Anidita: The Mystery of the Past.

Chapter 1

"To kaka aap chahate ho ki main Mashishpur jau aur mamle ko investigate karu??" Asked Anirudh
"Ha Anirudh... tum jao... aur bahu ko lete jao... uske bina to tumhara dimag kholta nehi..." replied Kaka
"Kaka..... Bondita keu? Gao mai jate hi uchalna suru kar degi baccho ki tarah"
"Isliye to bolta hu ki khudke kuch bacche paida...."
Anirudh stopped him with his popular hand guesture, "thick hai thick hai.... woh baad mai hoga..."
"Ha wahi... pata nehi jinda rehte pote ka mu dekh paunga ki nehi...."

"Patibabu... just imagine... hum gao mai ek normal si life ji rahe honge..." Bondita commented with excitement
"To ab kaha hum abnormal life ji rahe hai??" Asked Anirudh
"Gao mai azad ghumnna..."
"To ab bhi to ghum hi rahi ho... roka kisne hai"
"Aap na bohat unromantic kind ke admi ho"
"Ha kaka bhi keh rahe the ki pote ka mu kab dekhenge....."
Bondita went numb for a while.
"Pota?! Come on Patibabu... romantic doesn't mean... it doesn't mean.... whatever... romantic mean true beauty...."
Anirudh came close to her, "Am not I beautiful my love"
Bondita pushed him away by her finger on his forehead "Go away"
"Keu??" Anirudh tried to hold her by her waist
Bondita pushed him and got busy in packing the bags. Anirudh gave a sweet shy smile and went on arranging his necessities.

As the bullock cart entered the village Bondita started feeling more and more fascinated. The smile on her face knew no bound. The cart stopped near a hut. Anirudh stepped down all dressed as a simple village man with a creme punjabi n typical white dhoti with brown border. Dressing simple is no issue for Bondita but staying quite as a common village lady definitely is. At all moments she is trying to make herself understand that she's now a village lady and no married woman in the village jumps like she does.

Bondita took her steel trunk and went hopping inside. Anirudh nooded his head. This girl will never stop hopping in this lifetime.. how many times he told her to "walk like a shy lady" and not to hop like "a rabbit" but.....

After arranging the small hut they were assigned to Bondita went out to participate in the afternoon gossip of women along with the hut owner's wife.
"Kaha ja rahi ho Bondita??"
"Lunch to ho geya to Boudi ke sath ja rahi hu gossip party mai"
"Yeh gossip party keya hai??"
"R a dopeher ko jab sab aurat ka kaam ho jata hai tab sablog nadi ke kinare jate hai dishwashing ke bahane gossip karne... mai bhi ja rahi... bartan leke..."
"To isliye tumne mujhe mera bartan dhone nehi diya??"
"Absolutely.... ab to mere sath rehke samachdar ho rahe ho"
"Ha pehle to mai gaddha tha..."
"Ha Kakasasurji bhi yahi bolte hai"
Anirudh looked at her. Bondita smiled and left.

At the river bank all the ladies gathered.
"R a Pola ki ma yeh kaun hai??" Asked a lady pointing at Bondita
"Yeh humare ghar ki neyi kirayadar ki patni hai.... woh zamindar ka nayeb aya hai na.. unki patni" answered Bondita's landlady.
"Woh to yeh nayeb bou hai.... acchaa"
(In Bengal the wife of some officers are connoted by adding "bou" with their husband's designation, Bou stands for wife)

Gossips continued...
"Tumhe pata hai Ramu ki ma.... kal Nilu ferse woh bhutiya ghar ki taraf geya..."
"Keya bolte ho boudi"
"Bhutiya ghar?!" Bondita asked with enthusiasm
"Haa.... waha ek admi ki maut hui thi... log kehte hai saap ne kata per......"
"Shhhh" another lady stopped her.
Suspicion arose within Barrister Bondita Roy Choudhury
"Aapne roka keu unhe??" Asked Bondita
"Suno tum bhi apne baccho ko udhar na jane do.... jaise umar keya hai tumhare baccho ke??" Another lady diverted the talk.
"Bacche?! Mere bacche nehi hai" Bondita replied
All the ladies looked at her with a shocked face, "bacche nehi hai?!"
"Nehi....."
"Umar to tumhari itni ho geyi... abhitak bacche nehi hue?!... matlab... baa... matlab..."
"R a nehi ..... mai.. matlab... mere pati ka koi accha naukri nehi tha na.... isliye unhone bola pehle acchi naukri lag jane do fer baccho ka sochenge... ab lag geyi naukri per..... per unko... unko batane mai sharam... matlab...." Bondita did world class acting of being shy.
"R a r a ismai sharmana keya... bol do... jaise bhi bohat samachdar hai tumhara pati... manna parega"
"Ha woh to hai hi...." Bondita smirked

Bondita started going restless. She wants to know about that haunted house but she knows Anirudh will never allow her, so she kept quiet. Next day, Bondita took her dishes and went to the river bank again. After gossiping and washing the dishes they went to sit under a tree.
"Accha boudi woh bhutiya ghar kaha hai??" Asked Bondita
"Tumhe us ghar ko lekar to bohat diljasti hai!"
"Ha.... woh...."
"Accha to suno... woh jo tuta futa ghar dikh raha... woh hai..." the lady pointed at a broken house far away. Bondita sqeezed her eyes to have a clear view. Suddenly something struk her... as if she saw that tree before too....

Bondita slowly walked down the mud road. As she reached near and near the broken heart it seemed some memories are comming to her. She can hear her ears ring with laughing sounds. The paddy fields... the banyan tree.... the mango tree... the stone bench... the pond..... the hut....

Bondita looked around and went in. After getting inside the deserted broken hut her head started to hurt. Slowly it became dark inside. The windows are jammed. Somehow she managed to open a door and get in. As she was exploring the room a gusty wind closed the door making the room darker. She looked behind at the door banging with a wierd sound. The room... the sound... the closed door.... Bondita became numb. In her imagination she saw herself trying to open the jammed door with all her might. Her head started spinning. And suddenly her imagination reached the top and she shouted her heart out. Her shout reached outside the hut to the other women who were following her. They got frightened and ran away.
It was dusk and rime for Anirudh to return back from the zamindari mansion. He is serving as nayeb to the mansion to investigate about the traitors in his office who are scamming on the villagers. After he returned home Anirudh was approached by the landowner who gave him the news of Bondita going inside the haunted house and not comming back.
Anirudh rushed to the spot and saw a bunch of villagers gathered outside the house.
"Yeh ghar srapit hai... woh larki to nayi thi gao mai per Ramu ke baba ... apki patni to neyi nehi thi na... unlogo ko rokna nehi chahiye tha keya..." commented one man
"R a morol moshai... aurat jat ka itna saukh bhi keu jaukhim uthane na... " another man tried to lay blame on Bondita's excitement
(Morol= Sarpanch)

Anirudh went to the the Morol, "meri patni kaha hai??"
"Aap us latki ki pati ho??"
"Ji"
"Woh under hai..."
"Under hai?! Ap logo ne use nikala keu nehi"
"Kauki humai marne ka saukh nehi.... apki patni ka tha... isliye under geyi..."

Anirudh didn't argue further and ran inside the house. Other villagers shouted at him to stop, but he truned deaf ear to them. After browsing the house for sometime he saw Bondita lying on the floor, unconscious. He took her up and come out of the hut.

When Bondita opened her eyes she was on her bed with Anirudh beside her. She tried to get up..
"Leti raho..."
"Patibabu aap... mai na us ghar mai.."
"Aur ek sabd aur nehi..." scolded Anirudh, "keya karne geyi thi tum waha??"
Bondita kept quiet.
"Jawab do Bondita!"
"Apne hi to bola aur koi sabd na bolne ko...."
"Mazak suj raha hai tumhe ab?! Ha??"
"Daat keu rahe ho ap mujhe..."
"Daatu nehi to keya aapki arrti utaru devi ji.."
"Maaf kar dijiye..... "
"Bolo age nehi karogi..."
Bondita kept quiet
"Bondita...."
"Mujhe laga mai us jaiga ko janti hu..."
"Mujhe nehi lagta tum us jaiga ko janti ho.."
"Mai sach bol rahi hu... mujhe kuch kuch yaad aya..."
"Bahane banane mai tumhe Nobel prize milna chahiye pata hai... jaise behosh keu hui?? Darr geyi keya??"
"Under andhera tha... aur ek.. ek saap... darwaja khul nehi raha tha..."
Anirudh looked at her for sometime
"Aap keya soch rahe ho??"
"Lagta hai tumhara truma puri tarah se geya nehi.."
"Trauma.. kaisa truma??"
"Andhere aur saap na daar... darwaja nehi khula isliye darr geyi.."
"Daar nehi tha sachmai saap tha"
"Thand ki mausam mai saap kaha se ayega?!Bondita... sapna kuch yada lamba ja raha hai... tum so jao..."
"Aur khana??"
"Mai paka lunga... khana ban jaye to pukar lunga tumhe...."
"Koi jarurat nehi.. beswad khana khane se accha mai so jau.." Bondita went inside the blanket.

In Bondita's dream she saw herself in that dark room. She saw a hazy image of her father lying on the floor asking for help. He's shivering akwardly. Bondita approached the door but couldn't open it. Why can't she reach the lock?! How she got so short in height?! Bondita tried her best to.... but.... but... wait... what is that crawling?! A snake. Moonlight was comming in from that small window. In that moonlight she saw a shadow move past. Someone is there. She shouted for help...
"Koi madad karo..... Baba ko saap ne kata... koi madad karo..."

Anirudh got up hearing Bondita shouting in her sleep.
"Bondita Bondita..." he hold her shoulder and hand tightly "Bondita..."
Bondita got up and stared gasping. Anirudh gave her a glass of water and caressed her head.
"Keya hua??... bura sapna dekha??"
"Baba.... baba...."
Anirudh made her lay on her pillow.
"Baba...." she whispered and slowly feel asleep.