Tasherghar

Chup Ek Muhurt

Anondo walked away with sleeping Prithu in her arms, cradling him to heart and yet she looked broken under some burden. She walked as if ....as if she was heading towards something that was neither of her choice or to her liking. In the last few years only Prithu and Nilu made her smile. Majorly Prithu....Tupak made it a point to take Prithu to meet her at least 3 days a week. He would carve out his heart with his own hands to see her face lit up the way she smiles the moment the little prince was in her vicinity for himself.

In the last 11 years he has tried his best to hide it all but the arrogant 15 year old Tupak still made him cringe with embarrassment. He changed to a different person when Anondo turned away from him... He had cried, walked on the shores of the sea alone, stayed up through the night, prayed at Maa Kali's temple, and then came back empty without any answers to his plight. He was sure he had loved her since he didn't even understand what love was. But neither did he have his father Biren's wisdom nor his Dadamuni's understanding. He had resented her any claim on him, and then for a lifetime waited for her to tell her how much he loved her.

His work, his family, his friends and even his music nothing have been able to anchor him to his life. Drifting in and out of his reality he has only ever looked at her face to bring him back from this immense state of loneliness.

He has seen her through her troubles which were crushing in themselves and then his act of betrayal had been the last straw. Anondo a daughter of two parents, who hardly ever knew she existed. Anondo a sister of a retarded brother Artho. Anondo a friend of Nilu who would stand with you in the toughest of situations. Anondo a mother figure to Prithu, whom she would nurture with the best of her heart's blood.

But who was Anondo looking at, hoping for when Anondo became the scared, mute girl in the four walls of her room.... Who hid under the bed, in her almirah or even in the fireplace chimney when late at night her door was knocked and sometimes broken down? Whose arms she sought to curl up and be the little girl she still was within? When did she let her hair loose and wore a beautiful saree to unleash and take pride in the beauty that she hides.

Anondo...Anondo... Anondo... the girl who will die to keep her loved ones happy and alive. And will she ever know that the cruelty she portrayed, the mask of thunder on her unrelenting visage, the... the silent cries buried in her soul are starting to crack up. As a boy of 15 what he had failed to notice... he had seen it all since he lost her... Since he became ...since the most carefree, heartless boy became her Rakshak...the chor she talked about with such reverence and love. He didn't even dream of having her as his own, but he needed it desperately for her to know that nights are meant to be a blanket for two loving souls, mornings are meant for new and happy beginnings, afternoons are for lazy talks within the bosom of a loving family and in the evenings all the loved ones lit lights to fight out the darkness and fear together.

Entering Nilu's room...

Byom: Arey Anondo, yeh tumhari godi mein phir so gaya. Apni Mai mile toh aur kuch nahi chahiye tumhare ladle ko. Aur yeh kya hai Anondo, itne saare gifts aur upar se itna expensive leather saddle... Tum na bigad dogi apne bete ko bohot jald. Anondo..(looking in her eyes) sab theek haina? Tum pareshan lag rahi ho.

Anondo: Byom Da mujhe bahar jana pad raha hai aaj raat hi. Aap mere Prithu aur Nilu ko sambal ke rakhoge na? I mean Nilu bohot seedhi hai aur humari duniya bohot kathor hai, uska dhyan rakhoge na? Prithu abhi bohot chhota hai, toh thoda ziddi hai, bada hoga toh theek ho jayega, use zyada datiyega mat please... dekhna bade hoke aapka naam roshan karega... Main chalti hu...

She bent down to touch his feet... and then turned away with a determined heart towards the door.

Tupak heard her... and saw what she did. But he stood there shell-shocked, knowing something was very wrong but knowing nothing at all....