Journey To Inrom Hills

English translation : by Amitabh Moitro (Original story in Bangla
by : Ghalib Lekhniwal)

Sourabh is driving with intense attention. And trying to remain engrossed in it. By shielding the distractions that the chirpy banter inside the car is posing.

The companions of this trip are :
1. Sourabh, age 45 yrs. The car they are driving in is Sourabh’s official car – self driven.
2. Kakoli, age 50. Still a spinster. A teacher of History in a famous school in town. Her bodily features and nature had been shorn off all the womanly traits. Of late, she is showing much interest on Sourabh. Now she is sitting in the front seat, beside Sourabh.
3. Bithi, ahed 47. A famous beuty icon. An emancipated lady. Now seated at the back seat.
4. Deepika, age 23 years (apx). She is Kakoli’s brother’s daughter. Lives at far away Kolkata. But has come down now to Kakoli’s for a few days to appear in an admission test. She is at the back seat now.
5. Sunando, age 24 yrs. Bithi’s son. He had just completed his graduation and now preparing for next level of education. He is also at the back seat.

It was a pleasure drive in the afternoon. They are driving beyond the city limits, towards a small hillock near by.. The road is barely hilly, having only undulations, thorny bushes grew on both sides of the road. There was no habitation beyond city limits. So the road was empty. Pleasant afternoon sun is in it’s glorious radiance. The mild breeze is stoking amorous vibes in heart silently – Aaj Madhosh Hua Jai Re, Shararat Karne Ko Man Chahe Re. . .

In the car, Kakoli is doing most of the talking. She usually does it everywhere.
“Sourabh, see. How you like this necklace ? I bought it only the other day. An imitation jewellery – Kakoli seeks Sourabh’s approval. Sourabh dislikes such invasion in his mental space. Expressing his mind correctly would be discourteous and hurting. He makes a steely face, feigns to be too immersed in driving to hear.

Bithi, from the back seat, now chips in to ease out the stuffy situation. “You got it from Singhal Jewellery, no ? They had a fabulous stock. That day Mrs. Khanduja bought one choker from therm. It was so exquisite. She wore it to a party. It looked so stunning. All was giving a sly look.

Sourabh heaved a sigh of relief on escaping a guilt of knowingly passing a wrong, mind-pleasing judgement. He now puts the car stereo on with his left hand. Finding the gear shift stick knob now empty, Kakoli slides her palm on it and rest it there. Sourabh have not noticed it. When he brings back his left palm to the knob, he feels the touch of another hand. Almost by instinct, he takes back his hand.
Kakoli breaks into a laughter, “See Bithi, how Sourabh bushed ? He is such a puritan”.
Kakoli’s prank for advancing intimacy had misfired again. Sourabh is too simpleton to catch such subtle hints.

But God might have kept other plans in store.

Kakoli and Bithi’s fathers were of nearly same age. All their lives, they worked together as colleagues in a Govt. Department. So the girls are known to each other since their childhood. Friendship and envy – both are that old. With passage of time, Bithi got married and bloomed into a happy, wealthy family while Kakoli missed the marriage bus. This only had added the envy. Sourabh knew them only for a few months. He had arrived at this new place only some months back on a new official assignment. Kakoli met him here on some official matter. Afterwards, she tried to expand the meeting to personal spaces. Kakoli herself had introduced Sourabh to her friend Bithi. In fact, Sourabh was presented as her trophy. But Sourabh was inert to Kakoli’s such machinations.

But when Sourabh met Bithi, his heart skipped some beats. Bithi is a paragon of beauty. Her poise radiates eternal feminity. Her looks cast a spell with aristocratic authority. Her witty conversations are always engaging and with a disarming candour. She emits a warm, regal aura around herself. People around her remained unsettled by her awe-inspiring presence. People crave for her company. She belongs to a higher and affluent strata of society.

The conversations in the car had travelled in many directions and now veered to tje topic of ‘Lip Gloss’. As usual, Kakoli unleashed her salvo – I have bought a Revlon lip gloss of xxx colour number. It has a dark purple hue. It’s a very beautiful colour. With it, you get a glamour model look ! (Of course it will look so, she had bought it). Bithi, you also buy this one (attempt of making Bithi a follower).
Bithi answered absent-mindedly – I use Dior But now that this Revlon is good, I will buy it.

In the placidity of conversations, Bithi’s last remark had suddenly pushed Sourabh into a mental turmoil. Bithi rarely uses lipgloss, she looks pretty even without. To Sourabh’s awe-struck eyes, she looked like Madhabi Mukherjee, a Ray heroine. He finds similarity in her long goose-like neck, in her hair style of a bun idly hanging at the top of her shoulder, her way of wearing a cotton saree to her daily office.. Bithi’s charm is not momentary, held by bodily features but of a lingering caress of a shade-giving tree. As all men do, Sourabh also had built his play-castle thus. There he lets loose his imaginations to bedeck Bithi with fineries of his likings. Nowhere there, lip gloss of such a weird colour befitting for a Halloween witch had any place. And now Bithi is planning to buy that ! Oh, it will be a catastrophe, a blooper, a debacle in aesthetic senses.

Now Sourabh was in a challenge – how to avoid this impending blooper. He can openly speak out his mind and restrain Bithi. But that will be indecent to Kakoli. He got uneasy in not finding a suitable way. Distractions invaded his focus for driving. In the back seat, Deepika and Sunando was engrossed in hushed tones to charm their ways into each other’s minds. They could not gat an iota of idea that a similar script is played beside.

Conversation in the car rolls on effortlessly to all directions. Now they are coming back. As the town approached, the shops, the markets, the moving traffic, busy pedestrians, the glitzy lights come in sight. Sourabh raced his mind for a suitable plan. They are out now for a long time. All may need a cup of tea. Sourabh hurriedly think of Sarvana Bhavan, a coffee shop. It has a congested parking path. That will suit to his plan. Quietly Sourabh proposes to the group to have tea at Sarvana Bhavan. All members agree.

Car stops in front of Sarvana Bhaban. In front, parking was full. Sourabh’s plan is working. Before killing the engine, Sourabh stares back at Bithi at back seat and rests his eyes on hers. Could Bithi read his words ? Then doors get unlocked. A pair of youth alight first in haste. Then Kakoli alights, with a deliberate, queen-like slow movement. Bithi halts her movements a bit, only to give the queen a priority.

Sourabh’s plan now becoms effective. He and Bithi only are now in the car. All other have alighted and now standing on the road. To them, Sourabh throws a word – I am coming after parking the car. The car rolls on for 10 meters to an empty parking lot. And Sourabh uses this precious instant to Bithi alone his disliking on the lip gloss colour – Never buy that colour, please. A deep and hidden feeling oozes out from his voice.

2 minutes after this, when they returns to the waiting 3. Bithi’ eyes languidly sweeps past Kakoli’s ashen face. Then it takes a turn to Sourabh’s eyes and enjoys a caressing halt there. A smile flits past Bithi’s face. It seem to whisper to Sourabh’ ears – I could read the lines in-between.

(End)