One
1954â1959
1. Outskirts of Ahmedabad, India
A near-empty house.
A teenage girl. Jyoti. Our heroine. She moves through the space with grace. This is her territory. She prepares the room, just as she likes it.
She smells something in the air. Something coming. She sits.
A crack. A whoosh. The slam of torrential monsoon rain arriving uninvited.
A man arrives, dripping wet. Invited. But not by her. This is Rasik . Early twenties. He sits down across from her, wipes his face with a handkerchief.
Jyoti holds up a picture.
JyotiYou look nothing like this.
RasikReally? I thought it was very â
JyotiNope.
RasikFair?
JyotiNope.
RasikOh.
Do I look better or worse?
JyotiNuh uh, I ask the questions.
RasikQuestions.
JyotiYes, itâs a little system Iâve put together, makes this shitshow more fun for me. All your lovely, desperate faces are laid out here, ranked top to bottom. Answer well, you move up, fuck me off, you move down. Simple!
RasikAnd thatâs fun is it?
She points at some more photos in front of her on a table.
JyotiI mean, the other âsuitorsâ were very keen . . .
Iâll stick you in the middle, give you something to aim for.
She organises the photos into an order in front of her, top to bottom.
You can kick us off with a compliment if you like.
RasikA compliment? Um ok uh . . .
JyotiThat hard huh?
RasikNo! Um . . .
Jyoti, youâre a good-looking woman!
JyotiPft, come on thatâs not a compliment, Rasik, thatâs an objective statement of fact.
RasikIt is?
JyotiSure. My dadâs lost all the money, most the land, the fields are dead, my family hasnât a drop of political power and yet thereâs still a gaggle of drooling men ready to throw me over their shoulder so. Stands to reason. I must be top-drawer fucking gorgeous. Whereas you . . .
She looks down at the photos.
. . . youâre doing what you can. Respect.
RasikThanks.
JyotiHeh I canât get over these photos. Such nervous faces! The same man took them?
RasikIs that your first question or â
JyotiHeâs terrible, who is this criminal?
RasikA young English chap, very friendly. Only had a half hour, think he was on a break from his real job so it was a rush to get us all â
JyotiWhat a scam! Get your money back if I was you.
RasikIt was your father that paid for him.
JyotiHah! That explains it, the tight bastard. Glad heâs paying someone.
She looks at the photos again.
Mmm. Itâs not even ânervousâ is it? More a general air of . . .
RasikAuthority?
JyotiConstipation. Would it hurt to break a smile for your future wife?
RasikOh see I wanted to smile, believe me, a smile suits my features really well actually.
JyotiUhuh.
RasikBut â and itâs fascinating this â but apparently the old cameras, they take some time to work and the man said itâs hard to hold a smile for long enough so . . .
He said a frown was the most noble expression I could reach for.
A pause as Jyoti decides whether she believes it.
JyotiAt least youâre wearing a suit.
She starts to move Rasikâs photo up the order.
RasikOf course!
She looks at the photo a little closer.
JyotiNot yours though, is it?
RasikUm . . . no it is mine of course/ itâs mine â
JyotiDoesnât fit. Big in the shoulders, short on the arms so itâs either cheap or itâs borrowed. Which would you rather I think?
Rasik picks at his ill-fitting suit.
JyotiYou can tell me. I wonât âmark you downâ.
Rasik doesnât bite.
You have the aura of a shrewd man, Rasik, too shrewd to waste your money on something youâll only wear once.
Rasik thinks...