Stupid Calling.....

Nirmal & Sarupa are amongst the worried lot. Primarily, owing to their younger daughter getting older (she is no more than a child in their sweet opinion though) and not agreeing to marry many suitable proposals that flowed freely from all directions, initiated by their friends, colleagues and relatives (both close and distant), but of course not necessarily in that order!

‘Mom I am not going to marry the guy of your choice, please give me space, let me find out Mr. Perfect for now’ frowned Sriparna whenever the issue was raked up by Sarupa. ‘Marry me off to a banana tree if you are so desperate.’

In one chilly winter evening, Satarupa called Sarupa and pretty amount of usual & unusual discussions took place amongst the siblings of which Nirmal had no clue! But then Sarupa unusually hang up after the usual prolonged call and almost ordered Nirmal to their bed room, gleefully noticing Sriparna deeply engrossed watching BirAkkel Akkel challenger 10 on TV.

Nirmal reluctantly joined in, leaving behind his favourite stand up comedy show. ‘What’s up?’ said Nirmal. ‘Close the door’ said Sarupa in a husky voice. ‘You know Satarupa said there is a suitable “Sylheti Bramhin ” boy who is the paternal aunt’s son of maternal uncle in law! You remember our Mousumi aunty of Shillong? They are related to them.’ Nirmal exclaimed instantaneously, ‘Haah! That’s what I wanted for so long, you know Sarupa, may be, God has listened to my prayer to day when I went to the “Kachakanti Kali Bari “. I adorably need a guy none the less from our own clan and trust me I don’t want to compromise on this. Anyway, you don’t know how far I hate the “deshwali “ friends of Sriparna, who, every other day approaches her like blatant beleaguers! Imagine, we have to live on roti-sabzi alone without any macher jhol or sidal sutkir chatni during our old age? I feel pity on our daughter.’ Sarupa paid no heed to the unnecessary and unrealistic apprehensions of her husband but verified that the boy belongs to a different ‘Gotra ’, clearing the deck for advancement in the matter. And in the end date was fixed for prospective bride & groom to see each other to either like or dislike.

On a D Day the time fixed was 5 ‘O Clock in the evening. ‘See there is no sign of the guy, is he going to come? It is already quarter to five’ said an anguished Sarupa. ‘Look at him, the boys of the present generation is so irresponsible.’ The guy arrived at the Nirmal’s house at half past five, giving a good nerve stimulating jitters to all the anxious occupants of the ‘Choudhurie’ family. The tall guy, clean shaven was dressed in a bright yellow shirt that did not go well with his broad shoulder stature. Sarupa noticed that he had bright eyes but hummed to herself ‘Oh Stupid God, I only wished he could have had fair complexion.’ Ronit bowed down and touched the feet of Sarupa & Nirmal. Sarupa in turn trembled to utter ‘Please take your seat’ and then hurriedly ‘What are you going to have Baba? Cold drinks or Hot beverages? We have both. You know my son; it seems you are already part of our family’. Sriparna peeking through the gap between the door frame & the door murmured within herself ‘Look at my Mom, how is she entertaining him! She should maintain some prestige you see. She is behaving as if I have said “Yes” long ago!’

‘Sriparna, Sriparna’ screamed Sarupa. Sriparna tripped out of excitement and screamed back ‘Coming Mom.’ Now she arrived for the interview and gave a squinted stare at Ronit, who stood up immediately beaming and said ‘Hi I am Ronit Ghosal’. ‘Hello, I am Sriparna Choudhurie’ the reply came. ‘Nice to meet you’ said both at the same time. Sarupa hastened to add ‘You know this is a good sign and may be this is the match we all prayed for.’ Rekha while sweeping the floor went into all giggles at this.

After the pleasantries, the boy & the girl were allowed to meet each other in seclusion. ‘So Mr. Ghosal how is your life & work’ queried Sriparna. ‘Oh yeah, work is going great guns, ‘am too busy enjoying the same and have got immense responsibility as well for being in the Utility Department you know’ replied Ronit. ‘Do you think you need a wife now?’ ‘Yes, yes, yes badly as I need to settle down, have a sweet home of my own, someone to take care and to be cared for’ rallied Ronit with many pauses. ‘I am a very bad cook, would like to try at various recipes but, are you a foodie?’ asked Sriparna. ‘Well I am a foodie and not a connoisseur but a reasonably good cook too; picked up cooking from my Mom, whom I used to help at times’, honest confession came out of Ronit’s mouth. ‘What do you like to eat ....???’ Sriparna wanted to know. ‘I don’t have fascination about anything in particular but can eat any portion that fills my platter and consequently my stomach’ answered Ronit. ‘By the way what movie have you seen the last’ rallied back Sriparna. ‘Oh! 2 Idiots no no no sorry 3 idiots!!!, Laughter galore!!! ‘I got messed up, with two Idiots sitting opposite to each other and considering the implementation of a third one’.....,‘ Such a great movie’, Ronit restarted, ‘You know I think Chetan Bhagat’s “5 point someone” is more of a romance driven story but amazingly they have done a movie with role of romance being minimal. Hats off to the Director and “well done” our adorably sweet Hero Amir Khan, who is a real artist in my personal opinion. The difference between the two, (which I could assimilate with the little understanding that I have), is that there is no strong character like Rancho and his dual life & name, no Chatur but the Maruti 800 car as a dowry for the Marriage of Alok’s sister, suicide attempt by one of the friend and the consequent bone crumbling injury, the sordid states Alok’s Mom & Dad etc. are of common disposition.’ Sriparna got dumb throughout the tale narration sequences and was listening open mouthed murmuring to her, ‘Oh! God, this guy is well read! And look at his analytical mind, great!’

Ronit indicated something on the wall and tried to say somewhat in an inaudible voice, that led Sriparna to blushes and she tried to control the situation by implying shut up! Placing the index finger vertically on top of her lips said ‘Don’t say that, Mom will come here at any moment.’ Thereafter, series of Laughter, giggles & blushes followed and both of them could not notice anything happening around them for quite a few moments; mom, dad, et all forgotten, till the official date ended.

Ever since, Sriprna’s phone went on a busy mode and it so co-incidentally happened that whenever Ishita called Sriparna, the phone answered, ‘The Airtel customer you are trying to call is busy at the moment, please call later.’ Sriparna thus gave away a good instrument at the hands of Ishita to bully her!

The auspicious dates for the ring ceremony, marriage etc., were finalised by Nirmal & Monami. ‘We do not have any demands and we need just the girl for my son’ said Monami the chef & mom who took cooking lessons for her son and could not make him a connoisseur at the same time!

The news of the engagement spread like a quick fire and Mainak said in utter surprise ‘How come the careerist Sriparna agreed to marry, she told me last time of not getting Mr. Right in spite of global searches and ending up with no matches found result!’

Nirmal gave a call to Mainak & Ishita, inviting them for all kinds of events for the marriage of his last daughter. Ishita observed ’Mainak, you look extra emotional at today’s news; you look lost, but don’t forget to carry out your duties as the solitary maternal uncle of the bride.’

Mainak & Ishita impulsively decided to go to Gariahat and when they returned home Ishita found ‘Mainak this is your Sherwani for the Marriage day with matching Santiniketan nagrai chappal, this is your suit & bow tie for the evening party at the Ronit’s place for Chaturthamangal, this is your silk payjama & panjabi for the Maa Kali Darshan at Kachakanti, here is your new leather belt, perfume et al.’ Ishita thought deep inside her that Mainak has used the occasion well to buy more stuff for his own than for anybody else and fundamentally ignoring the gifts that he need to present at the occasion!

On a Sunday two days before the marriage day, Mainak & Ishita woke up at 3 AM to catch the early morning flight and about 8 in the morning they arrived while passing through the scenic tea gardens and absolutely flat paddy fields side by side. Journey from the Airport to the city centre was none the less ‘exotic’.

Checking into the hotel Ishita preferred a room at the second floor. ‘Quite a spacious hotel it seems’, concluded Ishita. Sarupa came down stairs to organise for the concierges.

The Mangalacharan or the Ashirwad or ring ceremony was about to begin, Aparna had already arrived with her little daughter Debi and questioned ‘Mainak Mamu, you did not come for my marriage but you are coming for Sripanra’s, ho ho partiality!!!’ ‘Well, my dear it was not a very comfortable moment for me, as your Grand mom was bed ridden & I was away at Goa, so I could not make it for your marriage, otherwise I would have loved to be’ clarified Mainak.

Sriparna in a face displaying the emotion of impending detachment from the family tried to put up a smiling face, she was looking awesome (More like a replica of her young Mom), in her bridal dress with all kinds of mascara, eye lashes, blushes, foundation and Mehendi all over. This reminded Mainak the nostalgic moments of his early childhood, that the Princess / Queens dress Sarupa wore when she played Madhusree / Kamalika in Sapmochan while being in her early teens. Mainak thought ‘those Dance dramas of Tagore are so emotionally stirring, thought provoking and find its relevance in every passing day.’

Sriparna was finally getting dressed and Mainak reported from the hotel room that there is no water in the tap, he had to run down stairs to find the MangerBabu Mr. Das who was running up & down like a cute little mouse (Batti Oloi ). Nirmal & Mainak shared a laughter seeing Mr Das and the way he run from pillar to post to manage the hotel affairs.

On the late night there was a ceremony for the bride to wear all the ornaments meant for the marriage day termed as ‘Adhibash’. All the ornaments were bought by Sarupa, Sriparna & Rudranil from Kolkata with assistance from Mainak & Ishita. Out of the many, four items could not fit Sriparna as she was bit too hefty and her wrist sizes were elephant like! So it was decided that four items shall be delivered by the Jeweller at Shillong from their local branch office. The Jeweller was followed up consistently by Mainak & Nirmal and they were rest assured that the items are ready for delivery. Two day before the D Day, Sarupa, Rudranil, Aparna & Sriparna reached out to the Jeweller’s branch at Police Bazar, Shillong. Aparna said ’Mom take out the receipt voucher fast, Oh! You are too slow mom.’ Sarupa struggled to find the voucher in her Christian Doir vanity bag in spite of a thorough search; ultimately she failed to find out the most important document for the moment! ‘I had told Nirmal to be careful about it, see I can’t find it now’ said Sarupa instantly. Ultimately, it was declared to the Jeweller that the voucher is untraceable. The Branch in charge of the Jeweller started to vehemently deny delivery and confirmed ‘Madam, we have no authority to deliver the precious items without document, no matter what.’ Sriparna said ‘Look gentleman we are genuine and have come here to take our stuff that we have paid for.’ The atmosphere was grim and silence prevailed. ‘No Madam, we are really sorry, please do not request us, bring the document instead and we shall deliver you the ornaments’ reiterated the staff. It became a ‘Catch 22’ situation for all and Rudranil uttered in dismay, ‘see, what happened, none of you consult me! Had I been in the charge then it would not have happened. You all are too casual about things, all calcium deficient beings, your brains need calcium, especially Mom.’ Sarupa reacted ...burst into defiance and said, ‘You could have reminded me at home instead of passing weird comments, you are only good at sleeping...,’ the anger went on... Sriparna & co returned back to the hotel in wilderness not being able to comprehend as to what should be next course of action. ‘I will give my ornaments on borrow for the marriage day, don’t you all worry’ Aparna offered a solution. “Dekhilaitam” – ‘Bloody Kolkata Jewellers all Ch**t – I told you all not to buy from there, from now on don’t buy, even if it costs more to buy from Shillong, people here are much simpler and not so complicated, at least they understand the situation and know how to appreciate reality, it is a matter of marriage after all, and look at them, they simply know to stick to their own point without having to understand the consequences, you know!!! I will see how the Jeweller can conduct their business further at my place of birth’ angrily frowned Debabrata, raising his hand without detaching the hand of his daughter Debi from his.

There prevailed a situation of utter chaos and no light at the end of the tunnel in sight. Then Debabrata suggested to Sarupa to call Mainak mama. Sarupa dialled Mainak and narrated the story. Mainak was shell shocked but felt from within as what kind of careless people are my sister & co but thought again ‘stupid jeweller why the hell on earth they need to be so strict?’ After a while, carefully planning what to talk to the Jeweller he picked up the phone and dialled and then changed his mind before it started ringing on the other side and kept the phone down. Mainak pondered once more and then devised a strategy to deal with the situation. He picked up the receiver once again and dialled the Jeweller and asked for the manager of the show room. No one knows what transpired in the telephone conversation but the Bride was only thanking Mainak for the actual ornaments being right in place for the occasion.

Sriparna was devoid of her mobile phone ever since the festival (of her marriage) or rather the carnival took off and she thought ‘Dad would probably be the right person to be the custodian of my phone.’ Nirmal made a few important calls using the phone pertaining to the mega arrangement for the marriage like, Florist, Banquet hall manager, Pandal maker, Travel agent for Groom’s car & convoy, Catering, Buffet arranger etc., etc. There were no incoming calls but, till the evening. Come the sweet night, the phone started to ring and gave quite a few missed calls. Nirmal was far too occupied to respond & call back and the phone started to ring again. This time Nirmal answered Hellow, helo, helowe....., but no one responded and it went blank. Then, yet again the phone rang, Nirmal a hyperaemic could not see who’s calling, but then he lifted his glass and found “Stu.. , oh! Stupid calling” appeared on the display screen. For a moment Nirmal could not make out the caller & pondered over and asked himself ‘who is this stupid fellow?’ Then all of a sudden he realises that the phone is not his but Sriprana’s. But then he rushed to Sarupa instead and asked, ‘Listen, do you know any one named stu.., oh stupid?’ Sarupa did not answer and smiled away. He thought for a while and said to himself, ‘Must be, it is that bloody trouble maker!’ Nirmal then ran to the next room of the hotel and went near Sriparna but could not hand over the phone as Sriparna was surrounded by all her cousins and aunties etc., ‘the grossly disturbing phone’ he thought and wanted to give it away. The phone rang again this time and it was continuing to ring, this time around Nirmal at last decided to give the phone to Sriprna and said ‘Here is your stupid who is calling relentlessly, answer it, is this the time to call? I wonder’ and then Nirmal bit his tongue for having publicly declared a matter which he realised in split seconds, may be no less than a ‘secret’.

Sriparna said ‘Hellow, Yeah, yeah, can I call you back.’ She asked her to be excused by the bridal make up team and then went out of the room. (The lovely cousins & her aunts were indicating to each and talking in their eyes only.) First & foremost she changed the contact from ‘Idoit’ to ‘Ronit’ and finished her call. She came back to the room for the crowd’s delight, where everyone except her chuckled and made Sriparna too embarrassed to even clarify. Ultimately she handed over the phone back to Nirmal and said ‘Dad here’s the phone, please take it away.’

Next morning on ‘the marriage day’, Nirmal wondered as what to do since the Bride needs to be on fast as a part of the tradition followed by his mother & wife and even Aparna for that matter. Nirmal then decided in close confidence with Debabrata that let Sriparna not do that, as she is appearing a bit weak to perform being without any food since morning. Nirmal then decided ex-parte ‘Today all of us will have vegetarian meal for lunch from the Radha Krishna Temple next door. Come Mainak let us go and talk to the Priest.’ Mainak was amazed by the move and thought that ‘maybe it is a cost cutting measure to have free meal’. Anyway Nirmal & Mainak arrived at the temple and started discussion with the priest, after finalising the menu in great detail, number of guests, timing for the lunch etc, in the end Nirmal took out 500 bucks and gave it to the priest and said ‘Six of us will come in the afternoon and we will have the “Prasada”.’ ‘No issue’ said the priest. The Priest was getting stirred up within in amazement, ‘500 bucks for only six meals, incredible!!’

It was about 1:30 in the afternoon, Rudranil got up from the bed an hour or so before but had his third bath since. Mainak said lovingly ‘Rudra, my dear please hurry up, we have to go for lunch at the Temple’. Rudranil got excited and said ‘Hang on for a moment, Mainak Mamu, I need to dress up.’ And took out his tight denim, wide crocodile leather belt, Pierre Sibler knee high shoes with matching socks from his suitcase, started wearing them one after the other. Put great deal of perfume to his handkerchief and pocketed, to culminate his carefully chosen attire finally put on the Police Sun Glass, ‘I am ready’ declared Rudranil. Mainak then called Ishita and said ‘Honey, let’s go’. Sriparna whispered to Ishita from behind, ‘Mom & me shall follow, you all please march ahead.’

The journey started, and three of them Mainak, Ishita & Rudranil reached the temple gate. The people around the Temple were all in gaze and they murmured, ‘Oh handsome guy with longish boot!’ Mainak got upset with the sarcastic looks of the locals and mentioned to Rudranil, ‘These guys are buzz friendly, uncultured and envious, ignore them.’ The team went past the Iron Gate and Rudranil confronted with a huge sign, “PLEASE LEAVE YOUR SHOES HERE” Rudranil with great reluctance had to literally sit on the ground, for no sitting place in sight, soiled his denim in the process to remove shoes and ultimately accomplished that with great effort by manoeuvring his rusty body though. Mainak was looking for direction from the staff of the temple & said, ‘We have come here for the food in the “lungar”, can you please guide us where to go?’ One lanky chap appeared and directed them to a tin shaded room with number of fans but none working! The room made of steel tubular structure, with GI sheet roof and lime mortar thatched wall. ‘Oh what a “Lungar”’ sighed Mainak. This displeased Rudranil more and found that there is roll of gunny bag laid on ground in a straight line for sitting. The paper plates were all laid for six people having banana leaf pictures printed on them. Rudranil got aghast and said in despair, ‘You know what this situation is called? “Sukhe thakte bhute kilay” in Sylhetti meaning “While you are in peace, no need to get banging from imaginary ghost......” ‘We could have easily had our good lunch at the hotel, ordering like a Governor! I hate Dad, look; what kind of decision he takes without consulting me.’ Rudranil had not finished yet but lowered his bum to sit on the gunny roll mat on the floor. Ishita heard a weird sound, “Farr arrrrr.....” and Mainak saw the deplorable state of Rudranil’s jeans!!! Ishita started uncontrollably bursting into laughter. Mainak looked back to get a bluish view of the Rudranil’s underwear!! Handkerchief that Rudranil brought soaked in perfume was made of good use and became his savoir for the moment.

The temple cook started to serve the items, he put Rice on all platters, Red lentils / Green gram (Dal ) & Pointed Gourd (Patal ) fry. He had far too many fries on the serving plate but was giving only one piece to each! That surprised Rudranil, before he could ask for more Gourd fries; the cook arrived with the next item. This time it is a mixed vegetable curry with majority of it being red pumpkin. Ishita yelled ‘Oh this one is very tasty’. Sriparna & Sarupa had arrived by this time but sat on the opposite side on news papers instead; suffering in hot summer as in any case no fan is moving even by the natural air flow! By now the taste of the food overtook the agonies of the summer temperature and all were relishing the taste and the ambience of purity of the temple. The mood of the crowd got elated. Sarupa appeared all too happy for Sriparna, who is generally a veggie and said, ‘I am too happy that Sriparna could at last relish the recipes.’ The last item to arrive was a curry with fresh cheese and peas (Motor paneer). Having finished the lunch with unexpected satisfaction, Rudranil realised how smart is his Dad and his thoughts only to be reinforced by Ishita, ‘Rudra, that is why your Dad is known for his far sightedness and his judgement to decide what is just right for a given situation and thus turned his all hair to grey. Look at you in comparison, you have got none..... Any way, you look so smart in your funky hair style, (with all black & none grey) so now do not forget to change your pant once you are back at the hotel.’ concluded Ishita.

Mainak mamu went to collect the Bridegroom’s party from their residence. Before they could reach the place, a torrential rain gathered and for about half an hour, Mainak & Rudranil got stranded on the way. Tension ran high in the minds of Rudranil ‘the only brother of the bride’, and all of a sudden the rain halted for a while. ‘Where is the house of the advocate?’ Rudranil asked sticking his half neck out of the window. No one knows! Until one passer by answered, ‘take a right turn & then you will find after may be 2 to 3 houses.’ Mainak proceeded but nothing in sight. Rudranil then spotted a house with lights more than usual and said, ‘Let’s try this house’ and Mainak found number of cars lined up inside the driveway. ‘Yeah, this is the one, Ureka!’ sighed, Rudranil and ultimately the Groom’s place was discovered with rain almost playing the spoilt sport. Mainak & Rudranil then escorted the Boy’s party to the Hotel.

Debabrata had earlier suggested that ‘Mainak Mamu, all including Nirmal suggesting that better I be here to take care of the final arrangements and you & Rudranil go to bring them.’ ‘Agreed’ said Mainak but repented now as the absence of the local Debabrata was felt with sense of extreme urgency and Mainak yelled, ‘Missed you dear’ on his return with the Groom & Co to the Hotel.

None the less, at the venue, Debabrata was seen tied up to the hand of daughter Debi and running around at the same time asking for this that etc., co-ordinating the event in an orchestra like manner. Debabrata, you know is an exceedingly responsible character having natural concern for all guests. By his deed alone he won the hearts of his in laws and this point was not overlooked by Mainak. Aparna for instance had said in the evening ‘Look Debu, (Debabrata), you need to organise the conch shell, this is urgently required to welcome the groom, I have grossly forgotten, can you hurry up honey, please.’ The sweet ‘Debu’ rushed and got his Dad to bring the same and ensured availability.

The Bridegroom arrived with host of his friends, relatives etc., as usual and as per the tradition they were welcomed with flower and popped rice rain by the Bride’s unmarried sisters. There were bunch of exceedingly gorgeous dressed lovely ladies in the Groom’s party. (Gold ornaments laden heavier than their weight!). One octogenarian, all grey haired, inexplicably vibrant character, who apparently led the party (Bara Karta) was in full form and was controlling the group movements, cracking jokes, converging into loud laughter, attending to every needs of the faction and passing on the instruction to the Bride’s side. He caught hold of Mainak and gave him a big lecture on the partition of Bengal, the role played by Lord Carzon, ‘Independence of India’ and how ‘Sylhet’ fell partly in Pakistan (now Bangladesh) and partly in India and how for 100 years during the British rule ‘Sylhet’ (Now a district in Bangladesh) was part of Assam only. The story heard by Mainak very patiently while the young looking old man narrated the stories of betrayal and agony of land losers, the “Sylhetti” clan.

The servings started to arrive, Debabrata started to attend the ‘Chief guests of the day’ with full vigour, vitality and with outmost unpresumptuous disposition, ‘like a true host’. Mainak in the meanwhile got a mate from the Bride’s side, he did not know him but could understand from his body language that both were looking for the same ingredient to add spark to the party. The guy may be one of Groom’s brother in law thought Mainak, and ‘Any way let me go’ was what Mainak’s heart said. Both Mainak & he ran to the conference room down below, opened the bottle and Mainak had one gulp, before he realised that he has got immense responsibility on his shoulder to attend to the rest of the guests. Mainak returned only to find two ladies from the Ronit’s side and sweet ‘Debu’ engaged in a huge brawl. The ladies said, ‘Look Mamu there is no one here to here entertain us, none attending us properly, we have been asking for sweets for ages, no one is getting us’. This put Debabrata on the razor edge and he could not control himself and thought, ‘what these guys think, are we their servants?’ and openly roared ‘I am not supposed to dance here right in front of you ‘ugly clowns’ to entertain!!!’. The situation assumed an obnoxious proportion. With no elders in sight, Mainak interfered and tried to calm and all dispersed eventually. In the end everyone of the Boy’s side had to be greatly persuaded and thoroughly convinced to have the Dinner & go home. Debabrata said, ‘Mainak Mamu you have too much of patience, one thing which I don’t like about you.’

Sriparna like a perfect demure bride was sitting delimited by her lovely little cousins and were in all smiles while accepting the gifts from the invited guests. Although Barnali was appointed by Nirmal for the job of introducing Sriparna to the guests (being the local lady with huge connections), Sriparna said ‘thanks and how do you do’ to all and forgetting the very next moment who’s who have wished her Good luck! Barnali, Ishita etc., all encircling Sriparna (in stunning look ever, no less than a princess), on the other hand had no idea of the brawl that had happened downstairs. Ishita for one was involved in intense conversation with Barnali who happened to be one of the old friends of Mainak. Mainak met Barnali on the day of Sriparna’s ring ceremony after a break of 25 sweet long years and it was a pleasant surprise ‘none the less’. Mainak introduced Barnali to Ishita as a sweet & bubbly girl but restless at the same time (as she used to be.) ‘So Barnali how big is your family’ queried Mainak. I have got two daughters, one in Standard VI and the elder one in Standard XII’ replied Barnali, that surprised Mainak, and said ‘Wow, see Barnali, how the time quickly flies past.’ The chemistry and rapport amongst the oldies appeared to be extremely good and there existed an exchange of happiness. Ishita too befriended Barnali and was very receptive of her. Sooner they exchanged mobile numbers. The sense of inquisitiveness gathered momentum amongst the new friends who appeared to be getting along too well.

‘Hi Mom what are you all doing here? Have you all been downstairs?’ Tiasha asked Barnali. ‘She is my eldest daughter’ Barnali did some light intro to Ishita. Tiasha in a light olive dress, long hair, vibrant roving eyes, eye lashes & eyebrow appeared to be done up in artists delight! Her skin unblemished, fair, fair extremely fair and coupled with a billion dollar smile!! (It was mainly contributed due to the fact that Tiasha had reportedly done up scaling job by her Dentist, according to the grapevine.) Ishita appeared to be getting lost to her beauty and looked at her without clicking the eye lids! Ishita was conclusively delighted and utterly confused at the same time. Many thoughts went on inside Ishita’s mind. She planned to say something & then dropped it, the very next moment. Finally, Ishita could not control herself, having resisted for longish time, unable to understand how & where to start and in the end while having dinner at the ball room, proposed ‘I like your daughter too much, you know my son is studying in the 1st year of Investment Banking in the UK, I think.......’ Barnali flabbergasted, taken by surprise could not say anything more than ‘Mmmmm....’

Debabrata, had earlier greeted Ronit with all the warmness from the deepest point of his heart and said ‘Dude, you the king for the day, enjoy the position’ and made him sit on the ‘Throne’ ordered for the day. Now the time has come to take him to the ritual site called “Kunja” which is nothing but made up of seven bamboo posts with a dome like structure all made of bamboo slashes, every post has a banana tree attached to it, more than well decorated with flower of different verities. The setting more was romantic than ever but a bit damaged by the rain just an hour ago. ‘The rain’ though failed to diminish the romantic ambience and the traditional aura attached to it. Ronit sat in the middle of the Kunja. All of Sriparna’s near ones brought her to the site slowly enough making it impossible to have a video in slow motion! Here, Sriparna took seven rounds around Ronit & in the end exchanged garlands, followed by exchange of sight of each other in Oil lamp. This incident is supposed to be the first eye contact amongst partners according to the “Sylhetti” tradition. Nowadays, this is a rarity in the current context though. The area was so deep deafening with the roars of Prem Dhani sounded by both the Boys & Girls side and the sounds of multicolour cracker bursting added the sound flavour to the Marriage festival. Lastly, both the Bride & the Groom sat by the fire nearby and exchanged vows for being the Man & Wife for life. Nirmal gifted his daughter to Ronit through the rich rituals called “Kanya Dan ” and this is the sacrament for which the entire programme had to be planned so meticulously. This was an activity very close to Nirmal’s heart and he insisted that traditional “Kanya Dan” is a must and marriage registry in the presence of Magistrates can take place any way. The hectic day ended with all saying ‘Good Night & Good Bye’ to each other.

It was a cloudy day and the temperature had fallen down a bit and Sriparna was being mentally & physically made ready to go to her in law’s place at last. Everybody in the marriage ceremony was too happy about Ronit who made a lasting impression with his ultra modest behaviour and all said in Chorus, ‘Thank God, this is what our sweet Sriparna deserved for being so simple and caring to all.’ Sriparna had to be dressed up in a different theme, a light blue “Kanjivaram” silk sari, with ornaments all over the place, too much of makeup. But not to be, all the makeup started to get wet and she was slowly & then profusely weeping, first by embracing Sarupa. Mainak was watching the commotion from a distance, while Sriparna was getting into the car for her final journey out of paternal home. Mainak uncontrollably wet his eyes and this reminded him again the lines from the Sapmochan, which he started to hum ‘Rangiye Diye Jao Jao Jao go abar Jabar bela..., tomar ashru Jale..., - a bridal good bye song from Tagore, which was of course played so well by Sarupa, but no such emotions were attached at that time! And the situation out here is so amazingly different! Mainak however resisted the emotion within himself by saying, ‘Bongs can’t do away with Tagore for any occasion. It is so deeply embedded in their heart and soul.’ Ronit touched the feet of Nirmal now, instantaneously Nirmal burst into huge cry and embraced his son in law Ronit (for the first time may be) and whatever he said was not audible but the message well driven. Take care, take care, take care.... The engine started and the car went off sight in fewer moments; earlier than anybody’s expectation.