The audience gave a mini applause, including Omi. Ish and I were too overfed
to react.
'But there is hope. You know where this hope comes from - Gujarat. We are a
state of businessmen. And you might say a hundred bad things about a
businessman, but you cannot deny that a businessman sees reality. He knows
how the parts add up, how the world works. We won't stand for hypocrisy or
unfairness. That is why, we don't elect the pseudo-secular parties. We are not
communal, we are honest. And if we react, it is because we have been bearing
pain for a long time.'
The audience broke into full applause. I used the break to step out into the
front garden of Parekh-ji's house and sit on an intricately carved swing. Parekh-ji
spoke inside for ten more minutes, inaudible to me. I looked at the stars above
and thought of the man on the velvet cushion. It was strange, I was both
attracted to and repelled by him. He had charisma and lunacy at the same time.
After his speech there were a few more closing mantras, followed by two
bhajans by a couple of priests from Bhuj. Ish came out. 'You here?'
'Can we go home?' I said.
I reached Ishaan's house at 7 p.m. on Tuesday. She sat at her study table. Her
room had the typical girlie look - extra clean, extra cute and extra pink. Stuffed
toys and posters with cheesy messages like 'I am the boss' adorned the walls of
the room. I sat on the chair. Her brown eyes looked at me with full attention. I
couldn't help but notice that her childlike face was in the process of turning into
a beautiful woman's.
'So which areas of maths are you strong in?'
'None really,' she said.
'Algebra?'
'Nope.'
'Trigonometry?'
'Whatever.'
'Calculus?'
She raised her eyebrows as if I had mentioned a horror movie.
'Really?' I said, disturbed at such indifference to my favourite subject.
'Actually, I don't like maths much.'
'Hmmm,' I said and tried to be like a thoughtful professor. 'You don't like it
much or you don't understand a few things and so you don't like it yet? Maths
can be fun you know.'
'Fun?' she said with a disgusted expression.
'Yes.'
She sat up straight and shook her head. 'Let me make myself clear. I positively
hate maths. For me it occupies a place right up there with cockroaches and
lizards. I get disgusted, nauseated, and depressed by it. Between an electric shock
or a maths test, I will choose the former. I heard some people have to walk two
miles to get water in Rajasthan. I would trade my maths problems for that walk,
everyday. Maths is the worst thing ever invented by man. What were they
thinking? Language is too easy, so let's make up some creepy symbols and
manipulate them to haunt every generation of kids. Who cares if sin theta is
different from cos theta? Who wants to know the expansion of the sum of cubes?'