After her lunch, with a novel in her hand,
she was giving herself up to the luxury of a short afternoon siesta, when
suddenly her landline started buzzing. With a lazy lurch forward, she grabbed
the receiver. From the other side drifted in a curt tone…"Mrs. Chaliha?”
“Yes”, she replied, “Who is speaking?” The curt voice went on..."This is
Pradip Hazarika, speaking from the Chandmari Police Station, I am coming over
to your house at 5 PM in the evening to discuss an important matter, please remain
at home”…… She went completely silent for a while, fear slowly creeping into
her at the sound of the word police station. What could have gone wrong? Is it
something to do with Jayanta? Oh, all sorts of scary probabilities started
coming to her mind. She remained silent. Suddenly, the person on the other side
of the receiver started laughing out loud “Mamata, this is Rahul speaking,
imaan nu bhoy khabo laagene? Well, I have landed from Delhi today morning and
somehow collected your phone number. Hope to meet you at 5 in the evening, ok?”
With a great relief she replied, “Oh Rahul, xosai bhoy khaisilu..so nice to
hear from you after a decade. Do come over, it will be so nice to meet you.”
Putting down the
receiver, a lazy smile played on her lips. Rahul has not changed much, she
pondered. He is still the same old prankster. Rahul, she and Jayanta had
studied together at Cotton College almost eighteen years ago and were good
friends. Rahul would play all sorts of practical jokes upon her and she
invariably fell for his tricks. She reminiscenced fondly about him. It was
almost ten years since she had last seen
him. He couldn’t come to her marriage with Jayanta five years ago, as he was
working in the United States at that time. She had lost touch with him since
then….and now, suddenly, out of the blue, this phone-call.
It was almost 4.30
in the evening….She got ready to receive Rahul, draped in a white chiffon saree, with minimal make-up on
her face. At sharp 5 p.m, her doorbell rang. She opened the door and faced
Rahul. Yes, Rahul has not changed much. He was still handsome but had put on a
little weight. Looking at her, the smile on his lips froze, as he took in her
simple appearance and her stark white attire. “What is this, Mamata”, he almost
shouted…... "When, how, where did this happen? Jayanta is no more and I
didn’t even have any inkling about it? ,”… his voice almost broke down. “Come
inside, Rahul,” Mamata calmly ushered him in and showed him the sofa to sit on.
There was a
deafening silence in the room. Rahul kept staring at Mamata, expecting her to
say something….Mamata began speaking in a whisper , “It is almost two years ago
from now…It was a Monday morning and Jayanta had gone to his office as usual. I
became busy with the household chores. Towards the evening, I made his favorite
lucee-bhaji and waited for his return from the office. At about 4.30 p.m, a
call came from the police station……. “Mrs. Chaliha? Well, I am calling from the
Chandmari Police Station. We are sorry to inform you that your husband has met
with a fatal accident and….he is no more….His car was hit by a fast moving city
bus. We are really very sorry, Mrs. Chaliha”…..Mamata stammered, "Oh
Rahul, it was so dreadful, I couldn’t believe my own ears.” Saying this, Mamata
started to weep inconsolably. “Don’t cry Mamata”, Rahul tried to pacify her,
“sometimes fate is really cruel to some people.” He was at a loss for more
words. Mamata kept on weeping for some time….Suddenly, she stopped crying and looked
at Rahul with a glazed look in her eyes, “What time is it now, Rahul? Is it
5.30? ....and today is Monday, too. Oh Yes, it is time for Jayanta to come any
moment now. He has been coming every Monday at this time, for the past two
years since he has died. He will enter that door with a smile on his face and
shout out loud…"Mamata, I am home, how was your day?”… Yes, he will come
just now. You are so lucky Rahul, you will also meet him today.”
Rahul stared at
Mamata in disbelief, with a puzzled look on his face. He guessed Mamata
couldn’t shoulder the burden of Jayanta’s death and must have lost her mind. He
felt very sorry for her but didn’t know how to react. Suddenly, he heard a
familiar voice from the doorway…" Mamata, I am home, how was your day?”
Turning round Rahul couldn’t believe his eyes. Jayanta was coming towards them
with a smile on his face. Rahul’s face turned pale with fear. He didn’t wait
even for a fraction of a second. He just uttered one single
word…"G…H…O…S…T…!!! ", and dashing past Jayanta, he ran out of the
room to his parked car and drove away at lightning speed.
Mamata
started laughing loudly. Jayanta, totally amazed couldn’t comprehend what was
going on, and asked Mamata, "Wasn’t that Rahul, Mamata? From where did he
land up? And…why did he not talk to me? What is wrong with him, Mamata? Has he
gone mad? ....and why the hell are you wearing this drab white saree? Please go
and change immediately, we are going to a party tonight.” Mamata was still
laughing uncontrollably. “Tumi nubujiba, Jayanta, Rahul has always played his
practical jokes on me since the time we were in college together, today I gave
him a fitting reply. I played a very big practical joke on him.”….. Saying
this, she went inside to change her drab white saree and wear something flashy
and shimmery for the party at night. In her heart she asked God to forgive her
for the prank she had played on Rahul and prayed to God asking for a long life
for her beloved husband, Jayanta.
Dressed and decked up, after a few moments,
she entered the room with a smile on her face. “Jayanta” she called out to him,
but Jayanta was nowhere to be seen. “Wonder where did he go now”, she muttered
to herself. Suddenly the telephone rang
with a shrill. She picked it up. “Is it Mrs. Chaliha?”.., the voice on the
other side was listless. “Yes”, she replied. “Well”, the voice continued “I am
speaking from the Dispur Police Station. Madame, your husband Jayanta Chaliha
had met with a fatal accident about two hours ago and he was taken to the
International Hospital but was declared brought dead. We are extremely sorry,
Ma’am……” The voice trailed off. Mamata couldn’t believe her ears, as her head
reeled in confusion. Darkness descended upon her as the receiver fell down from
her hand with a dull thud !!
********