Bondita thought she would get a head start on the chapter to be started on Monday and study for the test that didn't happen on Saturday and reproduction was taught instead. But she could do nothing. And she didn't regret it. All the weight had been lifted off her chest yesterday. She told her Pati Babu everything and he was not angry at all. Infact he removed all the negative reservations she had for herself.
She placed the new braided hair on her shoulder. Everything personal had been sorted now. She can focus on her school without any worries hanging at the back of her mind. Now she was just worried about the court petition her Pati Babu was working on. Now that she knew his real motive, she wanted him to succeed.
In school that day after the assembly prayer Bondita was called to the principal's office. There was a man sitting opposite the principal's chair.
" Good morning sir..."
" Oh... She is here. Come in Bondita." The principal called.
Bondita still was unsure of what she was doing here.
" Mr Basu here." the principal started gesturing towards the man " wanted to meet you once."
Bondita was nervous now. " Namashkar " She wished the man.
" Namashkar. " He seemed a polite man. " I have heard a lot about you, the only girl to go to school."
Bondita smiled humbly.
" I would like to take that away from you."
Her smile vanished in the instant. " What ?"
" You heard me."
" Excuse me but why do you want to do that ?" Bondita was getting into defensive mode. Talking back to teacher for correct reason, fighting classmates for her rights, she could do it. But this man, she had no idea who he was just casually sitting here talking about kicking her out of the school. More so her principal was all smiles. What was happening ?!!
" I have a pretty good reason."
" Well, only one man can pull me out of this school and that is Barrister Babu, my husband and I don't think there is an argument you can put up in front of him to make what you are saying happen."
" Oh...He will be very very happy to let that happen when I present my reasons."
" Reasons ?" Bondita was getting scared.
" Three actually." He turned around on his chair to gesture towards the far back corner of the office she had not paid attention to since she entered the room. There sat three little girls holding each other's hands, nervous and scared. Bondita couldn't think fast enough.
" If they join too, you won't be the ' only girl' to go to school now would you." He ended with a satisfied smile.
Bondita's eyes grew wide as understanding dawned on her. " You...you are admitting your daughters to a school ?!"
" They are cousins actually." He stood up. " I wanted them to get a proper education but had no idea where to start when it hit me. Why not school ? My daughter's won't be alone here since you already are here."
Bondita was getting to a point where she would just drop the calm act and exclaim.
" Miss Bondita Roy Chowdhury would you help the daughters of my family to get along with the school like you did all by yourself ? You see...you are strong enough on your own but I am scared for my little girls. Will you help them if I enroll them here ?"
Bondita had tears of amazement in her eyes she tried not to shed.
" Yes..." She replied. " I would be honoured to...to..."
' Bondita...you have to become an example for the girls around you. You are a mashal Bondita... Girls and women of your age would follow you... would take courage from you. That is what I want for you. That is my dream...'
Words of her Pati Babu echoed in her ears as she stood there smiling. Her Pati Babu was right...she would pave a way for better life for every girl. He would be so proud.
So happy.
His struggles were paying off.
" I asure you if you send them to this school I will personally take full care of them. Help them and teach them. Your daughters..." Bondita was finally able to say it " are not alone."
" I told you Mr Basu" the principal joined in " she is one responsible girl. You will not have to worry."
" You were right sir." He replied. " You are a fighter Miss Bondita."
" Mrs Bondita." She decided to correct him this time. " Mrs Bondita Aniruddh Roy Chowdhury. I don't support the Mrs in front of a girl my age but I am proud a proud married girl. I am a fighter but he put the weapon in my hands." As important it was for girls to go to school, it was equally important for the men to support them. If she was setting an example for girls it was because her Pati Babu was exactly what every man should be like. She wasn't going to hold the torch of glory alone.
" I am Sorry Mrs Bondita." He smiled back amazed by the clarity of her words. If this is what education did for a girl, he was happy to have thought of sending his girls here. " And you are right. I have heard about him. In many , many contexts, everything good I assure you. Please...do say thank you to him for paving a path so my girls could walk easily."
Bondita just nodded, teary eyed, tight lipped. Is this how her Pati Babu felt when she was praised for something infront of him. The incredible feeling of pride she felt for him.
They both were like that. Ignoring the best about themselves but proud of each and everything the other accomplished.
It was the class after lunch and Bondita still was not able to control her smile. The biology teacher entered the class, stoped a moment at the gate to throw her a dirty glance before reaching his table. Bondita was reminded of the occurrence of Friday and her blood boiled just thinking of it but she still had her mood up and in smiles because of the good news.
Everyone wished the teacher and opened the books.
" What did we learn in the last class ?" He asked the students while throwing an uncomfortable glance to her on the first bench and it was so the whole time a student answered. She tried to listen to the answer since she was not in the last class.
" Ok...good sit down." He looked towards her while reluctantly opening his book. What was his problem ?
" BONDITA...!" He yelled making her jump and stand at her place.
" Ji masterji !" What was he up to ?
" What do you think you are doing ?"
She was confused.
" Don't look at me like that ! Why were you smiling ?!!?"
" Huh...?"
" You think I am joking here for you to laugh ? Or is this chapter too funny for you ?"
" It's not that masterji..." She said in a low voice. The chapter was sensitive and she had been smiling a lot today. Did she really not tune it down ? " I...am sorry Masterji. It won't happen again..."
" NO ! No sorry. Get out."
" But... please masterji. I am sorry..."
"GET OUT !!!"
She didn't want to be shout at anymore so slowly stepped outside. Was she really smiling that much to be thrown out from such an important class. It was a difficult and long chapter. Dugga maa knew she had missed enough chapters lately due to her pregnancy, she didn't need more lagging. She stood really close to the door , just near the entrance, to listen to every word even from the outside. But it was not enough.
She would have to read it at home today.
She could not wait to get home.
It was about tea time when her Pati Babu came back. She was so excited. She had not given anyone the news. She wanted him to know first.
" Pati Babu..." She called him standing in the drawing room. She was alone there. People were yet to come for tea.
" Bondita...!" He smiled walking towards her. He looked tired. Worn out. And most of all, worried. But was trying to not show it. " How was your day ?" He asked bending down in front of her.
Bondita could not contain her smile. " Very good."
" Wah... Some one looks very happy ! Care to share ?"
" Pati Babu... I have something to tell you. You .. will be very proud of me." That was her real reward.
" Really ?" He pinched her left cheek as she squinted her eyes in happiness. His heart just got filled by this site. All worry draining out. He left her cheek. " Tell me fast."
" Pati Babu... I won't be the only girl going to the school." She used the same lines used at her in the office to see his reaction. To see if he gets it. She saw his eyes trying to read her and then...there was a glint. A shine.
" Bondita..." He whispered. " Tell me...tell me from your lips..." Aniruddh could join the dots by the smile on her face and hidden meaning of her words but didn't want to get ahead of himself.
" Three little...very little girls could be...if everything goes ok, could be joining the school."
Aniruddh let out a gasp as he rested his hands on his knees for support, his head bowed down.
" Pati Babu..." She called holding his face, her thumbs brushing up against his tears, and made him look up. " Are you proud...of your Bondita...?" She knew it might sound a little shallow but she knew exactly what to say to her Pati Babu to bring him to react. To say something. It worked.
" Proud...? Proud...? I can't tell you Bondita..." He held her cheeks in his palms " you...you have..." He wasn't able to form words. " Thank you Bondita... Thankyou..." He was way too emotional to even speak.
" Pati Babu...!" He shouldn't be thanking her. " Don't say that. I should thank you for..."
" No... No Bondita. It was you. It was all you." He now brought his hands to her shoulders. " You told them it was not something a girl couldn't do ! You showed them it's worth it. You...you showed them how it is done !" He was unable to believe it. " You did it Bondita..."
" We did it Pati Babu..." She herself was in tears now. " We did it..."
He just nodded at this. " You know Pati Babu...the man, he talked to me in the office. He asked me to take care of his girls. I promised him that they won't be alone."
Aniruddh wipped her tears. " Bravo Bondita... Shabash..." He was not just able to put in words what he felt right now.
"They won't be alone Pati Babu..."
" My Bondita won't be alone anymore..." His sweet words melted her heart. Sometimes she forgot that in addition to a social reformer he was a man too. A guardian. Like that man in school today who was worried about the well being of his three girls. Her Pati Babu must feel so worried sending her off to a boys school, fighting alone. He too was just a man who cared about his family, about his little wife.
" Your Bondita needs a present."
" What might that be ?"
" Ek badam wale roshogulle..."
" Bondita...!" Aniruddh finally laughed. " Will you ever want anything more ?"
" No. All I will ever want is roshogulle and you."
" Acha...?"
" Yes ! Why not ? We won Pati Babu !!!"
" Yes ! We won !" Aniruddh was finally slipping into celebratory mood as the wave of emotions swept away. Bondita took his hands and twirled them around. He let her.
" We won ! We won ! We won !"
Aniruddh himself felt as if wanting to let loose completely. He pulled her towards himself, bent a little and before she knew she was up in the air with his arms secured below her hips, her hands had made way to his shoulders for support. He didn't know why he did it but didn't want to read into it. It was a happy day. The day they had gone through so much for.
Bondita had no idea what he intended to do and before she could actually make out his hand postions, he twirled around on his spot making her grip him tighter.
" We did it...!!" He was smiling, laughing. It was contagious so much that Bondita too started to giggle at his child like melodious, rare laughs despite of the compromising situation they were in right in the middle of the haveli.
They should have thought it through.
" Dada...!"
Aniruddh stopped, his legs as well as his laughter. They both looked at the person's direction. It was Som.
Not only him. There stood his Baba, Kaka, Batuk and Sampoorna.
Baba and Kaka had casted there eyes down out of decency, awkwardness evident. Som just gave a slap on the back of a wide eyed, open mouthed Batuk who was gawking at the couple. And Sampoorna was smiling, teasingly gesturing something. It was a moment before he could figure out she was gesturing him to put her sister down. He did hurriedly, as soon as he came back to his senses. Bondita was shocked too, her swaying after being put down to his right made it evident.
" You...two .." His Kaka started. " You couple have two bedrooms. Not one but two bedrooms. Two seperate balconies, one is fairly private one in Aniruddh's corridor, which, not mention is a completely secluded private portion of the haveli. In addition to that you have a study that locks from inside which no one enters. Please...! " Trilochan stopped for a breath " TELL ME...Why...?!!! Why do you have to do this here...?!! The most public place of the haveli...!!! Is all the private space not enough !!! Should I buy the haveli in front of us for you two to...to...do whatever that is you two were doing...??!!!"
Dugga maa needed to split the floor and give her place in the womb of mother earth. There was no place to hide left.
Aniruddh had felt his shame getting increasingly intense by every word his Kaka threw. More so as it was the first time his Kaka didn't say it as if demeaning or saying to show them down. He himself really did behave irrationally . But... he was...is so happy. He just couldn't control it.
They both stood there, heads down as if standing in punishment.
" It's...it's... it's..." Aniruddh tried to say something.
" What it's ?" It was his Baba. Great ! He hardly involved himself in such things.
" It's not her fault..." Aniruddh managed to say.
" Oh...I know that..." His Kaka spiked back.
Bondita could stand there no longer. She was about to turn and run away when she felt her Pati Babu hold her left hand. Oh no no no no. For all his confrontations, she didn't want to be a part of this.
" We were happy." Aniruddh said lowly.
" DURGA...!" Trilochan jumped up to Batuk closing his ears. Aniruddh looked up to see this and knew how his words must have sounded.
" No...! No.. I meant... We received a great news " he corrected his statement.
Batuk stood there giving his Kaka a look as he removed his hands from his ears.
" And what is that ?" Binoy asked.
" Three more little girls would be joining the school." Aniruddh let out.
"Really...?!!!" It was Som and Batuk together. They ran towards him and hugged him. " Congratulations Dada...!!!"
Batuk went to Bondita " Congratulations Boudi...!!!!! We did it....!" This earned him another slap from Som.
" We ? What did you do ?"
" Why ? I was there with Boudi the whole time. I was the one who showed her the school for the first time and stayed with her through everything in school." He said proudly.
" You are right Batuk." Aniruddh said. " Each and everyone helped. Kaka you gave her permission to study against your own thinking and beliefs. You believed in us. Baba...you gave her school fees when I had no money. Batuk helped her with school and Sampoorna..." He turned reluctantly to her. " You handled the housework at times she needed to study. "
" I did nothing ." Som seemed a little sad.
" You were happy for her Som. You silently let her do her thing and belived in her and that is more than anyone could ask for." He hugged Som.
" Aniruddh..." His Kaka took step forward. " I am proud of you. Both of you." He now understood why they acted like that. It was their greatest achievement.
" I am proud of you too Aniruddh." His Baba said with a little choked voice. Aniruddh stepped to him and hugged him. He knew his Baba needed that. " You did it beta."
" It is just a step." Aniruddh replied
" And there will be many more to come." His Baba looked truly proud. It made Aniruddh's chest swell.
" Bahu..." Binoy called Bondita. It was very rare to hear Bahu from his lips and that made her day.
" Ji sasurji..."
" Come here and take my ashirwad."
Could there be anything more rewarding. This day turned out to be the best.
Sampoorna made halwa for everyone as they sat eating and chatting and Batuk boosting how he played a major role in the school admission of Bondita to which everyone just laughed.
The couple had been fighting so long. They were finally seeing some results.
Bondita sat in her biology class repeating things she read the day earlier. She didn't understand much though. She was dreading her biology teacher these days.
" So I will be asking some questions from previous classes. Ok ?"
" Ji masterji." Choruses the class. The teacher asked his question to which the students raised their hands including Bondita. It was an easy one.
" Bondita. Give the answer." Bondita answered correctly which to her confusion did not please the master. She was about to sit back down.
" Did I ask you to sit ?!!?" He shout at her making her stand again.
" Sorry masterji."
" You think you are so intelligent right ? Well that was an easy question. Answer my next one."
To that Bondita did not know the answer.
" Sorry masterji. I don't know."
" And why not ?"
" I was out of the class yesterday and before that..."
" You were absent. And what was the reason ?"
This made her stunned. Was he really asking her to say out loud that she was on her periods ? Well she wasn't going to.
" You know that very well masterji. You asked me to get out of the class for it."
The master was not expecting a comeback.
" BONDITA...!!" He slammed his fist to his table. But this time she didn't flinch. She was not wrong this time. It angered him more. " GET OUT !!"
"Sorry masterji." But she didn't move from her seat.
" What ?"
" I am lagging behind due to you sending me out previously. Kindly let me stay."
" That is not much of an apology !! And don't even try to apologise."
" I didn't apologise masterji." This earned a few hushes from the class which made the master red in the face. " I am just asking you to let me stay. I have missed a lot of my classes. It is hard to keep up. I will take any other punishment."
" Any punishment you say. Fine ! Come here."
Bondita stepped up to the table a little scared. Who would not be after looking at that angry face.
" Bring your hand out."
She knew what was to come now. She brought one shaking hand out the past memories of being struck by another master coming to her.
" BOTH !!!"
She did as she closed her eyes.
' I give you my word Bondita. As your Pati Babu and your Shikshak Babu, I will never raise a hand on you.'
She repeated them again and again in her mind as if trying to derive strength from his promise as the wooden scale of the master came down with a sting on her soft palm.
She tried to imagine her Kaka sasurji applying chandan on her stinging hand if he came to know of it.
Swoosh came down another swing on another hand. Tears threatened to roll down. He would be so mad, so hurt and so angry to know that the promise he made to her could not save her. To know that his Bondita, who he never ever even held harshly was being whipped on the hand he gave the first pencil in.
This third one made her gasp as she pulled her aching right hand back.
" What ? Scared of a little punishment ? You wanted to be treated like boys, equally right ? " He brought his scale down again and again. It was making Batuk angry. He got up.
" Masterji she was not well."
" From something that doesn't happen to men. So why should that problem be recognised ?"
" It was not a problem. It was a condition." Batuk argued back but was not given any heed. The master didn't want to get involved with a Roy Chowdhury male. This girl infront of him was another thing. She could be Roy Chowdhury but she was just a student here.
It was not lost on Batuk how two members of the same powerful family were being treated so differently only because one was a girl. He started to move towards Bondita when he saw the scale strike her right hand, the one he was aiming for more as it was meant for righting, and it came down cracking the shakha Pola she wore. Of his Dada's name.
He saw Bondita finally look up and he knew that now she was not the one he needed to protect but the one who he might have to hold back down.
Bondita saw the broken pieces fall to the ground. They were his. She wore them as a sign that he was alright. That he was alive and well. The one thing that mattered to her the most. She took her punishment because it was related to school.
But things just got personal.
*****
Thank you everyone for the patience...!😌💞💞💞💞💞
I am so sorry for the delay.🤧
Just a few more days of studying.🥺