Anidita: A sweet journey towards a new dawn

Chapter 56: Bondita's first day at her new school

Bondita is very happy today. It's her first day in her new school. She got down the car and entered inside. The ground is soooo big. There are no nasty boys to disturb her. Now she'll play girly games with girls in this ground. What does city girls play? She wondered. Anirudh hold her hand. Bondita looked up and smiled. Then she again started looking enthusiastically at the surrounding. Anirudh smiled seeing her happiness.
A sister received Bondita at the gate. Bondita looked back and waved her hand. Anirudh waved back.
Bondita was introduced to the class. She noticed sime girls whispering in each others ears abd giggling. Well she knows very well the reason and kakima has teached her how to tackle it.
Bondita's went and sat on the third  bench where a girl made her place with a wide welcoming smile on her face. It's mid year but syllabus is more or less the same so Bondita didn't find it difficult to understand.

It's tiffin time. Some girls enthusiastically came to Bondita's place to have a chat with her.
"Tum pehle larko ke school main padhte the?" Asked her benchmate
"Haa.... "
"Koi bhi larki nehi thi waha.?"
"Nehi... kisiko apni beti to school main padhana hi nehi tha..."
"You are married ? Right?" Asked another girl
"Yes..."
"If your father wanted you to be educated to itni jaldi shadi keu karwa di?!"
"Mere baba bohat acche the... he gave me the bravery I now possess but.... woh bohat garib the.... mujhe padhane ka samta nehi thi unka.. akdin ek saap ne kata aur..." Bondita took a deep breathe...
"Auur??? What happened?" Another girl asked with interest
"He died.... "
Bondita halted. All became quite.
"To fer? Who taught you?"
"Mere patibabu... unhone hi mujhe padhna likhna sikhaya... school main dakhila karwaya.... sabse larke unhone mujhe padhaya.. aur pata hain mera number hamesa un larko se jada ata tha...." Bondita spoke the last words with much pride..
"Wow! Patibabu means? Your husband?"
"Haaa... bohat acche hain woh... "
Some girls went into a dreamland
"Wah.... your husband seems to be a dreamy prince..."
"No... he isn't a dreamy prince... he's a barrister.."
The girls shrank and looked at her in a hopeless way...
"Accha how does he look?"
"Woh to...." Bondita thought a bit... "woh bohat peyare hain... mujhe unke urte hue baal bare pasand hain..."
"He's handsome right?" The girl gave a naughty look
"Ha... woh to hain.."

The naughty girl gang understood that Bondita might be married but her innocence is still intact. It's better the leave her with Anamika's group and occasionally pin her as they pin them.
The naughty girls left.

"Woh log bare sararti hain... jada dheyan na do unhe..." suggested Anamika
"Too... patibabu kehte hain main bhi sararti hu... daate hain mujhe... aur kabhi kabhi haste bhi hain...."
"R a yaar.... choro... tum bare innocent ho... tumhari umar 13 ki aur dimag 10 ki hain..."
"13 nehi 12... 2 mahine baad 13 hongi... patibabu ne kaha hain mere birthday per woh pink waka teddy mujhe kharid denge..."
All of her groupmates looked at her.... stunned..
"Meri ma to kehti thi shadi ek saja hain... per yaha to dekh rahi hu shadi maza hain... kuch samach nehi ay raha.." one girl whispered in the ear of another.

Bondita by virtue of her innocent behavior befriended with Anamika's group. The went to the ground and Bondita after perhaps a year played "lankri tang". She just wondered kaka is right. Patibabu is really a "nakayak". Why didn't he put her here before?!

After the school is over kakima came to take her home.
"To kaisa raha pehla din?"
"Bohaaatttt accha tha kakima... maine bohat sare dost banaye..."

Anirudh came back home. Bondita ran to him and started telling him stories of school and kept asking him why he didn't put her there before. Anirudh found imprints of kaka's dialogues in her accusations.

Anirudh immersed in his works. He sat on Banerjee's chamber with him and started preparing for the next day hearing. There Bondita kept chanting her stories sitting beside him. Banerjee looked at her chattering lips then looked at Anirudh who's doing his work as if Bondita isn't chattering at all. Bondita halted.
"Aap sun bhi rahe ho?????"
"Tumhari batain sununga to kaam khatam nehi hoga.." Anirudh replied casually with his eyes stuck at the papers.
Bondita's eyes went teary.
Banerjee looked at him "aise mat bolo Anirudh..."
Anirudh's attention broke.. "ji?" He looked at Bondita's teary eyes. "R a Bondita.... main to aise hi..."
"Aap bohat bure ho.... katti hain apse..." Bondita ran away crying..
"R a Bondita suno to..... tumhari kahani main raat main sununga......"
"Laparwai ki waje se case harne ke baad ghar ake arguement karne ka koi utility hain keya?" Mocked Banerjee
"Ji?"
"Pehle hi dil tod diya bechari ka... aab damage control karke keya faida... lo.. papers ready karo... raat ko ek chocolate deke mana lena... har hafte to kitne sare candy stock karke rakhte ho use manane ke liye... main kehta hu kuch variations bhi rakhna candy main... ek candy se bar bar dil nehi pighlega... bacchi hain bewkoof nehi..." Banerjee smiled.

Bondita ran to the telephone and called kaka. She started complaining about Anirudh and telling her school stories. She really found a partner in gossip who agreed that Anirudh is a "nakayak". Now a perfect chat partner is afterall that person with whom your own views match.

In Anamika's place.
All were sat for dinner.
"Pata hain baba humare school main ek neyi larki ayi hain... woh shadisuda hain..."
"Keya? Baal badhu.... aur woh bhi convent school main padhne diya use?!"
"Ha baba... woh kehti hain uske pati ne use padhna sikhaya.."
"R a wah! Aise inshan bhi hain duniya main?! Milne ka dil kar raha hain uske pati se...,"
"Woh bohat innocent hain... woh kehti hain ki uske patibabu ne promise kita hain ki use ek pink teddy kharid denge... woh Riya ne kitne sararti baat ki per use jaise sanach hi nehi aya..."
Her mother looked at her. "Sab ek jaise thodi hote hain.... kismat karke ayi hain... " .. she looked at Anamika's father. Her father didn't  dare look at her back. "Per mujhe dar hain ki dusre bacchi o ke abhibabak na apatti kare...."
"Keu ma? Apatti keu kare? Larkiyo ka padna to acchi baat hain na... sab bolte hain ki India main larkiya ka freedom nehi hain... to buri baat kaha hain?"
"Aj woh larki apni pati ki tarif kar rahi hain.. usse dusre larkiya soch hi sakti hain na ki shadi karna bohat maze ki baat hain... unke ma baba jo bol rahe hain jhut hain... bacche ho tumlog... dimag ghumne main samai lagta hain keya?"
"To ismain uska keya dosh? Uske pati acche hain tarif keu na kare?"
"Nehi samjho ge tum Anu..." her father interfered.. "prejudice namki ek chiz hain... sabka dil saaf nehi hota... woh shadishuda hain iskeliye uske sath nainsafi ho hi sakta hain...  kitne log aur open minded hain? Agar orthodox log close minded hain to eh engrez aur unke engrezi Indians to bhi to kam close minded nehi na.... koi bhi issue dhunenge uske khilaf.."
Things actually didn't fit into Anamika's little brain. She looked confused.
"Lo tum kha lo.... itna samach ne ki umar nehi tumhari..."