Anirudh- The Story Of A Misread Barrister

Chapter-5: Repentance

I was almost out of the study when I heard the telephone ringing. I answered the call and it was from the principal of Dalhousie boarding school. He was supposed to come today to take Bondita's interview. However, he said that due to the bomb blast and murder of the Viceroy, there is much chaos in Tulsipur, so he wouldn't be coming today. He told that he will take Bondita's interview some other day. I was both happy and sad at the same time. I was happy because I don't have to send Bondita immediately away from me. Firstly, I need to remove all the pain that I had been giving her since the last one month. I was also sad because once again an obstacle has occurred in her journey towards a better future.

I cut the call and again made my way out of the study to go to Bondita's room but this time Batuk stopped me. He was out of breath as he ran hastily which clearly told me that he was tensed and wanted to tell me something very urgent.

"What happened, Batuk? Why are you running in a hurry?", I asked him in tension.

"Dada....boudi....boudi....", he stammered.

"What happened to Bondita?", I questioned being all the more nervous.

"Boudi is lying unconscious in her room.", he said.

Even before he could complete his sentence fully, I pushed him aside and rushed towards Bondita's room. I was panicked to see the sight in front of me. She fell unconscious on the floor, don't know from when. I shouted for Koyeli to get some water. She ran immediately and within a minute she was present before me with a glass of water. Meanwhile all the other members of the family also gathered, having listened to my cries. I sprinkled the water on her face hoping her to gain consciousness but in vain. I patted on her cheeks calling her continuously but no use. I gently made her lie on the bed and rushed to call the doctor.

After a few minutes I was back with the doctor. Kaka was throwing angry glares at me, but to my surprise, he didn't object to Bondita's treatment. Being a man of regressive thoughts, kaka was not in favor of the idea of a male doctor treating the ladies of the house. However, Bondita's love had changed him a lot. It seems as if she had cast some magic spell on him. For Bondita's sake, he is even ready to put behind his orthodox thinking and do anything that is possible for him.

I directed the doctor into the room and showed him an unconscious Bondita. He asked us to wait outside the room, while he proceeded with the treatment. The tears flowing from my eyes refused to stop. I remembered the words told by kaka some time ago. "In the process of teaching Bondita a lesson, if you had lost her forever........?". These words kept ringing in my ears and I closed my ears in an attempt to stop the noise coming from within me. My brothers, who seemed to notice my pain, had placed their hands on my shoulders as a gesture of assurance that everything will be okay. I hugged them and burst into crying.

Suddenly I spotted the doctor coming out of the room and asked in eagerness, "Doctor, how is Bondita? What happened to her?".

"Mr. Anirudh, is your wife going through some kind of stress these days?", he asked me. This question came as a dagger straight towards my heart and pierced it. I bowed down my head in shame. My tongue got dried up and words weren't coming out of my mouth.

That's when kaka took the lead and spoke, "Yes doctor babu, you are right. My bahu was subjected to extreme stress since last one month due to some personal family problems. But what's the matter doctor? How is my bahu? Why did she become unconscious all of a sudden?"

"Look Mr. Trilochan, your bahu fell unconscious due to the extreme mental stress that she is going through. I feel that due to the stress, she is skipping her meals as well. She is very weak right now. From now onwards you should make sure that she is extremely happy and stress free, otherwise it can take a toll on her fragile life. Also feed her with healthy food. Along with this, give her the medicines that I have written, for up to one week, twice a day after meals.", he said handing over the prescription to me.