‘My name is Sarala. I have been told that you are looking for a maid to do cleaning and washing.' I called on the new madam in the apartment tower after the watchman told me that new tenants have moved in. It's always a race to get the new tenants' number. Usually madams take in whoever approaches first because they will be troubled with all the moving in and resultant work. I try to look clean and act polite so that I impress the madam. Hopefully, it worked because she asked me to meet her the next morning. 

I woke up early so that I could finish work in teacher madam's house before heading to meet the new madam. I bathed and prepared food for my kids and set out. When I stepped out of my house, I couldn't find one my new slippers that I had left outside last night. Well, I can't walk barefoot all the way neither can I look so shabby to the new madam, she would not take me in. Besides, teacher madam would chide me for walking in with dirty feet.

I looked around the house, went into the street in hopes of finding my missing slipper. I asked my neighbours to check if any of the kids were playing a prank on me. But, I had returned late last night and it's too early in the morning now for any kids to be out playing in the street. In vain I walked around the neighbours' houses... I was getting late for work. I wouldn't have time to go over to the new madam if I didn't find my slipper soon.

I even checked in the sewage drain in the street, nothing in it.

Ramu Bhaiya was setting up his idli stall under the tree. He saw me going up and down the row of houses and called me over. 'I lost my new slipper Bhaiya! It's a new pair I bought last week. It's orange, have you seen anyone with it this morning? I don't know who took it! I am getting late for work!' I proferred an explanation with hopes for a solution. 'I saw a dog in front of your door earlier; it was a white dog with black ears. It might have taken your slipper, it went towards the church. Go look, you might find it somewhere around.'

I quickly walked towards the church with the other slipper in hand. I looked in the garden around the church and found nothing. I walked into the church, leaving the other slipper in my hand outside the door, to see if the dog had slipped inside when no one was looking. I could not find anything but, when I came outside I saw that my other slipper had also gone missing!

It has to be the doing of a prankster, I was now sure. Someone must have followed me from my house to the church and taken away the other slipper when I went inside the church. I was so irritated with this insensitive prank and waste of my time! I was already late for teacher madam's house. She leaves for school in half an hour and I won't be able to reach her house on time. So I called her, I couldn't of course tell her I have been delayed by a missing slipper! So, I made up an excuse, 'Teacher madam, my son is running a fever, I won't be able to come to work this morning. I shall clean the dishes and wash clothes after you return from school in the afternoon.' I could hear the frustration in her tone. She did not believe me, I will have to make it up to her later. I was walking back to my house disappointed when I saw two women, vegetable vendors, talking to Ramu Bhaiya in an agitated tone. One of the women was Nirmala. I went to them to see what they were talking about. 'You know, some one had thrown it into the church on purpose! The gardener was telling me, it broke a window glass and landed right on the pastor's desk! It must be those Vinayaka committee goons! They threatened us all last week for not donating to the pooja.'

I didn't understand the complete story but such things were common in our colony. There are Hindus, Muslims and Christians living in this colony. Most of them are working class, usually nobody has the time or energy to meddle with each other. So, we all lived in relative peace. But, now and then some miscreants start these nasty religious fights and they go on for weeks! They burn shops, destroy property and harass common folk.

I didn't have the time to find out about this story today. So, I headed home to see if my old slippers were any good to walk in. Thankfully they were not completely torn, so I wore them and hurried out to take the bus to new madam's apartment. I would usually walk, but today I was already late. I will have to keep the discussion short, impress her quickly and go to doctor saab's house later for washing clothes.

At the bus stop I saw the chicken shop owner, Iman and the fakir angrily talking to a group of men. I heard the words 'saffron' and 'church candles'. Just then the bus came and I got in.

I rang the doorbell and a young boy of nine opened the door, he looked at me and ran into the house shouting to his mother, 'Mummy, some aunty came to our house'. I laughed to myself, I must be looking very presentable for the child to think I was one of the neighbours. Madam came out and I quickly greeted her with folded hands. She was very soft spoken. I didn't have to haggle much about my salary with this madam. I was happy she was not as stingy as doctor saab's wife. I finalised the work and timings, promised to return in an hour and left.

It was a long day! When I returned to the house, I was tired and hungry. 'I will have to take a tiffin box for myself from tomorrow', I thought. I cut the vegetables and lit the stove when my son ran into the house and began to tell me in an animated tone, the happenings in the street. 'Amma, amma, you know, there was a big argument between Ganesh Bhaiyya and Pastor Paul today. They were both threatening each other with dire consequences!'. Just then my daughter returned from her tuition class 'Amma! Shabnam was telling me someone had insulted their darga and her father and uncles all went to find and punish them! She even said she might not come to school tomorrow as they were all planning to hold a rally in the colony. Why do people insult each other's religion Amma? You said God is God to everyone!'

I finished the house chores and went to bathe. When I returned I saw my husband was talking to the neighbour in the street. He came in and told me that someone had harassed a woman in the colony, probably raped her and they doubted it was Rafi and his gang. He also said, they thought it was a Hindu woman as her belongings suggested. Nobody had seen the woman, she must have ran away in fear and embarrassment!

I told him about the church and darga gossip, we both agreed the world was coming to its end, worried what times we lived in and I completely forgot about my lost slippers.

I woke up to the blazing speech from the speaker at the darga. Someone was giving a hysterical speech, as if preparing an army for war! It was Sunday and soon the church bells rang,too, louder than usual. It was my daughter's birthday today and her father had promised to take us all out to see the carnival and eat ice-cream. We finished our breakfast, bathed, put on our best clothes and set out for the picnic. In the street there were some people holding candles and singing near the church. It was not Christmas and I wondered why they were singing in the street. We walked towards the bus stop, there were the Vinayaka committee members along with a group of women who came in four cars, they pitched a tent in front of the tailoring shop and raised slogans against rape and eve teasing. Ramu Bhaiyya was serving them idli with some orange chutney and tea. The bus stop was over crowded with Muslim men, women and kids, some local leader was addressing them in urdu and they were repeatedly clapping to his speech. The bus stopped at a distance from the stop, we ran and got in just in time. It was a lovely picnic, the weather was very good and we all had a lot of fun at the carnival. The kids enjoyed the giant wheel ride, ate ice cream. My husband and I ate masala pappad and had chai at the stalls. We also took a boat ride in the lake and ate lunch at the food court. We had a great time and returned home late afternoon.

As we got down at the bus stop, I saw that the meeting was still going on, with a bigger gathering and the local MLA also had come. The mood was no longer jubilant. There was a lot of tension and anger in the faces of the audience. There were some things put on the table for display, I could not see them clearly but one of the things was familiar. Was it a slipper? 

At the tailoring shop, women still sat in the tent. A few of them had garlands around their necks and there were boards held about fasting and protest against rape.

Ramu Bhaiya got two boys to help him and was serving pakora and masala tea to the people around. They had called the police, some belongings of the raped women were put in plastic bags and taken as clues for investigation. I could not tell what they were from the distance but someone in the crowd said there were broken bangles, pooja items like coconut and a slipper of the victim . But there was no clue about who the woman was and where she went.  Hence, Rafi and his gang could not be arrested. Moreover, the MLA and the Muslim community had warned of consequences if the police acted without proper witness and investigation. 

At the end of our street, the church choir had set up a mic and speakers and the pastor spoke about solidarity and respect for church. The kids were singing choirs in between the speech. Our ward councilor, Mary Suguna, was also sitting on the podium. 

Most of the people in the colony had gone to attend one of these meetings according to their respective religions. My kids were curious to go see too but we were tired. I called them into the house to wash-up, finish their homework and prepare for school tomorrow. We talked happily about our picnic for the rest of evening and ate a simple dinner of daal and rice. I went out into the street to switch off the light outside the door and lock it, just then I saw something moving at the neighbour's door. It was a puppy! Picking up a shoe left at the door. 

Suddenly I remembered my lost slippers. A flash of the visuals I saw in the afternoon passed my mind. Weren't those my new orange slippers I saw on the table in the meeting and in the packet the constable held? I went white with shock when I realised what could have happened! 

One of the street dogs has given birth to a litter of puppies. The pups were teething and hence picking up shoes and other chewy stuff from the streets and leaving them everywhere. I could not sleep all night in disbelief and fear. I did not know if people would believe me if I told them about my slippers and the puppies. I feared if they would blame me for starting a riot.  I woke my husband up and told him the slipper story. He couldn't believe it at first either! We discussed it all night and decided to keep quiet about it. It was too risky to get involved with any of the parties out there. The mood was already war-like everywhere. Each community was sending subtle threats and concealed warning messages to the other. The colony was like a ticking bomb! I dared not even speak to anyone about my slippers. 

I woke up, still tired and scared, went into the street to pick up some milk from the vendor. There were two police vehicles patrolling the streets and announcing in the speaker that a curfew was held in the colony for the next 48 hours. I sighed in relief!