Junak Baruah wants to win the prestigious short film competition in his university. But with hundreds of participants and a stellar jury on board, winning means making a film that's never been made before.
And that means breaking the rules and taki...
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"I heard you stopped by to watch the buffalo fight?" Junak's grandmother spoke in heavily accented Hindi, broken due to lack of use. She was an old woman with a round, wrinkled face and grey hair, who wore a smile on her lips like it was a part of her features.
"Yes," Banhi answered. "It was really fun."
"Had you come a day earlier," Junak's grandfather said from where he sat at the head of the table, "you could've enjoyed the community feast."
"It was last night?" Niribili asked.
The elderly pair nodded.
"Oh!" Grandma suddenly exclaimed, reaching out to place a hand on her husband's arm. While Junak and his friends were sitting at the dining table enjoying their welcome snacks, the woman stood next to them to serve them extras. "Why not make a bonfire in our backyard and have dinner outside today? The kids would like it."
The man considered it for a moment, then nodded. "Sounds good."
"Great, I'll ask Priti to make the preparations." The woman was about to walk away when she stopped and added, "I'll invite Nibha and the others? It'll be nice to have some company."
Grandpa nodded. "While you're at it, if you see Dikhou, tell him to come meet me. I'll ask him to go fetch Junak's car."
"Send Milon, Dikhou must be enjoying with his friends somewhere."
"Milon will ruin the car, you know how he is."
"That was just one time, you shouldn't keep holding it over him."
"And you need to stop defending him."
Junak and his two friends watched the pair's to and fro, almost mesmerised. It was an alien sight to Junak, seeing a married couple together, sharing so much in such few words, in gestures and glances. He wondered if his parents had something like this, but there were no memories to substantiate his guesses.
"You don't have to go through any troubles for us," Niribili said once Grandma had finally left. Though she was raised in Delhi for most of her life, her Assamese was immaculate, and Junak knew his grandfather liked her for it.
"It's no trouble at all. My grandson is here after so many years. And he's brought friends too! This calls for celebration."
Junak smiled.
"After he'd gone to America, I was sure I'd never see him again in this life." Grandpa laughed.
Junak's smile faltered. He wondered if there was resentment beneath his amiable, cheerful façade, or was he truly glad to see him?
"I, for one, can't wait to see the village," Banhi said, helping herself to another pitha from the brass plates containing a wide assortment of those snacks made especially on the occasion of Bihu.
