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| artwork via Wikimedia Commons |
While
Anubhuti's husband kisses her neck, she closes her eyes in ecstasy. Why does it
feel so good? These tingling sensations instantly titillate her senses, elating
her every neuron. As Jagat's hand slides over her waist, she suddenly becomes
self-conscious and stops him.
“What’s
wrong?”, Jagat asks her.
Anubhuti
escapes from his embrace and whispers in a childlike tone, “Aren’t you getting
late for your flight?”
Jagat is in no mood to let go of her. He holds her hand and mutters, “Uff! I
hate these interruptions. How will I live without you for a day?”.
Anubhuti
kisses him and says, “Once you return, I will have your favourite dish ready”.
Jagat
squints his eyebrows, “But you hate cooking”.
“And you
love eating”, Anubhuti lovingly clasps Jagat’s nose with her index and middle
finger and says, “I have learned a new recipe”.
“Ah, a
surprise then?”, Jagat smiles. “I didn’t know you were doing this behind my
back. Make sure, you marinate the meat long enough. But for ultimate taste,
nothing beats the heat of fresh meat”.
Anubhuti
squints her nose. “You talk like such a big connoisseur of meat dishes. Don’t
you feel empathy for the animals?”.
Jagat
laughs comically, “Oh my kind-hearted queen, don’t you know they are bred for
our consumption? Otherwise, how will we solve the world’s hunger problem? We
cannot survive only on plants. Our ancestors couldn’t, and neither can we”.
Anubhuti thinks for a second while Jagat holds her shoulder. “Don’t overthink
this. Just be happy and remember my instructions. I am very particular about my
food”, he feigns a serious face.
Anubhuti
stands with her arms akimbo, exuding happiness from her whole body. She mimics
the last few words with the same expression, “I am very particular about my
food”.
Jagat
grins. “I have a surprise for you as well”.
“Really?”,
Anubhuti’s eyes dance with joy. “What is it?”
Jagat picks
up his bag and says, “I have booked a house-help for you. She will come and do
all the work. Take rest, my queen, you deserve it”.
“What?”,
before Anubhuti can absorb her husband’s gift, he glances at the watch, “Ohh!
got to go…I love you so much”. He plants a quick kiss and storms out of the
house, leaving Anubhuti wondering.
For a
second, she contemplates the situation. A gift. That is also a house-help. She
would have been happier if Jagat could have given her a necklace, perhaps a
ring, or anything materialistic. But when she sees the pile of clothes piled on
the bed, the unwashed orphan dishes, and the cobwebs covering the corners of
the house, she quickly changes her mind and appreciates Jagat's kindness. Such
a wonderful husband she got.
Knowing
that the house help will arrive shortly, she sits back on her leatherette sofa
in the hall and opens the new recipe book. It is one of her favourite places in
this apartment. As she peruses the book, a notification pops up in her cell
phone announcing her guest. Must be the maid, she thinks to herself and starts
scrolling randomly on social media.
Her book
lies open in one hand, and using the other, she scrolls through reels. One
after another until, she lands on a video that starts with, “Do you know how
eating meat can save the world?”.
The video
has a catchy tune that instantly piques her interest. It shows a man standing
at a farm, pointing to a herd of goats.
“Look at these animals, these fresh hairy
beasts who are ethically treated. Born and bred to solve the hunger problem.
Trained to serve”.
The video
pans towards a bleating goat and then looms on the Farm signboard: Eco Life
farmhouse.
She has
heard its name. A company setting a benchmark in the meat industry. She quickly
pulls out the frozen meat packet from the freezer that has the same logo on top
of it and puts it inside the microwave for defrosting. Jagat likes this meat,
and so does she. Although not fresh, this succulent, tender flesh enhances the
taste buds.
She moves
to the sofa again, opening the bookmarked page. Just then, the bell rings,
announcing the arrival of her precious gift. “Gift”, she repeats the word.
But as she opens the door, her eyes protrude out of her socket. Can it be real?
Or is she dreaming? She pinches herself to confirm whatever her eyes are
projecting back to her mind. It's a woman, that part she identifies but with the
head of a goat. Same furry skin, pointed jaws, calm eyes, long ears and horns sticking
out from the temples. Is she wearing a mask of some kind?
“Can I come
inside?”, asks the woman (or the goat).
Anubhuti is
unable to find a voice in her parched throat. What to tell her? She dithers for
a moment when the woman speaks again.
“Don’t
worry, I won’t bite. I will do whatever you want. From house cleaning to
massages, everything”.
“But…”,
Anubhuti reasons with her.
“It's all
paid madam. At least give me a chance”, the goat woman insists.
Anubhuti
thinks for a second. Jagat must have boarded the flight by now, and this woman
looks harmless, except for her weird head. After a few more seconds of
contemplation, she finally says, “Okay fine. But I won’t tolerate any
mistakes”.
“I’ll not
give you a chance to complain”, the goat-woman enters the house.
“What’s
your name?”, Anubhuti asks.
“You can
call me 212”.
“A
number?”, Anubhuti raises her brows.
“Yes,
madam”.
Anubhuti
decides not to question her further. As 212 starts washing dishes, Anubhuti
plops on the sofa and silently hurls curses at Jagat. What was he thinking? Did
he know the agency would send someone like her? Once he reaches, Anubhuti would
get the number of this agency and reprimand them. But for now, she decides to
move on to the more important thing: the recipe from the famous Rampuri
cuisine, Yakhni Pulao.
***
As the
hourly clock slides another few degrees, Anubhuti gets engrossed in the book, making
notes of the recipe and the condiments when 212 suddenly appears in front of
her.
“Madam, I
am done. I have cleaned the dishes, and the rooms and dusted everywhere. Do you
want me to wash your clothes ?”
Anubhuti
glances at her for a second and then at the clock. “You finished all these within an hour?”
212 nods
while scratching her horns.
Anubhuti
stands up from the sofa and roams around the kitchen. Everything is neat and
clean. The dishes, the tiles, the kitchen racks; all are spotless. She glances
at the garbage bin, and it is also clear. Devoid of any vegetable residues.
“What did
you do with the garbage?”, Anubhuti asks.
212
swallows a lump in her throat and stays silent.
“Never
mind”, Anubhuti saunters across both the rooms and finds them immaculately
cleaned, leaving no trace of dirt or soot.
“Shall I
wash the clothes?”
Impressed
by the alacrity of 212, Anubhuti simply nods.
212 jumps
to the occasion, fetches all the dirty clothes and dumps them inside the
washer. She turns back to Anubhuti and says, “Do you want a foot massage?”
Anubhuti thinks
for a second. She will be massaged by a goat-woman? Doesn’t that sound strange?
But strange or not, 212 is efficient at her job. She finished all her chores in
just an hour. What’s the harm in trying a foot message?
She slips
back again to the comfort of the sofa and lifts her legs. 212 crouches beside
the sofa and rolls her hands on Anubhuti’s legs. It starts with gentle rubbing,
then slowly prodding on her tender muscles, touching all the pressure points
with such perfection that Anubhuti could feel the sensation climbing through
her hips to her spine, spreading itself like an eagle spreads her wings.
“Where did you learn such art?”,
Anubhuti asks.
“In our
farm, madam”, 212 responds.
Intrigued
by this unusual arrangement, Anubhuti asks her a series of questions, “If you
don’t mind, I have a lot of questions for you”.
“Sure,
ask”, 212 says without any expression on her face.
Anubhuti
takes a breath to compose the questions in her mind and then stares at her
goat-like eyes. “Why is your name 212?”
“That’s the
number assigned to me.”
“Why not a
proper name?”
212 shakes
her head and says, “Because names will bear emotions. Numbers won’t, and I
can’t have emotions”.
Anubhuti
rests her chin on her hand and fires the next question, “Why can’t you have
emotions?”
“Because I
was bred to serve humans. I look after their every need, their whims and
desires. I can do everything they want of me.”
“Really?
Everything?”, Anubhuti raises her brows. “Like the Genie in Arabian Nights?”
“Yes… but
unlike the Genie, I don’t stop at three wishes. Although, I do have my
limitations given the fact I am a…”, 212 keeps rubbing her feet.
“G.O.A.T?
Greatest of all time?”, Anubhuti laughs at her own joke. 212 also joins her
with a series of bleats.
“You’re funny 212”, Anubhuti stops laughing and gazes at her. “No,
seriously what more can you do?”
“Anything
domestic. Such as cooking, cleaning…”
“I do have
to cook. Such a tedious task. Anything else you are skilled in?”, Anubhuti
relaxes.
“I am an
excellent masseuse, caregiver, sexual partner, gardener”, 212 adds up to the
list.
Anubhuti feels
jolted once she hears about the last few skills. “What did you say? Sexual
partner? You are up for sex as well?”
212 nods. “Yes
madam. I was bred to provide any service to the human without asking questions.
If the madam desires, I can help reduce sexual tensions from the body”.
A certain
spark runs through Anubhuti’s body. She gazes at 212, wondering what prompts
anyone to have sexual relations with a goat or a woman or whatever this being
is. Quickly, a scene unfolds in front of her eyes, particularly the one from
her honeymoon in the Maldives. She lays bare on her back along the beach,
caressing Jagat, kissing him incessantly. And during this moment of extreme
passion, she closes her eyes in endearment, drowning in a pool of wild
sensations. But in the next moment, she gets poked in her neck by something
hard. And when she opens her eyes, she sees a goat fondling with her
breasts, and licking her ears with its long tongue.
“Eww!!!”,
Her stomach churns with the thought of this and she unknowingly plants a
kick at 212. The goat woman tumbles from the side of the sofa to the
woollen carpet without a sound.
An
extreme revulsion rises from Anubhuti's gut, crawling through every
inch of her skin. She feels like retching, angry at herself or perhaps at Jagat
for gifting her such an unusual service, or perhaps at 212, who planted the
seed of such a queer idea in her brain. She regrets allowing this person or
animal into the house.
And what
about Jagat? He is equally responsible for this. Let him feast on a meal cooked
by this 212. She has lost her enthusiasm for cooking.
“Once
you’re done with the clothes, start cooking. The recipe is on the bookmarked
page”, Anubhuti says with a straight face and stomps towards her room without
even bothering to check 212. She closes the door behind her and lies flat on
the bed, pondering ways to remove the thought from her mind.
***
A weird
uneasiness has sunk its teeth in her skin. She takes a long breath to subdue
the turmoil inside her mind. One, two, three, and keeps on counting until she
reaches 212.
“Uff!”,
finally Anubhuti shows signs of normalization. She glances at the balcony,
where silhouettes of tall buildings stand against the western horizon. Basking
in this soft light, she lets the evening wind soothe her anxiety.
What a day,
she thinks to herself. Not just the thought of copulation, but the whole
episode has somehow shaken her to the core. But what is 212? Is she just a maid
or a projection of her guilty sub-conscious? And if she is real, then what is
she? An animal or a human? Does she have feelings or conscience? Or is she something
bred purely for human needs? How can she not feel emotions? What chemicals are
running inside her?
Anubhuti’s head throbs with these questions. She ponders for some more time, going over 212’s words.
“I was bred to serve humans. I look after their every need, their whims and
desires”.
Anubhuti
jerks her head, feeling apologetic for her behaviour towards 212.
Suddenly, a
strong smell of garam masala wafts in the air, making Anubhuti's tongue water.
Perhaps, 212 has started cooking, tempering the meat in that flavourful ghee.
Anubhuti
opens her bedroom door and saunters towards the kitchen with a smile. Such
intense aroma is making her hungry.
“How’s the smell, Madam?”, 212
asks when she spots her coming to the kitchen.
“Too good”, Anubhuti glances at her face. She is surprised not to find any
trace of anger in 212’s face. But does a goat show any form of anger like
humans? Do their muscles twitch?
Anubhuti
cannot remember seeing any goat angry or sad. In fact, she cannot remember
anything but the smell of this Yakhni Pulao. A wave of happiness hit Anubhuti when she bends down near the cauldron to
inhale the flavour. “Such intense smell. Oh, I can’t wait to taste it!”, she
closes her eyes.
“Yes…fresh
meat always has this sweet aroma”, 212 says while sautéing the meat.
Just then,
Anubhuti remembers something. “Fresh meat, you say?”, she quickly darts at the
microwave and then at 212.
A panic arises
in her intestine. “Blood!!!!...what have you done?”, Anubhuti squeals.
212 bleats
again while letting the blood drip from her right shoulder, “The meat was
frozen, and the microwave was off, Madam. So, I used fresh meat as it always
tastes better. And don’t worry about the blood. I’ll clean it after this.”
Anubhuti
loses her voice, her mind; her whole body is shaking with an unknown emotion.
Perhaps it is fear, or perhaps a profound disdain for the meat in the cauldron.
Quickly, another episode flares out in front of her eyes: 212 chopping her hand
and then skinning it, letting the red blood drip through the sink. After that,
she keeps it on the counter-top and chops it into small pieces.
Anubhuti’s
stomach churns with the smell of meat. Something is crawling out of her mouth,
and, in the end, it stops at her throat. “How could you? Don’t you feel pain?”
“I was bred to serve humans. I look after their every need, their whims and
desires”, a drop of tear rolls down her furry cheek.
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