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Authors: Jayanti Tamm
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which caused a great fuss; neither one apologized, but one needed to back down, allowing the other to go forward. Mostdays Isha made sure to beat out Prema's soulful steps and reach Guru first with a concentrated expression of soulful bliss, yet when it was Prema's turn to receive the blessingful fruit, she paused, extending the moment when her eyes locked with Guru's just enough to reassure us that though she was not always first, her devotions were purer. Different in every way, from looks to personality, when it came to marking their position, Prema and Isha were strikingly similar.
Though I adored Prema, and was constantly in awe of her motionless meditation and snappy dress, I also loved Isha. Short and thin, Isha was all angles. She had concave cheekbones, a narrow nose, and small vibrant green eyes with thinly plucked matching eyebrows. Her long red hair swung like a pendulum when she marched up to Guru. Her lack of outgoing friendliness was understood as part of her spiritual advancement. Every once in a while, she noted my sari or complimented my singing, and I beamed proudly.
Both Isha and Prema, Ketan confided, were Alo's sworn enemies. Alo resented the two young women who had taken over her house and her relationship with Guru. Though they had apartments of their own, only blocks away, they were Guru's cooks, drivers, secretaries, maids, caretakers, and confidantes and were always at his side. Alo insisted Guru banish both Isha and Prema, but for Guru, this was not up for negotiation. He would not hear of it.
Believing that the arrival of the young, pretty female duo was the cause of her fallen status, Alo felt constantly under assault, even in her own home. According to the rumors, Alo was aware that her decline in status was eerily synchronized to her decline in youth and Guru's financial ascent. Alo was used to having Guru all to herself, being his main woman, hisspiritual consort when he was just a barefoot young man in ragged clothes. Guru attempted to soothe her by assigning her two devoted followers of her own—Roshan, a bulky male ex-marine, and Heera, a young woman originally from Germany with a thick accent and a dimpled smile. Both Roshan and Heera were assigned to travel with Alo, assisting her to create the Christmas trips and with any other projects Alo wanted that were safely far outside the tri-state area.
Ketan also told me he had heard that Alo had begun to develop unusual traits, one of which was that she worried incessantly about the CIA. She was convinced that she was being followed. She knew that tollbooth collectors and hotel concierges were only fronts for CIA agents to track her down. Since Alo was always on the lookout for someone coming up behind her, she developed the capacity of sleeping only for short periods of time. She took naps. Lots of them. Every time she sat down at meditation, her eyes closed and her head bobbed, until her chin rested on her chest, as her back, already hunched, seemed to curl like a possum's.
I looked away from the table, down our narrow hall.
One of the last times a meditation was held at our house, Alo had arrived separately from Guru, since Guru traveled with Prema and Isha. I had been in my bedroom, and when I opened the door to the hallway, I saw Alo standing before the oval mirror that hung on the door to the bathroom. Only inches from the mirror, she stared, talking to herself. The conversation, apparently, was so engaging that she was illustrating her points with her arms. I watched, utterly still, hoping that I wouldn't disturb her. Her words were mumbles, but her eyes never faltered from her own gaze. Eventually, Roshan entered through the kitchen door and politely announcedthat he had the car all warmed up. For a second, she looked at him as though she could not recognize the strange man in white pants and matching white shirt who said it was time to go home, and then she dropped her shoulders and nodded, obediently following him out the
Though I adored Prema, and was constantly in awe of her motionless meditation and snappy dress, I also loved Isha. Short and thin, Isha was all angles. She had concave cheekbones, a narrow nose, and small vibrant green eyes with thinly plucked matching eyebrows. Her long red hair swung like a pendulum when she marched up to Guru. Her lack of outgoing friendliness was understood as part of her spiritual advancement. Every once in a while, she noted my sari or complimented my singing, and I beamed proudly.
Both Isha and Prema, Ketan confided, were Alo's sworn enemies. Alo resented the two young women who had taken over her house and her relationship with Guru. Though they had apartments of their own, only blocks away, they were Guru's cooks, drivers, secretaries, maids, caretakers, and confidantes and were always at his side. Alo insisted Guru banish both Isha and Prema, but for Guru, this was not up for negotiation. He would not hear of it.
Believing that the arrival of the young, pretty female duo was the cause of her fallen status, Alo felt constantly under assault, even in her own home. According to the rumors, Alo was aware that her decline in status was eerily synchronized to her decline in youth and Guru's financial ascent. Alo was used to having Guru all to herself, being his main woman, hisspiritual consort when he was just a barefoot young man in ragged clothes. Guru attempted to soothe her by assigning her two devoted followers of her own—Roshan, a bulky male ex-marine, and Heera, a young woman originally from Germany with a thick accent and a dimpled smile. Both Roshan and Heera were assigned to travel with Alo, assisting her to create the Christmas trips and with any other projects Alo wanted that were safely far outside the tri-state area.
Ketan also told me he had heard that Alo had begun to develop unusual traits, one of which was that she worried incessantly about the CIA. She was convinced that she was being followed. She knew that tollbooth collectors and hotel concierges were only fronts for CIA agents to track her down. Since Alo was always on the lookout for someone coming up behind her, she developed the capacity of sleeping only for short periods of time. She took naps. Lots of them. Every time she sat down at meditation, her eyes closed and her head bobbed, until her chin rested on her chest, as her back, already hunched, seemed to curl like a possum's.
I looked away from the table, down our narrow hall.
One of the last times a meditation was held at our house, Alo had arrived separately from Guru, since Guru traveled with Prema and Isha. I had been in my bedroom, and when I opened the door to the hallway, I saw Alo standing before the oval mirror that hung on the door to the bathroom. Only inches from the mirror, she stared, talking to herself. The conversation, apparently, was so engaging that she was illustrating her points with her arms. I watched, utterly still, hoping that I wouldn't disturb her. Her words were mumbles, but her eyes never faltered from her own gaze. Eventually, Roshan entered through the kitchen door and politely announcedthat he had the car all warmed up. For a second, she looked at him as though she could not recognize the strange man in white pants and matching white shirt who said it was time to go home, and then she dropped her shoulders and nodded, obediently following him out the
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