by welcome
railway station and imagine boarding the trains that are a heartbeat away from the green
signal! But all can"t be lucky, all the time, and the queues of hapless souls who've missed
the trains could well be the index of Cal"s chaos.”
“Isn"t it a mirror image of unrequited lovers?” she said reminiscently. “Either way that
is.”
“Well, nothing symbolizes Cal better than Kalighat I suppose” he continued with his
account of the place. “I haven"t seen a more chaotic place than the Kali temple there that's
too small for the furious goddess, with that protruding tongue. Then the ritual of animal
sacrifice, before the deity itself, in the precincts of the temple, and bless the goddess, how
the leeches of the priests bleed the jostling crowds to the dreg what with heir knack to spot
the gullible first-timers bordering on sorcery. By the time you"re through with your
perambulations, you find your wallet lighter for the assorted blessings you"ve had from
them, at every corner of Her majestic pedestal. When you come out in the end, you would
tend to think but for Her divine hand, the edifice of faith would"ve long crumbled at Her
shrine itself.”
“Won"t all that give it a torrid look?”
“Well, try worshipping the sedate Kali in Her serene posture at Dakshineswar,” he said,
“and you may find you"re far off from the devotional fervor that accounts for the religious
faith. I felt if Kalighat is Cal, Belur Mutt across the Hooghly is some other world. That"s not
all, thanks to the red light area nearby; devotion and debauchery go hand in hand at
Kalighat. Why can"t I be frank with you? I used to go to a joint at the Free School Street for a
fling or two, well nothing free about it though, but the schooling was not bad there. I never
ventured into Sonagachi, for I heard it was a crowded bazaar but once I felt like trying it
out at a Kalighat brothel.”
“Don"t I know,” she said winking at him, “what all you learnt in that Free School
Street?”
“Mind you, it"s still it"s a learning curve,” he said in smile, “and as I entered the zone
that evening, I found it was all lit up. There were girls all over, decked up in the traditional
attire. Though I sauntered up and down, as none came to solicit, I approached the best
looking one, only to learn that being Karthika Purnima it was a day of abstinence for them.
As bachelors form the bulk of their clientele, seems it was their custom to appease Karthik,
the Bachelor God, without any indulgence that day. What an ingenious way to appease the
demigod to further their trade.”
“Oh, what to say of customs,” she said in smile, “was it a wild goose chase then?”
“Why, I came across a beautiful transgressor,” he said winking at her. “But there is
more to it. Soon after we were alone, as there was a brawl outside, I wanted to lave, but she
wanted me to stay as otherwise it amounts to paying for her for nothing. When I told her
not to bother, she said it would matter to her if I don"t make it with her and sensing that I
didn"t believe her, she told me she rarely gets to sleep with a decent man. Oh, what a lesson
in love and life that was for me.”
“Oh, how are these women supposed to fleece of their customers?” she asked.
“Not all of them as it seems,” he said. “If Cal is formidable for its structural grandeur,
it"s the women who provide it its splendor. I may say Bengali women are apart with most
of them being above average and any connoisseur of the fair sex would second my opinion.
Like the statistical line of poverty, if ever an empirical line of beauty is devised, I"m sure
you would find very few Bengali women below par. Maybe, it"s the Bengali way of
celebrating the charms of their women by centering all their festivities on various
goddesses. Where else are Durga Puja, Kali Puja, and Saraswati Puja celebrated with such
pomp and pageantry?”
“Oh how lucky,” she said mirthfully, “you weren"t hooked by any!”
“Well, my ardency for the Bengali beauty was dampened by the domineering nature I
noticed in many,” he said. “But yet I couldn"t take my eyes off them, especially during the
times of Durga Puja. Nights come alive during those thirteen days while life ceases during
the daytime. You should only see to believe Cal's infectious atmosphere during those days.
It"s as though no one stays at home during those nights. Millions are ever on the move from
one puja pandal to the other till the wee hours. Once I got naughty and came out unscathed
with the skin of my teeth. With my hand on Gopal"s shoulder, I squeezed the breast of a
teenaged beauty as I passed her by but as she cried foul and before the mob could react, I
melted in the multitude. Well Gopal wasn"t harmed as the girl didn"t name him and joining
me shortly thereafter, he told me I would"ve got lynched then and there but for my
presence of mind.”
“So from bottom pinching,” she said naughtily, “you"ve graduated to bosom brushing
and commuting by bus would've been handy.”
“But once I tie the knot,” he said heartily, “don"t you think my hands would be tied as
well? Well, in Cal, if you don"t want to miss your bus to the office, you should be fighting
fit, no matter your gender and age, you won"t board a bus in Cal; you just barge into it that
is against all odds. No quarter is asked or given even to the fair sex. They too have to go
through the same grind, but once inside, courtesy beckons them at every turn with men
offering them seats all over. Oh, what can you make of that?”
“Well, having taken the woman on board,” she said in the lighter vein, “man knows it
pays to keep her in good humor, doesn"t he?”
“Don't I know you are naughty,” he said enthusiastically, “but on the trams, one fares
much better there, literally that is. It"s a funny sight to see some pretending to be fast asleep
as the conductor approaches them for the fare. Maybe, being wiser for his unpleasant
experiences on earlier occasions, the conductor prefers not to disturb such. But once their
destination is reached, these sleepy bhadraloks alight from it with alacrity. Oh, all this farce,
when one can travel from one end to the other for a fare of eighteen paisa! It appears
communism doesn"t confine itself to proletariat in Calcutta. It seems to be at work at all
levels of its society. Doesn"t the state own all property and isn"t the state our very own? So
the state property is people"s own property and why should pay for the services of what
he owns and it could as well be the reasoning of the Bengali intellect.”
“What makes communism tick there?”
“It"s not for nothing that communism is so well entrenched in Bengal"s polity,” he said,
assuming the tone of a political pundit. “The philosophy of communism is but the credo of
the Bengali: high on rhetoric and slow to takeoff. Could it be any different given the Bengali
penchant for artistic excellence? What an artistic people these Bengalis are. Why should
things mundane interest them at all? See the creative range of the pandals erected for Durga
Puja and others, and you would get to know the brilliance of their ingenuous minds. After
all, communism is all about each working according to his abilities and paid according to
one's needs. What abilit
ies can an illiterate possess and what more would the poor need
than a plate of mori and a cup of chai, that together cost twenty-five paisa. It"s a different
matter that the gentry feign asleep, on the trams, to save much less than that.”
“What a city of contrasts the Cal is!”
“The contradictory ethos of the Calcuttans is no less puzzling,” he said. “Even as they
come out in numbers to mourn the death of a minor comrade, they all remain immune to
the plight of the rickshawala, who doubles up for a mule. One evening, Gopal engaged a
rickshaw though I felt odd about it. But after a short ride , to my great surprise, my
conscience stopped troubling me, maybe, it"s in communism to cast a shadow on the
collective consciousness of the Calcuttans, and well the rickshawalas serve the needy,
otherwise too, by pimping for the prostitutes. It"s amusing to see them line up their
rickshaws near the pavements at the Dharmatalla and ring their hand bells as a call for
service.”
“Maybe, once we taste the creature comforts,” she said intuitively, “we turn insensitive
to our fellow beings.”
“Oh, dear, it"s so like the Bengali articulation-- intellectually stimulating,” he said in
apparent admiration. “You would come across that at the coffee houses and the tea stalls
alike. At the bars, however, it could all be bawdy as intoxication and articulation make a
heady mix. Gopal was a little too fond of drink. On occasion, he used to drag me to a bar at
the Jaggu Bazaar that he frequented. Once I met there a marwari businessman who was
trying to rope me in ever since I began rejecting his supplies. Inebriated by then, he
demanded that I tell him why not I favor him by taking a bribe? I told him that my income
lets me a drink or two at a bar and a fling or two at some brothel, that too occasionally. And
if I start compromising, I said, the easy money could bring me to the bar daily and might
lead me to the whores regularly, injuring my health permanently and the Bengali, who
overheard us, began articulating about the corruption of their culture by the marwari
businessmen. And this led to a brawl naturally.”
“Oh you, sensible as ever!” she said ruffling his hair and smelled her palm for
Keo-Karpin.
“What a romantic reminder,” he said exultantly, “but I used to feel sad at the Victoria
Memorial, designed to uplift Cal's haggard souls. You may remember my friend Soni from
my Ranchi days,”
“The papaya lover you mean.”
“Not a bad memory,” he said, “we met again in Cal and I used to go there with him
once in a way. Finding couples all over cuddle around the tree trunks, I used to crave for
some fun with Kala but as he was critical of those lovers once, I told him that it„s all sour
grapes, and that he would find the company of a lass far more preferable than mine, if only
he could manage one.”
“We shall make it to the Victoria Memorial,” she said animatedly, “well before our
lovers" tag starts getting faded. Why, we shall have our honeymoon in your Cal.”
“Won't I love it,” he said leaning over her shoulder.
“That is after Vasu gets his just deserts.”
Just Deserts
Soon they were at the Honeycomb to the hearty welcome of the Chandras.
“What a reunion!” said Chandra hugging Sathya.
“What a pair you make!” Nithya couldn"t hide her admiration
“We owe it all to you!” Sathya addressed Chandra.
“I feel, we owe it to Nithya no less,” said Prema, taking Nithya"s hand.
“What a twist of destiny!” said Chandra with mixed feelings.
„Well, to push Vasu into the doghouse" Nithya thought with satisfaction.
By the time they sat for dinner, the logistics to stop Vasu in his tracks were worked out.
After Vasu came back, it was agreed that Prema would stay at the Honeycomb till she
got her divorce. Well, Sathya would be a welcome guest all the time. That way, Vasu
couldn"t cast any aspersions on Prema during the divorce proceedings. Besides, her
presence would deter him from stalking Nithya. As Prema was averse to dealing with Vasu
anymore, Nithya took it upon her to deliver the missive penned by Prema for him. It was
agreed that Nithya would invite Vasu to the Honeycomb instead of her going to the Ritz,
and deal with him appropriately. Well, Chandra and company would lie in wait just in
case. Sathya who was impressed by Nithya"s spiritedness thought that Vasu could"ve met
his nemesis in her.
The D-day came two days later, and as expected, Vasu rang up Nithya, only to be led
into her trap.
“If it were okay for you here,” said Vasu in anticipation, as he came in, “why did you
deny me all these days?”
“I called you for a different reason,” said Nithya feigning nervousness.
“Enough of leading me up the garden path,” said Vasu determinedly. “It's time I had
you even if it comes to raping.”
“You'll turn cold if you hear the news.”
“Why, what happened?”
“Your letter has fallen into Chandra"s hands and he"s sore about us.”
“Good riddance bad rubbish,” he stated gleefully. “If he divorces you, my absurd
proposal would no longer be absurd. Prema could take care of me and I"ll maintain you.”
“But sadly,” she said affecting pity, “Prema chose to desert you to see you get your just
deserts.”
“What do you mean?”
“It's what Prema thinks that counts, isn't it?” she said as she handed him Prema"s fatal
missive.
Vasu,
When you first disclosed your love, I made it known to you that I loved Sathya.
Having told me about his affection for his classmate when you goaded me to
break with him, I believed you acted out of your own love for me. Well, all is fair
in love and war, I thought. But it was only after our marriage that I realized you
eyed me only for my money. Had I not burnt my bridges with Sathya, I would"ve
walked out on you then and there. So I stayed put in a cold storage of a marriage.
When I"d seen you flirting with Nithya, I didn"t care, as we"ve no love lost
between us. But when I saw your letter to her, shaming me, I could take it no
more. If it was right for you to goad me to leave the man I loved because he
slighted my love, you can"t say it"s wrong for me to leave the spouse who
demeans me to curry the favor of another woman.
As I have decided to leave you, it"s only proper you shouldn"t have anything that
would remind me of you. So I"ve given away to the needy all those goodies that
my father gave us. Any day now you would get the summons from the court and
it may be wise for you not to contest, for your letter of shame is in my possession.
I"m going in search of Sathya to make amends as best as I can. If I can"t become his
wife, it would still be honorable becoming his mistress. My only regret is I"ve
dishonored myself by being your wife for so long!
Never Yours,
Prema.
„Oh God!" he collapsed, „I"m ruined."
“Be a man, Vasu,” Nithya said tauntingly. “After all, being a woman, I didn"t cry when
you left me in the lurch then. But, there"s still hope for you. If Chandra chooses to leave me,
I may still come to you, of course, along with his child
in my womb. You can have it as a
bonus, won"t you? Moreover, there would be no need to spend on abortion as its no shame
conceiving in marriage. Isn"t it?”
“Oh stop it,” said Vasu in exasperation. “Now it"s clear, you planned it all and took
your revenge. You"d induced me to write that letter to use it for my ruin. You prompted me
for our family friendship to turn Prema against me. Oh, how you poisoned her mind. You
bitch!”
“Mind your language, Mister!” said Nithya contemptuously, “and then stop blaming
me. Why, I was indifferent to you when we met again and I snubbed you when you came
to my place to cajole me ands yet you coveted me, didn"t you? Oh, how you had hinted at
blackmailing me! You thought I would chicken out and come to sleep with you, didn"t you?
Fool, did I ask you to write that your wife is cold? As you sow, so you reap, you better
realize that?”
Vasu got up to leave.
“Blame it upon your attitude towards women,” she said as he crossed the threshold of
her house. “Blame it upon your lack of character. Blame it upon your mean nature.”
“It pays to know that our nature is our fate,” Nithya said, slamming the door after him.