The Bangali Murgi [Chapter Three]

 As Dania picked up her bag and walked out of the class she felt as if her transformation was complete. She was now a complete Bangali Murgi. Standing for 45 minutes holding your ears isn't something you would be made to do in Pakistan. After this I won't be accepted into the Pakistani society anymore. She could not walk straight. Her bottom felt funny. She went straight to her car and sat. This is the time she accepted the fact that she was a Bangali Murgi from now and this was her life from now on. She should embrace it. She should have this relationship with her ears now. She must not feel any embarrassment taking ear punishments anymore. But was it as simple as she thinks it is. She decided that she will now go to the house and say some word in Urdu, and before Rehana asks her to hold her ears and say sorry, she would do it on her own. In this way she could tell herself that she has accepted her Bengali-ness.





Right when she arrived at her home, she went straight to Rehana, greeted her and then said a word in Urdu. Without anything, she held her ears and said,"Sorry, Ammoo.". This time she did not leave them. In that moment something happened. She felt like an outsider. She did not feel a Bengali at all. She felt like she shouldn't have held her ears. The Bengali-ness is better imposed on her rather than she taking it on. She felt like a Pakistani again. Her body felt like it was not made to do all this stuff. She left her ears instantly. Rehana did not punish her as she had warned before, "I am letting you go this time. Go to your room and get some rest."

No, I am a Pakistani.
I am not made for this.
I will never be this. This Bangali Murgi.
I am not here to hold ears or become murga.
I am the beautiful girl I was in Pakistan. 
I have a good social value. I am not a Bangali Murgi.

 Now she was in a constant internal battle. She had tried to embrace the Bangali Murgi part, but now her Pakistani side had fought back ferociously. Sometimes she felt like a Bangali Murgi again. She felt like her legs should bend, her hands should come around and take her ears. But sometimes she felt the whole idea was outrageous and no one should know what she is going through. Next time I speak in Urdu or English, I will not apologize to Rehana by holding my ears, and not take the punishment she gives as well.

Sometimes she felt really curious how Rehana would punish her and she really felt like holding her ears in front of Rehana.
Who am I?

With this constant struggle within her, Dania went through another event which made her even more repugnant. She was talking on the phone with her friend in the living room. As soon as the call ended, Dania's ear was taken by someone from behind.  She hadn't noticed Rehana coming into the hall. "You spoke in English."
Dania adjusted her body position so that Rehana was now in front of her. Dania could not think what to say. Her ear was in someone else's hand. This was even more loathing than holding your own ears. Her Pakistani side reacted at once, and she felt even more disgust. Rehana wasn't pulling or twisting her ear, she had just caught it. Finally, Dania conjured up something to say.

"But she is my friend, she speaks in English more than Bengali." Dania protested.
"Where are you standing?" Rehana pulled her ear now, a bit to the side and down.
"In my house."
"Yes, and what are the rules in this house about language?" Rehana asked, wriggling her ear again.
"I can only speak Bengali." Dania said. By now she just wanted the whole thing to end. She wasn't enjoying it a bit. So much for being a Bangali Murgi.
"How should I punish you?"
"I don't know. Please forgive me. I will not do it again."
"No, you must be punished this time. Tell me how should I punish you, only then I will leave your ear."
After a bit more apologizing and Rehana's insistence, Dania blurted out,"Make me hold my ears and stand for a few minutes."
Finally her ear was left and she was made to stand against a wall holding her ears. It was really different doing it in the house. Maybe because her Bangali Murgi had come out now. She started to enjoy it. She even felt that Rehana should have held and pulled her ear more. Rehana was sitting on the sofa. After about 5 minutes, the maid Batool called out, "Apa, where have you kept the clothes."
Then suddenly Dania realized that if her maid sees her she would feel humiliated. Her Pakistani side triggered again. She has always been bossy towards Batool. Batool was about her age. If she sees Dania standing like this, it would destroy her. Luckily, Rehana answered her and Batool did not come into the living room. But the rest of the punishment Dania did not enjoy as her Pakistani side had overcome now.

Dania was now struggling with her studies, which meant she needed a tutor for most of her subjects. Rehana found a tutor, Shipla teacher in the neighborhood. Shipla taught about 8 people at a time. She made the students sit in a semi-circle on the floor, each with a floor desk of their own. Dania had tuition for all her subjects except Bengali. Bengali was being taught by Salma. So she now had 2 tuition teachers. Right after she came home from school she had to go straight to Shipla teacher's tuition for 2 hours. Sometimes because of traffic, she got home late so she had to go to the tuition wearing her school uniform only. When she got back home at 5, she would rest a little and at 6 Salma came to teach her Bengali for more than a half hour.

In school, she was once again punished by the PE teacher. The PE teacher got mad and made all the girls of class 9 stand in the corridor holding their ears for the whole PE class. The first 10 minutes were really tough for Dania, but later her Bangali Murgi came on. Then she enjoyed the whole experience. But after the punishment was over, her Pakistani side came back and she started hating herself.

After a week, Shipla teacher's tuition got tougher. It was in Shipla teacher's tuition that Dania experienced her first Uthak baithak. Doing 40 uthak baithaks was like climbing a mountain. As if holding ears was easy enough. With her Pakistani side triggered, it was a disgusting and revolting experience. She was the eldest in tuition, as no other girl in the tuition was above class 7.
It was Shipla teacher who gave her the first kneeling down punishment as well. Kneeling down was not embarrassing at all, but more painful.
The only punishment left was murga. But by the way things were, Dania knew getting murga punishment was impossible. No one in the school is punished that way, no one in tuition in punished that way, and Salma never punishes. And by the lenient attitude of Rehana, she believed she will never be punished this way.

She received a slap from Salma the other day. It wasn't a friendly slap. It was a tight painful slap.
Accept the Bangali Murgi or fight it, she knew she has to go through all these experiences.
Salma became very strict with her as Dania was performing very poorly with her written Bengali.
There were only 2 months left for the term to end, after that she would have to take Bengali classes in school to pass the class. Dania felt she wouldn't be able to cope with it. This agitated Salma and she became very strict. Face slaps and ear pulling became a common thing.
But once Dania was feeling so lazy and doing so many mistakes that Salma lost her temper.

"TRANSLATE THIS PARAGRAPH PROPERLY, WARNA MURGA BANAI DEBO TUMKA, AIK DUM MURGA!!"

 Dania could not believe the words and the tone of Salma. Her hands started trembling. She had to translate a whole paragraph properly otherwise she would be made murga. She started writing. Right after translating the first sentence she knew she was doomed. She had to linger as much as possible. Maybe Salma's anger would abate. But only after 5 minutes, Salma snatched the notebook from her to read what she had written.

"Become murga before I slap you."
Dania did not understand what to do. She remained seated and did not do anything.
"MURGA BANO!!!"
Then an idea struck her. "I don't know how to become murga."
Salma pulled her by the ear and made her stand in front of her. Then told her how to do it. Now she had no other choice but to become.
Finally. There it was. Her body as murga. A Bangali Murgi. I am a Bangali Murgi.
Now there is no point in fighting it.
But this wasn't a cakewalk. Her body started paining only after 1 minute. Holding the ears was so difficult as well.

God! who made this punishment.
As if holding the ears wasn't embarrassing enough somebody had to come up with this way of holding ears. Your hands tunneling under your thighs to hold the ears.
Genius way of humiliation.

Just as Dania was tightening her loose grip on her ears, Batool came into the room with tea for Salma.
Batool looked at Dania with amusement.
Dania could not think straight.

The master is in murga position in her own home, and the maid is freely walking around. What the fuck. I shouldn't be humiliated in front of the maid like this.

But what could she do. She could only sit as a murga while Batool kept the tea on the table and walked out smiling.

 I would rather rather be the maid now, than be her master in the murga position.

If Dania had seen her smile, she would have shrunk with humiliation, if she hadn't already. All her ego, all her bossiness, felt small now.


[Chapter Four to come]