Unencumbered (Part IV)

 Today is Kali Pujo. The school is on holiday. The preparation for the only pujo in the village has been going on, at our house since morning. The people of the village are helping as much as they could. For the first time, it is raining in the morning of Kali pujo. What misfortune! Yet Pujo's excitement is quite extensive. The dullness at Durga Pujo seems to have cleared at Kali Pujo. But, today's sky has no resemblance to the sky of Durga Puja. Today the face of the sky is sullen and not only the sky but many others have sullen faces, I am one of them. Because since morning, Mr. Akhilesh Bhattacharya has come to our house to be a part of only Kali Pujo in the village. He was one of the guests. All the students of the school are present, and their faces are full of sorrow today.

It started raining profusely outside by the afternoon, but it did not dampen the enthusiasm of the villagers. Even in this rain, they are ready to worship the goddess. As the night progressed, the rain became heavier and heavier. Our is a small village; So almost the whole village is present in our Chandi Mandapa today.

Finally, it was time for the Pujo; Midnight it is. The sound of rain in with lightning is coming from outside. Inside, worship Kali with the sounds of Kasar, Ghanta, and Ulu. It turned out to be a competition. As the beats inside grew louder, so did the beats outside. The water rose to the waist, but nothing to worry; it's quite late for the water logging to come to our Chandi mandapa. At that time the news came; that the Farakka dam has got a clear crack. Water is flowing in over the damn from time to time; the village will be washed away at any time. Sir is new to the place. He does not know what is the nature of the flood is in our village. Neither does he know our Chandi Mandapa is relatively high. When there is a flood situation, everyone in the village takes shelter in the zamindar's house or our Chandi mandapa. When water outside stood almost near the neck, I said to Sir, 'Sir, your Tutan is already out of the world by now. Whom will you bring to school next time? Who’s playing stick will you use to beat us next time?’

It was as if electricity was flowing in Sir's eyes. His face was filled with anger at first, then with anxiety. His condition made me overwhelmed. A cold current flowed in the heart.

Suddenly, without seeing anything, he jumped into the water. He was swimming back towards home when the dam broke, all of a sudden. It was as if a water monster came running with great speed and swallowed Sir. The whole village was washed away. The shed of the houses, all the doors of the house were washed away! Sir was carried away too.

I haven't seen Sir, since that day. No trace of him was found. The people of the village lamented a lot, directly for Sir, indirectly for their lost property. I also felt sad, but not like the villagers. Mine’s was an absolute lament because the responsibility for Sir's death indirectly falls on me.

But today I was unencumbered. A heavy stone moved away, reducing weight on my heart. The excitement came out through sweat. I began to feel a strange pain in my heart. Akhilesh Sir is sitting a few seats in front of me on the train. That exact face; fair-skinned. Only some age has increased.

Sir is not dead. I'm not a murderer!