Confrontation With The Other : part-1

Our bundle of joy is a year and half. In the past year we have learned to live, love, laugh - also cry together at times. This incident, which I am about to narrate, happened approximately a year ago, when we were still new to each other, but happy all the same.

We live in a very big residential complex in the southern suburbs of Kolkata, India. It is supposed to be pretty secure with an active force of private security personals and a host of security regulations which we are made to follow, apparently for our own safety.

Given this overview, one fine day we received a call from the security gate that some masis (aunts) have come to visit us. We were wondering who that could be. To our shock and surprise, we were informed that a group of eunuchs were there and wanted to meet us to collect their paona or 'dues' from us for having a baby!

My dad, who took that call, flatly refused, said we don't entertain such demands and hung up. The phone rang again in a couple of minutes, the security guard pleaded with us to directly talk to them. We refused to talk again and asked him to handle the situation at the gate itself.

After about fifteen minutes, there was a knock on the door and we saw two of the masis standing behind a security guard. He said that they couldnt be stopped as they wanted to check our house.

This happened well into the morning and hubby was already at work. So I told them that I didnt have any money and neither was I interested to give them any.

One masi spoke back saying no one refuses them and if we dared to, then we should get ready to face the consequences. They threatened that they would come in hoards and create nuisance, that they would steal my baby's clothes and perform black-magic on them, that they would poop in front of our door and gave details of other such colorful programs that they could carry out. 

I didn't know how to respond. Completely confused and dumbfounded. I don't know why but I agreed to pay them their 'dues' the following day. Once they left,  I realized I was so scared and angry that I was visibly shaking.

I called up the security head of our apartment and appraised him of the situation in detail. He said they were helpless in controlling these masis. Even the police would not help the public against these goons in the form of masi.

Between then and the next day, I heard many stories of their atrocities and how everyone eventually had to give in to their demands. How they extorted Rs. 50000 from a family to compensate for getting their son married. How they forced a family to give gold in addition to the money demanded. How one truck load of them came to scare a family in the apartment complex near us, when they refused to pay.

Our apartment security washed their hands off this case and told that they would not interfere, fearing loss of face and public humiliation - which, they said, they had to face once earlier when they tried to stop the masis.

We wondered, if they couldn't do anything in this situation and let the masis come and force themselves on us, what would they do if someone came armed with guns or something like that? If this was not a situation to defend us in an urban life scenario, what are they expecting to defend us from?

However, they had defenses enough to not let those goons come straight to our flat, instead they would arrange that the monetary negotiation be done over the intercom.

With a million thoughts running in our heads we went to bed that night, to get ready to face the most terrorizing day of our lives in Kolkata so far. 

...TO BE CONTINUED. HOPE YOU WILL BE BACK AGAIN NEXT WEEK TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENED. :)