More than just Feluda (Fanfic)

Meeting someone

The next morning, Sindhuja was mopping the floor with a cloth herself because Srinath had gone on a work-trip with Kaka. Kaki was at the nearby temple, and Tapesh was sitting on the Sofa reading a newspaper. The door of the house was open.

Crouching down while sweeping in the hall, Sindhuja saw a pair of feet coming at the doorstep.

"Stop there, the floor's wet!" She called out first and then looked up at the startled face of a short, lean man probably in his forties. He was almost bald on the head but had a well-kept medium moustache. He came in white kurta-pyjama with an ochre coat; a cloth bag slinging by his shoulder. 

"Ohh no, Sorry sorry..." He faltered backing away from the door.

She did not recognise him at all, but Tapesh did.

"LalMohan Babu! Good morning!... Erm, the floor..."

"Good morning Tapesh! No no, I'll wait... Is your Brother home?"

"Yes, he's getting ready upstairs. I'll call him."

Sindhuja who had done mopping the hall intervened, "Wait! Now you don't get up and walk around, I'll go and get him." 

She went upstairs. Meanwhile Lalmohan Babu who was still standing at the door like a punished kid slowly said, "I think the floor is almost dry now. Should I come in?"

Tapesh almost laughed, "Of course of course! I'm sorry you had to wait like that..."

He settled on the sofa as Sindhuja came downstairs. "He's coming."

She got Lalmohanbabu a glass of water and rushed back into the kitchen with the bucket and cloth before things turned more embarrassing.

Meanwhile, he came downstairs too. "Good morning."

"Good Morning Felu Babu! Did I disturb you so early in the day?"

"No, not at all... Will you have tea?"

"Uhh, sure..." 

"Good." He called out, "Sindhuja?! Get some tea please!" 

"Yes!" Came her voice from the kitchen.

They sat talking while Sindhuja brought in tea. She handed all of them tea cups and put a plate of biscuits on the table, returning back. 

In a few minutes, she came out of the kitchen once again. "It's almost time for breakfast, I'll quickly bring in some Ghugni." 

Lalmohanbabu tried to protest, but she brought in plates with the the hot and fresh Ghugni anyway. 

"It's really good! Felu Babu, this way I'll have to find some reason to show up for breakfast at your house every day!..." 

She smiled in response to the compliment while going to bring more from the kitchen.

Tapesh held his plate to the table, "Boudi, more for me too."

She gave him some and left again as Lalmohanbabu looked up suddenly. 

He saw this and asked, "What happened?"

"Oh nothing, I don't really hear anyone call servants by family-names, so I was a bit surprised."

Both him and Tapesh paused.

"Servant? Oh no, I didn't introduce her, did I?... Sindhuja!"

She came into the hall again. He looked back to Lalmohanbabu.

"This is Sindhuja, my wife. And Sindhuja, this is Lalmohan babu. He was there with us throughout the Jaisalmer trip. He's an author, by the pen-name Jatayu. We have some of his books."

Lalmohan Babu looked at him and Sindhuja wide eyed. 

Sindhuja did a Namaste to him. "Sorry, I haven't really been able to read your books yet, but I surely will now."

He somehow returned the Namaste. "No, I am sorry for mistaking you. Felu Babu, you never said even once during the trip that you were married."

Feluda was serious. "Well we didn't really come across any circumstances when I would have needed to tell my marital status. And besides, I don't reveal any personal things while working on a case. Not to mention, you were one of my suspects, right from the beginning."

Lalmohanbabu was even more shocked. "That's a second surprise for me today! I never thought I would be held suspect from some crime ever..."

Feluda curled his lips up. "I can't take any chances. It's the most unexpected people who're the criminals a lot of times."

Lalmohan babu was soon a frequent visitor to the house, not just for meeting him but also for food made by Sindhuja. She had now found an enthusiastic taster for the new dishes that she tried out from cook-books. 

One day Lalmohan Babu was talking to Tapesh while eating egg-toasts. "Tapesh, did your brother have a love-marriage?"

Tapesh arched his brows. "No. It was arranged. But why do you ask?"

"Just that I always wonder why he was convinced for marrying, unless he really fell for her or something. It seems off his usual personality."

"Hahah, it wasn't very easy, but I think they're well enough now."

"That they are. When I think of my hero Prakhar Rudra in the book, I relate him to your brother. But I can't think of your Boudi as the heroine character. She is too simple and winsome for the filmy-kind of female lead, yet she fits in perfectly with his persona in reality."

"Well, I never really thought of them like that, but maybe it's the difference between such 'stories' and reality."

"Yes. I should've met your Boudi before writing the heroine. Then it would have made a huge difference in the character-psyche."

"I'm afraid people prefer flashy & pretty damsels in the stories more than those of her kind. That's how society today still works. They are happier with decorative dolls than real women."

"Oh no, you've turned into an activist it seems!"

"No, nothing like that! It's just that I've seen Boudi long enough to know that she is different than other women around in such aspects. With her thoughts and opinions, she's much ahead of her time already."

"Maybe that's why she matches up with Felu Babu. Both of them have this tinge of unconventional-ness and..."

"And craziness?"

"I didn't say that, you did."

They both laughed.