Out of Print Workshop at MAP: 'Desert Cat and the Oasis' by Niveditha Prasad

Desert Cat and the Oasis

Niveditha Prasad

The dry, dry terrain unfolded for miles outside the window. There was much to take in from the view. There was the pond of a thousand lotuses that my husband had built, eastern-style domes made using techniques from the West and sculptures from the South. It all seemed so banal now. Beyond the pond, across the high walls, was the serpentine road. On cooler afternoons, there would be traffic. Carriages rolled by, carrying the dust of the world with them. That is why I began to sit by the window habitually: to see the carriages, count them one by one, to let a dust storm blow in through the windows and let it take me away with it, to let myself be dust that belongs to nothing, not even this fortress.

Sometimes at night, I could hear the faint sound of song from the road. I would lie awake, watching the palace lights dance on the walls, hoping, praying that some great shadow from far away would make pattern into my room. It never did. I would lie awake instead, catching some stray words from these road songs: a lover left behind, a lover turned traitor, anthems to strange gods, and long ballads about the countryside. Songs about the Some Other Place. 

I was bored of the view. I walked from one window to the next, peering out at the frangipani tree that was now within eyeshot. On happier days, the cat would disappear from the palace, only to be found napping on the tree she was named after. But Champa was not there today. She had gone missing five days ago. Longer than usual. The entire household had been ordered to search for Champa the Diamond-eyed. I had sent offerings to be made at all the temples in the city for her return. My pleadings to the gods had now turned into curses.

Just then, the young girl arrived bearing yet another package. Gifts from the husband: a ring of lapis lazuli, silk, and a gold girdle to go with it. I ran my hand over the fabric. It was soft, so soft that I could thread the ring with it. Champa would have liked to nap on it. But she wasn't there today and I had no use for the silk. I tossed it aside and gestured to the girl to take them away. She could have them. How did it matter, I had already given away so many of my gifts. As always, the girl bowed with gratitude. As she was leaving, she said, ‘Oh, the cat is back. The other women saw her sauntering into your room just now.’

Finally! I hurriedly made my way into the inner chamber. The hallway to the chamber was lined with large portraits of the forefathers and hard-won trophies. But the gallery also turned darker and darker with each step, the windows became progressively smaller, and the doors heavier. If it weren't for Champa's surprise arrival, I would not venture into the deeper parts of the apartment so early in the day.

How dare that wretched creature stay away for so long. Did I not love her, care for her, provide for her? Everything that a cat could possibly hope for in her life, this palace had it. And yet, she had begun to slip away regularly. Her clandestine comings and goings were entirely a mystery. One time, she returned with a gash across her pretty face. One of those urchin-cats near the temple must have challenged her to a combat and then cut her to size. Any sensible feline would have learnt about the dangers of the world beyond and surrendered absolutely to the pleasures of home. But not my Champa. A week later, she disappeared at night and only returned the next evening. 

As I entered the room, I saw the Diamond-eyed girl nestled against the foot of the bed. I picked her up gently even as I sharpened my voice to chide her saying, ‘Why have you chosen to return now, Your Highness?’ She purred, but not quite apologetically. Freeing herself from my hands, she strutted her way back to the bed, snuck in below, emerging from it moments later with something in her mouth. It was a coarse piece of cloth, yellow like her and frayed all around the edges. It was almost a rag but Champa had evidently taken a fancy to it. She placed it on my lap as if making an offering, curled into my body, and resumed lounging.

 

There was a thunderclap. The sound of rain filled the room. I closed my eyes and pressed the cloth tightly to my face – hoping, praying that it would take me into the world where my cat had been. 

Out of Print Workshop at MAP: 'Loss of Physics' by Ashwin Dev Bhatt

Loss of Physics

Ashwin Dev Bhat

‘I'm going to place a glass diamond on a garden space in the workshop,’ I announced. Before I did, Suresh, my neighbour to my left, who was holding on to the cards that I gave him to draft, stared, lost in thought. I had taken a liking to playing Mille Fiori and was grateful to know someone who owned a copy of it. They say it's easier to make friends around your hobbies than to introduce your hobbies to your friends. That's how I met Robin a few years ago. Over time, he had begun inviting us over to his place, which is where I was right now. 

I glanced over at Cherry the cat who was rubbing his head back and forth, over and over again on Suresh, liberally applying his scent all over the human forearm, even as Suresh continued to be thinking. It was nice to see Cherry and Suresh going back to being buddies only a week after Cherry scratched Suresh until he bled, because Suresh for picked him up.

‘Does going to the garden apply a negative multiplier from the outdoors?’ Suresh asked, still thinking about the game.

A bigger question mark lumbered over my head. Cherry had somehow emerged out of a kitchen that had its floor blanketed by flour as white as snow, without leaving any imprints. Now, I've heard that cats are liquid, but they are not airborne, are they?

‘Stop, we need to preserve the scene of crime!’ I had yelled at Robin, who seemed to be amused and intrigued. Maybe he was hoping that Cherry was special; don't all cat owners think that?

As the player sitting to the left of Robin, I was handed the choice of three cards.

‘This game works a lot better with four players,’ Robin said as he bobbed his head.

‘Where did your brother vanish?’ asked Suresh.

Robin and I struggled in unison, not wanting to ponder over another mystery. Presently, the house bell screamed over our conversation, and Robin went over to console it.

‘Did you get another bag of flour already?’ I asked.

‘It's some special purpose, high-protein flour thingy. It's on sale now.’

‘It's quite expensive. I guess he had to get a replacement sooner or later.’

Coming back to the issue at hand, I considered the possibilities. Did Cherry somehow trigger the bag spilling over and causing a mess? I did see that it was placed on the far side of the kitchen, on the shelf perhaps. Cats love knocking things off shelves. I played my turn, got up, and walked over to observe the scene once again. 

‘That's quite a big bag that I had; is all of it on the floor?’ Robin joined me, and he was right. There seemed to be a discrepancy somewhere.

‘What, you don't think the cat ate it, do you?’ I joked. Even if all or some of it was on the floor, did Cherry just leap over it all like an Olympian? That would definitely beat the world record for long jump. I turned back to see Cherry walking all over Suresh. Yeah, for some reason, I don't think this cat would care too much about some stuff on the floor.

‘I am done, we can clean this all up,’ I said, resigned, and walked over to pick up the bag of flour fallen beneath the kitchen sink, that was filled to the brim with dirty dishes, and a fastened window above, big enough for a person to go through. The kitchen was shaped like a periscope, so the sink out of sight while looking in from the hallway. I noticed several pieces of lumps of dough, looking like a bit of dried baking debris from an experiment gone wrong. Most curious.

Presently, the doorbell rang once again, and Robin's vanished brother made an appearance.

‘Where were you, Ravi?’ Robin questioned.

‘Don't worry about it, I'm not feeling too well.’ Ravi rushed over to his room.

I could see him trying to cover a part of his forearm peppered with hints of scratches. That was definitely new. Robin seemed to have noticed it, too.

I paused for a long while before I was woken up with a shake.

‘What happened there?’ Robin had his hands on my shoulder.

‘I think I figured it out. You see how the kitchen window opens outward into the hallway and is secured from the inside by a simple, well-oiled horizontal slide bolt? The culprit needed a mixture of flour and water, that he turned into dough as if to make chapati, but instead, he turned it into a thin, long rope. The culprit took the middle of this rope and looped it over the sliding bolt lock. They then went outside, taking the two ends through the gap under the window, and pulled it shut. This dragged the bolt across the window, locking it from the inside, unspooled from the lock, and slithered out.’

‘And you got all of that from...?’ Robin wore a puzzled expression.

‘I don't think you've been doing any cooking, have you?’ I retorted. ‘Looks like Cherry scratched your brother, possibly when he tried to frame him for the mess. Startled, Ravi must have simply chucked him over everything, making it seem as if Cherry had floated over. I guess we'll find out once Ravi decides to come out.’

‘Go easy on him.’

‘Yeah. He must have truly regretted it if he hatched a master plan like this.’ ‘We never bothered to check indoors.

Robin knelt over and scratched Cherry's chin. ‘I guess cats can't defy the laws of physics after all.’