Graduation

Tere kadmo ke nishano par chalegi duniya
Main teri akhon mein dekhu sapna mera

“What is it, Barrister Babu?” Bondita asked as Aniruddha held her eyes tightly closed “Where are you taking me? I will be late for …”

“Hush,” Aniruddha spoke as they descended the stairs of the building carefully, followed by Nikhil carrying Lekha and Sampoorna smiling. “No cheating.”

“What is…” Aniruddha opened her eyes at the threshold of the house as Bondita gasped with a smile.

“Surprise.” She looked startled. The Roy Chowdhurys stood at the threshold of their Calcutta home, with smiles. Somnath quickly took Patralekha from Nikhil’s arms as she looked a little intimidated and Bondita nervously tried to draw her anchol over her head at the sight of Binoy and Trilochan.

“It is alright, Bondita.” Binoy stopped her as she looked up, still not able to believe they were there to witness her graduation. “We are here today for the daughter we are proud of, right dada?”

“Yes.” Trilochan gently put his hand over her head as she touched his feet. “This was long overdue.”

“Let’s get going or we will be late.” Nikhil smiled as he got busy getting rickshaws for everyone.

“Asha?” Bondita managed to ask as Somnath smiled. “She is fine, she wanted to be here but the doctor told her not to travel.”

“The doctor?” Bondita asked, a little surprised as Somnath nodded.

“I am not making the same mistake twice, Boudi.” He smiled back.

Bondita adjusted the black satin gown over her saree and straightened it. Her excitement knew no bounds. She was anxious, excited, sleep deprived and happy. They say, dreams only become true if you dare to dream with open eyes. That she did. She had big dreams, bigger than what was offered to her. Everyone happened to see success in a success story. What about the journey? The hurdles and abuses? What does a person live or face for a dream that big? They don’t matter anymore once someone succeeds. People look up to them. But then, the person remembers each and every moment like it was yesterday. Who had faith in them and who didn’t, who supported them, and who didn’t? Everything in life comes in a flash in front of their eyes. Today was such a day for her. If she believed in rebirth, she would have believed that this was her moment of being reborn. To fly and reach the skies. She eyed the crowd to spot her proud family in smiles in the audience. Lekha was on Aniruddha’s lap as he tried to keep her occupied with her water bottle. She smiled.

"Bondita Roy Chowdhury is our topper for the batch, and she wants to work towards Women's Rights in the country."

Her heartbeat was louder than the claps that resonated across the hall of the University when her name was called. She took slow measured steps up to the dais. Her throat felt dry. Her hands were cold. She could very well faint in happiness today. If that was possible. She walked up to the Vice Chancellor and with shivering cold hands took the folded roll of paper that was her certificate. She looked back at the crowd. A few known faces, friends and family. A few proud ones. Some more than others. This was it. She bowed to the Vice Chancellor in courtesy and walked down the stairs as the claps resounded.

Aniruddha straightened her graduation cap as he smiled at her, and Bondita smiled back. If she was not mistaken, she had seen his eyes sparkle today. He had held back tears. Years of hard work, struggle and rebellions had finally paid off for them. Their goal was achieved. But the dream? It continued to thrive. A lot needed to be done, and a lot needed to be changed. This was the beginning of tougher times ahead. But today was not about that. Today was about her success, her glory and the pride Roy Chowdhurys felt.

“We will go back to Tulsipur in a Phaeton gari and let everyone know that Roy Chowdhury's house has a gold medalist now.” Trilochan smiled at the gold medal Bondita had handed over to him.

“Excuse me?” Aniruddha frowned as the others laughed “You mean two.” he raised his hand as Binoy shook his head.

“I must say, Bondita proved us all wrong.” Binoy smiled, “We never used to pay much attention when she used to talk of making it in a man’s world.”

“The credit for that goes to Barrister Babu.” Bondita smiled at Aniruddha. “And Jamaibabu. He would have been proud.” She shook her head as Sampoorna held her hand in her palms. “He is a proud teacher, Bondita.” She reassured her.

“But the credit goes to you, Bondita. If you were not determined, no one could have helped you.” Aniruddha added. Somnath nodded in agreement as Lekha snatched at his buttons.

“He is right, Boudi.” Bondita noticed Somnath’s struggle with Lekha’s tiny hand grasping at his shirt button as she took her daughter in her arms. Lekha immediately started playing with the rope hanging from her graduation cap.

“Let’s go back to our place.” Sampoorna offered “Shashuri Ma has specifically told us that all of you are having lunch there.”

“Yes.” Trilochan agreed “Bina called me too. But after that, you are packing your bags and going to Tulsipur with us.” He made a taken-aback Aniruddha stare at him.

“But.. “

“You said you will come home once she graduated.” Trilochan frowned.

“Jetha Moshai has just started her internship. Let her handle a case or two…” Trilochan opened his mouth to protest as Binoy stepped in.

“We will talk about this later. Nikhil, Bouma, please take us home for lunch.” Trilochan eyed Aniruddha coldly. As the others stepped forward and Nikhil took Lekha from Bondita’s lap to take them home, Aniruddha fell back a few steps to hold Bondita’s hand in his as she adjusted her cape. A little startled at his gesture, Bondita looked a little wide-eyed and gestured at the presence of the others. Aniruddha smiled, gazing at her, soaking in the image of her in her graduation attire as he slowly let go of her hand and Bondita blushed slightly.

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