Tujhe bachaya maine
The Roy Chowdhury house was decked with garlands of Bel, Jui and Rajanigandha with roses sprouting from bouquets in the hallways, as guests poured in for the rice ceremony of the family’s first daughter. Trilochan Roy Chowdhury came from the courtyard full of attendees to sit on the couch, cane in hand, instructing Bihari and Munshi to look into arrangements while Bina came to sit beside him.
“Dada, there you are. Why did you come away? The Holud Choano and bathing have been done, now they will sit for the puja.” Bina smiled as she looked around at the decorations. “I have never seen such grandeur at any house over the birth of a girl child.” Bina smiled as she took a seat across from him. “Not even ours.”
“You know Bina when we lost our sister she was just nine, and newly married.” Trilochan’s eyes were moist. Bina nodded. She didn’t even remember her elder cousin's sister much. “Maa was devastated. She could get out of the tragedy of losing Baba Moshai, not her. She died within a few years.” Bina nodded. Trilochan was barely fifteen when he had taken over the household and business. Her mother had practically helped to raise Binoy. Bina often wondered if things would have been different if her Jethima was alive. The house would have been more orthodox, and the children not motherless after Shubhra Boudi and Trilochan would have been married.
“Ever since then, I promised myself if Maa Lokkhi blessed us with another daughter I would …”
Bina smiled as she nodded. “Hence you loved Bondita around too.”
“A woman makes a house a home, Bina. A daughter makes it heavenly.” He smiled.
“Here we are!” Their conversation was interrupted by Bondita’s cheerful voice as she appeared in the room in a red and golden saree, the traditional heirloom jewellery and her bun dressed with a jasmine garland, covered by her ghomta. In her arms was Patralekha, dressed in a pink saree with a golden border that Ashapurna had made for her, and the jewellery she had been gifted for the occasion. A small Chandan bindi on her forehead and her eyes drawn with kajal as she immediately smiled at the sight of Trilochan.
“Please hold her Kakababu, I will go see the cooking arrangements and attend to some guests.”
"Bouma, won't Prabhavati come today?" Bina asked as Bondita shook her head a little sadly.
"The turmoil of war made Meshomoshai cancel the trip. It's not a safe time to travel."
“I see. Was the puja done properly?” Bina asked as she nodded. “The hom is done too.”
Trilochan looked up at her with questioning eyes, asking a silent question only Bondita understood. She smiled.
“Barrister Babu did the pujo and sat through the hom with Lekha on his lap.” She reassured him.
“Our Lekha is bringing good changes.” Trilochan smiled, extending his arms at the child as she jumped from her mother’s lap onto her grandfather’s as Bondita rushed off.
Patralekha took the first morsel of rice and ghee from Binoy’s hand eagerly as she sat looking pretty in his lap, clad in a small garland around her neck, a mukut and Chandan drew like brides across her forehead. Ashapurna held her while Binoy fed her, first the rice, then the fish, then the Payesh. The fried head of the Rui fish sitting pretty on the laid-out plate seemed to attract her the most as she jumped at it, only to be held back right in time by Ashapurna as everyone laughed. A jealous Ashutosh on his father’s lap was eyeing the Payesh as Bondita took a spoonful from Patralekha’s bowl and offered him, much to his delight. He knew Boroma would spoil him. Somnath shook his head. “You are spoiling him boudi.”
“If I don't, who will?” Bondita smiled back as Ashutosh hugged her.
The “plate of fortune” was held in front of Patralekha by Bondita, with a ball of soil, a gold coin, Dhan Dubba, a Bhagwat Gita and an inkpot and feather on it.
“Whatever the child chooses will be her purpose.” The priest explained. “Soil for labour, Dhan Dubba for farming, gold coin for business and luxury, Dowat kalam for education and career.” Bondita exchanged a glance with Aniruddha who was standing in the crowd in his white dhuti Panjabi.
“Choose the gold.” Trilochan smiled. “She is born to live in luxury.”
“Don’t touch the soil.” Batuk hoped.
“Oh farming is also part of Zamindari,” Nikhil reassured Sampoorna who smiled. “Mine chose Dubba.” He shrugged a little disappointed.
Patralekha eyed the shiny coin with eager eyes. Then she turned her head and grabbed at the Kalam, upturning the Dowat and spilling ink on the plate. Bondita was quick to prevent the ink from dipping onto Binoy’s new Khoddor Punjabi while everyone blew conch shells and Ululation. Aniruddha smiled at Bondita who was equally pleased with Patralekha’s choice.
“Of course, she would choose that.” Malati had a hint of disappointment in her voice “After all, you have to see whose daughter she is.” The other guests smiled as Bondita kissed her daughter with pride.
The guests had started dispersing soon after lunch, while Bina, Malati and their families caught the last train. In the turbulent times, nobody found it safe to leave their homes empty, in fear of being occupied by revolutionaries. After a long day, Aniruddha walked into the bedroom, tired, and hoping Lekha was asleep. He stopped at the door at the sight of a gleeful Patralekha in a yellow frock being twirled around by his wife who held her daughter high up in the air making her giggle. Aniruddha stopped at the sight with a smile. No matter where they were, what they did, and whatever they faced, this was his home.
His thought was interrupted by footsteps as Batuk walked up to him in urgency.
“Dada…” He looked reluctant. “I went to meet a friend through the village and…” He looked worried.
“What is it, Batuk?” Aniruddha asked as Bondita stopped twirling and looked at the brothers at her threshold with a frown.
“What’s wrong?” Her voice made Batuk look up.
Jamuna was seven, and she had just started school in Tulsipur after her impressed mother was taught to read and write by Bondita herself. But her father was not very supportive of it. Now while her grandmother was visiting, they had arranged for her to be wedded off to an old man in his sixties and had locked her mother up, because she protested. Batuk was walking home through the village when he witnessed Bor Jatri arrive at her doorstep. Knowing she was the only child in the house, he knew what he had to do and he needed to alert Aniruddha first. So he rushed home, avoiding the eyes of Trilochan and Binoy who wouldn’t approve of them opposing villagers and traditions.
Aniruddha and Batuk arrived at the wedding right in time for the groom had just been seated for the rituals and the bride was being summoned. Teary-eyed, and scared, Jamuna was hiding her face behind the betel leaves.
“Stop.” Her father froze as he saw the Zamindars at his doorstep. He folded his hands as Aniruddha looked agitated with Batuk right behind him.
“What do you think you are doing?” Aniruddha asked, almost in rebuke. “This is illegal.”
“Please, Malik.” The father folded his hand as the bor jatri were looking at each other.
“I am a poor man, this is the best my daughter will get. I can’t keep her…” He stopped at Aniruddha’s cold stare.
“If you can’t keep her, then let her go to some ashram for women. Ask people to help you raise her. But marrying her to a man her grandfather’s age? That too when the Government and your own countrymen are trying to fight the child marriage tradition for decades now. I will not let this happen in my village.” Aniruddha shook his head as he approached a scared Jamuna. Her eyes had hope. He was god sent.
“Did you think we won’t know if you don’t inform us?” Batuk shook his head and added. “How could you have the audacity to do this right under our noses?”
Aniruddha looked at Jamuna who lowered her betel leaves teary-eyed. In a flash, he remembered someone quite similar. Only she was eight. And perhaps never this helpless.
“Where is your mother?” He asked as Jamuna froze in her place. The ladies looked at each other. Jamuna’s eyes slowly travelled, towards a closed door. Aniruddha walked up to the door, with a lock. He knocked at it.
“Who is there?” He could hear sobs. “Let me out, please.” Aniruddha looked at the lock hanging with chains. Then he stood back and kicked the door down. Jamuna ran to her mother. Aniruddha looked back at the man as the guests gasped.
“What kind of an insult is this?” The groom stood up and said “I did nothing wrong. I am a Brahmin. I can marry as many times as I want…” Aniruddha held his Panjabi collar making him stop.
“Dada.” Batuk stopped him with a warning as Aniruddha let go of his collar.
“Get out of here with dignity or else you and your family will go to jail,” Aniruddha warned as the man’s son came and stood by him.
“We have had enough, Baba, let’s go.” He spoke as Aniruddha eyed him.
“Would you be alright with your daughter marrying a man your father’s age?” His sudden question startled the man as he looked away pulling his father down from the mandap.
Bondita was pacing the open balcony over the portico when she saw Aniruddha and Batuk walk in through the gates of the premises. She rushed to meet them at the stairs where Aniruddha nodded, making her sigh. Batuk walked up to her and spoke softly, “We have arranged for the girl and her mother to be taken to one of the Ashrams where Baba donates money.” He looked around the quiet house. “But be prepared for the villagers to come and make an issue of it with Jetha Moshai.” Bondita nodded at his words. A little lost in her thoughts, she stepped into the bedroom to find Aniruddha hugging a sleeping Patralekha in his arms.
“I will keep you safe, always.” He whispered, making Bondita smile.
Bondita was serving tea to Trilochan early at dawn when the agitated villagers arrived at their doorstep.
“Jamidar Babu, O Jamidar Babu.”
“Come and hear our plea, Boro Malik.”
Anxious, as the clueless Trilochan walked away with Munshi to hear their plight, she ran upstairs to wake up Aniruddha and Batuk. They stood at the open balcony hearing the villagers complain down below.
“How could he just insult them? Malik, our names and that of Tulsipur village is being tarnished. Nobody will wed our girls anymore.”
“I never stopped my daughter from studying but if that makes her have an opinion of everything including her wedding I have an issue.”
“Theek Theek.”
“Choto Malkin assured us it was a good start. We see no good.”
“What is wrong with age-old traditions? Our ancestors were happy with it.”
“This is the influence of the Westerners.” The men were making a lot of noise.
“Enough!” Trilochan raised his hand up in fury. “Just because I am a good man doesn’t mean I will let anyone walk over my head.” Bondita and Aniruddha exchanged glances at his words.
“And how dare you question the Zamindar’s sons over your illegal activities?” A gasp escaped the men who had almost been sure that the traditional Zamindar would be on their side. Bondita smiled relieved as Aniruddha looked surprised at Batuk who smiled. “They were not wrong, you are. And if you dare raise doubt on intentions, you will have to face me. Go now. Munshi, drive them away.” Trilochan spoke in a certain intimidating way and walked away into the mansion leaving the villagers flabbergasted.
“Look.” Aniruddha smiled at Bondita “Lekha did what we couldn’t. She is already bringing changes to patriarchal minds who now see what it is like to have a daughter.” Bondita smiled as she agreed.
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