Twenty - Twenty

No its not a cricket match or a revolution - its a love story between a boy and girl in their twenties. Its a story of Piuli and Ayan better known as Aon. 

I was visiting a missionary orphanage in Kalimpong for my CSR assignment and then happen to meet Piuli. It took me a while to overcome the awe of why a beautiful Bengali girl in her late twenties a midst the nuns. No she hadn't converted into Christianity and that had struck me more than anything else. Piuli was pretty and always wore a smile. But from her eyes it could be easily figured out that somewhere life was not too just with her. Well let's continue with the story.

It so happened that on a rainy Saturday afternoon- I had almost finished my reports when suddenly a knock on my door distracted me from my work. Coffee was the need of the hour and I being too lazy to walk up to the kitchen and ask for one thought it would be better that I complete my reports and then wait for usual evening coffee that would be served to my room. Nevertheless my eyes were hurting and it badly demanded a break which the timely knock provided. 

"Who is it?" - I inquired from the writing desk.

"It's me Piuli" - a woman spoke from behind the closed door.

I dragged myself and opened the door to see Piuli standing with two coffee mugs and a smile.

"Hey sorry I disturbed you" - she spoke while stepping in the room, "actually I hadn't spoken too much bengali for a couple of years now except when mom and dad visits me. Thought even if I cannot befriend you at least I could speak Tagore's language with you"

"Oh sure - certainly my pleasure. You know, I owe you a big ''Thank You'' for your timing and the coffee. My eyes were demanding a break and my brain was dozing off without a coffee. Have a seat please"

Piuli sat down on the bed and I pulled my chair to sit facing her. 

"Piuli I have a question if you don't mind" - I started the conversion.

"Well I am sure your question wouldn't be that tough to answer and if I gaze it properly, your eyes say that what a girl like me is doing here in a missionary orphanage"

I was looking down at my toes clueless and speechless about what to say next. Piuli made it comfortable for me - "It's Ok" she said "Everyone wanders. Even the authorities wondered when i came here to join them. But you know when you have the God with you he can make you fit in anywhere and when he is against you he can bring tears even at the sweetest moment of life"

I was puzzled. Surely her daily prayers taught her more about god and brought her near to him more than me but the sentence had a deeper meaning than the daily prayers.

"Well" - Piuli smiled - " Let me puzzle you more. You know Subho I have a degree in electrical engineering from Jadavpur University"

"What!! " - I frowned.

"Finish off the coffee before its gets cold and ugly and I will tell you why I made such a statement about God only if you are OK to chuck off some of your precious time from preparing the reports."

"Well - yeah I am eager to know it. I have heard people either curse God for their misfortune or be faithful to him for their good luck. Certainly your definition has a new meaning”- I gulped the coffee as fast as I could and sat down to listen to her story.

“Ayan was the brightest boy in our 1^st year EE class at JU. He always occupied the first bench, participated in all the class activities and was a consistent topper in the semesters. However it happened to be that Ayan was a bit snob and possessed immense pride in whatever he did. He was the eye candy of the teachers and apart from his group of fellow geeks people avoided him.  On the third semester I was stuck with a circuit theory problem and had asked AON – ah! By the way that’s how I used to call him” -  I saw Piuli’s eyes moistened and preferred to keep silent to let Piuli carry on. From here the story continues with Piuli’s version

“Hey Aon, we know that the topper takes pride in himself but that doesn’t mean that he keep distance from his classmates” – I was furious. I had asked him to help me with a circuit theory problem but he ignored it completely.
“Well no; that’s not the case with me, you are getting me wrong. Actually I had a call from the staffroom” – Aon defended himself.
“Hey buddies look at this Teacher’s boy of ours” – I pointed at him laughingly.
His rivals started to sneak into the opportunity of embarrassing him.
“Hey Piuli superb adjective man that why he gets good marks. Don’t you see that? Everyone knows that 40% of the marks are internal and that is where he scores”. They barked like dogs at Aon.
“Shut up you assholes – I didn’t mean that. He is damn good and that what fetches him marks. The only problem is that he is a snob and that what bothers me.” – The boys felt silent as the class never confronted me.
“Me – a snob. Well I think the other way miss beauty” – Aon was astonished.
“Oh ok, but whatever may it be I am social”.
“Sorry mam lets sit with the problem. I am at your service” – Aon was in a hurry to end the show.
“As you wish sir” – I winked at him.

Starting with the circuit theory problem, soon we began to share the problem of our lives. I still remember the day when he proposed to me. It was raining heavily and Kolkata was water logged. He walked all the way from college to my home nearly 5 kms through the water logged streets. He pressed the bell and prayed for me to open the door. I opened the door and was surprised to see him drenched and shivering.
“Hey – what makes you come here like this?” – I enquired
“Actually there are no busses running from college so I thought that I would better walk some distance and try my luck to board a bus from the bus stand at Sinthee” – Aon fumbled
“Mine mine that’s what has brought the man here. How lucky am I. Come in. It’s not good keeping guests waiting outside.” – I smiled.
“Thank god that you are here. I was getting bored staying alone” – I sighed relief of not being alone at least for a couple of hours.
My parents went to their native place to attend a marriage ceremony and I was alone at home. I handed him my dad’s Punjabi and Pajama and ironed his wet clothes.
“Piuli”
“Yes”
“I wanted to say something”
“Now I see, you won’t even talk your mother without a reason how come you be at my place, drenched, just for the sake of meeting me”
“That’s not the case”
“Is it so? Then don’t say anything”
“But Piuli” – he was desperate. Aon had set the perfect stage of proposing a girl just like he answered to the questions during exams. He couldn’t let it go.
“Come on Ayan (He was still Ayan to me), say it”
“I have a crush on you” – Ah!! he was so relieved.
“What!!”
He was the sixth one in class to propose me and feared rejection like the other five. In addition to that, he feared of losing her as a friend. But he couldn’t stop his feelings and right now I found that he felt that the ground beneath him was shaking.
“Piuli”
“Only a crush on me” – I enquired raising her eyebrows. I was maintaining calm reaction.
“Actually I am in love with you. Will you be my girl?” – Aon murmured.
“I can certainly give a thought to it” – I smiled
“Now go home and rest.”
He could hardly sleep that night waiting for my answer. The next morning he called me – “Piuli what’s your answer”
“I am in hurry for the college. See you there”. I banged the phone.
He reached college and the classroom to find out that he was late for the first class. The teacher let him enter the class and he squeezed myself to his desk. I thought of having a glance at him but restrained myself. As soon as the class was over I walked up to his desk.
“Hey Stud can you please walk up to the library.”
He was too afraid to ask me the reason. The other students in the class gazed at us as he silently followed me to the library. I almost dragged him to an isolated corner and smiled – “Guess what?”
“Sixth rejection?” – All he could think of at that moment.
“Dumbo – first acceptance”
He could neither believe my luck nor my words. He thanked me and rushed towards the classroom. Soon our relationship was evident to everyone and even the teachers knew about it. However, he did not have enough courage to disclose the relationship at home. I was bold enough in everything I did. I loved him boldly and even was not afraid to disclose it to my parents.

For two years we shared food, lips and all other things that come after that. Tata Indicom offered free calls from Tata to Tata and hence we changed our service providers from Hutch (now Vodafone) to Tata as a cost cutting measure. Being a student and wanting to lead a luxurious life are just the opposite sides of a coin. His funds were cut short as soon as a well-wisher informed his parents about me. I tried to be considerate on his part and always paid for the food bill or taxi fare whenever we went for a date.

With a campus interview in your bag and being a blue eyed boy of the teachers, you can be rest assured of spending the final year in leisure. His manly pride was hurt every time I paid our bills. So he decided to join a BPO or a call centre to be precise. He was successful once again and joined Globsyn as a trainee. Spending the night in office and afternoons in college are not very soothing. He often dozed off in the bus and was a subject of regular complains but he had money at the end of the month and household quarrels as the desert after every dinner.

Life is not easy when you have to choose between staying with your mother and girlfriend. His mom left me with no other option when she developed an ischemic heart disease. He was forced to breakup with me. People who are in love with their classmates know how difficult are the breakup days when you still have to continue a year sitting in the same class. I developed a chronic breathing problem after our breakup. I cried every time he disconnected her call. I was smart enough to make sure that my parents never knew I was crying and so I used to cover my face with pillows and gasp for breath. He came to know this from her friends, a month after we parted.

As a result of this shock, I failed to crack the campus opportunities and ended the semester in sheer disappointment. I never complained him of being too fast during our love making sessions but always said the same thing after we were done.
“Aon, there are more important things in life than having a great career” and then I would break down in tears. He knew exactly what needed to be done and did so by holding my cheeks and placing his lips on mine.

It was at the beginning of 8^th semester when Aon called me suddenly. I fell from the sky on seeing his number visible on my screen.

“Piuli” – I could make out his tears from his voice.

“Aon what is it. I think we were done with each other.” – I was angry not because he had misbehaved with me and dumped me on one fine day but because he ran off like a coward.

“I want to talk to you. Please and please”. He disconnected the phone and I stepped out of home in disgust.

You lose your mind when anger creeps on you and that was exactly what happened to me on that day. On reaching college, I walked up to his desk and slapped him hard in front of the whole class who looked awestruck. I then dragged him by his collar and took him to the terrace – the most isolated part of the EE Building.

“Come on speak out you swine” – I was red with rage but Aon was calm. I didn’t notice that Aon had not shaved for a month or two and looked pale. The only feature of him that still was noticeable was his bright eyes. Aon was still not speaking and this heated me up even more.

Slap, slap, slap –I slapped him until my hands ached. He did not protest neither he resisted from getting slapped. His cheeks had my finger prints and his eyes were moistened. Aon looked so so miserable.

“yes this is what you deserve”

“Piuli” – Aon spoke. “I want to be with you”

Slap.

“Do you think that I am a prostitute – whenever you feel like you would come to me and then when you are done you will dump me”

Aon fell on his knees – “Piuli, yes i know what I have done to you was something one should never do with his enemies, but Piuli now I have made things good – for you for me and for us. It just took me a little long Piuli and yes I could have kept you informed. I am sorry Piuli” – Aon broke off in tears.

I held him and made him sit on the stairs. Aon started to speak out and what I got from him that he first ensured that his mother’s disease was not chronic. He tried to make his parents understand that there is nothing wrong in loving someone and that they were deprived their rights of him being their son. He slogged night and day in making them belief that I was a part of him and eventually would become a part of their family. He could have just walked of the house but he preferred to stay with them and after we marry he could still continue to dwell in the same house. He would still be the same Aon as they have seen him for 22 years. It was not easy – Aon had sacrificed his food, his sleep, his well-being in this tedious task to contemplate his parents that I was equally important to him as were they. Only thing he did wrong was that he helped me developed a breathing problem.

Aon was crying like a kid and I too. We had no words to console each other. Suddenly it started to rain and we walked off from the terrace. It was hard to go back to the class and so we decided to leave for home.

The next sun was different. Aon and I had patched up and Aon took immense care of me. From my studies to food and medicines Aon was becoming like a life support. I was also reciprocating his love and affection and we were going through the happiest and best moments of our life. Happiest because we were again crazily in love and best because I had a job from NTPC and our parents were friendly with each other.

Aon and I joined our respective offices but he was in Kolkata and I had to move to a suburb which was 40KM from Kolkata. Among all his priorities he made it a point to visit me one every weekend. We were happy, we were settled and started to chalk out our marriage plans.

It was my 23^rd birthday on 23^rd July and I knew Aon would be there to surprise me at the midnight like he did for the last few years. I slept waiting for the bell to ring at the midnight. I woke up to a phone call at 5 in the morning and realised Aon had not come.

“Hello”

“Its Kolaghat police station. Am I talking to Miss Piuli” – A harsh voice spoke

“Yeah” – I trembled

“Do you know someone called Ayan Chatterjee”

I broke into tears.

Piuli broke into tears again and then somehow regained her composure.

“Sorry Subho, but I cannot tell you how hard it is to  identify the corpse of your fiancé”  - pain oozed out from her voice.

“Yeah I understand”

“I did not had the strength or courage to call our homes. The police did it for me. A drunken truck driver had lost control and hit Aon’s car. Aon lost control and banged on the fencing of the bridge on the Ganga near Kolaghat. His body had all but blood. My Aon was no more.”

There was a moment of silence in the room. I fetched a glass of water and handed over to Piuli. She drank half of it and placed the glass silently on the table.

“I had no reasons to live but suicide would be a crime. Also both our parents would be shattered with any bad decision I took. But I couldn’t live in the city. Aon was all over it. His smiles, his words, his camera all spoke of Kolkata and Kolkata so much that when my parents took me home from the morgue I felt that my bell would ring and Aon would come and say that it was a bad dream. Alas, Aon was dead. Every moment I spent was with his memoirs and tears. Then after his memorial, I decide to join the orphanage. Kalimpong was Aon’s favourite place. Every year he would come here and go back with wonder pictures and lots of junk jewellery. When I asked him what found here amidst the mountain he would say –“Solace” and then would catch hold of me to put his latest bought necklace around my neck .”

‘Dong’ – The bell rang. It was time for evening prayers. Piuli got up and slowly walk towards the corridor.

I came back to Kolkata and every time I read my CSR report – I remembered Aon and Piuli. And of course was Piuli said to me about God.

Happy Ending

All characters in the story is fictitious and resemblance to anyone is purely co-incidental
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Aakash is a sofo (software engineer). He works day in and out trying to gain fame, ratings and a high customer satisfaction index. His personal life is subdued by the professional life he leads. Eventually Aakash ends each day with utter satisfaction and each weekend spend at home with sheer disappointment.
Akash has a friend. A good friend when you categorize friendship. He met her back in October 2010 at the training center of his company and since then for the last 3 years by good or evil luck they shared each of their "working day". There are rumors all around (in the so called group of his fellow trainees and as well as in a later part in his team) that they make a good couple. 
Simi is candid, stylish and suitable for all the adjectives that a girl can get from men. Folks at the workplace are scared of her mood, jealous of her personality and admirer of her beauty. Aakash is scared of her too and that's what made him hide his feelings for three long years. 
God is kind and helpful. He create situations were unspoken words are conveyed easily and finally silence ease the situation.
It so happened that Simi spent a week at office in the training rooms. She was at a training and to her surprise she had to pair up with her crush for the five days of training to be done. Simi was in cloud 9. She chatted and chatted and started calling the week as the magic 5. To her amazement, on her chat window popped up a rose on the last day of her training. It was her man and all she could do was to say a mere thanks in reply.
Aakash was having yet another bad weekend sitting idle at home. Suddenly he saw the green light beside Simi's name was blinking. Ahh!! he had a sigh of relief. He was always in a comfort zone talking to Simi over the chat browsers. It started with the magical week that Simi had. She was going on and on and Aakash started being restless. Finally he could not resist to say - 'well Simi; I wished I had a girlfriend like you'. Simi thought it to be the usual prank of him and replied - 'you would go crazy dude' . 'I am Simi' typed Aakash in a flash. A silence on the other side said it all. Simi was offline in an hour but the hour she spent online was without typing a single word in Aakash's window. Aakash predicted his fate for Monday and decided to spent the Sunday evening in a nearby pub.
Monday evening, Aakash's phone rang amidst his meeting. Phew!!! he ran to the balcony cursing his fate, and his words. There was Simi, red with rage. Aakash was running short of words. 'Actually... sorry' was the only two words he could mumble.'Sorry, what for, you know that you are an idiot' - sais Simi, 'Yes' - noded Aakash. His persipiration rate was increasing. His heart was beating faster. 'Why the hell didnt you tell me before, I had the same wish too u stupid.. an intelligent, soft spoken, hard working and caring boy by my side'. 'What!!' Aakash did not realize that he shouted. 
Tuesday was special to both of them. Aakash and Simi were seen together in every break that they had. The team mates smiled, cracked jokes but were awesomely happy for them.
God smiled too. Only he knew that he had the last words to say. 'Bless you my child' - the heaven smiled on them.

Lottery

This story is set at the mid nineties when Kolkata was still called Calcutta and Sealdah had some Bengalis running a couple of hotels and restaurants.

Provat, a hawker of gunny bags at Sealdah always bought lottery tickets in the hope that someday he might crack the jackpot. He was in his mid forties but the burden of feeding and well being of his family made him look much older than his actual age. His unshaved white beard, the un cleaned clothes, the increasing forehead were all signs of his miseries and his struggle for living.

He lived in a small room where a person could barely stretch himself. Had it not been Tenida, a local goon, he would have had to sleep on the footpath. His association with Tenida managed to get him a place where he could hide from the rain and the moon. His food was always from a nearby mess, which was cheap but equally unhygienic. Provat had no complains, except when his nephews weren’t getting good marks in their school. Though I never saw him getting drunked – Provat drank almost every day. Someday at the Country Liquor bar else it was Tenida’s room where he got a peg or two of Bagpiper in return of cleaning the mess after the party.

Provat had an elder brother – who was a lunatic, but before he headed off to the asylum, he married and had two children. Critics say that the children were fathered by Provat and so he cared them so much. Provat never criticised his critics as more important to him was the well being of his family which now had only his sister in law and his nephews. So Provat continued to toil hard and buy the “Bangashree Super” every week hoping for a miracle. Time flew, there were new hawkers and Provats lack of vision to diversify his business did not do him any good. Eventually by 2010 Provat had to wrap up his business.

By then I had left for South Africa and did not come back until recent when my cousin Babai decided to get married. All our cousins flew in to Kolkata for the marriage and we were celebrating the marriage to the lees. On the reception day Babai told us that we would get to meet old associations. He was creating suspense among all of us. It was noon and we gathered for the lunch. Suddenly Babai called us all and asked us to reel over the veranda. We saw an old man coming with specs in his eyes.

We did not recognize him until he came all the way to the hall and then to the dining space. It was Provat – the man who we lost since he packed off his shop in sealdah. I don’t know how Babai managed to get his contact but somehow he did and he managed to drag Provat to his reception too.

We all flocked him to listen about his whereabouts since the last few years.  His nephews graduated and they did it with flying colors. Soon after, they managed to bag a job in the Middle East. Now they have set up a small grocery shop for Provat in their village and send the home expenses every month. Recently, they have even employed a man to look after the shop so that Provat can spend his life relaxed at home watching television or listening to some music on the radio.

Wow – we were awestruck, the man standing in front of us was the same Provat who struggled day and night for the well being of his family. Now he lived a calm and peaceful life in his village relaxing to the soothing breeze. Provat has indeed cracked the jackpot. He had not one but a pair of bangashree super up his sleeves which paid off at the right time.