05.2 Birds of Paradise

Mala entered a faintly lit room with a couple of white sofas and a rug under. A working desk and shelves by the walls. On a side, there stood a screen, spotlights and umbrellas with a camera on its tripod. She sat down on a sofa sowing the rug with sand.

Mosanic entered. “Deeni!” he grabbed a notepad and sat down on the sofa in front of her, “Stand up and remove your dress!”

She took off her single-piece frock and smiled naively. A tall figure with little saggy tits – a wheatish complexion with a yellowish shine and black straight hair.

“Southerners wear gold,” pronounced the Doctor, “It is a compliment. Remove the chains and the girdle.”

“Girdle!” she cried. No woman should be robbed of her girdle.

“Yes.”

She removed the gold chains from her neck and separated the five-metre-long silver girdle from her hips.

“Cut off that smile and stand still!” he demanded, “Now tell me about you.”

“My name is Mariam Mala. Born on 29^th March 1930 in Huludu to Mariam Hafsa and Ali Takhan. I graduated from Vincent Girl’s High School in Batticaloa in 1949. Married in Huludu, gave birth to a child. I am divorced. I work as a teacher at the Sanavi.”

“What do you wear to work?”

“Sari,” she replied.

“You lived in Galle?” he asked.

“Yes, I spent thirteen years in Galle and attended Southlands College. I speak Tamil and Sinhalese.”

“You spent sixteen years in Ceylon?”

“That’s right.”

“Can you read and write Divehi?”

“Yes sir.”

“Can you drive a car?”

“No. I can ride a motorcycle.”

“Any special skills?”

“I play tennis,” said Mala, “I swim very well.”

“Can you climb a palm without a foot strap?”

“I can try.”

“How is your social life?”

“Not regular,” she said, “I am fine with having sex once in a month.”

“Step on the stadiometer!” He switched on the spots one by one that lit the room in bright daylight. He began to read, “Height; five feet six inches. Step on the scale! Weight…”

There came a knock on the door. “Sub!” he called, “Come in!” A young bloke poked his head. “Get in and close the door!”

Mosanic continued, “Weight; fifty-one kilos. Don’t just stand there staring down! Get the measuring tape!”

Mala was measured from head to toe standing in the floodlit room. Nishan did all that physical touch while the Doctor took note, “Brown eyes, back hair,” to a birthmark visible on her left thigh.

“I will arrange a medical check-up in the coming days,” Mosanic said, “Sub! Fetch three meals! I will continue with photography.”

“Deeni!” Lance Corporal Moosa Manik advised, “You will stop wearing gold jewellery. Light jewellery is acceptable. You cannot wear sari during the mission. And you need a shave.

“I will give you a training rota. You take a lesson five days a week. We go to Velassaru for exercises. Most of your classes will take place at Hakra House due to the nature of secrecy.”

The door opened and Nishan entered with three meals stacked in stainless steel containers and water in a bottle.

“Now we enter tonight’s final session,” Mosanic reached the naked woman and touched her pubes. She made no startling response besides a faint smile. Not a flinch. “Stand before the screen for a photo shoot!”

He picked a Hasselblad camera. Mala posed in front of the white screen to take photographs in every angle and close-up.

She was released around ten. She went home walking in the moonlight and quietness disturbed by cats.

Next morning, Officer Gold asked the Doctor, “How’s the girl? Is she cooperative?”

“I’m impressed,” replied Mosanic, “I am beginning to think this could actually work.”

 

In the days that followed, Mala did a health check by a doctor at the hospital standing next to Hakra House and inside Kanbafan Palace compound. It was basic. Even a blood group could not be determined due to the lack of facilities and expertise. However, it was not important.

At Hakra House, Sayye Saeed educated her with every stone and bone on Gan. Lance Corporal Moosa Manik coached her how to use a camera and developing a film at his studio. Particularly with a Leica 35 mm camera and a Minox Riga subminiature spy camera, two different processing techniques and tanks, both expensive equipment. Mala learnt to operate a radio transmitter as well.

When a trip was called, Nishan would pick her. A small sailing boat carried Mosanic, Nishan and Mala to Velassaru, ten kilometres in southwest. They returned on the following day. On this island only three remained with the boat crew. Mala ran around stark naked throwing her tits in training. Mosanic followed panting behind. Sometimes they’d be gone for hours. Nishan stayed with the boat crew and never questioned what they did on the beach.

Sometimes three of them would swim in the vast turquoise lagoon near their boat that barely float. They would challenge on who could hold breath longest under water and Mosanic always won. However, in a run around the island race, Mala beat even Nishan by a huge margin. She was quick. Sometimes they played ball and rolled in the sand.

Three boat crews sat under the foliage watching this unclothed woman. They cooked food and Mala joined on the mat together to take meals.

When night falls, they slept on the doni mainly to keep away from mosquitoes. A fresh water well on the island gave cool showers. Plentiful coconuts and a little thatched hut served their purpose.

Main exercise of her training was to practice firearms. Mosanic carried six types of small firearms and two Lee-Enfield rifles. She studied velocity, range, bullets and purpose, how to assemble and disassemble. The rifles were not important though she practised long range target shooting. Important implements were those pistols; a US made .45 Colt M1911, an Argentine .45 Ballester-Molina, a .38 German Walther PPK, a US .38 Smith & Wesson, a CZ vz50 .32 and a French MAC Mle 50. After several trials, Mariam Mala found the Česká as her favourite weapon to carry in a handbag. In the drills, she had to run while shooting at a target. Mosanic would carry the weapons back to the armoury foreman at Bandérige who in turn maintain records of the rounds executed.

Into the third week, another instructor entered to train her with another exploit. This time it was more revealing since she had to remove the girdle and wear a gluey substance thoroughly on her body and hair. He dug his fingers rigorously into the nooks and crannies to apply this solution. Before light falls, Habib and Mala played a game of hide and seek. She would seek him out and he would seek her out. Nishan and Mosanic sniggered about the way Habib snuck behind the bushes like a cat and no expression on his face. Nishan had no idea about a motive for this exercise but he knew she had to shave every time.

Finally, she was able to climb a palm on paws without a foot strap and the crew stuck their eyes from below.