Survival

Ye woh dandal hai ke jisse

Tu nikalega mujhko

Tu hi rakshak

Tu hi sathi mera.

"Pishima." Prabhavati applied oil on Sadhana Debi's knees as she spoke, "I was wondering, now that the Bouma is here to take care of the house, the Roy Chowdhury mansion will no longer miss Didi." She smiled faintly, "After her, things would fall apart… if not for Trilochan da…" Sadhana shook her head. "It's been two days. Don't even compare them to Shubhra." She almost snapped. "Especially that girl." Prabhavati looked up. "She acts like she has been caged. She is always more interested in the outside world of men. That's not a good sign." She shook her head. "There is a saying, Khay day Pakhiti boner dike Akhiti." Sadhana fussed, "She is like that."

Prabhavati smiled silently. "Mejo Bouma is educated too, isn't she?" Sadhana looked suspicious. "I bet she will also be pushed to it. You know my mother used to say educated women give birth to girl children." Prabhavati looked up at Sadhana Debi's face. 

"Pishima, if you were given a chance, would you not…"

"Absolutely not." She shook her head, "How can you talk of such sin? Look at Malati. I chose her. She may not cook well and is very lazy. But she gave birth to a boy child. Your Didi… Three heirs…Don't worry, you will have one too." Her voice suddenly turned sympathetic.

"Pishima." Prabhavati smiled, "Why do you never praise your Boumas?"

"Purbey meye urbe chai, tobei meyer gun gai." Sadhana Debi spoke. "Remember that. A girl has to be as good as dead to be praised by the in-laws. The life of those born to be a woman is that tough." Prabhavati sighed, wondering. Was Sadhana Debi's bitterness due to her own miseries?

Bondita was dusting the books in the study room, humming a tune, when Aniruddha walked in with a frown. 

"What do you think you are doing?" He asked with raised eyebrows and a disapproving glance. 

"Your books were all dusty…So I…" Bondita stopped, taken by surprise. She had totally forgotten her oath to her own self to not talk to him until he apologised. She turned and concentrated back on the books. Aniruddha walked up to her.

"Has Bihari gone on a holiday?" He asked, crossing his arms across his chest. Bondita frowned.

"Why will Bihari Babu…" She stopped at his stare.

"Since you are doing his job here." He reasoned. "Instead of studying."

"How much longer should I study?" She sulked. "I studied geography the entire day."

"The day just started." He said, pointing at the grandfather clock that showed half past ten.

"But I…"

"You think you have learnt everything?" He looked agitated. "All the excuses to indulge in housework. I will take a surprise test right now." He walked across to the table, looking for a pen and paper. Bondita glanced over at him, annoyed. She then went up to the couch and sat down on it. 

"You only say that the one who can cook can write books, too. Why are you suddenly having a problem with both?"

"Because you are not studying," Aniruddha spoke rather nonchalantly.

"I am." She argued.

"Fine. We will see right now."

Bondita started solving the paper when she felt his eyes on her. She moved a little in her place, but his observant hawk eyes didn't leave her. She looked up straight at him. Aniruddha realised in a brief moment that he was in fact observing her a little too closely. He got up from his chair and walked up to the bookshelf with his back to her. The stopwatch rang as Bondita let go of the paper. Aniruddha took it up and scanned it with his eyes. All the answers seemed accurate. Bondita's eyes had a victorious amusement in them. 

"I told you I…" She walked over to his side as he moved away, making her stop.

"Very well. Here's your maths homework. I hope you don't step out of the room during the jalsa and concentrate on your studies. I will check them tonight." He walked away briskly. Bondita sighed, picking up the books.

"Bondita? Bouma?" She looked up to see Trilochan at the door of the study room. "Aniruddha left?" She nodded. 

Trilochan tiptoed into the study room almost stealthily. Bondita frowned at his body language.

"Whatever I am going to say, stays between us. Don't tell anyone. Especially Aniruddha." Trilochan spoke as she nodded eagerly.

"The thing is, I took a challenge from Thakuma for you." Bondita's eyes lit up.

"A challenge?" 

"Yes. I told her you can prove to her within a week that you can be an ideal daughter-in-law." Her smile disappeared at his words. "She will give you some tasks over the next seven days, and you have to fulfil them. It's easy. I taught you everything myself, didn't I?" Bondita nodded. 

"Then just think of it as the test of my teaching. Like you won't let your teachers down. You won't let me down. Right?" She nodded, a little unsure.

"But what do I have to do?" She wondered, "If Barrister Babu finds out…"

"Make sure he doesn't," Trilochan warned her. "Also, you have to adjust your studies for a few days." Bondita nodded worriedly. Trilochan smiled happily, patted her head and blessed her as she smiled faintly and walked away.

Nikhil met Aniruddha at the school as Aniruddha came to check on the class. He was very impressed with how Nikhil was managing. 

"I didn't find time at all in the last few weeks. But you took over so well, Nikhil. Thank you." Aniruddha smiled.

"Well, Dadabhai. It wasn't just me alone. Sampoorna helped a lot." Aniruddha looked up at his words. 

"Boudi." He said rather coldly.

"What?" Nikhil asked, a little clueless.

"We call her boudi." Aniruddha reminded him. Nikhil shrugged. 

"Oh. Sorry. I never knew her husband and…" he stopped as one of the girls rang the bell. "I have to go, Dadabhai." Aniruddha nodded, watching him greet Sampoorna with a smile.

Bondita was reading her lesson out loud, closing the door and window of the study room. It was late, and the music from the Jalsa grew louder. She placed her hands over her ears in vain. She needed to finish the lesson before Barrister Babu scolded her again. Bondita's thoughts suddenly wandered. Why was he being so indifferent? Was it her imagination that she thought their relationship had progressed quite a bit over the past few months? Maybe it was. She shook her head. Bondita always believed he had married her for their dream. He said so. Nothing should make her feel otherwise. Not even his own actions. She shook her head again to concentrate. The music irked her now. 

Aniruddha locked the bedroom door and sighed. The room was a mess. His wet towel was on the bed, and some of the wetness had soaked the mattress. His clothes were scattered. His books are unorganised. He remembered his instructions to Bondita. One good thing about her was that she never forced something once she was told not to do it. The bad thing about that was, however, the mess in his room. Ever since she came home, his things were in place, and the room was clean. Now he realised why. She did all the work almost invisibly. The guilt hit him again. This wasn't her job, was it? Aniruddha shook his head. He went about cleaning his room. He knew calling Bihari at this hour would alert Bondita, who would either come to help or smirk victoriously, knowing he was clueless without her. He couldn't let either happen. The sound of her anklet alerted him. He jumped and checked the lock. He turned off the lights and waited. Her shadow fell under the closed door. She had stopped. 

Bondita eyed the closed door. He had locked it again. Was it actually possible that he was asleep? Or was he in some way avoiding sharing the room? Bondita frowned. Why would he do that? He made her understand that… Bondita shook her head. She was never someone to claim rights over something she didn't have. He knew it. She walked away to her old bedroom.

Asha walked in and she laid down her books.

"Should I...Wait up for him or sleep?" She asked, unsurely.

"Sleep if you are tired. He can be late, and you have to wake early." Asha nodded and walked away as Bondita shut the door.

As soon as he heard her door, Aniruddha sighed relieved and turned his lights back on. Then he tiptoed out to check the corridor before keeping his door open.

Bondita was tired of reading history. Even though it was her favourite subject, working to please Thakuma all day took a toll on her. She yawned. Blinking her eyes again, she walked up to the window. The sound of the Jalsa was faint from her room now. She sighed. She needed to finish the lessons. Suddenly, she heard some commotion. Her window overlooked the servant quarters. She frowned. 

Nikhil was bothered by how the Jalsa was progressing. He was more bothered by how these lusty men drank and objectified women. He slipped out of there unnoticed and walked through the courtyard. His eyes stopped at a silhouette going out of the back door. 

"Boudi?" He whispered almost to himself.

Bondita ran towards the huts in the darkness. There seemed to be a commotion coming from Sampoorna's hut. Her heart thumped in her chest as she gathered her courage to push the door open. Bondita froze.

Sampoorna was shocked when a drunk old man caught her by the wrist outside her hut. She was standing outside to get some fresh air when he attacked her. He was almost the same age as her grandfather. Sampoorna tried to shriek, but he held his hand over her mouth. He threw her on the floor and was about to pounce on her when she moved away. In his drunken state, he landed on the floor. It angered him. He tugged at her saree. Sampoorna shrieked. Her voice died down in the music. Unfortunately, the huts around her were empty. And the ones where the other house helped lived were far from hers. The schoolhouse was near. It was secluded. Sampoorna grabbed the first thing she found. The earthen pot. She threw it at him. It missed the target and landed outside her open door. Luckily for her, by then, Bondita had heard her. 

The man was about to pounce on her again. This time, she was cornered. Sweaty and scared, Sampoorna cried. Begged him to let her go. She was not one of those women who came today. Bondita entered the room like her ray of hope.

Bondita tried to push him away in vain. He was large. But what she did manage was to grab his attention. Her heart stopped at his stare. She felt disgusted. 

"Why… there are two of 'em!" He smiled a crooked smile. 

"Go away. Right now." Bondita put up a brave face as Sampoorna looked too stunned to move. "You are a guest, behave like one."

"Hah. I am." He stepped towards her. Bondita gulped. Her throat went dry. She remembered the only possible thing she could do now.

"Dadabhai. I saw Boudi. I swear." Nikhil spoke with urgency. "Check her room."

"Why would she… is she helping those men again?" Aniruddha spoke aloud as he ran to her empty bedroom. 

"Barrister Babu!" Aniruddha froze. It was Bondita.

Bondita had grabbed a broomstick. It was the only thing she found lying around. Sampoorna pulled her saree back up as Bondita moved back, and the man moved towards her. What was she going to do?

"Thakur?!" Bondita's eyes lit up as the man was pulled by his collar to the ground by Aniruddha. "How dare you touch her?"

Nikhil came running right behind him. "Just how dare you…"

"He…Didn't… he tried to… Sampoorna didi?" She looked back, alarmed and ran to hug Sampoorna, who melted in her arms in tears. Nikhil froze. Aniruddha grabbed the man by his collar and dragged him towards the house. "Nikhil, call the police."

"Dadabhai?" He asked.

"Don't just stand there. Call the damn police." He shouted. Nikhil nodded. He stared at Sampoorna, who was still crying in Bondita's arms and ran indoors. 

Aniruddha threw the man face down on the porch.

"Aniruddha? What happened?" Trilochan sounded alarmed as he rushed out with Bihari, Binoy and Som were soon summoned, and the Jalsa stopped. Prabhavati woke up to the commotion and ran to the balcony just above the porch. She was surprised to see Sadhana Debi already there.

"What happened?" She asked, alarmed.

"What I feared. Keep a young widow like that alone, who will take responsibility for her respect?" Sadhana Debi retorted. "And look at Roy Choudhury Bouma. Hugging that ill omen. Embracing her fate." Prabhavati frowned.

"What happened, Jetha Moshai?" Aniruddha fumed. "Ask this bastard." He kicked the man, who groaned. "Ask him what he was doing. How dare he touch …"

"Bouma." Trilochan looked alarmed "Bondita, are you okay?"

She nodded. Trilochan eyed Sampoorna in tears in her arms and shook his head. 

"Dadabhai. The police will be here soon." Nikhil came out running. Aniruddha kicked the man again. 

"No more Jalsa in this house." Trilochan stormed. 

"Get up, you ass." Aniruddha pulled the man up. "You are going to jail."

"Aniruddha babu." The man panted, "You are doing this for a househelp? Do you know who I am?"

"Keep quiet!" Aniruddha shouted. 

Bondita looked up at the man with disgust and anger. 

"You are an abuser, that's who you are." She made Aniruddha look up at her. 

"She is talking to the man?" Sadhana Debi exclaimed. "Such shamelessness."

"You are the one who should be scared. Not us. Not didi." Bondita left Sampoorna's hand and walked up to the man. Her saree fell over her head, and her eyes looked fiery.

"Don't worry, we will get justice," Binoy reassured. "You are a witness."

"No, Baba." She shook her head. "We won't wait for justice. He can get out with connections. But justice will be served here." Everyone looked up at her words. "He disrespected a woman. A woman will teach him a lesson." She glanced over at Sampoorna. "Don't be scared, he can't hurt you anymore." Sampoorna shook her head. Still scared. Bondita sighed.

She looked up at the man, still eyeing Sampoorna. Then she glanced over at Aniruddha, who nodded.

A slap resonated across his face, and another across his other cheek. 

"This is for you to remember, the next time you indulge, that the timid woman can also be Maa Durga." Aniruddha pushed him down to his knees before Bondita.

"Don't you dare look her in the eye, you bastard?"

The police came soon and took him away, and the elders went inside. 

Bondita took Sampoorna's hand in hers. 

"I will stay with you tonight." She reassured Sampoorna. 

"No. No. I… can…"

"Are you sure?" Nikhil asked. She nodded. 

"I will come by and check first thing in the morning." Nikhil's voice of concern met Sampoorna's stare. "I mean, we will. Dadabhai…" he checked himself.

It was an hour later that Bondita sat down on the chair in her room, and tears flew down her cheeks. She hid her face in her palms and inhaled, trying to check her emotions. Aniruddha had gone to the nearby Teor police station with Nikhil. The moment he stepped into the house, he ran up the stairs into his own room to find it empty. Suddenly, a strange void hit him. He turned and ran to her room.

"Are you alright?" She wiped away her tears at his voice and nodded. Aniruddha knelt down before her. 

"Tell me the truth. Did he… did he…" he closed his eyes before he could even utter it.

"No. No. Not me. Sampoorna didi." She spoke reassuringly. "I was fine."

"Because we arrived on time." He added.

"I was scared." She confessed. "I didn't know what to do."

"Me too." He looked lost in thought.

"What would happen if she were alone?" Bondita wondered, "This can happen again?"

"Why would you be alone?" His frown met her stare. She looked away awkwardly.

"I meant Sampoorna didi." She reminded him.

"Oh." He looked away. "Yes, we have to…"

Nikhil interrupted them as Aniruddha moved away to stand near the bed. 

"Is she alright?" He asked worriedly. Bondita looked up at his face and nodded.

"I can't imagine what she must be going through," Nikhil spoke almost to himself. "First losing her husband, then all this…" Aniruddha looked up at his face, making him stop. 

"You take care, Boudi. Goodnight." His words met a faint smile and nod from Bondita. Nikhil left both of them staring at the threshold, lost in thought.

Word meanings:

Khae dae pakhiti boner dik e akhiti: a Bengali phrase meaning no matter how much you feed the bird, it will always look towards the forest for freedom and not be grateful for your food.

Purbe meye urbe chai tobei meyer gunn gayi: another Bengali phrase popular in pre-independence rural Bengal. It means a girl should be as good as being burnt to ashes (dead) to earn praise from her in-laws. It reflects the mentality of the general culture towards women.