The Unventured Passions

Duties and Fondness

Heaven only brings a duty that is in perfect accord with what your heart loves, for love is thy fuel, thy compass and thy endurance.

Batakrishna Roy Chowdhury had always been very clear about his duties, his profound love for the motherland being his fuel, compass and endurance. He had once asked his brother, on his wedding night, about the meaning of Swa-Dharma, and very simply Anirudh had explained him the correlation of Dharma and Karma, enlightening him with the knowledge to find his true calling. And, Batakrishna Roy Chowdhury, amidst dissecting corpses at the morgue of Calcutta Medical College, had indeed found it... under Satyakirth's guidance, channelising his patriotism into a mission... a mission to free his motherland from the shackles of two hundred years of slavery.
His true calling!
But, somehow, as suddenly as a shower less lightning in a clear blue sky, the age old battle of heart and mind had held him up, his growing feelings towards Mira, and even before that his one night blinding weakness on Candice, and Batuk had derailed from his path, the path that he had so meticulously chosen, the path that wasn't meant for sensuous fulfillment, the path that would have eventually led him to his true Swa-Dharma!

But, a true patriot is one whose heart bleeds only for his country, and Batakrishna was undoubtedly one such, and hence, even when Mira welcomed his advances for the very first time with open arms, he found it only reasonable to politely un-see, resist from the temptations to dive into the abyss of her magnetic beauty, as at that moment, the telegrams held in his hands were the ticking timebomb that needed his undivided attention instead.

Satya had written to him, in their shared codewords, entrusting him with a set of tasks, to be executed with absolute urgency, and Batuk was already a day late. But, not too late, as that night, the faithful son hadn't wasted a single extra minute to set out to fulfill his duties... The duties that would lead his mother one step nearer to freedom!

The letter had also revealed Satya's current location, Mymensing, hinting at the possibility of Bondita being with him, and recalling Officer Davidson's words from earlier that evening, Batuk felt it's sharp pang of terror in his stomach.
Davidson too, was heading towards Mymensing, and Batuk needed to act at once. First, try to persuade the officer to take a detour, and then to make Satya aware of the arrival of this menacing search party.
Batuk had driven his brother's convertible Jeep that night, testing his racing skills on the hardy vehicle, as if racing for life, and the vehicle sprinted like an expert athlete, ready to win the race against time. The relentless rain, the devastating darkness, nothing could act as a barrier and by four forty, along with the first faint rays of the orange sun, Batakrishna was at the Police station, in Calcutta!

"Davidson Saheb?"
Batuk was panting, his hand rested on his waist, and his head held back to draw more air, and infront of him was a desi police guard, enveloped by a veil of drowsiness.

"Sir left." The guard rubbed his eyes and sat upright.

"When?"
Batuk felt a blow of terror in his pit.

"An hour ago."

"Do you know where?"

"Ofcourse, everyone knows... He's taken full force with him, heavily armed... He's going to Mymensing." He paused to yawn, and he stretched his eyes to look at the suited gentleman carefully.
"Do you want to file a..."

But Batuk hadn't waited to hear him complete, as his Jeep had sped up like a ferocious cheetah, zooming along the Grant Trunk road in it's maximum speed.

Drive faster Batuk... You've already wasted an entire day!
His mind nudged him.

Batakrishna had made his first stop at their old house in Calcutta, the early morning masons appointed by his uncle were just about to begin with their day's repair work, and after spending an hour at the attic, digging on some old papers, and money, Batuk had set out again, his next stop being the Calcutta Jewish Bakery.