Chapter Twelve

When Shekhar returned with his mother, his wedding was still ten or twelve days away.

About three days later, one morning, Lalita was sitting beside Shekhar’s mother, putting some things into a wicker tray. Unaware of this, Shekhar walked into the room on some errand, calling out, "Mother," but suddenly stopped short in his tracks, momentarily flustered. Lalita kept her face lowered and continued with her work.

His mother asked, "What is it?"

Forgetting why he had come, he blurted out, "No, let it be for now," and hurried out of the room. He had not caught a glimpse of Lalita’s face, but his eyes had fallen upon her hands. Though they were not entirely bare, there was nothing on them apart from a pair of glass bangles on each wrist. Smiling a cruel, inward smile, Shekhar told himself, This is just another kind of affectation. He knew Girin was a man of means, and he could find no plausible reason for his wife's hands to be so devoid of ornaments.

That very evening, as he was coming rapidly down the stairs, Lalita was on her way up; she stepped aside, pressing herself against the wall. But as Shekhar drew near, she spoke in a soft, profoundly hesitant voice: "I have something to tell you."

Shekhar halted for a moment and said in a tone of surprise, "Who? Me?"

Lalita replied in the same soft voice, "Yes, you."

"What could you possibly have to say to me!" Shekhar retorted, and descended the stairs even faster than before.

Lalita stood there motionless for a while, then, letting out a very faint sigh, she slowly walked away.

The following morning, Shekhar was sitting in his front room reading the daily newspaper when, to his utter astonishment, he looked up to see Girin entering. Girin greeted him with a namaskar, drew up a chair nearby, and sat down. Shekhar returned the greeting, set the newspaper aside, and looked at him inquiringly. The two men knew each other by sight, but they had never actually conversed, nor had either of them shown the slightest inclination to do so until today.

Girin came straight to the point. He said, "I have come to trouble you about an urgent matter. You must have heard about my mother-in-law's intentions—she wishes to sell the house to you. Today she has sent word through me that if some arrangement can be reached quickly, they would like to return to Munger this very month."

A storm had begun raging in Shekhar’s breast the moment he laid eyes on Girin, and these words did not please him in the least. With a displeased expression, he replied, "That is all very well, but in my father's absence, my elder brother is now the head of the family. He is the one you need to speak to."

Girin smiled faintly and said, "We know that too. But it would be better if you were to speak to him."

Shekhar replied in the same manner, "It might be just as well if you spoke to him yourself. You are the guardian on that side now."

Girin said, "If it is necessary for me to speak, I certainly can; but yesterday Sej-didi was saying that if you paid a little attention to the matter, it could be settled very easily."

Shekhar had been talking all this while leaning against a large bolster; now he sat bolt upright and demanded, "Who said that?"

Girin said, "Sej-didi—Lalita-didi was saying—" Shekhar was struck dumb with astonishment. Whatever Girin went on to say after that, not a single word reached his ears. Staring at the young man's face for a while with a bewildered gaze, he suddenly burst out, "Forgive me, Girin-babu, but did you not marry Lalita?"

Biting his tongue in dismay, Girin replied, "Good heavens, no! You know all of them—I am married to Kali—"

"But that was not the arrangement, surely?"

Girin had heard the entire story from Lalita. He said, "No, that was not the arrangement, that is true. On his deathbed, Gurucharan-babu made me promise not to marry anywhere else. I gave him my word. After he passed away, Sej-didi explained everything to me—though, of course, no one else knows this—that she was already married and her husband was alive. Perhaps no one else would have believed it, but I did not doubt a single word she said. Besides, a woman cannot be married more than once—what is the matter?"

Shekhar’s eyes had clouded with mist, and now that mist condensed into tears, streaming freely from the corners of his eyes right in front of Girin. But he was completely oblivious to this, nor did it even cross his mind that it was deeply shameful for a man to display such weakness before another man.

Girin looked on in silence. He had always harboured a suspicion in his heart—and today, he knew for certain that he had found Lalita’s husband. Shekhar wiped his eyes and asked in a thick voice, "But you are fond of Lalita, are you not?"

A heavy shadow of suppressed pain fell across Girin’s face, but the very next moment he broke into a gentle smile. Softly, he replied, "It is unnecessary to answer that question. Besides, no matter how great the affection, no one knowingly marries another man’s wedded wife—but let it be, I do not wish to discuss such matters regarding my elders." With another smile, he stood up and added, "I must take my leave today; we shall meet again some other time." He offered a namaskar and walked out.

Shekhar had always harboured a secret animosity toward Girin, and lately that animosity had hardened into an intense hatred. But today, the moment Girin left, Shekhar got to his feet, touched his head to the floor time and time again, and offered profound obeisance to this unfamiliar Brahmo youth. For the first time in his life, he witnessed how immense a sacrifice a person could make in silence, and with what a smiling face they could honour the most arduous of vows.

In the late afternoon, Bhubaneswari was sitting on the floor of her room, arranging a pile of new clothes into neat stacks with Lalita’s help. Shekhar walked in and sat down on his mother’s bed. Today, he did not hurriedly flee at the sight of Lalita. His mother looked up and asked, "What is it?"

Shekhar made no reply; he simply sat in silence, watching the clothes being stacked. After a while, he asked, "What is going on here, Mother?"

His mother said, "I am trying to calculate who needs to be given what sort of new clothes—I suppose we shall have to buy a few more things, isn’t that so, my child?"

Lalita nodded in agreement.

With a smile on his face, Shekhar asked, "And what if I do not marry at all, Mother?"

Bhubaneswari smiled. "You are quite capable of that," she said. "There is no end to your whims."

Shekhar also smiled and said, "I suppose that is what it will come to, Mother."

His mother turned grave. "What kind of talk is this! Do not let such inauspicious words pass your lips."

Shekhar said, "I have kept them from my lips all this time, Mother, but I can do so no longer—if I stay silent any further, it will be a grave sin."

Unable to comprehend, Bhubaneswari stared at him with an alarmed expression.

Shekhar said, "You have forgiven this son of yours for many offenses; forgive this one as well, Mother. I truly cannot go through with this marriage."

Seeing her son’s expression and hearing his words, Bhubaneswari grew genuinely anxious, but she suppressed her unease and said, "Alright, alright, so be it. Now go away from here, Shekhar, do not pester me—I have a lot of work to do."

Making another futile attempt at a smile, Shekhar said in a dry voice, "No, Mother, I am telling you the truth. This marriage cannot take place."

"Why? Is this a child's game?"

"It is precisely because it is not a child's game that I am telling you this, Mother."

Thoroughly frightened now, Bhubaneswari said angrily, "Explain to me what has happened, Shekhar. I do not like all this cryptic talk."

Shekhar said softly, "Listen to it another day, Mother. I will tell you another day."

"You will tell me another day!" Pushing the pile of clothes aside, she declared, "Then send me away to Kashi this very day! I do not wish to spend another night in such a household."

Shekhar sat there with his head bowed.

Growing even more agitated, Bhubaneswari said, "Lalita wants to go to Kashi with me as well. Let me see if I can make some arrangement for her."

Now Shekhar raised his face and smiled. "You are taking her with you; who else would you make arrangements with, Mother? What greater authority does she have than your command!"

Seeing her son’s smiling face, she felt a glimmer of hope within. Glancing once at Lalita, she said, "Did you hear what he said, my child! He thinks I can take you wherever I please, just like that! Won't we have to take your aunt's permission?"

Lalita made no reply. Deep down, she was shrinking in intense embarrassment at the manner in which Shekhar was speaking.

Shekhar blurted out, "If you wish to inform her, then go and inform her; that is up to you. But whatever you say will be done, Mother. I believe this, and the one you wish to take with you believes it too—she is your daughter-in-law." Having let the words slip, Shekhar immediately lowered his head.

Bhubaneswari was stunned with amazement. What kind of a joke was this from a son in front of his mother! Staring fixedly at him, she said, "What did you say? She is my what?"

Shekhar could not raise his face, but he answered her. Softly, he said, "Just what I said, Mother. Not from today, but for more than four years now, you have truly been her mother. I cannot say any more, Mother—ask her, she will tell you." Even as he spoke, he saw Lalita draping the end of her sari around her neck, preparing to offer obeisance to his mother. He too got up and stood beside her. Together, the two of them bowed down to the ground at his mother’s feet, after which Shekhar silently walked out of the room.

Tears of joy began to stream from Bhubaneswari’s eyes. She truly loved Lalita very deeply. Opening her safe, she brought out all her own jewellery and, as she adorned Lalita with it, gently coaxed the whole story out of her bit by bit. After hearing everything, she said, "So that is why Girin was married to Kali?"

Lalita said, "Yes, Mother, that is why. I do not know if there is another man in this world like Girin-babu. As soon as I explained it to him, he believed that I was truly already married. Whether my husband accepted me or not was up to him, but he existed."

Placing a hand on her head, Bhubaneswari said, "Of course he exists, my child! I bless him—may he live long, lifetime after lifetime. Sit here for a moment, my child. Let me go and inform Abinash that the bride has been changed." With a laugh, she made her way toward her eldest son's room.