Servant Savant

“158,” Professor Mukund told the room with a smile.

“Are you sure? I still can’t believe Nandini can have such a high IQ. I’m just an average call centre worker and Anjali is a housewife that’s never been to school; how can our daughter be like this?” Rajesh was desperate for some sort of verification.

“Mr. Nagar, I have checked it two times. Your daughter is a genius. The average IQ is between 85 and 11;, your daughter is exceptional.”

Nandini wasn’t paying attention to the conversation between her teacher and her parents. Her eyes were glued to a bird flying from tree to tree. She wondered what would happen if humans had wings. She pictured herself with massive wings flying between ice cream trucks and amusement parks.

“At 11-years-old she’s already grasping college level calculus and physics. With your permission, we wanted to enroll her into some courses in IIT Madras to see what she can accomplish,” Professor Mukund proposed to Nandini’s parents.

Rajesh put his hands together in apology and said, “Sorry sir, we come from humble backgrounds and we cannot afford higher tuition fees. I barely make enough to send her here, let alone college.”

The professor politely pushed Rajesh’s hands down and assured him, “I have already talked to the headmaster, and he has agreed that our school will subsidize her fees. We only require 4000 rupees a month.”

Rajesh gave his wife a worried look. They knew his salary was very low at the call centre and that was going to be a problem for them. “I’m sorry, Professor, you need to give us some time to get back to you. This is a big decision for our family and my wife and I need to discuss.”

“Sure, Rajesh. Just get back to me by the end of the week so I can report to the board.”

The auto rickshaw back home was very quiet. Nandini’s parents were lost in their own thoughts after agreeing to discuss matters over dinner. Nandini was looking out of the vehicle again at the various shops and offices of Chennai wondering if she would work in one of them one day. She knew she was smart but still felt intimidated by the outside world.

When they got home to their small house in Thandalam on the outskirts of Chennai, Anjali started to cook dinner, and Nandini went to do her homework. She borrowed college textbooks from a nearby library to learn things that interested her. Her interests ranged from mathematics to roman literature to languages and cultures. But more than anything else, Nandini wanted to be an astronaut. She loved how little knowledge there was on life outside of Earth and wanted to be a pioneer in space exploration for India.

“Come, Nandini, your food is on the table. Don’t let the roti get cold,” her mom yelled out.

A few minutes into eating roti and vegetables, Rajesh blurted out, “Nandini isn’t going to IIT.”

“Why not?” Anjali shot back at her husband. “We can manage the fees since the school decided to subsidize. I don’t see the problem.”

Nandini continued eating her roti with her eyes fixed on her father.

“Anjali, don’t argue. You know it’s more than just the money. I made a promise to Varun that Nandini is going to marry his son. Just five more years until she turns 16, then we can get her married and she will live a good life with them,” Rajesh said assertively. Nandini’s heart sank but she remained silent.

“Rajesh, don’t be ridiculous. Let her go to school. She will learn a lot of new things and get a job that will make her even more happy,” Anjali fought back.

“Don’t act smart, Anjali. You didn’t even go to school yourself. There’s no future for women in this country no matter how smart you are. I’m her father; I know what’s best for her. Stop all this bullshit and teach her how to cook and clean so she can be a good wife.” Rajesh was losing his patience.

Silence overshadowed the table. Nandini held her mother's hand as if to hold her back from arguing. She was scared to talk back to her father but kept thinking it’s now or never. If she didn’t say something now, she may forever regret it.

“Papa, I don’t want to get married. There’s so much more I want to learn so that I can be an amazing astronaut...”

Rajesh slammed his palm on the table to cut her off. “Enough. You are 11-years-old. You are in no position to make these decisions. You’re a girl — stay in line and be realistic. I work hard every day to earn money for this family. The least you can do is let me make the decisions. Women becoming astronauts only happen in western countries, not here in India.”

“Rajesh, we all know very well you just want the dowry your friend Varun has promised you, but it’s your own daughter, plea…” Rajesh slapped Anjali, knocking her out of her chair and onto the floor.

Nandini ran to her mother’s aid. A deep red mark was stretched across her face while drips of blood rolled down her lip. Anjali grabbed her daughter and hugged her to hide her tears. Rajesh stormed away from the table and went back to his room.

“Why did he hit you?” Nandini wiped the tears from her mom’s face and looked her directly in the eyes.

“He works very hard, Nandini. He’s very stressed out. He really does love you a lot and only wants to see you happy.” Anjali got up from the floor and started to clean up the table.

“Mummy. He just hit you really hard, and you’re just going to ignore it? Just because he can’t open his eyes doesn’t mean you can’t either. I don’t want to get married. I want to become an astronaut. If women can join NASA in America why can’t Indian women go to space, too?” Nandini had enough and let it all out to her mother.

Anjali walked to Nandini and pulled her in for a hug. “I wish I had half your bravery. You make me feel like the world’s proudest mom. You are right. One day you will become an amazing astronaut and I’ll wave at you in space from the balcony." A smile finally appeared on Anjali’s face.

“Enough of living like this, Mom. My professor said we can stay at the university together. You don’t have to be here all your life. Mummy, please listen to me. You are so good at making food; you can be a chef at the university.” Nandini’s eyes brightened up as she imagined everything she was saying.

Anjali’s started to frown. “I will stay here, Nandini. There’s no place for me there, I’ve married your father and I can’t abandon him. I’ll go talk to him now. Then tomorrow morning, I will come to your school and talk to Professor Mukund about enrolling you to university.”

“I love you, Mom,” Nandini gave her mom another hug and went to the balcony.

After closing the door behind her, she could already hear her parents shouting at each other. She looked out and saw a bird flying higher and higher towards the stars. She was jealous of how free the bird was. No one cared whether the bird was a girl or a boy. No one cared if the bird flew all the way to space and back.