Barrister Parvateesam

By evening, our steamer slowly crossed the Strait of Dover and entered the English Channel. The waves were a bit more turbulent there, but somehow, we managed to escape and entered the vast Atlantic Ocean. By then, darkness had fallen completely. Though our ship had traveled this route thousands of times, it now seemed to be feeling its way forward step by cautious step, as if it couldn’t see the way in the darkness. Everywhere I looked, there was impenetrable blackness—except for the stars in the sky, not a single light could be seen from any town along the French coast. All this, I supposed, was due to the fear of war. Beneath us, the endless, unfathomable Atlantic Ocean. After three years, I was once again sailing the seas, filled with the joy of returning home, and with the thought: “In this lifetime, how many of these people will I ever meet again?” More than anything, I was gripped by a single fear: “Will our ship, which has thus far escaped the ravages of nature and the monstrous acts of enemies, be able to carry me safely across this unknown, boundless ocean and deliver me home?”

Just then, the call for dinner came. I went below. At the table, they served everyone the same food, myself included. I called the waiter over and told him, “This meal won’t do for me. I am a vegetarian. Except for rice and vegetables, I won’t touch anything else, not even eggs.” He asked, “What shall I do now, sir?” I replied, “If necessary, I can wait a little. Otherwise, just bring me a plate with some vegetables, a bit of bread, butter, pudding, milk, and fruit.” He said, “Is that all, sir?” I replied, “That’s enough. I am easily satisfied.” He laughed and went off cheerfully. Soon enough, he brought me potatoes, cabbage curry, bread, butter, sago pudding, milk, and bananas. I told him not to forget to have two handfuls of rice cooked for me for both meals from tomorrow onwards. “Sure, sir! Certainly, sir!” he replied.

After dinner, I went up on deck, strolled for a while, gazed at the endless, unfathomable ocean and sky, then quietly returned to my cabin, changed my clothes, and lay down. No matter how long I lay there, sleep would not come to my eyes.

I could not get a wink of sleep. As I lay down, without any effort on my part, the waves of the sea were tossing me this way and that. Once again, my mind began to wander with all sorts of thoughts—our house owner, her daughters, that mischievous little child, the unexpected affection they all showed me, my private tutor, the young instructor who taught me golf, the friends who played golf with me, the young lady who once tried to flirt with me while sitting beside me at a play, the beloved who was so drawn to me and loved me dearly—so many faces, so many places, all began to parade before my eyes like pictures on a cinema screen. As I watched all these faces and recalled the stories behind them, I eventually slipped into sleep without realizing it.

The next morning, after completing all my morning routines, I leisurely went up to the deck. From above, I heard some commotion. Curious, I looked around and saw that, along with our ship, here and there, airplanes were flying, keeping pace with us. For a moment, a fear struck me—are these enemy planes? But then I reassured myself: if they were enemy planes, would our ship be traveling so calmly? After another moment, I noticed that, a little distance away, on either side of our ship, warships with cannons mounted were also accompanying us.

I called over a distinguished-looking gentleman who was standing nearby and asked, “What are these planes above us? What about the warships below? Are they just passing by, or are they traveling with us?”

He looked at me with a hint of mockery, as if wondering how someone could be so ignorant, and replied, “Ours is a mail steamer—it carries the mail. All the regular passenger ships have stopped sailing. Nowadays, this vast ocean has become a very dangerous place for travelers. Day and night, at every moment, enemy planes fly above, enemy warships patrol the sea, and enemy submarines lurk below the water. For our protection, the government has arranged for two airplanes above and two warships on the sea to accompany us. They will stay with us until we safely enter the Suez Canal.”

That explanation brought some peace to my mind.

Barrister Parvateesam

The old fear did not rear its head again, not even a little. On these ships, for the convenience of passengers, canvas chairs and folding deck chairs are rented out to sit on the deck. After disembarking at Bombay, they collect them back and store them safely. I took one, picked up some book, and began to while away the time reading. Just then, a young man came and stood beside me, greeted me, and asked, “What are you reading?”

“A novel, just to pass the time,” I replied.

“Is it from the library here?” he asked.

“No, it’s my own,” I said. “Is there a library here?” I asked in turn.

“Why wouldn’t there be? Otherwise, how would some of us pass the time? Don’t you know there’s a library?” he said.

“I didn’t know,” I replied.

“Come, I’ll show you,” he said. He took me and showed me the library. He also showed me that there were some indoor games for others’ amusement—ping pong tables, card tables, chess boards. “On the deck above, people even play badminton,” he said. “And if that’s not enough, some enthusiastic fellows even place bets on the ship’s route, how many miles it travels per hour, and how far we’ve come now,” he added.

Chatting away with this new acquaintance, lunchtime arrived. We went down and sat for our meal.