Aditi Basura
The girl knew that she was going to visit her parents, to her father’s friend’s farmhouse. away from the city. But she was taken to be married. With father’s friend. The man is lustful and sensual. Thirty years older than him. Baba borrowed a lot of money from him. Unable to pay, the girl agreed to pay. The girl had to stay in that village. The husband and mother-in-law, who are illiterate, chant the whole day. The eighteen-year-old girl began to wander in the forest with the shepherd of the farm. hiding When everyone falls asleep they go out to see Jonaki. One day they met. The girl is pregnant. The husband is overjoyed. To celebrate the joy of family preservation, he brought the maid into the house at night. Had sex in front of his wife. And what a surprise, this time the maid became pregnant in his bosom.
days pass The wife and maid gave birth to two sons together. They started to grow. The nature of the man does not change. One spring night, the girl learns that her lover is a shepherd boy—her father is also her husband. And he could not! Called the maid and told everything. The man heard the girl from behind. He came to kill with a gun. The wife was also ready. Amul Shalaka sat on the chest. Gulping blood. End of picture…
I had a conversation with Tithi while watching this Polish film. I saw him one day earlier, in front of the music department of the college. Hair cut short. shiny face With a yellow long skirt, Sukumar’s face looks like a thirteen-fourteen-year-old girl. Like a newly blooming flower. I was going to the canteen. The girl emerged in the afternoon silhouette in front of the college building. That face was from the mind. Three days later, I went to see a movie in Gitanjali and saw that girl in the seat next to me. Green-white long frock that day. Shoulder bag of Cambyses. I saw the end of the picture, wiping his eyes with a handkerchief. with a gentle bubbling sound. (Bengali Novel)
Me, Abhi and Sara went together. I used to go to international film festivals organized by the student federation every day. let’s go Many foreign films are shown. Other times that don’t match up. Abhi and Sara’s affair is long. They are also movie bugs like me. A true ‘movie buff’. Tithi, Sara’s friend. They are both girls from different districts. Came to Santiniketan to study. Abhi, my childhood friend. The boy here. Sara came forward and said – this Tithi, this is Randeep. Son of Rajarshi Sir of Sangeet Bhawan.
This is a problem. I don’t have any identity. I’m getting bored of hearing only ‘Son of Rajarshi sir’ all the time. Tithi said, what happened to sir’s son? I saw Randeep in the canteen that day. He sings very well. And read all the hard hard books. Dad!
— How do you know?
— When you were issuing books in the library yesterday, I was there.
— Where were you? I didn’t see it!
— A little behind you. So did not notice.
— Come on, let’s have tea. Sarah, you too.
Sara said, this… I have some work to do. i am cutting You eat tea. Will you stay or go?
Abhi nods and they both leave. Everyone knows about Sara and Abhi’s affair. We both walked and bought tea from the front of Kalabhavan and stood there. Tithi takes out the lighter and asks, ‘Are you going?’ I couldn’t walk then. He smokes a cigarette. There is a little talk. Who is at home? How about college etc. Ten minutes later, he left, sighing. That phone number was not taken!
Feel restless. Call Sara. He must be busy. The phone rings. ‘Tithi’s number, please’… Whatsapp her. I wanted to walk on the streets that day. I was walking because I didn’t take my bike. I walked that day until the moment before I fell asleep from exhaustion. Meanwhile, the much-desired reply pinged around seven in the evening. Tithi No. Sarah sent. Oh peace! Peace!
I came back home. Chatted with mother and Shami for a while. Father was not home. Went to Delhi to take the exam. As is often the case. After eating and drinking at night, I fell asleep straight away that day. No, I didn’t call Tithi. Not even a message. The next morning the call came.
— Ranodeep, speaking of Tithi. What are you coming to see the movie today?
— Today? what picture
— Today ‘cloudy stars’ will show.
— Bengali pictures do not show!
— This time will be shown specially. What will come?
– What time?
— starting at four.
– Well. i will come
— OK. seeing
— You come a little earlier.
— Why?
— I will get a seat next to you if you come first.
— All right.
That’s the beginning.
We had a wonderful time. We used to talk about everything from movies to relationships. When asked where Tithi’s home was, she told everyone that it was in Kolkata. Actually they were residents of Gopalpur in North Twenty Four Parganas. Her father is a high school teacher. So is mom. He is a child. I loved hearing the stories of his home. It was nice to hear the shenanigans of their close family. His parents are five brothers. Everyone cooks together. Every day about thirty people fall in their ten buildings. Of these thirty, two are dogs and three are cats. pet Everyone stays in one house. He wanted to study in Santiniketan since his childhood. learning music That’s why he passed high school and got admission in Sangeet Bhavan. With music. His father is his teacher there. The summer I met her, the next monsoon I kissed her. It was the best day of my life.
It has been raining since that morning. I went to the college and saw that there was nothing going on in class-toss. Water in water all around. A handful of four or five people are sitting in the classroom and doing ghazal. Open some wet umbrellas. under the fan. to dry Tithi took the phone while doing WhatsApp and saw that she had messaged. ‘Basket of gold?’ I replied. ‘Yes’. ‘Come on’.
I went Water on the road. The rain has come for a while. Shop-hopping. The birds are helpless. The bicycle jumped again from the college garage. What do you do? I started to pedal thinking. The phone is in the jeans pocket. The tithi loves the monsoons like crazy. If not, this water-bad someone goes to gold basket? As he passed by the canal, he heard, this is the name here. I turned around and saw Tithi sitting on a wooden bench in a tiled shop. There is no one around. I left the bicycle and sat. He removed the handkerchief.
— Remove the head.
The sky darkened again. We are sitting hand in hand. At such a time the tithi rang out – in the song, ‘On such a day it can be said’. Singing the same song over and over again. Twice or thrice. His lips twitched twice as he uttered each word. How dizzy I am! Can not be touched?
— touch your lips? once? please
– Will you listen if you say no?
Her smile is like a wave. Greba raised like a swan. I lowered my head. The explosion of three minutes – what happened! There is so much happiness in the world? Was there so much happiness? Holding the hair of my head, he said – this face? But let these lips perish?
— Be it.
— Fire or water?
— Shut up. shut up shut up
Why have I been imprisoned for so long with a dark wall, an intoxicating parent, an unequal and ruthless childhood? Why was I stuck in the cycle of youth and religion dying prematurely? These are also in the world. On that day for the first time, it seems that this life is getting stuck in the grip of religion. I want to get rid of it. my our Farhan Siddiqui dreamed of communism. Everyone should have that dream. Must be fed. It must be understood that people are all one. the same There is an equal number of bones in everyone’s body. Everyone’s blood is red. There is no cost. This love taught me to open my eyes and see. How much talk was going on all day! How many times call! How many messages, WhatsApp is ours. Amazing ideas were running around in his head. Much to my dismay, Tithi gifted me with a name on my birthday. He wrote with paint on the palm leaves – Khoi. Told me, you don’t fit without such a name.
He said, Khoi, I will take you to my house.
— Me?
— Besides, who else? Do not tell parents? I will sit by our pond with you.
— Why by the pond? You don’t know how to swim?
— Oma! Don’t know how to swim? What do you say! I have been swimming around since I was four years old.
— Then it will be seen who can cross first.
— I will see. I will see
– Look!
— Well, do you have a cow at home?
— Yes. There are cows. Our Lakshmi takes care of the cows. In the afternoon mosquitoes burn incense. Bathing with antiseptic soap. Feed clean water.
— And the dog?
— Oops! You don’t remember anything, Ray? I said about Lalu Bhulu.
— So! I had forgotten that it is the lover’s duty to look after the dog of the lover’s house.
Tithi used to kill me in anger.
– You are very rude. Absolutely.
Three or four birds would fly away at the sound of my laughter.
All those days, I would return home and see that lonely pond in my mind. That smiling rice ball. That little girl, with a comb on her head… who has now become a butterfly and is named ‘Tithi’.
He called me every morning. Sometimes I woke up on his phone. We used to talk for at least an hour. See you later. After college Or after the holidays. We used to go anywhere by bicycle! Jai Goswami, Shankha Ghosh, Devarati Mitra, Navnita Devasen came out of his jhola. We used to stop the bicycle and sit somewhere. He used to underline his favorite lines with a pencil.
As my relationship with Tithi deepened, my depression began to diminish. He asked me to write a lot. He used to say, “Rano, you write.” Everyone needs to know your words. I used to say, well what is my religion, you know? I am a Muslim, not a Hindu.
– You are nothing. You are one of those few people who have no religion. So they are of all religions. You have it all, Rano. you write Look, I go to sleep with your writing. Look –
He started reading…
“He’ll drag you down the street.
He will sniff you like a dog
By now the poison of his nails is in your body
His trigger has already touched your throat.
And a thousand-million-million times he wanted to know.
what meat What meat?”
I started writing. I started writing everything I had to say.
I started sending it to various magazines. I used to send it myself at first. Gradually the call to write started coming.
One golden autumn morning, an old man came. Soumyadarshan the man came from that Bankura. He is the editor of a small newspaper. He came home to meet me after reading my writing.
— I read your writing, father. But what you see is a child.
He touched my chin and blessed me.
– You will be very big. Such writing, such logic, such language! Where is the power of the reader to reject you? I have been with Little Magazine for thirty years today. i understand You have talent dad. Don’t spoil yourself. write a lot a lot There is life in your writing.
The old man’s words touched me deeply that day. Then one Sunday morning I called home. My post-editorial has been published in one of the leading and reputed newspapers of Bengal. Now various little magazines started contacting me.
At this time one afternoon father came back from college and told mother, listen, your elder son has got a girlfriend. do you know
— Is that so? Oma. Nobody said anything to me.
— Why tell you? Mother’s mother’s son or not? Don’t worry about anything.
— Who is the girl? do you know
— mean sugar? My meeting is called a student.
— How is he?
Now the father frowned a little and thought
— How can I say? It’s good anyway. But…
— But?
— I mean, the girl is a little protestant!
— What is it like again?
— Listen, in the theory class Sutnu means to teach our Sutnu Kundu or girls are mentioned as ‘girls’. The girl stood up and said, Sir, call girls girls or women. What is the term girl again? Sutanu goes to the principal to remove him from the class. To complain in the name of Sir. Once understood? What courage!
– This is a rebel. But whatever you say, the work is done well.
— mean? Tell me why you feel like this in everything? Is the word “girl” bad? I have heard this all my life.
— Not bad but annoying. What you have heard all your life, is it worth supporting? Think carefully. Listen how much. I’ll be a little afraid now.
