NOTE: All characters and venues are totally fictional; any semblance to real persons or places is merely coincidental.
Synopsis: Life of Benny Shah and Kamla in the USA. How they meet Oksana in Michigan. A new character is introduced.
Munni's LIA - Episode 13
Benny's Doll and her Family
Benny's Doll, Kamla Shah, had a much better time in America than her two brothers and sister-in-laws. Benny did most of her chores in the motels. Benny took her to Kentucky Fried Chicken and taught her to eat meat. Then he took her to steak houses once in a while when he installed a garage door opener, water heater or did some plumbing for someone and got cash. He made her study and get her GED in America. Then he wanted her to attend american college; but then she got pregnant with Sheila. After Sheila was born, she went to college and got her degree; but continued to work with the family in the motels. She spoke much better English than others in the family and she looked pretty. When the family improved one of their best properties near Jackson, they let her manage it. She had nice business clothes and worked in the front desk and office, and learned to speak well with customers. Benny, Sheila and the hired help worked at all the dirty chores.
Their life improved a lot as Benny bought a few houses, fixed them up and sold. All his experiences in construction and the easy availability of DIY stuff in America made him and his doll quite wealthy. Eventually they gave up the hotel to one of their nephews; after all, the property was owned by the Patels. Then Benny bought a convenience store in Detroit and relocated. Sheila stayed back and went to college in Mississippi; she came to Detroit only for holidays and occasional summers.
After their move, Kamla worked as a realtor; Benny bought, fixed and sold houses and did some remodeling jobs. In the years after 1994, their business took off. Benny was able to sell houses with minimal fix-ups. Kamla quit working in 2005, and devoted her life to watching Hindi Movies, visiting local friends, shopping and chatting with people in the gujarati community of Detroit. Benny slowed down to managing the few rental properties in Ann Arbor and Detroit. He still owned the store and hired part-time workers. While Kamla drove her BMW sedan, Benny drove his Ford Econovan with all his bric-a-brac DIY stuff in the back clanking away.
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Oksana came to Benny's shop one January night just before closing time. She had no jacket for the cold weather, and staggered in like a drunk. And then, she collapsed on the floor. Benny thought one of the street girls had some trouble with a customer or a pimp. When he went near and turned her over, she was bloody all over her face and in pain. Benny moved her and stretched her out just where she had collapsed and called 911 for an ambulance and police; within five minutes, he heard the sirens. The police took his statement; the ambulance guys put her on a gurney and wheeled her out. The police asked him to close shop and come with them. It was obvious to Benny that he was going to be stuck in the police station for the night and probably the blood on his own shirt could be an additional problem. He called Kamla and asked her to inform Kiran, their family friend and attorney in all their real estate business. Around midnight, Kiran came to the police station and saw Benny sitting on a bench in the waiting area. Kiran was happy that they hadn't put Benny in a locked room.
"hello uncle", he said,"what happened?".
Benny looked up and was glad to see Kiran:"I dunno….some poor white girl….. all beaten up..comes and starts to bleed in my shop…..I called 911…"
"I'll take care of it…", said Kiran and went up to the main duty desk. After about 20 minutes, Kiran took Benny with him in his car.
"let us go to the emergency room….must be the hospital nearby…here…", said Benny
So they went…..Benny identified one of the young cops in the ER lobby that had come to the shop earlier that night: "….it is him…over there…that is one of them who came to the shop"
Kiran and Benny walked over to him; Kiran asked,"…did the girl come around and talk ?"
"….it is a domestic…", the cop said,"…husband beat her up….and she got away……we sent a squad to pick him up….thanks to this gentleman…..she got here to the hospital…."
"….is she talking ?", Benny wanted to know.
"…no..no…she is up…but could only write her address on a paper…..not talking yet…"
Kiran was usually not an ambulance chaser, but he figured…here is a case that was already on his lap….he wondered if the husband was a rich guy.
The next day they both came back; this time they brought along Kamla. She was curious, …may be a bit nosey. On that day they learnt more about the girl, Oksana Olander. She was able to speak a little. They had done something within her mouth. She had bandages over one eye and the other eye was partially closed up with a welt. Some trouble with her jaw; but no bones broken.
When Kamla learnt that Oksana was an immigrant and was being treated cruelly by a native, she felt a kindred bond. When discharged, Kamla took her home: She didn't want Oksana go to a half-way house for abused women. Kiran worked on the legal issues. He brought papers for Oksana to sign, Kamla fed her soup, juices and made her rest and watch Hindi movies. It was almost like Kamla had acquired a new child. The fair skinned Kamla even looked like an older relative. Oksana had brown hair and green eyes. Kamla gave Oksana some of her old indian outfits to wear as they lounged in the family room to watch TV or chat. Kamla learnt about the hindi movie craze in Russia and how Bachchan and the Khans are already well known, even in far away Novosibirsk; and how little girls got together in sleep-overs and danced bollywood dances on their beds.
The first few nights when Oksana woke up in the middle of the night, she thought her american husband had fatally beaten her, she had gone to heaven and a nice indian lady gave her food, clothing, clean room and then showed her movies. After a few minutes, when she realized that she was still in America, she quietly sobbed and wondered what will become of her after the nice indian people asked her to leave.
Kiran got conditions removed from Oksana's green card, and under court supervision, recovered some of oksana's personal effects , got a restraining order on her husband and filed papers for the divorce. He also got a civil settlement for Oksana. Oksana wondered why she had not been asked to leave even after several weeks. Her answers came. In a sombre dinner table meeting, Benny and Kamla asked her to stay with them, get better, and go to community college. Then, Benny took her to a bank and opened an account for her and put the settlement money in that. When Oksana hugged Benny right there in the bank and cried, Benny tapped her shoulder, shifted uncomfortably saying, " ok..ok…ok " and explained to the nearest teller,"…..family difficulties….…" and walked her out of the bank. Benny called her OK, and Kamla called her "Ana". Oksana called them Benny and Kamla. They became a family: a runaway Telugu, an African-Gujarati and a Russian from Novosibirsk, Siberia.
At home, Kamla treated Oksana like a daughter, taught her how to make thin rotis and subjis. After a few weeks, Oksana asked Benny if she could work at his store. And she got the job. She worked in the shop during the evenings and went to classes in a community college. When Kamla took her to the desi street stores or to the movies, they looked like mother and daughter; both spoke English with accents, Kamla's was sharp and african and Oksana's was like that of Arianna Huffington. They laughed in the movies together and held hands in the shopping street. The desis always gave this pair confused looks. One of Kamla's friends in the gujarati community had exclaimed,"…such beautiful face, tall and green eyes…..your daughter Ana…when she marries she'd surely have a baby like Aiswarya Rai..". Kamla began to watch DVD movies less frequently, and went out with Oksana more often…..just to show off!!
When Sheila came to visit her parents after a long break, Oksana had been in their home already for more than six months. Sheila was happy to see the changes in her parents. Kamla was happier, more energetic and proud of her new daughter. Sheila found Benny relating stories of his "OK" with such happiness and excitement. Benny had discovered he could take Oksana hunting during the Michigan deer hunting season. For Oksana, going hunting with Benny was like being at home, in Siberia once again. They went out in the cold and snow, the usual deer hunting season, sat in their hunting shack or tree stand wearing orange hooded jackets, talked about their respective old countries, and shared vodka. Oksana had found the father she had often dreamed of, the man she could talk anything with, the man who would be kind and protective, the man who would take her hunting and tell her exotic stories, etc., in the package of Benny. Benny was amazed how well she dressed a deer carcass, and learnt to make venison sausages like they did in Siberia. Sheila always remembered to send Christmas gifts for Ana as well, when she was not coming home for the holidays herself.
Oksana had occasionally talked to Kamla about how indians got married by arrangement and with parents' help. Though Kamla didn't tell Oksana about how she ended up with Benny, she told the Russian about how it is possible to have a happy arranged marriage so long as people are civil to each other and had no serious money and health problems. Oksana talked to Benny when they sat in their hunting stand and told him about her chats with Kamla. Benny's idea about marriage was simple, he told her:"get a nice guy, who worked hard, who is kind, who will help you and then, you be nice, work hard, be kind and help him". Oksana thought about that, and told Benny that the only guy like that she knew was pretty old and already taken. Benny laughed, and told her," may be Kamla and I can find you someone young". Oksana had taken that as a promise.
Kamla hadn't any strong bonds with Sheila, her own child. Sheila was a child raised in a motel collective, much like in a kibbutz. The teen mother Kamla nursed the baby, then handed her over to the sister-in-laws and went off to classes. Sheila grew up with six other cousins. When they got older, everyone worked in the motels of the Patel Collective. And eventually Sheila graduated from high school, went off to college and Kamla had moved to Michigan. After college and medical school, Sheila had gone to the other end of the country, to California. But now, finally, Kamla had her own child, someone she can watch hindi movies with, go shopping, try out fashions at home, gossip, laugh and be together.
Once in a while, Oksana sat, zonked out with a distant look, brooded and sighed with a deep longing for something in Russia. Kamla could feel her pain; she too wanted to go back and skip rope bare footed, between the rows and rows of coffee plants in the old backyard in Kampala, climb mango trees or race up the hill on her bicycle and freewheel down the hill to the temple where she had got married.
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