Bondita was surprised to find Binoy in the living room of the Roy Chowdhury house as she entered the premises early in the morning. Trilochon sat with his brother, looking serious as they discussed some paperwork, as Bihari walked out with tea. Noticing Bondita so early in the morning, Trilochon looked up questioningly.
“I have some errands to run before the office.” Bondita smiled as Trilochon nodded. She had to pay some bills and deliver some of the orders Kalindi had finished because her ankle hurt in the morning. Trilochon enquired about her need for medicines as Bondita reassured him that she had made sure of it. Bondita briefly eyed Binoy, who showed no interest in her or the conversation, as he remained focused on the papers. Bondita cleared her throat, informing Trilochon that she should be on her way.
“I think you should show her the papers, Binoy.” Trilochon stopped her as he suggested to Binoy, who eyed Bondita briefly. He looked unsure as Bondita opened her mouth, shaking her head. “You have the best lawyer at home, Jyatha Moshai. Why will he need me?” Her suggestion made Binoy gather the papers and offer them to her.
“I think you should have a look.” He said in a formal tone. Bondita nodded as she eyed the disappointed look on Trilochon’s face and sat down on the chair, taking the documents from Binoy.
Bondita waited as Trilochon briefed her about how Binoy was facing some issues with a client contract and needed a lawyer to check the terms. She scanned through the papers briefly.
“But I feel the best person to do it would be…” Bondita’s eyes gestured at the stairs as Trilochon sighed. “If you are ready to play intermediary between father and son, feel free to, Ma. I am done.” He stood up, holding his cane, and Bondita eyed an unsure Binoy.
“I have no problem if he helps. But he won’t.” Binoy shrugged at his brother.
“He will,” Bondita said firmly as Binoy eyed her. Trilochon stared unsurely at her as she shrugged.
“You will upset him, and he will get angry at you,” Trilochon warned her. Binoy eyed Bondita’s faint smile. It can’t be worse than what he is doing now. Her eyes sparkled in the challenge of the situation. A sparkle he had seen in his son too many times to recognise.
“Can you tell me what the issue is with the terms and conditions?” Binoy asked her as she explained the basics. “You need a lawyer to talk to your client.” Trilochon smiled to himself and walked away. She knew better than he what she was doing. He trusted her with the situation. Frankly, Trilochon was too tired trying to play the mediator between his brother and Aniruddha. They were both vain to admit their mistakes and stubborn to approach first.
Aniruddha walked downstairs to find not only his father there but also Bondita helping him with some legal advice. He narrowed his brows as they stopped to look up at him, and he looked away and walked briskly to the study. It was none of his business.
“Bihari! I can’t find the pink file from yesterday.” In a minute, his voice was heard from the study room as Bondita stood up with a sigh. “I will be back.” She reassured Binoy as she walked up to the study room. Binoy could hear his son ask Bihari about the file, Bondita taunting how he misses things that are right under his nose. Binoy smiled to himself, suddenly remembering his wife used to say the same.
“What is he doing here?” Aniruddha lowered his voice with a disapproving tone as Bondita eyed him. Bihari had left the room in a hurry as she found the file.
“What do you mean?” She asked with a frown. “It's his house too.”
“He never visits until it's about work.” Aniruddha shrugged.
“It is about work.” Bondita exhaled. “Ah, I thought so too.” Aniruddha smiled sarcastically. Bondita eyed him. “He needs your legal aid.”
“Really? Then why doesn’t he ask me?” Aniruddha shook his head. “Because he won’t. He is egoistic and…” He looked up to find Bondita walking towards the living room, dismissing his bitter rant and telling Binoy out loud that Aniruddha had agreed to help him and wanted to see him in the study room. Binoy was taken by surprise, knowing his firstborn, as he gathered his papers, and Aniruddha looked flabbergasted at Bondita, who shrugged, picked up her bag and left. Aniruddha exhaled. He could not understand how his aloofness did not bother her. Maybe he was wrong about how much she cared or how she approached things. Maybe she knew him too well to see through his struggle and farce to keep up the coldness. Aniruddha felt a sudden heaviness in his chest, realising that his pushing her away was not making her leave him alone. He needed to do something more, something impactful, to make her understand there was a better world out there for her, full of opportunities she deserved. He watched his reluctant father come in with the papers as he put his hands in his pockets and eyed the clock suggestively that he was getting late.
“I told her to help me out, but she insisted You know better,” Binoy said without looking up at his firstborn while he placed the papers down. Aniruddha nodded.
“She tends to do that.” He murmured as he eyed the papers, and Binoy explained his problem to him.
Bondita was busy with paperwork when Aniruddha came into the office late. Her colleagues gossiped that he was never late for work, and Bondita was eager to know if he had decided to help Binoy after all. She gathered some files from her desk with the excuse of asking for his signature and walked to his desk. Aniruddha was expecting that. He expected to be interrogated.
“Let me breathe.” He said as soon as she placed the files down. Bondita narrowed her brows.
“What?” She acted clueless. “I just came by for the signs in these papers.”
He shot a warning glance as she placed the files down. “This is a workplace, Bondita.” He seemed cold. “May I remind you to be professional?” Bondita seemed unfazed by his cold voice. Like she had gotten used to his irrational behaviour over the last few days.
“Then tell me.” She shrugged. “Sir, did you decide to help my client Binoy Roy Chowdhury?” Aniruddha inhaled as she wore a polite, victorious smile. On one hand, a part of Aniruddha, he was trying to bury deep in his mind, appreciated her intelligence and common sense in the situation, but he would not let it show. He put his hands in his pockets as he stared at her.
“Did I have an option not to?” He raised his brows as she shook her head. “Thank you, Sir.”
“But his legal work will take time, maybe a few weeks.” He suggested as she made her way back to her desk. Bondita smiled faintly. “Good, he will be home all the while then.” She murmured. Aniruddha’s hand stopped on the papers as he looked up at her, alarmed. It never dawned on him.
“He can also go back and come back…” He said in a hurry. “You can tell your client…”
“No, I will suggest that he stay.” Bondita shook her head. “You may need him during the process. Right, sir?”
“What are you trying to do here?” He asked with a frown.
“I am trying to help with a mess.” She shrugged.
“Bondita…” Aniruddha looked up. “I am warning you…”
“You told me to do what is best for my client, Sir. I am practising what you preach.” Bondita said in a rather formal tone. Aniruddha went back to his work as he heard her murmur.
“I don’t want to hear your negativity. I am a positive person, and I think everything can be talked about.” She shook her head.
“Did you say something?” He asked. Bondita shook her head. Aniruddha could not concentrate on the file as he pushed it aside and eyed her typing away on her computer. She kept looking at him as if to observe him, and every time he looked at her, she appeared busy. He removed his glasses and exhaled.
“Say it.” He looked at her as she frowned. “What?” She appeared clueless.
“I know you want to say something badly, so say it and get it done with so that I can get back to work.” He was firm. Bondita exhaled. “I don’t…”
“Say it, it's an order.” He commanded. Bondita eyed his stubbornness and nodded.
“I was not going to say it… But of course, I know the Roy Chowdhury ego.”
“What is that supposed to mean?” He asked. Bondita did not respond.
“You know, if you push too hard, we will end up fighting. He will hate you.” He warned, putting his glasses back on.
Bondita shrugged. “I can take that.”
“I won’t. You know me better than that.” The moment he said it, Aniruddha felt like she could see through him. She looked surprised at his words, almost like it was the validation she was seeking all the while he was avoiding her. He looked away, awkwardly, acting busy.
“Then fight, shout, tell him what you feel,” Bondita said firmly as his hand stopped at the paperwork.
“What if it breaks things more than it mends?” He sounded unsure.
“Then I will pick up the broken pieces with full responsibility. But if things mend, Jyatha Moshai will be happy. You know how tired he is playing mediator between you?”
“You won’t listen.” He shook his head. “There is no point.” He murmured as she smiled. A part of Bondita was glad to see a glimpse of normalcy between them, but another part of her wondered why Aniruddha was bothered if Binoy hated her. He never approved of her presence in the first place. She realised how the Roy Chowdhury men refused to see the mirror when it came to flaws. He was pushing her away, being rude and aloof without any explanation to her, yet he was bothered about Binoy hurting her. Did he not realise he was hurting her too, or did he purposefully want her to feel that way? Bondita could not help but wonder about his reasons.
“What is wrong, Boumoni?” Koeli looked worried as Asha looked sweaty and unwell. She touched her hand and found it cold. “Are you running a fever?”
“There has been a viral fever going on around school. Maybe I caught it.” She looked unsure.
“Please go and lie down. I will manage here.” Koeli was reassured as Bondita entered the kitchen in search of Asha and stopped, alarmed.
“What happened, Boudi?” Asha was about to shake her head and say she was fine, but Koeli informed Bondita about her fever. Bondita promptly put her hand on her forehead and gasped.
“My god, you are burning up. Please go and lie down.” She looked around the kitchen. “I will help Koeli Didi.”
Asha looked unsure as they pushed her out of the kitchen, and she heard Bondita take over.
“What are we cooking?” Koeli informed her that they were making Echor Chingri. Something Asha had learnt was that the Roy Chowdhury house never ate after Mrs Roy Chowdhury’s demise. She had called her mother and taken the recipe from her. “Is that a good idea?” Koeli looked unsure. Bondita smiled. “Yes.” She was glad that Asha, too, wanted to mend the broken ties in her way. The moment she had come home from school and heard of her little plan from Trilochon, who seemed amused and was sure it would fail, Asha wanted to help. Bondita was the only person who made her feel like she belonged, so she could help her in her own way. She had heard from Somnath about certain dishes their mother cooked so well that they stopped having them after her. Echor Chingri was one. Bondita was unsure of whether she could make the preparations without Asha’s help, but she insisted on following the recipe very ardently.
While preparing dinner, Bondita could hear Aniruddha’s car coming to the porch, him going up the stairs and asking Bihari for something to eat. He informed Trilochon that he had a client to meet after he had changed, and Trilochon, in turn, told him to return to have dinner together. She overheard him saying he would be late, but Trilochon insisted that even if dinner was late, they would all sit together for it. She decided to make his coffee while he was busy on the phone with a client. Koeli placed the coffee down on the table in his room as he finished the call. Aniruddha had just taken a bath and folded the sleeves of his Panjabi, forgetting to comb his hair as he sat down and sipped the coffee, anticipating that it was made by Koeli. The moment the taste hit him, Aniruddha frowned. What was she doing in the kitchen? He refused to admit to himself that he enjoyed the cup of coffee he had so dearly missed as he concentrated on the omelette Bihari brought for him. He enquired indirectly if Asha was unwell, and his suspicion proved right. He wondered if Asha asked for her help or if Bondita jumped at the opportunity. How could he tell her that taking care of the family was never something she had the burden of doing?
Bondita walked back into the house after cooking to inform Kalindi that Asha was ill and she had taken charge of dinner. Kalindi looked pleasantly surprised as she ranted about having her dinner with Asha Boudi and asked what she had made.
“Echor Chingri.” She smiled. “Boudi said they haven’t eaten it since their mother passed and since Binoy Babu is here.” Kalindi looked a little concerned.
“Don’t offend him.” She reminded Bondita gently as she shook her head. “Do you know he approached me for help with a legal matter?” Her voice sounded cheerful as Kalindi looked more worried. “What did you do? Take it?” She was concerned that if Binoy, whose entire life revolved around his business, suffered any loss or humiliation because of Bondita, things would turn worse. She prayed that Bondita was in her right mind to refuse and redirect him to someone else.
“I told him his son would help.” Kalindi gasped involuntarily as Bondita splashed water on her face and wiped it with a towel.
“Bondita. I know you are grown up but…” She cleared her throat, unsurely. “Don’t you think you should not get involved in their…”
“Thamma, you said we are grateful to Jyathamoshai and should step in when he needs us.” Bondita reminded her with a faint smile.
“Yes, but…”
“He is so tired of the father-son issues. This time, it has to stop.” Bondita said firmly.
“At what cost?” Kalindi wondered out loud. “What if Aniruddha Babu is upset with your involvement?” She hoped it worked because Bondita cared deeply for his approval. Bondita shook her head. “So? If that mends things, I will be happy.” Kalindi stared at her granddaughter as she checked herself in the mirror before going to her room to indulge in some work. Koeli had reassured her that she would call her for dinner once Choto Malik arrived home. Kalindi could not help but wonder when Bondita grew up to be so selfless and mature. The nuances and complexities of relationships were not alien to her at this young age, and it oddly reminded Kalindi of a time she had to face harsh realities that forced her to understand worldly relationships better. She wondered if Bondita ever went through something similar in silence. She wondered if things would have been different had her parents been alive. Kalindi had never been friendly enough for Bondita to open up to her about anything she felt, or even when she missed her parents. She was the strict guardian she needed to be. But watching Bondita handle her relationships with ease, Kalindi could not help but wonder what she missed between the child who would puff her cheek at the slightest inconvenience to the woman she became now, who did not care if people disapproved of her as long as she believed she was doing the right thing. Kalindi was worried.
Bondita was sitting by the open window, lost in thought, staring out at the darkness outside and the silhouette of the house in the distance, when the light in his room was turned on. Her eyes travelled to the swaying curtains as she could spot him by the desk, removing his watch. He looked a little distraught from his demeanour as something fell from his hand, and he kicked it in frustration. Bondita frowned at his restlessness and wondered what was wrong. Her hand immediately reached out to her mobile phone to dial him, but stopped, alarmed. She knew he would not pick up the call as soon as her number flashed on it. Messages would be futile, too. Then she opened the contact book and reached the landline number. An extension of the number was in each room, and someone would pick that up. She dialled and watched him as the phone rang. He seemed least bothered by the ringing phone as he spared no glance at it, and it continued to ring for a good few minutes until someone said a gruff “Hello?” Bondita was suddenly at a loss for words as she recognised Binoy’s voice on the other end. “Hello?” He asked again. Bondita had not thought this through. She expected Koeli on the other side, if not him. She disconnected the call nervously. She could now see the light in his room dimmed to a yellow bulb, but he was not visible anymore. She dialled the landline again, praying Koeli picked it up. “Hello?” It was Binoy again. “For God’s sake, who is calling this so late?” He rebuked. Bondita disconnected the call again. She shook her head at her stupidity. Would it not have been perfectly fine had she asked him for Aniruddha? What was she so aware of? They had a professional relationship, didn’t they? She would have cooked up some silly doubt to ask him. But no, she had to lose her voice. Cursing herself inwardly, Bondita got back to work.
After a long time, everyone was sitting around the dinner table as Koeli served the rice and ruti.
“I wish Batuk were home.” Som smiled. “If he knew Baba was coming, he would have…”
“He has just joined work, Som. I think he should not waste his leaves like that.” Binoy shook his head as Bondita walked in with the bowls of Echor Chingri. The aroma filled the room as Trilochon looked up, pleasantly surprised.
“Boudi got the recipe from her mother. I don’t know if I cooked it well.” Bondita said as she placed the bowl down beside Trilochon’s plate.
“How is Bouma doing?” he asked. Bondita eyed Somnath as she said, “I have told her to take medicines and skip school tomorrow.”
“There are virus outbreaks everywhere during the changing season,” Trilochon murmured, worried. “Take her to the doctor if she doesn’t feel better tomorrow.” He made Som agree. Aniruddha walked downstairs and stopped at the sight of everyone sitting at the dining table and Bondita serving them. She looked up at him briefly, placed his plate and bowl and turned to leave. Aniruddha walked up to the table where he was sitting between Binoy and Trilochon and took the rice from the bowl. He eyed the Echor Chingri, and his eyes involuntarily travelled to meet his father’s glance. He could tell Binoy was thinking the same thing.
“Remember when…” Binoy cleared his throat and spoke to nobody in particular. “Your mother used to cook Echor Chingri.”
“Som never had Echor without Chingri.” Trilochon smiled at the memories. Binoy suddenly had an amused smile as Bondita walked back in with the bowl of extra curry. “Once I forgot to bring the Chingri for the Echor, and she was furious.”
“I remember Ma tried to deceive Som by saying the seeds of Echor were actually the Chingri.” Aniruddha sounded amused as he took a morsel.
“Oh yes.” Binoy laughed. “He was three, and he believed it.”
Aniruddha chuckled, amused at Somnath as Trilochon exchanged a surprised glance with a victoriously smiling Bondita. It had been years since anyone had seen Aniruddha and Binoy share a laugh over a shared memory. Binoy eyed the exchange of looks between his brother and Bondita and stopped laughing, a little self-aware as he cleared his throat. Aniruddha and Som were still sharing memories of times their mother had cleverly deceived them into eating spinach in a soup.
“The telephone must be broken, Dada.” Binoy’s words made everyone look at him as Bondita looked away. “It keeps ringing, but nobody talks.”
“Missed calls?” Somnath looked amused. “Must be some girl trying to talk to Batuk.” Aniruddha shot him a glance as Trilochon looked confused.
“Why do you say that? I will tell the telephone services to check. Why would anyone call and not talk unless the one they want on the phone doesn’t pick up?” Somnath chuckled at his uncle’s question. Aniruddha was taking a morsel when his eyes involuntarily travelled to meet Bondita’s briefly, and he did not miss that she looked like a fawn caught in the headlight of a car. He narrowed his brows and resumed his meal as Bondita walked away briskly to the kitchen, her heart thumping from his scrutinising glare.
“Poor girl doesn’t know Batuk isn’t here.” Som continued.
“What kind of tomfoolery is this?” Trilochon rebuked. “I don’t understand this generation.” Binoy smiled, amused at his brother’s displeasure.
Aniruddha had brought some files to his room to work on after dinner. He eyed the open door of Binoy’s room and the light from it falling on the corridor outside as he entered his room and placed the pile of work down. His eyes fell on the telephone by his desk and involuntarily travelled to his window. He walked up to the window and stared out at the Choto Bari. He could see the light turned on in her room, but the curtains were pulled shut. He picked up the receiver of the phone and heard the dial tone with arched brows before putting it down. Then he took his phone from the charging point to check if he had any missed calls and messages. Then, realising his thoughts, Aniruddha shook his head. Why would she call? But then why was she so pale? He shook his head, trying to concentrate on the work at hand, when someone knocked at the half-closed door of his room.
“Come in?” He eyed the clock as Binoy peeped in, unsurely. He was in a night robe. Aniruddha realised it had been almost a decade since his father had come to his room. He kept the file down with a raised pair of brows, asking, “Is everything fine?” He nodded. “Everything is… alright.” He cleared his throat as he looked around Aniruddha’s room. It seemed to have stopped in time, just the way he remembered it. Except for the books and papers heaped in a corner of the desk, which were not there previously, everything from the curtain to the placement of the furniture and the perfumes on the dresser looked the same. Aniruddha waited for him to speak, wondering if he should ask his father to sit.
“I heard that…” he cleared his throat. “Your new firm is working well.” That was different from what Aniruddha had anticipated. He expected Binoy’s two cents on how he humiliated the last interested bride Jethu brought home, perhaps. How he was dooming the family name? Aniruddha opened his mouth, a little surprised. “Yes, work has been… good.” Binoy eyed the open window by which Aniruddha stood, which looked over the Choto Bari. Aniruddha could perhaps read his mind as he moved a little towards the bed, talking about the sudden summer weather in spring. Binoy nodded at his over-explanation. He was an observer. But he did not gather his thoughts and contemplated the scenario for an hour to approach Aniruddha and talk of the weather.
“You should know that I am thinking of retiring.” He made Aniruddha look a little shocked. “Why? Are you unwell?” He sounded just a little worried. Binoy smiled faintly. “I am not as young as I used to be. I think Som is ready.” Aniruddha nodded as he went through the implications in his head.
“Um, you want to come back home?” He asked, unsurely, as Binoy nodded at him. “Perhaps. Dada is getting older too, and he wants me around to enjoy my time with grandchildren when the time comes.” Aniruddha looked a little taken aback at the mention of grandchildren. Did the elders expect Somnath to start a family soon? “I have missed most of your childhood.” He shrugged. “I was absent from it all.” Aniruddha found himself reassuring Binoy. “Well, you needed to keep the business alive.” Binoy sighed.
“You must have a lot of grievances about me.” Aniruddha stared at his father’s disturbed face and wondered who had talked to him, Jethu or… He cleared his throat.
“Baba, we don’t need to dig up the past and blame each other every time we meet.” He felt a sudden heaviness leave his chest as he spoke the words he meant. Binoy nodded at his firstborn. “I know I have been harsh on you, but the business was going through some losses, and I was desperate to have Bhowmick by my side. His capital was important…”
“Why did you not tell us?” Aniruddha frowned.
“Would you have agreed to marriage with Mini if I did?” Binoy raised his brows. “What was the point in worrying you or Dada?”
“We would have come up with some solution together, as a family,” Aniruddha emphasised. Binoy shook his head. “I am the guardian, I am supposed to take care of you, not the other way around.” Aniruddha pulled the chair from the desk, gesturing at Binoy to take a seat as he took the corner of the bed.
“Baba… I don’t know what you thought of me, but I never strung Mini onto any idea. She was a neighbour, and I treated her as a friend.” Aniruddha eyed Binoy unsurely. “I don’t know what you think of me…”
“If you had nothing with her or anyone else, then why did you not marry?” Aniruddha expected the conversation to go in this direction sooner or later. But today, he wanted to talk calmly rather than give in to his stubbornness, the way Bondita pointed out. “Baba…” Binoy could sense he was uncomfortable with the topic. “I know I am not someone you would ideally talk to about these things with, but then, you don’t even share with your brothers.” Binoy shook his head. “Who would you be comfortable sharing with? Bondita, perhaps?” Her name from his mouth made Aniruddha’s throat feel dry. “Why would you think I would share anything with her?” His voice sounded more irked than he intended. “There is nothing to share, Baba. I am comfortable this way. I found nobody who would share my idea of a marriage.” As he said it, Aniruddha found himself believing his words a little less than he used to.
“We are worried because if you have had your heart broken before…” Binoy said suggestively. “You know you can move on.”
“Why did you not remarry after Maa?” His words startled Binoy.
“What?” He looked wide-eyed at his firstborn, “Where did that come from?”
“If you had, perhaps Batuk would not have been deprived of motherly love,” Aniruddha emphasised. Binoy smiled melancholically. “Well, our era is different from yours, and no matter what you think, I did respect your mother.” Aniruddha sensed that his father would never use the word love in front of him. He nodded. “I never doubted that, Baba. I am sorry if I made you feel that way.”
“Tell me, then, are you scared of the implied responsibilities of a marriage?” Binoy caught him off guard, “What is it that you seek, which is so unique that you can’t find a single soul to settle with?”
“Has Jethu put you up to this, or have you been talking to Bondita?” Aniruddha asked suspiciously as his father eyed him. “So she does know… something?” Aniruddha looked away briefly before answering him, “She has a bad habit of pestering.”
“For good, I guess. If not for her, we would not have been talking.” Aniruddha could not believe his father was praising Bondita. “At such a young age, she has her eyes on everything. She seems responsible.” Aniruddha agreed. He had to; there was no denying that Bondita managed to do whatever she set out to achieve. Even the impossible task of making him and Binoy reconcile was done with so much ease by her; it was hard to comprehend for anyone hearing the story that it looked so easy. All it took was one calm conversation. He would be forever grateful to her for it. She managed to bring the family ties back as Trilochon expected.
“But don’t you feel she should not feel responsible for things just because people expect her to?” Aniruddha had no idea why he felt a certain ease talking to Binoy about what bothered him. “She has a life of her own. She should not be taking care of us just because she feels obligated to us for helping them.”
“Is that what’s been bothering you?” Binoy asked as Aniruddha looked a little awkward. “You have been disturbed lately.”
“Well, I feel a part of her is held back by her sense of gratefulness towards us.” He admitted.
“Then why don’t you push her to find her opportunities?” Binoy suggested. “The things she holds back from? I am sure if you guide her like you did before, she will take up the opportunities without feeling any obligation towards Dada or you.” Binoy suggested. “She is indeed intelligent.” He added. “Although I am not sure how much Dada would appreciate such opportunities if they take her away from home.” Aniruddha eyed his father’s suggestion with a nod. If she had better opportunities elsewhere, she should be taking them without second thoughts. It would help if she were away from the family. He would stop depending on her.
“Yes, that will be good, and everyone will stop depending on her.” He blurted. Binoy narrowed his eyes at his choice of words. “We are only dependent on people when we know they are there and we can trust them enough to fall back on them. We don’t depend on them if they don’t give us that space. I thought you, deciding to live your life alone, would know that.” He added. Aniruddha pressed his lips together.
“Baba, it was not like I planned to be alone. You and Jethu keep saying this. I felt I was responsible for my brothers, too. I was caught up in achieving my goals, and before I knew it, I was happily consumed in my purpose of serving others. Tell me, where can a woman find a place in such a lifestyle? Why would I put anyone in such a position?” Binoy listened in silence with nods. Then he interrupted, “Maybe when you find someone willing to sync into your lifestyle and do it without much effort, you will be fine with it.” Aniruddha seemed amused.
“If I ever find someone like that, you will be the first to know, Baba.” Binoy did not miss the amusement in his voice as he stood up and extended his hand to Aniruddha for a shake. “I am glad we had a conversation.” Aniruddha agreed, although it did not escape him that Binoy did not apologise for all the years. He simply justified his reasons. But life had taught Aniruddha it was better to let it go. His mind shifted to Binoy’s suggestion about Bondita. Perhaps if she had better offers to take her elsewhere, she would take them, and he would stop feeling guilty about holding her back. It was ironic how Aniruddha was scared of people leaving, yet he wanted Bondita to have a better life away from his world.
