ANIDITA : A Life For Revolution

CHAPTER 5 : Part 4

Anirudh's p.o.v

"Barrister babu apki kafi" Bihari entered.

"Wahan rakh do Bihari... Aur haan, yeh..." I took the pile of papers from my desk.

"In kagazon ko stack karna hai, le kar jao"

"Lekin chote malik ham kaa karein inka?"

"Arre janta hai na Bondita karti hai yeh sab. De dena use, aur bata dena mujhe shaam tak wapas chahiye"

The silence that followed caused me to think and my scribbling immediately came to a halt. I looked up to see Bihari watching me intently, fearing how I would react after the realization.

"Woh... Phool gaya" I kept the pen down abruptly, memories of her calling it Kalam babu coming back to me.

"Use wahan wapas rakh do, mein karoonga" I ordered and he obeyed me.

Bihari left without a word while I stared down at the application in front of me, her face and sound filling up my senses. Its seven months now... I closed my eyes in a desperate attempt to calm myself down and get back to work. After some minutes, Bihari informed the breakfast was ready.

"Hamne kaha na Binoy? Tum hamare sath aaoge matlab aaoge, baat khatham!" Kaka ordered.

"Da kyun pareshan kar rahe ho mujhe? Ap jante ho na mujhe yeh sab Pooja padh mein vishwaas nahi hai. Kyun bewaja zidd kar raha hai ap?" Baba protested.

"Hamein vishwaas hai in sab mein Binoy. Aur hamne vada kiya tha Pandit Ji se ki tumhe sath lekar jaunga isiliye ab bahana banana bandh karo aur jaane ki tayyari karo"

"Da ap-"

"Binoy!!!" Kaka gave his Zamindari, no-nonsense tone and Baba muttered something and adjusted his spectacle.

"Anirudh! Itni udas kyun hai beta? Tabyat thik hai na tumhara?" Kaka turned to me.

"Haan Kaka thik hoon mein"

"Malik! Dakiya babu aaya tha, chitti dekar gaya" Bihari appeared.

The moment I heard the word 'chitti' I froze to my chair, looking nowhere but at my plate.

"Bahurani Ji se hai... Binoy Malik keliye"

My hands fisted beside my body. I closed my eyes to reign my arising temper and continued eating, ignoring the stares coming my way.

It was when I heard Baba talking to Kaka that I realized Baba had already read the letter. But the information he revealed shocked me to the core.

"Da dekho toh, Bondita ne apne naye Professor ke baare mein bataya hai. Apko pata hai kaun hai? Woh dhongi Brijwasi"

"Kya?! Baba ap mazak toh nahi kar raha hai na?" I was the first one to ask.

Baba raised an eyebrow and handed me the letter. I started reading it without wasting any time.

Priy Sasur Ji,

Mujhe pata hai ap ek dam thik honge aur umeed hai ghar mein baaki sab bhi thik hai. Apka vyapar bohot achi tarah chal raha hoga. Apko apne hisaab kitaab karwane keliye koyi mil gaya hoga, kyun? Hisaab kitaab sab pakka hai na? Kahin meri kami bhaari toh nahi pad raha? Bondita ke bina sab kuch achi tarah chal rahi hai na haveli mein? Aur haan, Kaka Sasur Ji mere nahi hote huye bhi sab kuch kar raha hai ya nahi yeh dekhna toh apki zimmedari hai, jante hai na?

Weise meine apke dosth se bohot saare kahaniyaan suna hai apke baare mein. Samu dada apko bohot yaad kartha hai. Hamesha bas apke aur Barrister babu ke bare mein hi bath karte hai.