Let there be light

Mukherjee Villa, synonymous to tradition and heritage basking in the middle of Moira Street was the roof under which lived fourteen members, thirteen Mukherjee’s and their attendant Robi. The gigantic structure stood out to passer bys due to its old day architectural elegance and the continuous hustle bustle from the indoors. Mr Soshodhor Mukherjee the eldest member of the household runs a printing press by the name of Words and Spring and his four sons Sankha, Subhra, Subhas and Santo are natural heirs of the same. They all diligently leave for the press at 9 am every morning and their wives doting housewives cater to the needs of their husbands even in their absence.

Mrs Soshodhor Mukherjee or ‘Boro Ma’ as they all call her is extremely amicable and kind towards all she meets. She roams around in her white sari with red border ordering the daily needful. The daily chores executed effortlessly by the four very efficient daughter in laws at least apparently. The three children of Sankha and Subhra keep the villa alive at all hours with their fun and frolic. The eldest Amudi, 17 is Sankha’s daughter and Atul and Anjan, 13 Subhra’s twins. The three siblings are inseparable and spend most of the times together.

However Amudi is comparatively shy and likes to spend time by herself. Her brothers often drag her out of her niche that she carved out in the attic,but other than them, no one really has the time for her or anyone in particular as they are all so very busy maintaining the huge villa and its disproportionate work. Amudi is loved by all yet very few people know her thoroughly. Vibrant and full of life this young girl loved every moment she lived. Academically sound with no complaints from school and a fairly liberal set of parents she was doing just fine. Boro Ma had taught her how to stich, and she herself loved to cook and both these eventually became her favourite pass time. Tall and thin with a long plait and green eyes, she stole at least one heart beat of the boys she passed. The local boys who sat to chat beside Hari’s tea stall every evening for their evening tea, also sat to glimpse Amudi pass every evening with her brothers, to drop them to their tuition class. When she returned alone, silently, counting the stones on the streets, they stare at her in awe of something they had never seen before. Neither did she like their attention nor feel intimidated by it.

Amudi had three close friends from school whom she loved dearly-Jhinuk, Ratul and Riya. And Ratul too had recently developed feelings for Amudi post her 17^th birthday, when he heard her sing and feed them the delicious mutton curry she made herself. Not that Amudi did not like him back but she felt no romance for him at all. Riya and Jhinuk discussed about Ratul for hours and how perfect he would be for her to go on a date with and how they would love it but Amudi always figured out a way to botch the whole thing up. She was always more comfortable with Riya and Jhinuk obviously due to the gender sameness. Like any other teenage girls life, Amudi’s progressed just the same everyday till one day moved into the locality- Treena.

Treena about the same age as Amudi, moved to the house opposite Mukherjee Villa with her parents and a labrador Tuffy from Delhi. Treena’s father worked for a private company and had been transferred to Kolkata. A fine girl in her late teens, in shorts and cropped tops with hair like a flame up to her shoulder stood in complete contrast to Amudi. Their entire house was visible from Amudi’s attic and very strangely she kept following Treena’s moves for a couple of days. Otherwise smart and friendly she could not muster up courage to acquaint herself with her new neighbour though she really wanted to.

All the boys now changed their schedule according to Treena’s stroll routine and that did not seem to bother Amudi at all. There was something about Treena that drove Amudi towards her yet kept her at a distance. One day when they were both in each others balcony, Treena smiled at Amudi and she ended up baking a cake for everyone in the house. Amudi’s brothers made their way to Treena’s house and enjoyed playing with Tuffy and Treena. Amudi went to call them back yet could not utter a single word with Treena. This odd reaction puzzled her and she spoke to no one about it. Was it her appearance which attracted a north Kolkata traditional young girl like her towards the unkempt? Or was it her flamboyance that made her want to know more about Treena? Amudi was getting confused by the day.

 A month had gone by and the Mukherjee’s had invited them over a couple of times for tea and every time Treena tried to speak to Amudi she shied away like the unrequited lover. She ran back to the attic and did not leave till they were all gone. Treena found Amudi rather dumb unsurprisingly and started to ignore her henceforth. On odd days Amudi peeped at Treena listening to something with the plugged in headphones on the terrace, and other days she would she her changing clothes through the left corner window of the attic which gave a clear view of Treena’s room. She did not even find it anomalous and enjoyed glimpsing at Treena as a surreptitious follower. She stopped meeting her friends and avoided her brothers. She kept to herself and spent maximum time in the attic for a few days that followed.

The day of Atul and Anjan’s birthday arrived. The house lit up like a marriage hall and the whole day was being celebrated. Treena and her family bagged an invitation though they could not make it. They were out of town. In the evening the house was bustling with pomp and show and Amudi the busy sister made arrangements for her brothers and helped her mother and aunts in setting up the whole place. She wore a beautiful pink sari and had tied her hair in a loose bun with a bindi and looked like a goddess out of heaven. She had kept Treena’s thought in the backseat for a few days now as they were out of station and because she needed to control her uncontrollable emotions immediately.

The party was a full success and everyone enjoyed themselves when suddenly entered Treena and her parents. They had to return for some emergency and were right in time for dinner. Treena paid no attention to Amudi even though she wanted to appreciate how beautiful she looked. Amudi’s flushed face knew no control and the moment her eyes crossed Treena’s she again took the flight of stairs. It pissed trrena off immensely and today she would find out what the matter was with Amudi after all. The moment she held Amudi’s had by the stairs the entire house fell into darkness. The power had failed.

The lights came back on in the next few seconds and the sight that all witnessed blinded everyone. Amudi had held Treena tight around her waist and planted a kiss on her lips.Treena was unable to release herself from the tight clutches.

 Amudi just reacted on a whim...she had no intention to do so...neither did she herself understand what quite happened... though with the lights her like came to light. A truth she wanted to hide in the corners of her mind...it came to light with the abrupt darkness.