Kayal's POV

It was a warm Sunday morning and we were chatting something after reading the newspaper. The topic shifted to the disproportionate assets case of our chief Minister Dr.J.Jayalalitha. I couldn't help thinking about Arignar(Scholar, it's a title) C.N.Annadurai (Ex chief Minister of our State) on whom the ruling political party is named. "He was such a simple and humble person that when he died he didn't have any assets of his own. Even the few veshti (long white garment tied from men's waist to feet) he had few holes in it. He had a debt of few hundred rupees. He died of Cancer. Till this day his funeral procession which took place on 3rd February 1969 holds the Guinness record for the highest attendance for a funeral. Imagine around fifteen million people taking part in funeral procession. He won our hearts. We aren't lucky enough to see him alive."

Jaanu spoke with me, "I have heard about him. He was one of the most educated person of his time."

I agreed, "He had a M.A. in Economics and Politics."

Suddenly Sara came out of the bathroom and interrupted our conversation. "Today I am leaving with John. I will be back soon."

I replied, "I am leaving for British Council Library. I will be back by lunch."

Sara and John will be booking our tickets today. I paid my fifty per cent share to Sara. Jaanu paid almost thirty per cent. Sara, said it's okay if she didn't pay. But, Jaanu insisted. So she took the money from her. We just had two more days for our exams. But, staying insides for a long time is suffocating. So, I chose to go to my favorite British Council Library. I love that place. After my breakfast, I left in an auto.

The Library was amazing. It had a great collection of books. After browsing for few hours I felt my stomach grumbling. Since it was very hot, instead of my usual caffeine dose I settled for a sweet lime juice from a road side vendor. It tasted good. Just when I was drinking that juice I saw a vehicle hitting a young woman. The vehicle sped off. The young woman fell down and heavy blood was flowing from her head. I rushed near her. A traffic cop also came near us. I suddenly removed my dupatta(similar to stole worn with Churidhar) and tied it around her head. She was unconscious. A woman who looked like the girl's mother came running towards us. The traffic cop consoled her and took both of them in an auto. A hospital was there in the next right. So, instead of waiting for an ambulance, they took an auto.

Salim's POV

When I saw Kayal removing her dupatta and tying that woman's bleeding head, I felt very uncomfortable. I crossed the road and stopped a running auto. By then the traffic cop and that woman's mother had boarded an auto. She was trying to cover her front with a thick book. But, men were still staring at her. Shameless men. She was wearing a churidhar, without a dupatta it looked odd. I could sense her embarrassment. I asked the auto driver to stop in front of her and I got out of the auto. "Get inside". I could see the shocked expression when I yelled at her. She was about to protest, but when she saw that there was no other auto in this side of the road she got inside. I didn't like the way the auto driver was staring at her. I didn't trust him to take her safely to our campus. I got inside the auto with much reluctance. I was angry. I know she removed her dupatta to save a life. Still, I got angry because so many men were staring at her.

If at all if it had been winter I would have happily given her my jacket. But, it was hot summer. I was wearing only a jhubba (a knee length garment worn by men). But, I didn't like the way the auto driver was staring at her through the rear view mirror. Suddenly, I removed my jhubba and turned it to the right side and gave it to her. I tried to avoid looking at her but I could sense she was surprised. She spoke in a low voice. "Thank you, but I am okay".

To this I replied without looking at her direction. "I am not asking whether you are okay or not. JUST WEAR IT".

She wore it and rolled up the sleeves to some extent. I was wearing my vests and I knew she was also trying her level best not to look at my side. I gave the Auto Driver the directions for my Peribaapu's (Father's elder brother) house and before she could say anything, I cleared her doubts. "I will just grab my bag and will be back in few minutes".

She said "Okay".

We reached my Peribaapu's place within few minutes. I asked the Auto Driver to wait, opened the door with my key, wore a full sleeve t-shirt, picked up my bag and left in a hurry. Alhamdulillah, everybody was busy, so I rushed outside with hasty Salaams. Otherwise, I would have had a difficult time explaining my situation. As soon as I got inside the auto, I gave the auto driver the directions for our campus. I was still fuming from anger. She then searched for something in her bag and brought out a water bottle in few seconds.

She said, "Drink."

I didn't want water, so I didn't flinch. She is never the one to leave me just like that. She again said, "Salim drink. If you are angry because I am not appropriately dressed, I am sorry. At that moment, saving that girl's life seemed to be more important than saving myself from embarrassment."

I took the water bottle from her and finished half the bottle in one gulp. "I agree. Saving that woman's life was important. I am not angry with you. I am angry with all those men who were staring at you."

She replied, "Good morning, wake up. All over the world women have to face such situations. It's not that we like it or accept it, it hurts very badly. But, we know we can't change men. And the sense of insecurity we feel is sometimes frightening to our own selves. "

I couldn't stop myself from asking her. "Why do you feel insecure?"

Even though I shouldn't be staring at her, I could see the pain in her face. She was looking at everything outside the auto but nothing. Did I ask something really wrong?

"When it comes to physical insecurity, it's a little too difficult to feel secure when you know there are women getting raped every single hour of the day in this world. Girls as young two years old are getting molested. Nobody should believe that a married woman is secure enough. A four months pregnant woman was gang raped some time back. I have also heard of women being raped in front of their husbands and children. No judge could give any justice to women of Vaasaathi. And what happens to them after that, they are just a part of huge statistics in National Crime Records".

Her voice as well as her whole body was shivering. I so wanted to hold her tightly.

She continued, "Rape is also not the only form of sexual harassment. When I was on an excursion to Gujarat with my school friends, I boarded the train with my friend in the last minute after buying water bottle and some snacks. As soon as I entered I saw a boy and I just moved away from him feeling a little uncomfortable. He just squeezed our breasts and got down from the running train. Even though I am a trained self defense expert that was something I couldn't do anything about. If you think, we weren't modestly dressed, I was wearing a Chinese collar, full sleeve tops and a floor length skirt, nothing revealing and my friend was an Urdu speaking Muslim and she was dressed in her Abaya and Hijab. And the most horrible thing was he was a small boy, might just be around ten or twelve years when we were sixteen year olds. Somehow, one RPF personnel saw the incident got down from the running train and beat that boy blue and black. I saw him bleeding in the platform when we were in the moving train. My heart still aches when I remember that day".

Ya Allah. Please give me some power to lessen her pain. If at all if I had been there I might have killed that boy with my bare hands. But now, I feel so incapable of doing anything. Before, I could say anything to comfort her she started speaking again.

"Even though I don't hesitate to make friends with guys I am a little choosy and take my own time to judge them. If a guy doesn't look at my eyes while speaking with me and if I find him checking me out, I sort of stay away from him. Same thing with guys who try to get physically close. My instinct has kept me fairly safe till now. Touch wood. But yes, deep in my heart I always feel insecure".

I have never seen this vulnerable side of any woman. I so wanted to protect her, make her feel secure in my arms. I sent a silent prayer to my Creator asking Him to make that day come soon when she can feel safe with me. I was looking at her face when she suddenly panicked. She spoke with the driver, "Bhaiya(Brother) can you please take another route?"

The Auto driver replied, "This is the easiest route. Let's just wait till these people cross the road."

With that the driver stopped the vehicle in one corner because there were a huge number of people walking towards us in a procession. We were a few feet away from them. It seems they were protesting about something. But, I couldn't understand why Kayal was shivering.

I asked her, "What happened? You are shivering."

She hesitated at first, "Umm. No. It's nothing. I am fine."

This time I spoke in a stern tone, "Tell me. What is bothering you now?"

She looked at her hands and replied, "I suffer from Enochlophobia. That is fear of crowds, fear of private space being invaded in crowds, fear of stampede, fear of a riot breaking in crowds etc. I am getting better. But yes, it is there. I mostly avoid crowded places. If I have to go to a crowded place, I don't go alone. I go with my woman friends, so that I can hold their hand when I have to. When I participate in protests I first make women friends. Back home all my friends know about it and sort of act as my shield."

By now the protestors were nearing our auto, shouting slogans. She bent down and kept her face on her knees. Her whole body was trembling in fear.

I slowly bent towards her, "Kayal, I am sitting right next to you. I promise I will not let anything happen to you. Please don't be afraid." She slightly nodded her head. But, she was still shivering. I didn't know what else to do. I have always seen her holding her hand against her front when she has to move in our crowded cafeteria. I never thought it might be due to her phobia. After some time when the protestors moved away and when the auto started she woke up and drank water from her bottle. She was sweating. She wiped her face with a handkerchief. She then pulled out a container which had dates. She offered them to me. I took one. And then she had few of them.

She then turned towards me, "Thank you Salim, for being there."

I replied, "Anytime. But, tell me even though I told you that I will not let anything happen to you, you were still shivering."

She took a moment to answer, "Words don't touch me the way physical gestures do. I was in need of a hug or a simple hand holding. I value touch a lot and it affects me better than words."

What do I tell her now? I wish I could give you a bone crushing hug but I am sorry that I couldn't hug you before marriage. I nodded my head not knowing what else to do. We were nearing our campus. She pulled out her phone and spoke with Jaanu in Telugu. I heard the word Dupatta. I assumed that she was asking Jaanu to bring a Dupatta for her. Distracting her would be a better idea.

So, when she disconnected the call I asked her, "How is it that you can speak so many languages fluently?"

She smiled, "According to my Appa(Father), I watch an unhealthy number of movies. Earlier I was not a great fan of Tollywood(Telugu Cinema Industry), but with Jaanu making us watch so many Telugu movies, my Telugu has drastically improved."

I laughed at that. By now we reached our campus. Jaanu came near our auto with a dupatta in her hand. Kayal swiftly removed my jhubba and wore her dupatta. She now spoke with me. "Thank you Salim. I will wash it and give it to you."

I told her, "That's okay. Thank you. Just give it."

She was still a little hesitant, "It's dirty. Please, I will wash it and give it to you tomorrow."

Why can't she understand simple stuff? "You are living in a girl's hostel. It will be weird to dry a man's garment in your terrace. So, now just give it."

She now gave me my jhubba saying, "Fair point."

I got down the auto stuffing my jhubba in the bag. And then I took my wallet to pay for the auto fare. Kayal also took her wallet saying, "Let me pay."

I frowned, "Get inside." I think I was a little too rude because she didn't argue and moved to hug Jaanu who was now standing near the shaded security area.

After hugging and stroking Kayal's back, Jaanu asked her something in Telugu. Kayal replied for it in Telugu.

When I came near them, she said, "Thank you again."

I nodded and said, "Take care."

She nodded and left with Jaanu. I was feeling bad because I couldn't care for her properly. I wish I could have hugged her and provided her that comfort and sense of security. Travelling in auto for thirty minutes showed me another side of Kayal. I wanted to know more about her. I decided somehow I should convince my parents to let me go to the trip with our friends. For the past few days I couldn't speak with my parents properly because they were busy attending a family wedding. Today I will speak to them. After reaching my room I found John sleeping with a book in his hand. Harneet hasn't returned from his date. I kept my bag inside and left for the corridor. Most of the rooms were locked because most of them went to meet their families or had dates on a Sunday.

I dialed my Amma's number. "Assalamualikum ma."

Amma replied, "Walaikum Salam Ali."

I asked Amma, "Saapteengala Amma?" (Had your lunch Mother?)

Amma replied, "Saapten Ali. Nee saaptiya? (I had mine. How about you?)

I said, "Not yet ma. I will have it in sometime. I need to ask you something important ma."

Amma asked me "What is it?"

I replied, "Amma, I need permission to go on a tour."

I then explained our tour plan to her. I confirmed her that women and men will be staying separately. I can hear her expressions. I knew she wasn't happy with it and she didn't want to hurt me saying no right on my face.

I said, "Amma, all through my life, I have never been anywhere outside Tamil Nadu. Coming to Delhi was my first experience. I wish to travel ma. I don't think I will get a similar opportunity after this. Please trust me and let me go ma. I know my boundaries. I will definitely not cross them. Please ma."

Amma now spoke in a loving tone, "I definitely trust you Ali. You are my son. It's a yes from my side. I will talk to your Vappa as well. Still, you call him tonight and ask for his permission."

I happily replied, "Thank you so much ma."

Amma said, "Allah Hafiz."

I too said, "Allah Hafiz."

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