Snowy

I


“Stand still on the pavement, let me pay the fare. Don’t go any where.” His mother said.

Rick was standing there but his eyes were roaming all around him. Suddenly it falls in him. A tiny puppy, black and white. He was also watching him, wagging his tail happily.

He went to him and looked at his mother. She was busy paying the driver. He patted the puppy and fished out a biscuit from his bag. He instantly ate it up and started to lick his boots. Rick looked for another biscuit but there were none.

By then his mother has finished, “Don’t play with street dogs baba, they have germs.” She said. “They sleep on the dirty roads or other places; there is no one to clean them up so they become infested with all type of germs.”

“Don’t forget to wash your hand properly after reaching home.” Tanisha was not very fussy but careful.

“Okay ma.” Rick said, he turned his head, the puppy was following him. He looked back once more after reaching the gate of the Housing. The small puppy looked sadly at him when he realized that he can’t follow him and sat down outside the gate.

“Ma, he is hungry.” Rick looked at his mother pleadingly.

“Okay, take some rice and milk outside the housing complex and feed him.” She said.

It became a daily routine thereafter. The tiny puppy following him to and fro auto rickshaw stop. Waiting patiently for little food outside the gate.


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II

“Tanu, I have been transferred to our Murshidabad office.” Ritwik said. “We will have to shift there within next July.”

“Don’t worry about packing I will contact packers. All you will have to do is supervise.”

“We will get a small bungalow of our own, with a small garden outside it. It will be a great relief after spending so much time in these stuffed match boxes.”

Rik was listening intently to the discussion his parents were having. “Ma, will I have to leave Snowy here?”

“Sorry baba but yes. We can’t take him there with us.” She said.

He went away after eating his dinner. A few minutes later Tanisha saw that he was silently standing in the balcony. She softly went there and saw Snowy standing near the Housing Gate. Wagging his tale at him.

She retreated to the kitchen, heavy hearted. She went to the balcony again, Rick was still standing there. “Go to bed babu. You will have to go to school tomorrow.”

Rick silently obeyed her. She tucked him in and went to watch the news with Ritwik.

When she came to check him before sleeping she saw that his cheeks were stained with tear.

“Can we buy a puppy for Rick?” she asked.

“Why? All of a sudden?” Ritwik did not know about snowy.

She told him Snowy’s story.

“Let’s take him with us. We will get him examined by vet.” Ritwik said. “We will be traveling in the truck along with the goods so we can always take Snowy with us. Cant we?”


She hugged him tightly and smiled.

Touch of love

I

 

“Wake up you lazy brat!” he felt the sting of the cane upon his body. He jumped out of the bed in horror.

 

“Wear the clothes and come with me. If this house also sends you back I will kill you with my bare hands.” Mr. Yadav growled. He was a dark, short, fat man with cruel eyes and strong hands. Hands he used to thrash the small and big boys of the state run orphanage.

 

He collected a large amount of money from different sources but it just vanished. He never kept boys with him for more than five years. After that he used to give them away to people of distant places, in lieu of money. They used to get a slave for few years and he a little bit of extra money.

 

Deepak has been given away a couple of times but he ran away from those homes whenever he was mistreated too much. Police has rescued him from the street a few times and have warned Mr. Yadav. This time Mr. Yadav has arranged a house hundreds of miles away.

 

They were coming to pick him up. A car stopped outside a few hours later.

 

A very serious looking man entered the office. “Mr. Yadav? I am Dr. Banerjee.”

 

“Is he the boy? He looks malnourished.”

 

“What’s your name?” he smiled at Deepak.

 

“Tell him your name beta. He is a very mischievous boy. You can call him a rogue.” Mr. Yadav said sweetly.

 

“That’s ok. I don’t expect him to be an angel.” The man said. “My wife and mother will handle him perfectly. He is just a small child. How old is he? Seven?”

 

“No sir, he just looks small, he is ten years old.” Mr. Yadav was preparing the form for adoption. “Don’t go by that innocent face sir. You will regret.”

 

Another hour later Dr. Banerjee opened the door to his car for Deepak. He climbed inside stiffly.

 

“Are you hungry?” he asked. “They were passing by some sweet shops.”

 

He shook his head so vehemently that he laughed out loudly and stopped the car. He took Deepak inside and ordered some food for him. He watched him devouring them hungrily.

 

He bought and handed him over a few packets of chips and chocolates for the journey. They won’t reach Kolkata before afternoon.

 

 

 

 

II

 

They reached a small house situated just outside Kolkata. Dr. Banerjee has opened a chamber just outside Kolkata. He earned enough for a luxurious life. Having enough property from ancestors he did not have to worry much about future.

 

Two women and a small girl came out one by one when they heard the car entering the driveway.

 

“This is the boy ma.” Dr. Banerjee smiled at one of them.

 

“He is too skinny and dirty.” The lady said. All her hairs were white like the sari she was wearing.

 

Deepak went toward them and touched their feet one by one. They all blessed him.

 

“Come baba. What’s your name?” the elderly lady asked.

 

“Deepak.” He said.

 

“Wow! You can talk.” Dr. Banerjee laughed. “I have asked him this question atleast five times since I first saw him. He just kept mum.”

 

“Call me dida, her ma, her didi and him baba.” The lady instructed him before taking him to the toilet. She showed him the ropes and left him a set of fresh clothes.

 

When he came out they were waiting for him in the dining table. He was placed in the room beside dida. They went to the market in the evening to get necessary things for him.

 

He was really surprised. He pinched himself a few times to confirm if he was dreaming but he was not. He was fully awake.

 

Soon evening turned into night and he went to bed after dinner. Scared that he will wake up in the orphanage in the morning. With the stinging taste of Mr. Yadav’s cane on his body.

 

 

“Deep, are you sleeping?” he heard a soft voice and felt a soft touch on his forehead.

 

He woke up confused. He was lying in a small bed; a small beautiful girl was standing beside the bed.

 

Then he recalled everything. “No didi.”

 

“Then brush your teeth and come with me. I will pick flowers and you will have to hold them, then we will decorate the rooms, ok?” Hema said.

 

Soon the little ones were in the garden. One picking up flowers the other holding them in his hands.

 

Together they brought them to the verandah. Hema has already placed a few water filled vases there. She got busy with them. She soon decorated the first one and handed it over to Deepak. “Go and put it in the drawing room table. The one in the middle of the room.” She ordered. She was happy to get a helping hand.

 

Deepak meekly obeyed her. He started for the drawing with the vase then slipped fell and the vase was shattered to pieces.

 

The crash brought both Janaki and her mother in law there in a second. Janaki saw the small boy shivering like a leaf sobbing.

 

She soon reached him and started to inspect him for scratches. There were none. Her heart felt the reason behind the tears and softly hugged the frightened child to her heart.

 

“Don’t cry baba. Its alright.” She wiped his eyes.

 

The maid cleaned up the mess. Deepak rejoined Hema. Then onward he was cautious while walking.

 

 

 

 

III

 

Soon his life transformed into a beautiful dream. Dr. Banerjee enrolled him in a local school first then in a very good school. Finally he left to study MBBS in Delhi on scholarship.

 

He got his first offer there and got settled there. Dr. Banerjee stayed in Kolkata but they were constantly in touch.

 

Within a year of getting his job he came back to Kolkata to wed Hema off to Jiten. A young man settled in South Africa. They were a family of businessmen. Jiten appeared to be a very nice boy. He was very kind to Hema who was slightly autistic.

 

“Deep, baba you should get married now.” Dr. Banerjee told him. He was visiting Delhi.

 

“I was thinking about shifting to South Africa with your ma.” He said. His mother has passed away a couple of years ago.

 

“I feel a little worried about Hema, all alone there. I know Jiten is a very good boy but you know a mother’s heart.”

 

“Jiten was asking us again and again to shift there.” Dr. Banerjee said. “What do you say?”

 

“Baba, don’t worry about me. I will be alright. But don’t hurry for my marriage right now. Give me five years. Then fix a match for me, I will marry her.” He said.

 

Dr. Banerjee sold off his property in India; a thing which Deepak advised him against but he did not listened.

 

“There are hardly any chances of our returning here.” He said. He left a hefty amount in Deepak’s name simply rubbishing his vehement opposition.

 

He bade them goodbye from Dumdum airport, crying like a child. A decision he later regretted bitterly.

 

They maintained a regular contact for the first year then simply disappeared. Vanished without a trace.

 

Deepak tried every thing but they have simply vanished. It appeared as if the foreign land has swallowed them alive.

 

Deepak married after a few years, his wife Smita was a very loving lady. They were blessed with a daughter soon. They named her Hema.

 

Twenty years have passed by. Deepak was now a well settled doctor in Delhi. He had two nursing homes in Delhi. One was completely charitable the other one was run to bear the expenses of both and his own.

 

“Dr. Banerjee. There is a serious injury case. A woman, she seems to be in coma.” The receptionist informed her as he was entering the charitable nursing home – Janakisadan.

 

He headed straight for the ICU.

 

 

 

 

IV

 

He stopped short before entering. There were two elderly persons sitting there, huddled to each other.

 

He stood there staring at them. “Dr. Banerjee?” he asked. One of them shot up his head and stared at him.

 

He bowed down and touched their feet. “Sister, take them to my home and give Smita this note.”

 

He quickly scribbled something to a note. But they both refused to budge. “Please first check our daughter.”

 

“Ok, sister take them to my room and give them whatever they need and tea.” He entered the room.

 

Fortunately the woman was only in shock. She was badly bruised and unconscious.

 

He took the necessary steps and left her to the care of a sister. “She is my sibling. Take very good care of her.”

 

He entered his room. It was a small suite type system. He has to often spend days here at a stretch so he has made likewise arrangements.

 

They were sitting side by side on the sofa with a surprised expression on their face.

 

“How is Hema?” Janaki asked.

 

“She is alright ma. Only bruises. We will go home when she comes to senses.”

 

“Deep. You have not forgotten us?” Dr. Banerjee asked him. He has already seen their photo on the table so they have guessed who he was.

 

“Where have you all disappeared?” he was almost in tears. “I searched you like a lunatic.”

 

 

 

 

V

 

“Life has changed into a nightmare after we shifted to South Africa.”

 

“When we reached there we saw that Hema has lost her vision in an accident, Jiten has not informed that too us.”

 

“He grabbed all our money and kept us under house arrest. We could not do any thing due to Hema.”

 

“He vanished after a month and we came to know that his family has already disowned him.”

 

“We spent all these years trying to arrange for the money to return to India.”

 

“He has grabbed all our papers so all I could do was do menial works and that too at dirt’s rate.”

“Your ma had to stay at home to look after Hema. We managed to come to India five years ago but have lost your address.”

 

“I tried to get my medical degree’s copy but failed. The bribe demanded was too much.”

 

“We came to Delhi hoping that we will stumble into you by some miracle. That miracle did happen.”

 

 

“Dr. Banerjee, patient has come to her senses.” They all rushed toward her room.

 

She was sitting on her bed. Trying to understand what has happened.

 

Janaki sat down beside her and softly picked up her hand in her hand. Hema recognized the touch and hugged her.

 

“Let’s leave for home now.” Deepak smiled.

 

 

The car pulled into the driveway of a small house. A young woman and a very small child were waiting in the verandah.

 

“Smita, ma, baba and hemadi.” Deepak smiled happily.

 

“Dadu, dida and pishimoni.” Smita told her daughter before bending down to touch their feet.

 

Glossary:

Dadu = grandfather, dida = grandmother, pishimoni = auntie

Fake pearls

I

 

“Do you really think you will be able to do it? Take her place?”

 

“Give me some time, I will try and win.” She said with confidence.

 

“Okay. Then lets start trying.” Her mother in law said. She was a rich woman, very rich and was habituated of having her ways. Her only son fell in love with a poor girl.

 

She had other plans. She wanted him to get married to her friend’s daughter, after an exchange of a hefty sum of dowry.

 

She chalked her plan. Hired some goons to scare the family of the girl off the marriage and got her son married to the girl of her choice.

 

These two girls were as different as day and light. That was perfectly fine for Mrs. Majumdar but not for her son. He simply rejected her as soulmate but fulfilled his duties as husband.

 

Shyama complained to her mother and mother in law. It was not acceptable to any young woman that her husband will reject her as soulmate.

 

A weird idea popped out of the twisted mind of the woman.

 

She contacted her goons again, they contacted the girl’s family,”We have a request for you. You can keep it or leave it, it’s up to you.”

 

“Our client’s son is refusing to accept his wife as soulmate because of your daughter.”

 

“She gave us an assignment to kill her but we will not do that, we will give you a fair deal. We will give you an address, you have to keep your daughter there, and we will tell you for how long. Our client’s daughter in law will try to learn her ways. To become like her, as much possible.”

 

“We guarantee her safety if you listen to us, nothing if you don’t.”

 

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II

 

Her parents have knocked every police station when she was threatened first time but they received only two things, by name lecture and sniggering.

 

The reputation and life of their daughter was intimately involved so they surrendered their weapons and let them had their way. The girl was sent to that house with her older brother.

 

Then the woman started her real game. She on one hand made the life of the girl insufferable, praying deep in her heart that she will commit suicide on the other hand her daughter in law tried to mimic her as much as she could.

 

Watching her through her window, using a binocular, and placing a small listening device in her room, listening to every thing that was uttered in that room.

 

One year passed, two years passed. Slowly the girl’s family started to lose their cool.

 

Whenever they asked about getting their daughter back, all they heard was “wait.”

 

Finally it got on their nerves and they contacted the man whose love’s price she was paying. He promised stealth and soon accidentally entered the room when his wife was snooping, he saw and heard both.

 

“Shyama, I can forgive you because you are from an unsophisticated, rustic background, so you don’t even realize how disgusting it is to snoop on a person. Not only that, it is illegal too.”

 

“What will I do with my own mother? She can’t give your excuses.”

 

“Listen, you will never be my soul-mate, you just don’t have those materials in you. If you are not happy with being my wife you can walk out any day.”

 

“I have collected enough proof of your and mother’s deeds, if she is not released from that house immediately I will send you both to jail.”

 

“If any thing accidental ever happens to her, you both will meet me in Court.”

 

“If you apologize to her and me I will take you with me to my new home. But you will have to snap all ties with your and rest of my family forever.”

 

He walked out of the room.