Chaabi

Didu, didu, where are you, Grandma?' I completed my pre-test, and I will now take the Xth Board Exam. Priti Lata blessed the child and hastily cleaned her face with the end of her sari. 'Didu, may I have a pen from you?' ‘Pen’ did you say? ‘Give me a few days, and surely I will buy you a pen’. Didu, don't rush; I will need it in a month. 

Priti Lata was the matriarch of the Sanyal family and she used to manage the house well but financially she had no power. This remained with her husband Kumud Babu.

Kumud Babu otherwise was a soft-spoken man, and the home was fully under the supervision of his wife, Priti Lata. But today she was upset, and her pride didn’t allow her to ask for money from her husband. Why? She thought, ‘Doesn’t he know that everyone needs money?’ True whatever groceries were needed was bought by Kumud Babu and maintaining the house was done well. Why? Just the other day of the street there was no light and Kumud Babu arranged for one so that the family members had no problem in the night. Then there was the repair of the taps and the door latches which were not working, all were set right.

But Priti Lata's grievance was that the finance was maintained by Kumud Babu, and he never gave money to her. The lady was hurt from the inside. Her daughters and sons were married, and she had become a grandmother. Whenever she went to the fair with her grandchildren, they used to ask her for some toys or food items then the old lady would quickly promise them later and walk back home.

Kumud Babu worked as a subordinate to the lawyer, carrying the files and maintaining the dates, etc. Coming Monday when Kumud Babu left for his job, Priti Lata was on the lookout for the ‘Chabiwallah’. Ah! it was past noon and the Chabiwallah’ would pass the lane anytime. There was the man, her eyes sparkled, who hit his tin box with one of the big keys and it seemed the man was speaking through the sound of his bells. ‘Chaabi, Chabbi wallah, the sound became clear and lo! The man was on the lane.

She geared up her sari and held her loose end tight, ‘Oh! Dada, lookup’. The man looked up and saw the lady who directed her to take his left and keep going for a minute and then on the right there were stairs which he climbed to come upstairs. Priti Lata was over the moon, but she kept her emotions to the normal level. ‘Look at this almirah’, she said with confidence, now Dada makes a duplicate key so that I can open it, let me see your efficiency’.

The man looked at the almirah from top to bottom and then took out his tin box and searched for a key and other equipment as he would have to rub the key on his small iron base. The man kept on rubbing and took a trial of ten to fifteen times till the key fit into the almirah hole and got it opened.

Priti Lata was pleased but didn’t show it to the man. ‘How much do I pay you?’ The man said, ‘Maa pays me 8 annas.’ 8 annas? I can pay you six and please be happy. The man agreed and Priti Lata offered him water some coconut sweets and a few old clothes.

Priti Lata took out carefully a 10 Rupee note and closed the almirah. She did buy a good pen for her grandson. Every month she took out 10 or 15 rupees and one day while having puffed rice and tea, Kumud Babu looked a bit worried and said, ‘Ginni, (Husband used to address his wife), ‘ I find that of late my money which I put in the almirah becomes less’.

Ah! Is it so? Priti Lata pulled the bowl of puffed rice on her lap and said, ‘Yes. I take out the money every month. Don’t you feel that I need money to spend on my own?’ Kumud Babu laughed, ‘You could have asked me’. Priti Lata nodded her head with disgust, ‘Why should I ask you? Don’t you know I need money and you never thought of it? Durga Puja is around the corner and this time I am going to do the shopping for my children as well as for the grandchildren. 

Kumud Babu took a sip of tea and said, ‘Ginni, now you have the key and can take out money whenever you need but please see to it that you spend according to what I get. Be a good planner.’

What else did Priti Lata need? She ruled the house and now the finances too.

This is a story based on a fact that took place in the early 50s.