She sips tea. Her classmate Manik tried to find out language. Upoma noticed it. Manik's eyes dazzled. He dipped into 27 years of life. Trembled like a banter-hit man. Unable to stay floating for long and couldn't drown also. Condition was like a 'dingi' of fisherman grabbed by ocean waves.
Once Manik told Upoma that she should get a slap. There were some other words also. In a dramatic way he said, "Me not going to do that. Because I do not think that I have that right". Upoma bypassed the word 'right'. About woman Manik was always shy. At last helpless too. Introduction with Upoma was very unusual. At the initial stage once suddenly she approached: "Many time to begin the class. Let us sit somewhere and talk".
With some curiosity and something like a robot, Manik followed her. After that Manik's role was only to listen, listening with wonder. Upoma, being a woman, continued criticizing women. She told many faults of women with utmost annoyance. Those were wonders to Manik and he thought, "Upoma is a woman."
Before that, once Manik criticized the style of Upoma's singing. Praising was very little, fault show was the main. Obviously those were in sweet language like a well-wisher and with suggestions to improve.
Seemed that Manik thought a lot earlier for developing Upoma's expression while singing. Words were blooming like popcorn in Upoma's mouth. Words, criticizing womenfolk, began to come out as a housewife giving broken rice to her chickens. Manik's thoughts tried to have the rice pieces like the chickens but in vain.
He could not understand, were the day's words were relating to those of that day. Upoma turned a bit tired and her voice became sloth. In the gap, Manik tried to draw a conclusion. He said, "You are honest and courageous enough for self-criticism. It is good. All cannot do."
From Upoma's many spontaneous words Manik remembered a portion accurately. Upoma said, "You will see that women suddenly can stand as pure, you will think that really a child with a total purity."
Manik, before becoming closer, used to see Upoma almost every day in the classroom. Not only that. She was seen sometimes at Maniks' dormitory also. Many days he saw her coming out of the hostel tired. Looked like a rain-wet bird. Noticeably quick. Some kind of hatred Manik then felt for this classmate.
But by a day's self criticism Upoma successfully won the heart of Manik. He suddenly discovered a top to bottom well-built Upoma. Wishes inspired him to continue the glance. Wishes said something more. He checked it. Remembered the face of his father. Strong control of mother. An Arabic word performed an electric shock in him. A sin-sense made him something like a packet through a strange squeezing.
Manik remembered the happenings of a night. There was a good-aged girl relation at home. At midnight suddenly Manik lost sleep. What he saw was like a scene of any cinema, nothing real. A 'dao' (bend-metal weapon used to cut fish and vegetable) in father's hand, mother trying to tackle him, a few feet away standing his younger brother, bow-head. It took time for Manik to understand. Father's deliberation, specifically use of a word, made everything clear to him like a sunny day.
Father was trembling in anger. Using colloquial language he said, "Boy of that day, lost the character, if stay alive he will open for me the door of 'dojakh' (hell), no need to keep such a son." Manik's mother whispered, "Have you gone mad! Please don't shout. All will be awakened".
Manik's father could not get calm for the depth of virtue-sin feelings. He looked at his wife with fire in eyes and pushing her aside, said, "Go away, nothing will happen if I kill such a son."
Regarding sins, Manik's mother also believe in martial law. She stayed in a city for nearly ten years. But it made her more hard about female issues, rather than soft. May be because she is also a woman. In reality, as the eldest son, the parents laid many hopes on him. So, they never wanted any of their sons, specially the eldest one, to go spoiled.
Many days ago. Manik was then, how much, may be nine or ten years old. An adolescent only. The eldest daughter of Manik's younger uncle, Moti, then a full-bloom girl. The afternoon rays of sun flashed on the face of Moti. Ear-rings started dazzling. Innocent Manik enjoyed it. Standing beside the elder sister, Manik touched a bright ear-ring and was observing its beauty. This message reached his mother. At night Manik had to face the mother's court of justice.
Mother asked him, "Had you talk with Moti this afternoon?"
No reply from Manik. He felt a deep fear inside his lung. He became sure that it was a very great crime to touch the ear-ring. Her mother in a very authoritative way declared, "If any time I hear that you have talked with any girl, if I hear, I shall cut you into pieces."
Manik's mother is now at the village home, counting days with a hope that after a very short time her son will become something great, will earn a lot of money. In the perspective of the spoiled younger one Manik is only the hope of the parents. A sketch of happy days.
It is not true that too much control yielded good results for Manik. About girls his body and soul were grabbed by a kind of hesitation. In flesh and blood, thoughts and feelings, a complexity made its home.
He became bound only to keep biting his own feelings. When necessary to speak he turned compelled to swallow and fell prey to a kind of psychological indigestion.
He could not get chance to look at the beauties. Beauties, several times, embroidered quilts sitting on his lawn but those were not hanged on the walls of his heart. Exploited by caution, paled by exploitation, bend in shyness, if friends branded him a "hopeless", Manik himself was not willing to make any objection.
May be that Upoma could discover Manik. Manik felt that the beauties were very smooth. Standing on the last stage of the student life Manik felt that he had a lot of works in his past time not done.
Mow-a-days Manik spend most of his time for Upoma. Friends think it strange. Close ones ask, Dear Manik, what happened to you, have you become sick?" They make jokes. Do comments, "Item is good, caught well, drink according to dose, otherwise health will turn bad." Manik used to feel uneasy.
That day Manik and Upoma were walking through the campus. An unknown boy was telling his companion, "The girl caught new one, tender boy".
Manik was sure that the boy was telling about him and Upoma. He turned red but Upoma was then in other mental world. In the afternoon Manik and Upoma habitually carried books in hands.
They planned to sit on the green of campus for study. But the result stood only seeing each other. Manik continued to look at an ocean and counting its waves. Upoma could understand very well. She knew how much works can be the result by her how many words and how much decoration can be performed by her how much smiles. Nothing was difficult for her to understand Manik.
Manik could not determine his responsibilities about Upoma. That day's afternoon was very green and golden. Sun threads were still containing heat. Upoma said, "Let us go to some other place."
Throwing away the torn green leaf from hand, he said, "As you like." Behind a bush of flower plants, others usually used to go there seldom. They sat there. A little boy came and asked, "Sir cigarette?"
After a long time Manik felt desire for tea. He asked Upoma, "Have tea?" Upoma showed hesitation. The tea shop was about fifty yards away. The boy gets tips serving tea there. It stood as a rule. Manik said yes to the boy. Upoma tried to pay. Stopping her Manik made the payment. But Manik though that he will have to lend money at night for having food.
Upoma made an accusation, "Why do you take so much tea and cigarette? Burned the leaps!" Manik looked meaningfully bright and replied, "Because the leaps have no other work". Upoma smiled like ripe paddy in the field. The boy served the tea and Manik purchased a cigarette from him.
Both sipped the tea. Manik looked and thought, "Really, Upoma sips tea in a very nice way. Holding the cup is very artistic, picking it up, sipping!"Souls, thirsty for thousands of years, began dancing on the leaps of Upoma. Wishes slipped down there. Beauties created sequence with atomic business.
Sudden air-blows created heavy sounds in Manik's head. The sounds became prolonged. Manik felt the necessity of a shower. Suddenly he extended both of his hands.
(This story was published in The Dainik Desh, a national Bengali daily, in 1982. Later it was included in the story book of the writer 'Annatra Chalo' published in 1984. The English version was done by the writer.)
The writer is an Asstt Editor of The Asian Age
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