Letters from Dalhousie to Tulsipur

Part 11- Anirudh and Bondita

They had been avoiding each other like plague for the next few days.

Anirudh because he was deeply hurt by her accusations and Bondita due to letting her emotions bare in front of him.

Anirudh was deeply involved with a out of court settlement of a property dispute case between two brothers of the neighbouring village. A case that was taking his all attention and efforts.

He wanted to talk with Bondita every evening to clear their study room argument but the idea of her accusing him again made him scared of luring her in the study room.

He as a husband was angry with her due to the words she had spitted on him.

But as a rakshak (Protector) and as her shikshak (Teacher), he could understand her turmoils.

He wanted Bondita to never be like the other women, who was only focused on the welfare of her husband.

But he had forgotten that Bondita was still growing up and at her core she was also a wife and a girl, for whom these type of doubts was very easy to rise.

He himself had given her the chance to doubt him. From spending time with another woman and even letting her stay at his house had easily given her chance to doubt him.

Hell, the months Manorama had spent at his house was also humiliating for her as a wife as during those months, she was upset and absent from here and had no way of knowing anything that was going on.

Anirudh and Bondita both were just dwelling in their own hurt but neither of them had the courage to approach each other at all.

Bondita was setting her clothes for the Nobomi tomorrow (the 9th day of Durga Puja festival). They had already started the festivities that she was here for.

During the last few days, Bondita was trying to keep herself busy from remembering her argument with Anirudh. Their argument had made them both restless.

But Anirudh's absence since the last few days were weighing on her conscience.

During the various Pooja's happening in the Haveli, a lot of the people were coming to the Haveli and a few even had expressed their shock on seeing Bondita at the Haveli.

As Anirudh's second marriage had made them sceptical of her presence. Especially the way, she had left the Haveli.

Bondita was busy thinking all of this, when koyeli knocked on her bedroom door.

She quickly composed herself and gestured her to come in. Trying to keep a bright smile in her face.

"Ji koyeli didi, Kichu bolar chilo (Did you have something to say)?"-Bondita asked her as cheerily as she could. And koyeli sighed at her choti malkin trying to create a false happy face.

"Bahu Rani ji, Barrister Babu has given it for you. He has asked you to wear it for the morning Puja tomorrow."-she kept a brown paper wrapped packet on her bed and quickly went away.

There are some things that she wasn't supposed to see at all.

Bondita kept looking at the packet since the moment koyeli had kept it on her bed and was blinking at it owlishly.

She quickly got out of her daze and closed the door.

Malika was constantly trying to steal one of the sweets kept in the kitchen to eat it. She was craving this sweet from the moment she had laid her eyes on it but the fear of Bondita's kakasasur ji was stopping her from grabbing one of them.