Lonely

Like every morning I was completing my morning walk around the lake when I found my morning walk friend Jitenbabu who was sitting by the side of Lake call out my name. I had not seen him for the last one week as he had gone to Santiniketan to enjoy the abode of Tagore and the surrounding nature in the rain. 

I sat down by his side and enquired about his trip. He looked very excited and said, " My best travel so far to any place. " My association with Jitenbabu is of 10 yrs and it all started here at the lake. It was raining on that day when I shared my big golf umbrella with him. He also started his career in oil Industry located in Assam like me but he was in Assam Oil Company, Digboi and I started my career in Gauhati Refinery of Indian Oil Corporation. He was more or less of my age and divorced. He was staying in his ancestral house in Southern Avenue.

 "I remember you told me that you love going to Santiniketan in rainy season to enjoy the smell of wet fields and the limitless horizon where sky meets the field."

 "Yes,that was my main attraction but it turned out that there was some other plan was stored for me."

 "I can make out from your face that you had some unforgettable experience !"

 This is what he told me. 

As you know I took Santiniketan Express for Bolpur. I was sitting in 1st class AC Chaircar,the train started on scheduled time ,I pulled out the book Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom. The seat next to me was vacant. From Burdwan baul , many hawkers boarded the train. I always carry eclair to give to poor kids or if anyone does some good deed. A blind beggar led by his young son came to my seat. I gave him a tenner and some eclair to his son. The train pulled out of Burdwan. A young man in pajama kurta,with a jhola and a stroller bag asked me if the next seat was vacant. I nodded and he placed his bags on the overhead luggage storage place and took the aisle seat. I was busy reading my book and he was busy on his mobile talking to someone regarding his plan of staying in Bolpur.

 I was trying to guess his profession. It was Monday so he is not a tourist otherwise he would have started on Saturday, whereas I as a retired person preferred Mondays when I don't get the compartments full with noisy tourists. He had that typical literate look which is a rare in today's youth in jeans and Tees. He smiled at me and introduced himself as Souvik. I asked his profession and he told me he is an online tutor teaches English. I know that after Corona on line education has picked up it's called Edutech. Byju has created history for being the fastest growing start-up in on line education during Corona time. It was valued at 22 billion dollar then, it dared to think big. Money was pouring in ! Ravindran,CEO ,founder achieved a Rockstar status, Byju became one of the main sponsors of the last FIFA World cup by paying 40 million dollars but unfortunately after Corona when all schools opened then Byju lost cliental and the present valuation is 5 billion. 

So I jokingly asked him that hope he was not one of those numerous tutors located throughout India under Byju. He smiled and said he was independent, showed me his laptop with a dongle which was his main tool. He powered the lap top and showed me some slides of his tutorial. I was impressed. He looked at my book and said he too reads Albom . His favourite writer was Paulo Coelho too among others. I asked him whether he has read Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari. He nodded and was surprised that I have read that book. In the meanwhile he pulled out a packet of salted peanuts and shared with me. I stopped reading the book, I was liking the intellectual talk with him, for a change Souvik was not interested in cricket or politics,the favorite subject of most of the Indians. I informed him that I have booked a cottage in West Bengal Tourist Lodge.

 On scheduled time the train pulled in Bolpur, he got up , lowered his bags and my stroller. He didn't allow me to pull my bag,he asked me to go ahead with my sling bag. He helped me to get down from the train. Somehow I convinced him that I can pull my stroller bag, we both came out of the station. He hired a taxi and requested me to accompany him. I reluctantly got in. I normally take a toto. 

He dropped me at the lodge , I was looking forward to meet him again,as though he could read my thought and said ,"I will drop in after lunch if you don't have any other programme. " I readily agreed as for my such 3 days stay I generally don't make any fixed programme as my main aim was to relax. 

 I checked in my cottage, freshened up and proceeded for lunch in the dining hall. After lunch I came back to my cottage ,I wanted to lie down for a power nap. At about 4 pm there was knock on my door, I opened the door and found Souvik with his sling bag and a packet standing by the door. I invited him in the room,he gave me the packet and said," here is a packet of Eclair for you to distribute. You can carry your packet of eclair for poor and this you can distribute to whoever ask you for. You were telling me you want to have an experience of moving with group of young people who can sing and dance to the tune of Rabindrasangeet. I have organized such a programme for you at Sonajhuri forest area."

 I could not believe that he could organize such an experience, this was one of the items in my bucket list. He had hired a taxi, we got in and proceeded for Sonajhuri by the river  Khoayee. After Santiniketan the right hand side goes to Prantik and the left side road to Sonajhuri. After 10 minutes we reached a place near forest where I could see lot of young men and women in jeans,kurtas,sarees ,skirts in all kind of modern attire. They were not surprised to see me, I was warmly welcomed. A group was already singing a popular chorus, "Aloker jharna dharay.." The sun was slowly setting in the overcast cloud. The shaal tree and the reverberating music created a magical ambience. I slowly walked towards the group and joined them in singing the chorus. I am no bathroom singer but sometimes I whistle along whenever a song which i like is playing in the music system. This was my first live participation and was enjoying it. We sang on for an hour or so. A group was dancing. I was so happy that pulled out the packet of eclaire which Souvik had given me and got up to distribute. Some of them got up and took it from me. Not that all were interested in eclaire as that time tea was served. Many young girls and boys from the dancing group took eclaire. That packet was not finished. I thoroughly enjoyed those magical moments with young people. After my divorce I was leading a lonely life so those moments gave me a new kind of high. I wanted the show to go on forever but everything has to come to an end. It was getting dark and slowly those youngsters started going back. Souvik told me later those were students of Santiniketan. We also got up ,he dropped me at the lodge.

 Next day he took me to Kankalitala (one of the pithosthan where Satis's ribcage has fallen), there also we met some youngsters . We all went by the side of temple to the open field,whenever I come to this temple I prefer to come out in the field and watch the yellow mustard crop. Again this group too started singing together and I joined them in singing. This time they came to me one by one after talking to Souvik I gave them eclaire as I was happy. 

              Next day we went to Santiniketan met some students at Kalabhavan and had discussion on various sculptures and arts created by Nanda Lal Bose,Ramkinkar Bej etc. I was happy so distributed a round of eclair.

 In the evening I told Souvik that I would leave the next day and thanked him for gifting me those intellectual moments. I returned him the remaining eclair and asked him to give those to  his friends. He took the packet smilingly, he took out one piece and asked me to take before sleep for a good sleep.

 Yes,I had told him that for years now I was not getting proper sleep. I took that eclair after dinner and slowly I felt as though I was floating in my bed , my body was so light,I became one with the nature. Sometimes I was singing in  Sonajhuri and other times I was in Upsana Griha listening to Tagore. A myriad of dreams. They say dreams come in black and white but my that night dream had colours.I was in different universe where i was a poet,an artist.

           Next day I had slight headache and then I realized that I have taken some kind of barbiturates (drug). A hard realization hit me, I was peddling drug on behalf of Souvik. It’s illegal no doubt but then he presented me a life time experience which money cannot buy. I will always remember those moments when we all sang together in Sonajhuri or the intellectual discussion with those art students. 

“Jitenbabu, no doubt Souvik had gifted you unique experience. Sadly you won’t see him again!” I said.