The Bamboo Plant

“How dare you Bapi¹?” Meenakshi glared at her quinquagenarian father, both shedding tears of utter pain, agony and anguish. The object in question was a very beautiful, innocuous and miniature bamboo plant which was gifted by Meenakshi’s aunt, Radha on her mother’s birthday. And then the pandemic broke out- Rani hurriedly left home-Bishambar’s salary got reduced to a half- and the family lost a secure earning member!

Bishambar and Rani were a happily married couple. While Bishambar was a school teacher, Rani was a nurse at a government hospital. Meenakshi, their only child, studied in Class XII and was going to sit for the Board Examinations that year, i.e. 2020. It’s been a decade since they went on a vacation. So they decided to go for a fourteen day trip to South India once her examinations were over. But Fate had something else up its sleeves!

As the pandemic broke out, the family and its planning just collapsed like a pack of cards. The vacation had to be cancelled and Rani had to hurriedly leave home. Meenakshi begged before her mother to just stay till 1 April to celebrate her birthday and go. But duty conscious as her mother always was, she refused to relent.

For one full month, Rani was to stay away from home. The lack of information about the disease coupled with unpreparedness of the administration led to a hysterical rise in the number of daily cases of affected people and fatality rates. The medical fraternity all across the nation was literally working on a war footing- a war against an invisible enemy- and the nursing community was not left out in this war. This community is really interesting. They are like foot soldiers in a chessboard. Their presence may not be acknowledged, but cannot be ignored either! And just as it is with foot soldiers, they too die a thankless death!

Rani would unfailingly call her family everyday at 10pm. That was the time she would get a bit of rest. Her next duty started from 11pm. Bishambar and Meenakshi would wait anxiously for her call. The main point of discussion was obviously the patients and their family members- how patients were admitted with mild symptoms but within hours, things just worsened- the helpless patients tossing and turning, wreathing in pain and staring with teary eyes of hope towards oblivion; and, their family members begging bitterly to allow them to once see their loved ones for one last time, only to reluctantly turn down their earnest requests. It appeared as if Darkness has been let loose to create havoc!

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It was one such day. The daughter- father duo was eagerly waiting for Rani’s call. But 10 min past, the smart phone remained lifeless. In this 10 min, the duo might have checked the phone for umpteen numbers! At last, unable to bear the painful delay, Meenakshi picked up the phone and dialled her mother’s number. The phone rang at the other end- once-twice-thrice- no response. Again she dialled-but the same response. Bishambar paced up and down the passageway, muttering on his own and slapping his forehead time and again and blaming someone invisible for reasons known to him alone.

It was almost half an hour when suddenly the call was picked up! Bishambar came running and Meenakshi put the phone on loudspeaker. But the voice that came from the other end was not of Rani’s.

“Hello, Meenakshi?”

“Yes. Who’s it?”

“Meenakshi beta, it’s Laxmi aunty, your mom’s colleague. Remember?”

“Yes aunty. Where’s Ma?” She just couldn’t follow the formalities Indians usually follow when talking to a person after a long time.

“Well Meenakshi, there’s something I would want to share with you. By the way, where’s Bishambarda²?”

“He’s beside me, you can continue, he can hear you.”

“Ok”. And again a prolonged pause.

Meenakshi just couldn’t bear it any more. She very politely yet with a stark firmness asked, “Could you, for god’s sake, tell where Ma³ is?”

“Beta, actually today early morning, Ranidi⁴ complained of headache and a feverish feeling. We all took it a bit lightly as we all were experiencing similar things for being with the patients. But in the afternoon, she suddenly fainted. We immediately took her to her cabin. Later on the reports revealed that she had got affected by Covid. We started her medication immediately. But in the evening when her condition started worsening, we had to put her into ventilation. We hope she’ll recover soon. You all take care. Don’t let Bishambarda go out...” Suddenly she heard Meenakshi scream, “Bapiiii” followed by a thud sound.

The line got disconnected!

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Bishambar is a very timid kind of a character. Though a knowledgeable person and a wonderful teacher, he’s not that kind of a fellow who can stir a sense of fear amongst his students and the online classes had added fuel to fire. The students took undue advantage of it and made a fool of him. Every 40 minutes’ class was a battlefield for him. Meenakshi literally had to take special classes of her father- teaching him the art of taking online classes!

Once, however, Bishambar did protest, though mildly, to express his dislike. It was that day when Radha brought the bamboo plant for Rani. Meenakshi still remembered the day. Quite surprisingly, Bapi couldn’t just like the plant and even advised Rani to return the gift. But to this the latter had said, “Bishu, what’s wrong with this plant? Do you know keeping this at home brings luck, well being and wealth? And I only asked Radha to gift me this. I just love this.” Bishambar didn’t utter a single word after that.

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Meenakshi caressed her father’s forehead with teary eyes. Rani orphaned the family that very same night. All night Bishambar blabbered incoherently. It was four in the morning but sleep did not cross her eyes yet. Meenakshi just couldn’t even think in her wildest dreams to lose her father now. If she loses her father also, with whom will she share her joy of success when she becomes a doctor? Is her Karma⁵ so bad that she can’t pay her Gurudakshina⁶ also?

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It was 9.45am. Bishambar’s classes would start in 15 minutes. His head was still aching. But more than that, it was an uneasy, heavy feeling within that was troubling him more- no more Rani at home! He just couldn’t accept the bitter, uncanny reality. Covid has actually slapped the Ultimate Truth on our face, that, at the end of the day, we have come alone and will go alone! 

Very reluctantly Bishambar created the link and shared it with the students. Within minutes the class was buzzing with voices and noises of all kinds- from crying babies to quarrelling parents. With an unbearable pain within and a smile outside, Bishambar started the class. Hardly a few minutes passed, and the usual pranks began.

Mathematics, perhaps, is one such universal subject which instigates a creative yet non focussing mind to do something really creepy that can even make a koala lose its cool!

While Bishambar struggled to explain the Pythagoras theorem by using the digital whiteboard, one such creative fellow, thought of proposing his lady love through the medium- probably gaining inspiration from the Bollywood flick watched last night. Bishambar warned him once, erased the misdeed and resumed teaching. But can some flimsy warning from an old fellow defeat the romantic exuberance of a teenager? The fellow now tried to express his love by drawing a red heart! The other boys picked up the cue and also tried to express their pent up emotions.

And then it happened! For the first time, for the first time, Bishambar shouted at the students! The students, stupefied by the otherwise benign sir to suddenly react like that, fell silent. But the pain inside has now got an outlet. He went on abusing and shouting at the top of his voice. Meenakshi, who was attending her online classes at the adjacent room, came running on hearing her father shout, ended the meeting immediately and shouted, “Bapi, have you gone mad or what?”

“Yes, yes, I’ve gone mad. I’ve gone mad. And why shouldn’t I? First, your mother leaves me, now the school will throw me out, then you’ll leave me, I’ll then run out into the streets, mad! Happy!”

Suddenly he saw the plant on top of the 1980’s television set. “And, and this bloody ominous plant is at the root of all evils. Lucky charm! My foot! This plant, has taken away my Rani from me. I warned your mother. But she didn’t listen. This plant, this plant has brought sorrow to our family.” He broke down into tears. Then suddenly, as if possessed by an evil spirit, Bishambar jumped onto his feet, ran towards the TV set and picked up the plant saying “Enough is enough. This plant goes outside today”. But before he could throw it, Meenakshi snatched it from her father’s hand, held it onto her bosom and cried, “How dare you Bapi? This is Ma’s only memory we’re left with, and you want to wipe out that also?”

Defeated, Bishambar slumped onto the sofa, covered his face and started crying like a baby. Keeping the plant back to its place, Meenakshi rushed to her father and hugged him, her last refuge!

“Bapi, we’re just going through some tough times, that’s it. Have you, have you ever thought if anything happens to you now, what would happen to me? Where would I go? How would I be able to fulfil my dreams and make you feel proud of your daughter? Understand one thing Bapi, if you lose the battle, I’ll lose it too!

The next fifteen minutes was just silence, a teary silence. A beautiful scene of Father- Daughter relationship- pure, pristine and innocent, untouched by the TRP dominated rants and raves.

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The next day Bishambar woke up a bit late. He knew very well that after the last day’s incident, he would only be called to hand over the pink slip. Meenakshi must have gone for doing the regular puja⁷. Bishambar washed his face, sat on the sofa, picked up his cup of tea already kept ready by Meenakshi and switched on the TV to catch up on the headlines. Suddenly he realised that something was amiss. Yes, the plant! It used to be on top of the TV set. It wasn’t there now.

Bishambar didn’t ask anything that time to Meenakshi. After finishing his tea, he was just going to get into the washroom for a bath when suddenly the phone rang. It was Mrs Hazra, the Principal. Chanting the names of all his chosen deities, Bishambar received the call.

“Good morning Ma’am.”

 “Good morning Mr Bishambar. When do you have your first class today?”

“At 11 am, Ma’am.”

“Ok. Could you substitute my 12pm class for today? I’ve an urgent meeting and also I don’t think anyone else can handle the class better than you.”

“Sure Ma’am.”

“Good. Thank You. And yes, I really appreciate the way you dealt the crisis last day. One of the parents called me up and heaped praises on you. I’ve heard everything from her. Good job, but try not to use abuses next time. Ok?”

“Yes Ma’am and thank you very much.”

A sudden whiff of fresh air breathed life into Bishambar. His face brightened up. It was 10.30am. He looked at his unshaven face once. It looked horrible. Maybe he had taken the last shave a month ago. What would the parents think if he sat in front of the camera in such a way? He needs to hurry up to be on time. He called for Meenakshi.

“Meenakshi, I’m going to the washroom.”

“Ok Bapi and Good Morning.”

“Yeah, Good Morning. By the way, where’s that bamboo plant?”

“Oh, I kept it on top of the book shelf. As per Vastu⁸, it should be placed on the Eastern side. All this while it was placed at the wrong direction.”

“Oh, ok, ok! But, but how could you make such a grave mistake Meena? Your generation doesn’t take anything seriously. God knows, what will happen to y...” and he entered the washroom with a stern look on his face, a look that a father must paint to etch himself as a formidable figure and a role model in the eyes of his daughter or son.

Meenakshi peered from the staircase with a smile. Behind this smile lies the answer to many a question.

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GLOSSARY

1. Bapi- father

2. Bishambarda- in Bengali, ‘da’ is added at the end of a name to show respect. Similar to ‘Mr’ in English.

3. Ma-mother

4. Ranidi- in Bengali, ‘di’ is added at the end of a name to show respect. Similar to ‘Ms’or ‘Mrs’ in English.

5. Karma- in Indian religion and philosophy, the universal causal law by which good or bad actions determine the future modes of an individual’s existence. [https://www.britannica.com/topic/karma]

6. Gurudakshina- the Indian tradition of acknowledgment by a student of his teacher’s contribution towards his upliftment.

7. puja- worship.

8. Vastu- an Indian system of architecture.

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