The beggars chatted for some time and then suddenly left without paying the bill.

When Asrar went to pay his bill, he asked the boy at the counter, ‘You allow beggars to sit here too?’

The boy replied, ‘No. Not at all, who said so?’

Asrar pointed at the table and said, ‘They were sitting right here …’

‘Abhe! They were not beggars. One of them heads the prayers at the mosque nearby and the other was the baangi.’

He came out of the restaurant scratching his head.

He proceeded towards Shanti’s building. Shanti stood at the door. They shook hands and talked for a few minutes. He told her that he had come to inquire about her well-being. Shanti was pleased. She insisted they have a cup of tea and Asrar agreed. Asrar gave the packet of sweets to her. Shanti asked, ‘Why? Are you getting married?’

Asrar softly tapped her forehead and said, ‘My salary has increased again. I’ll invite you when I get married.’

Shanti laughed.

When he was leaving, Madhuri said, ‘Ask your friend if he still remembers me. He hasn’t come around for a long time.’

Asrar nodded and turned towards the stairs.

On reaching the kholi, he freshened up and rested for a while. Mohammad Ali had gone out with Qasim Dalvi. Saleem Ghare and Mukhtar Thakur had gone to the cinema. Suleiman Vanu had gone to visit a relative. There were two boys in the kholi with whom Asrar only had formal interactions. One of them was listening to film songs over the radio, while the other was reading a book. Asrar had not opened the box that Hina had given him yet. He thought that it could be an attar bottle as Hina’s father was a perfumer. He kept the box aside and thought that he would open it when Mohammad Ali returned. If it was a perfume bottle, he would give it to Mohammad Ali. Asrar took out a box from his attaché case and started eating chiwda. A song from the film Bazaar played on the radio:

Dikhai diye yun ke bekhud kiya,

Hame aap se bhi juda kar chale.

Jabin sajda karte hi karte gai,

Haq-e-bandagi ham ada kar chale.

I lost myself seeing you,

You took away everything, including myself.

I kept praying continuously,

Paid off the debt of devotion.

He only listened to the first two couplets, after which he was lost in another world. The picture of Hina drenched at Haji Ali came back to him. The song ended and at the same time Mohammad Ali and Qasim Dalvi returned. They talked about work for a while. Asrar seemed lost. Probably, he was still under the spell of the song. Mohammad Ali saw the box kept next to Asrar. He guessed Hina had given Asrar a gift. He asked, ‘Abhe, what’s in the box?’

‘You open and see,’ Asrar said.