The Gunny Sack (43 page)

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Authors: M.G. Vassanji

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Once, it is said, in the villages around Bajupur, the Prophet’s favourite, Hazrat Ali, came to Gujarat on his horse Dul Dul, at a place which is thirty miles from Bajupur, and as proof of this blessed event, there is a hoof mark from the horse preserved in clay. Every year a mela is held there and villagers come from miles around. They sing verses in praise of Hazrat Ali and they pray to him.

Ji Bai left with her adopted grandnephew Aziz. They met her sisters and nieces and nephews and their children in Bombay and went to Bajupur by train. From Bajupur to the site of the mela is an hour’s drive by taxi. Ji Bai recalled that it used to take them two days by bullock cart. They used to spend the nights in makeshift sheds, now there were comfortable rest houses set up for just this event. And she found the heat oppressive, Dar was so much cooler in comparison. In Bajupur itself most of the Shamsis had left, for Bombay, Poona, Bangalore, Delhi and Karachi. Only the poorest remained. And the house … the stone house in which she had frolicked as a little girl, which even in those days had an upper storey, she proudly recalled, her heart beating thur thur—was still there, intact, and there were marks on the walls made by children just as she had imagined (remembered?) them to be all these years. Who owned it now? Unsteady and weak on her feet, “Hold my hand,” she said to Aziz and went forward and touched a wall. A rough surface; she ran her old, bony hand over it, the veins showing like little ridges. Then, dislodging the other hand from Aziz’s, she put both hands against that beloved wall, went closer to it, and softly beat her head against it, once, twice, thrice and she wept.

Later she told Aziz; now to see him, Salim. So they came, and she brought the gunny sack.

A letter from Amina.

Salum
.

Surprised? I am in New York now. Older, perhaps not wiser (!) but careful, working for the United Nations, on diplomatic passport and all that. No smug remarks! What else can I tell you, where to begin? Your family is all right, which of course you know. Little Amina is truly wonderful and can talk now. I went to get your address, and guess whom I saw. Staring from the doorway of the kitchen, as I was playing with the child, your mother! What big eyes she has! She just looked. I took the address and fled. What else? Shivji is out too, and I believe, reinstated. Abdel Latif is back in Lamu, desperately trying to avoid German tourists from Mombasa. But he is working with the museum there. And your friend (fiend) Jogo: he’s in. For smuggling diamonds out of the country, and other things. Why don’t you come to New York? There is so much to talk about, which I can’t write here. (All the details!)

Amina
.

And a letter from Amina.

Baba weh!

It’s been many months since you went, without saying goodbye. I hope your business there is soon finished. Mummy is giving tuitions in English, and I am helping her. In January I will start nursery school. Since you are a teacher, I hope you will teach me some things. Upesi
.

Wako Amino. (Transcribed by her mother.)

Sona writes.

Kala
.

Are you there? This is the third letter … Anyway, about
Books II and III, as I wrote before, II apparently contains old bhajans. “DG’s Favourites,” in a sense. Do you know if he sang? I’m getting confused. I swear he’s made up some verses—a case of genuine interpolation from DG! Now III. This one begins with a string of prayers, in Arabic, for different occasions. Perhaps illnesses. But it also has what sounds like a version of the Gita. Now why would the old man write his own version of the Gita? He was probably recording it—the language seems too archaic: imitation Sanskrit, and so on. (These types of forms are known, from other communities.) If so, why don’t we know of other versions? Can you shed some light, from what she said to you? Why did the old woman have to die before leaving this? And also, some of the pages have not been copied well. Surely you noticed? Perhaps the writing is fading … there are ways of preserving it, you know. I am so excited, I wake up dreaming about these damn books!

Sona
.

Perhaps, Dhanji Govindji, as he sat at the doorstep outside his shop listening to the ocean, in between his sporadic journeys in search for his son,
would
hum these bhajans. And if he did interpolate, what did he have to say about the sin of stealing from the community? What horrible punishments befell you and on those who came after you—

She lies on the floor, crumpled, her throat cut, guts spilled, blood on the floor. Dark crimson blood of a forgotten murder caked on the muslin shirt which Ji Bai preserved for so long, reminder of the tragic sin. On the table, the three fragile books, the originals with writing fading perhaps, packed to be sent away, their secrets unlocked but by no means uncovered. A gift for Sona. To lie anaesthetized in some locked cupboard, these dreams and hopes, these sins and prayers of a bygone generation—for the peckings of academia. The shirt, to be burnt, the
rest to be discarded or preserved individually. Thus the disposition of the past. To be remembered and acknowledged, if only partly understood, without the baggage of paraphernalia.

The running must stop now, Amina. The cycle of escape and rebirth, uprooting and regeneration, must cease in me. Let this be the last runaway, returned, with one last, quixotic dream. Yes, perhaps here lies redemption, a faith in the future, even if it means for now to embrace the banal present, to pick up the pieces of our wounded selves, our wounded dreams, and pretend they’re still there intact, without splints, because from our wounded selves flowers still grow. We had our dreams, Little One, we dreamt the world, which was large and beautiful and exciting, and it came to us this world, even though it was more than we bargained for, it came in large soaking waves and wrecked us, but we are thankful, for to have dreamt was enough. And so, dream, Little Flower …

Glossary
.

Note:
Swahili words are denoted (S), the other words are Cutchi-Gujarati. The last vowel is always pronounced.

afande
(S) officer, of any rank; also: Sir! as a response

aisei
(S) from English: I say!

akida
(S) local leader or Government representative

al hamdulillah
(S) from Arabic: praised be God!

alishaan
luxurious

an-fata-ha-tin …
(S) mnemonic device for teaching to read an, in, un … from the Arabic reader

aré
an exclamation: what! etc

asante
(S) thank you

askari
(S) policeman; soldier

aulaad
progeny

ayat
from Arabic: verse

baba
(S) father

badmaash
evil

bahu
daughter-in-law

bakuli
(S) bowl

bana
Indianized form of bwana, used as “man,” etc

banda
(S) shed

band-waja
band

bao
(S) a board game common on the Coast

bapa
a respectful term for an old man; father, grandfather

baraza
(S) meeting

barazi
(S) a bean

bas
Indianized form of basi

basi
(S) enough

beta
child

Bhadalas
an Indian community in East Africa

bhajan
a religious song (hymn)

bhajia
a fried food

bhang
a narcotic

bhut
ghost

boma
(S) administrative or government office; stockade; fort

budha, budhi
old man or woman

budhu
fool

buibui
(S) a thin black garment used as veil, usually worn over dress and head

bungalas
bungalows; used of separate-standing houses

bwana
(S) sir

Chaleh
Charlie Chaplin; any funny person; comic

chevdo
a mixture of nuts, dals, rice fried with spice

chakas
plural of chako

chako
a six in cricket

chokra
boy

chuchuma!
(S) on your haunches!

crore
10 million

dada
(S) sister

daku
bandit; the villain in movies

dengu
(S) dal

duka
(S) shop

dukan
shop

dumé
(S) man, with emphasis on manhood and bigness; a big man

duriani
(S) a fruit much loved in Zanzibar

elan
notice

eti
(S) an expletive used in many senses: what, I say, as if, etc

fujo
(S) disorder; used for the free-for-all that follows when a vendor runs away upon sight (or threat) of the police

fundi
(S) used of any craftsman or workman; in the shops, used of a tailor

gadi
wheeled vehicle; motor car

garba
a dance in which men and women perform in a circle

gathia
a fried snack

geet
song

goli
(male: golo) slave, servant

gopi
cowgirls: Krishna used to tease them

Govind
used of Krishna

hai hai!
an exclamation to show one’s embarrassment

halud
a perfume

hanisi
(S) impotent

haraka
(S) quick

hartal
strike

haya, basi
(S) okay, then

hebu
(S) please (if I may; move; etc)

hijab
veil

hodi!
(S) knock!; may I come in? etc

homa
(S) rallying cry of maji maji warriors

hundi
promissory note

Idd
a Muslim festival

jamani
(S) folks

jambo
(S) how are you?

jedel
girl friend (of another girl)

jelebi
a sweetmeat

jemadari
(S) a local leader

jembe
(S) spade

jhannam
hell

joshi
fortune-teller

jugu
Indianized form of njugu: peanut

jumbe
(S) a local leader

juth bolte ho!
you are lying!

Juzu
(S) a first Arabic reader used in coastal East Africa

kalidas
servant of Kali; a commonly used (Hindu) man’s name; used to denote Africans sometimes

Kali Yuga
the age of Kali

kaniki
(S) a black cloth used by women, in colonial times, now abandoned
kanzu
(S) a long garment of light cotton, usually white, worn by Muslim men

karibu
(S) welcome, come in

khamsa ishrin
(S) from Arabic, meaning 25 and used to denote the punishment of 25 strokes of a whip

khandaan
dignity, respectability, etc

khanga
(S) a colourful cloth worn by women to wrap around the body; usually has a proverb written on it as part of the design

khungu
Indianized form of kungu, a fruit considered wild

kibaba
(S) a cup measure, standardized to the commonly-used milk can

kidhar se ate ho?
Hindi: where do you come from?

kikapu
(S) basket

kikoi
(S) a piece of cloth with its own distinct design

kinate
(S) belly

kitale
(S) a coconut with no cream but an inside that can be eaten

kitenge
(S) a colourful cloth

kofi
(S) a beating

kofia
(S) a cap or hat

koni
Indianized form of kwa ni, used in the sense of: as if; and now

konyagi
(S) an alcoholic drink

kuja-ne, kuja-to
a Swahili word kuja = to come, with Cutchi ending

kula wali
(S) to eat rice

kumbe
(S) So; I see; etc

kuni
(S) firewood

kwa heri
(S) goodbye

kweli
(S) true

ladoo
a sweetmeat

lalu
derogatory term used in the sense of: a good-for-nothing

maandazi
(S) a sweet, fried bread

machar
mosquito

machela
(S) a litter

machungwa
(S) oranges

maghrab
dusk

maji
(S) water

malai
cream

manuari
(S) from English man o’war

marad
a man; he-man

marungi
(S) a leaf chewed for its mild narcotic effect

massala
spice

mbona umerudi
(S) why have you returned?

mbuyu
(S) a baobab tree

mchawi
(S) a witchdoctor, magician, etc

Mdachi
(S) German person (cf. “Deutsch”)

mela
a fair

Mhindi
Indian

mhogo
(S) cassava

mimi
(S) I

mithai
sweetmeats

mnyama
(S) beast

mohor
a settlement negotiated for the bride before the marriage ceremony takes place

moto
(S) hot

mpishi
(S) cook

Mshiris
(S) an Arab community

msuri
(S) a cloth used by men on the Coast to wrap around the waist; often worn in place of trousers

mswaki
(S) a toothbrush, or branch used to brush teeth

mukhi
religious leader of a local community; head man

murid
disciple

mutu mubaya
(S) a way of saying mtu mbaya (bad person)

mwalimu
(S) teacher; used for Julius Nyerere of Tanzania

mwanangu
(S) my son

mweupe
(S) white

mweusi
(S) black

mzee
(S) respectful term for an old man

naam!
(S) Yes!

nataka
(S) I want

ndizi
(S) a banana

ngalawa
(S) a dug-out boat

niani
a female; a ritual meal to which girls are invited

nipe
(S) give me

njo
(S) come

pachedi
a light cloth worn round the shoulders and head

panga
(S) a machete

penda
a sweetmeat

pili-pili-bizari
(S) spices

pir
a holy man, usually with followers

pisha
(S) move

polé
(S) sorry

rasa
a dance in which one or more persons go around in circles clapping hands and clicking fingers to a beat

salaalé!
(S) an exclamation

sana
(S) very

sanyasi
a man in the last of the four Hindu stages of life, in which he renounces home and possessions to practise religion

Shahada
(S) the Muslim creed

Sharriffu
(S) an honorific title with religious (Islamic) connotations, used loosely

shehe
(S) same as sheikh

sheth
boss, master

shoga
(S) a woman’s (woman) friend; also: a male homosexual

siasa
(S) politics

simba
(S) lion

starehe
(S) relax, take it easy, don’t trouble yourself

subhanallah
Arabic: God is perfect

sufuriya
(S) a deep pan

taarabu
(S) a Swahili song set to the tune of an Indian film song

tafadhali
(S) please

TANU ya jenga nchi
(S) TANU builds the nation

tasbih
(S) prayer beads

tembo
(S) elephant

tena
(S) again

tengo
Indianized form of mtengo: a portable coop or container made of light sticks

thapo
a game of hide-and-seek

thumuni
(S) the fifty-cent coin

tuna kwenda
(S) we are going

ugali
(S) maizemeal

uhuru na kazi
(S) a populist sloga of the time, meaning “freedom with work”

ujamaa
(S) socialism; Tanzania’s official policy of socialism

ulu
fool

unga mkono
(S) join hands; support

upesi
(S) quickly

vigegele
(S) ululation

vitumbua
(S) sweet, fried delicacy of the Coast

wako
(S) yours

wé, weh, wey
(S) you!

yar
friend

zanana show
ladies’ show

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