Namaste New York: A Novel

  Chapter 5

  The following day while Vijay went to school, Raj and Lucky took the subway to downtown Manhattan for Raj's job hunt. Since Lucky didn't know the city, they got off at Fulton Street and followed the exact same path Lucky had followed two days before. They walked north five or six blocks on Broadway until they found the Indian restaurant they were looking for on Chambers Street. Lucky told Raj he was going to stay outside so that the restaurant owner didn't see him; he didn't want to be responsible for Raj losing out on a job just because the owner took one look at Lucky and decided he didn't like the color of his skin.

  When Raj went inside, he saw a young Indian girl arranging chairs around the tables. He waited at the door until he got her attention, and within a few moments, she looked up. "I'm sorry sir, but the buffet does not start until 11 am. You'll have to come back later," she said curtly.

  "I am looking for a job," Raj said without hesitation.

  "Oh! Well I'm sorry, but we do not need anyone," the girl replied.

  Raj thought she was probably a student, and might be thinking of him as her competition. And besides, Lucky had told Raj that the restaurant needed kitchen help. Raj eyed her suspiciously. "Can I meet the owner?" he asked.

  "He is not here," the girl replied as she turned back to her work.

  "When will he come? I'll wait," Raj replied.

  "He won't come today," she snipped. Raj was finding her very uncooperative, but at this point, he didn't have many options but to leave. He wasn't going to give up, though, especially not on account of her. He turned and opened the door, but stopped when he heard a different female voice call out.

  "Nitu, Who is at the door?"

  "Madam, no one," the girl replied.

  An Indian woman in her mid-thirties walked out of the kitchen, her eyes immediately drawn to Raj. "Yes, how can I help you?" the woman asked, smiling like a Cheshire cat.

  "I am looking for a job," Raj said politely.

  "A job. Hmm?" The woman murmured to herself as she looked Raj over from top to bottom. His clothes were cheap, but he was certainly a handsome man. Light skin, dark hair, deep brown eyes, tall, with nice muscular body. Definitely a fine Indian specimen.

  "So, what can you do for me?" the woman teased.

  "I can cook," Raj answered, ignoring the double-entendre.

  "Cook? What can you cook?" she laughed.

  "Indian food. Mostly north-Indian food," Raj replied, unfazed by her lascivious gaze. He'd noticed that the girl - the woman had called her Nitu - was trying to listen to the conversation while pretending to work.

  "Really? Have you worked at a restaurant before?" the woman asked. Judging from his looks, she believed that Raj was probably talented at many things, but she wasn't sure cooking was one of them.

  Raj thought that the woman was either Pakistani or north Indian. "Haanji," he replied. "In India," he answered, in his best north-Indian accent.

  The woman pulled up a chair and sat down, motioning to Raj to do the same. "Where are you from in India? Are you a student?"

  "Haanji. Delhi se," Raj replied, still standing. For some reason, he didn't want to tell her the truth. Perhaps it was because Kashmir was a sensitive topic for both Indians and Pakistanis.

  "Where do you go to school here?" she questioned, again motioning for him to take a seat.

  "New York Institute of Engineering and Management. I just came a day before," Raj answered, pulling up a chair.

  "Vaah! Are you an engineer?" she asked.

  "Haanji," Raj lied again to impress her.

  Although she was wearing a typical salwar-kurta, Raj noticed the red bangles on her wrist, so he guessed that she must be Hindu, and thus north Indian. It didn't matter to him. He didn't like the way she was looking at him, but he needed a job and he'd bear anything for it.

  "Who told you to come here?" the woman asked.

  Raj didn't want to mention Lucky's name, so he lied one more time. This whole encounter had been one long string of lies, but Raj knew how to cook, and he thought that was the only piece of information she was entitled to. "No one," he replied. "I am just going from one shop to another, looking for a job."

  "How many days can you work?" she asked.

  "I have classes only three days a week - Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday. So I can work the rest of the days," Raj answered.

  "Okay. But we will only pay six dollars per hour. The tip is divided among all the waiters and cooks, so you will also get part of that," the woman explained.

  It was better money than Lucky was getting, so Raj agreed. "Haanji. Okay."

  "Can you start tomorrow? I will need to talk to my husband today," the woman mentioned in an offhand way.

  "Haanji," Raj nodded.

  She extended her hand to Raj, and he started to give her a firm handshake, as he would if she were a man. But the woman stopped him, and put her other hand on top of his, stroking it gently. Raj could read everything in her eyes, but he didn't care. This job meant survival. It would give him the opportunity to do what he came here to do, so the woman's inappropriate behavior was of no consequence to him. He retracted his hand, and smiled. "Thank you, madamji."

  "Come tomorrow, same time," the woman said.

  "Haanji," Raj said, flashing a smile at Nitu as he turned to leave.

  When Raj stepped outside, he noticed that Lucky was talking on the public phone, and that he was crying. Raj assumed that he was talking to his family, and he walked over to him. Lucky was speaking in his south-Indian language, and Raj couldn't understand a word of the conversation, so he just waited at a respectful distance. When Lucky noticed Raj's presence, he tried to hide his tears. He talked for few more minutes and then hung up the phone.

  "I am sorry. I miss my family," Lucky said while wiping his face.

  "It's okay," Raj replied.

  "How did it go? Did you get it?" Lucky asked.

  "Yes. But?" Raj wanted to talk to Lucky about the woman, but decided to wait.

  "Great! But what?" Lucky asked.

  "No, nothing. I have to start tomorrow, which is okay," Raj answered.

  "Good. Tomorrow is Saturday, so I also have to come here for the job tomorrow," Lucky said. "The amazing thing is that we are working very close to each other, so we can still share the Metrocard and save money. I think we all are very fortunate to get jobs so quickly. Many thanks to Goddess Lakshmi!" Lucky looked up at the sky. Raj smiled but did not comment.

  "What shall we do now? Shall we go to the school?" Lucky asked.

  "How far are we from the World Trade Center?" Raj asked.

  "I am not sure. But we can ask. Do you want to go there?"

  "Yes," Raj replied. Lucky approached an older man who was sitting nearby, reading a newspaper and drinking a cup of coffee. Raj watched Lucky as he conversed with the man, who was pointing and periodically nodding. Lucky ran back to his friend.

  "Good news! It is not too far, and we can walk from here," Lucky said. Leading the way, he and Raj started walking south on Broadway, back towards the Fulton Street subway, and then headed west towards the river. When they approached the site, there were several groups of people standing at the viewing platform, and Raj motioned to Lucky to follow him as he walked over to the platform. The debris from the towers had been removed, and he and Lucky could see almost the entire construction site. They looked at pictures of the 9/11 attack, and eavesdropped on some of the visitors' conversations. Some of the people were obviously tourists, while Raj guessed that many of the others who were holding hands and weeping probably had a closer connection. The place was haunting, even in the daylight. As Lucky stood quietly, observing everything around him, he thought he could actually feel the loss and the pain of the families, and he was awed by the sacrifices made by all New Yorkers in the aftermath of that terrible event.

  "Dude, this is unbelievable," Lucky whispered, turning to look at Raj. But Raj had disappeared. Lucky scanned the
crowd, but did not see him anywhere. He began retracing his steps, searching for his friend, but Raj was nowhere to be found. After several unproductive minutes, Lucky crossed the road and headed towards Church Street. Suddenly he spotted Raj, who was acting as though he was looking for something. Lucky ran up to him, grabbed his arm, and swung him around.

  "What are you doing?" Lucky asked, relieved, but also irritated now that he had found Raj.

  "Nothing. I went to the restroom," Raj answered. "I?I lost my way."

  "Why did you not tell me?" Lucky pushed.

  "It was an emergency," Raj replied, refusing to make eye contact with Lucky. Lucky stared at Raj, waiting for him to offer more, but Raj was silent. Lucky didn't believe Raj's excuse, and the sense of unease that he felt when Raj first asked about the World Trade Center returned. But it wasn't as though Lucky had discovered Raj actually doing something suspicious or wrong, so he didn't really know what to do about the feeling. He shrugged his shoulders as though he was trying to shrug off a bad feeling, and said simply, "We should go home now."