Bondita's p.o.v
"Don't go there! How many times should we tell you to stay near?!"The officer barked for the tenth time in the five minutes we've been here in the warehouse for our search.
Barrister babu gave him that deadly glare for the hundredth time since they met today and I know there's more to that glare this time.
"Officer..." he pulled himself to him "If I'm right, you are here to keep an eye on us. To be more precise, you should be following us around when we move. But look at you! You are just sitting there and spitting commands at us! That isn't the rule, mister!"
"And who the hell are you to teach me rules?!" The officer got up and glared back.
"Barrister Anirudh Roy Chowdhary" Barrister babu crossed his arms and gave him a challenging look.
"Gentlemen, please..." I interrupted before the situation will escalate out of hand.
With a light shove on Barrister babu's chest and a retreating look towards the officer, I managed to succeed in my attempt.
"Hum yahan saboot dhundne aaye hai Barrister babu. Humare paas sirf do ghante hai. Agar ap uss Officer ko ghoorke aur unse ladke usmein se ek ghanta barbaad karna chahte hai toh theek hai! Baaki ek ghante mein khoj phir se shuru karenge hum" I crossed my hands and gave a look to Barrister babu.
He glowered back at that officer for his peace of mind for a good two minutes before scrambling back to the corners of the room. I shook my head and continued with my work. Out of the corner of my eye, I can see Badal and Ramaiyya didi assisting us with our work. We searched for anything and everything that could give us a clue as to what exactly happened here. But unfortunately, even after one hour of our search, we couldn't find anything worth our time. I was almost losing my hopes when I saw a tiny statue of Dugga Maa in a corner. I mentally prayed to her to give us slightest of a clue and just like that, my feet graced through something so small. I looked down to retrieve a not-so-fancy handmade bracelet. It was made of a fine white thread and fading colourful beads, not at all professional. My admiring time with the bracelet stopped when Barrister babu took it from me and examined himself.
"Yeh ap mein se kisi ka hai?" he enquired with the others.
"Meine toh ise kahi nahi dekha hai... Lekin phir bhi andar jake ek baar sabse puch lete hai, Sir babu" Ramaiyya didi replied.
Barrister babu glanced down at the bracelet for once and then nodded his head.
"Chalo phir"
When we entered inside, Bholi managed to call every member there to the living room. Everyone rounded us while Barrister babu and I stood in the entrance with the bracelet in his hand. When the room fell silent and expectant faces glanced at us alternatively, he held up the bracelet in his right hand and stared back to the group.
"Yeh ap mein se kisi ka hai?"
They all glanced around confused and some of them shook their heads in a no. He continued anyhow.
"Agar ap mein se kisi ka hai toh please aage aa jayiye"
Nobody moved or even blinked. Everyone glanced around them for someone to come forward. I was positive it was somebody outside's when suddenly, Abhi came forward and jumped for the bracelet. Barrister babu squatted down and he stopped abruptly.
"Kya hua Abhi? Bracelet chahiye tumhe?" he enquired softly.
"Yeh apke hath mein kyun hai?" he pouted childishly.
"Kyun hai..." Barrister babu thought over and then pretended to light up his mood "Yeh meine apne liye khareeda hai. Bohot sundar hai na?"
"Nahi!" he stomped his foot "Yeh ap nahi le sakte! Yeh meine banaya hai"
Oh! That explains the look of it...
"Abhi... Yeh apne banaya hai? Bohot sundar hai" I too squat down and took the bracelet from Barrister babu's hand "Balki ap toh Sir babu se bohot pyaar karte hai na, toh hum le lenge ise... Hum maan lenge ki apne Sir babu keliye bohot pyaar se banaya hai ise" I too lied.
"Nahi!" he snatched it away from my hand rudely and ran away shouting "Ise meine unkeliye banaya hai, yeh sirf wahi pehen sakte hai"
The tears in his eyes didn't go unnoticed though. We both stood up and glanced at each other confused. Then our look shifted to Grahati, who by this time was sweating and equally astonished like other people here.
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"My Lord! Allow me to present my only evidence – the only thing we managed to retrieve from the warehouse after our search" I requested confidently.
"Permission granted" The Judge nodded.
With a thankful bow, I turned on my heels and marched towards the table in the middle which has the bracelet covered in a clean plastic bag. I took it up and turned to him.
"This is the evidence we managed to retrieve from our search, Your Honour! A bracelet"
"My Lord! I don't understand what an unseemly odd bracelet has to do with this case now" Josie interrupted.
"Barrister Greenwood, let Barrister Roy Chowdhary clear that to the court" the Judge motioned for me to continue.
"Thank you, My Lord!" I bowed with a smile and continued "This bracelet here was made by a child who resides with her mother in our facility. He made it for a very special person – at least for him. And as surprising as it is, we found it in the warehouse instead of where it should've been"
"And who is this person you're talking about, Barrister RC?" Josie enquired.
"Abhi made it for his father, Mr Santhosh Bhaduri" I answered.
"Does that mean this man is behind the explosives getting inside your facility's warehouse, Barrister Roy Chowdhary?" The Judge fiddled with his pen.
"I'm afraid... yes, My Lord" I replied confidently.
Josie burst into a fit of laughter and apologized after calming herself down.
"I'm extremely sorry, My Lord but Barrister RC here has completely lost it!" she giggled and continued "This man she's talking about resides in Gunjarpur. If I'm right, your husband and you separated them five years ago. Now they don't remain in contact as far as I know" she shrugged.
"Then you know nothing, Barrister Greenwood" I chuckled and turned to the court "Allow me to present my first witness, Grahati Bhaduri to the witness box, My Lord"
"Permission granted"Grahati came in hesitantly.
"Grahati? Court ko batao, tum aur Mr Bhaduri – yani ki Santhosh babu – pichle do saalon se ek doosre se mil rahe hai na?"
She closed her eyes tight before opening them and looking at the ground before replying.
"Haan"
"Yeh bolo akhri baar tum donon kab aur kahan mile?"
"Mahila Ghar ke samne... Police ke aane ke ek din pehle"
"Abhi ne usi din Santhosh babu ko bracelet diya tha na?"
"Ji"
"Dhanyavad, Grahati"I turned to the court but didn't forget to glance at Josie on my way."
I hope that is cleared then, My Lord... Now let me present Mr Bhaduri to explain himself to the court"
"Permission granted" The Judge nodded again.
Santhosh babu came in willingly and started explaining.
"Meine hi un vispotakon aur hathiyaron ko Mahila Ghar ke bhandarkaksh mein rakha tha. Yeh sach hai ki Grahati Abhi ko lekar mujhse milne aati thi lekin mere kayi vinnatiyon ke baad bhi woh mere sath ghar wapas aane ko nahi mana. Meine lakh koshish ki lekin usne kabhi sweekar nahi kiya... Toh mujhe laga agar mein Mahila Ghar ko hi barbaad kar dega toh uske paas mere sath aane ke alawa aur koyi rasta nahi hoga... Isiliye meine... meine woh sab cheezein khareeda aur raat ko bhandarkaksh ke andar ghuske rakh diya... Uske baad meine hi Police ko phone karke bataya ki wahan par yeh saari cheezein hai"
When the translator stopped his rant, I continued.
"Exactly, My Lord! This testimony further proves that the facility has nothing to do with the explosion at Governor's office! Mr Bhaduri had bought them for his malicious deeds which, with Dugga Maa's blessings, didn't bore fruit. I request the court to sentence the facility and Suraiyya didi, um... Miss Suraiyya as innocents and advice the police to get their facts right. Thank you, My Lord!"
We didn't exactly lie in court. As a Barrister, you can never do that. But we hid some relevant information. With Dugga Maa's blessings, neither Josie nor the Judge seem to ponder over the fact as to how a common man could acquire such dangerous explosives and weapons. It isn't like they sell all of that in the open market. Yes, you guessed it right! He's part of a revolutionary organisation. And yes, the explosives retrieved from Mahila Ghar were actually the same type used to bomb the Governor's Office that day by the same organisation. He was advised to hide them somewhere safe and unfortunately, he messed it up by being selfish. Barrister babu, Mahila Ghar and I decided to keep the organization away from the court and handle the case in a more simple way. I know what you might be thinking right now, I still lied in court. But hey, I said the facility has nothing do with the bombing. I didn't say the explosives weren't the ones used.
When the final verdict was given, I turned to Josie immediately. She seemed to be deep in thought and I had to pat her shoulder to bring her back from her dreamland. She smiled at me and stuck out her hand for a shake.
"Congratulations, Barrister RC"I glanced down at her hand and launched at her for a bone-breaking hug.
She just chuckled and hugged back awkwardly.
"Josie... why am I feeling like I've done something wrong to you?" I enquired when I pulled back.
"Because you did... You brought Jean here" she chuckled again.
"Isn't that a good thing?" Barrister babu appeared behind me.
"I'm going back to London with him tomorrow..."
"And what's wrong in that?" Barrister babu asked again.
She smiled up at him and enquired.
"Would you like it if your wife is leaving you to go back to her home, Mr RC?"
We both glanced at each other and I swear I saw a glazing in his eyes before he turned away to answer her. But by the time we did, Josie was long gone.
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"Tumne use jane keise diya Bondita?! Tumhare iss faisle se na mein sehmat tha aur na hi wahan koyi aur!" Barrister babu continued his ranting that he started from the Mahila Ghar courtyard.
Now we entered the Haveli but he's not stopped yet. He's going on and on and finally, I replied when I couldn't take it anymore. My ears hurt and I need silence, now!
"Meine wahi kiya jo Grahati aur Abhi, donon chahte the"
"Grahati ne Santhosh ki vinti ko mana kiya tha Bondita" he reminded.
"Isiliye kyunki woh nahi chahti thi ki humein bura lage!" I shouted "Kyunki use laga ki uski icha hum samajh nahi payenge. Apne yeh dekha ki usne Santhosh ke sath wapas jane keliye mana kiya tha, lekin yeh nahi dekha ki woh harr din unse milne jati thi... woh bhi Abhi ko leke. Ek bete ki bhagyu se Baba ka pyaar cheenne wale hum kaun hote hai?" I enquired.
"Agar yeh bete ki jagah beti hoti, tab kya yahi pyaar deta woh Abhi ko?" he crossed his arms.
I remained silent for long. Both him and I know the answer for that – that was the reason why Grahati came to us in the first place.
"Shayad nahi... Lekin ek Baba ke bina jeena kitna mushqil hai, yeh mein janti hoon"
Barrister babu untangled his hands and let them fall beside him, his features taking an empathetic turn. Soon enough, memories rushed inside my mind unstoppably. Baba and I eating, playing, dancing, screaming...
"Mahila Ghar mein use bohot sare dosth aur didiyan milenge... Lekin apne ghar mein... Maa, Baba, Thaku Maa, Thakur Da, Deeda, Dadu... Khoon ke rishte mayne rakhte hai Barrister babu"
I saw him wincing at my words, probably at the 'Khoon ka rishta'. But quickly enough, he came out of it. I didn't know I was crying until his fingers brushed against my cheek while his palm caressed my cheek in an attempt to sooth me.
"Apne Baba ki yaad aarahi hai?" he murmured.
I shook my head but the tears failed me. I couldn't keep it in and the dam broke mercilessly. I cried my heart out. I can feel my face getting pressed against Pati babu's hard chest – his one hand on my head and other circling my waist in a tight hold. I let out everything on his chest for a good few minutes. At that moment, I felt he was my only solace. His scent – that mixed scent of paper and perfume – had the magical ability to sooth my nerves. It tugged at my mind and spiralled over the paining memories, awakening some pleasurable thoughts which I had no idea of existence even. Soon enough, those memories got switched with the ones in which he acted like my Baba. All those moments he played with me, all those moments he fed me, all those moments when he protected me, all those hugs we shared...
'Bondita! You're falling again, aren't you? How many times should I tell you to stay down?! Get away from him and rescue yourself, woman!' My brain almost smacked me in the insides and I pushed him back, attempting hard to control my suddenly scarlet cheeks.
"Mein... Mein theek hoon" I stuttered and ran away from him without daring to look back.
Ascending the stairs to my room, I was about to reach my destination when a silhouette of a figure moving caught my attention. When I turned in its direction, I saw Rudhira retrieving something from the record room. I was about to resume my walk but something in the back of my head propelled me to take a look inside.
"Rudhira?"
She almost jumped at her name and immediately hid whatever she was holding in her hand behind her. I frowned at it but continued talking.
"Tum theek ho na? Mere pukarne se darr kyun gayi?"
"Nahi mein... woh... mein... bas..." she stuttered, searching the ground helplessly as though it can speak on her behalf.
I snatched whatever she was hiding at that moment and looked closer to see they were some papers – to be exact, our zamindari records. My look accidently fell on the set of papers kept on the table beside us and I took them up too. It's obvious she was working with them too. Upon examination, I understood they were copies of each other. That is, the one Rudhira holding was the copy while the one on the table were the original. I looked back at her confused.
"Yeh copy kyun liya tumne? KSJ ne bataya? Balki donon toh ek jeise lag rahe hai... Gaur se nahi dekhti toh mujhe bhi shayad samajh nahi aati"
She chose to not respond and that had me worrying.
"Rudhi... Kyun liya tumne yeh copy?"
She looked back at helplessly. Her lips parted in an attempt to reply but she chose not to.
"Rudhi mein tumse kuch puch rahi hoon"
"Hum duplicates le rahe hai Boudi" I heard Batuk behind me.
I turned back to see him having Chom Chom from a plate. The thing that actually worried me was that Batuk was having Chom Chom. It's his guilty pleasure snack. He only eats it when he's about to do something wrong or have done something stupid already.
"Taki hum Genghis ko" he closed his eyes as though he's mentally scolding him and opened them again "mera matlab hai Rudhi ke Baba ko asli ki jagah nakli kagsat de sakoon"
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Yup! Another update!
See, I'm giving the ages of the characters at this moment. Ig most of you have a doubt abt this...
[Character] - [Age]
Kaka - 55
Baba - 55
Anirudh - 32
Bondita - 21
Somnath - 26
Laya - 21
Batuk - 21
Rudhira - 19
Tapas - 26
Greenwood - 38
Jessica - 21
Jean - 21
Brijwasi - 32
Any one u wanna know... Comment here [winks] I'll reply with the age
Now, I didn't reply for the comments to the prev one bcoz, well, my results came and I got busy worrying for it... Well I passed with 97.4 percent, so congrats to me! He he he...
Nothing much... Izy all, you know that na?
Z,
MS