I, Sharmi, Diamond - Ep 22

22. Diamond (Vairam)

My name is Vairamurthy. Vairam. Watchman. In-charge. Owner. You can call me whatever you want. As far as this house is concerned, I am everything. The original owner lives in America. He comes to India once every two years and throws parties for relatives and friends. He spends a few days with his family. That's it. The rest of the time, it's just me and Subbulakshmi.

Subbulakshmi is the housemaid, a 22-year-old. One day, behind this beach house, amidst the cries of a child, I heard her scream and ran to see four men assaulting her. All of them were young, intoxicated. It was night. I took my torch and the police whistle and ran towards them, blowing the whistle. This police whistle has saved me from many problems. Hearing the whistle, they scattered. Her blouse was torn, and she was disheveled. Seeing a three-year-old girl crying beside her, I brought her home without asking anything. I've seen many such incidents in the dark of the ECR beach houses. But for some reason, I felt a sudden pity for Subbulakshmi.

She's from Thanjavur. A love affair there led her to run away from home and start a life in Pondicherry. Everything was going well—a husband, a child—when suddenly her husband disappeared, leaving her behind. From then on, she lived alone with her child. Daily wage work, financial problems, the search for a livelihood—the pressure became too much. Trusting a local brothel madam, she started working for monthly expenses. When the broker said she could earn more on outstation trips, she traveled to Chennai. Her usual babysitter in the neighborhood fell ill, so when she asked the customer as she was getting into the car, "There's no one to look after my child. Can I bring her along?" the man in the car generously said, "Put the child in the back." She was happy thinking it would be a peaceful journey to Chennai. The reason for putting the child in the back was different. Subbulakshmi had to lean over the driver every two hours.

As they passed Mahabalipuram, four more people got into the vehicle, and she became a little scared. They were all drunk. Subbulakshmi became more afraid as they passed the child around. "You said it would be just one person?" she said meekly. "You said you were coming alone, not with a child," he scoffed. What followed was chaos. When she refused, they parked the vehicle behind a dark bungalow, and all four of them jumped on her at once. She screamed in fear, and seeing that, the child, who was half-asleep, woke up and started crying. That's when I, Vairam, intervened with the torch and the whole incident.

She didn't sleep all night. She hugged her child and kept sobbing. In the morning, I went to buy something for her and the child to eat. By the time I returned, she had mopped and cleaned the entire ground floor of the house. I gave her idlis and pongal. They ate without saying anything. I gave her a dress from the clothes left behind by the party guests. It fit her well. "Can you give me a hundred rupees? I don't have a single penny to go back to my village," she said, bursting into tears. I waited until she finished crying. "Will you stay here and work?" I asked.

She looked up in surprise. "Should I vacate my house and come?" she asked. "Come," I said, giving her five hundred rupees. She came a little closer and said, "I'll come back. If you don't believe me, do you want to... you know?" Tears welled up in her eyes. "Go and come back," I said, and sent her away.

The very next day, she returned with a small bag. Since then, she's been with me. I told the owner that I had hired a housekeeper and arranged her salary. When the owner asked if the salary was too high, I said, "It's relatively easy to maintain a house with people around. An empty house will decay. Dust accumulates very easily in unused places. Slowly, the old smell enters the house and slowly turns into the old itself. Like unused human minds."

I knew about renting out neighboring houses for parties but remained silent. One day, the owner called from America and asked me to arrange a party for his friends. That party was a very sophisticated one—eight people, men and women. All of them were young. Among them was a middle-aged man without a partner, and they said the party was for him. Soft music was played. Food was ordered from a nearby hotel, and within minutes of starting to drink, everyone paired up and went into the rooms. Only the middle-aged man drank quietly. The night passed without me understanding who the party was for. When they left, the tips they gave were equivalent to a month's salary, and I became tempted.

But I've heard from people in other rental party houses that they face many problems. Neighboring house owners file police complaints. Nuisance. Local people's kangaroo courts. Cuts. They have to deal with many problems. Also, because many houses are ready to rent out for parties, competition has increased, and income has decreased, they complained.

Thinking about all this, I decided to rent out occasionally, and only to very few people, with conditions. The first customer was sent by the owner. The specialty of my bungalow is that at least ten cars can be parked inside. Also, I had many conditions. The music shouldn't be too loud. No crowds. It should be quiet. Liquor and food should only come through me. I put forward many such demands. Those who came here started to like the peace and security they got with these conditions, and they gradually introduced their friends. I started getting party orders for at least twenty days a month. Thinking that the owner might find out later, I started crediting their accounts as if they were asking for one party every ten days, and thus, I became honest.

Subbulakshmi is a good cook. She's the queen of village-style cooking. After coming here, her life also became a bit queenly. Those who tasted her food sometimes wanted to taste her too. They would tell me. I would say she's not like that. I gave her a safe place, but I never wanted to control her. I'm not that good either. Interest increases in anything that's not easily available in the world. The price goes up. When the interest becomes obsessive, demand increases, and there's competition. I believe I have the ability to reap that. As far as this house is concerned, I am the king of everything.

As if she didn't know anything, I would ask her to bring and take food from time to time. Intoxicated, with an obsession to have her, if the woman brought along was a professional, the man who saw Subbulakshmi lying down after drinking wouldn't be able to sleep. I would build up a story that I had talked to her for almost an hour and convinced her, and send her away. I would get ten thousand rupees. When I gave her the whole amount for the first time, she cried, "So much money? I struggled for five hundred or a thousand for the same work." "If you sleep for money, you're a whore. But where and with whom you sleep is important," I said.

I never asked for a cut from her earnings. She was never in a "always ready" state. Many times, she would just be a maid or a cook. Until now, I haven't had any love or lust for Subbulakshmi. I don't know why. I only have immense affection for her daughter, Devi.

After all the expenses of party rentals, food, medicine, etc., I was left with forty to fifty thousand rupees a month, excluding my salary. The reason for that was the many conditions I mentioned earlier. No outside disturbances. When I told Sharmi about the many conditions and said I would give the place if it was okay, she said, "Nude party. Very secretive. Within ten people. Double rate. You can earn in three parties what you earn by conducting ten parties a month. And take care of me too."

I know Sharmi well. She brings people to many parties. Occasionally, she also participates. Mostly, she sits on the balcony at night, smoking or drinking, looking blankly. Mostly, I don't sleep on party nights, so whenever I get a chance to observe her, I give her a friendly smile and ask from there if she wants to smoke the stuff I have. Sometimes, she has good stuff. I've smoked it. We've talked a lot. But I always feel like she has a sense of deceit. But I want to do business discreetly. Her idea was convenient for that. This is the third nude party happening in my house.

The first time it happened, I was a little shocked. All of them were rich women, young women. Beyond the intoxication, their sexual desire was heating up. Subbulakshmi also went to serve food and came back with a pale face. "Why are they doing this?" she asked in surprise. Her voice was like a breath. That night, for the first time, I had sex with her.