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Girija, whose home name is Baby, is the grand daughter of the Town Hall librarian who is old and has joined this job after his retirement as sheristedar in the court. She is a sweet seventeen year old girl. She is tall. She is studying in the final year of B.A. in a college in Malgudi. She has been brought up by her grandparents at Malgudi away from the house of their son-in-law who is always, occupied with agricultural operations, animals and 'gobar' gas plant. Their daughter also behaves and lives in the way of her husband. Both of them are settled in the librarian's son-in-law's ancestral home in a village. Girija has been taken to the town so that she may receive proper education and can be saved from the cowdung mindness of her parents.
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| Girija |
She is a gentle and innocent girl. She is serviceful to her grandparents. As a daily routine, she brings a flask of coffee and tiffin in a brass vessel for her grandfather at three o'clock in the afternoon. The old man will feel supremely satisfied at the sight of the girl with refreshments. He will vacate his chair, take the tiffin and flask of coffee to the inner room in order to relish the delicacies in isolation. The girl will take the chair of her grandfather and keep a watch around during his absence. After taking refreshments, he will lie in an easy armchair inside that room for some fifteen minutes in order to relax his old limbs. Thereafter, he returns to his usual seat with a refreshed and satisfied look and Girija is allowed to go back home.
Girija in her innocence and simplicity falls a prey to the devious ways of Dr. Rann. One day when Girija is sitting in the librarian's chair, Dr. Rann happens to come over there. Finding a young girl in the place of the old man, he feels irresistibly drawn towards her. He stands beside the table and starts, talking to the girl. He introduces himself as a man from Timbuctoo. Girija feels amused by the name of the place and gets interested in his talk. She is impressed by the manner of his conversation and by his look of a well-dressed educated person as well. His lechery comes into full play as he looks upon her like a new victim to be knotted into his snares. He approaches the table and halts his steps "with all his faculties alert and tense like a feline coming upon its unsuspecting prey." The girl is greeted by him with an effusive, ceremonious bow in a very winsome manner. Seeing this spectacle, TM feels an urge to call aloud to Dr. Rann warning him to keep away from the girl as she is too young and of his daughter's age. He thinks of this lecherous demon as one who will not mind even if she were a grand-daughter. Girija is caught into his devious ways of influencing the fair sex. He draws up a map with a stylish slim gold pen on a piece of paper in order to make her understand where the place named Timbuctoo is located. TM expresses how the girl comes closer to him and gets into the charmed circle of his crafty manners. He says:
"- the girl brought her face close to his. I'm sure he was casting a spell at that moment, for it seemed to me that the girl was relishing the smell of the after-shave lotion and hair-cream, which, I suspected, made him irresistible to women. He knew it and turned it in fully."
Dr. Rann continues explaining to her historical, topographical and economic matters of Timbuctoo in detail and holds the girl in thrall. Thus, the very first meeting with Girija paves a way for him to come closer to her. The intimacy aroused in her makes her feel at home with him later on. She is exploited by this unscrupulous knave. She has already fallen a victim to him to be taken orn by him as and when he desires to do so. The stylish, knavish and cunning ways of Dr. Rann are summed up by TM in these words:
"I noted how accomplished an act he was putting on. He was versatile - one moment to impress the girl and patronise her and take her under his wing - so solicitous, kindly in tone - the world of the fairy-tales, the next moment the international scholar academician adopting his manner to impress the old man - on whose good-will he would have to depend in order to get closer to the girl."
This is how craftily he makes inroads into the heart of a woman invisibly and unnoticed and ultimately draws her inextricably into his vicious Octopus-like claws.
Girija, with all her unripe age, simplicity and innocence, comes completely into Dr. Rann's vile clutches. This is confirmed by the reports given to TM by different persons like Gundu Rao - the Municipal horticulturist, Jayaraj - the photographer at the Market Arch and Nataraj, the owner of the Royal theatre. Gundu Rao notices Girija and Dr. Rann sitting on a bench close to each other in a remote corner in the Protestant Cemetery far out on Mempi Road. He goes there to trim hedges as ordered by the Collector. He notices a scooter parked by the side of the cemetery which is some five miles away from the town. Dr. Rann is using Sambu's scooter for such amorous visits with the girl. Jayaraj reports the daily routine movements of the girl with Dr. Rann. He tells TM that at 10:30 a.m., Dr. Rann is ready behind the Town Hall compound and the girl reaches at 10:30 a.m. and mounts on the pillion of Sambu's Vespa. They reach Kismet Ice-cream Stall at New Extension by 10:45 a.m. He leaves her at the level-crossing at 10:58 a.m. from where she goes to the Albert Mission College alone to give the impression that she has come by herself. After the college, she is met again at the level-crossing and thereafter they go to some unknown place for their love-making and flirtation. Nataraj, the owner of the Royal Palace talkies also conveys to TM the report that the occupant-gentleman in his house has got two sofas reserved in balcony for a show with a girl.
Girija's movements with Dr. Rann remain unknown to the girl's grandparents. She no more brings tiffin and coffee for the librarian in the afternoon. She befooled them for her late-coming by fabricating excuses that she has to attend extra classes or has to do joint studies with some friends as this is her final year of B.A. class. The old man feels happy and satisfied with the serious attention that Girija is giving to her final year studies. He gets lost into the future prospects of the girl like marrying her with a good boy after her graduation and at a place which is not very far off so that they are able to maintain regular contact with her. Thus, the surreptitious movements of the girl with Dr. Rann defile and pollute her innocence and simplicity. She grows crafty, cunning and an adept in duping her grandparents on false pretexts. However, one evening she brings Dr. Rann to her house. The shameless wretch entertains Girija's grandmother with conversation and good manners. The grandmother is worshipful to him for his modesty and gentleness in agreeing to share their simple food with them despite his superior up-bringing and status.
TM also becomes suspicious. He notices how his movements are based on Girija's time-table. One day, in his absence, Madhu unlocks his room with a duplicate key and examines his briefcase and a portfolio of letters. He comes to the conclusion that the man has been touring different parts of the world under different assumed names and has been hunting women everywhere and deserting each of them elusively. All the letters have a commori feature - "the cry of desertion." Hence, TM starts apprehending the imminent doom going to occur to Girija for the avoidance of which he works out a strategy.
Girija is flattered and cuddled by Dr. Rann into future fantastic visions. She must have been told not to mind her studies as he can procure her a degree from any place of the world. His fabulous plan regarding her is exposed to TM one day by Dr. Rann himself. He calls Malgudi a backward place, not fit for a growing, aspiring young mind. He puts it like this:
"- but for a young mind starting in lite, a more modern, urban, cultural feedback will help. My private view is, don't quote me, from what I have seen, she should not grow up with her grandfather. A hostel would be preferable-where she can compare and compete with her age-group. Anyway after final exam. In March, she should decide her future."
Girija is inexperienced and raw-minded. She is easily taken in by evil designs and allurements offered by Dr. Rann who is a hardened, callous debauched and a breaker of innocent hearts. Now, their flirtatious movements are undertaken by hiring Gaffur's taxi. Gaffur is happy that the taxi-hirer pays him ungrudgingly according to the meter. His daily income has gone up. His mind gets catapulted to the flattering vision of replacing his present old model taxi by a Rols Royce one day if this gentleman continues paying like this.
The stage is finally set by Dr. Rann to elope with Girija and seduce her and leave her to, her fate like many other women who have been his victims. Gaffur confides in TM the catastrophic conclusion of Girija-Rann love-affair as planned by him for the day of the Silver Jubilee celebration of the Lotus Club. Dr. Rann is to deliver a lecture entitled, "Futurology" to the audience in the Town Hall auditorium. The topic concerns his subjects of research about a grass-like weed which will spread all over the earth annihilating all other vegetations and grow up into a giant-size. All forms of life including human and animal will perish as there will be nothing to eat and this grass-like weed cannot be eaten because of its being poisonous. After the conclusion of his lecture, as pre-planned, Girija will elope with him in Gaffur's taxi to the Peak House up the Mempi Hills. Dr. Rann has promised her to marry and take her to America. Gaffur, with his packed baggage in his car, will wait for him at a spot not far away from the Town Hall and the girl will wait for him at the school verandah with her belongings packed in a trunk.
TM feels stunned at the prospect of an innocent girl's getting victimised and seduced by this incorrigible lecher. To avoid this catastrophe, he sends a telegraphic message to Commandant Sarasa - Dr. Rann's first and ritually married wife - to come immediately in order to capture her loafing husband. A plan is meticulously made between TM and Sarasa so that she is able to catch hold of the man without upsetting the programme of the Lotus Club's Silver Jubilee celebration. After a melee created in the hall, Dr. Rann is escorted out into a dark corner from where two men, deployed by Sarasa push him inside the waiting car where she is already seated. He is whisked away successfully in his wife's conpany. TM goes to Gaffur's taxi and takes him along to pick up the girl back to her grandparents house.
The intensity of Girija's association with Dr. Rann comes in open expression for the first time when, seeing Guffur's taxi arriving towards her, she exclaims with extreme gaiety and gusto:
"Ah! The meeting over? How I wished I were there to listen to you and watch your triumph in public." She blurted out: "Oh, darling, how happy you must be...now we are free and checked herself"
Girija's depth of association with Rann is explicit in her embarrassment when Gaffur gets out of the taxi and informs her about the changed situation. She is not prepared to believe all this. She becomes hysterical and speaks against them all as they are inimical to Dr. Rann. She bursts out into admiration for him saying, "He was so good, oh, he was kind and generous and loving. You don't understand him, nobody understands him. Take me to him, wherever he may be, let me know the truth from his own lips." It takes a long time for TM and Gaffur to control her and to make her regain her balance to some extent. They push her inside the taxi, which she does not resist as she is dead-exhausted. The transformation brought about in her is amazing to both TM and Gaffur. They leave her near her grandparents house. She is, thus, saved from being seduced and ravished by a womaniser and ravisher of all good values of human society. After this mishap, Girija remains gloomy. She is taken to a doctor by her grandfather for treatment. Thereafter, she keeps herself occupied with studies and shuns all company. TM is happy to know that the girl seems "to come through her escapade unscathed." Her honour is saved.