this long...
[[She had to leave->shehadtoleave]]
Jahanara decided against it. Sure she hadn’t gotten some fresh air in a while, but why the hell would she risk being seen by the rioters. She feared that their madness permitted them enough to possibly climb up to her balcony and drag her off, and she would be gone for ever, lost within the battlefield. Sometimes Jahanara worried she would have to hide behind these walls for her whole life. She stared at the door for a long while, motionless, resembling catatonia. Eventually Jahanara couldn’t stand being left alone.
[[She had to leave->shehadtoleave]] Jahanara stumbled through the hostel in a haze. All of the students were in the hostel lobby where the University staff and Satyajit could keep track of everyone. Jahanara returned to the lobby to find Sumathi and Ayesha. Once she had found the two on the edge of the crowd of students there was a long pause. Ayesha lay weeping hugging Sumathi. She sat whimpering next to her protector as she shielded Ayesha from the outside world with her arms.
(link: "Comfort Ayesha")[(set: $comfort to 1)(goto: "Calm before the storm")]
(link: "Do nothing")[(set: $comfort to 0)(goto: "Calm before the storm")]
"Would love to chat, but I'm terribly late for class." Jahanara quickly sighed and rolled her eyes with a smile finally allowing Ayesha to pull her through the front door.
"Alright alright Ayesha lets go!" She laughed.
Satyajit waved at their backs as they trotted towards the door.
[[The women burst through the doors->The women burst through the doors in the august heat]](set: $askedq1 to 1)
"We would be there already if I wasn't forced to stay up all night for this dreaded surprise exam!”
“Which we are going to be late for, let’s go!” Ayesha commanded, still tugging at her limb.
“Oh, I'm so sorry bhān̄jī, I hadn't considered how horrible being given an expensive education must be” Satyajit joked. Jahanara scowled in annoyance. "If your mother heard you complaining about Latin you know what she would say." Jahanara let out a sigh of defeat. She knew he was right.
"I suppose...doesn't mean I have to enjoy the education however useful it is."
"No you dont, but you could at least try to be a bit more grateful, for your mother's sake."
(if: $askedq2 is 1)["I'm leaving!" announced Ayesha]
(if: $askedq2 is 0)[[["How are you uncle?"->Question to Satyajit 2]]]
[["Alright, just wanted to wish you a good morning. See you!"->first exit]]
(set: $askedq2 to 1)
"Wonderful baniji, I justremembered that your mother is sending a telegraph to us soon!"
"How exciting! Hopefully some good news from home!"
"If the telegraph comes when you are in class I can write a reply for you to your mother. Would you want me to tell her you are skipping class today?"
"Am not!"
"Well we are already probably late," announced Ayesha. (if: $askedq1 is 1)["I'm leaving!"]
(if: $askedq1 is 0)[[["We would be there already if I wasn't forced to stay up all night for this surprise exam!"->Question to Satyajit 1]]]
[["Just wanted to wish you a good morning. See you!"->first exit]](if: $comfort is 1)[Jahanara comfortingly rested her weight on Ayesha's weeping figure. Jahanara could feel each sob rise in Ayesha's back before it burst into tears.]
(if: $comfort is 0)[Jahanara watched Ayesha sob on Sumathi's knee. Jahanara felt defeated and speechless.]
"Didi," Ayesha squeaked between sobs "What will happen to us?"
Ayesha could have meant "us" as in that group of women in the Hostel. Or she could have meant "us" three as in her closest friends, the ones she thought of first and foremost within the chaos. However, Jahanara knew what Ayesha truly meant. She meant "us" as in the muslim girls, for despite their friendships and relationships only one thing truly did matter her in Calcutta now.
[["We will be fine,"->we_will_be_fine]]
[["We are as good as dead,"->we_will_be_killed]]
[[Say Nothing->we_will_be_speechless]]
(if: $flirt_reason is 1)["Was not!"
"You can try to act innocent but you can't fool me Jahanara" Ayesha said with a smirk. Jahanara felt the blood rush to her cheeks and tried to hide her face as Ayesha poked at them. The two giggled the rest of their way to class.]
(if: $flirt_reason is 2)["So?"
"apa! you don't even try to be modest sometimes!" The two giggled the rest of their way to class.]
(if: $flirt_reason is 3)["..."
"Ha! stay silent all you want, your blushing face speaks for you."
"Jahanara felt the blood rush to her cheeks and tried to hide her face as Ayesha poked at them. The two giggled the rest of their way to class."]
Coming out onto the street the two realized they had caught up to the next tram stop even before the tram their colleagues were on did.
“We made it Ayesha, and with time to spare!” still panting Jahanara continued, “You were overreacting!”
"Just barely, and with sprinting!"
"I don't mind the occasional sprint"
"Well I do. Next time you can miss the tram alone."
"You would never leave me behind! You couldn't!" Ayesha scowled at Jahanara, but couldn't keep up the expression and it broke into a shared laughter.
[[Eventually the tram drops the two women off at the University of Calcutta->Late]]
(if: $flirt_reason is 1)["Was not!"
"You can try to act innocent but you can't fool me Jahanara" Ayesha said with a smirk. Jahanara felt the blood rush to her cheeks and tried to hide her face as Ayesha poked at them.]
(if: $flirt_reason is 2)["So?"
"apa! you don't even try to be modest sometimes!" The two giggled the rest of their way to class.]
(if: $flirt_reason is 3)["..."
"Ha! stay silent all you want, your blushing face speaks for you."
"Jahanara felt the blood rush to her cheeks and tried to hide her face as Ayesha poked at them."]
After a short wait, the two women piled into an express bus, one that decided to skip all of the bus stops and would take them straight to class.
"Well that was lucky! We are going to make it to class and with time to spare! Now you can't be too mad at me" Jahanara coaxed.
"Count your blessings. Next time you can miss the tram alone."
"You would never leave me behind! You couldn't!" Ayesha scowled at Jahanara, but couldn't keep up the expression and it broke into a shared laughter.
[[...->Late]]Back inside of her room, behind the safety of the balcony door, Jahanara stared at the other women in her group hostel bedroom, eyes wide and dilated. //What's Wrong?// they asked. Jahanara couldn't hear them though through the thumping in her eardrums. Her hands were shaking violently She felt so much fear in her body, it was overwhelming. A wave of nausea shot down to her toes and then was overshadowed by the choking sobs she tried to hold back. Jahanara had to hold it together. The women crowded around her and comforted her but she couldn't respond. Jahanara’s mind raced with thoughts and ideas, none of which were very clear through the fog of fear. However, one thing was certain to her. This was not a holiday.
[[...->Satyajit]] One thud, another, and with a grunt from the attacker, the man's foot stomped on what sounded like bones and flesh. The sound stabbed the air out of Jahanara's lungs. She grabbed at her chest as if she had forgotten how to breath. And then it stopped. The bird’s songs returned to the air, and the day was still again. This would be the last stillness in Calcutta for a long time.
(set: $watched_stomp = 1)
[[Jahanara ran inside the balcony doors.->Back inside of her room]]Jaharana returned to her room. There were about five other girls in her dorm room. Jahanara didn't talk to many of the girls that she lived near but was familiar with them. It felt strange to sit inside all day as everyone did work in their beds, Jahanara wanted to be outside but couldn't justify it. The outside world was asleep.
[[After a while sitting alone she decided to open up the balcony doors and survey the area around the hostel.->Balcony]]
(if: $door_break is 1)[With a loud kick the wood holding the hinges of the hostel door burst into splinters all over the floor.]
A warm gust of wind entered the Hostel. When Satyajit peered out of his hostel he caught images of the state of Calcutta that day. Bodies riddled the streets, enough to pile up on top of each other near the alley ways. At the sight of the carnage Satyajit became nauseous. The cart that decorated his hostel porch reeked with hot blood. A gust of wind blew the stench through the door into the Hostel, offending the noses of the students cowering inside.
The man closest to the door who had knocked was panting heavily, with sweat rolling down his face. He shared the stare of his friend who was standing behind him. Their stare was long and intimidating, eyes fully dilated.
The second man was bald and seemed hurt to Satyajit, due to all the blood on his clothes. The blood reached up onto his face and on the man’s teeth, giving him a beastly presence. Satyajit immediately realized the blood had not belonged to the man it was painted on.
“Welcome!” Satyajit forced a nicety. He gulped dryly. The beastly man's blood painted clothes marked him as a killer. He had the taste of muslim blood and was thirsty for more.
The man closest to Satyajit said in a booming voice “We have reason to think there are a couple of muslim women who reside here.”
“Why would you think that”
“I’ve seen the bitch come in and out” snarled the bloodied bald man. "We just want the girls, old man, move." The beast started approaching Satyajit and his hostel. Satyajit's limbs ran cold as if he had jumped into an ice bath. (set:$bloodied to false)
[["There are no muslims here!"]]
[["Okay but spare the other women."]]
[[Do Nothing]](if: $door_talk is 1)["Hello?" Satyajit risked. No answer.] They all sat in silence. Soon another loud banging rang out on the wooden door, rattling the the rusted hinges in the wood. Satyajit knew the door would give out at any second. The wood was too rotten.
(link: "He decided to just open them")[(set: $door_break to 0)(goto: "door_open")]
(link: "Satyajit did nothing.")[(set: $door_break to 1)(goto: "door_open")]"I thought you'd be hard at work today Sumathi."
"Usually I would, But I don't feel like studying today." Something was on her mind, but she wouldn't say what it was.
"I always get that. Latin isn't exactly my passion." Jahanara joked. Sumathi lent a smirk to jahanara but didn't share the sympathy. Latin was a bit more important to Sumathi than to Jahanara. Jahanara knew this and saw it as a source of a lot of Sumathi's uptightness. Maybe it was her upbringing as a hindu that made her different in that way from Jahanara. Whatever the case she rarely thought about it.
[["Well I'm getting bored. I think I'll just find something to do."->Jahanara's not empty room]]
"Why are you complaining now? We have been cooped up in this hostel for semester on end!"
"I know! But today of all days, the hottest day of the year, there is no where to go and nothing to do!"
[["You're bumming me out! I'm just going to go find something to do"->Jahanara's not empty room]]"We will be fine, we just need to remember where we are now. Our very names can betray us here."
"You think so optimistically," Ayesha critiqued, "I don't even feel safe in this very Hostel anymore! I've never seen the girls look at me the way they do now!" Ayesha reduced to a yelling whisper, as if she was trying to shout but fear was choking her.
[[Sumathi Chimed in->Enough_sumathi]]
"We will be killed, Just as that man was in the street. Beaten to death and dropped on a cart on the roadside."
Jahanara suddenly began to cry.
[[Sumathi Comforted the two->Enough_sumathi]]Jahanara couldn't respond.
"You are just as fear stricken as I! I don't even feel safe in this very Hostel anymore! I've never seen the girls look at me the way they do now!" Ayesha reduced to a yelling whisper, as if she was trying to shout but fear was choking her.
[[Sumathi Chimed in->Enough_sumathi]]
"Enough out of you two. We needn't worry about what is in store for us. Its foolish to dwell on these horrors." Jahanara knew Sumathi was right. Like it or not , they were all trapped and helpless, cowering behind the thin walls of this Calcutta hostel.
[[...->Knock]]
A pounding at the door drew the attention of everyone in the lobby.
The entire hostel held their breath. Satyajit stared at the door, his back turned towards the students. They awaited his response.
(link: "//Hello?// Satyajit said.")[(set: $door_talk to 1)(goto: "door_silent")]
[[Satyajit opened the door.->door_open]]
[[Satyajit did nothing.->door_silent]]Satyajit looked towards the back of his hostel where he saw Sumathi comforting two cowering students. He didn't have to see their faces to tell who they were. He had been stressing about them, Ayesha and Jahanara. Any other day, Jahanara was simply a family friend to Satyajit. However, on this day she illuminated a target on his hostel. He was now a harborer of muslims. His life, and everyone's life around him depended on who was going to find them.
Satyajit stood at the front of the hostel, as a line of defense against the violent horde, second to the door. Satyajit listened to pure carnage through his walls. He wished he could sit here and listen to the screams until they silenced. If only he could ride out the nightmare till safety returned to his city, and he could support his family like he did all these years.
[[There was a knock at the door->Knock2]]
Satyajit attempted to deter the rioters.
"I don't know what you are talking about, this the hindu area, there are only Hindu girls in my Hostel"
"Bullshit I've seen them. I work down the street!" retorted the bald man.
"Step aside old man or else we will have to go through you," said the other.
[[Do Nothing]]
[[Satyajit stood his ground->Stand_your_ground]]Satyajit raised his arms in complete fear and collapsed against the doorway. (if: $bloodied is true)[He spit up some blood through clenched teeth when he slammed his head against the wall.]
"Please go take the muslims, but spare me and the other women!" Satyajit let out a painful whale allowing the men invade the hostel and pull the women out onto his porch. Satyajit watched through cowering arms and tears as the bloodied beast and his crew left carrying Jahanara and Ayesha out as they struggled, kicking and screaming in their arms.
Their screams invoked the shrill cry of the choir left inside the hostel. Sumathi ran out after the men before Satyajit grabbed her and held her down as she cried after them. He wouldn’t let any more violence take place, and he knew they would just take her too. The two cowered in eachothers arms sobbing horribly until the screams quieted, and the two had opened their eyes to see that the men who took Jahanara and Ayesha were gone forever.
[[The End]]Satyajit felt frozen out of fear. Would these men kill him? Would they kill only Jahanara and Ayesha or everyone in the hostel. What was he to do?
"OUT OF THE WAY OLD MAN" The closest man screamed. He raised his stick in striking range of Satyajit's head. Satyajit flinched at the sight.
[[Satyajit Cowered and stepped aside->"Okay but spare the other women."]]
[[Satyajit stood his ground->Stand_your_ground]]Satyajit stretched his old bod up and strong, but it creaked with age. With a raised chin Satyajit asked the men to leave, but before he could finish his farewell, the screaming man landed a blow with his stick upon Satyajit's ear and collarbone. They shattered with ease and Satyajit cried out in pain. Imaged of his daugher flashed through his mind. Him at her bedside as she slept with her newborn in her arms. He remembered being scared then too, but mostly angry. A pained rage swelled in his collarbone. So much rage over his daughter's helplessness, and over her ignorance, but he corrected himself. How was she to know the man she loved would abandon her and her child. It made no sense why he would leave. It made no sense why this would happen. Satyajit's ear ran with blood all down his body. He was in crippling pain.
(set: $bloodied to true)
[[Satyajit Cowered. He wished to live.->"Okay but spare the other women."]]
[[Satyajit tried to stabilize himself->"Bloodied wall"]]
Satyajit leaned on one side of the doorway and grabbed the other with his good arm. He gritted his teeth and tensed up to embrace a barrage of strikes to his abdomen. His ribs fractured and shattered at every blow from the man's sticks.
[[But Satyajit Held on]]
[[Satyajit wanted to live->"Okay but spare the other women."]]Blood poured from Satyajit's mouth. More than her ever thought he had in himself. Satyajit saw his whole life in one second in that doorway. Through the pain and agony flashes of his family and wife would arise and disappear. He became numb to the pain and began to feel as if he was fading away.
[[Satyajit Sacrificed himself]]
[[Satyajit wanted to live->"Okay but spare the other women."]]Jahanara sat at the bedside of Satyajit as she listened to his short breathing. He was alive, but barely. His body wasn't strong enough to make it through the night. Luckily a bus had been arranged for them by the university staff and they told her He would survive in Hospital. If Satyajit hadn't fended the attackers off until another riot swept them up, she would have certainly been taken, and she knew that all too well, and so did Satyajit. That is why he sacrificed his working life for her to live. It made her ill.
[[The End]]
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
The story you are about to read is loosely based on a story told by Jahanara Karim, a woman who lived through the great Calcutta Killings first hand, and relayed her experience to Andrew Whitehead, an oral historian. The tapes are stored at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London.
[[...->Calcutta]]Written by Richard Olivas-Knapton
Edited by Uditi Sen
References:
Karim, Jahanara. Interviewed by Andrew Whitehead. 1996 Partition voices 1, 71. School of Oriental and African Studies in London. 14 November, 2016
Lutz, R. C. "Sudhindra Bose." Salem Press Biographical Encyclopedia (January 2016): Research Starters, EBSCOhost (accessed April 11, 2017).
Burrows, Frederick (1946). Report to Viceroy Lord Wavell. The British Library IOR: L/P&J/8/655 f.f. 95, 96–107.