Episode 4: Of a Parsi Massacre

Episode 4: Of a Parsi Massacre

The renaissance of Rahim Khan was momentary. As he and his daughter took rebirth below a Parsi shelter, the clouds of despair circled above that Parsi abode. Not a day longer had Rahim’s ear gone mad hearing a confused Gujarati or should one say confused English, did the Muslims in his provinces find out that he had been adopted by a Parsi. The only fact that weighed in his favor was that Parsi provinces are enclosed chambers where they boast of terrific unity just like Muslims.

Karl Sethna’s residence unlike his workplace was a place hidden. So, it took an entire clan of Muslims beating up Karl, burning his Bawa’s shack (and destroying the humble refrigerator) to get the information on the location but Karl was a tough man and it didn’t dither him from protecting the will of his Muslim friend to stay in India. He was bruised and hospitalized. But in that pain Karl felt a strange happiness that he kept his residence a secret. He thought that all the angst that the Muslims had against Rahim would suffice in the damages to his shack and his bruises, but he was unaware that to search for Kafirs and to punish them had become their daily chores. Hindus too were lurking in the shadows of Bombay’s tender night in a hope that if Muslims should fail to find Rahim, they would find him somehow and kick him out. So you get the whole point! Muslims and Hindus fight for lame issues (In this case both parties are doing the same… then why violence?)

People knew that the Parsis live in Valkeshwar but they had no ideas so as to where Karl lived.

Apparently, Karl also used to be good at typewriter and worked for a wealthy man Mr.Amarnath at Embassy. Karl was poor with no steady shelter over his head and thus lived on the mercy of Mr.Amarnath.

Mr. Amarnath had a sea-facing Bungalow in Valkeshwar. And it was some feet above the ground level. There used to be an old storage place below the bungalow which was sea-facing and perhaps suffered a lot when high tides would come. So he had removed all his belongings from that place and shifted it elsewhere. Once it was empty, he offered Karl and his family to live in that place. Thus Karl lived in a tiny sea-facing storage place with his wife and Marian. The Sethnas had than grown accustomed to times and tides anyways. So, if a hungry tide came to gobble them up, they knew it beforehand and would find their shelter above somewhere in the bungalow’s cellar.

But the point was that only some Parsis living in Valkeshwar knew of that place.

And only a Parsi could have led the Muslims to his place on that fateful night.

It was that one fateful night which set the course to Alibag…

On that fateful night when only a Parsi could have betrayed another Parsi and revealed his residence, Karl was sleeping in the hospital.

Apparently, the Muslims were so pissed off with the hide and seek games of Rahim Khan that they burnt him alive and raped his daughter. Needless to say that Karl’s wife was also killed when she tried to save her family. But a whisker of hope shined when he heard that Marian was missing.

Later they found out that Marian was on the beach collecting precious little sea-shells while the massacre happened.  Karl was relieved at seeing the innocent eyes of his daughter which were filled with tears of blood.

But by that time he had absolutely lost trust over his fellow Parsis.

Now to cut the long story short according to the traditional Parsi customs, a Parsi should marry a Parsi. But who to give Marian to, when Karl didn’t trust anyone?

So Karl decided to marry his own daughter to his sister’s son Farooq- A decision which had planted its seeds since Marian’s childhood. Karl died after their marriage and his death was the final nail into the nuptial’s marriage (coffin). And then onwards began a tale/marriage full of sorrows.