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“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 walked out to the portico, hearing the commotion, and to Bondita’s surprise, he took Batuk’s side. Som and Bondita argued with Aniruddha.
“Let her bat; I will get her out in a delivery,” he reassured his brother as Batuk reluctantly handed the bat to Bondita. “If you do, it's your turn to bat.” Batuk sulked. Som lamented how spoiled he was and did not know how to share. The bat was heavy for eleven-year-old Bondita, but that did not diminish her enthusiasm. She took Strike in front of Batuk’s plastic wickets. Aniruddha rolled the ball playfully, letting Batuk tell Som where he should stand on the field.
“This is unfair.” Bondita stopped. “Three against one.”
“You are scared?” Batuk laughed. Bondita took a stance. Aniruddha bowled; she swung and missed. He bowled again, and it hit the wicket.
“OUT!” Batuk danced his happy dance as Bondita frowned at Aniruddha, who stopped smiling at Batuk at her angry stare as she abandoned the bat and walked back.
“I will tell you what.” Aniruddha stopped her. “I will give you one over to bowl me out. If you do, you win.”
“No, Dadabhai. Why?” Batuk protested. Bondita’s eyes lit up at the challenge.
Aniruddha was amused to see her take a run-up to bowl to him. He swept the first ball for a six as Batuk clapped. Bondita looked irked as she bowled again, faster than the last one. He hit for a cover drive. Bondita fumed. Aniruddha could see her sweaty, red face as he smiled to himself. Bondita was at the end of the run-up, about to release the ball, when Aniruddha moved away slightly, allowing himself to miss the ball as she bowled him out.
“Yessss!” Aniruddha watched her dance around the portico, first in a taunting gesture copying Batuk and then around him as he feigned sadness. She twirled in the frock as Batuk looked irked. Som laughed.
“It's not fair, he is a grown-up, he can’t be one of your five team members. Then we need a grown-up, too.” Sidhu’s friend protested as Aniruddha observed the pipe they used as a bat.
“He is my guest, so he takes my side.” Sidhu frowned.
“That’s not fair.” The other boys protested.
“I can play from your side.” Aniruddha turned at her voice to see Bondita, her hair braided, in jeans and a Kurti, smiling at the boys. “I am a grown-up, too.”
“But you are a girl.” The boy frowned. “Girls can’t play.”
“Oh yeah?” Bondita shook her head. “Have you heard of Jhulan Goswami? Mithali Raj?” The boys exchanged confused glances. “They play for India’s women's team, " she clarified. Aniruddha was amused at her trying to convince a group of ten-year-olds. The boys looked unsure that India had a women’s cricket team, but Aniruddha reassured them.
“Alright, you can play.” The other boys agreed, “Then you will be on Sidhu’s team, and he's ours.”
“Fine.” Sidhu agreed as he eyed Bondita and whispered. “Malkin? Can you bowl?” She nodded.
After two overs and two wickets, Aniruddha looked invincible when Sidhu handed the ball to Bondita for the last over. She turned for a run-up as Aniruddha looked flabbergasted.
“Seriously? A run-up? Come on!” He watched her take a few steps and bowl as he hit the ball, and she caught it in a reflex.
“Out!” Bondita leapt as the boys came around giving high-fives. Bondita celebrated by pumping her fist in the air.
“Oh, please, McGrath.” Aniruddha shook his head, amused.
“You are not Sachin Tendulkar.” She shrugged. “I got you out fair and square for once.” She snatched the pipe from him as Aniruddha caught the ball.
“What is that supposed to mean?” He frowned.
“I am not a child you pretend to get out to anymore.” Aniruddha looked a little shocked as Bondita smiled. “Yes, I knew that.” Aniruddha rolled his eyes and nodded. “Fine, here comes Malinga.”
“Huh, I am Virat Kohli.” She rotated the pipe, and Aniruddha laughed at the mimicking gesture.
“That lad is not Tendulkar,” he shook his head. “He just started.” Bondita shrugged.
Bondita took a stance. “Now, if you are done sledging me…” Aniruddha bowled a slow spin, and Bondita picked it up for a six.
“And that’s MS Dhoni for a six.” She laughed as Aniruddha shook his head.
“First, decide who you are.” He eyed her as he took the bowling end again.
In the next over, Bondita’s team won the match. She taught the boys her hook step to celebrate like the Cadbury girl. Aniruddha watched, amused, leaning against the pillar, trying to catch his breath, smiling as he watched her dance. She stopped at his stare, a little aware, as she took deep breaths and said, “I should go, take a bath. I told Tapur to come by for lunch.” He nodded as she approached him, his eyes involuntarily travelling to the sweat drops trickling down her chin to the nape of her neck and further. His gaze caught hers, and she stared at him as they looked away briefly. She looked red in the humidity as she eyed drops of perspiration on his forehead and hair.
“You should go first, you look…” She looked away awkwardly as Aniruddha stared at her red face and shook his head. Bondita dragged her feet to the bathroom, her heart thumping, as she felt his gaze on her. She could feel it was oddly different yet not uncomfortable.
Aniruddha sat down on the stairs of the porch as he eyed the newspaper Bishu had brought that morning. He focused on it as he heard the water splashing in the washroom. He breathed in, trying not to let his mind wander. His eyes fell on the advertisement column, and Kalindi’s name caught his eye. He straightened himself as he read the “Groom wanted” advertisement.
“A well-educated professional, preferably with a Government Job, needed for a 25-year-old fair Kayastha Girl, 5 '3” long dark hair, no glasses, who works as a lawyer. Contact Kalindi Das, Post Box no. 0905, Chandannagar PO.” Aniruddha crumpled up the paper and was about to throw it away when he spotted an unsure woman at the front gate looking at the house. She looked married, in her twenties, in a printed saree and had a Ghomta over her head. Aniruddha stood up and eyed the washroom door before enquiring, “Tapur? Is it?” The woman looked a little taken aback as she nodded. Aniruddha smiled.
“Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury.” He folded his hands as Tapur surprised him by touching his feet.
“What are you…” He stepped back.
“I always wanted to see the god-sent person who saved my sister.” She smiled as Aniruddha shook his head.
“For all I know, Bondita saved herself.” Aniruddha smiled. “She has that kind of determination, our Bondita.” Tapur nodded at his pride as she looked around, and Aniruddha offered her the empty chair. “She went to take a bath after we played cricket. She will be back.” He nodded. “You can wait here.”
Tapur eyed the wrinkled, discarded paper on the floor as he walked away inside and picked it up. Her eyes fell on the advertisement torn away from the crumbling paper as she looked confused at Aniruddha’s retreating figure.
“Shunchen”, she called out as he turned to see the paper in her hand. He looked away awkwardly as Tapur handed the newspaper to him with a smile. “You left this.” He took the newspaper from her and straightened it. “ Oh, the boys must have used today’s paper…”
“I did not know Pishi Thamma was looking for a groom for her like that.” She murmured, eyeing his hesitant smile. “It must be Jethu's idea. He is more eager to get her married.”
“Aren’t you?” Tapur stared at Aniruddha, inhaling sharply as he forced a smile. “I don’t think marriages define a person. Whether to be married or not to be married should be a personal choice. Isn’t it?” He looked aware of her gaze as he shook his head. “Never mind… I…”
“No, you are right.” Tapur nodded. “ Don’t be hesitant… I am like a sister to you.” Aniruddha smiled politely and offered her the empty chair again. He eyed the closed door of the washroom and looked back at his watch.
“You can go if you want to, Aniruddha Babu. I will wait here for her.” Tapur prompted Aniruddha to take the empty chair and sit down a few feet away, facing her as he shook his head. “No, I… am not here for work anyway.” He smiled.
“Yes, she told me you are here to keep her safe.” Tapur eyed him.
“Did she?” Aniruddha looked surprised. Tapur nodded.
“She said you are on holiday.” Tapur smiled. “But you don’t need to worry, Aniruddha Babu. Except for a few older people, nobody cares about what happened anymore.” She exhaled. “Like my mother. All she sees is Bondita’s status and money now. How the world works…”
“She told me that you married the man who…” Tapur looked up at Aniruddha’s words. “She sounded guilty.”
“My husband is good to me.” Tapur smiled. “Unlike you, our dreams are simpler. To be wives and…” She stopped abruptly as Aniruddha smiled.
“No dream is big or small. It's just about choices. Everyone should be free to make their choices.”
“They are not. Choices become a myth when you think of others. Isn’t it?” Tapur made him look up, a little pale as she smiled faintly. “You can’t always do what you want to do when you think about how it will impact others' lives.” Aniruddha nodded at her suggestive tone with a faint smile.
“Tapur!” Bondita interrupted as Aniruddha got up, eyed her as she wiped her wet hair with the Gamcha and excused himself to leave.
Bondita dragged Tapur indoors. “Come sit at my work desk.”
“Bondita, can I ask you something?” Tapur looked serious as Bondita nodded.
“Are you sure you want to marry someone Thamma chooses?” Bondita frowned at her sudden question. She smiled faintly. “Thamma is just looking…”
“She is serious, so I am asking. Will you be able to marry anyone she chooses?”
Bondita frowned slightly at Tapur’s urgent tone.
“What’s wrong?” She asked.
“You tell me.” She shrugged. Bondita’s throat was dry.
“Tapur.” She chuckled awkwardly, shaking her head. “You just came and…”
“Do you like someone?” Bondita looked a little pale at her question; her jaws tightened as she shook her head.
“No, I don’t. If I did, I would have told Thamma.” Tapur held her hand suddenly as she smiled, “If you do, maybe he does too, and you can…”
“Tapur.” Bondita stopped her. “What is wrong with you today?” Tapur stopped. She eyed Bondita putting the Gamcha out to dry before she came back indoors.
“Why did Aniruddha Babu not marry?” Bondita narrowed her brows and shrugged. “He is … umm… too engrossed in work.”
“Yet, he comes here for you?” Tapur raised her brows as Bondita inhaled.
“Tapur, I didn’t expect this from you. Everyone…” Tapur held her hand, making her stop. “Maybe my reasons are different?”
“I don’t understand…”
“Maybe I want you to be happy, to choose your path like you always have. Bondita, I have known you since we were infants. You can never adjust to whoever someone else chooses for you.” Tapur’s eyes sparkled as Bondita eyed her.
“Tapur.” She held her hand back reassuringly. “Nobody will force me to, I can choose not to marry if…”
“Then? Will you stay like this through life? Like Aniruddha Babu?” Bondita narrowed her eyes at Tapur’s faint smile. “You know, Bondita, sometimes people see what you cannot…”
“Tapur, I don’t want to discuss this.” Bondita shook her head as she nodded firmly. “You don’t understand the complexities of what you are implying.”
“I know. Yet you never denied.” Tapur shook her head as Bondita looked away, withdrawing her hands from her cousin’s. Padma interrupted, saying that lunch was served. Bondita looked disturbed at Tapur’s implications as she eyed Aniruddha without his glasses, walking down the hallway, folding the sleeves of his shirt up, and adjusting his wet hair as his eyes fell on her standing at the threshold. He frowned.
“What’s wrong?” Bondita looked up at his words. “You look… troubled?” Bondita’s heart skipped a beat as she eyed Tapur, observing them. She stepped back abruptly and shook her head as she went and sat beside Tapur. Aniruddha looked confused as Padma served him food. “It's hot.” She reminded him as he smiled sheepishly. Tapur talked of the school, the new Panchayat, Tupur’s job and finally, about a Santhali Wedding she would attend.
“I have never seen Santhali weddings.” Aniruddha wondered out loud as Tapur looked excited. “You should come by for the rituals tomorrow. Everyone in the village will go there. I will go tell the Pradhan you want to.”
“Is that alright?” Aniruddha looked unsure as Tapur nodded. “Yes, absolutely. You are our guests. He will come by and invite you.” Tapur and Aniruddha eyed Bondita for her lack of response.
“Bondita?” Aniruddha made her jolt out of her thoughts as she looked up at Tapur and him. “You want to see a Santhal wedding?” Bondita looked a little surprised at his words and shook her head. “I have to go to camp early in the morning.”
“Oh, right, I am free all day. We are leaving for home in the evening.” Aniruddha smiled.
“Great, I will come by and take you. It's different.” Tapur nodded. “Today, there is a Halud rasm and planting a tree before the bride’s family comes with her to our village.”
“That’s different, with us, usually the groom’s side goes…” Aniruddha nodded in between morsels.
“Yes, and tomorrow the entire village will be invited for a feast and to bless the bride and groom. Initially, it used to be a women-only ritual, but now the men are invited to a feast too. There will be drums, music and of course dancing.” Tapur looked excited. “You will like it.”
“Seems like an interesting wedding.” Aniruddha nodded. Bondita stood up abruptly, interrupting their conversation.
“I have some work to do…” She eyed Tapur. “You are leaving?” She said suggestively. Tapur’s smile faded. She nodded silently as Aniruddha eyed them.
It was almost time for tea when Aniruddha walked into the office and saw Bondita with some paperwork.
“You have been working long. Come, have tea.” He suggested.
“I don’t want to.” She shook her head. “I am not hungry.”
“Fine, I will tell Padma not to make snacks.” Aniruddha stood there at her lack of response with a frown. “I will skip too.”
“Who told you not to eat?” Bondita snapped without looking up from her paper. Aniruddha shook his head, informed Padma and came back inside to observe her with his hand in his pocket.
“What is wrong with you?” He asked, standing by the desk as she looked up from the paperwork, her face still wearing a visible irritation.
“What do you mean?” She asked.
“You drove Tapur away. It was offensive to invite her and then…”
“That’s my sister.” Bondita stood up. “It's between us.”
“Fine, but that doesn’t mean you will be rude to our guest.” Aniruddha shrugged.
“Our guest?” Bondita raised her brows. “Why are you suddenly so nice? You did not even want me to see them.”
“Because I am. She came by and…” Aniruddha raised his brows. “You know what she has been through.”
“You seem to be too interested in everything here suddenly.” Bondita shook her head, taunting. “Never saw you interested in rituals and weddings.” Aniruddha frowned.
“I just stated that I have never seen a Santhali wedding; she invited me.” He shrugged.
“Why do you want to go? You didn't even see your brother getting married!” Bondita looked agitated.
“What the hell is your problem?” Aniruddha eyed her. “Are you not overreacting?”
“Wow.” Bondita shook her head. “Am I overreacting? You barge into my workspace and…”
“If you don’t want me to go, say it. I won’t.” Aniruddha could see her getting more irked.
“Who am I to say anything to you? Do whatever you want!” She tossed some papers aside.
“You seem to have an issue with that.” Aniruddha snapped back, folding his arms to his chest.
“Bah, only you can have issues and not explain yourself, and when I do, I have to answer all whys and hows.” Bondita stood up and swung her arm carelessly, toppling over a lantern kept there the previous evening, as its glass shattered everywhere. “Shit.” She moved just as he was about to tell her not to, and a piece of glass hurt her foot. She winced as Aniruddha carefully jumped over the glass and eyed her bare feet, shaking his head agitatedly.
“Look what you did! Where are your slippers?” He made her sit down on the chair before she protested. Bondita was hurt, her eyes were teary, and she was stubborn enough to try hard to keep a straight face. Aniruddha knelt before her, raising her hurting left foot up as she resisted.
“What are you…” She stopped at his stare.
“Shut up.” He eyed the blood stain and looked troubled. “Padma? Padma!” He shouted as Padma came in and immediately told Sidhu to bring the first aid box from upstairs. “You should be careful, god, there is blood!” He exclaimed. “How can you hurt yourself?” Bondita looked at him being agitated, and she frowned. “I did not get hurt by choice.”
Aniruddha made a face like it hurt as he removed the small piece of glass from Bondita’s foot. She held his arm in a reflex to not groan in pain.
“There. It's done. I will clean it.” He reassured her as she let go of his arm and eyed him. Aniruddha was focused on the blood he was cleaning with clean cotton, looking a little perplexed. He took the Dettol antiseptic liquid and rubbed it carefully on the injured area as Bondita winced.
“It's alright, it will just irritate you a little.” He blew air at the injury as Bondita stared at his worried face. “Serves you right, Ki rag re babah!” He eyed her as Bondita’s eyes sparkled with tears she found hard to control.
“The ointment must be in my room.” Aniruddha looked around the first aid box and inferred. “I will go get it; stay put.” Bondita watched him go as tears trickled down her cheek, and she wiped them away and sniffed. Aniruddha came with the ointment and took her foot up on his knee as she resisted.
“I will apply the ointment.” She exclaimed.
“If I can make you angry, I can clean your wound and heal it, too.” He shook his head as he focused on gently applying the ointment as Bondita watched him, his eyes focused on her injury, his brows arched, his hand gently holding her foot as she suddenly let out a sob. Aniruddha froze, a little aware that he might have hurt her.
“Did it hurt? I’m sorry.” He looked alarmed yet confused. “I will…” He placed his foot down gently on the chair and got up. “I have painkillers.” He turned to leave as Bondita held him back in a reflex by his wrist.
“It hurt.” She let out a sob. “Why do you do this?” Aniruddha froze in his spot as he glanced over his shoulder at her teary red eyes. Aniruddha was too afraid to speak as Bondita let go of his hand, looking dejected as she looked away. “I will go… get the painkiller.” He found his voice as he walked away. When Aniruddha walked back in, Bondita stood up, trying to walk a little while holding the desk for support. Aniruddha came forward to help as she moved back. Aniruddha stopped as he eyed the corridor. “I will get Padma to take you upstairs.”
“I can help myself.” She looked away.
“Bondita…” He almost pleaded as she looked up at his pale face. “I never want you to get hurt, ever.” He inhaled.
“That’s a lie.” She retorted. Aniruddha smiled faintly as his eyes sparkled.
“Think what you may.” He shrugged. There is nobody I care for more…
“Why do you push people away one second and care the next?” Eyes met as teardrops hung from her lower eyelid, about to fall on her cheek, as Aniruddha stepped forward and inhaled. “Because I am scared...” He looked away. “You have no idea…”
“Then speak to me.” Bondita insisted. “Speak to me like you always did. I promise I will understand.” Aniruddha looked up at her words with a faint smile.
“Even I don’t know lately.” Aniruddha shrugged. “I feel restless. I can’t sleep at night. I…can’t explain.” He looked up at her. “I feel like I should not feel…” He made her look worried.
“What scares you?” Bondita felt like she had to remind herself to breathe as Aniruddha sighed. He looked up at her worried face, her eyes red from tears and felt overwhelmed. “I am scared I will hurt you. That is the last thing I want.” Bondita looked up and shook her head, and was about to speak as he stepped back and looked away. Bondita wanted to ask more, to speak to him, but Aniruddha turned on his heel. “You should rest.” He murmured.
Padma came in as Aniruddha stepped away, and Bondita took her help back to her room. Padma made sure she did not get out of bed for the day and healed her injury before another day at work. It meant she had her dinner in her room, and Padma helped her dress her injury. Aniruddha spent a worried, sleepless night, and at dawn, he heard Harun’s rickshaw in the courtyard taking Bondita out for another day at camp before he stepped out of his room.
