Mahendra decided not to stay on. Mukundo asked the driver to drop him home. Sonelal looked confused as he saw a saree and sindoor-clad Piyali getting down from back seat of the car. Piyali herself was bewildered. Mukundo knew that awkwardness was going to be his constant companion from now on. So, he decided to face it.

“She is Piyali,” he introduced her to Sonelal, “She is from Uttarpara. She will live with us now.” Sonelal nodded still looking confused. Why would a woman from Uttarpara live with them? Mukundo added after struggling with words for a while, “Actually… We got married last night.”

“Who? Who got married, Dada?” Sonelal asked in astonishment.

“We. Me and Piyali. Now close your mouth and take the luggage.”

“Right… Right Dada.” It made no sense to Sonelal. Mukundo Thakur getting married? Just like that? To some random woman from Uttarpara? He saw Piyali taking out a bag from the car.

“Let it be Boudi,” he hastened to take it from her, “I will carry it.”

“That’s… that’s okay…” she spoke nervously. She didn’t belong here! Servants were not there to serve her. She herself was one of them… She didn’t know what to do?  In confusion she looked at Mukundo.

“Let him take it,” he said understanding her confusion. They walked inside and waited in his room while Sonelal carried and deposited both their bags in the room.

“Shall I bring some tea? Or will you directly have dinner?” Sonelal asked before leaving the room.

“I will let you know,” Mukundo said and dismissed him. Then he turned to Piyali, “It’s quite late. You must be tired. Change into something comfortable. Then we can have tea or dinner as you like.”

She looked like she wanted to say something, but was unable to gather courage. “What is it?” he asked, “You want to say something?”

“No… Yes… I… I don’t know.”

“Don’t know what?”

“I don’t know what I am supposed to do… Tonight… On wedding night…”

“What?” He was exasperated at first; then felt amused. “You don’t know what to… You mean you have never slept with someone.”

She gulped and nodded. Mukundo could see how mortified she was. He decided to put her out of misery. “Relax. You don’t have to do anything. Absolutely nothing. You will change into something comfortable, eat and then go to sleep. Okay?”

She stared at him, as if unable to make sense of what he said.

“Do you understand?” he asked, like the teacher he was!

She finally nodded uncertainly.

On second thoughts, he decided not to leave her alone immediately.

“Sit down, Piyali. I want to talk to you for a while.”

She mechanically made to sit down on the floor.

“No. No,” he almost cried, “Not on the floor. This is not Uttarpara. Take that chair and sit down comfortably.” He pointed towards the chair lying near his writing desk.

She gulped nervously, but did not resist. She gingerly pulled the chair out, turned it so that she could face him, and sat down. He sat down on the edge of the bed.

“I know that things are overwhelming for you,” he started speaking, “And I don’t know myself if I took the right decision is bringing you here. I wish you had a chance to make the decision for yourself. But your family would never have given you that chance. Am I right?”

She nodded, a lump forming in her throat. She struggled to keep her tears in check.

“But all that later. What you said just now doesn’t make sense. You are widowed. How could you not…”

“I never went to my in-law’s place. The accident happened before that. He died. Soon after the wedding…” she replied in a small voice.

“I’m sorry,” he said sincerely. But that still didn’t make sense. They might not have immediately consummated their marriage. But for a girl who was married, how she could be so naïve and not know… He couldn’t contain his curiosity, “How old are you, Piyali?”

“I… I don’t know,” she stammered.

“You don’t know?” he frowned.

“I mean… Let me calculate… Ten… ” she mumbled as she counted something on her hands, “Eighteen, I think.”

“Eighteen?” his eyes widened in surprise. She was just eighteen. When did she get married and widowed? He fervently hoped that she was at least eighteen. Else he would have married a minor!

She misunderstood his shock to think he didn’t believe her estimation of her age. She spoke as a way of explanation, “Everyone says I was ten-years old at the time of wedding. And I have performed pooja for eight of his barsis… So…”

“Ten?” Damn! She was a child-widow. What had he taken upon himself? If she had been living like how he had seen her since she was ten, most of her life had been traumatic. Would he be able to fix that? How?

She just nodded, unaware of the storm going on in his mind. She was preoccupied with her attempts to understand his motives. Why was he asking those questions? Was he trying to judge if she was suitable to be his wife? Why would he do that? She, obviously, wasn’t suitable. Why had he taken that decision? Why had he married her? Despite having convinced herself that he was a perfect gentleman, she could not rid her head of that conversation. The one she had overheard between her step-mother and their neighbor.

“Why would a Professor from Kolkata want to marry a village girl, Savitri? That too a widow?” the neighbor had wondered aloud.

“How do I know? The quirks of city-dwellers.” Savitri had been disinterested.

“Don’t mind Savitri. But there is something I am sure of. And I think it is my duty to warn you.”

“What is it?”

“You know there are those places in cities. Kolkata especially. I think all this care for her is just a drama. He wants to sell her off.”

“Hasn’t she already sold herself off,” Savitri was least bothered about the fate of her step-daughter, “As it is, her presence and her character is becoming a trouble for my daughters. Let him take her away and do whatever with her.”

Recalling that conversation terrorized her. She jumped out of the chair without realizing it. She trembled uncontrollably.

“Piyali!” he noticed her state and rushed to her. He made to hold her, but stopped. “What happened? Talk to me. Are you scared?”

Despite her vulnerability, she could not mistrust that caring voice. “A little,” she managed to mumble.

“Piyali. You are safe here. It’s not a lot, but you have known me for over a month. You don’t need to be scared of me.”

Was there a tinge of disappointment in his voice? Was he offended that she did not trust him? But she did trust him. Janani Kaki, her neighbor, she was used to talking rubbish. Of course, she shouldn’t take her words to her heart. And she should not offend him because of her. He has made such a sacrifice to restore dignity to her life.

“I am not scared of you, Mukundo Babu,” she said with as much strength in her voice as she could muster.

“Good. I know that the change in overwhelming and sudden. It is natural to have misgivings. But I promise you that I will do everything in my power to make you comfortable.”

She nodded.

“And yes. About us… You don’t have to worry about this wedding thing. I couldn’t have brought you away without this. But this is not how marriages should be done. There has to be some understanding, some compatibility. I am never going to impose upon you. So, don’t be bothered about me. Okay?”

That was too radical for her to comprehend. She looked at him wide-eyed; nervous and scared. If he didn’t intend to accept her as his wife, what did he want?

He read through her confusion and smiled kindly. “None of it is making sense to you. Let it be. Everything doesn’t have to be sorted out today. Tonight, just focus on resting and feeling better. You stay in this room. I will take my stuff to another room.”

“But this is your room, right?”

“Yes. But you can stay here…”

“I don’t need this room, Mukundo Babu. I don’t need any room. I just need some corner to sleep in…”

“That is not how anyone sleeps here, Piyali. There are beds to sleep in,” he was mildly irritated.

“But you keep your room. Give me the room you were going to take.”

He sighed, “Fair enough. Let me take you there.”

He settled her in another room and made to leave. But something struck him just before leaving. “Let me show you how to use the bathroom?”

“What?”

“There are no hand-pumps here. You may not know how to use the shower, geyser etc. Let me show you.”

She nodded, gulping yet again. He did want to leave her alone so that she could rest and wrap her head around the massive change that had come in her life. But things kept coming up. This was absolutely the final one for the day! Except for dinner.

—

To be continued