Classes

Tere Kismat teri haaton

Se hi likhi jayegi.

Bondita walked into the study in the early hours of dawn to find Aniruddha ready in his casual shirt and trousers. He did look like a teacher as he was setting up a blackboard across the couch with a pen in his mouth. Standing at the threshold with her pencil and copy in hand, Bondita's wet hair fell over the side of her bottle green cotton saree as she cleared her throat, prompting him to look up at her. He removed the pen from his mouth and directed her with a hand gesture towards the couch.

"Did you go to the pond again?" He asked with his back to her, writing something down on the blackboard. She bit her lips.

"I thought you were sleeping." She was quick to defend. "I didn't want to disturb you."

"You can use the washroom without disturbing me. Now you are making excuses to go to the pond. Is it because you meet your friends there?" His voice was unusually different and stern. She looked up at his serious face.

"No. Barrister Babu. I swear. I just thought…"

"You are not going there under any circumstances, you understand?" He spoke sternly, pointing his finger again. Bondita nodded.

"Those men are creeps." He spoke under his breath.

"Should we start?" Bondita opened her copy and looked up at him. He nodded.

"So in the English Language, 'A' is the first letter. Like we spell AA," he spoke as she copied.

"Then there is 'B' like 'Boh' in our language." She looked up.

"Then "C" for…"

"It's like our language only jumbled up?" Her words made him smile.

"No, Bondita. It's a different language altogether. Not jumbled up." He looked amused. "We will do the first five letters today. Okay?"

She nodded.

"Tell me, do you know any English words?" He asked. She nodded. "I know some."

"Okay." He walked around the room. "Tell me a word with 'aa' ?"

"Almirah." She pointed.

"Apple?" He said.

"Ashtray." She said as he raised his brows. "I heard it from your father." She was quick to add.

"Amazing!" He smiled.

"Aniruddha?" She pointed her finger at him in excitement, and her smile faded as he looked taken aback. "I am sorry. I am so sorry."

"No. No. You are right. That starts with A." He agreed.

"Do you know the meaning of your name?" She asked, closing her copy as he looked up from the book.

"Pardon?" He asked.

"Your name. The meaning. Bondita means someone who can't be bound. It also means to be worshipped." She said smartly.

"I don't know the meaning of my name. Neither do I want to. Here is your homework." He stopped at her disapproving glance.

"Why do you not want to know?" She asked. "You should always ask what you don't know. There is no shame in not knowing. It is shameful if you are blissfully unaware."

Aniruddha closed the book and stared at her, frustrated.

"Okay, fine. Tell me. Tell me what Aniruddha means."

"It means someone who can't be stopped. Free-willed soul."

"And where did you learn that?" He asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Kaka." She giggled.

"Now, should we study?" He opened the book again.

"Yes, Sikhshak Babu." She agreed. He shook his head.

It was when Bondita was stacking her books that Saudamini walked in looking for Aniruddha. She was a bit disappointed that he wasn't alone, and it clearly showed on her face as Aniruddha observed.

"Pari Didi! Subho Sokal. Let me get you some tea." Bondita ran off, leaving Aniruddha alone with Saudamini in the study. Right outside the door, he could hear her instruct Koeli to prepare extra breakfast for Pari didi. He inhaled, remembering Somnath's words.

"What brings you here so early in the morning, Mini?" He asked, erasing the board.

"Binoy Uncle didn't tell you?" She asked, surprised.

"Tell me what?" He inquired.

"I enrolled us in the Annual Ball at Calcutta. It is a couple-entry event where the Viceroy comes. It's only for the elite of the elites. Baba got us passes." She stood up. "Now all I need is for you to teach me how to dance a ball." She sounded excited. Aniruddha turned to face her. "Me?" He asked, unsurely.

"Yes, you. Binoy Uncle told me you learnt it in Kingston." Saudamini smiled. Aniruddha looked away as Bondita brought in tea and cookies.

"C'mon, Aniruddha, it will be a fun party." Saudamini smiled.

"What's a party?" Bondita asked, staring at Saudamini's excited face.

"It's where men and women…" Saudamini started to explain.

"It's not something kids should know." Anirudha interrupted.

"Who is a kid?" Bondita looked disappointed.

"You are." He crossed his arms and raised his eyebrows.

"No, I am not." She retorted.

"Aniruddha, she is fifteen. Aren't you?" Saudamini asked as Bondita nodded. "Besides, I was only going to tell her about Ball dancing."

"Ball dancing?" Bondita asked. "What's that, Pari Didi?"

"It's a type of dance." Bondita looked excited at that.

"Do people dance with Balls?" Aniruddha looked amused at her words. "Like in a circus?"

"No, Bondita," Aniruddha spoke up. "The Ballroom is an oval-shaped room meant for a particular type of dancing," he explained.

"Will you dance?" She asked excitedly. "Can I see?"

"Sure. You can watch us practice." Saudamini smiled. Aniruddha looked at the ladies helplessly.

"Okay, I can manage some time in the afternoon." He said. "But I don't guarantee I will go. I can teach you."

"Can I learn too?" Bondita asked, amazed. "I never tried dancing."

"No, Bondita." Saudamini shook her head. "It's very difficult to learn, but you can watch us. It is about teamwork, catching each other's rhythm and understanding."

"I can watch and learn." She looked eager.

"I need to go." Aniruddha walked away.

"Did you ask for me?" Trilochan looked up from work to find Bondita standing there.

"Yes. I saw Saudamini leave. Do you know why she was here?"

"To learn dancing." Trilochan frowned at her words. "What? Who teaches dancing at my house? Ram Ram Ram Ram!"

"Oho." Bondita tapped her forehead with her palm. "None. She and Barrister Babu are going to a party."

"Party?" He looked irked.

"Yes, they said it's dancing for grown-ups." Bondita smiled.

" What is happening in this house?" Trilochan shook his head.

"I said I want to learn too." Trilochan stopped at her words.

"What did they say?" He asked eagerly.

"He said I am a kid." Bondita made a disappointed face.

"Insist on him. You can argue." Trilochan made her look up. "Has it ever happened that you wanted to learn something and someone could say no?"

Trilochan smiled. There was no way Aniruddha would teach her if he said so. He was stubborn. Trilochan was aware of it. But instigating Bondita helped. She would follow them around while they practised.

Bondita's eyes lit up. She would learn something new.

Purnota: Chapter Sixteen

It had been a month since Bondita had started working in the firm. With Somnath’s wedding date being set for winter, many things were keeping Trilochon and Kalindi busy as they took charge of the smooth running of things leading up to the wedding. They needed to shop for everyone, buy gifts and choose jewellery and sarees for the bride. Despite his attempts, Trilochon found Binoy reluctant to participate in his son’s wedding arrangements. Somnath took him and Kalindi to places they wanted to go, especially Kolkata for shopping, and Trilochon made arrangements to make sure that the first wedding of the generation was grand enough. Bondita tried to help as much as she could as she noticed Aniruddha being oddly aloof from the entire thing. She assumed it was due to Trilochon’s reactions to his lack of interest in marriage. Trilochon kept pestering her to enquire into his reasons while she kept stalling him with excuses. Bondita also failed to know more about Kalindi and Trilochon’s past, ...

My Everything

Kunwar Pratap stormed into the Mahal at Gogunda amidst uncertainty and chaos. Happy faces of the chieftains and soldiers welcomed him as Rawat Chundawat, and some other chieftains stopped the ongoing Raj Tilak. A visibly scared Kunwar Jagmal looked clueless at a visibly angry Kunwar Pratap. Rani Dheerbai Bhatiyani hadn't expected Kunwar Pratap to show up, that too, despite her conveying to him his father's last wish of crowning Kunwar Jagmal. Twenty-one days after Udai Singh's death, she was finally close to a dream she had dared to dream since Jagmal was born. He was not informed about the Raj Tilak as per Dheerbai's instructions. She eyed Rawat Ji. He must have assembled the chiefs to this revolt against her son, against the dead king. No one except them knew where Kunwar Pratap was staying. It was for the safety of his family. " What are you doing, Chotima?" A disappointed voice was directed at her. She could stoop down so low? For the first time, an anger...

Towards You

The Afghans, after Sher Shah Suri's untimely demise, were at loggerheads for power. Their troops near Mewar were now led by Mehmood Shah. They secretly captured territories in the forests and waited to attack Mewari camps when the time was right. Rawat Chundawat and his spies had confirmed the news, and Udai Singh sent a warning to Mehmood Shah to withdraw his troops from Mewar in vain. Now that it was out in the open, it was time they declared war. Mehmood Shah had limited resources in Mewar. His internal rebellion against his commander did not help his cause. His spies clearly suggested that in no way could he win, especially with Kunwar Pratap leading his troops. He was having second thoughts about the war. It was then that one of his aides suggested a perfect plan. Maharani Jaivanta Bai had decided to go to the Mahakaleshwar Temple near the outskirts of Chittorgarh, in the forestlands of Bhilwara. They had travelled a long way and across the Gambhiri river that meandered during...

Purnota: Chapter Seventeen

Bondita opened the curtains of her room at The Park to find the view of Stephen Court and the street below going towards the Maidan. She eyed the double bed and placed her things on one side while lying down on the empty side. The soft bed made her yawn as she sat up, staring at the clock. She needed to change for a quick dinner. They had an early matter at the High Court, and the client’s car was supposed to pick them up around 9 AM. As she changed into a full-sleeve black top and jeans, removed her earrings and adjusted her smudged Kajal, she heard a knock on her door. She opened it to find Aniruddha standing in a pair of jeans and a grey polo-necked T-shirt, his hair brushed back, as he cleaned his thin-rimmed glasses with the edge of his T-shirt. “Are you ready for dinner?” He asked, putting the glasses back on. As she nodded, she grabbed her handbag. They walked into The Bridge, and Bondita was a little conscious of her environment. Many foreign guests, businessmen and even s...

Purnota: Chapter Twenty One

The morning after the Chief Minister of the state attended the reception party, Binoy wrapped the newspaper that had just arrived at their threshold, eyeing the picture of him and Trilochon with the chief minister smiling proudly, made a mental note of framing it for his office in Siliguri and stepped out to see the car waiting for him in the entrance to take him to the station. He glanced over his shoulder at the house, still asleep and watched Bihari put his luggage in the back seat. Bihari had been with the Roy Chowdhury House since he was a teenager. He eyed Binoy as he lit his pipe and straightened his jacket when Bihari approached him. “Boro Saheb, should I inform Kotta Moshai once?” Binoy eyed Bihari with a disapproving glance. “If I wanted to tell him, I would have done so myself, Bihari. Where is the driver?” He checked his watch. Bihari sighed as he ran to check on the driver. Bondita stopped on the gravelled path leading from the entrance to the main gate as she watched...

Purnota: Chapter Twenty Two

The winter morning was pleasant, especially when the sunshine hit the dewy grass on the lawn, and Bihari set down the porcelain cups for Trilochon and Kalindi to start their day. Kalindi had just taken up some orders to knit sweaters and mittens for some of the neighbourhood kids as she wrapped the thick brown shawl tightly around herself, on the chilly morning as she sat down on the lawn chair with her needles, pin and colourful balls of wool, as she knit a pair of mittens while waiting for Trilochon to join her. Bondita hurried out of their place and stopped at the sight of her sitting alone, unsurely. “Do you need something?” Kalindi raised her eyes briefly from the wool and asked as she shook her head. “I was hoping to talk to Jyatha Moshai…” She shivered a little as Kalindi scolded her to find a sweater first. She rushed indoors as Kalindi spotted Trilochon in a thermal t-shirt, a pair of pants and a shawl walking towards her with the cane in hand. He stopped as he watched her kni...

Purnota: Chapter Twenty

Trilochon’s only desire for Som’s wedding was for it to be so grand that the entire Chandannagar remembered it for the longest time. He had also invited the leaders of the opposition, ministers and even the CM, and if rumours were to be believed, he would accept the invitation. That meant trying to impress him for a ticket to the next Lok Sabha elections. He knew the only way to do so was also to showcase Som as a prodigy. Their family name was enough to earn votes for the party in the area. “Perhaps you could tell him about Somnath Babu’s involvement in some of the projects here. Like the slum area where water was flooding the pathways…” Poritosh had suggested. “But it was done by…” Bapi Da had stopped as Trilochon shook his head, “How does it matter who did it? What matters is that we say Som did it.” They agreed. “Jyatha Moshai.” Bondita walked into his room, not expecting the elderly men from the Party office to be there. “ Bolo, Maa. ” “The Gaye Holud is here.” She smiled. “How a...

Purnota: Chapter Fifteen

A week was all it took for Bondita to get used to work and the new routine. She would wake up early and hurry through her chores, helping Kalindi prepare a tiffin of either Chirer Polao or bread jam and then proceeding to the Roy Chowdhury house. She would arrange the day’s paperwork before Aniruddha arrived at the study room. Occasionally, she would hear him call out to Koeli for breakfast and pack her things, knowing he was almost ready to leave. He would walk into the chamber, check his list, and they would go to work. She would follow him from courtroom to courtroom. She would be sitting in the audience and learning. She would follow him to conferences and client meetings and take notes. They would discuss complicated cases. She would share the tiffin she brought from home. He would at first take a reluctant bite, then eat more than her. She often gave him her share of food discreetly. They usually stayed back after everyone was gone and ordered food for dinner. Some days, he woul...

Purnota: Chapter Twenty Three

“So the question is, do the slum dwellers get their dues to relocate, or do they protest on the road, grabbing media attention? If one of them mentions the sewage project where all this started, we can’t guarantee not dragging certain names then. It will be beyond our control.” Bondita breathed in as she eyed everyone at the table. The conference hall of ARC & Associates had an oval table with a whiteboard, projector and podium and sitting around the table were a stenographer, Bondita’s secondary attorney, Debashish Ghosal, the contractor and his attorney Biswas, the representative of the NGO with the Union leader of the slum, Trilochon, Somnath and Aniruddha. The people of the NGO appreciated her strategy with a nod. Ghoshal looked perplexed as his lawyer whispered something in his ear. Somnath did not look up from the table as Aniruddha passed a note to Trilochon in writing. “Now the decision is yours.” Bondita continued. “We are keen on out-of-court settlement if our basic ...

Purnota: Chapter Nineteen

“Wake up, wake up!” Bondita smiled, amused at Aniruddha and Batuk sleeping on his bed, hugging each other like children. She removed the curtains, and the room was flooded in daylight. “Urgh.” Batuk stirred as Aniruddha sat up. “What is wrong with you?” Batuk threw the pillow Bondita caught before it hit the floor. Her wet hair shone in the sunlight, with droplets of water lingering on its tips as she adjusted her well-pleated orange saree with a blue border and opened the window. A gust of cold breeze blew in from the Ganges, prompting Batuk to pull his blanket over his face. “Let me sleep, Daini !” He murmured. “Is it not enough that you all gave away my room to guests?” Aniruddha was stretching and yawning as Bondita chuckled, amused, pulling her wet hair to the side of her shoulder. “Why are you dressed up?” Aniruddha asked, suppressing a yawn. “Oh, you should be, too. Jyatha Moshai said We are going to Kalighat.” She raised her brows, amused. “Oh shit,” Aniruddha murmured, hitting...

RAABTA

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