96. marst smu “The Semen, holding the net between them, tapered t0 the gas and deposited the bundle beneath «tee Spadet on the net, Jibanoo lay ert and winded. A sian topped forward wih aug of water. Someone busied of wo get fave forthe burn, A gs of water was held to Jerbanoo's bless Hip Pull cradled fer mother’s head on her lap. She efficient abled the backened face and dated singed bis of bai fom [Jerbanoo' head: Das wa gathering rapidly ‘Squattingby her feet, Foedy robbed asit his heart was breaking “There there shel conse round ron, She's pfeil alight! seth Nie Fodyaba. “Jerbanoo's hee feted, She moaned deirousy, ying 10 sit vp. Ten puis of hands reached eo help the mountinows heap, She tingeed Pedy, A Alcker of recognition sparked in her glsed jet and back the fl ns dead aie “Soonama put her ear to Jeanoe'sches ‘She's alive. Here’ beating is ‘Abe? Alive? aquawked reddy feb. He was convuled by fx of weeping. and some of i fends, supporting him tender, toc hess. "poor fellow, ifs been t20 mitch for ion. He's vo fond of Jersanooy sad Me Toddywla to Me Banka, Me Chaivalla and Me Botdivall ‘Me Gilbons, he Ango-Indian Deputy Superintendent of Police and the Fite Chet joined the group. “Sher okay now, 0 what fe Bases ise eying fs” inquced the Fish. “Hie in shock, Heis overcome bythe reverend lady's colape ‘And thes, look a whats left ofhi lace explained Me Bankwabs ‘on recy’ bebe ‘Blimcy! You chaps selly go fer your motherin-law, dost ‘you? aid he Sneed lesan, “A month ater be wat avatded« medal for is ll partin he ‘An cxunct fom the neve, Te Cr Bats (Londo: Jonshan Cape tea) MUNEEZA SHAMSIE ingle Jim T pi Tat alld. Thal hive eve doe. ut, don't abou my pinay auch, bens | drt Know how tL teppei bat an douto ls ryt nc Rayon ‘Wood and Amarkos. se e DOs cone Ree veneers oe —. hone Sa eit pase te nd es yee a ee ee TT fle, cru of pong salad Ay mote intend pte ced pu ap eLnivalencsc neaanad mem atioe fer inant wr Semin a we Ton serteon enn tanns Wesdoctagahee ae four of us. ee =f ain nay ae caerene aoe ee wit Seepegry ee he fn titted Nj bee” Netra o ‘be knowa at The Marganines) So Ss ey ‘wusshocked, the colour ing my. 637.‘Az supper, jn the dommitoy inthe clasroom, Thad to answer rnumeroms questions sbout mel. No hada come fom freien Country, Tand, I lved in London. Vhad been to a day-ichoc! Breryone So red bythe Jape Singapore Td. "The schoo wat haunted. 1 dacovered ti quite oon, M ‘aid we were not slowed to alk about i fone gor realy fighrene, ‘She mean the juniormaon gi, to which group Llls belonged ‘Mandy, who shced my bedade locker, sd ghosts didnot exist. ‘Borin bed air ight, we tld ghor writ. One day Gil with the auburn it besa! = oveboange anal he way up my arm, Tenew his ane: "He was a bit sot in he did't have any fiend sid Gill ‘He thosght England shouldn't ight Gennany, sn the Bath [Empice wat all rub. He had some fren in nia or Affe or fomevhere. They brought home dhs nitive boy. The man did't Inne anyone ee to alk to, He took him a and tated him ike a on, Bverone ad no gocd would come oft My heat wae beating wo loudly that seemed co echo in my hand new she wa lkiog about Uncle im. "Welle bad daughter called Fanay— "The room wa pitch lack; notevensSineligh seeped through the curains opposite. longed to cry out, to prot, but could’. ‘The next thing everyone knew was this native and Fanoy ‘wanted to mary! Well That woke the Shee up. He threw hir> tut She was very eaualquite The Deb ofthe Seaton She got Imatied inno te. Bt she mcve wan’ going to let go just ke Jingle Jin 99+ that Oh, no. He began zo meet her ecrely Her husband caught them. He dived he for adler. “Adultery! commited adler, ‘She wanted to Keep her children but the judge seed, quite sighly. Daddy ays i as alin the paper Te wars huge sandal Her fther blamed himself of coute He died quite 1000-00 ‘October 10, Eve since, on tha dy, a midnight, he ghow rom the corridors woth bis wooden leg going thump. ghump, thump, ‘And hs voice floats aro eying 2 Tatopped breathing, Voice ond gp winked over me “That's the wor part. He tookhec aay fom England vo some ‘aro county. The da’ ave proper doctom there or anything and he didn’ bother with he, anywny. So she caught yphoid or ‘doles or smn loc dieu and died” could’ seep ‘Uncle i pinged hieeon my conscioumes when Twat seven and Lala was ve. My paren in England were going through 3 ‘ical sine nancial. They les with ov materal pandether, ome month i Inds. She lived is Amackos, os incely save which hed merged with Indit 3 Tdependence ‘A st, Unde Jim was merely one of our many relatives. The only dierence wat dat he diet fs over ur (rich wae Both ‘elefands diappointment) and aaty sway spoke in Engh or tn awhovard Anglcized Unda, To me, he looked quite the English ‘iden in hisela opi, tveeds and pipe ‘One morning deaedin my new ed dumgares, perched mele ‘on the white balusrade with my bick tothe Inwa, Nani jan wa tending to he howehol# account, beyond the ted arches hich Aiea pe chin Polee or HEL wea EI esa Appredy THES jm ss wil ED The boy gwped. An old Sly ‘tine rewind hn. Aa veetooe The ger ang for i ing plea atacker— TURES Sfn tn te le jecond Une Jn tmed and red. The Sree te pound dons ceserbules wet fom SSE thee lence tc fobowed washed by note toad bing “nc hal sth the hed 16 Inoeondotoue tee a ogg aden ew ear mses ce wah Pence the dps amet SCRE Sosa bot anHe olan ety aoe eee wid eotder ne A ce pry ded EESSEEETSS bc nee Tae gen a fa he po inglejin 101 shir clang to his neck andi p ete cally agaist his clean- shaven chin. tennis aequet dangled fom his hand almost wife ‘watan exersion ohislong, sinew ana Frances had an a of sch feaglcy chat i almost seemed a but forthe mall, pale hand snchored in the crook of is arm, she would have wated awn. “The impresion was eenforeed by dhe gene Blow of her sae aint her knees, the Se rand of ranlacens, srl air which had eicaped ftom her perm andthe utnes with which she held het lng neck high ta ght angle, her yee Sed Erm om i "stl wonder how ox why twat pose that ny mither, who sccm to know eventing imaginable about Unde Jon and France, should nos have known of recognied the name, Raynar's Wood. ‘Of eoure we dda’ elk much sbout Unee Jr any more, but ty ‘other ws alway going on about Rajat and Nawab, Lord Thisor Lady That, of her ambusadovil brothers, one Indian ad one Paka "What are we? Take her ‘We are Bish she sid. But whenever Id chi to peo the Brith looked blank and Indian and Pakiturs ughed one ‘or wo pinched my cheeks and sid, ‘How thee By this cime my father's busine in realestate had prospered Our ewhouteis Richnood wa filed with igh, gleming parquet ‘Seon and subdued colour One day my mother declared that she could sends toa properschoo! tle School prospective Soaded in, but on farther enguiry no school hada vacancy. One day, Lady ‘This That, an ex-colonil end aggested Rayna’ Wood School and wrote a Inter of recommendation, Derpite thie august inuodaction, the peinipal, Mis. Focherngay, sented to meet ut to asertin our ‘Mandard of English and out ‘bity co adept 9 Epglsh ways My mother exclaimed, ’Oh relly, how abs” ‘She deed caely and sys in grey, beige ae bloe shat ‘ey spring morning and we drove wo Raynard's Wood. We tumed nto the mroughtron gates, down a dcve ined with eda Thee, before un ove 2 white edifice topped with faux tutlements nd 2 centl tower My mather med her hands togeher and gupod, “Baveie beswefl, Mo?”eee ener ad woman ge eso ie ate sas rote ee eee ee es ee eee Seance area aren eee ae oer neroree Rion eee el oe ca oe ae te aca ‘SOU RRS il an ee re Bae eT neon cits aaah rs Seer cei Mn Fain or oe eta oe epee ce Soe er ackerdialatey ae Pe in er nced oe oe a a hala domed se eT mata er eae ome ee ayo aan toca tl ey fa a cat meee ees eel ad ee re nape hn Se lw ae epee ae Ee tem mate cl ee er Sori cna ingle Jim 313 That evening my moter pul utenti falls of Une Jim's ovum a My wed olen hata cated a thar pope al the Ina ut even cold lhe ek ane geo ev ined wrah Une i's ela “Thee ws Pomc aa Joung ge py sod ble feds anc cco ‘ong the at Some a Engin who lesen gg and bags wouen, her elbow resting possessively on the wing of her aeroplane; Frances’ font ther, "wounded in he Pie Wed War, propped up on cut pel the prov snd soey an wi tg eae oo the pret we aden st Reyer Wood: Hebd been 4 ty now sn tn he owed us war cla of wih hat Ela bling guns «backdrop of Basing stn tues. My mother ida par fichadbeen cared into acomlescent home. Uncle im and Frances, childhood fends, had helped out ‘thsi tee Sir Rogerand Unde jim ede go eu seching, together, with Uncle Jim puting his wheelchair. They drew wr ‘wounded pytent too, but some were rahe fightning pcre: nd my mother wun" ging to shows any of those, Can't ace ny polot in paindogs Like tha said my hee ‘sy mother told hae Uncle Ji wanted to be an it but hit ‘athe forbade it. He had doce a wonderful picture of Frances with Ihertwo lite gis, looked at my blonde aunt with short, singed dna» pest neclace, and her two blonde crea. I dhought that almost made me blonde too, not dak, cut haired nd big noved "Oh si, ‘Does that mean Ihave English eosin” "Don'tbe sly, Jl may mether eid. ‘Don't be vo pid” "She's only» cl, Sars my te “Tellier etal eet114 unmeza stants My mother she he fain She si "He pve them t me long long ag. He vid they belonged to is Olt Lf. He din want them any mare" ‘My thr umuated: “There ae als good may people in eghed whe rarer Ponce sin "Yen my mothers "Yen, {now what you mean" She ronched se, picked ebro Tals snd | Kaew tis ean that something bad tobe ai, o ot dt “The pnt’ my ther conse, if you gi go round ying ‘your aut tived in that hoge marion people wll think you're ‘Bowing off We don wae tht, doe? Talla nd nodded "Good hed. 'o there's no ned to mation im or races Ni hr id’ ckaow bo the ned a ever Engl banng choad het hes gh, orth port of tae lege ot ‘nan with + wooden legging thump, thom ehomp slong ay Cordon. eying anny! Fanny! They would be eomested iy ‘Sightmare sod ay being long wi wie x arent tod & tomer thetic of mating ger, mangled woman ants, he ‘ier of Uncle jim covered with 1 white doth aid the walling of Sls Moma my mother and Nei un, ying nd ring and Lab, Bathe led he Manso, why did i and the lence of his ashen boy, my father, che Chi of Poe, the Mand eren HE wo, bytadion, kad sx aoaldered ny bat xcept ht father’s they cated him sway Bom wr, fom me, ont Lal, forever, id whimper tha nly as ba ted Slow mse Maso te “Tho ate dhe imploding deans Uy to exer shroagh my tinting As for my res dominant coloom, why do people sk? Extiobvou? " Red for blood, white for blindness, bie for sorrow, RUKHSANA AHMAD Meeting the Sphinx Fle te me hey you wi ag Sam! You lok tong vos inpi head hele pm ming ope, ‘picket ap ohn at toro te held phn eee be cng ike «danny tegng gine ne weed a wg hb imprepty svt! esha ne af ih hale sadn hs a so ee le ead fc aacomcaion 1enben an afermconoconeon, coo pei nde ods ung ip Ons of hin ws pe “Tk be mates eee! ached hy i jaar comin fom woman mach ung a Esthet ing wi i moment agen ih ne oes Senin: And te had bre he ence eae a Commitee mento tyr thong see bag See esr stemme Hypercalm ot imide pte ech ora leno pis Se ad ahaa hin wis hae nese of lon ue anmig'n someone ero Se wa may. Neve cel anc wea oe 2 sada mh aly ea hn we pee ek ‘Ses wit he nod rs eos He suena thnk aso Ssh pen pare pons! renee lat hand tween he or meat onbenet ey nek ‘ee culver cs neon onthe ae sca Ned gh sd Gta oho ‘uch other or event see etc other's es eer