Part Two: Midnight Trouble
“Pati babu, yeh daasi kya hota hai?” Bondita asked while combing her hair.
“Daasi kya hota nahi, hoti hai Bondita,” he said, engrossed in reading a document.
“Batayiye na!” she said, getting irritated.
“Daasi matlab sevika. Jo aapka kaam karne mein aapki madad kare.”
“Par main aapki madad kaise karoon?”
Aniruddh closed his book intuitively. What was she upto now?
“Tumko kisne kaha madad karne ko?”
“Kaka Sasurji keh rahe the, ki patni apne pati ki bandini hoti hai aur daasi bhi.”
“Maine Karyeshu daasi wala mantra sirf do din mein yaad kar liya.”
Aniruddh was amused by her proud beaming face. He loved it when she shared her learnings with him everyday. And he was only left amazed by a child’s interpretation of this complex, unruly world.
“Tum ek kaam karo, kaaryeshu daasi hatakar karneshu mantri yaad karlo.”
“Ab iska kya matlab hua!” she asked, bewildered by such difficult sounding words.
“Matlab ki kaam se mantri, maane salahkaar. Jab mujhe kuch baat samajh nahi aayegi, tab tum mujhe samjha dena, theek?”
“Theek!” she beamed in excitement, with the thought of helping out her Pati babu.
.
The moonlight once again glistened against the windows. The curtains rhythmically blew in and out, forming a strange pattern. Aniruddh was sleepless that night. The recent events were eating him up from within. He felt weak and alone. Bondita was such a sweet child. Would he be able to protect her heavenly innocence?
Also, the thought of remaining love ridden all his life was churning his heart. Try as he could to refute this fact, Bondita could never become his life partner in the truest sense. He had already given his life and soul to Saudamini. It was easy to sacrifice in the heat of the moment but extremely painful to make the same sacrifice, a reality.
Pulling the covers over his face, he forced himself to sleep.
.
When Bondita's usual chatter didn’t wake him up, nor did he receive any new complaints of his deeds, he felt something was fishy. He rolled over to check the time, it was 10 in the morning.
Puzzled and baffled, he got out of the bed and ran straight into Bondita's room. Bihari was seated on the floor near the bed, snoring away to glory. He stepped into the room, furious at him and shook him up.
“Bihari!” he roared. At once, he sprang up on his feet.
“Aniruddh Babu!” he gasped, ashamed and sorry.
Aniruddh’s eyes went wide in shock and surprise, as he saw Mini lying on the bed, with a few bruises and cuts. And curled into her pallu was Bondita, pale and weak.
“Yeh sab hua kaise!” he yelled.
Bihari calmed him down and narrated whatever shreds of this incredible tale he knew –
It was a little over midnight, for the gong had struck once. As he slept on the floor of the hallway, he heard loud bangs on the door, all of a sudden. Rattled, he got up to inspect the new entrant, and he was shocked to find a dishevelled Mini struggling to even stand with an unconscious Bondita in her arms.It had so happened that Bondita had ventured onto the deserted streets late in the night. Saudamini had seen her sneaking out alone, so she had followed her silently. When some goons attacked Bondita for jewellery and valuables, Saudamini rescued the little girl from their clutches, rather heroically, using only the mashaal that she had in her hand.
Aniruddh let out a deep sigh and sank into the chair, beside the two women. He could barely tolerate the bruises on Saudamini's hands and head.
He couldn’t even understand as to how would he thank her. And as for Bondita, no one could save her from his wrath today. Going out all alone, at this time? He thanked his stars that Trilochan Kaka wasn’t at home.
“Bihari, iss baat ka kisiko pata na chale. Aur Saudamini idhar hi rahegi jab tak woh theek nahi ho jaati. Dida se kehkar inka samaan mangva leejiye aur guest room mein inka intezaam karwayiye.”
.
It was around noon when Saudamini opened her heavy eyes.
It took her a while to examine her surroundings. Aniruddh got up from the chair and sat beside her pillow.
“Ani…” she said.
“Hushhhhh” he silenced her. “Kuch mat bolna.”
“Hato, mujhe jaane do,” she tried to get up but a lightning pain in her leg forced her to settle back.
Aniruddh got up and fetched a brown roll of wrapping bandage.
“Dekhne do mujhe" he examined her calf.
“Aniruddh chodo mujhe," she struggled to get her ankle out of his grasp.
One touch on her calf was enough to trigger humongous sensations in her twirling heart and she forced herself away, inspite of all the seizing pain.
She limped away to the door, when her injured foot gave way to a glorious fall. She closed her eyes and screamed in anticipation, but did not feel the hard crash. Infact, it was a very soft impact, as she fell right into his arms.
“Ab ekdum chup" he ordered. He lifted her up like a light precious feather as she grasped his shoulders and he delicately placed her on the bed again.
“Yeh bandage hai aur yeh dawai ka dabba. Malam patti karlo.”
And he left without looking back even once.
.
“Sarkar, yeh kuch kagaz hai, jo Binoy Babu ne banvakar diye the, humaari zameen ke liye. Ab woh toh nahi hain toh aap hi dekh lijiye. Aur yeh kuch aur kagaz hain jo kal daak se aaye hain,” the sarpanch said while handing him over two folders.
“Ab hum toh anpadh gawar thehre, aap hi ko mai baap samjhkar apni zameen saunp rahe hain.”
“Fikar mat kijiye main dekhta hoon,” assured Aniruddh. Bihari pushed through the door rather suddenly, startling Aniruddh.
“Kya hua?”
“Aniruddh babu, woh Bahurani!”
Bondita was shivering in fear and panic. Her face was sparkling with beads of perspiration. Aniruddh felt as if someone was thrashing his body with sacks of sand, with his heart pounding on watching breathe so heavily.
She had clutched Saudamini’s pallu so crushingly, as if never wanting to let it go. Saudamini tried to calm down the alarmed child, by hushing her and patting her head affectionately. She told Bihari to immediately fetch a bowl of cold water and hand towels.
She dipped the towels in cold water and places them gingerly on her forehead, which was burning in fever.
“Aniruddh, jaldi doctor ko bulao,” Saudamini instructed.
He, on the other hand, was completely rooted to his spot. He’d never seen Bondita like this and he felt totally numb and helpless.
“Aniruddh!” yelled Saudamini. “Jao! Abhi!”
.
For the first time in two hours, he felt close to normal. Bondita was fast asleep rather soothingly and Saudamini was there, right beside her, patting her forehead and singing a sweet lori.
Once she was certain that Bondita, indeed was asleep, she turned to Aniruddh, who hadn’t left their side even once.
“Aniruddh, woh…” she started off to clarify the series of events that had triggered off these baffling incidents.
.
Som could feel the crisp slap all across his cheek, which turning red. But what scared him to death was Aniruddh’s flustered face.
“Dada, maine kuch nahi kiya hai!” he mumbled.
“Accha? Kya tumne Bondita ko nahi daraya aur dhamkaya? Kya tumne usse nahi kaha ki ab woh apni Ma se kabhi nahi mil paayegi?”
He felt ashamed. There was pin drop silence with Saudamini, Bihari and the other servants just looking on.
“Woh ek bacchi hai Som!”
“Yahi yoh baat hai Dada. Bondita ek bacchi hai! Woh meri Boudi kabhi nahi ho sakti! Kyunki Boudi toh…” he stopped just in time, lest doom should fall upon him. He looked straight at Saudamini.
“Apne kamre mein jao, iss baat par ab koi baat nahi” Aniruddh announced coldly.
.
Aniruddh sneaked quietly into her room, to check on her once. She was lying there, wide awake.“Bondita?” he asked worriedly. He had never seen her so silent and composed.
“Tum Som ki baaton par dhyaan mat dena. Aisa kuch nahi hai ki…”
“Aap mujhe kabhi chodkar toh nahi jaayenge na?” she asked.
Startled, he felt quiet for a moment.
“Kabhi nahi" he said, while helping her to get up, so that Saudamini could feed her soup.
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