The people living in the neighbourhood had returned to their homes much earlier than usual. The men who used to gather every day at Mok Min’s shop and the Chinese Club had also returned home. Looking at the armed police guarding the entrance, they went inside their houses. They were worried now.

No one knew what was happening.

Evening set in. Together with the cold and the mist, a grim fear hung over the lanes of Cheenapatti.

Sixteen

Sixteen

Now the borders lay open.

The Indian Army had fled, accepting their defeat. There was no resistance left.

People were sitting silently in their houses. Nobody knew why the armed police were guarding the lanes of Cheenapatti and why they were not allowing anybody to go out. Everyone was listening to the news over the radio on low volume. It was the news of India’s defeat.

Yiu Yi was busy in the kitchen, preparing the evening meal with her grandmother. Her mother was yet to return from Ledo. In between her tasks, Yiu Yi went to Yunlin’s room to see if she wanted anything. Yunlin was fast asleep with the baby beside her. Her father and grandfather were sipping tea in the front room, while her brothers were studying in their own rooms. The atmosphere became serene with the smell of incense lit before the altar.

Having finished her work in the kitchen, Yiu Yi came to Yunlin’s room to play with the doll that Robin had given her. Right at that moment they heard someone striking on the front door with a baton. Startled, Yunlin got up and held her baby. ‘Maa is back,’ Yiu Yi ran to open the front door.

‘Yiu Yi! Wait!’ her father said in a hushed voice.

Yiu Yi stopped and looked at her father.

‘Go inside,’ he said.

‘Hey, open the door,’ someone shouted in a harsh voice, hitting the door again. Yiu Yi’s father looked out of the window. A group of policemen were standing in the dark.

‘Open the door!’

His hands shaking, Yiu Yi’s father opened the door. Instantly, without waiting to be invited in, an officer in civil clothes entered the house. He was followed by three armed policemen and another officer in plain clothes.

‘Namaste,’ Yiu Yi’s father greeted them with folded hands. Yiu Yi’s grandparents stood beside him in trepidation.

The officer didn’t reciprocate the greeting. Looking around, he said gravely, ‘Call everyone to this room.’

‘What happened, sahab?’ Yiu Yi’s father asked meekly.

‘We have orders. You will have to leave this place now. For two or three days.’

‘Where do we have to go, sahab?’

‘All the Chinese people are to be collected in one place. Don’t ask questions. Call everyone. Quick. You have ten minutes.’

‘But why, sahab?’

‘We don’t know. Go, go,’ the officer almost pushed Yiu Yi’s father inside.