by Esther David
Along with the Jewish community, Enock had organized the rituals following Elizier’s death. The sudden death had come as a shock and Jennifer was unable to handle her personal loss and the legal formalities which follow a death, and that too an accident. She often called Enock about problems related to the accident, the police case and financial matters. He would help her by keeping the concerned papers and, whenever necessary, go to her place to get her signature.
For fear of criticism from the Jewish community or Jennifer’s neighbours, Enock never stayed for more than half an hour. He made sure that the door was open, accepted a glass of water, asked about the children’s well-being and left hurriedly.
Although he had convinced himself that he was not attracted to Jennifer, he was always worried about the gossip at the synagogue. When they met at community gatherings, a malida or a festival, he rarely acknowledged Jennifer’s presence, even if the children came to greet him and ran back to hide in the folds of their mother’s sari.
After Rose’s sudden departure, Enock started having lunch at his office canteen and made an arrangement with Salome to send him dinner in a tiffin carrier, for which he paid. Sometimes, Salome also sent him lunch on Sunday or looked after him when he was unwell. She was more than happy to help residents of Shalom India Housing Society, as it brought in extra income. Her husband Daniyal got a paltry sum as messenger or Shamash of the Jewish community, for whom he also ran errands.
Enock was in a state of shock and not yet accustomed to living alone. His neighbours and friends were awkward about his new situation. And, as often happens after such unpleasant incidents, people kept away. But whenever he took an after-dinner walk in the garden of Shalom India Housing Society, they greeted him and stopped occasionally to talk about the weather, politics or rising prices.
After Rose had left him and Pearl had returned to Mumbai, Jennifer and Elizier had stood by him. It was with great relief that he received a phone call from Elizier saying they would visit him. And Enock’s heart warmed when he saw Elizier and Jennifer standing in his doorway. For a while they avoided talking about Rose’s sudden departure. Instead, they talked about his office problems. When they started discussing his arrangements for food, Jennifer asked casually, ‘Have you heard from Rose?’ That was enough for Enock to break down as he told them about the events which had led to their separation. Later, when Elizier and Jennifer were sure that Enock was better, they left.
A month later, Elizier died in a road accident. Although upset by the loss of a dear friend, Enock was supportive of Jennifer. When he saw her handle her tragedy with strength and fortitude, it helped him cope with his own life. He was impressed when Jennifer found herself a job as a primary schoolteacher.
Jennifer was not like Rose. If Rose was fair, Jennifer was petite and dark. She had also had a difficult past. It had not been easy for her to get married to Elizier, because she was not Jewish. Her real name was Surabhi. They had met in Mumbai, where Elizier had been transferred for a year. They had worked in the same office and fallen in love without thinking about caste, creed or religion. There had been opposition from their parents. But Enock had stood by them and helped them take the decision that Surabhi convert to Judaism. In the beginning, it had not been easy to convince her parents. Later, she went through a rigorous study of Judaism at a synagogue for three years and was eventually converted in a ceremony, in which she had become Jennifer. This was how Enock and Jennifer were connected through various incidents of their lives, including Elizier being Enock’s best man when he’d married Rose.
In the present situation, Enock did not want the Jewish community to know that he was helping Jennifer. He told himself that it was just that their paths had crossed at strange turning points.
On New Year’s Eve at the synagogue, Jennifer’s yellow sari changed everything. Enock noticed that her dark skin glowed, and the colour was reflected on her cheeks. He did not recognize her at first, but when Jonathan left her side and ran towards him, entwining himself around his legs, he looked up and saw Jennifer. After the New Year’s Eve prayers, when everybody shook hands, little Shirley stood at the doorway of the synagogue with a platter of apples and honey, with Jennifer standing nearby. On the way out, Jennifer walked next to Enock and asked, ‘What are your plans for tonight? Nothing, I am sure. Why don’t you join us for dinner?’ Enock accepted her invitation and took them home on his scooter.
He felt it was a new beginning. As soon as he entered Jennifer’s house, he was enveloped in the warm fragrance of fish curry. He remembered that both Rose and Pearl were good cooks, but had a different way of making fish curry from Jennifer.
Jennifer set the table with an extra plate for him and went into the kitchen to heat the food as Jonathan curled up in Enock’s arms and recited a nursery rhyme. Enock found himself smiling after a long time. An old memory stirred and he felt as if he was holding Yehuda. He was sure that Jonathan missed his father as much as he missed his son. Little Shirley was also trying to climb onto his lap. He hadn’t laughed this much in a long time, so much so that Jennifer rushed out of the kitchen, asking, ‘I hope the children are not bothering you?’ She went back when she saw that they were all smiling.
In the kitchen, she wiped a tear and looked gratefully at the poster of Prophet Elijah above the Sabbath candle stand. She was moved that the children were playing happily with Enock, the way they used to with Elizier. She worried about Enock and wondered how he spent his time. At least she had the children. She often wondered if men and women handled tragedy differently. Although after losing Elizier she had passed through hard times, not knowing how she would live without him, on those days, Enock had always appeared at her door to help with the endless paperwork. He may not have stayed more than five minutes and sometimes not even entered the house, not accepting a glass of water or cup of tea, but she knew that he was always there for her since she had lost Elizier.
When Jennifer lit a candle for Rosh-Ha-Shana, they ate together like family. The dinner was excellent. Enock felt like he had not eaten good food in a long time. After dinner, Jennifer served the traditional New Year sweet chik-cha-halwa. Then she told the children to change and go to bed, as they had to go to school early next morning. They kissed Enock and disappeared into their bedroom as he helped their mother clear the table, a task he had never done with Rose. But Jennifer with her ready smile had put him at ease. As Jennifer had been on her feet all evening, Enock sat for some time in the drawing room and she sat across from him, telling him that she had celebrated the New Year for the first time after Elizier had passed away.
He was struck with remorse, as he had not thought about Elizier’s family during festivals. Maybe he should have bought them gifts. So, when leaving, he thanked Jennifer for the New Year dinner and suggested that on the coming Sunday he would take the children to a nature park and they could have ice cream together.
That night, Enock returned home with a tune on his lips. Since Rose’s departure, he had entered the apartment with a sense of remorse and often sat in the darkness, not knowing what to do, till he discovered that the television could be a good friend. So he would switch the television on even before he switched on the lights. He would zap various channels till he had dinner, freeze the leftovers, take a stroll in the garden downstairs and go to bed after the 10 o’clock news.
In contrast, his mornings were hectic, as the young boy who worked for Franco Fernandez in Block-B cleaned his apartment and washed the dishes while he made tea, toast and eggs for breakfast, bathed, dressed and left to catch the office bus. Food did not matter to him anymore till the New Year dinner at Jennifer’s place. The fish curry worked like a magic potion.
From that night, he started fantasizing about the woman in a golden-yellow sari, serving him bright red fish curry over a mound of white rice. On some such evenings, Enock would switch off the television and start thinking about Jennifer. He wondered if he just needed another woman in his life, or was he longing for Jennifer’s com
pany? And since taking her and the children to the park, he was past caring about what the Jewish community said about his frequent visits to Jennifer’s home, their occasional trips to the zoo or going to see a children’s animation film at the cinema.
But being a woman, Jennifer was cautious and distant at the synagogue. Once in a while, Enock also had his moments of doubt. He worried about getting closer to Jennifer and making the same mistakes he had done with Rose. He had to pass the acid test. Once this doubt started nagging him, he stopped calling Jennifer. Unable to understand his sudden silence, she called him, asking if he was unwell. All he said was that his workload had increased in office and he could not see them like before.
After Enock started having mixed feelings, he retreated into a shell, not realizing that the children had started looking forward to his visits. They would call him, chattering away about their school activities, often snatching the phone from one another to recite a nursery rhyme. Enock told them that he was busy and would meet them as soon as he was free. He deliberately began distancing himself from them. He did not trust himself with another woman. He also avoided going to the synagogue for fear of meeting Jennifer. And, when he saw her there, he left hurriedly without meeting her. Enock had become conscious about comments being made by fellow Jews. They were all eyes and ears even if he looked at Jennifer and he was wary of their interest in his personal life.
With great difficulty Enock kept away from Jennifer for a little more than two months, keeping himself busy on Sundays. One such Sunday, soon after lunch, he was dozing and watching a cricket match on television when he heard the doorbell ring.
It was Jennifer. Uncomfortable with her sudden arrival, he put on a shirt over his vest and tried to tidy up the drawing room, littered with newspapers and teacups. Not knowing what to say, he blurted out, ‘You are again wearing white. You look so much nicer in colour.’
She gave him a sad smile and said, ‘White is what widows wear.’
‘That was in the old days, not now.’
‘Well,’ she said, ‘I was joking. But I wear white when I am sad.’
‘Why?’
‘Because of you.’
‘Me?’
‘Yes, we were becoming good friends and then suddenly, without explanation, you disappeared from our lives. This morning Jonathan and Shirley wanted to meet you. I wondered why you don’t come to our house anymore, so I decided to see you alone and ask if there was some misunderstanding. I left the children with my neighbour and here I am.’
‘Will you have tea or coffee?’
‘I would like some coffee…’
Jennifer made coffee and they sat at the dining table, coffee mugs in hand, as she waited for an answer.
Enock said simply, ‘Truthfully, I have a problem.’ He smiled wryly. ‘I am ashamed to admit this, but the more I see you, the more I feel attracted to you. This really frightens me, as I do not know how you will react to my confession.’
Jennifer’s face tightened and she chose her words carefully. ‘You think too much about our relationship. For me, you are just a good friend. First, you were my husband’s friend, now mine. I am thankful to Prophet Elijah that you helped me with all my problems after Elizier’s accident. And we enjoy going out together. If the Jewish community gossips about us, I do not care. So let us be good friends like before.’ She smiled and stood up to leave. Enock offered to drop her home on his scooter. She accepted and waited in the drawing room as he dressed quickly.
As soon as Shirley and Jonathan saw him, they jumped with joy. He stayed with them for a while and returned home, feeling relieved that they could still be friends. Yet, they no longer met like before. But sometimes he took them out for ice cream or accepted Jennifer’s invitation for Sabbath dinner or lunch on Sunday afternoon.
A year passed. By then, Enock was sure that he was in love with Jennifer and decided to take the risk of telling her. Expecting a refusal, he was cautious, as she had not given any indication that she was interested in starting a new life with him. Soon after, Jennifer invited him for New Year dinner as though it was the most natural thing on earth. He accepted her invitation.
That night, as they sat sipping coffee after the children had gone to bed, Enock leaned forward, placed the coffee cup on the table and said, ‘Surabhi, I love you.’ She burst out laughing. They embraced, kissed and decided to get married and return to Mumbai.
16
Lisa
WHEN LISA FIRST came to see Cyril, dressed in an organza blouse with a white skirt, he thought she looked like an angel. He started dreaming that maybe she was his soulmate who had suddenly appeared on the empty horizon of his life. That very day, he made a secret wish to Prophet Elijah and decided to offer a malida if he married Lisa.
Lisa was from Switzerland and spoke English with an accent. She was fair as a snowflake and had a bright, open face and emerald-green eyes. She was collecting information about the Jewish community of Ahmedabad and had been given his name from the organization she worked with. She was fascinated with Ahmedabad, but had a special interest in Jews.
Lisa worked for an organization that invited volunteers to work on their project to eradicate poverty in Gujarat. She had rented Juliet and Romiel’s flat A-107 at Shalom India Housing Society for six months, which was now empty, as Enock and Jennifer had got married in a simple ceremony at the synagogue and lived in Mumbai.
Cyril was not a resident of Shalom India Housing Society, but lived in a house in western Ahmedabad with his parents Nissim and Eva. He was a prominent member of the Jewish community. He was the director of an ice-cream company, but had become a historian of the Jewish community by choice.
He was also a bachelor, since at a young age, he had rejected all the Jewish girls he had seen at the synagogue and told his parents not to look for prospective brides for him. They suspected that he might be in love with a non-Jewish girl, but he made it clear that he would not marry outside the Jewish community. His parents then suggested that he choose a non-Jewish girl, someone similar to him in nature, and she convert to Judaism. He again refused, as he did not believe in conversion. Finally, his parents let him be, saying that he was too intellectual and it would be very difficult to find a bride for him. So he remained a bachelor till the age of forty. Then Lisa appeared on the scene and suddenly Cyril was transformed. He wanted to marry her. But considering his high standards, he had to find out her faith and religion, as she kept telling him about the finer points of Buddhism.
Lisa had been attracted to India when she had joined yoga classes in Zurich. She had become an Indophile and a vegetarian. She had taken to Indian food and learnt to make a basic meal of dal, rice and vegetables. Lisa also loved Indian pickles and chutneys.
Like most Bene Israel Jews, Cyril ate meat during festivals when it was made kosher at the synagogue, while the rest of the year he was vegetarian, although once in a while he had fish curry or asked Elisheba to make kosher chicken for his family. In principle, like most Jewish families of Ahmedabad, he was vegetarian, as meat was not made kosher regularly at the synagogue.
To impress Lisa, when Cyril invited her for lunch, he told her that they were vegetarian and rarely ate non-vegetarian food. She was pleased when she saw that Eva had made paneer curry with parathas, which was one of her favourite dishes.
Lisa became a regular visitor to Cyril’s house. As a rule, they met only when his parents were at home. Lisa became very fond of them and sometimes spent the afternoon with them, while over cups of tea, they told her the histories of Jewish families. Lisa enjoyed listening to these.
Gradually, she became part of the family and attended Sabbath prayers with them, had dinner and was present at most of the Jewish festivals they celebrated at home. Sometimes she visited the synagogue with Eva, where the women joked about a possible liaison between the lifelong bachelor Cyril and Lisa. They saw that he was interested in a woman for the first time in his life.
The residents of Shalom India Housing Society ofte
n saw Cyril’s car at their gate when he came to pick up Lisa or drop her home. They were sure that their story would have a happy ending, like that of Juliet–Romiel and Enock–Jennifer.
Lisa’s religion became evident when, on Yom Kippur, while Cyril was downstairs with the men and was adjusting his prayer shawl, he happened to look up at the women’s gallery. He was surprised to see her standing next to his mother, looking very elegant in a white salwar-kameez, her head covered with a white scarf. His mother had not told him that Lisa was a Jew and was going to attend Yom Kippur prayers. Eva saw the question in his eyes, shook her head and twiddled her thumb to indicate that she did not know that Lisa would be at the synagogue. So he leaned towards his father and whispered, ‘Did you bring Lisa to the synagogue?’ His father looked up at the women’s gallery and said, ‘No idea.’
After the last prayer, the Shofar was blown and according to tradition, to break the fast, the congregation was served glasses of blackcurrant sherbet. Eva shook hands with Lisa and asked, with surprise writ large on her face, ‘Are you a Jew?’
Lisa lowered her eyes and whispered, ‘Yes.’
After the prayers, the community members met in the foyer of the synagogue and wished each other ‘Chag samekh’. Cyril and Lisa also shook hands. Smiling broadly, Cyril said, ‘I did not know you were Jewish.’
Lisa was embarrassed. She left hurriedly, saying, ‘I am fasting. Salome aunty has made dinner for me. I will see you tomorrow.’
That night, Cyril and his parents sat at the dining table eating a simple vegetarian pilaf with the traditional Kippur-chi-poorie made with a sweet coconut filling and talked about Lisa’s appearance at the synagogue for the Yom Kippur prayers. In her defence, Cyril explained that some Western Jews did not follow Judaism but the Day of Atonement awakened their faith. Maybe something like this had happened to her.
