Hijr: Again?

"The Department of Archaeology & Museums, Pakistan in association with Archaeological Survey of India celebrates 100 years of the Indus Saraswati civilization." read the banner at the conference inside the Partition Museum.

Scripture expert intern Hoor Bhat stared at the board for quite some time. They were witnessing a historical event. Two countries at loggerheads had come together for the hundredth year celebration of discovering culture in the subcontinent they call home. She proudly wore the tricolour badge representing the country. She showed her ID card and walked in to be greeted by her seniors.
"Meet Taraksh Chauhan. He's joining us from across the border and is your teammate." Taraksh extended his hand while Hoor did the adaab. He nodded politely.

"So you are a scripture expert too?" She asked, hoping that the small talk would ease their equation.
"Symbols, actually. Heard we are trying to decipher the scriptures. The latest findings have a lot of new letters in them, it seems. If not words." His voice was very professional.
"Let's get to work then." Hoor was a woman of few words. Especially at work. The team head introduced them to the gallery where they would work.
"In one of our recent excavations along the river banks, we found these seals and cave paintings. The pictures on the table are close-ups of the seals and paintings. The symbols are very interesting. If you study them, you will see that the language, if you may call it that, seemed to be changing over the years under the influence of cross cultures. Our symbol and script experts here have a week to submit the reports that would be evaluated by both organisations. All the best."

Hoor's eyes scanned the table. There were ten of them there, all interns, eagerly looking across the table. Her eyes fell on a symbol. It had the shape of an eye, much eerie similar to the Egyptian ones. Her hand landed on the printed enlargement of the seal. Taraksh, at the same time, wanted to see the eye symbol up close. His hand stopped as Hoor picked it up. He smiled.
"We'll make a great team Mohtarma." He smiled. "I was intrigued by this one too." Hoor nodded.
"Let's get to work. First, I will set up the table." Taraksh offered.
"I will grab any similar kind of stuff I find here." Hoor smiled. "We have to start somewhere."
"So, where are you from?" He asked, making a similar image on his notebook.
"Umm… Ajmer. You?" She asked without looking up from scrutinising one of the seals with a magnifier.
"Lahore." He smiled. "It's a historian's paradise."
"I'd love to visit someday." Hoor smiled.
"Be my guest." Taraksh nodded. "You want coffee?"
"Tea, please. Thanks." Hoor didn't look up again as Taraksh walked away to grab some.

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An interesting thing to note here is that the Indus Valley script can be read both ways, it is symmetrical and hence doesn't have a mirror image or direction of reading unlike other scriptures which makes it more difficult to decipher, not to mention the political tension between the countries prevent this hypothetical situation of working together towards the mystery of the oldest and largest of civilisations even more difficult.

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You Deserve More

Ajabdeh woke up with the song of birds as she felt something warm on her hand. Her eyes went wide. Her hand was on the pillow in between them, between his hands, clasped as he slept. She thought of removing it slowly, but he was holding on to it so tightly. Ajabdeh's heart beat faster and faster. What do I do now? How do I not wake him? What if... why is my hand in his? She was utterly confused. " Am I...In love?" Pratap was staring at the sleeping figure on the bed as he stared back at the rain. Then he frowned as he noticed that she shivered. He closed the windows of the room to make it cosy, then sat on his side of the bed. A lamp flickered on her side like always, and he stared at her sleeping figure as he put his blanket over her as well. She shifted a little in her sleep to make herself cosy again. Her payals and bangles made a rhythmic sound, breaking the silence of the room. Her hand was out of her blanket and on the pillow in between. He tried to slowly put it ...

Purnota: Chapter Eleven

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Towards You

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Purnota: Chapter Twelve

Bondita woke up to the alarm clock ringing as she struggled to get her hand out of the quilt wrapped around her. She sat inside the mosquito net, rubbing her eyes and staring at the clock, trying to remember why she had set the alarm at 3.45 AM. Then her eyes shone in delight. It was Mahalaya. She remembered that during her days in Dehra, she had educated her roommate on the tradition of starting pujo with the voice of Birendra Krishna Bhadra echoing through the air. She was uninterested, and Bondita had borrowed her headphones to hear the program and deeply missed home. She remembered as a child, while her father was still alive, he would gently wake her up, and take her on his lap to the huge Banyan tree near the Panchayat where people gathered near the Pradhan’s radio, putting flower garlands and lamps around it and folding their hands as they heard Mahishashur Mardini killing the Asura. When she arrived in Kolkata to get her law degree, she thought things would be different. But ev...

Purnota: Chapter Thirteen

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Purnota: Chapter Eight

“ Choto Babu Eshe Gechen ” Bihari rushed out to the portico, announcing Aniruddha’s arrival as Batuk rushed out behind him to welcome his brother. But he stopped at the threshold, realising that Dadabhai was not alone. Being an introvert, Batuk did not quite like guests, especially those he did not know. He knew the drill. Soon, his father or uncle would summon him to the living room and praise his piano skills until he was asked to play. The only song he knew was “We Shall Overcome”, and the blind pride of his family completely missed the disappointment in the guest's faces and false praises. But these guests looked different. As the driver opened the car's back door, a girl, about his age and height, jumped out wearing a pair of plastic slippers and a shabby dress, her hair oiled and braided, eyes wide in astonishment at the enormity of their house. Behind her came a reluctant woman, her hair in streaks of grey, wearing a dirty white saree, with nothing but a bead garland on...

Purnota: Chapter Ten

The rain clouds gave way to the scorching sun the following day as Bondita woke up as the first rays of the sun hit her face and disturbed her sleep. She cursed herself for keeping the window open and sat inside the mosquito net with a sleepy yawn. She eyed the alarm clock on her desk that said 6.30. Bondita scratched her head and pulled the mosquito net up to search for her slippers. She heard the bell ringing from Thamma’s room and the chanting of mantras. A smile came involuntarily to her lips as she realised that she might have come after ages, but everything in Chandannagar seemed to have been at a standstill. She grabbed the Kurti from the chair to change from the top she was wearing and wondered what she could do for the day. For the first time in a long time, she was free from the routine of boarding houses. Her eyes fell on the mess around her room since she had not unpacked the day before. Bondita decided to spend the morning unpacking her belongings. She opened the door of h...

Confrontation

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RAABTA

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