Anirudh- The Story Of A Misread Barrister

Chapter 41- Anidita's Cruise

"Wow!", exclaimed Bondita as we got into the first class lounge of the Royal Cruise. "This is nothing less than a palace, sakha babu.", she went on to express her amazement by turning her head in all three hundred and sixty degrees to take a picture of the entire hall. The 'Royal Cruise' was mostly occupied by the Britons barring a few elite Indians as it was the costliest of all the ships. Yet, I was determined to take Bondita in that, as I wanted her first voyage experience to be the best. As expected she was impressed with the ship in the first glance itself.

After bidding goodbye to Madras and our people there, it was in the ship that Bondita smiled again. Otherwise, she was almost on the verge of crying as she missed her mother who was sent to Krishnanagar a couple of days before our departure, her Subbu dada and family. It would be a lie if I say that I didn't miss them too. Madras gave us so many fond memories to cherish and so much of love to not forget. As we left the shores of Madras, I sighed in relief, as I was getting even closer to my goal of making Bondita a barrister.

"What happened sakha babu, don't you like what are you seeing?", asked Bondita, bringing me out of my trance.

"I absolutely love it.", I replied.

By then, I have made up my mind to cherish those last thirty days of journey with her. Instead of hurting her each and every moment with my cold behaviour, I thought it was better to stay normal and let the time pass, until I break our bond once for all. Moreover, since I was the sole acquaintance she had on the ship, her journey would be a hell if I distance myself from her. So, forgetting about our past and future, I began to live in the present, treasuring every moment of our journey. After all, I have to spend the rest of my life with those few moments of happiness.

The first half of the first day we spent roaming around the entire ship and admiring the people who made it. However, Bondita felt uneasy and nauseous as it was her first cruise. In order to ease her, I made her walk the entire ship after getting her a glass of lemonade. Subsequently we got very exhausted and settled ourselves in our room following the lunch. The exhaustion was not just physical but emotional one too. We didn't show it on our faces but felt the void caused by leaving our people, our motherland. Especially, it was not at all easy for Bondita. She was about to enter into a new world and I can very well guess her insecurities. Yet, for my sake and only my sake, she acted brave.

She didn't want me to get defeated in my mission or let my morale down; and hence showed her brave side to me while keeping all her fears and worries to herself. Even my parents never supported me to this extent.

I looked at her sleeping figure. She leaned her head against the window and fell asleep while taking the view of the ocean. A wave of emotion rose within me and I burst into crying. What all she had to suffer in such a young age?

From losing her father to digesting her widowed mother's suffering, bearing the injustice of her uncle's family, becoming a child bride, escaping the clutches of death, fulfilling the duties of a wife, seeing people play with her innocence, being cheated by her dear ones to holding the hand of a person with whom she technically had no relation except a mental connection and crossing the country borders, Bondita suffered so much. In addition to these, she had to suffer my impulsiveness, stubbornness and anger too.

All her beloved people cheated her mostly. Yet, she trusted me without even doubting for a second. She trusted me more than her mother too.

"But what will I do after a month? Break her trust and join the group of her criminals. Durga ma, why did you put me in such a fix? Why are you giving all this pain to this innocent pure soul? When will you prove your existence? Please give her all the happiness in the world and transfer all her pain to me.", I cried.