Courthouse Hug
"Patibabu....Amar dike dekhun na (Look at me na)?"-Anirudh forced his eyes away from his file to look at Bondita. Her voice making him aware of her 'Gracious presence' in his study.
"Amar mathar sidur ki thik ache? Mota vabe diyechi to ami? Joto mota sidur toto beshi valo hobe amar biye (Is the vermilion on my forehead alright? Have I applied it thickly? The thicker the vermilion, the better my marriage will be..)"-her reply made him feel stunned for a second. He couldn't believe such absurd words had come out of her mouth.
"Bondita, who told you such nonsense? This is absolutely rubbish..."-She looked at him, a little scared at his tone, for his tone made her remember the head sister of her school in Dalhousie. Who used to scold her for her questions.
"But patibabu, komola kaki told me to do so. She said that it makes.."-She couldn't finish her words as Anirudh groaned loudly at her words.
He wanted to control his anger at her stupid stunts. But her antics were getting too much for him to handle.
Especially, right before his hearing.
"Bondita, it's all hogwash. A part of the old wives tales. The thickness of your sidur (Vermilion) won't make anything better. It doesn't make our married life better. It's just a part of the belief process...."-Bondita looked at him, her eyes were filled with tears. Him not wanting to participate in her belief process regarding their marriage made her feel sad for herself.
She didn't tell him of the people, she had heard criticising his past. She had heard rumours of him being incapable as a husband. And how this marriage was just a facade to save the Roy Chowdhury's face after Somnath's runaway act.
She was deeply disturbed by those words. And when komola kaki, their neighbour told her about the benefit of applying her vermilion thickly, she did it wholeheartedly just to make her marriage triumph in the face of people's vitriol.
"Bondita, I think you need to stop going to these dawats with Sampoorna ma. They are becoming a bad influence on you. These ladies are making you...."-Bondita spoke up before he could give his verdict on her choices.
"Patibabu, Ami sidur lagai karon ami ete bisshas kori. Amar jonno ei sidur r shakha pola joruri. Chotobela theke ami ete bisshas kore aschi. Ebong ami ete bisshas korte thakbo. Apnar Kotha eta bodlabe na. Apni to...(I apply this Vermilion because I believe in it. For me, this Vermilion and these shaka polas are important. I have been trusting these items since childhood. And I will keep believing in them. Your words won't change it. You are...)"-Anirudh felt his head bursting with pain as she spoke on and on.
Not being able to control himself any longer, he snapped.
"Can you stop talking for a minute? Can't you see that I am working? I don't want to hear your stupid superstitions that you've learned from the villagers. For god's sake, get out of my study..."-She got startled at his words.
He had never spoken so harshly with her. Today, his words held a frustration that she never saw in him. His face was scrunched up in fury.
Today, for the first time, she saw in him the angry social changemaker everyone talked about always.
The man, who for everyone else was an epitome of anger, whose anger was always erupting like a uncontrollable volcano.
She felt scared of him. She was afraid of his demeanour.
She stammered a little at his verbal lashing towards her.
"Why are you getting angry at me? I didn't do anything wrong...Dont take out your anger on me. I am not a punching bag for your work related frustrations...it's okay, if you are irritated at me...but that doesn't give you the right to throw me out of this study. Remember that you had told me, this place belongs to me as well...."-Anirudh was startled at the way she spoke the words. He had expected shouts and tantrums from her. But her calm and collected self made him mad.
She wasn't entirely wrong. He had indeed taken out his frustrations on her in lieu of her earlier words. His most awaited hearing about Joydeep was tomorrow. And one of the papers for the case had been misplaced by his intern.
Anirudh was preparing that paper again himself to avoid problems tomorrow. He was in the middle of it, when Bondita had entered the study with his glass of milk at night.
"Bondita, please leave me alone for sometime. I really need to focus on my case for tomorrow. And right now, I am not in the mindset for any sweet conversation with you...."He tried to be as gentle as he could this time with his words.
He didn't want to have a row with her. But at this moment, his years old anger was making a comeback.
It was somehow triggered by her listening to the old fish wife's tales from their neighbours. Their words were reminding him of the past. Where, he was a joke for their amusement. His life had became a topic of discussion for their tea time conversations.
He didn't want Bondita to get influenced by them. But, he didn't realise that his way of telling her was wrong.
"I am leaving but remember to finish up the glass of milk. Don't treat the food the same way, you treated me just now...you know, since they can't express their feelings in front of you like I can...."-Bondita didn't look back for a second as she left the study.
Her sharp words becoming a wake up call for Anirudh. It was a call for him to come out of his past. To not let the words of the past be a deciding factor of his present life.
He was wrong to force his decisions on Bondita about her belief on the marital signs that she was proudly wearing. It wasn't as if he hated the signs. But now a days, her obsession with his well-being and her rising feelings made him feel scared for the future.
He didn't want her to doubt their marriage, when Somnath came back. He knew that a drama would commence the moment he stepped foot in the haveli.
But the scariest for him was Bondita's reaction to Somnath's eventual return. Would she regret being his wife?
Will she crave for a younger husband?
Someone who was closer to her age.
Would she find it boring to be with a divorcee, who carried too many allegations on his soul. Allegations that had scarred him deeply.
"I'll tell her sorry tomorrow....I'll not talk with her right now... both of our tempers will clash with each other right now."-Anirudh consoled his heart with a ruthless attitude and focused on finishing up the paper in his typewriter.
Today after a long time, his dominant lawyer personality had come out in the open. And this personality only prioritised work.
"Boka patibabu....amake bina karone boke shudhu. Ekbar case ta sesh hok tarpor ami unake moja dekhabo...(Stupid patibabu, always scolding me without any reason. Once this case finishes up, I'll show him...)"-She puffed her cheeks in annoyance over his words. But the next second, she de-puffed her cheeks as she remembered that now she was an adult. It's unbecoming of her to do so...
The two didn't speak a bit for the whole night. Anirudh had remained in the study to finish the papers and Bondita had slept due to tiredness.
Both of them were upset at each other but still ready to give each other space to fulfill their work individually.
That was the beauty of their relationship.
"Barrister Anirudh, are you okay? Or have you got scared to fight against me?"-Anirudh rubbed his temple in frustration as he came face to face with the opposition lawyer Bartholomew Gomez.
His arch nemesis at the courthouse. A person, who was responsible for his stain in character. This is the same person, who had went to the extremes to make him seem like an abusive and an assaultive husband. Who beat his wife like a beast everyday. Along with making him seem like an impoent man in the court. An allegation that was still imprinted in the minds of the people.
Anirudh grimaced in distaste as he faced the man fully.
"Hello Bartholomew, it's a pleasure to meet you in the court again."-The man smirked at his accent and was as arrogant as ever, when he replied,
"Still have that British accent, do you! English education was wasted on you Roy Chowdhury. After all, you are wasting it by trying to educate people, who don't want to be educated...."-Anirudh clenched his fists in anger at his words.
"Don't cross your limits Gomez. Remember your status as a lawyer for now..."-Anirudh hissed at the man, who smiled maliciously as he finally made the feared barrister lose his calm demeanor.
"Awww...is the little Roy Chowdhury angry?"-Unable to control his temper, Anirudh shouted this time. Forgetting his promise to never dangle with this man.
"Shup up...you filth..."-The lawyer was grinning at Anirudh's show of anger. This time, his smile held a triumph against Anirudh.
When he had accused Anirudh years back, the young landlord never stuttered once in the witness box. Keeping his silence as much as he could. Only once losing his compusure at the allegation of assault.
It was young lawyer Bartholomew's biggest defeat. Not being able to tangle the culprit in his web of words.
"I heard that you have married a pretty little lady again. Tell me, is she aware of your past? Or is she aware of the drama surrounding you? I wonder, how she is feeling, getting such a jaded bloody loser like you as a husband?"-That was it.
Anirudh fully lost his temper. He could not tolerate a low life vermin like Gomez making comments about his Bondita. Such words made his blood boil.
The girl, who had married him and staying with him so faithfully was someone, he could never tolerate being spoken maliciously.
For him, Bondita had become his "Jeene ki wajah" (Reason of living). She had became the oxygen his soul needed to survive on this earth. She was the binding force behind his redemption. A redemption, he was seeking from himself for not treating his soul as greatly as he treated others.
Anirudh viciously held him by the collars of his shirt and was going to punch him, when his eyes fell on the portrait that Bondita had made of him weeks back.
It made him realize the reactions that could result from his one action. The case was at a crucial stage and at this time, Anirudh couldn't afford to make him feel his wrath fully.
He was feeling like Achilles, whose wrath was the subject of the first book of Iliad.
"Be grateful that we are standing in the court Gomez and this case is about an innocent man facing kala pani. Otherwise, you would have been bleeding just like you were bleeding back in london, you bastard. ('Kala Pani' was the destination for all the political prisoners/freedom fighters where they were tortured, starved, humiliated and isolated till they take their last breath by the British. The place was a mute witness to the darkest chapter of Indian Independence struggle)."
"Boro bou moni (Eldest Daughter-in-law),"-Bondita looked at Bihari standing at the dining table as she was packing lunch for Anirudh.
Their disagreement the previous night didn't make her forget her care for him.
She believed that fight and marital relation should remain separate. One should not sour the other.
"Bolun Bihari babu (Yes speak, Bihari babu)."-He felt sweaty as he looked into the eyes of the next zamindarni of Tulsipur and the other states that belonged to the Roy Chowdhurys.
Her temper was well known. Every single person in the haveli had seen it, if they made a single mistake in the care of her husband.
Bondita never tolerated a single mistake in the case of Anirudh. Her anger was quick to come out if anything went wrong.
The last week, a servant had broken the windshield of his car in his hungover state during the cleaning.
Anirudh didn't say anything to the man, as he believed in silence over these matters but Bondita had scolded the man so much that Gouro choron was scared to even touch alcohol again.
"Asole amake Boro malik hat e jete bollo ekta joruri kaje. Tai ami parbo na choto malik ke khabar dite jete (Actually, master Trilochon wants me to go to the weekly village market for an important work. So, I can't deliver the food for young master.)"-Bondita looked at him frowning in irritation.
All the other male servants were needed today on the back yard for maintenance work. So, she couldn't ask them to leave for court.
But at the same time, she couldn't trust Anirudh to not sacrifice his meal for the greater good.
"Isn't there anyone else?"-At his defeated look, Bondita made up her mind.
"Bihari babu, ask the driver to ready the car. Ami nijei unar khabar niye jabo (I'll take his lunch myself.)"-Trilochon looked at her shocked as he entered the haveli from the front door.
"Bou ma, Tumi court e jaba? Okhane meye manush ra jay na. Oi poribesh e tomar jawa...Anirudh thik i kheye nibe court e...Tomar jawa...(Daughter-in-law, you will go to the court? Females don't go there... You stepping into that environment...Anirudh wil eat in the court somehow...You going there..."-Bondita looked at him irritatedly.
His words were only making her late. Thus, she gave him a befitting answer as she put the lid on his tiffin box.
"Kaka Soshur moshai, meye rao court e probesher odhikar rakhe..Ke bollo, eta shudhu purushder odhikar? Poribesh Jodi na thake tahole baniye nite hobe...kintu manusher bhoye, ami amar sami ke na kheye ato gurutto purno dine lorte dibo na. Ami khub bhalo kore Jani, unar kono kheyal thakbe na khawar. Tai ami nije jacchi (Uncle-in-law, girls also have the right to enter the court premises. Who said that men only deserves this right? If the environment is hostile, then we'll have to make it comfortable for us....but I won't let my husband work on an empty stomach due to the fear of what will people say...I know very well that he doesn't remember to take his meal..So, I am going there myself...)"-She didn't wait for a response and went there towards the car....
Bondita got down from the car and looked at the intimidating structure of the Deenpur court. The majestic fort had been turned into a courthouse 20 years back. But still it gave away the feeling of royalty not the feeling of law and order.
Bondita felt her heart clench in fear as the few men standing outside of the court gates looked at her. Their gazes held their disbelief over a woman crossing their threshold.
It was not common those days to see women in the courthouse. Especially, women who were as lavishly dressed as her.
Her outfit screamed money and such type of ladies never entered the court premises.
Especially with the confidence that she carried.
But Bondita's confidence quickly diminished as the men began to whisper. The whispers wouldn't have bothered her, if they weren't looking at her with looks that wasn't polite at all.
She pulled her pallu a little more on her head. Her hands clutching the Tiffin box tighter. She felt her earlier bravery leaving her body as the men continued to scrutinize her.
She didn't know, which way his cabin was.
So, she took a deep breath and asked an older man,
"Barrister Roy Chowdhury ke kothay khuje pabo (Where will I find barrister Roy Chowdhury)?"-Her earlier assumption of the man being less vicious flew out of the window as he sneered at her.
"Another woman coming to that fitoori (Revolutionary)... This time an wealthy one....The man is trying to corrupt our womenfolk against their families....chi...chi..."-Bondita felt irritated to hear someone bad mouthing Anirudh.
She hated this stranger talking about him so callously.
"Uni ja korchen valo korchen..Apnader moton lokera somaje jodi nari ke chup rakhar cheshta koren tobe unar moto somaj sebok ke apnader biruddhe lortei hobe...ete kharap kichu nei (Whatever he is doing is absolutely right. If men like you suppress and oppress woman in this society then a social worker like him will have to fight against you. There's nothing wrong in it...)"-The man looked at her with hate in his eyes. His gaze spitting fire on her.
Someone praising Anirudh was unbearable for him.
Subodh Ghosh had practiced law far longer than Anirudh. But the moment, he had started practicing, people had flocked to him.
His foreign degree and Roy Chowdhury surname making him an instant hit.
He had developed an instant hatred against him the moment, young Anirudh had screamed at him for beating up a man, for touching his feet at court.
The man had belonged to the lower caste. Thus, becoming impure for him to touch.
Bondita's words had attracted a lot of men at the courtyard.
They started to avenge their colleague by insulting an innocent girl.
After all, they would have to show their toxic masculinity somehow...What better way to show it than demeaning women?
"There comes another 'behaya meyelok' (Shameless woman). Nijer barir chula te ranna kora tomar kaj...ekhane eshe pap korecho tumi. (Cooking at home in the stove top falls under your jurisdiction...You have committed a cardinal sin by coming here....)"-A significantly older man wearing a lawyer's black coat sneered at her...
"I have done nothing as such...."-Her words were washed out among the voices of many superstitious and egoistic men. Who hated a woman speaking against them.
Bondita couldn't hold her stern composure any longer.
She couldn't stop the tears trying to come out of her eyes anymore.
"I'll find his cabin myself....I don't need help from men like you..."-It was her last attempt to sound brave in a crowd of wolves.
She reached the row of cabins trying to find the cabin that was allocated to him.
But even here many lawyers were looking at her maliciously. Muttering words that were beneath them to utter morally against a woman. Among them, one was brave enough to come forward to speak more malicious words against her.
"Behaya meye manush, din e dupure ekta purusher sathe dekha korte chole esheche....(Shameless women, Coming out to meet a man in a broad daylight like this)...!"-Bondita couldn't handle it anymore. Their words were reminding her of her wedding day.
Their words that day were as disgusting as today.
Just as she was about to speak...A strong voice spoke up...
"Ghosh babu, how dare you to speak with my wife like this?"-Anitudhs voice made Bondita look behind her to see him glaring at those vultures.
He was daring them to speak against her. His eyes held vengance and retribution.
"Barrister babu, your wife...."-One of the lawyer spoke up stuttering this time. Offending the daughter-in-law of the zamindar's was a cardinal sin in Tulsipur.
No one insulted Sampoorna Roy Chowdhury ever again due to her status as a zamindarni. It was the unspoken rule in Tulsipur and the surrounding areas. Each and every Roy Chowdhury wives always got respected by the people.
But today, they had dared to insult and belittle the future zamindarni. Whose husband had made a name for himself as a fierce defender of equal rights.
The one, who spoke earlier against her had gotten brave enough to speak again. Forgetting the ire of Roy Chowdhury's.
"So, it is true then. The feared barrister has married his brother's 'chere jawa hobu bou' (Left behind would-be-wife). How the mighty have fallen!"-Bondita closed her eyes in pain remembering Somnath and his betrayal.
She felt like screaming at this man for ruining her constant efforts to leave behind that part of her life.
"Does she know about you barrister babu?"-The words were spoken suggestively this time making Anirudh go red in anger over their audacity to bring up both of their pasts.
"You filthy...."-He was about to punch that man but it was at this time, Bondita held his hands in reflex...as she remembered the content of Somnath's letter.
"Patibabu..."-Her whispered plea for him to vanish her demons made Anirudh remember his surroundings. He remembered his first priority, his wife.
He quickly put his arms around her shoulders and held her assuringly. And addressed the crowd of vultures.
"Come at me professionally and I won't retaliate but the audacity, you have shown against my wife today will be held against you. From now on, all of those, who have spoken filthy words against a women will be on my radar. One mistake and I will make sure you won't step foot in this court again...the three of you have already violated many laws by supporting criminals of the worst kinds."-He added the last part of his speech looking into the eyes of the men, who had spoken maliciously against her.
They had a track record of being the favourite of the notorious criminals. For them, only money mattered not justice and for this, Anirudh always despised them. But today, he hated them for making his strong Bondita shed her pearl like tears.
"And get one thing clear in your head, this court doesn't only belong to men. We are not only the only ones who can step foot in here. A women can come here as freely as a man can. Today, my wife came here but tomorrow, thousands of women will come here to get justice and to ensure justice. Men like you have no right to prevent them from doing so. One day, many woman will enter here and work with you all side by side and that day, your filthy mindset will hold no value in front of their capabilities."-Anirudh directed Bondita to his cabin and closed the door.
As soon as he closed the door, Bondita quitely placed that precious and the reason for it all, lunch box on his table. She still had tears running down her cheeks. Her brain trying to wrap her head around the cruel words spoken against her.
The pampered daughter of the Das haveli was never spoken against in such a tone. Even her thakuma's verbal lashings had never been as hurtful as this. Everything today was making her realise just how much of a protected life she was leading away from such cruel views of society against a woman.
Anirudh saw her actions quitely. His brain was trying to come up with the reason of her visiting his workplace. He tried to ask her and her next action made him speechless.
"Shona,Tumi thik acho (Dear,are you okay)?"-His simple words made her tears fall with more vigour. And she just wrapped her hands around his torso. Embracing him tightly.
His one arm automatically went around her shoulders and his other one patted her head in a soothing manner.
He felt his heart do somersaults as she hugged him tightly. It was the first close physical contact between them. They had never came so closer before. But today, this embrace became more soothing for them than any other type of intimacy.
Their embrace started another journey of their togetherness. It was the start of their love against the filth people will sprout for them.
Bondita closed her eyes as he embraced her back. His gesture only made her think of one thing...
"This is what bliss feels like".....
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Sorry if the chapter seems a little out of order... I literally just wrote whatever that came to my mind....
Anyways, tell me how the chapter was in the comments... Don't hesitate to share your true opinion. And do vote for it as well please....
And yes, this will be the start of Anidita's new phrase of married life....