Sahithi's Adventures

Trading Places

Where is she? thought Lalitha as she closed the secret passage securely and sat on the bed. She had searched everywhere for Sahithi and turned up empty-handed. She was sure she was missing something, but she couldn't place her finger on it. Her mind dwelt on several possibilities that might have happened, her heart discarding one scenario after the other as illogical and improbable. As she sat trying to figure out what had happened, let us try and find out how Sahithi had disappeared.

The readers must have remembered the pale-faced soldier who had tried to molest Sahithi in the dark alley. He had been attacked by his prey and she had escaped his clutches. He took it as an insult and had followed her to the pleasure house. He had remained hidden, his training kicking in as he pursued his quarry, intent on exacting his revenge. Once he was sure that the girl in the half saree had gone into the pleasure house, he had headed towards his house.

He washed himself thoroughly, scrubbing off the charcoal clean. He slept the night off, confident that he would get the girl the next night. Once it was time for him to report for duty, he left for the Lord’s Castle, as he called Lord Robert’s residence where he had been posted for that day. He reported to Lord Robert as soon as he could.

He saluted Lord Robert and waited for him to speak. Lord Robert was a giant, reaching almost 7 feet in height, with a well toned body that belied his 45 years. He looked like a 30-year-old though his face had been decorated with scars received in battles fought in Africa. He was a true colonial officer, proud, arrogant, confident but not over-confident, benevolent to his fellow countrymen, but a nightmare for the natives. His every action spoke of his immense belief in the superiority of ‘the white man’.

“How was your ‘tour’ William?” he asked, a mischievous smile on his face. This boy was his nephew and, like a true man, he had joined the army at the lowest rung to get an idea of the workings of the Royal British Army. It was a matter of time before he found his true destiny.

“It had to be cancelled sir.” The 20-year-old soldier replied sadly, making him raise an eyebrow.

“Why is that so?”

“There was an unexpected setback which jeopardized the whole tour, sir. I was forced to postpone it sir.”

“Tut,tut! It doesn’t do well for a trained soldier to postpone things, son. You make alternate arrangements.”

“Sorry, sir. But, I am sure I will atone for it tonight.”

“You better do that, boy! Or the reputation of the king’s army would be in disarray!” there was a hint of warning in his tone that made the young soldier nervous.

“I would rather die than bring disgrace to His Majesty’s Forces, sir.” He said earnestly, trying to placate the Lord. “I spent the time gathering intel sir.” That brought the attention of the lord, who signaled him to come closer. The young man whispered secretly in the Lord’s ear, which made the latter smile in approval.

“Very well, boy. That’s a good piece of intel indeed. You would have acquitted yourself if this intel turned useful.” He praised the young private before dismissing him.

Now, you might ask dear readers, what this is all about. Well, we shall get the answers when we fast forward the time to 5.50 pm that evening.

Two horse-drawn wagons stopped in the west courtyard – 15 beautiful ladies dressed in half sarees and sarees got down from each wagon. As they stood there nervously, the wagons returned, quickly disappearing in a cloud of dust. Private William, who had been given the duty of escorting the contingent of female entertainers into the ball room, smiled when he saw Sahithi among the girls. He had an evil glint in his eye as he knew the time had come to put his plans in place. For that, he needed to mark her as his or she would be lost in the chaos of the party.

“Alright, listen.” He said in English and was satisfied to see Sahithi turn her head towards him. “We have important guests today. So make sure you serve them well.” He surveyed the girls with a hard eye, making them nervous, but Sahithi simply lowered her gaze, putting a frown on his face. This girl had to be broken. “Obedience will be rewarded while disobedience will be punished. So, behave well or you will face the full wrath of the Lord.” They nodded their heads nervously, though only Sahithi could understand his words. “Now, follow me.” He turned and marched towards the main building, the 30 women following meekly.

Sahithi was the only woman who was keenly observing her surroundings. She still didn’t know what had made her switch places with one of the girls or why she was feeling no fear. There was the thrill of being able to see people she had only read in books. Oh, what a story to tell her friends when she gets back! If she gets back, the operating word was 'if'. She decided to make the most of her time here and see why people feared this officer so much. As she entered the building she was surprised to see that it was a normal building – that is, the building had been constructed decades ago. The Englishmen seemed to have occupied the building instead of building one. That was too lazy of them.

The soldier led them into a huge, sparsely furnished room where several pale-faced men and women were sitting with wine glasses in their hands. Sahithi frowned, as she remembered reading that men and women in the west drank wine. “So it is true.” She mumbled to herself. She was amazed to see that the men were wearing tail coats while the ladies wore long gowns that covered them fully. She was surprised to find that women didn’t dress so outrageously as they did in her own timeline. The soldier saluted a tall man who had an arrogant look.

“The entertainers you requested, My Lord!” the man nodded before turning towards the shivering women.

“Does any of these natives know English?” he asked, prompting contemptuous chuckles around the room. He seemed surprised when the soldier answered him.

“Yes, My Lord. There is one who can speak the King’s tongue.” There was a gasp of shock in the room. It was very rare to find a native man who could speak broken English, let alone a native woman. It was unheard of.

“Bring her forward.” Private William saluted and dragged Sahithi to the scion of the colonial aristocracy.

“What is your name girl?” the lord asked regally with a condescending gaze at her.

“Sahithi, your grace.” There was an even louder gasp of surprise this time. This native female not only spoke well but also seemed to know how to address a British Lord respectfully.

“How do you know our language?”

“I learnt from a benevolent teacher, your grace.”

“Can you dance?”

“Yes.”

“Show us.” He turned to the others with a smile on his face. “Time for some entertainment, ladies and gentlemen.”