Going Home

Bondita's Mama came to Tulsipur to meet his daughter. He was a poor man and wore a short dhoti and a Batik shirt. It was wrong to come empty-handed to the daughter's house, so two pots of sweets accompanied him. Reluctantly, he had to go to Roy Chowdhury's house. They were the Zamindar of Tulsipur, the master of the father-in-law of Sampoorna, and they needed to be respected. Apart from that, the fate of the sister and niece whom he was reluctant to shelter and spent day and night rebuking them about had turned; the same sister now handed over some money to him by the end of the month, because of the kindness of Aniruddha Babu. He did not have the luxury of pushing Lakshmi away. Hence, it was necessary to come to the landlord's house to meet his niece. In their house, servants also dressed better than he; Look at the fate of the girl. Where he had arranged for her to stay in a corner of an old man's house, now Bondita was living a queen’s life.

Zamindar Trilochan Roy Chowdhury did not hesitate to show it to anyone if he didn't like them. Bondita's uncle was one of those people. Trilochan Babu was shocked by what he heard from Bouma's mouth about how they treated her, and then even more surprised at seeing Bouma's affection towards them. But they were family. What could be done if someone arrived at his doorstep with sweets? It is not in the landlord's taste to disrespect a guest. Bondita took her uncle’s blessing and asked about her mother. How was she doing? Was she worried about Bondita and what Mama should tell her? Trilochanbabu knew that Bouma had not seen her mother for a long time.
"Then, Bouma, go with your Mama, come back in a few days." Trilochan's words make Bondita's eyes sparkle.
"Really, can I go?" Bondita asked in disbelief. Trilochan nodded his head. "If he doesn’t object..."
"No, no, why will I..." Bondita’s uncle smiled sheepishly, "If she wants to come..."
"Wait, Mama, I'll be right back." Bondita ran inside. While tying the bundle, her hand stopped once. Should she tell Barristra Babu? Should she ask his permission? Her ego got the better of her. He didn't want her to stay, didn't trust her, and Jyatha Shoshur Moshai told her to go. Why bother asking him again? She would go to stay with her mother. He would be fine, perhaps better off without her. He would not find his things; that would be good. He wouldn’t have to see her face, not stay out of the house angry with her, and he could sleep in his bed. He would be fine.

Absent-mindedly packing her things, Bondita did not realise when Aniruddha came and stood behind her. For a long time, he watched her pack a bundle, a frown on his face, fear in his heart. After that day, they didn't talk about anything but unavoidable things. He tried many times but couldn’t understand what to say to Bondita.

"Where are you taking these things?" Bondita was startled by his words. The comb fell out of her hand. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw Aniruddha picking up the comb from the floor, a look of displeasure on his face.

“You? Why are you up?” Bondita suddenly asked, "So early?"

"Bihari said, Mama... what are these?"

"I will go home with Mama."

"Why?" Aniruddha tried hard not to sound agitated as Bondita jolted back.

"I mean, Jyathamoshai said I can go to see Mother..."

"You're not going anywhere." Aniruddha suddenly started taking things out of her bundle. "You don't need to go with uncle, I said I will take you to meet her." Bondita got angry at his demeanour. She forgot her vow to be grateful to him and stopped him. After so many years of a habit of arguing with her, Barristra Babu got the better of her.

"Why won’t I go?" Aniruddha stopped and looked at her, suddenly relieved by the tone in Bondita’s voice. It had a hint of right towards him, "Why won't I go to my mother with my uncle?" Bondita tried to snatch the bundle from his hand in vain.

"I said I will take you," Aniruddha said, lifting the bundle on his head, beyond her reach.

"Yes, you are taking today and tomorrow too. Give me back my things. Jetha's Shoshur Moshai told me to go." Bondita taunted.

"I said you are not going."

"So, are you preventing me from meeting my mother?"

“No. You know very well why I am stopping you.” His stare made her look away.

"No, I don't know." Protests erupted more strongly in Bondita’s voice. "You're acting like a madman."

"What?" Even Bondita was shocked at the words that came out of her mouth as Aniruddha looked flabbergasted. She was afraid that she had successfully angered him more.

"You called me crazy for your stubbornness?" Aniruddha's voice sounded bitter. "Bondita, you know well why you are insisting and why I don't accept that insistence."

"What's going on?" Seeing Trilochanbabu outside the threshold, Bondita pulled her Ghomta on her head quickly, realising it had fallen off in the middle of the argument. Aniruddha dropped the bundle, and a look of awkwardness was reflected on both of their faces. Trilochan Roy Chowdhury cleared his throat. He knew that the ghost of stubbornness often danced on these two, leading them to meaningless arguments he could never make sense of, but arguing like this, especially when there was a guest at home, what was wrong with them?

"Look, he won't let me go to my mother." Bondita startled Aniruddha with a complaint.

"No... I mean," Aniruddha looked a little lost for words in front of his uncle. “I say, why bother, Mama, I will take her.”

"When?" Bondita snapped. ”How many times have you said this in the past year? Did you take me there once?"

"Bouma is right, let her go with her uncle. You have been busy. And he is her Mama, it won’t bother him. You go and pick her up in a day or two, what's the harm?”

"He doesn’t have to go."Bondita protested. "He's so busy he can't bring me home, so you must send Bihari."

"I can. I can bring you home.” Aniruddha protested firmly, and Bondita eyed him.

"Then what is the problem? Get her the day after tomorrow. Bouma, come quickly, your uncle says the train will leave if you don’t go now.” Trilochan Babu still did not understand why his son was protesting like this. But he never tried to understand all that he did or said. What's the point? "And Aniruddha, you should make Bouma a lawyer." He jokingly added, "She can argue better than you."

Before Aniruddha could understand, Bondita snatched the bundle of clothes from his hand and packed the rest of the things in a hurry. Standing with folded hands for a while, Anirudha watched her. Then she took out a saree to change into, took the key from the lock, and said, "I will put it in this drawer; you will need it." She went to the washroom to change her saree. Aniruddha tied some loose change in a handkerchief, "You may find it useful." He said, offering it to Bondita, raising his eyes and observing his wife’s pale face.

"Believe me, I will go there myself. I will bring you back." Bondita lifted her eyes at him briefly. "Everything you think is not true. I... ” Suddenly afraid of what Aniruddha wanted to talk about the subject Bondita stepped back.

"It's getting late, I need to go." Suddenly, she took his blessing, interrupting him mid-thought and left the room. Aniruddha sighed and stood there for a while. "Dugga Dugga." He said to himself.

Purnota: Chapter Thirty Two

Bondita got down from the local train with a duffle bag and her hoodie tied around the waist of her dark green Kurti, which she teamed with white leggings and a white dupatta. The weather at Canning seemed hotter and humid than Chandannagar, and at first glance, Bondita spotted the spring blooms of Krishnachura painting the tree at the station red. She picked up her bag and looked around the crowded station. Someone was supposed to come and get her. She dragged her bag through the crowd and finally reached the gates. The rickshaws, vans and small autos were shouting out names of different places, names that appeared like images in her memories. “Bondita Malkin?” She turned to see a woman in a checked printed saree worn above the ankle with a Ghomta over her head and the Anchol tied to her waist. Bondita nodded as the woman in her forties surprised her by touching her feet. Bondita jolted away in shock. “What are you doing?” She asked with raised brows as the woman took her duffel bag. ...

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...

Purnota: Chapter Thirty Three

Aniruddha stepped out of his room, in a wrinkled Kurta, with a towel and toothbrush, to almost bump into Bondita, who was hurrying out of her room, trying to wear her watch on the go. He stopped before she barged into him and spotted her in one of Thamma’s Dhakai sarees. It was a white-on-white saree she had worn with a quarter-sleeved black blouse. Her hair was bunned with a claw clip, and she wore a small black Teep complementing her Kajol-drawn eyes. She looked slightly startled as she stopped at his dishevelled appearance and looked away at his stare. “Why are you…” He cleared his throat to do away with his morning groggy voice, “Dressed up?” Bondita shook her head at his words. “Because I have camp today, the NGO representative is waiting downstairs.” At her words, Aniruddha nodded and promptly held her wrist to check her watch. Bondita eyed his index finger and thumb, briefly brushing around her wrist as he suppressed a yawn. “But… It's 7 AM.” Bondita smiled, amused at his wo...

Purnota: Chapter Thirty Six

Bondita opened her door in the usual hours of the morning and found Thamma and Jyatha Moshai on the couch in their living room, sipping tea. She had half sat on her bed, leaning against the pillow all night, imagining her plight when she faced Aniruddha in the morning. What if he did not think of it as much as she thought of his actions? What if that was his uncomfortable way of comforting her because she was upset? But what about his eyes, his gestures? Had she misread all of it? Bondita blushed to herself the moment she remembered how his eyes followed her around for the past two days. Bondita was hurrying through her daily chores, eyeing the clock, for she would be late for work and overheard Trilochon lament about things not changing since Binoy left. He thought that things were getting better at home, but as soon as Aniruddha had left for Sunderban, Binoy informed him that he had changed the attorney in charge of his case. Bondita frowned slightly as her hand stopped at wearing th...

Purnota: Chapter Thirty Five

“The bride is older than the groom.” Aniruddha heard one of the older villagers speak in a judgmental tone. “No wonder the higher castes don’t attend such atrocities.” He eyed the younger man he was talking to, who smiled. Aniruddha was sitting beside them on a bench in the open courtyard of a house where the wedding rituals were taking place. Tirio and Tumdak were playing rhythmically in a corner as some women danced to the tunes surrounding the new bride and groom. The men sat on the other side of the courtyard. “Forget about the Brahmins, we don’t expect them to come.” The younger man shook his head. “As for traditions, what is wrong if the bride is older?” He smiled sheepishly at the older man. “What’s wrong? Everything. Master Moshai, you can be educated, but our ancient traditions have reasons. The groom must be older than the bride. It has some reason.” He shook his head. The teacher, in turn, educated the man that it was a perfectly normal Santhali ritual to marry older wo...

Purnota: Chapter Thirty Seven

“Why will Bondita not come for Holi?” Asha asked as she inspected the colours, Abir, Pichkiri and balloons Somnath had ordered from Baro Bazaar. He shrugged. “She is scared of colours, I think.” Asha smiled, a little amused at her clueless husband. “She is not ten anymore.” He looked up at her words with a sheepish smile, “Well, I never saw her play Holi, perhaps Dadabhai knows the reason.” Asha contemplated her husband’s words. She did not share a relationship with Aniruddha frank enough for him to share things about Bondita. It would be easier for her to ask Bondita instead. “If you wish for her to come,” Som said, like he could almost read her mind, “Perhaps you can invite her. She won’t say no to you.” Asha nodded. “It will be good to have the whole family together. It's not been so since the wedding.” She smiled. Som agreed as he matched the list with the things. “Yes, and Baba will be coming too, he told me not to tell Jethu, but I was surprised by that.” “Maybe because he an...

Scheme of Things

The ousting of Shams Khan and his troops from Chittorgarh earned Kunwar Partap Singh overnight fame across the land as tales of his bravery made their way through the dunes and hills, across rivers and borders to lands far and beyond. At thirteen, he had commanded an army troop to take over the fort of Chittorgarh and restore Mewar’s borders to their former glory. People started comparing him to his forefathers, the great Rana Kumbha, who built forts across Mewar and his grandfather, Rana Sanga, who had united all Rajputs against external threats. As bards sang praises of the prince, gossip soon followed. Gossip was the most entertaining one could get in the mundane city lives and village gatherings, and it often travelled faster than the fastest Marwadi horse. So alongside the tales of his absolute bravery and how he hoisted the Mewari flag on the fort, were the stories of how his life was in danger, the king and queen did not quite get along and how he was made to live in poverty by ...

Purnota: Chapter Thirty Four

“You are cheating, he can’t play!” Bondita was attracted by the commotion downstairs as she opened the window of her room. She walked out to the balcony to inspect it. It was Sunday, and Padma had promised to make Chicken Curry, knowing Bondita had invited Tapur to join them for lunch. In the courtyard was a group of boys, probably Sidhu’s friends, with a broken pipe for a bat, a wooden plank for a wicket kept between two bricks and a rubber ball, arguing over a game of cricket. Bondita’s eyes stopped at Aniruddha, marking a line with chalk and then measuring feet using steps to mark the boundaries. Bondita looked amused at the sight. “Batuk. You went out fair and square; give me the bat.” Bondita put her hands on her waist as she commanded. Batuk refused to part with his new bat. Som frowned at his brother. “She is right; it was a clean bowl. Give her the bat!” Som commanded. “I was not ready.” Batuk shook his head. “She knew that.” “It's still out.” Bondita frowned. Aniruddha wal...

The Difficulties

“The best of our characters are often reflected in our children.” Kunwar Shakta had visited the court at Udaipur after a Turk marriage offer was turned down by Rana Udai Singh for the third time for one of his Princesses. The Ranimahal at Chittorgarh buzzed with rumours of him warning his father about the consequences of enemity with the Turks and also about the impending doom of Mewar. He had apparently irked Kunwar Partap by suggesting a peace alliance with the Timurids was beneficial to Mewar. Rana Udai Singh, in his anger, had banished him from his court. Kunwar Shakta had sworn not to be associated with the royal family any further and to join allies with the Turks. Rawat Chundawat was calm enough to pacify the angry prince and offer him to shift to Bassi and give his decision a second thought. However, Kunwar Partap had refused to abandon Chittor, defying his father’s orders for a shift to the newly founded capital with his Ranimahal. He wanted to stay at Chittorgarh, which...

Purnota: Chapter Thirty One

“Please, Sir, we were going to show the evacuation notice to the lawyer.” The older man with a salt and pepper beard and a bald head pleaded with the Judiciary official, who handed him a paper of illegal occupancy. The NGO stood on the ground of the property that belonged to the Bhowmicks. Their lawyer, Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury, had sent a notice of warning and evacuation that the NGO did not pay heed to. The man in charge looked least concerned at the plea of the older man. His hands were folded, eyes teary, as the men who came with the Bull Dozer to knock down the one-storey house with thatched roof broke down the board of the NGO. “Why did you not show the notice then?” The man rebuked in a gruff voice. “Because we thought it was some mistake.” Another man, relatively younger and calmer, came forward from the crowd that stood there watching as he spoke. “We got the land as a gift from Mr. Bhowmick some eleven years back to make the school for the orphans.” “Then where is the dee...

RAABTA

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