I had meant: Don't fine him. But what came out was: Don't give him. I had accused the driver of something. I had become the enemy.
I understood fragments. Father. Owner. Know. But the rest slipped through my fingers like water. caught in hindi
I opened my mouth. The words came out wrong, twisted, my tongue a foreigner in my own mouth: " Usse… mat… do. " (Don't… give… him.) I had meant: Don't fine him
To contract or to be affected by. This is specifically used when "caught" refers to catching a disease or an infection. I had become the enemy
The constable laughed — a short, dry sound. "Angrez chala gaya, desi reh gaya," he said to the driver. The Englishman has left, but the native remains. Then to me, in slow, cruel Hindi: "Aap ghar bhool gaye, sahab?" Have you forgotten your home, sir?
Then the police whistles started.