ANIDITA: A TALE OF ETERNAL LOVE

CHAPTER 9

Anirudh got up, his eyes still gazing at the door constantly. He smiled as he recalled Bondita's face when he said those words just a while ago. She is so cute, she gets so nervous whenever I am near her, he thought. As he stretched lazily, his eyes closed in a reflex. Instantly, images of Bondita started flashing in his mind. He opened his eyes in a shock. He couldn't believe what just happened. To check whether it happens again or not, he closed his eyes again. This time too, images of Bondita began to float in his mind. He felt his heart beat increasing. He placed a palm on his chest to feel the vibrations of his excited heart. He realised that whenever he thought of Bondita, his heart starts beating faster, as if trying to indicate something to his mind, which was still not able to understand what the heart wanted to convey. He tried ignore all these feelings and went towards the washroom to get ready.

Bondita, on the other hand, went towards the table and hid under it. She was red with embarassment. She could not imagine what she had done just now. She felt like disappearing so that she never has to face him again. What if Anirudh gets angry at her for what she did? He did say those sweet words but he wasn't completely awake then and might have said those words subconsciously. She became even more nervous and anxious. But Bondita now tried to calm herself down and tried to divert her mind by reminding herself that she will be getting her first case today and she has to prepare for that. This time she smiled at this thought confidently and said to herself, " You can do this Bondita. This was the day you had been waiting for since the past eight years". Saying this, she crawled from under the table and stood on her feet, rearranging her hair and with a head held high, she went to greet the elders of the house to seek their blessings and well wishes.

Anirudh comes out, all dressed up in a yellow shirt and black trousers. He put on his spectacles and was combing his hair when Bondita came in , wearing her barrister robe. Pride filled Anirudh's eyes when he saw Bondita like that. He was awestruck. She wanted to ask him whether she had wore the robe pproperly or not and that how was she looking wearing it. Anirudh looked at her with tears in his eyes, all his sacrifices and her hardwork had finally beared the fruit. He approached Bondita while she blinked multipe times seeing him coming near her. He hugged her tightly and " Shabaash Bondita! I am proud of you" , escaped from his lips. She also couldn't stop herself and hugged him tightly in return. They hugged each other for quiet a long while. Neither of them had any idea of how long did they spend in each other's arms. They were too lost to even think of the time.

Anirudh let go of her when he heard the telephone ringing. He ran to pick up the call. It was the client's call. Anirudh had earlier asked her to call him when she is about to leave her house to reach Deenpur court as her house was 30 minutes away from the court. Anirudh came back to his room, where Bondita was standing. She looked at him expectantly. " Let us leave for the court now Bondita. The client has left for for the court", he said with a wide smile.

As they stepped out of the room, Kalindi came running from the kitchen, standing in front of them, obstructing their path. She had a bowl of curd and sugar. Bondita looked at her as she understood what was about to come. " Today is the first time you will be visiting the court. Dahi-cheeni is a must. ", saying this she extended her hand to feed Bondita a spoon of Dahi-cheeni. She ate it happily and bent down again to touch her feet. " Vijayi Bhava", she blessed her, as she was about to fight a new battle after winning one. Bondita and Anirudh looked at each other, their faces beaming with happiness.

As they were leaving the house, Bondita remembered something and ran inside. Anirudh got confused and followed her. He saw her entering the Durga temple. She climbed the stairs and folded her hands in prayer. She then closed her eyes and murmured something. Anirudh, too climbed the stairs of the temple and joined his hands in prayer. He did not close eyes, instead he kept on admiring Bondita. He felt butterflies in his stomach and he blushed. He then looked towards the idol and prayed. Bondita lit the earthen lamps. One of the lamps was about to extinguish. Bondita and Anirudh both covered the flame with their palms, His hands over hers. Their eyes again locked with each other. After a few seconds, they left the temple and proceeded towards Anirudh's motorcar.

As they drove to the court in Anirudh's motorcar, Bondita asked, " Sakha Babu, what is the case all about"? Anirudh shrugged his shoulders and said, " I don't know anything about this case Bondita. Today is the first appointment with the client". They soon reached the court. As Bondita stepped out of the car, she noticed that the court was filled with men with no sign of presence of women. All of them stared at her as if they had just seen an alien landing from another planet. Some men stood at a corner and were whispering something amongst themselves. One of them asked Anirudh, " Who is she and what is she doing here? Why is she wearing a Barrister robe"? Anirudh finally got an opportunity to intriduce everyone to Bondita. " She is Bondita Das, the first female barrister of Tulsipur", he announced. The court premises filled with their collective laughter. They were laughing as if they were listening to a comedian who just cracked a joke, which was too funny to handle. " A female Barrister? Are you nuts , Barrister Anirudh? Barristry is a job for men. A woman is incapable of such a job", said one of the Barristers. Bondita had come prepared for such a situation as her Sakha Babu had already told her what she may face the moment she enters the court.

Before Anirudh could say anything, Bondita said," In which book is it written that a woman can not become a Barrister? Is there any such law which restricts women from pursuing law? A Barrister is a Barrister irrespective of gender. All it takes is to gain knowledge of Law, which I already have. You better mend your ways. Times have changed, as today you are seeing only a single woman standing in front of you in the court, wearing a barrister robe. Some years later you will be witnessing a thousands of such women standing here. I am here to change the age old traditions and will do that for sure." Was there anyone who could argue with her? Everyone fell silent on listening to her tark. Anirudh clapped listening to Bondita's tark and said," Bravo Bondita! Well Done!"

They then walked up the stairs leading towards the court. Bondita looked at the huge premises in amazement. A man in his mid fifties, wearing a sikh turban walked towards them with his hands joined in a namaste. He looked at Anirudh expectantly. " Namaste, Mr. Saluja. Bondita, this is the client I was talking about." Bondita greeted him with a namaste. " Let us go to our room. We will discuss the case there", Anirudh said and lead them towards his office.

After all the three got themselves seated in Anirudh's office, Anirudh said, " Mr. Saluja , I wanted to tell you that I will not be fighting your case in the court. Your barrister is Barrister Bondita Das. Don't worry. She is my student and I assure you she will win the case." Saluja nodded in agreement. " Hi, Mr. Saluja! As Barrister Anirudh Roy Chowdhury said that I am your Barrister, kindly tell us about the case."

" My full name is Chiranjeet Saluja. I am here to seek justice for the murder of my niece, Lajvanti Saluja", he said.