Mallika: Goodbye
August 1980
‘While you’re staying with Randhir and Arnav, wear kaftans to sleep, not those skimpy Janpath nighties,’ Ma said the next morning.
‘And wear a b*a under the kaftan; you may be small, but still,’ Shantamama said.
‘And do not leave your hair loose at night, make sure it is tied in a plait,’ Ajji said.
‘And use their bathroom first thing in the morning, before they do,’ Shantamama said.
‘Don’t enter their bedrooms under any circumstances,’ Ma said.
‘Familiarity breeds contempt,’ Shantamama said.
Karan arrived on the heels of their early morning instructions. Urgent work had prevented him from coming earlier, and I could see he was deeply upset that he had so little time with me. ‘No, you’re not staying with your sister, you’re staying here, sleep in my roo
