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Content Tip |
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Children's
Story Writing is a good creative outlet and can be used to
inspire others. |
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Golden
Treasure
It rained the whole day.
It stopped raining only towards the evening. Things were arranged with
much difficulty including the car, flowers, dress and a headgear for my
brother's wedding. I, as his companion, managed to get some space
to squeeze myself into the car. Our home was inside a small lane, so the
car had to be maneuvered to reach as close to our house as possible. In
the process, one of the wheels of the car got stuck into some mud and we had a hard time
rescuing it.
I am talking about the year 1974 when a car was a precious commodity. In our
locality, only one family had a car. My brother was an Army officer.
My mother had longed to see her daughter-in-law before her death. So when
my brother came home on a two month leave, we hurriedly arranged a match.
I, too, had accompanied my brother to see our would-be sister-in-law. She
was not at all good looking but tall and slim. Somehow, she was not to my
liking. Anyway, it was not my marriage. I wondered how she could be a
match for my brother who was tall and handsome. I was sure that my brother
would reject this match without a second thought. Perhaps life is stranger
than fiction. My brother gave a green signal for the marriage and even
today, I fail to understand what made him say yes.
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I was in my first year of
B.Com and followed the fashion of the day. I was in the car with my
brother. We were followed by a bigger party. On our arrival, we were
welcomed by the in-laws family and we were given some refreshments. The
marriage was to start around 11 p.m. The preparation was afoot for that
and I was introduced to some of the invitees who had come to attend the
marriage. My attention was drawn to a 13 year old girl who also came as an
invitee with her family. She was wearing a silk saree of peacock blue
color and had big attractive eyes. I looked at her but could not take my
gaze away from her. I experienced a wonderful feeling in my heart and I wondered, perhaps
this could be called, ‘love at first sight’.
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Finally, we spoke to. We instantly liked each other a lot and it felt like we had known
each other for ever. I was 22 at that time and she was only 13. Even after
34 years, I remember that day vividly. My brother's marriage ceremony went on till 4 and we were busy playing carom, talking, singing
and looking at each other endlessly. Now and then, I was called inside to
perform some ceremony as a part of my brother’s marriage.
Next day about 11 in the
morning, she invited me and the youngest brother of my sister-in-law to
their house. We walked the distance. We felt so close and so much in love
that other people accompanying us seemed non-existent. I do not remember today
what we talked about but one thing I still remember is the feeling of
warmth and the fragrance of her sweetness. They had a joint family and
were in dental treatment business. The house was quite a big one. The
first floor was used by them and the ground floor was given to a tenant.
There was a mango groove in front of the house. This natural surrounding
gave the house a wonderful ambience. It was nice to see that all her
family members accepted me with a smiling face. I took it as a good omen
to this beginning of a never ending love story.
Our first rendezvous was planned in a temple, near her house and on my way
to college. It was drizzling that afternoon. I thought she may skip
this programme but I was wrong. She was present with her sister. Every
time she looked at me, it would churn my heart and I would forget the
world around me, except her. Her innocent look gave me a great joy and
it would linger in my memory till we met next. Such a great thing happened
because of my brother’s marriage and this was a new chapter in our lives
that opened all of a sudden. We wondered how we could stay away from each
other in the coming days. With the help of my sister-in-law I arranged a
birthday celebration in a restaurant. Prior to this, I had never been to
any restaurant as my home food kept me satisfied. That evening, there were
many invitees but a look from her was enough for me to sustain till the next fortnight. At least in every 15 days, we would meet either at her
house or in a park. This way, we came very close and our love took a
seemingly concrete form.
As a token for her love,
she weaved a small flower on a handkerchief and presented it to me on a
moonlit night. Thus our love was sealed but who knew at that time that we
were destined to part from one another in a matter of two years, once and for all.
The next major incident I
remember was going out together hand-in-hand to visit Saraswati Puja
Pandals in Schools and Colleges. Time was flying. Both of us felt that life was
very
beautiful and that we would never fight. I took her to
our college puja pandal and gave her prasad. Reluctantly, we had to
part company for the time being but not before promising to meet very
soon.
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In the meantime, my examinations were soon approaching. I had to prepare
hard and being an honours student of Accountancy, the going was tough
especially without any tuition. Moreover, I was selected by the local Congress party
to be one of the representatives from the Commerce section. I won the
election with majority votes for two years consecutively. After this win,
the party wanted me to stand for the post of College President. I had to decline
politely as I had lot of studies to catch up with. I was managing by
borrowing books from the library or friends. But the part II examination
needed much more serious studies and I had to buy a few books. |
In the midst of my studies,
I would take out sometime at least once in a week to meet her. For me, she
was an inspiration to forge ahead in life, a beauty to look at, an
innocent face hardly to come by. One day I had gone to their house and
only the three sisters and their grandmother were there. The rest of the
family members had gone
out to attend a program. She played a few Hindi songs from the movie ‘Abhiman’
on their music system. I was sitting in the balcony on a chair.
Every thing was quiet. She came silently and stood close by. I called her
and she came. I held her closely to my bosom and she remained there
silently. Every second of that time remained in my life
as a golden treasure.
After that event, my life moved very fast. I had to go away to Nasik after
my graduation where my brother was working. Going to a new place put my
life into a new track and I lost all contact with her. Although I
remembered her everyday and was deeply in love with her, I did not want to
disturb her thinking that it was not possible for
me to materialize this into marriage. I want her to be happy wherever she
is. But I am sure that we will meet someday, sometime, somewhere. I am
waiting for that time to come.
Contributing
Story Teller
Sukhendu Roy Chowdhury
baliati@gmail.com
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