Esplanade Long Distance Bus Stand, Calcutta
Subir was having tea from a clay cup. The seat was towards the front of the bus and by the window. "Can you help me with these?" It was a man in his early thirties struggling with a couple of duffle bags. "Sure" said Subir and after carefully placing his unfinished tea cup on the window sill, he took both the duffle bags from the man and placed them on the floor. The man boarded the bus followed by his wife and daughter. The man sat next to him and his family sat across the aisle. He thanked Subir and introduced himself as Aniruddha Chatterjee. Subir had smiled, reciprocated and avoided any further conversation. The bus for Digha started off exactly at 7 and was soon crossing the Hooghly river. Subir was engrossed in the beauty of his surroundings and Aniruddha was listening to the grievances of his wife towards his mother. He was smart enough not to defend her though. It was partly cloudy and windy. All and all it was nice weather. "The living conditions in this city is deteriorating fast, I must say." It was Aniruddha and the statement was meant for Subir. "When did you realize this?" asked Subir. "Today I got the confirmation that the conditions here are heading south" said Aniruddha. "Well, I dont think you should feel so negative about the city just because the cabbie refused you". Aniruddha went silent for a few seconds, then he smiled for the first time and asked the
obvious question. "How on earth do you know this?" Subir smiled and said "I saw private bus tickets and a Rs.5 coin in your shirt pocket. I assumed that you gave the conductor Rs.20 and got the change. From this I concluded that you have travelled a relatively short distance to board this bus. From the Tissot you are sporting, I would bet that you are used to cars and cabs. So I assumed that you tried to hail a cab. Cabs in the city often refuse passengers taking very short rides. Your plans go off the wire early in the morning and finally you are compelled to board a private bus to reach on time". Aniruddha was staring at him in disbelief. "Are you a detective, like Feluda or Sherlock Holmes? You observed so much in such a short while." Subir smiled and said "no, I am not a detective, infact at the moment I do not have a job. I quit day before yesterday. I just thought that its a high probability situation. Of course I was guessing. And at the same time entertaining myself”.
Subir Bose cracked the entrance for Indian Institute of Technology the first time he attempted. But he went on to study Chemistry at the Presidency College Calcutta . After a year he again sat for the IIT Entrance, got through and this time he went on to complete his B.Tech degree, worked with google for a while and retired at 35 after a lot of globe trotting. He had got married when he was 27, to Ankita, a professor of economics. They are still deeply in love with each other and Ankita actually does not care about his jobless state for that matter. She knows that Subir has a beautiful mind. He is creative and analytical at the same time. His approach towards situations are always multilateral. This does make him look a bit eccentric at times but that's all. Once he suppressed his qualifications and had gone to work as a telecaller to understand the real potential of telemarketing. Though he thought that there are better and more effective ways of marketing and selling a product, he was surprised by the skills of the telemarketing workforce. He found them extremely innovative and brilliant in their field of operations.
Today he woke up and asked his wife to join him for a short trip to the coast. But she excused herself as she had to frame questions for the forthcoming university examinations and his son too had a language test on Monday. So he had to go by himself.
The bus came to halt after some coughing and choking in the middle of nowhere. The passengers got out in no time and after enquiring it was learnt that its going to take about an hour to repair. Subir strolled off and found a tree by the road with a paddy field in front. He got some black tea without sugar from a nearby shop and sat down under the tree to enjoy the greenery and the breeze. He saw a mud hut in by the paddy field, a pond and a lot of trees. The mud hut had an adjoining area which city dwellers would call a lawn. And it was
quite big. When Aniruddha and family joined him a couple came out of the mud hut and the lady was saying something to the man in a very animated manner. What is happening out there, can you guess? Asked Aniruddha. "I think they are fighting, like we do and I am sure its the mother in law. " replied his wife. "What about you Subir? What do you make out of the set up?" Subir stared back at Aniruddha. "you tell me first, then I'll share my thoughts". "ok" said Aniruddha, "its poverty I would say. The lady seems to be frustrated with the lack of basic necessities, which in this case seems to be food. Unfortunately this is the reality and a vast majority of our population are living under these circumstances. By the way this is Pratyusha, my wife, and Ayushi my daughter." Aniruddha introduced Subir and they all exchanged pleasantries. "Wow its getting philosophical. I would say its the politicians who are responsible for the plight of these poor villagers. So much money is being earmarked for these people but how conveniently the politicians put it in their pockets. Its really pathetic - the state these people are in." Subir had a mischievious smile on his face. "And you are smiling at their plight" remarked Aniruddha. "Nope, not at their plight, but at the way I am seeing the set up. Come with me". He was off in a flash and in no time was with the man he thought as the owner of the place. Anirudhha and family followed him more out of impulse than curiosity. What followed was a business conversation between Subir and the man. They were surprised how easily Subir had convinced the man to let out everything for 5000 a month and keep everything to himself at the same time
What he was offering the man was what corporates call a business proposition. He wanted to set up a few mud huts with all amenities. Create a spotless surrounding and offer a homestay in a rice plantation. The family will ensure hospitality of the guests and he would give them 20 percent of the total profit. The owner had agreed because he had nothing to loose and get Rs.5000 per month upfront. He would consult his cousin though, who was a lawyer and lived in the city. He gave him his phone number and promised to come back next week. He gave the man Rs.100 and said he would deduct it from the rent. Before leaving he asked the man two things, his name and the name of the village. "I am Tapan and this is Tarakpur". They all ran back to the bus which was honking.
The journey began once again and the Chatterjees were bewildered. They asked Subir several times about his conviction about the whole affair, but Subir only smiled and said he would try to make it work. Subir was about to get off the bus when Aniruddha said " It was a pleasure knowing you. I was just wondering from where you derive your happiness". "Its how you look at things" he replied and got off.
Two years later
Aniruddha was going through the newspaper on a lazy Sunday morning when his eyes caught a travel supplement lying on the centre table. The cover was very attractive with coconut trees and beautiful traditional huts. He opened the magazine and under the featured destination column it was there. He nudged Pratyusha, who joined him and they could not believe what they were reading
Welcome to Tarakpur, the most preferred weekend destination of the celebrities from Kolkata. The place offers 7 home-stays in 7 different properties in a perfectly natural set up with all amenities of the mordern society........
No comments:
Post a Comment