Barrister Babu

Chapter 1-The rainy night

Tulsipur,British India.
Year:1925
Roy Choudhury mansion buzzed like a beehive as preparations for decorating the mansion were underway.The servants were running from one place to another making last-minute arrangements.And the cause of all this commotion was the eldest daughter-in-law of the Roy Choudhury household, Bondita Roy Choudhury.

Today was no ordinary day,it was Bondita's 15th birthday.

But amidst this organized chaos the eldest daughter-in-law herself was nowhere to be seen. Her anklets, however, gave away her presence,they sang a tune as they clanked loudly against the marble floor, leaving a trail of jingling sounds behind her.Bondita’s breath came in short as she ran through the long corridor.
Suddenly she stopped in her track,her chest rising and falling as she caught sight of herself in the ornate mirror that hung on the wall.The girl staring back was a mix of a girl and a young woman.So much had changed since she first entered this house. She pressed her fingers against the cool glass, tracing the outlines of her face.

A faint smile tugged at her lips,"Wasn't it just yesterday?"

Bondita's life has been shaped by the trials she faced from a young age, primarily due to her marriage.she was married off in a young age.
Her patibabu tried to protect her from everything,every bad effect,every negative consequences of child marriage,he successfully saved her from majority of those bad effects but he couldn't protect her from everything unfortunately.He was like a big umbrella in a rainstorm, but sometimes, the wind would still sneak in.but he made her strong enough to protect herself.

Her thoughts shattered at the sound of a loud, familiar voice.

"BIHARI!"

It was her patibabu's voice, Anirudh Roy Choudhury.
Bhari Babu rushed past her, clutching a stack of papers tightly.
"Goddess, protect Bhari Babu from my patibabu's wrath."

Bondita understands her patibabu's short temper all too well.His anger used to scare her,but nowadays she knows how to handle him,and she does it perfectly.Her patibabu could explode like a volcano, but she had developed tactics to calm him down.Her capability to handle her patibabu even impressed her sasurji who was didn't like her from the start,nowadays he warmed up a bit towards bondita.Maybe it was her sweet demeanor or her ability to turn his son's frown upside down or maybe it's because she made this house of bricks appear like a home.Who knows?She is just happy that everyone is slowly accepting her.And her kaka sasurji is always impressed by his bari bahu.He had watched Anirudh stomp around the house like a thundercloud. But as time passed,he noticed how Bondita could take the storm and turn it into a summer breeze. One day,kaka sasurji even teased, "Bahu, you should teach a class on keeping my son in check!". Bondita smiled at the memory as she walked toward the grand drawing room. She could hear the murmurs and laughter of the gathering crowd.
B

ondita took a deep breath preparing herself for the battle ahead.

She never hides anything from her patibabu but sometimes she has to.She has learned her lessons in a hard way.For his sanity and to keep the peace, she discreetly stashes away certain items.Like the small moments she will probably face now.Bondita plastered a business like smile on her face and entered the battleground.

Few Ladies from the village came to meet her, after all she is a "zamindarni",and it's her birthday today.
The ladies from the village gathered around her.They brought her handmade gifts and warm smiles.Their eyes,however,betrayed the sweetness of their words.

She is always very lenient towards these women,she knows that many of them likely live in circumstances where their dignity is compromised and here they see her getting cherished like a daughter,see her getting pampered like a goddess by her patibabu whereas their husbands treat them like servants.
Bondita had once tried to reach out. But each time, she was met with sharp glances. They were not ready to change. They had built walls around their hearts, fortified by years of suffering.Bondita understood that.But they mistook her kindness as inability to act like a proper zamindarni,they taunt her for this behind her back just doesn't have the courage to do this in front of her,but what they can do in front of her is disguise their taunts as concerns like what they are doing right now.