When Raj Learned to Ignore Ravi to Fall For Me :

Bapi and The Trip to Chandigarh :

Before going any further into my relationship with NT, I think I need to tell you briefly about my childhood, adolescence and youth till I met him. 

I was born as the elder of the two children of my parents. The nine months that the foetus stays in the womb, is said to be one of the most critical periods for the child-to-be-born as well as the birth-giver. My father adored my mom. He used to work outstation. Most of the weekdays, Bapi (We Bengalees love addressing our fathers by that endearing term) stayed away from home. But he would come up or down to Barrackpore, depending upon his place of posting during the weekend. I learned from my maternal cousins that despite his hectic lifestyle, Bapi took a week's leave just to be with mom before my birth. 

My Bapi, Mr. Amlan Chatterjee, was a hassle-free man. He believed in simple living and high thinking. I could understand him far better when I went to Chandigarh and spent some time with him there after my matriculation. 

Bapi was working for HCL at that time as the Site Engineer. It may sound improbable to many that he never studied in any engineering college to be an engineer! He was out and out a self-made man. I heard from Mom how Bapi, good-natured that he was as a child, had an issue with his paternal uncle one day and left their house at Lake Town in Kolkata never to return there till he landed up with a job. 

Despite his apparent simplicity and joviality, he was made of steel internally. 

He left the house of his paternal uncle when the old man rebuked him as he was about to sit down for lunch. Bapi didn't say anything in reply, quietly left that house in the half pants and the shirt he had on. He told me one fine summer day in Chandigarh that he had to spend the night at the Howrah Station. It was there that he befriended one Subramonia uncle and joined the HCL at his bidding. Bapi was not even 18 at that time. 

That is how he started his career and from a mere Office Attendant, he rose to be the Site Engineer by dint of his hardwork and merit. The day he took me to the site, one thing was made clear to me. You don't need all these academic qualifications to be good at your field of work. At around 7.30 in the morning, the HCL pick-up cars, was waiting at our doorstep. The driver was a Bihari and sitting by his side, we struck up a friendship almost instantaneously. By the time I came b a ck to Barrackpore, my Hindi was almost flawless though I didn't know a word of the language. 

I was bowled over by how his co-worker respected Bapi. The Chief Engineer at the dam site was a much younger man and he seemed to depend on Bapi for the slightest hiccup. I enjoyed the scenario of the place very much that day. We had a special lunch inside one of the tents. That was the first time I tasted 'venison' or deer meat cooked in the way mutton gets cooked, and was it not delicious? I have never tasted anything as tastier or more tastier than deer meat since then.

The only thing that bothered me a lot was how Bapi had to wait near the fast-flowing dam in the blazing sun. Standing on a stone in a strategic place near the dam, Bapi kept vigil, holding an umbrella in one hand, over the goings-on. I don't know why I felt both proud of him and sorry for him at the same time. While we made merry at home, by then our family back in Barrackpore consisted of mom and my brother, younger by almost five years, poor Bapi had to stay away from us and bear hardships of unimaginable kind. 

Anyway, my stay in Chandigarh also helped me grow up before time, if I may say so. I am normally a late-riser but there I would get up by six and helped Bapi cook his meals. When I think about it now, it seems surprising that Bapi was such a good cook, something he picked up by watching the female members at the house of his paternal uncle. Whenever he came down during the hols, he would bring either the hilsa fish or mutton occasionally and cook it on his own. Now, I know that he wanted to give relief to mom. 

They were the world's best couple. I never saw them quarrel even for a day till my marriage with Raj. To come back to my Chandigarh Trip after matriculation exam, how quickly the times fled away! All I seemed to be doing there was eat, drink and make merry. Towards the end of my stay, many of Bapi's friends would invite me over at their places. All of them stayed in makeshift tents clustered together. I remember how I would talk to Sen Aunt while bathing in a cubicle bathroom while she was doing the same in the other half of the cubicle divided by a solid tin wall. 

"How Amitabh bashed up those villains, do you remember? And what about that romantic scene featuring him and Rakhi?" I would ask her from my end after having watched the video of the latest hit "Kasmewade" on the TV arranged for that purpose on the table. 

"I simply can't get that Kishore-Lata duet out of my mind." Sen Aunt replied while pouring water over her head in the adjacent bathroom. 

We both kept quiet for a while reminiscing that mesmerizing scene in the mountains with Amitabh dressed in a white shirt and pants, chasing Rakhi Gulzar around trees and plants. Right then Sen Aunt, possibly having recalled the first few lines of the super-duper hit song, started humming it to herself :

     Oh, kasmewade nivayengey hum, 

     Miltey rahengey janam, janam… 

(We will keep our promises and keep meeting one another life after life.) 

Sen Aunt, though she must have been in her early fifties, was a nice lady and would offer us her special dishes whenever she cooked them. What surprised me even more was how versatile she was in doing various household chores - be it a simple act like stitching or knitting, she was a champion. I learnt knitting from the kind lady who mothered me far away from home. But what I nearly forgot to tell you was what a good singer she was. 

"You've such a melodies voice, Aunt. Why didn't you ever try for a TV artist?" I would ask her from time to time. 

"Shono pagli meyer katha! Amader ki ar gaan taan gawar somoi achhey? " (Listen to the crazy girl! Do we have the time to be a TV artist?) 

The day I was coming back to Kol, Sen Aunt gifted me a stole made of wool by herself. It was such a thoughtful and beautiful gift that I nearly cried, holding it close to my face. 

"When you're back in Barrackpore, Babli (She used to call me by that name), it would remind you of me," she said pointing to the stole. "I pray to God that such a dear girl like yourself, should always be happy." She concluded. 

"Thank you… .. Aunt, " I was sniffing as the car sent by Subramonia Uncle honked outside. I hugged Sen Aunt for one more time, bade good-bye to the host of aunts and uncles who had gathered outside the tent to see me off. 

On the way back to the Bus Terminus (We were heading to Delhi first via Punjab), Bapi didn't utter a word. So quintessential of him! He rarely spoke much and unless there was a need, he rarely opened up to any outsiders. 

The journey from Chandigarh to Delhi was like a dream. Chandigarh is the only city in India which happens to be till date, the capital of two states, Haryana and Punjab. It is a very well-planned city built during the British Raj, if my History serves me all right. As the car picked up speed, sitting by the side of a new driver, I kept looking at the greenery that raced past me. The rows of tall, bustling, unknown trees on either side of the highway under the blue than blue skies, left an undeniable impression on my young mind. 

As we boarded the long-distance bus to Delhi, I turned my head around to look at Bapi. He was a handsome man once in spite of being not very tall. I looked up at his cloudy face and knew that I had to do something to change his mood. 

"Bapi, next time I come again, I'd love to come with Mom and Bhai. They don't know what they have missed! Chandigarh is the most amazing city I have seen in my life! " I couldn't stop chirping. 

Bapi broke into what was the thin outline of a smile. He placed his hand on my head and said:" I'm sure that both of them would love to come but whether I'll be here six months from now, I ain't sure." He sighed. 

"Why, Bapi? " I couldn't help asking. 

"Because Sunil Uncle, you remember him, right? He's taken over the Kolkata Branch of HCL, and wants me transferred there at the earliest." Bapi answered thoughtfully. 

The mere mention of Sunil Uncle filled me up with an awful thrill for the rest of the journey. For your info, the dazzler from Darjeeling happened to be my first crush. 

To be continued…