DR MAHAMAYA Basu, MRCOG, stood outside the iron gate of the bleak mansion. “No memsahib,” said Mangal, the caretaker, “The babus can move in any moment.”
But his wife intervened and allowed her stay for a night. Simultala in 1952 was a remote area in Bihar. The train had come to grinding halt here, with no shelter for the night for her.
Mangal carried the bags upstairs to an antique hall leading to an overhanging balcony. She could see a large well, huge trees and a littered garden. The place plunged into darkness after the late December sunset.
“Memsahib, here’s the lamp. Lakshmi will bring your dinner and set up the mosquito net. Don’t open the balcony door.” Mangal repeated the last instruction twice before he bolted the door and left.
Mahamaya woke up to a cold wind in the room. The mosquito net was hanging from one side and the door of the balcony was open. “How could Mangal be so careless?” she thought.
It was almost one and bitterly cold. She closed the door tightly.
A girlish giggle snapped Mahamaya’s eyes open. “How could the door open again? Why is the mosquito net so loose?” she wondered. As the wind whistled around her, Mahamaya felt a presence in the room. She felt jittery and her limbs stiffened. At 2:30AM she gathered enough courage to secure the door and tie the net firmly again.
“Won’t you play with me aunty?”
Mahamaya sat up and stared at the balcony door — wide open. The mosquito net was sagging. She climbed down and dragged herself to the balcony. There was a pale moon in the sky, the world had fallen silent and a little girl in white was standing near the well. Mahamaya heard a jingling laughter and in a flash everything was gone. The pale moon continued to cast its spell.
Mangal found Mahamaya asleep on the armchair in the balcony next morning. “Memsahib, I asked you to stay inside at night,” he said as he handed over the tea. She blankly stared around as he continued, “She has no friend here and plays with anybody who comes. She had drowned in the well on a particular Puja. Zamidar babu called his daughter Khuku.”
