The sting of Untouchability

[Disclaimer: The incident is purely fictitious and is not intended to hurt one's feelings. It is an imagination of the author, inspired from some real elements of societal structure.]

"After he mends the tap and goes, sprinkle some gangajal in the house. Ok?" Pandit Birjes Prasad said to his wife after his telephonic conversation with Raghu. His wife okayed. Sadhna, his daughter, handed him, his gamchha.

In his kurta pajama, he kick-started his bike, wrapped the gamchha around the face and zoooom!! he rode away.

The partial unlock had eased the conditions for him. It was not that he had followed the guidelines strictly during the lockdown, however now he had not to worry about the crossroad checkpoints. His son, Suraj, had come from Mumbai couple of days ago and today he was en route to a yajman's house to fetch some advance payments of committed rituals.

"Couldn't you ask him for online transfer? Why on Earth is he coming home?" Ritu was furious.

"What do I do? He just said, he is coming in ten minutes." replied Rajeev, in a frustrated helplessness.

"You should have at least...." While Ritu was irritatingly scolding him, a loud noise of bike's horn interrupted her.

The bike stopped, and soon, the doorbell rang. Rajeev shouted, "Cominggg" and rushed downstairs but just then they heard a sound of 'aaaakchhhhuuuu'. Rajeev's mind immediately applied brakes to his legs. He looked at Ritu fearfully.

"It stays for EIGHT minutes in the air." Ritu spoke angrily making the 'eight' sound like a 'lakh'. Rajeev kept looking at the watch, counting every minute. The bell kept ringing repeatedly every fifteenth second.

Pandit ji had never had to wait this long at any door. He was always welcomed in, on the very first call. Though, he remembered that he would usually keep Raghu waiting at the door to first clear the path from main door to the site of reparation, lest he should touch anything. 

But before he could delve deep into these thoughts, the door opened.

"Namaste Pandijji (Pandit Ji pronounced quickly)." Rajeev's voice had less flavour of gratitude and adoration than before. He also did not bow down to touch his feet.

But Pandit ji ignored even this. He smilingly raised his hands saying, "Long live son." And began walking in towards the drawing room, where he would sit cozily on the spongy sofa. But Rajeev immediately said showing the fibre chairs in the veranda, "Pandijji!! Here itself."

This reminded Birjes of the day when he had asked Raghu to stay outside because he had just come to fetch money for the work he did before. Calling him in, would have been unnecessary wastage of Gangajal.

Well, Birjes obliged Rajeev. He sat on one chair while mistakenly keeping his gamchha on the other chair. Rajeev who was about to sit on it, quickly held himself back.

"Oh!! Sit. Sit." Pandit ji said, quickly removing the gamchha from the chair. But Rajeev sat down only when Ritu gave him another chair from the drawing room. This too pinched Pandit ji like a mosquito bite.

"I could have transferred it online, Pandijji!!" said Rajeev after a while.

"Arey! But then I would not have been able to bless you in person na..." Pandit ji said proudly, not realising that his "in person blessing" was one of the least needed things during Covid.

Meanwhile, Gudiya came running down the stairs towards Pandit ji to touch his feet but Ritu, who was standing just below the stairs held her back from the hind arm and then, quickly loosened the clutch lest Pandit ji should notice. But he did. He did notice not just this, but also Rajeev's bulging out eyes, mutely shouting to Gudiya, "NO. Stay there."

Few months ago, when Raghu had come to Pandit ji's house after a holy bath in Ganga, Sadhna, had run to touch his feet because she had been taught to take the blessings of "anyone" coming from a holy place. Then, Pandit ji had acted like Rajeev and his wife like Ritu. Later, Sadhna was taught who is included in that "anyone" and who is not.

He could feel the sting, that Raghu may have felt that day. He wanted to get up and leave in reponse to this disrespect but just then, Rajeev asked him in polite formality, "Pandijji!! Tea?"

This polite question relieved him and he readily replied, "Oh! As you wish."

Ritu was not actually happy with this answer, but still went up the kitchen beckoning to Gudiya.

Minutes later, Ritu came down the stairs with a tray in hand. Pandit ji was happy at the sight of the warm vapours rising from the beverage, until he saw the disposable cups and plate. He had been one of those guests, for whose visit the antique cups were preserved. 

Disposables were something, Pandit ji used for Raghu type people, and that too only if they 'asked' for water.

Pandit ji found himself being equated to Raghu. This was unbearable. But because he was a priest, he was not expected to lose his calm and he had the tea, every sip of which had the toxic smell of untouchability.

His patience was collapsing and thus, once he had the tea he said, "Rajeev babu! I have to visit other people also. If I could get the paym...."

"Oh! Sure. Sure. Here it is." Rajeev's overexcited response strengthened in Pandit ji, the feeling of being unwanted. 

He chanted to himself, "Rahiman tb lgi theheriye daan maan samman. Ghatat maan jb dekhiye turatahi kariya payaan. (Rahim! Stay at a place only until you get alms and respect. Leave the place as soon as you see the respect diminishing.)" 

As he left the house and reached his bike, his phone rang. It was Raghu. For a moment this helped rebuild his ego. "People like Raghu could never dare to give him that sting of untouchability." he thought and picked up the call saying in a stern tone, "Done? Take the payment in the evening."

"No Sahab! Not done. Please manage for 12 days. I won't be able to come. Once 14 day quarantine is over for Suraj Bhaiya, I will mend the tap."

The denial was much more than what Raghu intended. It was a slap on the face of supremacy. 

Pandit ji tried a last attempt to fool himself. "It's okay. Even government has asked for quarantine. Even I should not have left home. And even when I did, at least Rajeev talked properly, took me into their house, offered tea and after all they didn't sprinkle Gangajal after I left."

Just then he heard Ritu's voice from inside the house, "Rajeev. Spray the sanitiser in the verandah. See no corner remains unsanitised."