Rina was disturbed. Her son Ritwik, or Rik, could it spot it a mile away as soon he came back from college and sat down on the sofa that covered half of the living room of their tiny flat in Bowbazar, a part of Calcutta that had seen better days. Normally she would have had a million questions -- what was taught today? who did what? and said what? and so on while serving him his evening tiffin. But today, after a rather hurried hello, she had quickly retired to the tiny kitchen and Rik could see that she was generally pottering around there, but not doing anything much.
Rik was puzzled or rather curious. He walked into the kitchen and pulled out a bottle of cold water from the fridge. "Hi Ma, why are you so silent today?"
"Oh well, nothing," Rina was a little vague, "just this and that and nothing much."
"No, you are upset with something." Rik took a gulp of water and put the bottle down on the table. "Tell me what is wrong?"
"Don't worry kiddo, I will get over it."
"So let me help you," Rik threw his arms around her shoulders and hugged her tight and suddenly felt something stiff under around her waist. "Oh, hey, what is this?"
Rina was wearing a saree but unlike her usual position when it would be tied below her navel, today it seemed to be quite high but as Rik discovered as he patted her around her waist and along the crack of her butt, she was wearing something under it.
"What are you wearing Ma?" Rina turned around to face her son and in the dim light of the kitchen, Rik saw a hunted look in her eyes.
"Please, kiddo, please," she was obviously very embarrassed. "How was college?" she asked in a desperate attempt to change the topic.
"No, you tell me what has happened and what is that beneath your saree." He tapped on it.
"I can't." she suddenly sobbed. "Please son, don't insist."
"Ok, Ma. Relax." Rik grabbed his mother's face and kissed her on her lips.
With Rik's arms around her shoulders, his body pressed into her, it was suddenly very cozy for his mother. Her tension drained away and she looked up, to see her son smiling calmly at her. Very reassuring. They clung to each other for a couple of silent minutes and then Rina said, "Kiddo, you need to know what has happened but to do that, I need to take off my clothes."
...............................................
Rina was from the southern districts of Bengal, those bordering on the Bay, but very early in life, circumstances had brought her into the flesh trade in Calcutta from which she was slowly trying to extricate herself. Rik had been born when she was still shy of adulthood but somehow his presence had made her dream of being something different and in this she had latched on to Shanta-bai, Calcutta's last classical singer in the kothi traditions of nawabi Lucknow. Through her she had managed to craft a career in music -- not the traditional kothi music, of which there were hardly any patrons these days, but she did earn a tidy sum by singing popular and risque numbers in seedy bars and at social events. Not that this meant that she had regained her virginity! With her tall, lissome figure, dusky complexion, sharp features, large limpid eyes and a headful of hair that when left uncoiled would easily reach her hips, she had one hell of head turner of a body that she normally kept hidden under saree. But when performing in a variety of revealing dresses she had often been groped, fondled and been proposed to on numerous occasions, some of which had ended with Rina having to get into bed with powerful people on pleasant commercial terms.
None of this was unknown to Rik. Growing up in a red-light area, he was no stranger to the sex trade but for some reason, perhaps because of the genes that he had inherited from an unknown father, his life had been moving along a slightly different track. His was the world of books and then, when his mother had arranged for a it, the vastness of the world wide web. Thankfully, it was only in the rarest of rare occasions that his mother's friends would visit their flat, but even then he could easily withdraw himself into his own private cocoon while he could hear moans, grunts, slaps and shrieks as his mother would get fucked behind the doors of their bedroom. It was not that he was gay or impotent but when you live among nudity and sex, its power to arouse easily is lost and even though he had briefly seen his mother in the nude, since privacy was at a premium in the extremely small flat that they lived in, it had never been a very big deal for him, until that intriguing day after his eighteenth birthday ...
This was mid June and Calcutta was sweltering in a heat wave and waiting desperately for the monsoon to arrive and soothe the city. Humidity was intense and life was miserable especially for those who lived in cramped, squalid environments. Everybody was suffering but Rina was in a particularly bad shape. An itch that had begun in her pubic area and possibly inside her cunt was now spreading across her body and thick red weals had appeared on her buttocks, her back, her belly and now her breasts. What was worse was that since morning she had begun to feel dizzy. Reluctantly, Rina had agreed to allow Rik to take her to Dr Dutta, the only medical doctor who practised in the area.
Dr Dutta was a rogue but a rather lovable rogue. He was about fifty but some unpleasant and accidental event in the early part of his medical career had forced him to hide in the seedier part of the city and then he had got used to the people and practices of the sex trade. He was competent and completely non-judgmental in his work but would never hesitate to flirt with, make a pass at or even solicit personal favours from his lady patients and yet when push comes to shove he would be generous with his money and his time. On many occasions when the women or their kids were in trouble with the police or the pimps he would take the lead to mediate and sort out matters. In his own way he was a little pillar in the difficult community that he had moved into.
There was a long crowd of patients in the doctor's tiny waiting room and when Rina and Rik finally entered Dr Dutta's chamber it was well past 9 O'clock. The room was tiny with a small narrow table along the wall and two chairs in the front. Towards the back, separated from the room with a short, dirty curtain, was a narrow passage that led to another larger room with a marble table and a wash basin.
"Come in, come in Rina-bai," Dr Dutta used the technically correct word "bai" that distinguishes a singer from a sex worker. "How can I help you?" He was sitting on the chair and his smile was as warm and friendly as ever. Rina sat down on the other chair explained her problem.
"You will have to take off your clothes, Rina-bai, for me to take a look." Dr Dutta was notorious for having his lady patients strip naked but since most of his patients were accustomed to this it was something that had never become an issue with anyone. But Rik was not sure about his mother stripping in his presence. "Should I leave the room?"
"You could, but the law says that a doctor should examine a lady patient only in the presence of her relatives and then," he winked, "a fine young stud like you would certainly enjoy the sight of your mother's naked body!"
"Oh Doctor-babu, he is my son dammit, please do not corrupt him."
"Oooh, I know that Rik is different, he is into computers and all that .."
"Shut up, Doctor, and get on with your work."
"Ok, Ok, Rina-bai, please stand up and drop your clothes."
Rina was wearing a salwar-kameez, the pajama suit that is universally worn by women across India and it did not take her long to drop her pajama and pull off her shirt.
"Since the itch has started in your pubis and has spread across your breasts, you need to take off your bra and panty as well." Rina pushed down her panty and her thick bush of luxuriant pubic hair came into view. Next she stretched her arms to unhook her bra to reveal a coarse stubble under her armpits. Now that she was totally nude, Rina coyly placed an arm across her breasts, covered her cunt with a palm and stood expectantly in the middle of the room.
Dr Dutta got up and gently removed her hand from her breasts and for the first time Rik was staring fully and openly at his mother's perfect breasts.
"Rina-bai, your tits are perfect." He fondled them lovingly, running his thumb over the nipples and watching them harden. "But this rash is rather ugly." He snapped back into his professional mode and continued with the examination of the belly and then the back. Inwardly, Rik heaved a sigh of relief as the sight of the doctor rubbing his mother's hard nipples was making him uncomfortable in his own crotch! But not for long, because the doctor put his hand on Rina's buttocks to pull her closer to the powerful lamp on his desk and with his other hand started feeling inside her pubic hair with his fingers.
"The first thing we need to do is to shave off all this hair Rina, and then I can see better."
"OK .."
"This will take time and there are other patients waiting. So let me suggest that Rik and you go to the back of the chamber, behind the curtain, and Rik can quickly shave you clean."
"Do we have the equipment?"
"Yes, I do, and in the meantime, I will finish off seeing all the other patients and get back to you when you are done."