Promotion

Arjun Dangle

telling you, you have

to do it.'
'No, I won't.'
Look here, Godbole,
the lady's on
and this proposal has to be sent leavefor two
more days
in today.
Pleaseget it ready.
'Youcan report If
me if you like.
I have told you a thousand
'Have some manners and learn to
respectyour superiors.'
'I know you are my superior, but I
am seniorto you.
notethat.' Please
'Pleaseget out.'
Waghmare drew a sheet of paper towards him to file
a report
againstGodbole. He gulped down a glass of water. Putting
togetherthe report in his mind, he stared at the whirringfan
above.Actually, there was no point in filing a report. He knew
fromexperience that no action would be taken againstGodbole.
Theentire department knew that Godbole was Joshi Saheb's
emissary and carried his tribute every month—to appeasethe
powersthat be.
No one ventured to make enemies with Godbole. Still, it was
to file a report. He would have a legitimate reason to offerif
better
hewerequestioned regarding the delay in submitting the proposal.
Herang for the peon and asked him to bring two Banarasi
come
120Paans;he also asked him to tell Awale Saheb to
 Bread
192 •aroisoncd
fca, The pcon lcft. ror some time
[or a cup of hands. Then hc rang again
up head in his
sat "Pithhis peon to cotnc in. Jlc rang once again b
Mr Singh'sIlc finallygot up and walked across to
torncd up. atnong the papers and retrieved
table, rununagcdproposal. Godbole sat sprawled in the
dealing with the inch. Waghmare paused, his
air
didn't budgc an wondering to
the work. Every table groaned
hc should cntrust Really speaking, Godbole
under theh
pressure of since it came within ought
proposal, his purview
dealt with this inside and began reading it.
Waghmare took the file was flung open and
Suddenly the cabin door

busy, eh?' he said as

'Why, you seem to be mighty he sat
'Yes—thatGodbole doesn't listen to me. From now
to be prepared to face these hassles.'
have
you be doing his work?
'To hell with it. Why should Givehim
and get him to do the work.'
a good hammering
'No, he doesn't listen to me.'
'You're a timid bugger. Why don't you go aheadandissue
him a memo instead of whining like this. Remember no onehas
obliged you by promoting you in the reserved category.'
'There's no question of an obligation, but relationsget
'
spoilt.
'Does Godbole respect you?'
'He doesn't. And I suppose it's quite natural that he should
resent the fact that I've been promoted to the post of Assistant
PurchaseOfficer, though I'm junior to him.'
'Listen, it's only now that we are being promoted to the'Saheb'
positions in this 33% category. But remember these otherpeople
have enjoyed the privilege of being in the 100% reserved category
for centuries.Doesn't that mean anything to you?'
'Forget it.'
'Forget it indeed! You'll wake up only when you are lefthigh
and dry with a pot slung around your neck.'
They had tea. Waghmare hoped Awale would go away.He
always remembered Awale whenever he was tormentedby
 Dalit Short Stories 193

concerning his caste. Awalc lent him firm support but

him further.
l'f0distrcsscd
paan, Awale asked, 'By the way, do you deal with

thing to be done?'
much. The Backward Class Workers' Association
'Nothing
some receipt books for Ambedkar Jayanti,'
ds unnecesarily create problems.'
'No,that will all that goes on in
flee
of your Purchase Department?
'Areyou aware
Railways are being fleeced there—and you are scared of
The
receipt books printed.'
gettinga few being scared, but...
'No question of
'Forget it. By the way, why don't you attend the meetings of
our Backward Class Association? Our people from the staff are
upsetbecause you don't come.'
'Well—I've to attend to this proposal. Shall we meet later?'
It was well past four by the time Waghmare prepared the draft
of the proposal. He decided to give it a final look in the morning
andthen send it for typing. Suddenlyhe rememberedGodbole,
but soon banished him from his mind. There was no point in
tagging behind Awale. He would only make matters worse and
people would humiliate him. Waghmare reminded himself that
after all he was an officer now and had to maintain a certain
standard. The wheels of thought began to spin furiously. He
suddenly realised he was thirsty. He rang for the peon.
'May I come in, Sir?' asked Miss Godambe.
'Yes.'
'Sir, I'm going on three days' leave from Monday.'
Karnik
'How can you take leave now? Don't you know Mrs
hasn't resumed yet? Take your leave later.'
'No, Sir, I must take it now.'
'Anything special?'
'We're going to Shirdi.'
Why didn't you say so in the beginning? Don't worry.
'Oh!
ahead. And remember to offer an abhishek on my behalf.' He
Go
his wallet to take out the money.
opened
'No, I'll make the abhishek.'
 fake the nic»ney,otherwise you'll
•Conw on, chuckling,
said
insteadof left happily,
Afiss clown the glass of water, the
phone

'Saheb, speaking on behalf of Chunilal and S

Your work will be done. I have it in Inincl.
•hés! ' Wh
coining this side'? coine instead? Shall I send
•Saheb, why don't you
someone
pick you up?' to
'No, not today. We'll see about that nextweek.'
'Right.'

Waghtnare felt elevated. Godbole vanished from his mind

It was past five. The office was empty. Waghmarecouldh
taken the 5.05 local. But he let that go. ave
All his old cronies travelled on the 5.05 in the second
class
Now that he was an officer he was given a first classpass.Awale
was ill-inannered and coarse. Instead of travelling in thefirst
class he travelled second class with his friends. Not onlythat,he
had noisy discussions with them in the train. Waghmaresuddenly
remembered his friend from his clerical days—Gaekwad.
Gaekwad whose booming voice greeted him with 'Jai Bheem
WaghlnareSaheb!' Waghmare shuddered at the thought.There
was no reason why Gaekwad shouldn't say 'Jai Bheem'softly,
Whenever Gaekwad thundered thus, Waghmare got the feeling
of being closely watched by those around.
Waghmare entered the first class compartment of the 5.15
local. He got his usual window seat. There were four minutes
to go. Just then, the man with The Evening News enteredthe
compartment, panting, having had to run to catch the train.He
plonked into the seat opposite Waghmare's, looked at him,smiled
and said, 'You seem to have reserved this seat on a permanent
basis. Youalways get the window seat.'
Waghmarestarted when he heard the word 'reserved.'He
wondered whether his fellow commuter knew that he belonged
to a scheduled caste. After assuring himself that he couldn't
 Dali! Short
Stories • 193
his identity, pulled
Illustrated weekly
leafing through the pages. Once again he
l) d surname. Akolkar would felt he ought
his bc thc right
Akola. choice, since
wasfrom he reached the Officers'
the time Railwayquarters it
was
past six. He remembered that there was a Marathi film
quickened his pace. on
O/ Ile
TheTV was on, with his wife
and kids intently
watchingit.
waghmarechanged and settled down on the sofa to watch
There was a knock on the door. the
His wife went to open
a dirty, shabbily-dressed it and
usheredin woman, accompanied by
two
equallyunkempt children.
'Come in, the film has just started.
Waghmare Saheb's face too turns dirty and unkempt.
The film
ends.
'Kusum, I'll take your leave now,' says the shabbywoman.
'Have a cup of tea before you go.'
'No. He must have got up now. He's on night shifttoday.
The woman and her children go away.
'Who was that woman?'
'She's my aunt. She lives in the slum oppositeour quarters.'
'You seem to have specially invited them. Why didn't you
receivethem in grand style?'
'I'll tell you what happened. I met her when I was going to the
market. She was always so good to me. She didn't know I lived
here. I had met her after ages ...
'Come, don't get carried away.We don't live in the B. D. D
chawls. Next, you'll have the entire slum visitingyou—what will
our neighbours say?'
'Well, are they going to rob you?'
'Don't talk too much. Learn to maintain your status. After all,
you're an officer's wife.'
of her poor aunt who had
Kusum burst into tears. She thought
her so much. She recalled being fondled and fussed over
loved
aunt. She wondered when she had come to Bombay. Her
by this
aunt was so near, yet
'Come on, serve me dinner.'
 196 Poisoned Bread

Illctnoricsofhcr aunt shattcrcd into fragments

The dinner,
hastcncd to scrvc fruit?'
'Didn•tyou buy any

'Butyou said you'd been to the market,'

'l did go; but the fruit was too expensive.'

his head on his lap. Waghmare noticed his bruised

knee.
'D'you know that Pramod, who has a super
' Ganpati?
Grandma pushed me.
'W'hy?Did you beat him?' is
'No. we were playing and 1 drank water
from his
Waghmare'smind is filled with the image of water
Godb01e.Hi Pot,'
sprungwings of promotion fall off and a mere
Pandurang Satwa Waghmare crashes hel mortal
below.
plessly into
theabyss

Translated by Lalita
Paranjape