But he smiled and said, ‘If Mother goes alone, there’ll be no one to look after her. Why don’t you send Bouthan with her?’

Mahendra sensed the covert criticism in Behari’s words and disconcerted, he said, ‘Of course I could do that.’ But the matter didn’t go any further than that. Behari only succeeded in alienating Asha’s sympathies once again; the knowledge of that fact seemed to give him a wry pleasure.

Needless to say, Rajlakshmi wasn’t all that keen to see her birthplace in Barasat. When the river runs dry in summer, the boatman drops the oar every now and then to check how deep the water runs. At such times of emotional rift between mother and son, Rajlakshmi too was plunging the oar here and there from time to time, checking on the depth of the emotions. She had not expected that her proposal of going away to Barasat would be accepted so easily. She said to herself, ‘There’s a difference between Annapurna leaving the house and my going away. She is a spell-casting witch and I am just a mother. It’s better that I leave.’

Annapurna understood the workings of her mind and she said to Mahendra, ‘If Didi leaves, I will go with her.’

Mahendra said, ‘Did you hear that, Mother? If you go, Aunty will go with you and then how will our household run?’

Consumed with hatred, Rajlakshmi said, ‘You will come, Mejo-bou? That’s impossible—without you the household cannot run. You have to stay.’

Rajlakshmi couldn’t wait any longer. The following afternoon she was ready to leave. Everyone including Behari had assumed that Mahendra would escort her. But when the time came it turned out that Mahendra had arranged for a bearer and a guard to accompany his mother.

Behari said, ‘Mahin da, you are not dressed yet?’

A little shamefaced, Mahendra said, ‘I have college—’

Behari said, ‘Fine, you stay. I’ll go with Mother.’

Mahendra was offended. When they were alone, he said to Asha, ‘Really, Behari is going too far. He wants to prove that he is more concerned about Mother than I am.’

Annapurna was forced to stay back. But she shrank into her shell from shame, grief and exasperation. Mahendra was angry at this distant behaviour from his aunt; Asha too, felt hurt.

7

RAJLAKSHMI ARRIVED AT THE BARASAT HOUSE. BEHARI WAS SUPPOSED TO drop her off there and return at once. But when he saw how things were, he stayed back.

There were only a few very old widows living in Rajlakshmi’s ancestral home. Thick forests of bamboo and foliage ran wild all around, the water in the pond was a deep, mossy green and jackals howled nearby all day long. Rajlakshmi was quite distressed.

Behari said, ‘Mother, it may be your motherland, but “more glorious than all else” it is not. Let’s go back to Kolkata. It’d be a sin to leave you alone here.’

Rajlakshmi was close to giving up and returning. But at this point Binodini arrived, seeking shelter with Rajlakshmi and at the same time providing her with loving care. Binodini needs no fresh introduction. At one time her marriage had been fixed first to Mahendra and later to Behari. But the husband that fate had ordained for her, had a spleen disorder that proved fatal very soon. Ever since his death, Binodini had spent her days alone in the cheerless household, like a lone flowering plant in the barren wilderness. Today the orphaned girl came and bowed respectfully, touched her aunt-in-law Rajlakshmi’s feet and placed herself at her service.