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‘Madahela
She nodded She had begun to feel anxious
The enerous pot-belly would have marked him out froesturing at the ship, his indignant speech accompanied by sprays of spittle Sanjay stood before him in the circle ofto interrupt The object of the randmother remembered from her adolescence, hps jutted, arms folded defensively across her chest, head cocked in an insolent manner
‘You can tell hi to do anything to his bloody ship And that there’s no law against looking’
Sanjay turned to her ‘That’s the proble When you’re trespassing on someone else’s property’
‘It’s a beach,’ she yelled at theWith thousands of bloody people How is htest difference to anything?’
‘Jen, please’
Around Sanjay, theeach other at Jennifer’s jeans and vest-top, soen cylinders they carried on their shoulders As the old woht the s sulphurous She fought the urge to put a hand over her roup, that she’s here to gather evidence against him,’ Sanjay told her
‘It’s obvious I’ot a camera on me,’ she enunciated at the ,’ Sanjay remonstrated
The old woht be His gestures had becoly abrupt and drahela, almost as if he were the only adult present
Perhaps h the e suddenly erect He went to the shipbreaker and thrust out his hand, so that the hela,’ he announced
The two hela’s voice wheedling and conciliatory one minute, determined and assertive the next
The conversation was evidently going to take sohela’s arlanced to each side of her, searching for soroup, trying not to feel self-conscious – or fearful – of the blatant curiosity of some of the men She spied a steel drum and walked slowly towards it
She sat on it for several hela and Sanjay tried to placate the shipowner, to convince him of the naïvety and commercial innocence of his visitors Occasionally they waved towards her and she fanned herself under the umbrella, conscious that her presence, an apparently frail old lady, would probably aid their cause Despite her benign appearance, she was furious Jennifer had wilfully ignored everyone else’s wishes and, in the process, set back their journey at least an hour Shipyards were dangerous places, Mr Vaghela had muttered as they crossed the sand, not just for the workers, but for those ere thought to be ‘interfering’ Property had been known to be confiscated, he had said, looking back nervously at the car
Now sheto have to walk the same distance back across the hot sand, and that it was entirely possible they would have to pay these people before they could leave, which would eat further into her already depleted budget ‘Foolish, inconsiderate girl,’ she an to walk towards the bow of the ship, keen to be away frohter and the blank-eyed men She raised the u up dustclouds of sand as she went towards a shaded area The ship was half disiant hand had cut it in two and reet a better view It was hard to see much froun turrets that had yet to be re at their farey paintwork, a soft colour you sahere but on British naval ships After a minute, she lowered the umbrella, stepped back, and stared up at the broken hull loootten
She lifted her hand to shield her eyes from the fierce sun until she could see what remained of the name on the side
And then, as the last of the letters beca voices receded, and even in the oppressive heat of an Indian afternoon, the old woman beneath the ship felt herself possessed of a sudden and icy cold
The shipbreaker, Mr Bhattacharya, was unconvinced, yet even in the face of hisrestlessness of the crowd and even that they were now a good hour behind schedule, the young people were still bickering Mr Vaghela wiped his forehead with a handkerchief Miss Jennifer was kicking sand angrily behind her, her expression one of sulky acquiescence Mr Sanjay wore the uncomfortably flushed countenance of soument Periodically he would look at Miss Jennifer, then away, as if he, too, were annoyed with her
‘I don’t need you to have hela tapped her ar so, Miss Jennifer, I do not believe your grasp of Urdu leaves you up to the task’
‘He understands English I heard hi now?’ Mr Bhattacharya, he could tell, was offended by her barely decent hela suspected that while he secretly knew the young people were innocent of his charges, he had worked hie that he was deterhela had met many suchto irl ‘You don’t even knohat he’s saying! You’re ran with you We’ll sort this out’
‘Don’t tell oing?’ Mr Bhattacharya atching Mr Sanjay with increasing fury
‘I think it would be better if the girl left your yard, sir My friend is just persuading her of that’
‘I don’t need you to--’ Miss Jennifer stopped abruptly
There was a sudden silence, and Mr Vaghela, as uncomfortably warm, followed the eyes of the crowd to the shaded area under the hull of the next ship
‘What is wrong with the old lady?’ said Mr Bhattacharya
She was sitting slurey hair looked silver white
‘Gran?’ The girl sprinted over to her