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Short Story – Dipan Adhikari

Tomorrow stands alone
A few persons in this world seem to take birth with an element of exalted fearlessness indeed necessary to make mountains walk and seas to divide amidst the hardest days of existence, braving the fierceness of sun at highnoon.
Ironically destiny for them spans a strange trajectory from undulation to alienation like the calm stars on a clear sky to carve a coin of smallest denomination of existence within the truest verisimilitude.
This is the no-moon night in the last week of October. In Bengali calendar it is the month called “Kartik”; the first of the two twin months of “Hemanta” i.e. the span of autumn
in Bengal. Gentle chilly winds are yet to start blowing; but as the shrill composure after sun set announces the star carnival of winter here in this outskirt town of Barrackpur of North 24 Pargans, WestBengal. Nivedita just after finishing her dinner has now-a-days developed the habit for a gentle stride in the garden for 5-7 minutes and then
sitting alone for a while on the bench below the mango tree beside the entrance of the garden. She has migrated into this old age home named “Bhola Giri Briddhavas” at Barrackpur leaving behind her plush, furnished, 1200sq.ft apartment near DumDum just 7 days ago; rather forced to. Her strangling mood shivers with the sudden cracking sounds of Diwali crackers, bursting in nearby localities, announcing the
never ending joyous moods of Bengalis for the upcoming “KartikPuja” in the coming weeks. Nivedita just observed her 50th birthday on the day 18th of last month.
Painstakingly, she looks pale and frail after fighting so many perils throughout, making her a silent struggler with markings of smudged streaks on her forehead.
Sitting alone in this dark night take she away to those fanciful days after marriage with Subhasish, the handsome, hearty and masculine guy who during the days of finishing his Ph.D., had tied the wedlock and started his new life with her in a small apartment near Garia, South 24 Parganas.
Days were fleeing in full speed with all the well-knit dreams for the want of a happy and prosperous life, which started developing gradually, as Subhasish was working so lemnly hard to finish his research work for a prosperous invitation for Post doctoral fellowship in Germany. Nivedita jolly well could recall those struggling hours, days, vis-à-visyears. None in both the sides of their families was willing them for a smooth sailing as both the parents from it her side vehe mently opposed their marriage. But daring Subhasish did not bow down to pressures and in a sudden bou to femotional cataclysm, jabbered and pushed Nivedita to leave her elder brothers, sisters and parents, who were living in joint-family of 32members, within a dead line of 24hours to get married. Nivedita had then just crossed 20 valuable springs having a non-articulate, simple and innocent composure and gullible gestures.
She could not decipher or have imagined the fatal and deadly encounters which her rothers would bring forth with revenge ful vendetta waiting for them in the coming days. Just after 2days of their marriage, when Subhasish was getting ready for his laboratory, after finishing the usual course of meal, heard the heavy pounding knocks on the door of his drawing room with high-pitched, uncouth, jibes by Nivedita’s elder brothers. With a sudden jiffy, Nivedita came out to see and found her brothers’ anguishing gestures to snare her from Subhasish like a ragamuffin. Few sudden bouts of hot deliveries between Nivedita and her brother could not spare Subhasish to stand aloof but to pounce on to their twaddle to stop both the parties. Arup, Nivedita’s younger brother started promulgating direct consequences for Subhasish asking him to desolate Nivedita immediately. In quisitive neighbours, around, started peeping into this sudden but frolicking episode of family encounter for utmost enjoyment.
Ultimately encountering rounds of boorish, denigrating attacks and insults from her brothers Nivedita finally raised her voice announcing her strong nodding for not to leave Subhasish by any cost of lure or fear. The two brothers after repeated attempts of threatening ultimately left their house leaving a strong message and decision of their father to abandon Nivedita from all their kith and kin, family wealth and bondage. Perplexed, Subhasish was at a loss of self for few minutes could not decide where and with whom to keep Nivedita during his day out. The locality during those days was not at all safe for a lonely, young lady staying alone in a house.
Nivedita could not attend her college because it was far away from her new address at Garia and in apprehension of far more grave and severe umpteen repercussions might all so happen from her brothers. All day she had to keep her self waiting for Subhasish’s return and sometimes would also feel severely nervous owing to her husband’s late arrival.
Subhasish planned to take Nivedita back to his ancient home at Rachi, with his father and mother in search of timely repose for her beloved better half and for apermanent shelter also. He took Nivedita to Ranchi within 7days after this incident with a good faith of keeping her safely away from all disturbances and agonies. He thought of coming back to Calcutta to finish off all his assignments as soon as possible. But both of them could not have imagined a far more harsh and disdainful surprise waiting for them in Rachi. After arrival to his home, Subhasish depicted all of the real story at its full length to her parents and asked their blessings but everything went into vein as his father, one of the eminent doctors in the town, had already made a plan for his son’s marriage with a girl of another affluent doctor pal of his same status in the very town, could not resist him self from slapping Subhasish right on his face, for this utter foolish misadventure in his youthful vigour.
The uncompromising parents of Subhasish could not resist themselves in giving all possible curses and thrashings to hold back Subhasish from commenting further with his conjugal juxtapositions. But it was impossible of Subhasish to desolate his love against all odds of family pressure and knelt down before his father’s snobbish whims. He tried to consolidate his parents with all possible explanations from the core of his heart but his earnest end eavours could not infuse any sense of compassion and his father rather aggravated the situations to the gravest of the grim. All Nivediata’s pleas and requests fell into the sea fears of her father-in-law which failed
to inculcate any levels of sensible endurance and acceptance in his utter uncompromising vanity off amily prideyieldinga never ending rigmarole.
Subhasish had to come back immediately to Calcutta to finish a pile of pre-assigned duties pending in his laboratory. He some how managed to console Nivedita in her bereavement out of the sudden perplexing situations and left for Calcuttain pretention of good faith that his parents would definitely come to his terms to accept Nivedita as their daughter-in-law. But almighty kept more surprising jiffies for them in days to come. Immediately after returning, Subhasish had to work tremendously hard to give his experiments some scientifically meaningful dimensions. He used to work in the laboratory during the wee hours to solve the problem of his research. The protocols used to bevery long and experiments were really demanding a lot of hard work, patience, perseverance, tenacity and above all whole hearted dedication.
Subhasish used to go back to Ranchi when ever he could manage leave to see Nivedita. Always in his back of mind he used to nurture a weird sense of helplessness for Nivedita and started cursing him self of being responsible for all.
Alas being undone!He failed to meet both ends meet by his own terms. Subhasish’s long absence made Nivedita’s life miserable in his in-law’s house. She could not cope up nicely with the stagge ring demands of her mother-in-law, who deliberately would be have step-motherly with erratic predispositions and confusing obfuscations. In front o f relatives from her in-laws side she would shower so much of artificial affection sand love that nobody could emancipate the actual drama
which was going on between her and in-law sand would rather propel Nivedita in the brink of abjectd ejection and jitters. When she used to be alone in that big mansion her in-law would start showering rounds of scold sand curses to her making her psychologically and emotionally perilous. These repeated bepisodes of emotional black mailing started taking a heavy toll on Nivedita’s health and with in few months she came to know that she had conceived. Abountiful moment of joy made her the happiest person on this earth but a gradually engulfing cloud off ear immediately tried to liquefy her senses. She could not resist her self to let Subhasish know this good news but her movements were restricted making her confined to her bedroom only. This particular episode made her father-in-law furious and attacking from all corners and immediately he dictated Nivedita to go ahead for an abortion. Tortures in the degrees of psychological punishments, reprim and sand rebukes gradually made Nivedita utterly helples sandfell prey to psychosomatic disillusionment.
Soon after they decided to come back to Calcutta and Subhasish took the rent of a new flat near DumDum to give his life a fresh start. Subhasish in the mean time has managed a regular teaching assignment as an ad-hoc basis to a far away college at Karagpur town at Midnapur District. He used to wake up early and after finishing the regular courses of daily life and used to set out for his job leaving Nivedita under supervision of a hired governess to look after her. But one day while taking bath at the washroom pregnant Nivedita could not tolerate an excruciating pain but fell on the ground. The door had to be broken from out side to evacuate Nivedita to a nearby Nursing home for immediate medical interventions. After 3-hour-long surgery the gynecologist failed to save the 7-month-old baby; the only treasure of struggle of Subhasish and Nivedita.
***
Remembering those days still fetches tears to Nivedita’s eyes. She gradually started to become the victim of paranoia and has to depend on the medications of a Psychiatrist to come out of this illusory blockage. Days were passing by but this queer but unbearable mental pressure and gradually declining health conditions of Nivedita started taking a heavy tollon the mental health of Subhasish. A desolate person with no one to share the pain, Subhasish also had started taking anti-anxiety medications, doses of sleeping pills without even consulting a physician keeping Nivedita in dark. But big blows came in bigger packages for Nivedita. While cleaning Subhasish’s table she discovered the strips of sleeping pills and this would flare her up. Just after coming back home while subhasis was about to take the evening cup of tea Nivedita banged on him asking for suitable explanati on of usage of these medicines. All on a sudden altercations, attack and counter attacks between both of them made the situation out of control and Nivedita started shouting accusing Subhasish and his whole family for this perilous and parlous condition of her. Subhasish also could not hold back his tongue throwing jibes for Nivedita’s brother and father. During this episode of high pitched quarrel between him and Nivediata, all on a sudden Subhasish fell with a sudden thud on the sofa holding his chest. A massive heart attack has setin to make Subhasish speechless, pale faced with an unbearable pain pounding the ribs with a hot hammer and gradually the whole body shook a little and to tal black out for Subhasish…….few speechless moments……..
Nivedita found that Shubasish was no more talking. Nivedita while still sitting on the bench could realize that time and again the destiny of some, who are the children of the Lesser Godi.e. the sufferers, appeared to be molded by their ill fateor some thing unnatural. Do such people then encap sulate in their person a the misgivings of other wrong doers or does destiny always mock those by throwing the mint he dark lanes of oblivion and sufferings?These thoughts started grappling her mind like undulating waves of another wise slow moving river. She failed to eke out for a suitable explanation for all the vicissitudes she met throughout her staggering life. She fails to wipe out all the struggles she made of this long 30-years-old married life where every time she has to perform a holier-than- thou imagein front of the society to tolerate everything and devote the life with Subhasish to serve favor to others.
Almost 30 minutes gone and Nivedita now started feeling sleepy as the first splash of cold wind started pinning her cheeks in this wee hour of night. She has to go to bed. Tomorrow they are all going for a day’s out to Shibpur Botanical Garden arranged by the authorities of this old-age home. She has to be ready sharp by 8a.m. She stands up and been ready to release her from this ocean of remembrances of past year sand needs a sound sleep to refresh her for tomorrow. Next morning almost all the 30 inhabitants of this home have been setting out for the trip with full bag so free freshments. They arrived at the Botanical Gardens har pat 11.30a.m. The authorities of the Botanical Garden were informed well a head about their arrival so that they get the munificence of a professional botanist to make them aware and familiar with the different floral assemblages scattered through out the magnificent garden. They enthusiastic fellows have already started their saunter along the pavements of this garden. They could find out and touch the innumerable varieties offloral blooms hanging from canopies and ladenover the ground. Nivedita is over whelmed though felt little tired because of along spell of non-practiced legs for long walks. She was non-ambulatory for more than one year of consequential numbnessin both of her legs. But enthusiastically she tooh as started following her team members. She discovers the big lakes full of waterlilies, and other blooming water hyacinths with buzzing butterflies and bumble bees busy to steal then ectar.
She was bemused to see the lakes were full of giant waterlily Victoria amazonica having the strength to bear a full grown baby on the leaves. The assemblage of so much green with the clear blue firmament withnot-so-blazing sunrays with mildly blowing of northern winds skewed her skimpy hair sun manageable. The bumbling cooing of birds thus escalates her mood to such anextent of joyfulness that she finds herself an alien visitor in this magnificent world of greenery in the very heartland of Calcutta rendering an everlasting extra vagant exuberance to her peeping eyes. She is now taken aback by the brilliant exhibition for orchids at the orchid house. In the next few minutes she suffers from sudden bouts of spell binding glancing at the “Queen of flowers” (Amhersianobilis) and The Mountain Rose (Brownea coccinea)near the Roy stonia Avenue exhibiting the mind-boggling displays. She along with her buddies after coming to an open field where the botanists took them near to a particular exotic tree called “Panthopadap” or “Traveller’s Tree” (Ravenalamadagascariensis) which stores water in its juicy stem to quench the thirst of tired travelers in the oasis of Sahara Desert. She clans the plant with the phantas magorical shadows of Subhasish, who be nevolently used to help all, devoid of the least tincture of selfishness.
After a while finishing the visit to the medicinal plant garden Nivedita and her buddies came infront of the star attraction of the garden “The Great Banyan Tree” (Ficus benalen sis). Seeing the gargantuan height with over crowding canopy with great many numbers of stil troot sholding back the monumental green do meshe could not resist herself in asking the accompanying botanist “How old is this tree?”.
With a gentle smile the botanist replied “more than 250 years” which off eredan eyeful of surprises for all. The botanist also informs them that the main trunk of this tree is being destroyed but the tree is still surviving with immense momentum of vitality and vigor refurbishing the levels of a we and astonishment of every traveler here. Nivedita peepedat the peri phery of the can opy of the tree which jolly well could encapsulate a big football ground within. She starts reading about the tree writtening English and she could find out that the tree is 250 years old and perhaps the largest in India as well as in Asia. There is no clear history of planting of this tree and during great cyclones in 1864 and 1867 the trunk was greatly damaged exposing it to the fungal attack. With large number of aerial roots which run from the branches and vertically run toward the ground look like as many trunks. The Great tree looks like a forest than an individual tree. The circumference of the occupied canopy is about 15665sq. meters.
Nivedita could sense that she is being dragged into the whirlpool of emotional bouts depicting the all uringe normity of the tree, with its ever spreading branches, just making a big mock of the devastatingly arrogant urban civilization, ready to go bbleup all the toxic fumes of urban misdemeanors within itself. She re-affirmed her self with an altruistic oath to fight back all recrudes centodds like this great tree which has sincerely tolerated so many ravages of time standing solemnly alone on this field thus over whelming the eternal zest of life. Niveditai snow ready to embrace life alone with all the omni present opale scent memories of Subhasish, present with in there splendent majesty ……
Bibliography:
Barrackpur: is the head quarters of the Barrackpore sub division in the North 24 Parganas district, and is situated in North Kolkata. Barrackpore is a part of the area covered by the Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority in the Indian state of WestBengal. Historically, the town was a military and administrative centre under British rule, and was the scene of several acts of rebellion against Britain during the 19th century.
Hemanta: The two months span of autumn in Bengal. The first of the two month is named after Hindu God “Kartik”.
Kartik: He is the Warrior God in Hindu Mythology, worshipped as Hindu deityin Hinduism for fighting against the demons to drive the mout of heaven.
Ranchi: is the capital of the Indian state of Jharkhand, and its third most populous city. Ranchi was the centre of the Jharkhand movement, which called for a separate state for the tribal regions of South Bihar, northern Orissa, western West Bengal & the eastern area of what is present-day Chhattisgarh.
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