Tikkipala (46 page)

Because Tikkipala had enjoyed the hill station so much, it was decided to take him back again the following year. By this time the little boy could talk, walk and ride a tricycle.

‘How impressed the thags will be when they see how he has come on,' said Devi.

Thanks to the benevolence of Allah, Khan now owned a little house near to that of his parents-in-law. His wife, Rehan, was settled in with her two sons and her daughter.

‘I will be quite alright while you are away with them in the hill palace,' she told her husband, ‘because I have got my mother nearby.' No one suggested she accompany her husband this time. There was no room in the car for all these children. Also she was quite pleased to see Khan go because she needed a respite from pregnancy.

So for once Khan did not feel dismayed at the thought of driving to the hill palace of Parwal but even felt relief. The constant company of his three small children was delightful in its way, but it was pleasant to escape as well. For the first time he felt almost happy as he drove up the winding roads toward the hill palace. For one thing, he considered, the palace itself had become increasingly comfortable. There were decent beds and even a woman who knew how to cook.

Tikkipala sat on his grandfather's knee during the journey and the Raja pointed out of the window. ‘Look, my boy, choo choo.'

‘It's a train, Thaku,' said Tikkipala sternly. ‘Didn't you know that?'

‘He's so clever. I'm sure there is no other two-year-old who can talk so well,' chortled the Raja.

‘Shall I take him for a while?' asked Devi. ‘Is he making you uncomfy?'

‘No, not at all,' said the Raja, who did not mind how much his knee hurt if he could have his grandson on it. ‘There, young man, there's the palace. Do you remember from last year? And the high jungle. There are tigers up there. Shall we go and see if we can find one?'

‘Yes, yes, yes,' cried Tikkipala, bouncing up and down. Then suddenly quiet, ‘But will it eat me, Dadoo? Because I don't want to be eaten.'

‘Of course not, darling,' laughed the Raja. ‘We won't ever let anything eat you.'

In the back Maw sat upright and silent.

A dozen thags stood waiting and, as the car came into the grounds, rushed to look inside. They could not wait to see Tikkipala, who was their first prince since Anwar. ‘How he is grown. He is twice the size. And look, he knows how to walk now.'

As Tikkipala was lifted out the thags gathered round him, touching his clothes in admiration, giving his cheeks loving pinches, running their hands over his head.

‘That's enough,' cried the ayah, sternly, pulling her charge out of their reach.

‘Make way, make way,' commanded Khan. ‘Have you all forgotten the things you were taught? Where are the salaams for the Raja and the Ranee? Leave off staring at the child, and help to carry the luggage.'

The Raja always travelled with a large amount of this. Moments later thags were staggering back and forth under weighty trunks and cases.

Father Gomez's church was ready and the company had not suspected for a moment. True, one or two of the company officers had expressed surprise at the shape of the new latrine. ‘What is that pointed bit on top?'

‘Ventilation,' said Father Gomez. He was delighted with his new church. The people of the tribe had done a wonderful job. Their craftsmanship was far better than he had expected. They had built the church without a nails, slotting plank into plank, fitting beams with wooden dowel, grooving altar rails and altar, setting a floor of coloured woods whose shapes fitted so tightly that you could not see the join. Out of the jungle they had brought some kind of rosy latex and spread it over pews and handles with their fingers. It had dried now into a substance soft and strong as leather. And on top of the little church they had set a polished spire that was as fine and glowing as a wooden needle. And then when the church had seemed as perfect as could be, they had brought glittering stones and fan shaped crystals and set them in the walls. They had made great arcs of mineral over the altar and from the apex had hung a hammock of fine carved stones on invisible threads that quivered and glittered with every breath. They brought yet more stones and ground them till they had a multitude of coloured powders. Mixing these with the diluted latex, they proceeded to paint their church, until every surface burnt with blazing colour and curious symbolism.

Father Gomez was charmed and surprised, for till he suggested the building of the church he had felt that his congregation only paid lip service to the Catholic ritual, that they pretended faith in exchange for cigarettes and butter, axes and brandy. But now, these previously lethargic, sullen people had become animated and enthusiastic.

‘It is ready,' cried Father Gomez in his holy joy, ‘and the only thing needed is the figure of Jesus, who laid down his life for our salvation. And as I am no artist and you
have proved yourselves so proficient, I will describe him to you, and ask you to create him.'

The tribal people listened to Father Gomez, as he outlined the virtue and the beauty of the infant Christ and when he had finished a long silence fell.

‘So please paint a picture of Him,' urged the priest. ‘I can see from these other things you have made here that you will be able to do it.'

At last one of the elders asked, ‘Who do we give them to?'

‘What do you mean?' cried Father Gomez.

‘You ask us to make a child, but before we can do it we have to know who will accept it.'

‘Well, God, of course,' said Father Gomez frowning and feeling muddled.

‘We also need to know what harm has been done,' said another.

‘Have you not been listening to me all this time,' cried the priest. ‘Have you not understood who Jesus is? He has come to save the world. He has come to save souls. That is why we have made this church. So as to worship him and give him gratitude.'

‘But you have not told us who He is,' the irritating voices persisted.

‘He is the son of God. I have told you this a hundred times,' cried the priest, starting to feel cross. ‘So if no one has any more questions, then please get started on the picture.'

‘We have one more question.'

Father Gomez waited, trying to look patient.

‘Who is God?'

Father Gomez sat down heavily.

‘You are very quiet, Maw.' said Devi next morning. ‘Is something the matter?' Now she thought of it, Maw had hardly spoken since they left Bidwar.

‘No, nothing is wrong,' he said. ‘Everything is going very well.'

It was half way through the next morning. The ayah came running in, breathless and shaking. ‘Have you got Tikkipala? I have lost him. He is gone.'

‘He's sure to be nearby, Ayah,' said Devi. ‘And don't get so worried. It's not like the town. Here there is no traffic. This place does not even have a pond.' Smiling she went ahead of the ayah into the garden.

‘He was playing here, Mem, on his trike.' The trike was lying on its side.

‘Tikkipala, Tikkipala,' called Devi. There was no reply.

‘I went to get his milk and by the time I came back he was gone,' she said, her face quivering with worry.

‘He is so naughty,' said Devi and called again, ‘Come on. Don't be silly. I know you're hiding.'

The ayah began running across the lawn like a hen after captured chicks, calling, ‘Tikkipala Master. Tikkipala Master.'

‘Tikkipala, come at once,' Devi shouted sharply. ‘Mummy is getting frightened.'

‘Just as I was putting down the milk I thought I heard Tikkipala Baba scream. And I thought I saw, through the trees, a woman running.' The ayah pointed towards the lower jungle.

Devi started feeling terribly afraid. She dashed into the palace to call for help. Out of the corner of her eye she saw that the photo of Anwar had fallen to the floor and now lay among shattered glass and the brown remnants of the withered garland. It is a
sign, she thought and her heart started hammering. ‘Come out everybody, and search for Tikkipala Baba,' she shouted. ‘Stop everything you are doing and come.'

Out from store room and kitchens, out from woodsheds and washrooms the thagees emerged. ‘We promise, Memsahib, that this is nothing to do with us,' they cried.

‘Don't worry about that. Just look for him,' roared Devi. Her legs were shaking so much that she could hardly keep up with them as they began to search through rooms and out into the gardens.

‘Khan, Khan, she called, ‘Go in the car and search the roads.'

As Khan drove along the road he told himself, this is not a good place for children and I am happy I have not brought mine.

Nirmal came out of his studio and when Devi had told him, put his arms round her in a quick hug of comfort that left mud streaks on her clothes. ‘He can't be far. There's nowhere for him to go. You go that way, I'll go this way.' He went rushing off, his hands invisible under lumps of clay.

‘And I will look on the other side,' said Maw.

The sun began to set. Fireflies danced and sparkled in the trees. Night jars began to swoop. The people of the hill palace did not know where else to look but still could not stop running, calling crying. There was no moon so they lit candles and turned on torches so that they could go on searching in the gardens and among the trees of the low jungle.

Up in the high jungle Father Gomez had managed, at last, to consecrate his church and tried, yet again, to explain God to his stupid congregation.

‘He is the creator. He made everything.'

‘Then we are gods too,' said the elders. ‘Because we made everything as well, including our own goddess.'

‘No no, you are not, because you didn't.' He must stop thinking he was being defeated. He tried again, ‘God is love. He cares for you.'

The elders nodded happily. ‘Then you are god, because you give us all these good cigarettes and brandy.'

Throwing out his hands in despair, Father Gomez tried one last time, ‘God punishes the wicked and defeats the enemies of the good.'

At once the face of the tribal people brightened. ‘God is the same as our Tikki,' they said.

‘So this is why we worship God,' said Father Gomez.

‘Yes, yes,' the elders cried. ‘And why we worship Tikki who is also the punisher of our enemies.'

‘So now I will teach you how to offer the sacrifice,' said Father Gomez. ‘And how to light the candles.'

‘We do not need candles,' said the people. ‘The sacrifice must be given in the dark.'

Khan came back, having searched every inch of the road. He had not found Tikkipala.

‘Go back to the village and bring the police,' ordered the Raja.

Sometimes darkness came over Devi's sight and her legs went weak. She could not think of anywhere else to look but also could not stop looking. She even went again and again to look in Tikkipala's nursery. Although she knew he would not be there, each time she found it empty, she started crying.

When the thags saw the policemen arriving with Khan, they began to melt away. In twos and threes and fours they vanished into the night, till at last the only people left in the palace were the Raja, his daughter and son-in-law, the ayah, Khan and Maw.

‘It is clear from the way these thags are acting,' said the policemen, ‘that they are in this up to their necks.'

‘I don't think they have taken Tikkipala.' said Devi. ‘They love him and have been good to him.'

‘All the same, Madam,' the policemen said, ‘From the fact these fellows have all run away, it is proved that it is they who are responsible for this crime and also they are renowned criminals.'

‘But why should they take him?' asked Nirmal. ‘What good would it do them?'

‘They are well known kidnappers, Sahib,' the policeman said. ‘And as such will undoubtedly be coming to you soon with request for ransom money.'

‘I can't believe it, I can't believe it,' whispered Devi.

‘But all the same, Madam, we suggest you wait here till the demand arrives,' the policemen said.

And because there was nowhere else to look and no one else to question, the people of the palace began to wait, leaping up with hope at the sound of a footstep, rushing to the front door because there was a scrunching of gravel.

By morning no one had slept.

‘Perhaps he has been stolen by people in the high jungle,' said the Raja.

‘That's impossible. No timber lorries came. How could he have been taken there?' objected Devi, but remembered the ayah saying she thought she had seen a woman running.

‘All the same,' said the Raja.

‘What do you think, Maw?'

‘Perhaps,' said Maw. ‘Anything is possible.'

‘But how could he have got there?' asked Devi. ‘No car or lorry went up. The winch is still at the top.'

They all fell silent and remembered how Anwar too, had vanished like this.

Devi, ready to grasp at anything, cried wildly. ‘The woman that Ayah saw must have been one of those magic people. That's how she had taken Tikkipala into the high jungle.' She remembered the way Maw's broken leg had seemed to have become magically healed all those years ago.

‘Although we all know that it is impossible and that Tikkipala cannot be up there, all the same let me have your car,' said Maw. ‘And I will go up there to reassure you.'

‘I will come too,' cried Devi. ‘For I am certain he is up there. There is nowhere else he can be.'

‘Don't come,' said Maw. ‘You might be needed here.'

‘I am coming,' cried Devi. ‘No matter what you say.'

‘You will hold me up,' said Maw.

‘I must go up there at once and look for him.' Fear had consumed Devi almost totally. She had no sensation inside her apart from it.

‘I am only going to prove to you that he is not there,' said Maw. ‘You will waste time by going.'