But Whom Do You Sleep With?

(This is an old story, but well worth re-telling)

Our Fair City is an immensely crowded place. Many “homes” will have 100 to 200 individuals living in them, crammed into rooms as they continue to put more concrete layers on top of the current stories.

Every room in the building (“building” is probably a better word than “home”?) is used at night for sleeping. A husband and wife will have a private room, with perhaps a child or two under ten sleeping with them. Unmarried males will sleep many in one room, and unmarried females in another one. Roll up mattresses get pulled out at night onto the floor, and every couch can hold a person or two.

But the bottom line is, no one gets a private room to sleep in.

A friend of ours – a young, single woman then – lived in Varanasi for three years. She got a small apartment and lived happily.

Once she was out visiting, when the conversation came up of who was sleeping in which room. Her friends inquired where she lived, and she explained that she rented a room.

Her friends got a puzzled look on their faces, “But whom do you sleep with?” they asked.

They were unable to comprehend the concept of sleeping alone in a room. Indeed, it sounded rather scary to them.

We only have six in our room.