Hello everyone🤗 thank you all for your comments. Encourages me to write😳
This update became rather long i would say, but somehow i didn't want to break it up, so posting it like that. Please bear with me
Another warning- this chapter may seem little silly and dramatic 🤣as i have written it in half sleep so don't take it that seriously😆
Enough of my rants, So here it goes...
Rudhita FS : Jealousy
Chapter 4
Morning
Anirudh knocked on the door of bondita’s room. No response. He knocked again a couple of times. He heard a faint reply “kaun hai?” asked Bondita groggily.
'Oh God!! This girl hasn't woken up till now Great!!' thought anirudh. “main hun, Anirudh” he answered
“andar aaiye, darwaza khula hai” said Bondita sleepily
“Tum abhi tak uthi nahi, chalo jaldi uth jao” said Anirudh as he entered her room and sat on the couch. A smile spread across his face seeing her sleep like a baby.
Mujhe nai utna, aur main uth ke bhi kya karun” she said a bit dramatically even in half sleep.
“Hum bahar jaa rahe hain, issliye jaldi tayyar hojao” said Anirudh smiling mischievously.
“Shotti? Kahan jaa rahen hain hum?” asked Bondita happily while suddenly springing up from bed.
“Mini ke ghar. Vahan pooja hai toh sabko jana hai. Hum thoda jaldi jayenge. Mini aur kaka ki madad hojaegi. Issliye jaldi tayyar hojao, breakfast karke jayenge. Usne mujhe.... i mean hume personally invite kiya hai" replied Anirudh while stressing on the word mujhe
“Sudamini di ke ghar?” asked Bondita disappointed and went back to sleep again. Then she continued sarcastically before closing her eyes- “Mujhe nai jana kahin pe. Vaise bhi di ko sabkuch toh aata hai, mai kya madad karun, aap hi karlo madad, apko personally jo invite kia hai unhone”. Anirudh couldn’t help but smile at her antics. She was clearly annoyed but he was enjoying himself.
He then went on to inspect her room, his room to be precise which she had taken away from him. All the things were scattered here and there. It looked like a colourful circus.
"ye kya haal banaya hai tumne iss kamre ka. Tumhe pata hai na mai saaf safai ko lekar kitna gambhir hun, kal tak sab kuch thik se rakh dena" said Anirudh strictly.
'he would never ever stop being my teacher i guess' thought Bondita. She knew he was very particular about cleanliness and neatness. It was scattered as Som dada and Batuk had pulled a prank on her while she was unpacking her luggage and later she didn't bother cleaning up owing to her bad mood. "Thik hai kar dungi" she said shortly.
Just as he was looking around his eyes fell on a book she was holding, or more like hugging it. He asked-"ye toh meri favourite book jai, kitne time se dhundh raha tha main ise, tumhare paas thi kya?"
Bondita opened her eyes now fully awake and said- "haan, ye kitab mujhe bhi bohot pasand hai, toh maine study se le liya tha. Mujhe laga aapko pata hoga"
"shayad mere dimag se nikal gaya" said Anirudh casually while he stretched his hand towards the book to take a look at it.
Suddenly Bondita pulled it back and asked- "kya kar rahen hain aap?"
"Arre mujhe dekhni hai kitab, do mujhe" he said as he now held the book with both his hands.
Bondita again pulled it back and said- " abhi mai padh rahi hun na, padne ke baad de dungi aapko.
"Arre par aise hi dekhne toh do" he replied trying to pull the book yo himself. Both of them weren't ready to give up and the to and fro between them continued for a few moments when they heard kaka came there.
“ arre vah!! Main yahan puchne aaya ki bahu tayyar hui ya nahi, lekin malkin ki toh abb tak subah hi nahi hui. Aur Anirudh, maine tumhe yaha bahu ko bulane bheja tha, aur tum iske saath yahan bacchon ki tarah ladd rahe ho” said kaka loudly. Taking advantage of the interruption Bondita snatched the book away and hid it under the pillow.
“voh kaka mujhe pata nahi tha ki bhaumik kaka ke yahan pooja hai. Jana zaruri hai kya?” asked bondita as she got up seeing kaka.
“ aise kaise zaruri nahi? Bahu ho tum hamari aur voh padosi hain, hum sab nahi jayenge toh aur kaun jaega. Aur hamne tumhare liye nayi sari aur gehne vagera rakhvaye hain zarur pehenna. Lagna chahiye na sabko ki hamari bahu aayi hai” said kaka happily. "Chalo Anirudh tum kya yahin pe khade ho tum bhi tayyar hoke niche khane ke liye aao" continued kaka while dragging Anirudh who was still suspiciously looking at Bondita as he saw her hiding the book. He was wondering why Bondita behaved that way but decided to let it go for the time being.
“Thik hai kaka” said bondita as she had no option left now. She closed the door behind them and sat on the bed gloomily. She then slowly took out the book from under the pillow and opened it to see a photo of a smiling Anirudh looking back at her. She touched the photo softly and then slowly traced the words " l love you " written below by her on it. "khadoos rakshas babu" she said and smiled remembering how he had reprimanded her for not keeping her room neat.
" Hey Durga maa! Kaise iss rakhas babu se pyar ho gaya mujhe. Yahi toh hain mere love story ke sabse bade villian. Abhi bhi baccha samajhte hain mujhe. Ye kya kam the jo apne unki premika ko bhi bhej dia , aur voh nikli bhi toh kaun? meri padosi!! Voh bhi jiska ghar bilkul mere ghar ke samne hai! Jise mujhe roz dekhna padta hai aur upar se pati babu ki dost bhi hai, aur mere pati babu usse itna hasi khushi baat karte hain. Kuch samaj nahi aata pati babu ka bhi!! Par abb main kya karun, aise hi chalta raha toh main pagal hojaungi iss confusion mein ki rakshas babu ke dil mein kya hai? Sidhe sidhe puch lun kya? Nahi nahi, agar unhone kaha ki Mini pasand hai toh?? Nahi aisa nahi hosakta. Kyun Durga maa, mein itni nanhi si jaan aur meri itni complicated life.." said bondita aloud dramatically when she heard Anirudh's voice from far "Bondita, tayyar horahi ho ya kaka ko phirse bulaun".
Ye sach mein rakshas babu hi hain, thought Bondita and she hurriedly went to get ready before anyone else came to call her.
____________________________
Anirudh watched as she walked towards him in the hall. She had opted for a maroon red saree with simple jewellery and minimal make up. He always liked maroon colour on her and thats why had selected that saree for her and kept it with the lot and hoped she would wear that saree. And she did!! And...She looked unbelievably beautiful in it. Stop staring Anirudh, he told himself and had to tear his eyes away from her before she could notice. But he was a bit late, Bondita had already caught him looking at her intently. His eyes lingered on her a moment more than usual but too quick for Bondita to notice the emotions in them. He had quickly looked down and got engrossed in his work.
She walked upto him and demanded " kya dekh rahe the?"
He looked at her for a moment and said "acchi lag rahi ho"
She smiled at his compliment but then thought 'aur acche se tarif nahi karsakte the rakshas babu' then suddenly her expressions changed and she asked " kyun, roz acchi nahi lagti? "
He looked at her and said " nahi roz chudail lagti ho, aaj thodi thik thak lag rahi ho toh tarif kardi" with a mischievous glint in his eyes.
She hit him with a pillow lying nearby "patibabu" she said showing mock anger
"Toh aur kya bolun? Tum ladkiyan samajh nahi aati mujhe, tarif karo toh problem naa karo toh bhi problem" said Anirudh now laughing
"Acche se tarif nahi karsakte aap, usme itni kanjoosi kyun? She demanded and continued "acchi lag rahi ho" imitating Anirudh.
"Abb mai kya karun, isse zyada jhooth nahi bola jata mujhse" teased Anirudh at which Bondita started hitting him on the shoulder but he continued laughing.
Then Batuk called out for her to have breakfast from the dining room. Anirudh already had it and asked her to hurry up. She went and settled herself on one of the chairs and started eating when she noticed roshogullas, Chum chum, Sondesh and various types of namkeens laid out on the table.
"Ye sab kya hai" she asked
"Mithai aur namkeen hai" said Batuk casually
"Mujhe toh pata hi nahi tha" said Bondita sarcastically
"Toh pucha kyun" teased Batuk and held out his tongue
Bondita glared at him but then asked" par itna kuch kyun"
"Kyun nahi ye pucho kaun laya hai. Subah subah halwai ki dukaan ke taraf bhaage the dada aur ye sabb lekar aaye" said Batuk smiling at her. He continued- "Aur kyun laaye ye toh tumhe pata hoga phir bhi bata deta hun- abb ghar mein haali mein ek bhukkad aayi jiska pet hai yaa kuwan pata nahi, vahi bharne ke liye laaye honge" finished Batuk and started laughing
"BATUK" glared Bondita and stomped on his feet
"Ouch" he said out aloud
"Khud ka pet toh kuwan nahi khaayi hai aur mujhe bolta hai, bhukkad kahin ka" teased Bondita. But then, Slowly her attention shifted to Anirudh, who was still engrossed in his work. Yesterday she fought with him because she didn't take her out and let her buy roshogullas. But today he had brought all this for her because she loved it. That was so very sweet of him to do. How could anybody not fall for this man!! she thought and smiled to herself.
__________________________________
After breakfast Anirudh and bondita left for Bhaumik babu’s house. As they were descending steps of their house, they saw Saudamini there. She also saw them. And suddenly a basket full of rose petals slipped from a servant’s hand and started falling on Saudamini and then she smiled at it and started twirling happily. As Bondita and Anirudh walked towards the house she asked him – “ yeh aise nach kyun rahi hai” clearly amused at the sight.
He had no idea what mini was doing. Seriously, it was random as hell, who on earth just started dancing out of blue in the middle of nowhere?? Anirudh wanted to tell this aloud but then he looked at bondita and an idea struck him. Why not tease her a bit? thought anirudh happily.
“But she is such a graceful dancer, isn’t she?” he couldn’t believe he actually said that crap.
“ seriously? kuch zyada nahi ho gaya?” said Bondita sarcastically, rolling her eyes almost at the verge of laughing. Now even Anirudh couldn’t stop himself and they started laughing out aloud as they walked along.
Saudamini then stopped dancing and asked them as they approached “ tum dono kyun hass rahe ho?”
“Kuch nahi di bass pati babu ne ek chutkula sunaya”
“Hame bhi toh sunao anirudh chutkula”
“ Kuch nahi, phir kabhi sunaunga” said anirudh coughing a bit to hide his laughter.
“Hum aapki kuch madad karden didi?” asked bondita trying to change the subject.
“Haan bondita tum ek kaam karo rangoli banado, aur anirudh tum hamare saath aao aur sajavat mein hamari madad karo” said mini.
At this bondita’s head shot up. “ Didi aisa karte hain, aap hi rangoli banaiye aur main pati babu ki sajavat mein madad karungi” said bondita.
Before anyone could say Anirudh said” Arre Bondita tumhe kaise pata hoga kaunsi sajavat kahan aur kaise karni hai? Tum rangoli hi banao main Mini ke saath jata hoon.” He didn’t really want to go but he was determined to tease Bondita.
Now Bondita was glaring at him. If eyes could kill, he would have been burned to ashes. “theek hai jaisa aap kahen” Bondita managed to say trying to control her anger. Here she was trying to keep him away from didi and he was hell bent on going with her. But now that she had no choice she just calmed herself and started to make rangoli while glancing up now and then to see if she can catch sight of Anirudh and caught him once or twice smiling and talking to Saudamini didi. She was irritated but tried to concentrate on her work. On the other hand Anirudh was observing Bondita keenly when she wasn’t watching and saw her irritation. She was clearly jealous. And his heart did a somersault at this making him smile.
Later during aarti while Saudamini was singing, Bondita came and stood near anirudh. She saw a big smile pasted on his face. “Kya baat hai, aap bohot khush lag rahe hain” whispered Bondita
“Bass yuhi, Mini ka gana sunn ke dil khush hogaya” replied Anirudh dreamily.
What is wrong with him, why is he so happy wondered Bondita and rolled her eyes.”Vaise kya baatein ho rahi thi di ke saath?”
“main kyun bataun, secret hai” said Anirudh and laughed
Seeing them whispering, Binoy who stood near them cleared his throat glaring at both of them and this made both of them go silent.
After distribution of prasad, all the guests stood in groups and chit chatting. Anirudh stood with Binoy and his friends and was talking to them casually when one of them asked
"suna hai aapki bahu aayi Binoy babu, milayenge nahi usse"
Anirudh called Bondita who was standing nearby and introduced "yehi hai meri patni Bondita"
Bondita looked at him at this. She rarely got to hear the word patni from him. She was plesently surprised at this and happy too.
" Aapse milkar accha laga.Par aap yahaan kabhi dikhayee nahi deti" said Shekhar Banerjee, one of Binoy's friends pointing towards Bondita. He was very much like Binoy, staunch follower of the British but extremely orthodox in thinnking.
" Voh main yaha nahi rehti. Padhai kar rahi hun London mein. Chuttiyon ke liye aayi hui thi ghar toh yahan pooja ke liye aagai"
"Padhai? Kya padhai kar rahi ho tum? He asked a bit shocked
" Ji barristry ki padhai kar rahi hun" said Bondita.
"Barristry? Aur tum" He asked and started laughing.
Both Anirudh and Bondita were surprised. Binoy smiled and rolled his eyes
"Isme hasne wali konsi baat hai?" asked a curious Anirudh
" Aaj tak maine kisi lady barrister ke bare mein nahi suna" said Shekhar sarcastically
" Kisi ko toh shuruvat karni padegi na" replied Bondita a bit annoyed. Anirudh smiled hearing this.
"Vaise Anirudh babu, Hamne suna tha ki aap aurton ke hakk ko lekar kaafi gambhir hain, par socha nahi tha ki apne iss fitoor mein apni patni ko padhai karne ke liye bahar bhejenge" he said taunting Anirudh ignoring what Bondita said completely.
"Yeh mera fitoor nahi Bondita ka sapna hai, balki hum dono ka sapna hai, aur galat kya hai isme, voh mehnati hai, hoshiyar hai, kaabil hai.."replied Anirudh trying to keep his tone as stable as possible.
" Aurton ko sapna dekhne ka koi hakk nahi hota barrister babu. Aur itna padhkar karegi bhi kya, sambhalna toh ise chulha chowka hi hai. Konsa ye court mein jake case ladengi" interrupted Shekhar as Anirudh was speaking.
"Kyun nahi dekh sakti aurtain sapne, maine bhi barrister banne ka sapna dekha aur bana bhi, toh ye hakk Bondita ko kyun nahi hai? Aur kya matlab hai ghar hi sambhalna hai use? Voh bhi vakalat karegi meri tarah" said Anirudh as he felt his temper rising.
" Seriously Anirudh!! tum apne sapne ko aur Bondita ke sapne ko ek saman kaise mann sakte ho. Aurton ko hum mardon ke barabar samajhte ho kya? asked a bewildered Shekhar.
"Barabar samajhna kya hai, voh barabar hi hain, bass samaj unhe barabar maanta nahi" replied Anirudh now anger clear from his tone.
Before Shekhar could say something, Binoy interrupted saying " Anirudh, tum dono ne khana nahi khaya na, jaldi jao, Batuk aur Som tum dono ka intezaar kar rahe honge" as he could clearly see the argument escalating as neither Shekhar nor Anirudh seemed to give up. And he knew his son, he could see Anirudh blow up anytime and he didn't want his business relations with Shekhar to get sour due to this fight. Anirudh angrily looked at him but Binoy signed him to go. Though Anirudh wanted to speak more he obeyed his father as he didn't want to create any drama in Bhaumik kaka's house. And anyway he had got used to these things, people mocking and questioning his actions. As he and Bondita started going away, he could hear his father saying "arre Shekhar, uske baaton pe dhyan matt do, baccha hai, roz ek naya fitoor paal leta hai, konsa uske kehne se duniya badalne wali hai" and they both laughed.
Anirudh heard this and couldn't control his anger and started going back towards his father when Bondita held his hand and shaked her head in negative and told
" jane dijiye, vaise bhi koi fayda nahi unse baat karne kaa, aap kitna bhi baat karo, gussa karlo, chilla lo, voh nahi samjhenge"
"Lekin Bondita...." He started to say when she interrupted - " voh samajhte hain ki aapke kehne se konsa duniya badal jaegi, par unke kehne se bhi konsa badlaav rukh jayega. Aap hi kehte ho naa hamara desh zaroor badlega , ise koi nahi rok sakta. Toh kyun apna gussa nikal rahen hai unpe. Chaliye khana khane chalte hain, bohot bhook lagi hai mujhe" said Bondita as she dragged him away.
Though she convinced him, she herself was getting angry at that man, but it was no use wasting energy shouting on him when he stubbornly held on to his false principles. As she sat for lunch and thought about the events that unfolded today and she really felt bad for Anirudh. How frustrating and emotionally draining it must be for him to stand his ground all the time when people all around you are hell bent on proving you wrong and mocking you including your own father. He had always told her that everyone is equal be it a man or woman, that she had as much right to dream as Batuk or any other person. It had taken her a very long time to realise that the things she got served on a platter happily by her husband were things other women couldn't even think of doing. She always knew he was a way ahead of his time but still seeing all this, seeing him fight for her, she realised how lucky she is to have him in her life. And fell a bit more in love with him.
She was so deep in her thoughts that she didn’t realize she was staring him with a big smile on her face. He waved to her in front of her eyes to bring her out of her trance. “kyun ghur rahi ho mujhe?” he asked seriously though he enjoyed it.
Was she staring at him for that long, she wondered. “meri aankhen hain, kisi ko bhi ghur sakti hun main” she answered a bit nervously. Then she remembered she had to ask about Saudamini didi. “ toh main kahan thi” she continued.
Oh, so she wasn’t done with her investigation, thought Anirudh cheerfully.
“ meri aur Mini ke baton par” he reminded her.
“haan toh main puch rahi thi kya baat kar rahe the aap dono” she asked
“maine kaha tha na secret hai” replied Anirudh while eating happily and exclaimed “ wah!! Kya khana bana hai. Pata hai aaj ka zyaadatar khana Mini ne banaya hai. Kitna accha hai na.
“kuch zyada taarif nahi kar rahe aap didi ki aaj?” asked Bondita suspiciously. Didi ke taarefon ki pool band rahe hain, aaj tak meri kabhi itni taarif ki hai kya? Mujhpe baat aaye toh acchi lag rahi ho pe baat hi khatam hojati hai, she thought.
“tareef kya? Sach bol raha hun” he replied while his heart was doing a happy dance seeing her get irritated. Now Bondita couldn’t resist herself anymore. She just wanted to know the truth. Otherwise she would definitely go mad and so she blurted out “ aapki aur Mini didi ki shaadi hone wali thi na 10 saal pehle” Anirudh looked up from his food and asked “ Ye baat tumhe kaise pata chali Bondita?” trying to pretend he is shocked that she knew this fact.
Bondita looked away guiltily. She said as she fidgeted with her saree pallu “voh maine kaka aur baba ko baat karte hue suna”.
“Bondita maine tumhe bataya hai na kiski baate chupke sunna acchi baat nahi hai” he replied. “ sorry maine jaan bhujkar nai suna, mai vahan se guzar rahi thi toh mere kano mein baat padd gayi” said Bondita guiltily while holding her one hand to her ear in apology.
And Anirudh instantly melted seeing her innocently holding her ear and looking at him with her puppy eyes. Who wouldn’t melt at this sight? “koi baat nai” he said smiling at her.
But she wasn’t finished ” toh phir kya hua?….matlab aapne mujhse shaadi….matlab hamari shaadi…aap aur didi…” she blabbered as she didn’t know how to put across her question but she somehow wanted to get done with this matter once and for all.
“ kya kehna chahti ho saaf saaf kaho Bondita…rahi tumse shaadi ki baat, voh maine ye soc ke karliya ki khushiyan sabkuch toh nahi hoti na zindagi mein” He teased.
“patibabu!! Mazak matt kijiye bataiye na, voh.. matlab.. didi aapko acchi lagti hai kya” she asked
“ bohot acchi lagti hai, itni acchi toh hai voh “ replied Anirudh continuing with his drama.
“Vaise nahi…mera matlab abhi bhi pasand hai kya aapko? Asked Bondita not sure whether she wanted an answer or not. What if he said yes? She didn’t even want to imagine that possibility. But his reply left her bewildered. “tumhe kya lagta hai? Pasand hogi abhi bhi voh mujhe” he asked with a smile.
“abb ye kaisa jawaab hua, mai kya bolun, aap batao”
“ arre socho toh aur batao tumhe kya lagta hai” he said still not giving in.
“mujhe kaise pata hoga, aap batao na, abhi pasand hai kya aapko, abhi kya aap uske saath…”she almost begged for an answer but couldn’t complete the sentence. Seeing her like this, Anirudh wanted to clarify everything to her. He just couldn’t see her hurt like this. He was about to say when Sujoy, one of his friends came and greeted him and started talking to him. Anirudh decided he would talk to Bondita later, anyway this wasn’t the place to discuss these things.
Bondita was left hanging for answers. She finished her lunch, talked to a few guests here and there, but still Anirudh was engrossed talking to his friend. So she just walked back home as she didn’t feel like being in Bhaumik kaka’s house.
She tried to sleep after going home but couldn’t. She was feeling very restless. Why wasn’t he still back, was he that happy there? Why didn’t he answer her properly? She remembered him praising Saudamini didi and him talking to her happily. Tears welled up in her eyes. Did he still like her? What if the answer was a yes ? did he really mean it when he said bohot acchi lagti hai Mini These questions suffocated her. He meant the world to her and she couldn’t imagine a life that was devoid of him and tears just started flowing continuously from her eyes.
___________________________________________
Anirudh arrived home late in the evening. He didn’t think it would take him that long. But he met Sujoy after a long time and two more friends joined in. And Sujoy invited all of them to his home and he had obliged. And now that he was back he wanted to talk to Bondita, but she was nowhere to be found. He enquired Som about it and he said she hadn’t come out of her room. So he went upstairs in search of her when he found her sitting alone in the balcony. “Bondita?” he called out.
She jerked at his voice but took a minute to turn to him. But when he saw her, His heart just went out to her, even in the dim light he could make out her pale face and puffy eyes. He just wanted to hug her and console her but he stopped himself and asked “ kya hua Bondita, tum ro rahi thi kya? Kisine kuch kaha kya tumse? Bolo?
“ nahi main theek hun voh aap dopeher ko kuch keh rahe the” she asked innocently.
Was she upset because of him, because of his half baked answers. He was just teasing her and didn’t really mean anything when he said Mini acchi lagti hai, but had it affected her so much? He wondered. He held her by shoulders and said “ Bondita, kya tum dopeher ke baat se dukhi ho? Dekho mai ese hi mazak kar raha tha, mujhe Batuk ne kal bata dia tha ki tumhe mere aur Mini ke ateet ke bare mein pata chal gaya hai. Mini mera ateet hai. Mai bass tumhe chidha raha tha, tumhe sabkuch batane wala tha…..”
“mazak?” she repeated. She couldn’t believe he took the matter so lightly. She was crying here hopelessly and he was just joking around ” Aapko ye sab mazak lagta hai? Main itni der se ye sab baatein soch soch ke pareshan horahi hun aur aap mazak kar rehe the? Aisa kaise karsakte hain aap? Aapne ek baar bhi nahi socha mujhe kitna bura lagega? Sochenge bhi kaise? Aap kya jano ki main ktna pyar karti hun aapse? Mujhe kitna bura laga ye soch ke ki aap shayad abhi bhi Saudamini did se pyar karte ho? She blurted out in her anger and sorrow.
And then the realization dawned, what she had spoken. She just confessed she loved him. She was embarrassed and couldn’t meet his eyes anymore. She made herself free of his grip and ran away to her room, leaving a shocked Anirudh alone in the balcony. She closed the door of her room and sat on the floor as fresh set of tears flowed from her eyes, having no idea what storm she had stirred up in Anirudh's heart with her confession.
____________________________________________
Sorry for the long update😒 i think i kind of made a khichdi out of this chapter🤔😆
I haven't edited it properly, so please ignore some minor errors😆
Whether you like it or not like it please please be kind enough to leave your comments. Criticism and suggestions are welcome🤗
Cricket
Suggestions / Comments
