Fishy Chronicles 26: Confusion In Lonavala

"Have you taken enough clothes? It's a three-day trip, you know," I could hear amusement in Genie's voice.

I had packed a bag and was trying to zip it shut. There were too many clothes in it. I sat on my bed, already tired. Genie sat on the bed and took my hand. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"I'm dreading this trip. Dreading Ashok, Eva, her boyfriend, most of all - the snarky comments."

"Everyone's attention will be on the boyfriend and the couple."

"Hmph."

"And Fish will have a lot to say."

"I don't think it's a good idea taking them."

"Too late to backtrack."

Fish had spent the evening ordering me to pack their toys, graphic novels and special eats. On each of our trips, I'd had to bring everything back untouched and unopened, yet they still insisted on everything going into a separate suitcase.

"Did you pack your swimsuit?" Genie nudged me.

"No."

"Why not?"

"It will give Roma's in laws a heart attack."

Genie immediately got up and opened my cupboard. He pulled out my swimsuit from my underwear drawer and I could feel a powerful blush hit my forehead and cheeks. I immediately rushed to him and plucked my swimsuit from his hands.

"No need to feel inhibited. I've seen you in a swimsuit," Genie said, "and on many occasions tidied your cupboard."

"Aiyyo! There are too many prudes in this world and they are all related to Georgy and Roma!"

"And to you! Go and pack your swimsuit. Let's just enjoy the trip."

                                     ******

This is a fictional series surrounding the narrator, her former manservant Genie and a tank full of opinionated fish.

They go on a trip with cousin Roma's family and several cousins - including Eva, Roma's and the narrator's first cousin, who is married to Ashok, Roma's husband's cousin. Eva and Ashok are estranged and have been invited on the Lonavala trip by elders in the hope they will reconcile. Only Eva, unaware Ashok will be there, is bringing along a boyfriend. 

                                     ******

The closer we got to Lonavala, the more tense I felt. Fish's bawdy banter about Ashok, Eva and the third wheel didn't help. I dreaded meeting Roma's in laws. 

With Genie zigzagging and overtaking other cars, I felt bile come up. I grabbed Genie's arm and shook it frantically. I covered my mouth and started slapping the window with my free hand. Genie lowered the car windows and I leaned out and threw up. Cars blared their horns at me. For an instant I wished I was vomiting on their windshields. I vomited again.

I could feel Genie's fingers on the back of my neck. We were now parked on the side of the road. He had made me get out of the car and sit on a rocky outcrop.

"What's this about? You're not normally carsick," Genie said, handing me a bottle of water.

"I'm not. Maybe I ate something bad last night." I swilled some water in my mouth and spat it out. 

"We ate the same food and I'm okay. What's really the problem?"

"I can't face the Kurians." The Kurians were Roma's in laws.

"They've never bothered you before."

"They have. I just handled it better."

Genie helped me into the car. He drove at a steady clip, but the three-hour drive felt like forever.

                                       ****** 

We saw Ashok at the entrance of Pretty Villa, a large red brick structure with tendrils of creepers and bougainvillae on its sides. He hung back to chat and shook hands with Genie. Surprisingly he had never had a problem with Genie being the help. 

"I see you can't do without your fish - spacesuits and all," Ashok grinned at the travel suits I had created for Fish. It helped them stay out of the tank for periods, with oxygenated water in their suits.

"Aquasuits. There was no one I could leave the fish with."

"Oh?" He looked meaningfully at Genie.

"Genie had to drive me here. He can't be in two places at one time."

"No. No. No. I imagine driving you here is more important... couldn't you have got a lift with Roma?"

"Car sick. Plus Fish. Too complicated..."

"I would have thought that would have sorted matters."

What a pest! "I like my comforts. And I wanted to make sure Fish weren't at the receiving end of someone else's inexperience."

Ashok's eyes moved over me, amused. He stepped back and let me go toward Reception. I remembered Fish in the car and turned and walked right into Ashok. He steadied me. " Are we okay?" he laughed.

"Yes."

"Reception is that-a-way," Ashok's finger pointed behind me.

"I know, but my loves are in the car," I pointed in front of me. Ashok started, but turned to look. I gingerly removed Fish from the back seat. Nobby was sitting in Genie's hair - I still hadn't been able to access Fish's mints, or brush my teeth - one of the reasons I was not keen to talk too much to Ashok. I did like him - he was easy to talk to. Until, of course, the business of Eva popped up.

"Need help?" Ashok came around and watched Fish.

They stayed motionless. Ashok was tricky business. Very sharp. I always caught him watching me talk to Fish. Roma's mother once told me to stop talking to them in public because it made people think I was nuts. 

"Did you ever know Mr Poonawala?" Ashok asked suddenly.

I dropped my bag. "W-What?" I bent to pick it up.

"Mr Nigel Poonawala - one of the owners of Pink Sun?" It was a big ad agency.

"Er, I've heard of him."

"Your ex worked for him."

I was silent. Ashok said, "I was surprised to know your ex was given the fish tank and fish."

"Why surprised?"

"He didn't strike me as an animal person." I could see Gregory squirm. "Those are Mr Poonawala's fish, aren't they?"

"Yes."

"How did you get them?"

"Long story," I pushed past Ashok with my luggage.

He kept pace and pulled my bag out of my grasp. "How?" he caught my arm and I stopped.

"I got them as my divorce settlement."

"You're joking!"

"No. My ex kept the parrot and nicely killed it. The bastard!" I hurried off as fast as I could. If he had been in front of me I would have kicked my ex in the crotch and run.

Roma caught me at the hotel's entrance. I groaned. I could see her in laws, parents and Nidhi, Ashok's sister, relaxing in the reception area and waiting for us. She had been my senior at school, and like her brother, was very talented. But she was usually cold to me - unreasonably so.

She looked at me but wouldn't smile. Suddenly, it seemed, an army of relatives was relaxing in Pretty Villa's lobby. I looked at Roma - her face was devoid of expression.

"You want to explain what's going on, Roma?" I whispered furiously. Nidhi was a new development.

"He turned up with his sister. Georgy has been arranging rooms for the last hour and he's pissed. It's too complicated - who's going to sleep where."

"Someone should have offered Uncle a condom while he was at work creating Nidhi!" I glared at Nidhi. 

"Oof! Shut up!"

"Never!"

"There are no rooms available now, so we'll have to sit around till check-in time at 12."

"What!" My hopes of hiding in a room were dashed. I looked at Genie moving into the motley group and touching Uncle's and Aunt's feet. They adored him. The rest looked at him indifferently. I could almost read their minds. They were wondering how the servant dared to sit in their midst. Today it was impossible for them not to take him seriously. He was wearing a pair of dark blue fitting jeans, a white t-shirt that clung to his muscled torso, and dark brown boots. Even his long hair was washed and shone and bounced every time he moved.

He settled on a sturdy corner table, arranging Fish next to him. He looked at me and patted the stool next to him. I could see looks of shock rippling across the others' faces. 

Ashok moved in front of me. "What's going on between you two?"

"What do you mean?"

"I heard he'd quit working for you."

"You heard right."

"And?"

"And?"

"And what's he doing with you now?"

"He's back in my employ. But with the option to hold a part-time job," I fibbed.

"Really?" Ashok was grinning.

"Oh, yes."

"That's an interesting arrangement."

"Yes indeedy. Excuse me," I tried to move around him.

Ashok blocked my path. "When did he return?"

"Around Christmas eve."

"And I hear you travelled with him to Cambodia soon after."

"Who would say such a dastardly thing!" 

Ashok laughed. "Everyone knows. Scandalous... to my uncle and aunt," he tilted his head slightly in Roma's parents in law's direction.

"They're easy to scandalise."

He grinned and was going to retort when his eyes widened and then his mouth closed tightly. A car had just come to a stop on the gravel outside and I turned to follow his gaze.

My dear cousin Eva had just got out of a car and was a picture of perfection in tight jeans, a fetching halter top, stilettos, and sporting a new hairstyle - a very attractive pixie cut. She was saying something and laughing to the man getting out of the driver's side of the car when she stopped mid sentence and gaped at us. Her eyes bulged and her mouth became crooked. It lasted two seconds and then she slammed the car door and came marching towards us. I moved back in fright and felt Ashok's hands tighten on my arms.

"Aiyyo! Let me go!" I said. I could see my idiot cousin losing her nerve mid stride. She stopped at the doorway of the hotel and stood hesitantly, looking at all our relatives massed at the side. Some had gasped, some stared in tension and some were looking on with interest.

I couldn't help it, I started to hiccough. I could feel Ashok stare at me. I looked up and saw disbelief. "Better this than vomiting, trust - hic - me!"

Ashok tried not to smile but did in a moment. He watched me hiccough. No one came to my aid and soon I tried to hold my breath. It was at moments like these that you realised how little one cared for you.

"Water?" Ashok asked.

"Hic. Yes, hic... please. Did... hic... you know..." I held my breath for about 15 seconds,  "that your dearest darling was coming?"

He grinned, "No."

"Bloody liar." I extricated myself and said, "enjoy."

Ashok was staring at his wife and her friend and suddenly he started moving toward them. Roma rushed to the doorway and so did Georgy and Genie. But they stopped, watching curiously the trio outside. Ashok was talking to and shaking hands with the man Eva had brought with her. The man was also smiling, but Eva looked terribly unhappy.

The other man pulled out their suitcases and Ashok and he walked toward the hotel, oblivious to Eva in their wake. I sniggered. Roma threw me a dirty look, "What?" she demanded.

"Poor Eva's got to get her luggage in herself. Her boyfriend's forgotten to do the gentlemanly thing. And, for a moment, I thought Ashok would, magar dekho kitna khunnas hai use*! Owww!!" My cousin had jabbed me in the ribs and I kept my hand pressed on the now tender spot. I held back the swear word with difficulty.

"It's not funny at all!" Roma snarled.

"If you don't find madamji getting a taste of her own medicine funny, then I don't know what will ever be funny for you!"

"Please, stop!" Georgy turned and begged. I was too stunned to go on. We followed the actors in our tableau to the sitting area and the two men found a place to sit. We sat near them.

"That's not Abhijeet Baruah," I whispered in Roma's ear.

"What?"

"He's not Abhijee..."

"I heard you! If not Abhijeet, who is he?"

I cleared my throat. No one turned. I coughed loudly and asked, "Aren't you going to introduce us to your friend, Ashok?"

"Ah, this is Arief Rather, we used to work together. He's in advertising - worked for Mr Poonawala. Eva's cousin here," Ashok pointed at me, "has Mr P's fish. She's even brought them here. See them in the tank there," Ashok pointed at Fish. I could see them tread water, very interested in what was going on. Last night I overheard Portas tell Dimitri that he hoped there'd be a catfight.

Arief got up and went to the fish tank. He was a handsome man - sharp features, high cheekbones and very fair with brown hair and brown eyes. I could see the women, including the elderly, preen, fidget and smile at him. Only he was annoying me to death. The idiot was tapping the fish tank's glass wall and Fish had moved away and were staring at him.

"Fork!" I heard Penaaz say.

Fish zoomed around the tank agitated. I rushed towards him and pulled Arief's hand away from the side of the tank.

"Hey!" he said, annoyed.

"Arief, please stop that."

"Why? I used to do it at Mr Poonawala's."

"Really? How many times did you visit Mr P?"

Arief thought. "Once, I think." He knocked the tank with a knuckle

I felt my blood pressure rise, no wonder Mr P didn't invite this guy back! "Can you stop that knocking? It stresses Fish."

"Really? They told you?" Arief's eyes raked me slowly from top to bottom.

"Yes. Every now and then they call me on our hotline and give me instructions."

"What crap!"

"Says someone who'll likely hold out a chicken leg to a crocodile to feed on."

He bent angrily towards me. Ashok's hand was immediately on Arief's chest, but Genie was already wedged between us - an imposing presence. But Arief wouldn't stop looking at me angrily. Ashok pulled him away.

"You foolish girl! Was that necessary?" Nidhi said, an agitated speck of her spit landing on my upper lip. Yuck. I backed away a centimetre.

"You don't have to spit at me, Nidhi. You could just say it nicely." I used my collar to wipe it off. First vomiting and now being spat on - there was no end to this bad day!

"You and your damned fish. So childish! The man was just looking at them."

"No, the nutcase was terrorising them! When you bang the glass walls, the sound magnifies and reverberates," I said, thinking quickly. "They are the smaller, more delicate of God's creatures," I added - my masala and its logic had to be ironcast. But was it? 

"Nyarr!" Nidhi bared her teeth at me and marched off.

"Was that necessary?" Roma asked when Georgy moved away to talk to his cousin.

"Not you too!"

"No, Darling. But for a minute I thought Arief was going to hit you." She put her arm around my neck and squeezed until I saw black and thought my legs would buckle. She smooched me hard on the cheek. "I'm so glad you're here, Babe. C'mon, let's check out the pool. Maybe we can toss in a crocodile while we're here."

"Shall we attempt a smoke later?"

"Yup. I found us a spot where no one can see. We'll go when everyone's asleep."

"Deal. Roma?"

"Yes, Baby?"

"Why is Nidhi here?"

"What?"

I felt irritated to my eyeballs. Roma was acting evasive! I grabbed her ear and twisted hard. "What are you doing torturing me with the likes of Arief and Nidhi?" 

"Ow, ouch, OUCHHHHHH!!!!"

"DID YOU TELL ASHOK?"

"NO!!!"

"WHO THEN?!"

"DADDY!" Roma pushed me off her and rubbed her ear. "Satisfied?"

"What the hell is Uncle playing at?!"

"I do not know. Georgy and I are fed up!" Roma grabbed my collar and pulled me toward a patch of trees.

"Let's get a smoke - too many idiots in one spot."

I turned to look at my pack. Genie and Fish had disappeared. Almost everyone had gone to their rooms. Only Ashok and Arief remained downstairs, chatting - with Eva sulking in a corner.

                                       ****** 
 * (translation) But see how much he hates her

Fishy Chronicles 16: Encountering Kampong Phluk

I stirred and burrowed under the covers. And then I was wide awake.

The phone Genie gave me last night was ringing. An iPhone. How the hell did one turn it on?

“Change and come here for tea,” Genie said.

“Yes, Boss.” I said to the dead phone, when I'd mastered my groggy self. It seemed like it was going to be a day filled with orders and marching.

Next door, Fish were getting ready for their trip. Nobby took the first sip of my tea and Donny, the elf, was dressed in a pair of long pants and a half sleeved shirt of pale peach with small white flowers. It was the tiniest shirt I’d ever seen. I was wondering if there was a factory manufacturing elf clothes, when a small spatter of water hit my left eye.

My annoyance left me quickly. My love, Dimitri, was trying to get my attention. “I want to visit the markets,” he said.

“Okay. Why are we whispering?”

“The others shot down the idea.”

“Why?”

“They want to drink martinis in Pub Street.”

Pub Street was the hub of activity in this tiny town of Siem Reap. Only, according to the net, Siem Reap was Cambodia's second largest city. I was amused when I saw how big the population of Cambodia was. Sixteen million – less than Mumbai's.

“Most of the reduced numbers of Cambodians is probably because of Pol Pot's murderous activities. You’ll see,” Dimitri said.

“Is that a theory or a fact?”

“I think fact, but let’s hope we meet people who know more than us on this trip.”

“I thought you didn't know we were coming to Cambodia.”

“I didn’t. But none of us slept last night. We were researching places to see.”

I looked at Genie. He looked fresh. I doubt any loud fracas in the fish tank would have woken him.

“What about you, Donny? Anything you want to see in particular?” I turned to my little friend.

“The temples. A local market maybe. I want to try the local food... and maybe one of those fried insects.”

Genie stood up. I shoved a biscuit into my mouth, swallowed my tea and followed him out.

                                             ******

(This is a fictional series surrounding the narrator, a single woman living in a distant suburb of Mumbai, Genie, her former manservant, previously a thug and now a world traveller, a group of Fish, who formerly lived with the narrator, and Donny, a visiting elf.

They are travelling through Cambodia, a place very close to Genie's heart.)

                                             ****** 

“What are we looking for?” I asked Genie. I was whispering because I was mesmerized by the sunrise unfolding in front of me. The truck had stopped and I didn’t want the truck driver to feel offended, or know that I didn’t know where we were going. Finally the driver turned the truck around and went back to a small side road.

When we left the hotel, I asked Genie why we were racing in the pre-dawn dark in a rackety truck. There was a short grunt. It was clear Genie was still making up his mind about what to tell me. Or he was playing me. Probably the latter.

When the morning began to shine bright Genie put a cap on my head even though we were sitting inside the truck. “It will turn hot soon.”

He gave us all water and we bumped along at a steady clip by a greyish river. The red road ahead looked dusty and men stood by the side, near the water, swimming, throwing nets in, or just looking about.

“What’s this place, Genie? And if you stay silent I may murder you!”

Genie laughed. He took my hand and tucked it under his arm. “Sorry for that, my dear. The river is Kampong Phluk and further ahead is the Tonlé Sap lake. Most of these guys are fishing. And those boats take you around the villages.” He pointed at some small blue boats, that looked like the ferries bobbing on the water near the Gateway of India.

Scenes near Kampong Phluk.
(Photos: A. Peter)

Last night I trawled the net for information. I knew there was a village on stilts on this river. At first the river and road seemed empty but further down the dirt road Genie waved.

“You know those people?” I turned to look at him.

“Yes.”

“How come?”

“I lived near here for some time.”

A 1,000 questions gathered in my gullet. “Er, what? How come?” I said.

“I was a conduit... of sorts. I did a lot of business here. Not a good idea for you to know more.”

“Why not?”

“You won’t be able to sleep at night.”

“Bullshit.”

Genie laughed. I ploughed on. “Your past is unlikely to come back and bite you in the bum.”

I shouldn’t have said that. Genie’s face closed immediately and he turned to look out of the window.

I stayed silent too. Why was I so curious about Genie's past. Why couldn’t he tell me. We were good friends, shared a home – platonically – yet I felt pushed away.

Suddenly I screamed in fright. The truck had run over a deep crater and I had almost hit the windshield. I felt a pain in my chest and some softer body parts because Genie's muscular arm had stopped me from sailing through the windshield. Fish swore and poor Donny was on the floor. I picked him up and ran my hands over his frail, small body.

“I’m fine,” he said weakly. “Just a little winded.” I glared at the driver, Dara, who chewed a piece of gum and then looked away.

“Dara didn’t see the crater.” Genie said. He leaned out of the window and looked behind the truck. “There were stones and dried leaves on the pothole. Strange.”

We slowed and stopped near the side of the road and suddenly there were a number of men surrounding the truck. The sense of fear I felt evaporated when Genie jumped off and hugged some of them. A small child was thrust at him and it turned away, reaching out to its father and wailing. Genie laughed and handed back the child. He spoke to the men but gestured at me to stay in the truck.

A while later, we watched the men take away the boxes from the back of the truck. There was another round of handshakes and Genie got in.

Further along we stopped and climbed into a large multi-coloured boat swaying reluctantly at the side of the river, tethered to a boat whose nose was wedged into the soft river earth. Genie helped me in. He handed me the children and he and several others slowly filled the capacious boat with the rest of the boxes.

As soon as we were on our way, I flopped into the seat next to him. “What’s in the boxes, Genie?”

“Provisions.”

“For what?”

“For whom. It’s for the villagers.”

“Er, friends of yours?”

“Yes.”

I wanted to ask more, but I started taking photographs and videos. Genie plucked my phone from my hand and tucked it into his pants and grinned. I glared at his bulging pocket – it was a place my hand was unlikely to go. Once, he had grabbed my phone, because I hadn’t been listening to him, and put it into his jeans pocket. In a furious rage I had made a grab for it. The matter did not end well. I still blush at the memory.

“Sweetheart, you're missing out. Just watch and take it all in,” Genie said. “Be Fish today.” Indeed, Fish were quiet and rapt.

“Do you think we should let them into the water?”

Fish looked at Genie hopefully. “No. They’d never be able to keep up.”

Looking at the water threshing past our motor boat, I was inclined to agree.

Wooden shacks on very tall stilts soon loomed into view. They looked dank, grubby and basic. There were clotheslines hung across their ceilings and I saw one fan spin slowly. I saw people looking at us from above. There was no curiosity. Just a kind of resignation. Some were cooking and others looking after fishing nets. There seemed to be groups that were either scavengers or transporting things for sale. It seemed they were all ekeing a precarious living.

“You lived here?” I asked Genie.

“Yes.”

“Do you mean you hid here?”

Silence.

‘You were a fugitive here?’ might have sounded better. I tried again, “What are we doing here, Genie?”

“I’m showing you around the floating village. You’ll meet some of my friends. Their English is basic, so smile and nod and be friendly. They’re poor and marginalised. Have a good look around. But stay near me, all of you, okay?”

We soon stopped at a large structure on stilts. It was a restaurant with a thatched roof, but no walls. Many foreign tourists were already sitting at its tables. Below, in the water, were ladies manning large canoes. They were taking tourists deeper into the river. They paddled slowly between the tall water-resistant river trees.

“How deep is the water, Genie? And where are those women taking the tourists?”

“That’s about six feet deep or more. They’ll take you through a submerged forest. Come on. Get in.”

I squeaked in shock when he lifted me and dangled me into the canoe below. He handed the menagerie to me and the lady of the canoe, wearing a wide straw hat and flower-print pink blouse and long meklah-looking skirt, slowly used her long pole to jettison us through the spaces between the trees.

Navigating the floating forest. Tourists ahoy!
(Photos: A. Peter)

I turned to see G already seated at a table with several men, sipping a beer. He raised his glass at us and smiled.

I turned to look around at the trees and foliage that was half in and out of the water. I heard frogs, birds and other species rustling in the trees. I looked up at the sky through the canopy of treetops and branches. This was amazing. I leaned to run my hand in the water and the boat tilted precariously to my right.

“Stop that! Sit straight!” Gregory ordered, suddenly anxious.

“If you fell in, you’d be able to swim!” I said, my fear overcome by my surprise.

“Yes, but we don’t know what’s lurking in the water!” Penaaz said.

“Didn’t you see the crocodile in the cage at the restaurant?” Pervez said.

“I thought it was dead!” There had been a toddler playing next to the large cage, standing up, its fingers looped into the cage's wire mesh to help it keep its balance.

“Silly woman. Crocodiles just lie that way to conserve energy or catch prey off guard.”

“Shhhhhhh! You're killing the experience!”

We continued through the forest and I shook the boat every now and then for fun. It left Fish frustrated, and close to biting me.

We passed other tourists and each time the lady canoe paddlers neared each other, they conversed until the canoe passed them by. Mostly it was a joke, because they usually smiled or laughed once and sustained the smile.

Canoe lady gives Genie a gift.
(Photo: A. Peter)

They gently shoved at the sides of the trees to move their boats along. We moved through the submerged forest for about an hour. It was the longest ever I’d heard the Fish being silent. I had to change that. It was unnatural.

“Do you think you'd ever want to return to Mumbai after this?” Donny said in a whisper in the marshy silence. His mouth was half open and he was staring around him in wonder.

“When I need to poop, I’ll know for sure,” I chuckled.

There were groans from Fish and I heard, among other things, “disgusting”, “juvenile”, “childish”, “undergrown adult”, “mumble, mumble person.” I lived for these moments. It surprised me that Fish couldn’t take a joke.

We were jolted back to the present. No! The boat ride on the cool, sheltered water was over. Genie was standing above us, watching, a smile on his face, his hands in his pockets, oblivious to his friends standing behind him or their conversation.

He helped us out of the canoe, folded his hands and thanked, in Cambodian, our lady captain and hustled us into our boat, which was now emptied of its cargo.

But we didn’t go back from where we came. “We’re going to the lake now. Just watch," he said.

Pretty soon it came into view. It felt like the sea. Almost like the Brahmaputra, but with no land in sight. Or rather a thin sliver of it in the distance.

I held out my hand and Genie reluctantly returned my phone. I tried to get shots of the sunlight shimmering on the water. We moved at a steady clip and at some meaningless point turned around and made our way back.

There was no conversation on our return. It had been, in a way, a profound experience. But when we hit the main road, I could see Dimitri trying to make eye contact. I nodded. I’d check with the hotel staff about the markets and come to an arrangement with Genie.

We had 10 days. Day 1 had been super. I hadn’t thought of the past or the future. I’d thoroughly enjoyed the moment.
                                             ******