Jhor
Kolkata, 26th May 2011
After having her dinner, she entered her room with a tiredness in her eyes - with the growing age, her energy was dropping and her health too was now not at it's best ... She sighed and sat on her chair and closed her eyes to relax her mind ... Usually she would be occupied in knitting or reading but today was a different day ... Her life would have been different, she thought - she still once in a while would wish that she could go back in time and change this day of that year ... She had accepted her fate yet the bruise that day gave her, thirty three years ago - hurt her very being ... Her eyes again became wet as she lost herself to the long lost memories ...
Kolkata, 25th April 1978
"Vaidehi!!!" She came out running from the kitchen as he called out to her - she kept the box in the bag while wiping the sweat on her forehead with her pallu ... "Vaidehi, jaldi karo, mujhe der ho rahi hai ..." She nodded and handed him the box ... He kissed her forehead and was about to leave when he felt his pant being tugged, he looked down and smiled at his three year old son and picked him in his arms ... She folded her hands on her waist, before saying, "Chakrabortyji, ab aapko der nahi ho rahi?" He smiled and kissed his son while saying, "Apne bete ke liye, Narayan Chakraborty ke paas hamesha waqt hai ..." He looked at her and said, "Main dopahar tak laut aaunga, theeke ..." She nodded and took Joydeep in her arms and waved at him as he walked off towards his workplace ... She got engrossed in making lunch and helping her mother-in-law, waiting for her husband to return ... Time was running and soon the sun returned in his den as the night embraced the sky but there were no traces of his return ... She was getting worried and so was his mother ... She was standing at the balcony with Joydeep playing near her feet when her neighbour noticed the tension on her face ... "Vaidehi, kya baat hai bahut pareshaan lag rahi ho?" She looked towards her, "Boudi, Dada ghar par hain?" Gayatri nodded sensing something wrong and blinked at her to continue ... "Joydeep ke baba ne kaha tha ki dopahar tak laut aayenge par abhi tak nahi aaye ..." Gayatri interrputed, "Tum chinta mat karo, main inhe bhejti hun pata lagaane ke liye ..." Vaidehi just nodded with a slight smile on her lips ... Two hours later, her life completely changed - the colours of her her life faded away as instead of her husband returning; the news of his death in an accident came home ... The house which was always filled with happiness now only reflected the mourns and tears of the women living there ... In just one moment, their lives had completely changed ... Didn't God think once before snatching him away from them was the only question that came in everyone's mind seeing the happy family - completely shatter into pieces ...
Kolkata, 26th May 2011
She got up and walked towards the cupboard and slowly opened the drawer to see her wedding picture ... She softly traced her hand over the picture and smiled ... She was just 19 when she had got married to him ... His memories had given her the strength to come out of the ashes and work hard to give Joydeep the life they had always dreamed of ... She was happy that she had succeeded in her quest - there was happiness all around her - but the reality was different; a reality which she was trying to ignore ... "Maa, aapne apni dawaai li?" said Lolita, her 36 year old sweet daughter-in-law while entering the room ... She shook her head and smiled as Lolita frowned - she adored her and loved her, Lolita had become her daughter ... "Maa ..." before she could complete, they heard Joydeep scream, "Lolita, mera towel do!!!" She smiled and gave a knowing look to her daughter who had sorry written all over her face and rushed towards her bedroom ... She closed the cupboard and walked towards the table to take her medicines ... She smiled at the photograph kept there - the family photograph clicked on Raima's birthday a few months back ... She decided to go and wish her granddaughter goodnight before sleeping and walked out towards her room ... As she saw the piece of her heart laughing while watching television, a smile came on her lips ... "Raima ..." There was no response so she tried again, "Raima beta .." and earned an irritated response, "Kya hai Dadi??" The smile decreased and she softly said, "Goodnight beta ..." Her eyes were set on the television screen and said, "Haan goodnight. Ab mujhe pareshaan mat karo na..." She sighed and walked back to her room with her eyes getting wet ...
This was Vaidehi Chakraborty's life which revolved around her family of a 37 year old son Joydeep who was married to Lolita for 15 years now and was blessed with a beautiful daughter Raima who had turned 13 this year ... She had everyone near her yet she felt lonely and sometimes unwanted but then realised that the times had changed and so had the equations and always consoled her heart thinking that all she thought was just out of question and she knew how much her family loved her ...
She prayed to Maa Kaali for everyone's happiness and switching off the light finally slept ...
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Kolkata, 24th May 2011
Taking the cup of tea, he walked towards the balcony and opening the newspaper sat down to begin his day ... He was extremely tired due to the shifting - he was sixty yet his strength had not deteriorated but with his growing age if something was increasing then it was his anger ... He looked up from his newspaper and saw a couple with their little son - laughing and walking towards their car and his heart got engulfed with pain ... He looked at his tea cup and remembered that one person who had loved him with all her heart and who was always there with him when he had started building his life ... He always tried to occupy himself with some or the other task but at the end of the day, his loneliness would come back to him ... His mind traveled to the day that changed the course of his life, if only she would have agreed to come with him then - life would have been different for him today ...
Kolkata, 24th October 1983
"Mera aane ka man nahi hai, aap jaao aur Deben ko bhi apne saath le jaao ..." she said while putting his shirt on the bed ... "Shailaja, naatak dekhne nahi aana chaahti??" he said, putting his hand on her shoulder ... She sighed and replied, "Meri tabiyat theek nahi lag rahi, aap jaao aur taiyaar ho jaao, main Deben ko taiyaar karti hun ..." He nodded and got ready and walked out of the room to see his 9-year old son ready and persuading his mother to come along ... "Beta jaane do, tumhaari Maa ko humaare saath aane mein koi dilchaspi nahi hai ..." he said and Deben's face fell, "Maa, Baba sach keh rahe hain?" She smiled at her son's innocence and shook her head saying, "Tumhaare Baba ko mazaak ke alaawa kuch soojhta hai kya, meri tabiyat kharaab hai beta - warna main zaroor aati ..." He smiled and walked towards his father, "Shailaja, tum kabhi meri baat nahi maanti!!" She smiled her 1000-watt smile and pushed the duo out and said, "Aur kabhi maanungi bhi nahi ..." and closed the door ... He looked at his son while walking down the street, "Dekha tumhaari Maa kaisi hai?" Deben left his hand and pointing finger at him gave him a warning, "Baba, Maa ke baare mein kuch mat kehna ..." He laughed and started walking towards the theater ...
After buying kulfi for his wife, they started walking towards their place ... He noticed an unusual unrest in the locality as people were rushing here and there with some having buckets of water in their hands ... He briskly walked towards the place from where the noise was coming and was horrified to see his house on fire!! "SHAILAJA!!" he screamed and tried to get through the crowd, dropping the packet of kulfi and pulling Deben's hand who was shouting, "MAA!!" The crowd didn't allow him to go near the place and he could do nothing but see his life engulf in fire with tears in his eyes and his son hugging him while crying ...
Kolkata, 24th May 2011
He shut the newspaper, and closed his eyes as the past memories pierced his heart ... He got up with frustration and entered the living room leaving the half-empty cup of tea behind ... He had always loved the tea she made and tease her that only because of the tea, he married her ... If should have been alive, they would have celebrated their 39th Anniversary the next month ... It had been very difficult for him to handle Deben and his work - but he never backed off his responsibilities and had been successful in building Deben a wonderful life ... The phone's ring brought him out of his thoughts and as he looked at the name flashing, a mild smile came on his face ... As he picked up the phone, he heard her sing, "Happy Birthday to you ... Happy Birthday to you ... Happy Birthday dear Baba ... Happy birthday to you ..." He smiled and replied, "Thank you beta ..." He heard a childish scream and his smile just widened, "Shobha, do bhai humaare pote ko phone .." "Ji Baba ..." He could sense his daughter-in-law's smile and soon heard the squeaky voice of his 9-year old grandson, "Daddu!! Happy Birthday!!!" He laughed and thanked him after which he started talking to Shobha ... "Shobha, Deben kahaan hai?" There was a momentary silence before she replied, "Baba ... wo ... wo so gaye hain ..." He didn't ask anything further and after asking her about her and Emon's health, kept the phone - yet again disheartened.
This was Vanraj Bose whose life was once filled with laughter of two special people, his wife Shailaja and his son Deben but both of them had left him alone - one embraced death and the other left the country to never return ... It hurt him immense to see his 37 year old son totally cut him off his life ... Settled in USA since 1998, he never once turned back to see how his father was and rarely talked to him ... It was only Shobha, his 36 years old daughter-in-law who called him every week and would always be worried for him but due to Deben, could never come and meet him ... He had only seen his grandson in pictures and that just bruised him more and more ... Several times he thought - that maybe if Shailaja would have been alive, Deben would have never left as he was very attached to her ... Though he had succeeded in building Deben a perfect base for his wonderful life but had failed in becoming a part of it - this was a bitter truth and he was living with it everyday though somewhere inside him was a hope that just maybe his thoughts were wrong ...
He shook himself out of his thoughts and went to the kitchen to cook himself a breakfast ...
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Note : Jhor in Bengali means Storm - credit for the information to Jiya ... Though the story is about Bengali characters, there will rarely be something in Bengali as I have no knowledge about the language - sorry for that ...
Edited by -jaee- - 14 years ago
Ufff Yeh Love Hai Mushkil
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