Yiu Yi’s uncle had come with his family from Tinsukia. He had married a girl from Shillong who was half-Chinese, half-Khasi. They had six children. Another uncle had come from Silghat with his wife and five children. This uncle had married a girl from the tea garden community. The house was alive with the sounds of the children playing and running around.

Yiu Yi’s father entered the room with a bundle of paper packets. He was a famous carpenter and ran an independent business. The house had been built by his father. He was a famous carpenter too.

Yiu Yi’s grandparents, their three sons and all the other family members sat together near the altar. Her grandfather distributed the clothes that her father had brought. Her grandmother was busy putting money into small red envelopes to give to all the unmarried youngsters the next day.

‘Like every year, let me tell you where we came from,’ Yiu Yi’s grandfather said.

‘We had a house in China a long time ago, didn’t we?’ asked Babu.

‘How do you know this?’ Yiu Yi asked him enthusiastically.

‘I know everything. My papa told me. But my mother’s house was not in China. It was in India – Bilaspur.’

‘Bilaspur?’ Yiu Yi’s brother asked in surprise.

‘Yes, Damodara village in Bilaspur, to be precise. A contractor brought her here. That is why she always cries. She has no one here. She can’t even go back home. She doesn’t remember the address of the village properly.’

‘Why did he bring her here?’ Yiu Yi asked, looking at her aunt’s sad face.

‘I don’t know. Ask my mother.’

Yiu Yi’s grandfather, who was listening to their conversation said, ‘Many years ago, we came here from China. “We” meaning my grandfather came from China – from a place called Canton. His name was Ho Yen. Canton is in South China. We call the place Kwangtung. My grandfather was the slave of a meat seller in Canton. With him was another slave. His name was Ho Han. Do you know who he was? He was Mei Lin’s father’s grandfather – her great-grandfather. They were very close friends. Mei Lin’s great-grandfather was very fond of my grandfather. They were like brothers and went through immense hardship together as slaves.’

‘What is a slave?’

‘A slave is a person who is bought by another.’

‘Bought? Dhet! Can there be people for sale?’ The children laughed in disbelief.

‘Yes. There were human markets in those days. It was from one of these markets that the meat seller bought my grandfather. The meat seller branded his forehead with a hot iron.’

‘My grandmother’s name was Suhagmoni,’ Yiu Yi’s grandfather continued after a brief pause.