“Was he angry?” Alka asked anxiously, when this incident came up in their conversation.

“No. But… You shouldn’t… I mean, needn’t have told him. He was unnecessarily anxious. Why did you do that?”

Alka smiled, “I think for the good of the two of you.”

Piyali frowned and did not reply. Alka spoke again, “Don’t be bothered about me, Piyali. I am leaving Kolkata soon.”

“What? Why?”

“I don’t stay anywhere for long. That’s how I am. Somehow, it has been almost six years here. Longer than any other place. It feels unreal. I have an offer from Delhi University…”

“Does he know?” she asked anxiously.

“Not yet. I will tell him.”

“He will… he will be heart-broken. Why are you going?” Between them, this was first open acknowledgement of Alka’s and Mukundo’s relationship.

“Don’t worry…”

“Is it because of me? Did I come between you two?”

“Good you asked, Piyali,” Alka sighed, “The answer is no. You didn’t come between us. Because there was nothing which you could come in between.”

“Let’s not pretend today, Didi,” Piyali said miserably, “This marriage means nothing to him. And I don’t, I can’t expect it to mean anything. I already owe him my life for what he has done for him. I don’t need anything more.”

“Don’t you love him Piyali?”

“Like a devotee loves his God.”

“Is that all?”

“Yes.”

“Most devotees don’t have a problem in getting married to normal mortals despite their love for God. Would you get married to someone else?”

Piyali was startled. An explanation dawned on her. Why hadn’t she thought of it earlier? “Is that your problem? That I am married to him?”

“Would you get married to someone else? That is my question. I don’t have any problems.”

Her voice trembled, “I don’t think so. But if he would let me, I’d go away. Don’t leave him because of me, Didi. If he is unhappy…”

“Piyali! Listen to me very carefully. I know it might be hard to believe. But ours is a relationship of convenience. Even Gods have needs. Physical needs. Your Mukundo Babu has that too. And so do I. We don’t have an emotional connect. We are not lovers and my going away is not going to give him any emotional scars. Do you understand?”

Piyali stared at her in astonishment.

“We’d be miserable if we married,” Alka added in softer tone, “I’m a free bird. I have been in ten cities since I began my career. And he? If he could afford it, he wouldn’t take a single step out of Kolkata. But it doesn’t show any stability on his part. I’d go mad at the kind of things he does. He had sold off a car within two months of buying it because it got a little scratch. Getting it repainted won’t do for him. He would not attend a party given by a colleague because he cracks sexist jokes. How is one to explain it to all the friends and colleagues? And yes. The one time he stepped out of Kolkata, he came back married! To you. I mean, seriously? Is that how people get married? How he reached Darjeeling, you already know. He did that despite knowing that there was blockage and there were no casualties. A year ago, when I had asked him to come there with me, he had refused. I had gone alone.”

Piyali was still silent. It had all been a revelation and difficult to digest. Then a questioned popped up in her mind. “That’s how you think. But what about him?”

“He thinks the same way, Piyali. I you don’t believe me, ask Mahendra.”

Piyali recalled some of Mukundo’s conversations with Mahendra. And it fitted in with what Alka was trying to convince her of.

“Why didn’t he marry, Alka Didi? Surely, he would have found someone with whom…”

“He was married once. You didn’t know?”

“No. To whom?” Piyali was surprised.

“I think her name was Aporna. She died in an accident. It has been a while.”

“Ohh!” Piyali was thoughtful. How come there was nothing in the house that hinted of him being married once? Their marriage was not planned. He couldn’t have removed earlier photos or other artifacts because of that!

“And since then he thinks he’d marry only when he finds his soul-mate. He won’t try to find someone or get married. Apparently we mortals can’t do match-making. I don’t know how that fits in with his usual atheism and rationalism. But that’s how he is.” Piyali also wondered about that. It didn’t fit his beliefs at all.

“Did he love her so much that he could not get married again?” she asked more as a way of carrying on the conversation than out of actual curiosity.

“I don’t know. Why don’t you ask him?”

“Me?” she was startled, “No. How can I ask?”

“Why not? It’s not like he is going to scold you.”

“No. But…”

“At worst, he would refuse to talk. Are you so egoistic that you can’t tolerate that?”

This made Piyali laugh, “Egoistic? Before him? You couldn’t have thought of a funnier joke, Didi.”

“I have an advice for you,” Alka said sincerely.

“What is it?”

“Listen carefully…”

—

Mukundo seemed more relaxed than usual after Alka left. At least there were no signs of distress. Given that Alka was right on that count, Piyali decided to put more faith in other things she had suggested. She decided to ask him about Aporna.

“Mukundo Babu?” They were in the library on a Sunday afternoon.

“Yes?” he noticed her nervous countenance. What was up with her?

“Can I ask you something? If you don’t want to answer, just say so. I won’t insist. But don’t be angry.”

“Stop beating around the bush, Piyali. Tell me. What is bothering you?”

“You never told me that you were married once. Your wife… How did she die?”

Mukundo was startled. He kept the book he was holding aside. Piyali wringed her hands nervously, as he appeared lost in thoughts.

“Who told you about her?” he finally asked.

“Nobody told me. Alka Didi had just mentioned it once. If you don’t want to…”

“What do you want to know?”

“I… I don’t know… Actually I was surprised that I never realized this earlier. There are no signs in the house… Did you live elsewhere?”

Mukundo took a deep breath. “No,” he said, “We lived in the same house. Pull up the chair. I will tell you everything.”

The match was arranged by Mukundo’s mother, who died soon after their marriage from her illness. Mukundo and Aporna met each other, like each other well enough and said ‘yes’ to the marriage. Life was good. No major ups, no major downs. The accident happened about three years after  their marriage. A road accident. It killed her. He had not believed the news at first. The accident had happened in an area she had no reason for going. The bodies were badly mutilated. There must have been some mistake. He was expecting her to walk back into the house anytime. But she didn’t walk in. Postmortem and DNA reports confirmed her identity. And then the mystery of her presence there unveiled as police investigated the incident. She was having an affair. With a classmate from college. The neighbors in that area had seen them together for at least two years now. Some even believed them to be married.

It was a double whammy for him. Should he mourn the loss of his wife, or loss of her faithfulness? But there was nothing he could do, except to go on with life. He suppressed the story of her infidelity as much as possible. He didn’t tell any relatives. Despite his best efforts, the information did reach her parents in the course of police investigation. Their situation on learning this was similar to his. They didn’t know what to mourn about.

“Nobody else knows?” she asked gently.

He shook his head.

“Alka Didi?”

He frowned as he replied, “No. Why should she?”

—

To be continued