Chapter 3

And that's the last one,"Prerna said, heaving a rather heavy box onto the back of the truck.She stood back and surveyed her handiwork.

"Not bad, Sharma!"she commented to herself.

A knock on the head startled her, and she grudgingly turned to her father.

"Papa, what was that for?" she asked, rubbing the sore spot.

"Who stacks boxes this haphazardly?" Rajesh sighed,gesturing to the myriad of boxes,which seemed ready to tip over at the slightest breeze.

"I saved us so much space."she said ruefully.

Veena Sharma came out of the house and surveyed the truck."There is no way I'm sitting between those boxes."she said darkly.

"Maa,we'll be fine."and with that Prerna climbed on and held out a hand to her mother.

Veena looked at her husband rather apprehensively,who simply shrugged.She looked at the poorly hidden enthusiasm on her daughter's face and clambered up with a sigh.

"Rajesh ji,aren't you and Shivani coming?"

He coughed delicately.

"I have some work left.I'll come with Shivani in an auto.You two go ahead.You'll need to reach early if you want to set up the pandal."

Veena shook her head exasperatedley and turned to Prerna who was talking at a mile per hour as the vehicle set off.

"So maa,are you excited about your stall?"

"Why would I be?"

"Well,isn't this your first time setting up a stall?And that too ,in the Basu pandal.Your ware must be really good,if it passed their stringent guidelines.

Veena glanced at her daughter with a pang.The childish excitement in her eyes never seemed to dim.She had to break it gently.

"Priyu,Moloy babu didn't have my dolls inspected.He directly had them approved,without even seeing them."

Prerna simply laughed.

"Kaka babu is not daft.He clearly trusts your artistic skill.Besides,so what if he does you a favour?He's papa's best friend after all."

"But that would mean being in his debt."

"Maa,you're overthinking this.It's just helping out a friend."

"Priyu,you're forgetting the fact that he's a businessman ,who also happens to be married into royalty."

Prerna stuck out her tongue."You didn't have to bring madam Hitler into this."

"Stop calling her that.Whether you like it not,your father's job is in her hands."

"Maa,kakababu will never let that happen."

Veena rolled her eyes,"Mohini ji owns half of Basu publications."

"Which means,the other half belongs to kaka."

"Who happens to be the nominal head. Everyone knows who calls the actual shots."

Prerna looked at her mother doubtfully and tried recalling the last meeting they had had.Mohini Basu hadn't said a word.It was Moloy Basu who had made the final decision.Clearly her mother was mistaken,wasn't she?

"Maa,what sort of man would allow his wife to upstage him?"

"A man,who is besotted with his wife."

"And is that a bad thing?"

Veena gravely replied, "A woman should know her place.Finding a good man is rare enough.Push enough buttons,the monster in him might just wake."

Prerna felt a chill descend upon her as they lapsed into silence.

She asked hesitatingly,"Are you saying that Kakababu is a bad person?"

"No,he is not a bad person.He is one of the kindest people."

"Then why?"

"He is still a man."

They lapsed into silence .Moloy Basu had been a constant fixture in her life.He and her father had been friends since their school days.It was a friendship which saw more highs than lows.An ideal friendship,she mused,much like what she had with Anurag,without a jealous wife of course.What would happen once Anu married?

More importantly,what would become of her,Prerna wondered.She was an intern at Basu Publications,working directly under kakababu.But her tenure ended in two weeks.What would happen after that?Her parents no doubt would want her to marry,but again,what man would be willing to put up with her?And there would be no Anu,she realised with a pang

She watched the pillars of the Howrah bridge pass by ,as they drove to the pandal.

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Prerna stood in front of her mother's stall,attempting to fix the table cloth.No matter how much she tried,she couldn't smoothen out the wrinkles in the fine silk.She watched her parents argue silently with a lot of gesticulating and frowns.Her mother turned away,her eyes starting to turn starry.She smiled when her father tucked a flower in her mother's hair.

Suddenly, a gaggle of ladies descended upon the stall.She snorted as she recognized the socialites,who usually frequented Mohini Basu's kitty parties. Veena Sharma would often be invited but she'd decline,citing emergencies and urgent work.

None of the socialites particularly liked her mother,jealous of the Sharmas' closeness to Moloy Basu.They seldom lost an opportunity to taunt her mother and today would be no exception,she realised,as she watch the smile die on her face as she approached the stall,the flower sticking out awkwardly.

"Veena,your dolls are incredibly lifelike.It is nice to know that you got your daughters to model for them."

Prerna snorted rather inelegantly while her mother simply rolled her eyes.

"Actually Mrs.Bose, I was thinking of you when I carved this doll.The resemblance is uncanny,don't you think?"replied Veena.

Mrs.Bose spluttered and turned pale.One of her friends started fanning her in earnest.Prerna hid a smile as her mother shot her a disapproving look.

"Mohini!Come here and see what your husband's friends are doing."yelled Mrs.Bose shrilly.

Prerna grimaced as Mohini made her way down the aisle towards them.

"What's wrong, Lata?",she asked before turning to look at the display of dolls.Her eyes widened as she took in the grotesque faces.

"Veena,you have truly outdone yourself this year."she muttered.

Veena turned red in embarassment as the other woman inspected the dolls critically.

"Mohini,that woman's daughter has insulted me.Do something about it!"

Prerna swallowed as she turned her blank stare towards her.No doubt could be cast on Mohini Basu 's identity as the Chattopadhya princess,which seemed to bring the portraits of yore back to life.

"Prerna,what did you tell her?",asked Mohini.

"Well ma'am, she insinuated that my mother had modelled the dolls after me and my sister,so I just returned the compliment."

Mohini nodded before turning to Mrs.Bose.

"Lata,this is a personal matter.I'm afraid I cannot get involved,since there's no damaged.If you find the quality of goods.....lacking....I can ensure that we hire better vendors the next time.Besides, you're too smart to be picking petty fights."

"You're right Mohini.What was I thinking?The words of riff-raff mean nothing to me.I can definitely find it in myself to forgive them.Such an uncouth daughter will surely have uncouth parents."

Prerna bristled at the older woman's tone.

How dare she dismiss the heart of the issue?She would hang that woman to dry.There was a sudden crash.To her abject horror,her mother had slapped Mrs.Bose.There was a pin-drop silence as all the heads turned towards their stall.She glanced at Mohini and gulped.

She had gone pale with rage,her hand clenched into a fist by her side.This was a disaster waiting to blow.She mentally prayed to Durga maa, promising to light a hundred diyas if they could make it out of this mess unscathed.