Chapter 48
God made the world round so we couldn’t see too far down the road.
Isak Dinesen
Atharva rubbed his hair and wrapped the towel around his waist. The fog from his shower cleared up and he stepped out in front of the mirror, reaching for his shaving paraphernalia. He warmed the brush under the hot water of the basin and grabbed the cream.
“Baba!” Yathaarth thudded on the door. “Baba!”
“What is it?”
“Mama come…” more thuds.
“I am coming.”
The thuds turned into a tune. Atharva stopped making foam on his cheek and twisted his hand back to unlock the door.
In slipped his little son, his head peeping like he was entering some treasure land and not the same bathroom where he bathed three times a day, four if it was summer. Like right now.
“And why are you playing the bathroom door like a banjo?” Atharva asked, resuming his shaving. No answer. He eyed his son through the mirror. He was fixated on him.
“What you doing, Baba?”
“I am shaving,” he picked his razor, ran the blade under hot water and reached up to clear a tract of white foam.
Yathaarth came in front of him and stuck to his thigh, head thrown back.
Saturdays were the mornings he got bored the most. No playschool, no friends, no Noora because he was posted in Kashmir today.
Atharva let him get bored. Children found creative ways to keep themselves occupied only when they experienced real boredom. His son certainly did.
“Mama shaving?”
“No,” Atharva smiled. “Only boys shave.”
“I am boy.”
“You are,” Atharva finished clearing one cheek and pulled his lip down.
“Me too,” Yathaarth’s plump lip pulled down to mimic him. Atharva held back a chuckle, staring down at him. His cheeks puffed up and he bobbed his head, holding his hand up.
“Hmm,” Atharva reached down and plucked him up, seating him on the basin platform in front of him. “You can shave, but only with me.”
Yathaarth nodded solemnly.
“What did I just say?”
“I shave only with you.”
Atharva set his razor down, out of his reach, and bent down to grab his old razor. He removed the blade and ran a finger down the body. The edges were smooth. Instead of getting his Old Spice, he pumped Iram’s lotion in the palm of his hand and got to his feet.
“Show me your cheek.”
Yathaarth immediately held his face out. Atharva ran lotion around his cheeks and jaw, making him laugh. His son had inherited the ticklish gene from his mother.
“Stay still,” Atharva chuckled, holding the bladeless razor up. “This is very sharp.”
His wiggling went still. His big dark grey eyes followed his movements as Atharva lightly pressed the razor down the lotion on his satin-smooth cheek.
“What happen with this?” He murmured, awed, eyes moving around in wonder.
“Your cheek becomes smooth.”
“You have hair there,” he pointed.
“You will also have it when you grow up.”
“Ooooh.”
Atharva finished his cheeks and set his razor away, cleaning the remnants of his own. He washed his face and dried it on a napkin, all with a rapt audience.
“Me too!”
He passed the napkin over and his son meticulously patted it over his face. Atharva smiled, thumbing the leftover lotion from his chin. “Very smooth.”
He turned to the mirror, his eyes going wide — “Yes yesss!”
Atharva shook some aftershave and slapped it on his jaw. Expectant eyes turned to him. He capped the bottle and grabbed Iram’s attar.
“Baba, I want yours…”
“That is only when you are as tall as me.”
“I will be!” He challenged, beginning to stand to his feet before Atharva grabbed his hand. He rubbed some khus attar on his palm and gestured him forward. He came eagerly.
“When you are, you can use it,” Atharva gently slapped the attar on his cheeks, making him preen.
“Now when we shave?”
“Now next month,” Atharva swooped him down.
“Why?”
“Because that’s the rule for playgroup students.”
“Working Baba?” He pointed up.
“For working Baba,” Atharva pointed to himself — “Every two days or…” he held back a sputter. “As Mama orders.”
A throat cleared from behind him. He looked up in the mirror and Iram stood just out of sight, behind the half-open door.
“What did I send you here to do, Arth?” She stepped inside.
“Mama see shave!” He rubbed his cheeks. She bent down and kissed his cheek, then his neck, then tickled his spot under his jaw, making the bathroom reverberate with happy chortles.
“Now go to the kitchen and take your breakfast from Shiva Chacha. Baba has to dress first to get his food.”
Yathaarth made a beeline out of the bathroom and Atharva grabbed her wrist — “New rule, huh?”
“My house, my kitchen, my rules,” she slipped her hands around his back and clasped tight. “And apparently, my orders too.”
“What orders?”
“Your shaving schedule.”
He snorted.
“You used to ask me to keep a stubble all the time,” he rubbed his cheek over hers, making her hiss.
“You applied your aftershave on Arth?!” She reared back.
“It was your attar,” he kissed her. She narrowed her eyes at him — “That’s what I smelled… Now I’ll have to store it somewhere out of his reach. This stock is running out. When you talk to Noora, ask him to bring…”
“That won’t be needed. You will be able to buy it yourself soon.”
“Atharva…”
“Myani zuv,” he held her gaze. “I know you have been my glass half full throughout this testing time. But now I need to be glass-half-full, for both of us. For all of us. Today will be our first step back home. Let’s believe in that.”
She bit her lip, nodding. Then her eyes widened — “Oh no! I forgot in all your yapping. Vikram has been calling you nonstop. You didn’t pick up, so he called me.”
Atharva let go of her and strode out of the bathroom. His mobile was nowhere to be found.
“Arth!” He yelled.
“It’s not downstairs. He didn’t take it.”
Atharva went through his bedside table, drawers, glancing at the clock.
8.55 am. The result would start to drop in five minutes.
His ringtone began to blare from inside his cupboard.
Atharva threw open the door and there it was, in the bottom-most shelf where only one pair of hands could reach.
It was laid atop a stack of clothes, the charger connected to it and jammed between two piles on the side. Iram burst out laughing.
“Not funny,” he unplugged the mobile from the charger and toggled to answer.
“But your son does know creative places to charge your mobile…”
“Vikram.”
“Bhaiya, trends are coming in,” he was panting. “High chance Janta is eating into KDP’s share.”
“Where?”
“Five South Kashmir seats, your Akhnoor seat and Leh.”
“Vote share?”
“High margins in Kashmir, 20-30%. Akhnoor is double the margin.”
“I expected Akhnoor,” Atharva picked up a shirt. “Relax now. Everything is done. We did all that we could. Wait for the results.”
Atharva ended the call and turned to Iram. She stood still, her lip between her teeth.
“Relax, Iram. As I told Vikram, wait for the results.”
“You are always so calm! The rest of us are humans.”
“Ok,” he slipped an arm into his shirt — “I have my clothes on. Give me my food now.”
————————————————————
“In the previous election fought under Atharva Singh Kaul’s leadership, KDP had secured an undisputed absolute majority. This time around, the trends are not moving past half that number…”
Iram’s leg kept shaking beside him. Atharva set his palm atop her knee. A ticker ran under the current seat trends. The old seat share that the parties currently held.
KDP: 49
Awaami Party: 20
Janta Party: 11
Others: 7
“It’s 11.20, and in a few minutes, we will start seeing the trends begin to solidify.
At this point, from the margins, it is apparent that Janta Party has multiplied its vote share as well as seat share in constituencies under Udhampur, Kathua, Samba and Reasi.
Kishtwar is still a dogfight between KDP and Janta Party.
But among these two top contenders, the silent winner emerging may be Awaami Party.
After a biting loss in 2014 under Sufiyaan Sheikh, it is now seeing a revival under Momina Aslam… oh yes, the first numbers are in!”
Atharva sat up as the boxes on the side of the screen beamed.
KDP: 26 (22 won, ahead on rest)
Awaami Party: 27 (11 won, ahead on rest)
Janta Party: 31 (27 won, ahead on rest)
Others: 3
“Are you…” Iram voiced in wonder. “How did you do this?!”
“Wait, don’t jump to conclusions.”
“But it’s clear that Janta Party will come out as the bigger brother here…”
“Not yet.”
The news anchor began to stroll across the screen — “If KDP does not secure a majority, and it looks like it will not, then an alliance is the only way to go. And since they partnered with Janta Party in the last government, the probability of this alliance going strong this time is very high. What do you think, Mala?”
“You are absolutely right, Jamal sahab. But this time, KDP will be the smaller party in the government. Maybe Qureshi sahab will not become the CM again.”
“Which is how they fought this election, without a CM face. Atharva Singh Kaul is barred from entering the state, but he did not release a single statement or video for his party. Other big leaders like Adil Hussain and Anand Khatri were also kept off the table for conversations around the CM. So, it is clear that KDP knew it wasn’t winning on CM Qureshi’s face alone.
They hence fought on the stability of government… and, more numbers are in!”
Atharva’s mobile buzzed.
“Yes, Vikram?”
“Bhaiya, gadbad ho gayi hai.[74]”
“Bolo.[75]”
“KDP is going with Awaami.”
The numbers got solidified on screen.
“Atharva!” Iram gasped.
KDP: 31
Awaami Party: 27
Janta Party: 28
Others: 1
Majority needed: 44
“Qureshi will announce it soon…”
Atharva ended the call and dialled Adil.
“Breaking News! As per our sources, KDP is about to announce its post-poll alliance with its sworn enemy — Awaami Party…!”
“Atharva, I didn’t know this… hang on, I am trying to find out…”
“As per sources, with 31 seats of his own, Meer Hasan Qureshi will continue to lead the government and Momina Aslam will bring 27 seats of Awaami Party to take the total across 44. It has not been clarified yet if she will become the Deputy Chief Minister or what the ministry-sharing will be like. This comes as a shock and a setback to Janta Party, who has long been KDP’s partner, not only in J&K, but also in Himachal Pradesh… ”
Sweat broke out on Atharva’s forehead as Adil went on talking to somebody else on another line. The television kept blaring, a woozy buzz in his ears.
“Atharva,” Iram’s hand came to his shoulder. “It’s ok. It’s fine. We are here, under a safe roof, all together. It’s ok…”
“Atharva?” Adil came back on.
“Tell me it’s a rumour, or at least… can be retracted.”
“He went to Momina’s house to make the announcement.”
Atharva pulled his phone down and pressed the end call button. He stared at the space between his feet, the carpeted floor. What he thought was a clear road after this bend turned out to be a wall.
“What did Adil say?” Iram’s soft voice held him back from spiralling. Atharva steeled himself. This was him — the man who took victory and loss on the same stubborn chest. He had bet a lot on this one. So what if it failed? He would find another way of returning home… he hoped he would.
“Atharva?”
“Hmm?”
“What happened?”
“In all my calculations, I missed the one where Qureshi would stoop so low that he would get together with Awaami. I fell short.”