ZEBA & ZOYA A SHORT STORY B.L. Dhar |
orn in two different continents they met in a third and died there together in a bizarre set of circumstances. Zeba Akhtar was a British girl of the fourth generation Pakistani origin, born and living in London and Zoya Alvares was from Mexico, Central America, whom fate brought together to India in 2010, where they met briefly in Goa. Besides the fact that they were both of the same sex and had their names and surnames begin with the same alphabets, they had one other thing in common. They harbored a desire for change in the environment they currently lived in and were on a look out for the opportunity.
Zeba was the daughter of a bus driver and lived with the family at Southall in London. This is a large suburban district of West London and about 7 miles west of the city centre. It houses a predominantly South Asian community that lives in conditions vastly different than the way the British themselves prefer to live. It is often referred to as Little India and represents religious sects of Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs who have their temples of faith built there. All men in Zeba’s family, except her father, worked at the Locomotive Works in one capacity or the other. Her father took up a job at Chaudhry’s TKC that was one of the first Punjabi restaurants established in the UK, until in year 2000 he was offered to drive Chaudhry’s Tiara, which is a decorated traditional bus imported from Karachi and generally used at weddings or some social functions. Zeba studied at the Villiers High School (formerly Southall Grammar School) and soon got fed up with studies. She told her father she wanted to work some place and earn her own money. But her father was looking out to marry the girl at age 19 to a boy he had seen in Karachi on his last visit. He, in fact, wanted the boy to join them in London after marriage and was on the verge of finalizing the deal. The boy was the son of his close friend and a distant relation. Mexico is the confluence of three great civilizations, that of Mayas, Olmecs and Toltecs that preceded the wealthy Aztec Empire conquered by the Spanish in the early 16th century. Though Mexico is the worlds’ largest economies, it is greatly dependant on the US economy for all its exports to that country. The recent slowdown in US economy largely affected the trade between the two countries. Its oil exports to the United States is third largest that brings in more money than the exports of agricultural produce. Living in Mexico City, Zoya at age 29 was connected to the chain of suppliers to US through her company that was established by her grandfather two decades ago, trading in packaged food, and she was on the board of Directors of the company. She frequently visited United States on business trips and was well known in some social circles both at home and in the US. She was beautiful and could charm her way into business deals with the right kind of connections that she flouted. Of late her business was looking at declining trade graphs that put her in great distress and she looked forward to taking a break from her usual routine. She had lost her concentration and her business acumen had taken a hit. A friend in the US suggested her to take a break and visit India for some rejuvenation of the mind and spirit and the idea instantly found favor with her. She had wanted to visit India for a long time and had heard about Osho who already influenced her thinking. Not having met the saint in person while he lived, she wanted to experience all his teachings at his Ashram in Pune and soon started making plans for the visit. The first snow fall came early to London in late November 2010 and Zeba was all set to move out to Karachi where she was asked to meet her fiancé. She agreed to go to please her father who remained insistent that she meet the boy there and make up her mind. She found it as an easy way to escape the harshness of the winter in London and looked forward to enjoy some sun in Karachi. She knew she would vehemently refuse the proposal, even after meeting the boy. But she may like him after all, she thought. She set a condition on her father that she would first take a trip to Mumbai in India and then take the flight to Karachi. To her surprise father did not raise any objection and readily agreed to her demand. At the same time he called up his brother-in-law, her wife’s cousin in fact, in Mumbai asking him to make arrangements for her stay with the family and assist her in some sight-seeing. He thought he could at least reciprocate the courtesy that was shown to him during his couple of visits to London in the past few years. Zoya was in New York on her business visit when she casually dropped by at the Indian Consulate one day and managed to get her tourist visa in a jiffy. She thought this was a good omen and she will have a good time in Pune. She soon called up her travel agent to make the necessary travel arrangement. Back in her hotel in the evening she got a return call from her agent saying her flight was booked from JFK on coming weekend and that took her by surprise. She had forgotten to instruct the agent that she would be travelling around Christmas time when the trade in the US would be at its low ebb. But then she changed her mind and let the timings of the visit remain as it was. She was sure her subordinates could take care of the details back home if necessary. And she remembered her boy friend talking about spending Christmas and New Year at a resort in Cancun. Before going to bed she decided to do her shopping for the trip the very next day. She reminded herself to get that book on Osho she always wanted to read. The house in Peepli lane in Bhendi Bazaar did not look so great on the outside but the interiors certainly impressed Zeba Akhtar who landed in the famed city of Mumbai that morning on 6th December on a British Airways flight. She was received at the airport by her uncle and his son Salim who drove her to their house in their Honda City car. The house was elegantly furnished and there was an aura of expectation from other members of the family as they received their guest from London. After a sumptuous breakfast she was set up in her room and asked to get over with her jetlag. The week followed with an extensive tour of the city and its suburbs where Zeba met all the relatives and friends of her host. She felt the warmth of their friendship and particularly liked the attitude of Salim who seemed to be protective and attentive towards her. The best part of the program was when she saw the Taj Mahal Hotel at the Gateway of India and wondered how cruel it was to have damaged the impressive structure that was so elegant and beautiful. This vandalism by the people from Pakistan was really worth a condemnation. Later that evening she was pleasantly surprised when Salim disclosed that his father had arranged a trip to Goa for her and they would be leaving on the 12th in their own car for a three day stay. It was the idea of Salim’s father to show his reciprocation of her father’s benevolent gesture having hosted him in London twice over. He booked two rooms for her and his son at the Taj resorts in Goa for a three day stay on a package deal. Zoya Alvares landed at Mumbai on the 7th December on an American Airlines flight via Paris and transferred to the domestic terminal for her connecting flight to Pune. She had her bookings at the Ashram for a weeks’ stay, extendable on request. She was received at the Ashram and shown a room that she liked and was handed a robe that she had to wear all through during her stay there. A time table of activities was handed out that included the rules she had to follow while at the Ashram. After a hot bath and some rest she donned her robe and sauntered into the spacious lawns of the property. What greeted her was a scent of flowers all around and the variety of trees growing in the compound. There were so many blooming roses that she thought it must be worth a fortune as she calculated each rose in New York cost $5. The mild evening breeze lifted her spirits as she met the other inmates of the Ashram and she made an effort to connect with some of them. After a couple hours interlude she realized that the people there were from multiple cultures and thought it would take time to get used to the mob. But she did notice a middle aged American couple who looked genuine and she had some initial exchange with them about the happenings at the Ashram and was pleased to learn that she was in the right place after all. The next week was busy and enthralled her as she experienced a totally exalted state of mind that let loose her inner conflicts and she felt a kind of physical relief that she had never experienced in her life. She liked the food she ate at Pune. It was hot just like in Mexico or may be a little better. Her regimen was tough but did not tire her really and instead she found her sexuality coming alive in a state of euphoria she long wanted to experience. She wished her boy friend was with her. But that could wait till she reached Cancun where they could have stormy sessions that she could replicate at ease. She took trips out of the Ashram to feel the pulse of the local populace and often with friends from the Ashram. It was at a restaurant in the city one day when she had the American couple for company that she found herself being invited by them to the exotic locale of Goa. She learnt more about the place when she was handed out a brochure that contained all information about it. She said she would think about it. Once she got over with the idea back in her room, she found her mind was already made up. She called up the room where the American couple stayed and intimated her desire to join them the very next morning as they prepared to leave in a cab hired by them. She quickly put her stuff in her bag and informed the Ashram that she would be away for a couple days to Goa and would join again on return as the Americans were doing. And of course that was not a problem, the Ashram responded. As she lay down to sleep that night a strange feeling overcame her and she felt herself lifted up towards the heavens in the arms of a winged angel. The Honda City zoomed on the highway towards Goa and Zeba cautioned Salim to drive a bit slow as she was terrified of speed. She found too many obstructions on the road here that she was not comfortable with. As they drove towards their destination they talked about the life in London and Mumbai and comparisons were drawn. Then they talked about the Indian Films and the film artists, drawing comparisons once again as to who was better than the best. They talked about their families and Zeba at last spoke about her impending meet with her fiancé who was chosen by her father. Salim remained silent a long time at this information and in his mind he kept thinking why he could not be the best guy on the block for Zeba. But he was cautious not to make any overtures as warned by his father and kept the thought to his mind. The drive ended at last when they drove into the hotel compound and checked in soon thereafter. Salim acquired a map of the city from the facilitation counter and studied it for their outing tomorrow. He had to make plans for the route to be taken and places to be seen for the next three days. It was a comfortable drive for Zoya along with her American friends and the hotel rooms at the Taj facility were as good as at any hotel in downtown New York. She felt elated at her decision to come over and looked forward to a good vacation that someone else planned for her. They were seated at the best possible location in the restaurant from where they could view the sea outside and the people on the beach and waited for the meal they had ordered. They were hungry after a long drive on the hilly terrain having missed their mid-day meal. The next two days were hectic as the cab driver whisked them from one location to another. At one point they were in a long queue outside the Basilica of Bom-Jesus where they could see the mortal remains of St. Francis Xavier kept in a beautifully carved silver casket. The remains of the saint were brought to India after 150 years of his death as a gift by The Grand Duke of Tuscany. Zoya noticed a young girl of Indian origin and she felt attracted to interact with her as the girl stood just behind her in the queue. As she learnt her full name it appeared mystical to her that their first and last alphabets of the name should be similar. A shiver suddenly went down her spine for no reason and when she learnt that the girl was staying at the same hotel, they decided to meet again. And in fact they met again at dinner time in the hotel restaurant where they talked for about fifteen minutes on matters that did not really interest both of them. An excursion out of Goa to Doodh Sagar Water Falls towards south of Goa was the topic of discussion of a few tourists in the hotel that Zeba overheard at the breakfast table and she asked Salim to see if they could join the group in their own car. The water fall is one of the tallest falls in India and the waters appear to be milky in color and hence the name. They would follow the others as the route was not marked on their map. When Zoya learnt about it she also asked the Americans if they could join the race to see the falls. The party left the hotel grounds at about 10 in the morning after they had their breakfast and the cab carrying the Americans was right alongside, with Zoya seated at the back. No one knows what exactly happened as everyone was in a shocked state of mind. All that could be seen was a Honda City car that had hit a taxi cab ahead of it just round the sharp bend, instantly killing a woman who was at the rear seat on the right side. The Honda car’s front left fender was embedded deep inside its own chassis and the impact had killed a young girl sitting on the front seat with shards of broken glass embedded in her once pretty face. All others were in a state of shock with non-fatal injuries and were taken to the city hospital for treatment. As the Police Inspector recorded the incident in his First Information Report, he was puzzled to notice that the two dead women carried names that had their first and last names begin with the same alphabets - Zee and Alfa. This was incredible, he thought, and shook his head in disbelief. |
Shri BL Dhar was born and brought up at Srinagar. After completing his Master’s Degree in Mathematics he ventured out of the state and found a job in the Civil Aviation Department joining as a Gazetted Officer. His area of activity was at Delhi and Mumbai International airports. He was selected to undergo training at the school of aviation; Luxembourg under the UNDP program and later posted at the Corporate Headquarters in New Delhi. He had in the meantime joined the newly formed PSU, Airports Authority of India, from where he retired as a General Manager in 2000. He has written innumerable articles about aviation that was published in the house magazine. He is now settled in Delhi and keeps his interest alive in writing..
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Sir, I like your stories in Shehjar. I was expecting a happy story for the new year issue. I hope that you will write a happy and funny one for February.
Added By Kuldeep Kaul