( The readers are requested to read the earlier chapters 1 to 12, to understand the continuity of this story so far …)
Chapter 13
Sita came back with the flowers and sweets for the Puja offerings in a plastic packet. Geeta and I had come near the stairs to the Mandir. It looked quite a long climb up the hill. Definitely much more than 100 steps. Fortunately the authorities had made a proper stairway cut on the hill, so that the devotees just had to walk up the stairs and not climb the hill. But even then it looked like quite a big number of stairs to climb.
But wait, what is this ? I was seeing a strange sight. The devotees who were going up the stairs, most of them were carrying one another up the stairs. There were some who were walking alone. But in many cases, I was seeing that the bigger person was carrying the smaller person in his arms or back up the stairs. I was bewildered and looked questioningly at Sita and Geeta. Both of them understood my concern and were smiling at me. I said, "Hey ! What sort of tradition is this?"
There was an old lady standing close by. Looked like one of the devotees of the Mandir. With a tilak on her forehead. She might be around 70 years of age or more. The lady overheard me and responded to my question, "This is a very old tradition of this Mandir. It actually signifies that if you want something from God or even in Life, you have to physically toil for it. That is why everybody who wishes to offer puja in this Mandir has to carry somebody up the stairs to the God's idol. If he or she is not in a physical condition to lift anybody up the stairs, then somebody in his or her family or friends has to carry him or her up the stairs. If anybody has come alone, then he or she can carry anybody from the other devotees who have come here…or even these poor children playing around here. This is the custom here."
I thanked the old lady for her sharing of knowledge. Then turned to the two sisters Sita and Geeta, "Did you know of this custom in this Mandir ?" Both of them nodded. Both were smiling too.
The old lady spoke again, "So which one of you is going to offer the puja ?"
Sita responded, "I want to offer a puja because I've just got a job. And that is because of him." She pointed at me.
The old lady smiled through her broken teeth. "That's very good, my child. So for you it is a perfect situation. You also have the reason for your puja offering right here in the form of this gentleman. So one of you must carry the other up the stairs. So now you decide amongst yourselves who will carry whom. I think you two girls look like sisters. And looking at all three of you, I think that both of you sisters are strong enough to carry your elder brother up the stairs. I think your brother might not be able to even lift you up. Please don't mind Sir, but women are generally better at lifting their men. I had all along lifted my husband up these stairs, every time I visited with him here. Now he has left me and has gone to God's house. I've also become old. So I now wait here and request the devotees visiting here to lift me up the stairs."
Geeta went forward towards the old lady. "Come aunty, I'll lift you up the Mandir stairs today."
The lady smiled again through her broken teeth, "Thank you so much beta. God bless you."
The lady, although old, was not at all thin or frail. She would probably even weigh a little more than me. Of course she was, I think, an inch shorter than me. She had her puja offerings in her hand. "One tip I'm going to give to both of you two sisters. While climbing, never lift your partner on your back. The weight will be pulling you down, while you go up the stairs. So there are chances that you might lose your balance and fall. You must carry the person in front, whichever way is comfortable to you. And if you feel tired, you can definitely put him down and take some rest and then start again. There is no harm in that."
Sita handed over the packet of flowers and sweets to me, since she will be carrying me up the stairs. Since this old lady was there with us and had given such a long enlightening lecture, I could not throw any tantrums of not wanting to be carried by Sita up the stairs. The lady came forward and addressed Sita, "Listen dear, let me tell you the technique of carrying. You pick him up from the front with your hands under his bottom. Pick him up …let me see."
Sita picked me up straight from the front with her hands behind my back. My legs were dangling in front of her about 6 inches off the ground. My face was right in front of hers.
The old lady then addressed me, "Now you beta, wrap your legs around your sister's waist…yes ..that way. Now put your arms around her neck. Yes, right, perfect."
She again addressed Sita. "My girl, you are not holding him correctly. Your hands are behind his back. That way you will not get full strength to hold him up. It is a long way up. You have to hold him properly. You put your hands under his bottom. Right…. that way….correct. Now jerk him up your body a little to adjust your hold on him. Yess… that way."
Sita was holding me tight on her full breasts. My face was now right in front of hers. Her breath was falling on my face. With our heads turning to look at the old lady as she was talking to us, our faces were sometimes touching.
The lady came up to me. She pressed my head from the back over Sita's left shoulder, so that my chin rested on her hard rounded shoulder, with my face looking behind her. She addressed me now. "Keep your face here on your sister's shoulder, so that she can look clearly ahead without your head obstructing her view. If you are afraid of heights or feel unsure whether she can carry you all this distance up, just rest your face sideways on her shoulder and close your eyes. Don't feel shy that your younger sister is carrying you. So what if she's a girl and you are an older man ? She's much taller, bigger and stronger than you. There's no shame in this." She pressed my face sideways down on Sita's shoulder, my eyes facing inside. My nose was touching Sita's thick neck.
I was feeling so embarrassed that a stranger old lady was openly demonstrating to Sita how to hold me up in her arms and carry me up the hill. The lady was still talking to us, "I told you na, I always used to carry my husband up these stairs. He was older than me by 10 years. He was just slightly taller than me by about an inch. But, I was much heavier than him though. So I could easily carry him up. He used to hide his face inside my neck, so that he did not have to see other people looking at him being carried by his wife. So if you want you can also hide your face inside your little sister's neck. Then you'll also not feel embarrassed."
I just said, "Aunty, she is not my sister."
The lady put her hand on her mouth and exclaimed, "Ohh I'm so sorry! She's not your younger sister! Oh I understand who she is. Then I think you will love the ride up the stairs being carried in her arms." She started giggling like a teenager. What could I say ? I saw Sita and Geeta also exchanging looks and smiling at each other.
The old lady then went to Geeta. "Now Beta, you have seen how your sister has lifted her boyfriend. Now you pick me up the same way."
Geeta didn't need any training in lifting and carrying. She has mastered the art by carrying me almost everyday in the past so many months she has known me. Sita was waiting, holding me in her arms held tightly high up on her full breasts. I was practically sitting on Sita's stomach watching Geeta pick up the old lady. Then both Sita and Geeta started up the stairs carrying me and the old lady respectively.
There was not much of a crowd. The stairs were quite wide enough in the beginning, narrowing down gradually as it went up higher. Also there were two separate flights of stairs for up and down the Mandir, so there was not much of a risk of colliding into other people, coming down.
Strangely enough, not many people bothered to look at us. They were all busy either carrying somebody or being carried by somebody. In fact I was trying to search if there were any other women carrying a man. In most of the cases, the men were only carrying the women. Or in some cases, carrying older men or children. The women who were carrying others were mostly carrying children. I saw one girl though, young, about 16-17 possibly, carrying an older middle aged woman, possibly her mother, who seemed sick or something. It seemed to me that I was possibly the only adult man who was being carried up the stairs by an adult woman, who incidentally was three years younger than me.
A group of around 4 pairs of people had come in front of us. So Sita had to halt on one of the stairs, for some time. In the meantime however Geeta went ahead carrying the old lady, finding an open stretch in front of her. Sita waited for some time holding me on her lap, till the crowd in front of her gave her some space to climb. She jerked my body up a little to adjust. With the jerk my cheek rubbed with her cheek. She looked at me and smiled. I smiled back at her, sitting comfortably on her arms, while she did all the toiling.
Since the time the old lady met us and interfered in our conversation, the three of us didn't get much of a chance to speak to each other. Now Sita and I were alone. I thought of starting a conversation, since Sita was doing all the hard work of carrying me up the hill. I said, "Are you ok Sita ? Having problems carrying me ?"
Sita's reply came promptly, "No Sir, I'm perfectly fine. You are very small and lightweight, no problems at all in carrying you. You tell me Sir, am I holding you too tight ? I hope I'm not hurting you ?"
I said, "No Sita, I'm very comfortable. I must tell you Sita, I'm really surprised seeing your strength. Of course you are much taller and bigger than me. But still I thought since you are of such a gentle nature, I expected you to be dainty and weak. But you are really very strong. You are carrying me so effortlessly, I'm in fact feeling weak and helpless in your arms."
Sita sounded worried, "Does this bother you Sir ? Sorry Sir. If you want, I can put you down right now."
I interrupted her, "No no, nothing like that. I was in fact giving you a compliment, when I'm saying I'm feeling weak and helpless in your arms. I'm a fully grown up man of 40, whereas you are a woman of 37. And still you have lifted me up in your arms and you are carrying me up the hill, like you are the mother and I'm your baby. I'm in fact happy that you are no longer feeling shy and withdrawn from me. This bonding which we have made today will help you to work more confidently with me in office from tomorrow."
Sita was still apologetic, "Sir, I'm in fact worrying about that only. I'm going to work with you from tomorrow in the office. And today, I first held you on my lap throughout the auto ride; then I took you piggyback on me while I crossed the stream. Now I'm carrying you like a child in my arms holding you on my breasts up to the Mandir. You are my boss and I'm holding you, as you said, weak and helpless in my control. I'm worried that you might not like my physically dominating you all through this journey today. "
I tried to console her, "Why are you being so apologetic Sita ? To tell you frankly, I like my girlfriend to be bigger and taller than me. I'm in fact quite loving it that you are holding me totally weak and helpless in your power and control."
Sita turned to look at me directly, the first time after she had started to climb the stairs with me in her arms. She was grinning from ear to ear, "Thank you soo much Sir ! Please don't praise me any more.. Otherwise I'll fall in love with you."
I smiled back at her mischievously, my head now resting on her shoulder, "Why ? Don't you want to fall in love with me ? Do you think I'm not worthy of your love ?"
Sita halted and moved to one side of the stairs and stood there with a grim face. I raised my head from her shoulder and looked straight into her eyes. "Why did you stop ?"
She said in a serious tone, "What are you saying Sir ? Did I mean that ? It's just the opposite. You are so much better than me in every sense, you are of a much higher class. I cannot even think of falling in love with you."
My face was right in front of hers, while I was practically sitting on her stomach, with her hands under my bottom, holding me up on her breasts. My arms were around her neck and my legs wrapped around her waist. I said softly, "But you have me now totally in your control. I'm at your mercy. You can do whatever you want with me. Suppose you get the opportunity of doing whatever you want with me right now, and nobody is there to see, what would you do with me Sita ?"
She gave me a very shy smile and said, "I'll hide you under my Sari pallu and kidnap you and run away with you to my Dreamland."
I asked, "Your Dreamland ?"
She was still smiling a shy nervous smile, "Yes I daydream that I have picked you up in my arms and taken you away to another city where nobody knows us. Where Geeta and my mother cannot reach us and take you away from me."
I was surprised, "Really ? Do you actually dream about me? I didn't know this. But why did you mention Geeta and your mother ?"
She was smiling, "You also know that Sir. I cannot even dare to get a priority over them with you. My sister Geeta has a much bigger claim on you. She considers you as her God, her biggest benefactor and her best friend. It is true that if it was not for her, Ma or myself wouldn't even have met you. She keeps on reminding us of that point.
Also my mother considers you as a reincarnation of her late husband. She is very possessive about you.
So my dream will remain a dream only. Today I am extremely lucky that I could hold you on my lap and in my arms for such a long time. So a part of my dream did become a reality today. I will relive these moments in my daydreams from now, holding you, sitting you on my lap, carrying you piggyback and holding you hugging on my breasts like a child."
I said, "Don't worry from tomorrow, we will be spending a lot of hours together, since you will be working as my secretary."
She said, "Yes I'm looking forward to that. But in the office I'll not be able to pick you up in my arms or even have you to sit you on my lap."
I said, "No that will not be possible. But you will be able to stand tall beside me and definitely sit across the table with me when we are working together."
Sita said, "Can I take one permission now from you Sir. While working with you, can I accidentally touch you sometimes? That will be enough to send shivers down my spine."
I laughed, "Sure, why not ? Only ensure that nobody else is in the room when you touch me."
Sita smiled, "Yes Sir, that I fully understand. Now let's go Sir. Geeta will be wondering why we are taking so long." She started climbing the stairs again. I dutifully placed my head on her shoulder, so that she could see clearly ahead. I wrapped my arms around her neck tightly, once again feeling like a small boy being lovingly carried by his tall mother on her big breasts.
Sita said, "Sir, you know what I'm thinking now. How will it be if I kidnap you right now and take you away with me to a far away town ?"
I asked amused, "How will you kidnap me ?"
She giggled, "Just like this...the way I'm carrying you now, clutched to my breasts. I'll climb down from this hill, hire another auto. I'll not let you down from my lap. We'll go to the nearest station. Buy two tickets and I'll run away with you. I'll not put you down from my lap even for once."
I found it funny. "And what if people asks you why you are carrying a grown up man all along ?"
She was laughing too. "I'll say, you are my husband and you have hurt your leg and cannot walk. That is why I have to carry you always and cannot put you down for once."
I sighed, "It seems you are also a day-dreamer like me, living in your own fantasy world."
I told her, "You know Sita, one good thing has happened today with you carrying me in different ways for such a long time. You have come out of your shell and have shed your shyness in front of me. You are talking to me very freely now, without any inhibitions."
Sita said, "That was all possible because of you Sir. You have behaved so normally with me even though I have held you in such awkward positions like sitting you on my lap in the auto, with my arms holding you around your belly; carrying you piggyback across the stream; and now carrying you up the Mandir steps held in my arms and on my breasts like my baby. You being a person of such a high position have made me feel your equal. Even when I'm carrying you helpless in my arms, you have talked to me like I am your friend. That is your humbleness. This magnanimous behaviour of yours has given me the courage to break out of my shackles of shyness and talk to you so frankly and without any inhibitions." I smiled and gave her a light squeeze with my arms around her neck, just to show my acknowledgement of her praise.
We had almost reached the top of the hill. We saw that Geeta was standing there on the top of the stairs, waiting for us. She started waving as soon as we came into her view. I waved back at her.
( To be continued…..)
