Maitri

by Nandita Rani

  “Maitri, I have not met Koyel since I last saw you. How can she answer my phone? When you called me in the afternoon, I was returning from the hospital. I called you back as soon I reached home but your mobile was switched off. I have been trying to contact you since.”

  Maitri suddenly felt alert; she put Piyush on hold and checked her call log. The last call that she made from her phone showed Koyel’s number. Coming out of the Principal’s room, she had wanted to call Piyush but had dialed Koyel instead, not realizing her mistake until now.

  She broke into gales of deep-throated laughter. The driver stole a glance again, their eyes making a contact, but this time Maitri felt no embarrassment and kept laughing. The driver looked away. She laughed till her stomach hurt.

  “I am so sorry.” She spoke connecting to Piyush again. “I misunderstood.” She giggled and explained the situation.

  Maitri dialed Koyel as soon as she reached home. Speaking to her made it clear that Koyel was still oblivious.

  Chapter 5: Koyel's Pregnancy

  Days passed by and it had been a month that Piyush and Maitri had been meeting. They’d managed to keep the secret from Koyel. Once in a while, Koyel did share her concern with Maitri about the drop she felt in Piyush’s interest toward her. He seldom called her and would come to see her only on much insistence from Koyel.

  One afternoon in the staff-room, Koyel did not turn up during the lunch time. Maitri went to look for her; she found her in a classroom correcting notebooks.

  “Koyel, come, its lunch time.”, Maitri said casually.

  Koyel just shook her head in reply. Maitri went near her and found her eyes moist with tears. She squatted beside her. “Koyel? Are you crying? What happened? Tell me.”

  Koyel wiped her tears, shaking her head. Her right hand was still mechanically correcting the notebooks, and her head was still downcast, buried deep in the notebooks.

  “What is it?” Maitri asked again, lifting Koyel’s chin with her index-finger.

  Koyel broke down, hugging Maitri . The children looked on. Maitri pulled Koyel out of the classroom and walked her to the washroom.

  “Koyel, please tell me, you are scaring me.”, Maitri scolded her.

  “Maitri di, I am pregnant.” Koyel blurted out, avoiding any eye-contact.

  “What? Who is it?” Maitri shifted nervously in her place.

  Koyel did not answer and turned her back to Maitri. Maitri paced to her side to have a look at her face. “Is it P...Piyush?”

  When Koyel still did not answer, Maitri shook her shoulder violently. “Speak up, dammit!!”

  Koyel nodded. Maitri’s heart skipped a beat; the answer hit her like a hammer between the eyes. She felt the colour drain from her face. But she composed herself and asked, “how did you find out?”

  “Test.”

  “When?”

  “Last night.”

  “Are you out of mind, Koyel? How can you...? Where did you both…?” She struggled to frame an appropriate question.

  “Do your parents know?”, she whispered the ultimate question.

  Koyel shook her head.

  “Obviously not. So stupid of me.” Maitri spoke in frustration.

  “Did you see a doctor, Koyel?”

  “No di, I cannot, you know that.” Koyel shot back.

  “So, what now? What were you thinking, idiot?” Maitri shouted.

  “I don’t know!!!” Koyel howled.

  The school bell rang; the lunch-break was over. Since they both had lectures post lunch, they just looked at each other and went to their respective classes.

  Maitri could not sleep that night. Her mind kept drifting back to a concoction of thoughts.

  Is Koyel lying? Is she sure about Piyush? Piyush has not been meeting her lately too. How does that matter anyway? She found her heart and her brain amidst a rift.

  Maitri rose from her bed with a determined look on her face and texted Piyush. “Can we talk right now?”

  Piyush called immediately.

  “Piyush, we have spoken about a lot of things but never about what made you choose me over Koyel- a much more prettier, independent and smarter girl than me.” Koyel stated firmly.

  “What kind of a question is that?” Piyush spoke, struggling to repress a giggle.

  “I am serious Piyush, I want an answer. There has to be some reason.”

  “Sometimes, your decisions are beyond reasons Maitri, I don’t think I have an answer to your question.” Piyush’s tone turned grim.

  “I don’t want these frilly answers. You don’t have an answer but I think I have.” Maitri spoke sternly.

  “What happened, Maitri?” He was surprised at Maitri's sudden outburst.

  “I will not believe you if you tell me that you don’t know what happened.” Koyel said gazing at herself in the mirror.

  “I had a tough day. I am in no mood to solve your riddles.”

  Maitri made a sound that reflected her smirk.

  “Piyush, I seriously feel like a fool.” Maitri’s voice began to break.

  “Maitri…Listen…”

  “No, no, I don’t blame you at all. ” Maitri interrupted him. “I knew everything, I still plunged. I was such a fool.” She made a chuckling sound.

  “My father keeps falling ill. We will need money soon for my sister’s college admission. My younger brother is still in school. We are slogging day in and day out to run our family of seven with our meager income. Our future is even more unpredictable than the stock market. And here I am, amidst a complicated relationship, ditching my own friend, going around with her boyfriend. I have landed myself into such a mess.” Maitri clicked her tongue in repent.

  “All these rosy, filmy things are for girls who spend more money on their dog’s haircut than I spend on mine. I… have been such a, such a...” Maitri let out a sarcastic laugh.

  “Enough yaar, Maitri. Stop playing a helpless soul for once. I am tired of consoling you.” Piyush spoke gruffly.

  “Then don’t!” She ended the conversation abruptly, and hung up the phone.

  Piyush called her again but was disconnected. He did not call again that night.

  A week had gone by but Maitri and Piyush did not speak to each other, neither over phone nor by text. Meanwhile, Koyel had taken a week off from school citing a medical condition.

  Maitri’s younger sister’s results were out and she had passed the exam with flying colours. It was time for her college admissions. With great difficulty, Maitri and her sisters managed the admission fee but they were still short of twenty-five thousand rupees.

  Maitri was spending sleepless nights. She thought of all possible people who could lend her money, including Koyel and Piyush, but she didn’t know how to ask them for it.

  All those relatives whoever she contacted in this regard resorted to suggesting ideas than lending money. ‘Why go for such an expensive college?’; ‘Why don’t you people consider distance education? She can simultaneously do a side course as well.’ ;‘Try and get an OBC certificate.’; ‘Why doesn’t she try for a scholarship? She has scored brilliant marks after all.’

  One afternoon, when Maitri returned from school, her mother silently called her to her room, took out a red-coloured velvet bag from her almirah-locker and handed it over to Maitri.

  “This will help.” She said in a hushed tone.

  Maitri gave her a pained look. “Maa?”

  “Stop being emotional, Maitri. We make jewellery for such purposes only. Your father will not let me do it, promise me you won’t tell him.” She worriedly glanced over Maitri’s shoulder across the room.

  Maitri felt a pool of tears rising in her eyes. She always thought such things happened only in movies. She really wished that this too was a movie, that she didn't have to face this reality.

  Her mind stopped her but she extended her hands to grab the velvet bag. She did not have a choice.

  She had nothing to say to her mother because the fact remained that they needed it at tha
t moment; words, explanations, justifications, they would all be superficial, they would all be lies.

  Soni got admission at the cost of her mother’s bangles that she had preserved since her marriage, but there was no remorse in anyone. Soni’s education was going to help the family one day.

  Soni had left for her college that Saturday evening, accompanied by Nishu and their father. They returned in two days after settling her there.

  That morning when Maitri saw Koyel in the school after a week, she rushed to her.

  “Koyel.” She shouted from behind.

  Koyel turned and saw Maitri coming toward her. “Maitri di...”

  “What happened? Why were you not coming? What have you decided?” Maitri shot a range of questions. “Sorry, I could not call you. I was a little busy last week.” Maitri said, catching her breath.

  Koyel smiled and held Maitri’s hand, “Di, I am leaving school.”

  “What? Why?” Maitri looked scandalized.

  “I am getting married, di.” Koyel spoke gently, looking into Maitri’s eyes, speculating her next reaction.

  “Oh!” Maitri stood stunned, not knowing how to react. “To whom?” She mumbled, scared to ask it aloud.

  Koyel kept quiet.

  Koyel’s silence hung in limbo between them. Maitri had got an answer.

  “O...that is...great.”, a voice pregnant with pain and shock came. Her heart hammered against her ribs. Something crumbled inside her. Not that she expected a different end to her relationship with Piyush, not that she deserved an explanation from him, not that her fate was going to surprise her this time. But she still felt disrobed. Her hopes which had stirred awake after Dipak, turned to dust once again. She felt a sheen of moisture in her eyes; she knew she needed to dodge them away before they flowed freely and Koyel see them.

  She hugged Koyel at once, tears streaking down her cheeks. She quickly turned around, mumbling, “I have to go, I have a lecture.”

  Why did I stoop down to such a level? I am so ashamed of myself. How will I ever look into the mirror? Why did I allow somebody to hurt me like this? Maitri cried aloud in the washroom, letting the tap flow in full force. She blankly stared at the water flowing, then swiftly turned the tap and just like that, the flow stopped. How she wished she could fix her problems as easily! She wanted to end the pain, to move on, to forget, to start with a clean slate. She wanted to be able to breathe again.

  On the day of her farewell, Koyel gave Maitri a separate wedding invitation card as opposed to a common card she brought for the other school staff. Maitri had felt slapped at that gesture.

  She cried the whole night in her bed, revisiting her moments with Piyush. She read their conversation over and over again, tears emerging in her eyes each time. She remembered how he called her ‘princess’, making her feel like one. She remembered how he had admired her pink dress. Maitri opened her cupboard in the middle of the night and took out that pink dress, gazing at it for a long time, till her vision got blurred with tears. A drop slid down her face and smudged her pillow, creating a wet patch. Her pillow was replete with many such patches till the onset of dawn.

  It took her weeks to get over the break-up, if at all she could call that one.

  Chapter 6: Maitri's accident

  Nishu got a job in a call-centre, and so, she shifted with Soni. Nishu’s income exponentially increased with her new job. Maitri and Minal continued working in their schools. Maitri’s father's health had also improved tremendously. It took two years for the family to stabilize after Sanjay Verma’s job fiasco, but the circumstances were now so much better than before.

  The inflow of money improved with the new pay commission coming in. Both Maitri and Minal drew benefits from this change. Apart from the salaries of the three girls, the income from the tuitions of Maitri and Minal was a big financial support too.

  Maitri’s life was returning to normalcy gradually. She kept herself busy in her mundane routine of going to school, buying vegetables from the market, helping her mother in the kitchen and correcting students' notebooks. The emptiness usually seeped in at night- when she was all by herself in her room. She would dream of Dipak and Piyush, her sleep was seldom peaceful, with thoughts flying in her head even when she was asleep. But like always, she had learned to deal with it. Her pink dress had gotten a secluded corner in the cupboard; her mobile got rid of the unwanted numbers.

  It was for their parents’ 50th anniversary that Maitri and her sisters had planned a party. They were all to gather one week before the anniversary. After a long time, all the members were going to be together.

  One evening, Maitri had gone to the ATM to withdraw money for the party. After withdrawing money, when Maitri came out, she stepped over a piece of paper and slipped. Her left leg twisted, producing a noise that sounded something like a branch snapping. Losing her balance, she fell on her back, sliding over the stairs. With a thud, she landed on the ground. Maitri winced in pain. Her brother ran up to her side. Maitri made futile efforts to get up, Siddharth tried pulling her up but the pain was unbearable for her. With the help of the passers-by, she was put into a cab, and taken home.

  It was a fracture, and Maitri was made to wear a cast in her left leg. She was suggested complete rest for 4 to 5 weeks. Her school agreed to give her a sabbatical of one month. One month sabbatical also meant ‘no pay’ for that month. Maitri cursed herself for being so careless. She struggled to move around with the cast but she continued with her tuitions nonetheless. Minal helped her in doing her routine work.

  Meanwhile, it was one week to her parent's anniversary and so, Soni and Nishu also arrived. They helped Minal in organizing the party as Maitri was bed-ridden. The relatives who stayed in the city were invited for the party, along with some neighbours from the building. The food was ordered from outside; an arrangement for nearly 20 guests was done.

  As everyone enjoyed the party, Maitri sat in a corner, looking at every guest who arrived. They all asked her about her fracture, some of them tsk’ing their tongue in sympathy. She looked at her father’s overwhelmed face as he greeted the guests. She thought she saw a tear in his eyes; one of elation or perhaps one of pride. Her eyes moved around in the room lingering at each face for a while. She wanted to guess what they thought of the party! Some faces had fake smiles, some had genuine; some looked lost, some involved; the variety of human emotions never failed to surprise her. She looked at Minal and wondered how would she take a heart-break or if she had already had one. She wished for her sister to never go through the pain that had touched her twice.

  The party was over; the sisters got busy opening gifts that came in the form of tea-sets, bouquets, shawl, saree, waistcoat, sweet-boxes, and photo-frames, etc.

  The children gifted their parents a photo album that had pink-colour flowers on the cover. It contained their parents’ pictures from their first anniversary till date.

  Sanjay Verma called his children to his room that night and thanked them for that touching gesture. Maitri was sure that she had definitely spotted tears in his eyes.

  Four weeks passed and Maitri was ready to get rid of her cast. She went to see the doctor with Minal. Her cast was removed but her leg movement was far from normal. She struggled to move her toes. The final stage of her treatment needed her to consult a physiotherapist. Dr. Faiz told her that following a period of immobilization in cast, it was important for her to go for a thorough physiotherapy programme since it would help prevent future injuries. He suggested Maitri to consult Dr. Dubey, a physiotherapist from the same hospital. The first sitting was planned that same day.

  Dr. Dubey showed concern at her condition. According to him, she needed thirty minutes of exercise everyday for at least a week for fast recovery and to get back her normal gait.

  Maitri found out about various physiotherapists but their charges were astronomical, especially if they had to come home. And visiting the doctor in such condition was almost impossible for her. Also, she wanted to get well as soon as p
ossible to resume her work; it was already a month that she was home and salary-less.

  Minal came to her the next afternoon. “Maitri di, he is my friend’s brother and is practicing physiotherapy.”, she said, while handing the contact of the said person to Maitri.

  “I was discussing your fracture with Roshni, when she told me about her brother. He is still an intern. May be we can talk to him.”, Minal said.

  “Why don’t you talk to him and tell me what he says?”, Maitri said extending her phone to Minal.

  Minal dialed the number but then cut it off.

  “What happened?”, Maitri asked.

  “Di, I was thinking I will tell Roshni to ask him. What do you say?”

  “Yes, that is fine too.” Maitri shrugged.

  Minal spoke to Roshni. That afternoon, Saurabh, Roshni’s brother, came to see Maitri.

  He was a lanky young man with thick glasses on his face, just the kind which makes one look studious. He blinked a lot and had very little facial hair. He had a perpetual smile plastered on his face.

  Minal introduced him to Maitri and her parents. Without much delay, he began his observation. He asked Maitri a few questions about her condition, then pressed a few nerves here and there on her left leg to determine the problem area. He looked more confident when talking about his subject. It did not take him much time to get an idea of the situation. Holding her left leg at forty-five degree angle, he asked Maitri to rotate her foot first clockwise and then anti-clockwise.

  Maitri’s parents and Minal stood around her in a circle as if witnessing a street-show. They were impressed by the way he carried out the treatment. At one point, Maitri shrieked, unable to bear the pain.

  The following full week witnessed sessions that included muscle stretching, squats, one-legged hop, circular movement of the ankle, and comprehensive exercises of ankle, knees, calf muscles and shin. The improvement was showing and the recovery was fast.