The Secret Keeper of Jaipur (The Jaipur Trilogy, #2)

by Alka Joshi

Independence of our country was actually the event of the century, Nikhil.” “Well, I wasn’t alive then, Papaji. But I’m alive

screeching into their startled faces, Tell me you didn’t give Dev the evil eye! I screamed at Lord Shiva. I beat my fists on my distended belly, promising to give Shivaji the baby if he would just bring Dev back. My father-in-law and my brother had to pull my arms away from my stomach to keep me from hurting the life within.

After Dev died in the gorge, I’d became adamant that my children would never suffer the same fate, migrating back and forth with the tribe through the mountains, toes lost to frostbite, the threat of death always only a few paces away.

To her, a hill woman accustomed to sleeping in the open air on bedding quilts padded with scraps of old blankets, these two-story Shimla houses, built by the British, must seem obscenely luxurious.

my own ears, I sound like an overinvolved mother. Is that how Nimmi sees me? I reach for my cup and drain my chai. Malik is twenty, a grown man. But in him I still see the eager, enterprising boy he used to be.

b

She, who has guided sheep and goats through the Himalayan gorges with an eye out for predators like tigers, leopards and wild elephants, might think the killing of such animals for sport unnecessary, even cruel.

It’s more than the color of my skin that will keep me from the ranks of the privileged. Long used to serving rather than being served, I affect a deference in my bearing that’s hard for me to shed.

know Lakshmi helped to keep many of Samir’s mistresses childless during the ten years she spent in Jaipur. And I know that Samir Uncle once shared a bed with Auntie-Boss before she married Dr. Jay.

After all, scandal had put a full stop to my life as a henna artist in Jaipur. And even though the accusations of thieving their jewelry weren’t true,

“Her majesty decided she liked it only after she realized how much bigger it is than her friends’ houses.” I smile, remembering how

No couple wants to admit they are sterile; it’s considered a personal failing, a problem best solved by magical gems, amulets and alms to Ganesh.

Might I be Parsi, or Afghani? But I’m not about to get into a conversation with this man about my heritage or tell him that blue eyes have been common in my family for generations. I simply say, “I’m not Kashmiri.”

She knew I was a fallen Brahmin in the eyes of other matrons because I handled women’s feet when I painted their henna. That task, considered to be unclean, was reserved for lower castes; it wasn’t respectable for Brahmins to do it.

Does she know something about Ravi’s role in the construction? Is that why she was defending him to me? Or was she pardoning him for something he’d done?

I also realize I’m angry at the injustice of it all. Manu’s signature is on everything. He’ll be held responsible for the greatest calamity Jaipur has known in decades. The Singhs will walk away with only a portion of the blame.

“Abbas, did I mention I have four daughters? The oldest will be ready for marriage soon. The rest will follow. Yes? How will I be able to afford their dowries unless I’m sitting behind this desk, adding up the numbers Mr. Singh wants me to?”

don’t understand how Chandigarh Ironworks could deliver the same quality as the previous supplier for less cost when they would have to add in transportation fees. Chandigarh is, after all, five hundred miles away!

How could that be wrong? Why should I feel guilty for helping them along their path?

“That’s why I’m keeping him home from school. This is a small city with a lot of powerful people. And reputations can be ruined just like that.”

Why would Samir have a sudden interest in a child that he’s ignored these past twelve years?”

“It’s my name on the company, Malik.” With his free hand, he points to his chest. “I don’t allow gross errors on my projects. Not in judgment, not in code compliance, never in materials.”

this rich man’s room, I know only one thing for sure: a father and a son are bound by blood. Samir and Ravi have no kinship to me. I’m the odd man out. Samir would like me to believe he has my back, but I know better.

“Don’t you see how it looks? It’s like you’ve cut my legs out from under me! All of Jaipur will know Manu Agarwal is a coward, not to mention an embezzler of the highest order!” He turned to look at me in the armchair. “And you, Malik! I took you on in good faith, and you’re trying to dig up—dirty laundry? You’re talking about this project to all and sundry without my knowledge?”

“Samir paid for your education at Bishop Cotton. Don’t you owe him any loyalty? How could you accuse his company of fraud and recklessness when Samir opened doors for you?”

Parvati found out soon enough, and then the life I’d built in Jaipur, the financial independence I’d gained, fell apart.

“We have important destinies. We are the ones who make or break this country. My family has responsibilities to make sure people like you have food to eat, a roof over your head. Now you’ll leave my family alone, or you’ll have bigger things to deal with—more significant than whether Manu Agarwal is about to lose his job. And you won’t go spreading lies about my son.”

As a boy, I crisscrossed this city delivering the contraceptive sachets that Auntie-Boss sold to him and his friends for their paramours.

No matter what obstacles you set before an Indian, he’ll find a way to get around it. People have to eat.

Why would a man from one of the wealthiest families in Jaipur want to get into that kind of treacherous business? I’m several steps removed from smugglers, so my involvement is a lot safer. I’m not out there crossing mountains and deserts, hiring goondas to get things done.

when it comes to me. “Accha.” Who am I to judge the accountant? I’m a woman who deserted a marriage and slept with another woman’s husband. People find love where they find it.

He looks at his father as if to ask how I could possibly know the queens of Jaipur so well. It’s a small satisfaction, and I feel a deep pleasure as I approach Her Highness.

What a relief that had been. When I told Malik, he bent down to touch my feet, which made me laugh! Jay is the real hero here, though.

“He bought cheaper materials for the Royal Jewel Cinema and forged the invoices to show higher amounts, didn’t he? Then he used the money he saved to finance a gold route to Jaipur. And he used those cheap bricks to transport the gold.”

“Nimmi and I don’t belong. Not truly. To one set of beliefs, one set of traditions. But we can create our own traditions. Observe those we like, abandon those we don’t.”

born politician. That’s what you are, Mrs. Kumar. If you’d been born into our family, you’d be in Parliament by now, my dear!”

The flavors of cilantro, turmeric, garam masala and cumin are as much a part of my heritage, and my identity, as are the blue-green eyes I inherited from my mother, Sudha.

Indian food is bold, colorful, bursting with aromas and flavors. What better way to enrich a plot and show character development than to infuse a story with one of the boldest, most beloved cuisines on earth?