‘How different would my story be? It’s the same as all the other labourers. I am also one of those poor people whom the contractors tricked into coming to this land. We were tricked by that traitorous contractor, that bloody trafficker. My father was too naive. He trusted the man. He said, “Let’s go to Assam. There is comfort in Assam. We won’t have to suffer from hunger.” Forget about comfort, my father died of cholera on the way. Mother also died, leaving me and my two brothers behind. We only cried in those days. In the coolie line, we barely managed to eat one square meal a day. Eventually my brothers became cowherds and I got a job as a nanny in the bungalow. The memsahab was a kind-hearted woman. She treated me very well. Her complexion was like milk, believe it or not. This cunning old fellow was working as a carpenter in the bungalow then. He seduced me with his fair complexion and married me.’

The room was again filled with laughter. The sadness and incredulity that had engulfed the air a short while ago vanished in the merriment.

It was late afternoon by the time Pulok and his friends finished tea. Cycling together in a row, they all reached Makum. As they went past Cheenapatti lane, they stopped when they saw Yiu Yi.

She had come running out from the lane in a flowery pink frock. Her short, straight hair was tied on either side of her head with pink ribbons, which bobbed with each step. She was holding a jute bag. She stopped when she saw Pulok and the others.

‘How are you, Yiu Yi ache?’ Tung Chin called out.

‘Ugh! Why do you keep calling me ache? I’m still small,’ she tried to sound angry but could not supress her laughter.

‘You are right. This fellow is getting really naughty. Where are you going, Yiu Yi?’ Narayan asked.

‘To Mok Min uncle’s shop.’

Robin was at the back. Noticing him, Yiu Yi glowed.

‘Sipahi dada!’

‘Hey Yiu Yi, what do you call a Sepoy’s bride?’ Tung Chin asked.