The wheel had started rolling. It was a morning
of December, the fog inside Meera's head was denser than the fog outside.
People were bustling around. The noise seemed to fade away .She could see
things moving backward. She was leaving everything behind .The only noise she could
hear was of fast moving train. She scanned everybody around, everyone had a
destination and goal. She was so unsure where was she heading to .This was the
first time she was on train to not reach home. The train stopped with a
screeching sound. She got down from the train with a hope that this city
of joy would bring back the lost joy in her life. The childhood memories came
alive. The days when she used to come here to her dida's house.
It used to be so much fun. Her small little footsteps
would keep rolling in the ground plus two rectangular structure, which she
called dida’s baadi (Grandmother’s home) . She would curl up her fingers in a
fist with tamarind secured tightly inside. She loved the sweet sour taste
of the sugar coated tamarind. Little she knew there will be a time when life
will turn bitter.
She had nothing left here apart from bitter sweet
memories to live with. Her maternal uncle had sold the property and there were
no remains of past .But when she thought of leaving home, Kolkata was the only
place she could think of. The first obstacle to conquer was to find a shelter.
It was late night and with the meager amount she had, she settled for a motel
in Bara Bazzar.It was dim lit ,a dingy kind of place .She mustered all courage
and went inside .There was a man sitting on the reception. He was on the
heavier side with all his face covered under a monkey cap and body wrapped in a
shawl. She could only see his eyes which were already scanning her. She feebly
asked.
Dada,ekta room chaie(Brother,I need one
room)
Guy:Kate diner(for how many days)
Meera:jaani na..kaal ke bolbo.(I dont know,will
tell you tomorrow)
Guy:Theekh aache.100 tanka roz hobe (Ok.its 100
Rs a day).
Meera:Theekh aache.Kichoo khaite jonne hobe
(Ok.Anything to eat)
Guy:Khub deri hoye geche .hobe na.(Its too late.)
Meera: double roti ?(Bread?)
Guy:Apeksha karun .check korbo.(wait.will check)
The Guy wrestling with layers of clothes,gradually
disappeared in the darkness ,shortly to return with the two pieces of bread.
She grabs it and follows him towards her room. He opened the wooden door
painted in green which had cracks and had to be pushed with leg forcibly to
open. He handed over the lock and key to Meera. She entered inside .It was a
very small room with a iron cot on which were two blanket one to be spread on
the bed and other for covering the body. There was a very dim bulb hanging down
the twilled red and yellow wire .In the corner was a pot of water with an
inverted glass on top it .Meera filled the glass with water dipped the bread in
water and gulped it. She settled on the bed .
With eyes wide open ,memories started flashing in
front of her. After her parents death in an accident when she was merely
10 years old she had come to his Mama's place.(Mother's brother).Maami
never welcomed her and she was always made to feel uninvited and unwanted
.At the tender age she was given all the responsibility of the house from
mopping to cleaning to other errands. She had accepted the destiny and had given
up in life. Years passed by .
One day while ironing the clothes she mistakenly
kept the iron on Maami's saree for longer than required. Maami had hit her with
same hot iron. She screamed in pain. That night she could not think of
anything other than running away.
Suddenly the Sun was shining brightly on her face
and she realized it was already a new morning. She had to get up and get going
for finding a job for her survival. She had no skills which she could use for her
livelihood but she had no choice other than trying. She was walking on the
roads of Kolkata with a hope to find a new beginning. She could not get
anything till now and it was already 3 in the afternoon. Her stomach was making
a growling sound .She stopped near a tea stall and ordered for a bun and Tea.
She savored the first meal of her day .Stomach was silent now. While sipping
the tea she was glaring at the sky and then she realized there was a book store
nearby.After finishing the tea ,she hurried toward the shop .It was a huge book
store with piles of books old and new.She begged for the job in the store and
the guy was a nobel soul. He agreed to employ her for taking care of the store
with a condition that she had to stay in the store. Her task would include keeping
the store clean and organized.It was a
blessing for her. She thanked the guy and said she would be back in an hour.
She hurried to the motel, settled all the dues
and came back to shop. It was a huge task to keep the books in order. There
were piles and piles of book new and old scattered all around. Some had layers
of dust making it difficult to read the title. She started dusting the books .She cleaned and
mopped the store and started arranging the books.
Time passed by .She would talk to customers
coming in to the shop. She would discuss with them about the plot of the book, about
the writer. She had started liking to discuss about the books. She would
inquire about the story of books the customer had taken previously. Most of
them were her friends now. Books bring people closer. They would narrate her
the story in short and would explain her about the genres of the book. She
understood the genres well now.
Gradually she started reading the books at night
when she was done with her daily chores. She started scribbling what she observed
around.With all here senses alive she would write down everything she noticed. The
pages of the old diary was filled with her scribbles.
The shop owner Bakul da once noticed the
dairy and asked her what she has been noting down. She said, nothing of much
importance ,I just write what I observe. Bakul da read few pages and he was
impressed. He asked her could he take this writing to a publisher .She was not
sure what that piece of unimportant scribbling will fetch.
After few days,
Bakul da came with few copies of "Alp Katha by Meera" (Short
stories by Meera) .She was astonished to see her diary converted into a book
and was placed in the front shelf of the book store. Gradually all the ten
copies that Bakul da had placed were sold. The request for book was increasing.
Bakul da had to get more copies. He would proudly introduce the writer of the
book to the customers. They were the lucky ones who would get signed copy of
her book. She could not believe that it was not a dream .The power of knowledge
had helped her to rise from anonymity. She was a famous short story writer
now.
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