Anirudh- The Story Of A Misread Barrister

Chapter-11: Barrister Anirudh Roy Chowdhary

Everything that happened over the last few days has been incredible. Finally I have succeeded in dragging Mr. Banerjee to court. All the interrogations and cross examinations were already done and we reached the day of final hearing. If my motive was only to stop Kusum's wedding, then I wouldn't have to go through all this. I should have simply threatened Mr. Banerjee that I will cut down his wages as he is a farmer working on our lands. However, my aim is to lay the foundation stone for permanently ending one of the serious social evils called child marriage.

"Today I am fighting for Kusum. If the judgment comes in my favour, it will be a sensational decision pronounced by the court of Tulsipur so far, which will serve as an inspiration to many other reformers across the country. It will ultimately help in bringing a law against child marriage. So, winning this case is very important for me, may be more than my life.", I thought while taking my barrister coat and the necessary documents.

With full preparation, I was striding out of the house towards my car, to go to court.

"Pati babu, wait a minute", I heard her calling me.

I turned back and asked while being a little impatient, "What happened, Bondita?". She gestured with one of her hands asking me to come near her.

She was dressed in her school uniform and held a bowl in her hands. Confused over her call, I walked up to her and said, "Tell me Bondita, what's the matter. I am getting late so make it fast."

"Pati babu, first take a deep breath.", she ordered while holding my shivering palms.

It was true; I was so tensed that my hands were shivering. Though it was not the first case that I was dealing, my tension regarding this case knew no bounds as I was determined to win it at any cost. So far things have been in my favour, but still some fear had gripped my heart. I wanted to win this case badly for the sake of all those children who are being victimized by child marriage.

I don't know when Bondita took a note of my trembling hands but I got happy that she noticed. Thus I smiled and obeyed her instructions. Actually it was a trick that I taught her to calm herself down when she is in tension or stuck in a difficult situation. I feel that taking a deep breath when in tension would help in calming our nerves and enable our brains to work properly. I smiled internally as she was using my technique on me. She never forgets whatever I teach her. What else do I need to feel proud about her?

Once she made sure that I had calmed down, she asked me to open my mouth. I was about to question but she shushed me by keeping a finger on her lips and faking anger. I couldn't help but chuckle and opened my mouth. She stuffed a spoon full of curd and sugar into my mouth. "All the best, pati babu", she wished me while grinning, showing all her teeth.

It was then the whole thing made sense to me. Since they say that eating sweet before going to do any work will bring success in that work, she wanted to feed me sugar and curd so that I can win the case. I reciprocated her grin with a large smile and caressed her head saying, "Thank you Bondita. See you soon after school. Take care.". She nodded her head in yes and I took leave of her.

In the court, I heard everyone talking different things about this case. In fact, it must be the first case in India where a daughter spoke something in front of the judge and a huge crowd, against her own father. During the times when a woman's voice was not heard, when women were scared to step into police stations and climb the court stairs, Bondita and I had put in a lot of effort to bring Kusum and her mother to court. I heard people giving different names to Kusum like "a blemish on the family's honour", "the ill-reputed one", etc, and it boiled my blood. I fisted my hand trying to control the oozing anguish thinking about all that a woman has to go through, just for aspiring to live a life of her choice.