Dear Gn,

A colleague at office is playing foul and I am in despair - I never used to speak to this man because he has the obnoxious habit of leering and generally gives out very bad vibes. But while I was in Kolkata a trusted colleague commissioned him on my behalf to help find accommodation for me. He did. 

When I arrived they were still working in the place, putting tiles in the kitchen, the landlord had asked this man to oversee the work. So I had left my keys with him. Even after the work was completed he took them from me on two occasions saying he had to go in to complete some electrical work. 

I later discovered none of the switches worked and asked him about them, he fixed them in front of me. So what happened on the other occasion am not sure. The third day he had taken the keys again saying the bathroom floor had to be fixed. Bathroom floor was never fixed.

Now the important part.

1) Even though the pump has been set up in the ground floor inside space I pay rent for, and it runs four times a day, I do not get water.  

2) The tenants upstairs said "there is no water"

3) To test whether there is water or not I left the kitchen tap on before I left for work, so that when water did "come" I would have at least one bucket when I cane home.

4) They went and complained to the landlord.

5) There is an overhead tank, they run the motor and fill it and then they use water from this tank - they have two bathrooms - even though they pay a thousand rupees less than me!

6) Even though there is an overhead tank and they fill it up everytime I run the pump or they do, I never ever get running water!

7) Every Sunday is waterless day - I could neither get a shower, nor cook, nor do any washing bec there was no water until 3 pm. They ran the motor three times, my question is if you know there is no water, why are you running the motor? Wont it burn down? And if there is water, how come I live in the ground floor and I dont get water?

8) Next, one day I ran the pump - they switched it off from upstairs while I was in the shower and then there was no water bef I left for work, angry I had again left the tap on in my flat.

9) That day I come home and find my sheets are wet - both the edges of a very expensive, new bedcover was dripping wet and muddy - I was puzzled, everything else on the floor was dry - the broomstick, the legs of the woodencot, the mats on the floor, the heater and the electric wires - everything is dry just the two edges of the bedcover (and mind you the bedcover hangs over the mat which lies at the foot of the bed ) is dripping wet.

So I immediately call this man and ask him what might have happened? Did he give my keys to someone else? How did my sheet get wet?

He insisted it must be the damp - so I said it is dripping - and I insisted he come over and see it and bring his wife or mother too - he refused and then I called his mother and explained what I saw and requested her to come right then as I wont be able to show them the exact situation in the morning. 

Now - the intersting part - first, he says, the gates are locked. Really? It is only 9pm. The other day he had sent his servant who rang MY bell at that time and I hadnt opened up  bec I had alreadygone to bed and he had said "It was only 9 Mam".

So I said wake the landlord up explain what has happend and bring him too bec am worried and feel uneasy. It is mysterious, the top of the bed is dry, the floor and everything else in the room it is just the edges that are dripping and muddy.

Now he says, you left the tap on, so the water must have flooded the room - now I tell him, but the floor is dry and every piece of cloth on the floor excepot the edges of the cover that hangs OVER the mat!

So then his mother realises something is amiss and they come and I ask them again, did they give my keys to those people upstairs when they went and said the tap was on?

He refused.

10) The next day I come home and find the freshly painted sewer pipe passing through my bathroom, is full of beter leaf spittle.

As you know I do not chew paan, neither does any of the people I associate with as "friends" in office. 

So I took away the keys.

All hell broke loose since then. He is routinely badmouting me at office poisoning the ear of the only friend I have at work. 

11) He refuses to give me the phone number of my landlord or get me to talk to him. Keeps saying "I shall bring him over at your place after work" He gets off work after 7:30pm. He knows extremely well I DONOT like anyone coming in after that time to my house. 

I insist that he get me an audience with the landlord during office work and give me his number., he says once "I dont have it", when I insist, he says "he told me not to give it to you"?

12) He stays in the same house with the landlord and he is badmouting me to the landlord.

Fact - he enjoys a first floor huge two bedroomed hall kitchen balconied apartment built over the landlord's apartment, with 24 hours rnning water and pays less rent than I do. 

Fact - the people uptstairs use the whole house, their portion plus the room on the terrace plus the terrace, and the water from the overhead tank, they have sunlight, place to hang their washing two  bathrooms and they pay less than I do.

Fact - Ineither have my landlord's contact, I do not have running water, they havent fixed the door handles etc, the walls on both sides of the room are soaking wet even now that it is dry and spring time, I have nowhere to hang my washing except inside the room, the folks upstairs sweep the floor and drop it all through the skylight at the back of the room right where the door to my bathroom and kitchen is - things like floppy covers, dirt, pieces of vegetables that clog my drain and I have to pick it up and throw it outside. People upstairs have a balcony in addition to the use of the terracxe and the rent they pay two thousand ruppees!

They have five children that play the TV till midnight, the wife is a dehati that begins to run the pump at four thirty in the morning, and makes a huge din all day all night long, like all rural people she screams  at the top opf her voice everytime she opens her mouth to speak and now that am here she does it deliberately in the morning -

I can neither sleep nor work.

That man that had the keys wanted me to let these people upstairs let them keep their motorbike inside my room!!!

"Mam he wont disturb you he goes out early and comes late"

Question: are these people relations? Why is he so eager to take those people's side when I am his colleague?

Question: why did he try to explain away the bedcover - when everyone could see someone had done something? I had to send it away to the laundry

Question: where did the beter spittle in my bathroom come from? They were not there while the labourers worked, they never used my bathroom

Question: why would he refuse to let me have the landlord's contact especially when he knew all of this was going on?

 Question: the WC pot  in the bathroom is overflowing bec there is a jam somewhere in the safety tank. The sweepers had comein on Sunday - they could not clean up bec they asked me things like, what is the measure of your tanl how many feet deep and long? Do you have a tank or does it connect to a sewer?

This is not my house, I do not know these things, I tried calling this man, he did not pick up the phone,.

The sweepers had come in at 9am as agreed the previous day. I paid them ricksha fare and they returned. This man then comes barging in aroud 2 in the afternoon while am in the shower and insolently goes on rining the bell like he owns the place! Then he sends the landlord (I did not know it was the landlord bec I was not able to open the door ) but the neighbours told me later he had come/

I am really at a loss and do not know what to do.

The moment he realised just bec I found her a place doesnt mean am getting automatic and unrestricted entry into her household trouble has started.

What I worry about is what he is doing at office.

What should I do?

I left you a mail. And the message here too - hope you get back soon.

PS:  I also put in the stories of my life as bestas I could as you and M had suggested I do at some point. But I dont want a book I just want my sin to know who I was and what his godmommy was like someday when he grows up.

 How do I save myself from this monster's machinations? How do I save the only relationship I value at work? I had given the rent money to this trusted colleague and had categoriaclly told him not to give it to this man but try and get mylandlord's number from him and try to get him to office and hand it to him and while he did that mention all the problems I was facing and request him to help. But he promptly went and handed it to that evil man and today when I tried to ask him why did he do that, didnt he think I shd have access to my own landlord and expect a little help from him since the other man was obviously playing foul, he got mad at me.

Since I pay and not get what I am promised or what I pay for and since people disturb me - shd I not be the one to get mad?

What do people think coming over without calling waking me up when am resting and just bec am alone I have to be at the beck anb call of men like that paan eating weirdo? 

He never could get me to talk to him earlier is why he did all this housefinding stuffand "come eat with us" (why the BLOODY HELL SHD I???????)  Everyday they would insist I go over - I kept tellong them look I work nine hours a day and am tired and even though I live alone my home is my castle too and I need rest at the end of the day and dislike going out or talking to people they would not understand but keopt coming and rining the bell when I stopped opening up. I am reallyvery upset and at my wit's end. How do I save me from the monstrosity - advice?

I am really also very very very tired. I want to sleep. I havent slept in a long while. Or eaten a decent meal. I need water so I can cook. I need a gas connection, I cant unless I get an adress proof! I need a washing machine so I can stay clean - do I expect too much of life G?