The Bandit Queens

Despite the rumors that circulate throughout the village, Geeta did not kill her husband. He was abusive, but there were also aspects of him that she once loved. At this point, however, she rarely thinks of him. She remembers that he left quietly—not after a fight but after his debts piled up. Everyone assumed that Ramesh left because she could not give him children, but, as time passed, they began to surmise that she killed him. She therefore became the village churel: a witch and an outcast. Over time, Geeta has learned to fend for herself and to live a solitary life. Now, Farah’s request only complicates her desire for solitude. Geeta sets off to do her daily errands. Passing by some children playing kabaddi (a tackling game without balls or other equipment), she uses her status as a witch to threaten a girl who is bullying a younger boy. As she walks, she remembers her one-time friendship with Saloni, which ended upon her marriage to Ramesh. Geeta believes that Saloni was jealous, even though Ramesh was not particularly handsome and certainly was not wealthy.

To her frustration, Geeta finds that the shops have already closed for the day. As she returns home, some voices outside the bootleg liquor store stop her. She recognizes Samir’s voice—Farah’s husband. He is arguing with Karem, the shopkeeper, who refuses to sell Samir any more liquor until his account is settled. Samir claims that he can get the money from Farah’s friend, the one who has loaned her the microfinance payment. When Karem questions how he will convince this friend to give him the money, Samir retorts, “Because if she doesn’t, I’ll make her regret it” (20). Geeta realizes that she has been targeted, and she returns to Farah’s house, determined to help Farah kill Samir.

Farah arrives at Geeta’s house to discuss the plan. Farah is surprised to discover that Geeta expects her to commit the actual murder. Together, they will scour the roadways for an unbroken plastic bag, which Farah will place over Samir’s sleeping head, suffocating him. Their search is interrupted by a curious Saloni; Geeta knows they cannot complete their task because Saloni is an incorrigible gossip. She and Saloni exchange barbs, and after Saloni moves on, Geeta and Farah return to the house. Farah asks why she and Saloni despise each other, but Geeta refuses to tell the story.

In this chapter, Geeta reflects on what happened between her and Saloni all those years ago. They had been very close as children and young women. Saloni often ate at Geeta’s house, as her own family was so poor that there often was not enough food for her. Still, Saloni was from a high caste and, even more importantly, she was physically beautiful. She was able to capitalize on both attributes to manipulate and bully others. She also spent much of her time on schemes to make money, often with Geeta as her sidekick. However, when Ramesh came onto the scene, their friendship changed.

Geeta was an object of contention between Ramesh and Saloni, who competed for her affection. Ramesh would tell Geeta that Saloni is not a very good friend, while Saloni accused Ramesh of being controlling. Geeta wanted to keep both of them in her life, but it proved impossible. Ramesh claimed that Saloni desired him, but when Geeta brought this up to her friend, Saloni only laughed. Geeta interpreted this as an insult, assuming that Saloni’s laughter implied that while Geeta was plain enough for Ramesh, Saloni was too beautiful to consider him as a prospect. Upon the end of the women’s friendship, Ramesh demanded that Geeta apologize to him for siding with Saloni in the first place. 

Farah arrives at Geeta’s house the next evening, announcing happily that she has managed to kill Samir. When Geeta asks how, Farah says that she put all of his sleeping pills into his nightly bottle of liquor. But Geeta looks more closely at the empty bottle of pills and states, “This is Fincar, it’s for hair growth” (41). Farah, it turns out, is illiterate. They decide instead that Farah will poison Samir and concur that Samir should be drunk when the poison is administered.

Geeta sets out for Karem’s liquor shop, for Farah, as an observant Muslim, balks at being seen at the liquor store. Geeta buys some tharra (cheap, rum-like liquor), and tells Karem that it is for her own use, although he does not quite believe her. Karem is friendly with Geeta, but she does not return the favor because Karem’s liquor often contributed to Ramesh’s abusive rages. Karem sincerely apologizes, then mutters something about Ramesh getting what he deserved, saying, “Blind is pretty clear karma” (46). When Geeta questions him, he demurs and offers her the liquor for free. She refuses to accept what she sees as his guilt and leaves her money on the counter.

When Geeta returns home, she imagines the spot where her refrigerator will someday stand. She has been saving money from her jewelry business, in which she makes mangalsutras (wedding necklaces). She recalls that her father died and left her many debts, which Ramesh made her pay by selling her own wedding jewelry. She is glad that those humiliating memories are behind her and that she is now self-sufficient. She is startled out of her ruminations by a knock on her door. Expecting to see Farah, she instead finds Karem, who offers her a ride into Kohra—the largest town near the village—so she can shop for supplies. Earlier, Geeta mentioned that she needed to go to Kohra, but her errand is to buy rat poison for Farah’s plan.

The next morning, they meet and hop onto a truck headed for town. Karem strikes up a conversation, and they discuss his four children and his wife, who passed away around the same time that Ramesh disappeared. Geeta finds herself taken with Karem’s friendliness and starts thinking of him in startling ways, hiding her blushes. When they disembark, Karem takes her to meet Bada-Bhai, a local businessman who sells Karem’s tharra. Karem clearly has ulterior motives for asking Geeta along; he wants to encourage Bada-Bhai to help Geeta sell her wedding jewelry in the larger town. She is embarrassed but also flattered. Bada-Bhai, however, expresses little interest in the prospect, and Geeta excuses herself to use the toilet. She witnesses Bada-Bhai’s wife slap the Rabari servant; Geeta suspects that Bada-Bhai’s son is actually the Rabari woman’s child, not his wife’s.

Geeta wanders outside, disturbed by the domestic scene. She sees four dogs chained together at the fence line, where one of them gets violently ill. She and Karem discover that Bada-Bhai adulterates Karem’s tharra with methanol, then tests it on the dogs. If the dogs survive, then Bada-Bhai assumes that the liquor is safe enough to sell. Geeta is outraged, as is Karem, who ends his partnership with Bada-Bhai on the spot. Before they leave, Geeta asks to return to the facilities. Instead, she runs outside and frees the dogs. The sick one cannot move, so she picks him up and puts him in her bag.