Chapter 18 : Long Awaited Goodbye

I requested Vikash if I could sleep in his car as I was in dire need of some rest after having to remain awake for 18 hours straight. He told me to go ahead.

Before going off to sleep, I cautioned him that if Aunty or the girls do come to visit Geeta, he should wake me up. I got into his car and dozed off to sleep in the comfortable back seat.

I was not sure for how long I slept but my deep slumber was broken up by a commotion occurring right next to Vikash's car.

As I got off from the car I witnessed Mrs. Das apologizing fervently to Vikash. I approached them and asked her what had happened and she requested an opportunity to talk with Master Da or Miss Sengupta and continued.

"Right after you left my house the day before yesterday, a few policemen and a couple of men from the army stormed into my house, showed me a warrant and started rummaging through my entire household turning it into a mess. They kept asking me how do I know Tribeni Majumdar and what is my connection to him, and why was there a regular deposit of thousands of rupees into my account every month. I kept insisting to them that I didn't know any Tribeni Majumdar and the only reason I had a steady deposit of that large sum of money in my account was that I was getting paid to teach your friend."

I couldn't believe what I just heard, Mr. Banerjee is paying her thousands of rupees every month to teach Geeta. God that's an unreasonable amount, Normally for a few hours of tuition, the usual charges are about a few hundred rupees. Why are the Banerjees paying her such a huge amount? Is she blackmailing the Banerjee's?

She continued "They kept questioning me the whole night and I kept repeating that I really don't know who that man is. They also questioned that if I didn't know who this Tribeni Majumdar was, how come I made a call from my house to his phone number. Also, no one would pay thousands of rupees just to teach one person. They were pretty obstinate in their belief that I was hiding the truth."

As I was listening to her continuous rant, Vikash very calmly browsed his mobile phone and interrupted, "Tribeni Majumdar is the most wanted Naxalbari Movement leader, whom the police and the military have been searching for the past 24 years. Nobody has seen or heard from Tribeni Majumdar since 1972," Bangla news has reported the following news:

**** Purulia: The Intelligence Bureau has found proof that the infamous Naxalbari movement leader Tribeni Majumdar is alive when they intercepted a call from a house in Purulia which was directed to his phone. The investigation is underway and the suspect is currently on bail until the police confirm the authenticity of the call. If the call is authenticated, there are chances that the suspect will be arrested under Militancy Act." ****

Listening to this news, I remembered what happened on the day of our visit to Mrs. Das. It was not difficult to connect the dots together and realize that this was Master Da's plan in action.

"I... I don't believe it... Master da had ruined her life." I could not help but smile at the evil but justified ingenuity of Master Da.

"Please let me talk to him, he is the only one who can save me from this ordeal," begged Mrs. Das.

I replied, "I am not sure, where he lives, but let me propose to you something, why don't you go and meet Geeta, you know she is awake now. I only ask of you this. Apologize to her sincerely for not being a good teacher to her and pray to God, she forgives you. If that happens, I will try to convince Miss Sengupta to save you from your current plight. She is the only one who can save you now."

Mrs. Das didn't resist and without any protest rushed to Geeta's room. Her frantic steps made it seem like she was being chased by some rabid dog and she needed to escape our company. Vikash and I followed her hurriedly.

As we entered the room, Geeta's face paled in fright at the sight of Mrs. Das.

Mrs. Das politely asked "How are you doing my child. Are you feeling better now?"

Geeta softly replied, "I am feeling a little bit better Miss. Maybe in a few days, I will have the strength to walk properly too."

"My child, I just wanted to tell you, how sorry I am for treating you badly. I know there is nothing I can do which can take away the pain that I caused to you. But if you think you can find a sliver of forgiveness for your teacher, please accept my apology." saying this Mrs. Das folded her hands and directed a remorseful glance towards Geeta.

I was not buying this display of remorse from Mrs. Das but for Geeta's sake, I did not say anything. It felt good seeing her beg and her arrogance shattered.

Geeta tried getting down from the bed but she was far too weak to stand up and pleaded, "Miss, please don't say that, you are my teacher, you should not be saying sorry to me, you are embarrassing me. please don't do that."

Mrs. Das kept persisting in her efforts Geeta to make Geeta forgive her. Finally, after a lot of begging, Geeta forgave her out of sheer embarrassment.

Hearing Geeta concede, Monika burst out in a loud voice, "I HOPE YOU GO TO HELL, YOU DON'T DESERVE MY FRIEND'S FORGIVENESS."

Hearing Monika's raised voice, Mom, Dad, and Mr. Banerjee rushed into the room.

I was shocked at what Monika had just said and as I turned to her, she started raving in an angry tone, "Instead of teaching Geeta how to solve Maths problems or teach her science or English, what did you teach her, how to stitch clothes, how to knit a sweater, how to make baskets, how to draw. I really don't want to divulge in front of these people what else you made her do, instead of teaching."

As Mrs. Das was struggling to respond and uttering something incoherently, Monika stopped her, "I am not done yet. Let me ask Geeta 2 questions if she can answer them correctly I will ask you for forgiveness."

She looked at Geeta and said "Geeta can you tell me how much is 15 multiplied by 15. this is easy,"

I saw the blank look on Geeta's face as she fumbled for an answer.

Monika replied "Ok forget that question, I know you must be very exhausted, right now you might not have the patience or strength for maths. But let me ask you something which anybody of our age should be aware of. Can you tell me who is the current president of India?"

I saw the blank look on Geeta once again. It finally dawned on me that she has not taught a single thing to Geeta for the past 6 years. It felt like she has been duping Mr. Banerjee into giving her absurd amounts of money only not to teach Geeta anything. This is definitely the reason why Geeta was not able to clear the entrance exam.

Monika continued to chide and turned towards me, "Bro, why don't you ask her what did she do during the last 6 years whenever Geeta needed to prepare for the entrance exam."

I looked at Geeta first and then to Monika and asked: "What did she do?"

Monika lifted the blanket which covered Geeta's feet and showed a huge scar mark covering her right ankle. "Look at this Bro, You wanted to know, how she got this? Just a week before the exam, Geeta begged her to at least teach her something since the exam was in less than a week, and she replied that Geeta should not bother, people like her don't need to study. I started to help her as much as I could without Mrs. Das' knowledge so that she could clear the test. But on the day of the exam, can you imagine what she did, she chained her hands and feet to the chair and made her look at the computer screen. All she could do was stare at the exam timer running and helplessly look at the computer screen. She did this to her every time she attempted the exam."

"You know bro when Geeta tried to resist during her second attempt and tried getting herself out of the binds, she took the mop which had an iron handle and hit her on the ankle, fracturing her leg in the process. They had to put a rod to get her leg fixed. This is the surgery mark."

"You know what else, bro, every-year during the winters, she suffers from extreme pain and struggles. She needs an ankle crutch to walk, but this woman is least bothered or guilty about what she did to her. Why do you think I should be forgiving her for it."

I was having difficulty processing what I have just heard.

Vikash turned to Geeta and urged her "Sis, please tell me the truth, what Monika just said, is that true? Don't be afraid of Mrs. Das, if all this is true, I promise you justice will be delivered, and at this very moment."

Mrs. Das kept looking at Geeta probably to coerce her not to tell the truth, but suddenly Geeta burst into tears and whimpered: "Vikash dada, Monika is telling the truth, she keeps telling me that PEOPLE LIKE ME don't deserve any education."

Vikash looked at Mrs. Das and asked "PEOPLE LIKE YOU... what do you mean people like you... Care to explain that?"

Mrs. Das suddenly uttered a word that made my blood boil in anger. I could barely control myself. Had that lady been a boy, I would have broken her jaw, but being a gentleman, I sadly could not act on my whim. As I was working on curbing my wrath, I heard a loud thud and found Mrs. Das lying on the floor, with her nose bleeding. I could not understand what the hell just happened.

Suddenly I saw my mom, shaking her right hand as if it was hurt. Looking at my stunned face she replied "I know son, you were restraining yourself because of how we raised you, but I could not, and I gave her what I thought she deserved. This woman has got no right to use that filthy word against a child. Even if that word is true, which I know is not, she has got no right to use that word" and without saying another word my mom landed another kick on Mrs. Das.

I never knew, my mom was a fighter and very good at landing punches. I was proud of what she just did. Mrs. Das writhed in pain on the floor and kept mumbling that she is going to complain to the cops.

As she rose to walk out of the room, Mr. Banerjee stopped her, "Where do you think you are going? There is someone who wants to talk to you. you are not going anywhere right now."

We surrounded her to prevent her from leaving and waited for some time and about half an hour later, Miss Sengupta accompanied by a couple of lady constables arrived and arrested her. Miss Sengupta replied "Mr. Banerjee had raised a complaint against you for child abuse. We are arresting you under sections 23, 24 and 26 of the Indian Penal Code."

Mrs. Das started her usual rant of not being guilty of any such crime and how she was innocent and falsely framed, but Monika's testimony was more than enough to send her behind bars. As she was being taken away, a group of men in armed forces uniform led by the same person who came to meet Geeta and Monika earlier in the day stormed into her room.

Miss Sengupta and the officer discussed something outside the room and Miss Sengupta asked her subordinates to hand over Mrs. Das to the M.P.(Military Police). stating that its the M.P's case now as she has been booked under the militancy act.

Master da really outdid himself. How come he knew one of the most wanted men in West Bengal and how did he frame Mrs. Das.

As Mrs. Das was being dragged away, Miss Sengupta requested the officer if she could have a quick word with the accused. Upon their permission, she whispered something into her ear and then she was taken away.

Amidst all these happenings, Mrs. Banerjee finally made her entrance into the hospital. She had an excited look on her face.

As she approached Mr. Banerjee she asked him "Isn't she Mrs. Das. our Geeta's teacher. What happened, why was she being taken away by those army men."

Mr. Banerjee looked at her and replied "The army thinks she has links to some extremists. So they booked her under Militancy Act."

Mrs. Banerjee face turned pale listening to this and replied "Thank god, they arrested her, what if something would have happened to us"

"Trust me, she would have gone behind bars anyway," replied Mr. Banerjee.

"I..I don't understand... what are you implying?" asked, Mrs. Banerjee.

Mr. Banerjee replied "You see, we have found proof that although she kept taking a lump sum of money in charge of teaching Geeta she has not taught a single thing to her. Besides, we also came to know that she has been physically hurting our Geeta when you were not at home. The police were here to arrest her, but the army beat her to it."

I saw the worried look on aunty's face when Mr. Banerjee was telling her about Mrs. Das. She took leave and went to Geeta's room to meet her. I followed her too and saw that Monika had climbed on the bed and was lying next to Geeta.

As aunty entered the room I saw Geeta struggling to get up. Aunty gestured her not to move, went near her and stroked her hand soothingly against her head and said "How are you doing my child? Are you feeling better?"

Geeta replied softly "I am fine aunty. I will be well in another few days."

As Aunty and Geeta were talking, the doctor entered the room and announced, "Everyone needs to leave the room for some time, the child is exhausted and needs to sleep. I can allow only 2 people to stay here for the night."

All of us went out while the doctor examined Geeta.

Aunty volunteered to stay with Geeta for the night. Miss Sengupta also wanted to stay with aunty and convinced uncle to go home.

Uncle decided to take the girls home. Dad gestured me to stay in the hospital in case there is an emergency, and left home with Mom and Monika. Vikash, as usual, said he will be downstairs in his car. I was feeling really tired and went with Vikash to the cafeteria to have dinner and finally went to his car to take a short nap. As I closed my eyes, all I could remember was the happy smiles of my sister and Geeta and fell into a deep slumber.

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***** Naxalbari Movement is also known as the Naxalbari Uprising *****

Naxalbari uprising was an armed peasant revolt that took place in 1967 in the Naxalbari block in West Bengal, India. The leader and ideologue of the uprising Charu Majumdar presumed that the time was ripe for launching an armed protracted people's war in India.

They launched the uprising by giving the call for the initiation of armed struggle. On 3 March 1967, some peasants seized a plot of land in the region and started harvesting crops. By 18 March 1967, the peasants started seizing land from landlords who owned large plots of land in the region. The first clash occurred between the peasants and landlords when a share-cropper Bigul Kisan was beaten up by landlord gentries. Following this violent clashes occurred. The government started mobilizing police officers. The inspector of Jharugaon village was killed by peasant committee members. In retaliation, the police open fired killing nine women and one child on 25 May 1967. The upheaval sustained till 19 July when the paramilitary forces were sent by the government. Many leaders were arrested, some of them were killed. Many of them went underground. This uprising continued and over the years A large number of enthusiastic youth later joined the movement.