Soul Strirrer PDF

Soul Stirrer
(An Anthology of real life stories)
i
BOOKSCLINIC PUBLISHING
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This book has been published with all reasonable efforts

taken to make the material error-free after the consent of the
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reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in
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otherwise, without the prior written consent of its writer.
ISBN: 978-93-89757-90-3
Book: Non-Fiction
First Edition Published by
Booksclinic Publishing 2020
Copyright Alakananda Pramanik ©2020
Price: Rs 245/-
Printed in India
ii
Soul Stirrer
(An Anthology of real life stories)
By
Alakananda Pramanik
iii
iv
About the Author
Alakananda Pramanik is a dynamic lady with an excellent

grip over her vocabulary. She has the strength to serve the
people of society and penning down the emotions,
imaginations, and experiences in the form of stories. She has
a passion for music & painting as she finds solace not only
in the rhythm of musical notes, but also in the emerging
beauty of colors on white canvas. She has acted in a couple
of short films too. On the flip side, she holds a responsible
position in the Credit Control team of one of India’s leading
IT companies, as well as holds a Senior Leadership position
in one of the top e-Learning Platforms.
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Her internal strength resembles her words and that leaves the
footprints behind. Alakananda has gone through the various
stages of life. She has expressed those lif e stages and
scenarios in her tales to touch many hearts. Her write-ups are
beyond limitations and hesitations.
Alakananda carries multiple responsibilities and fulfills

them all at the same time. The author has wrapped many
shades of life in her book an d it’s all about her experiences
with life!
vi
Acknowledgement
My special thanks to my sisters, Piu Nath for being my proof

reader, critic & inspiration and Silky Adhikary f or her
encouragement & support and motherly care. The emotional
& moral support and love that I got from my daughter,
Priyanka and Son, Varun always kept me going.
I couldn’t have done it without the constant

encouragement & belief that Mr. Virat Tuli, Founder –
Soulitaire had in me and I have immense respect & gratitude
for him.
Thank you to Soulitaire and the Content Team of

Soulitaire for Editing Services.
I would also like to thank my family, relatives, friends,

every child who calls me ‘Mother’ and all those who crossed
my path, for being the reason and motivation behind the
creation of these short stories.
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Contents
S.No Chapters Page.No
1 The Miracle 1
2 Rupali 5
3 Love in War 11
4 Indecent Incest 22
5 Daisy & The Animal Communicator 28
6 Why did you, Maa? 37
7 Stranger in the Train 47
8 The Blue Snake 65
9 The Quake 72
10 Jack 76
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Soul Stirrer (An Anthology of real life stories)
The Miracle
It was a chilly December morning. I was sipping my cup of

hot steaming tea feeling content with my life , when my
phone started ringing. I glanced at the number, it was an
unknown number. Who could it be? I wondered.
“Hello”
“Boudi, O boudi go. Amar .Gopal.Neyi. Gopal .shesh.

O.purey.chhayi.hoye.giyechhe” (Boudi, my Gopal is no
more. He is burnt to death), wailed my maid, Debi on the
other end of the phone.
I froze, shocked beyond belief. ‘Am I hearing right or is

this some kind of cruel joke. ’ “Debi….. ki kore holo Debi?
(How did it happen, Debi?).
“He was walking down the path from home to the pond
to brush his teeth, when the high-tension wire from above
burst into flames and fell on his back. It lifted Gopal high up
and then threw him down. The ground around him turned
black. He was on flames when the villagers ran and helped
douse the flame s.” Debi’s son -in-law took the phone from
her and explained to me. He continued “We brought Gopal
to a hospital in Diamond Harbour but the doctors are
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Alakananda Pramanik
refusing to take him in saying there is no hope of survival.
His entire back, legs and arms are burnt.” Icould hear Debi’s
heartfelt wails in the background.
Debi snatched the phone from him to speak to me “Doctor

ra.jobab.diye.diyechhe. O Boudi,Amar .Gopal.ke.bachao. O
neyi.toh.ami.neyi.
Amar.Gopal.ke.bachao.Boudi go”
(Doctors said he will not live. O Boudi, please save my son.
If he doesn't survive, I will also not survive. Please save him
Boudi).
“Debi, nothing will happen to Gopal, believe me. Have

faith in God.” I kept assuring her , though in the back of my
mind I doubted my own words. He had been electrocuted by
high tension wire. How would he survive? Doctors had
already given their verdict. “Debi, ami .dekhi.ki.korte.pari.
Keep me updated in the meantime’ (let me see what I can do.
Keep me updated).
After the line disconnected, I sat still rooted to my chair,

her wails were ringing in my brain ; her calls for help and
belief in me to save her son were hitting my heart. What
should I do? They were so far from where I was living and I
did not note down the name of the hospital. I had cured
Gopal several times for small ailments in the past, but
electrocution of this magnitude even the doctors ha d given
up hope.
Debi had turned to me to cure her son, how should I do?

I never felt so helpless in my life. I was not a doctor. I ha d
been giving homeopathy medicines for small ailments which
worked wonders. But 70% burn by electrocution!!! Not
possible by me. The only thing I could do was turn to God,
my SaiBaba.
2
That day, for the first time in my life, instead of bowing
my head and praying to God, I looked up straight into
SaiBaba’s eyes and demanded proof of his existence.
‘SaiRam, Gopal is dying. Debi is about to lose her beloved
child. Doctors have given up hope. Lord, tell me who is
great? The Doctor or you ? I always look up to you. Please
prove to me today that you are for real and not just a picture.
I challenge you SaiRam, today, at this moment! If Gopal
survives I will believe in you, else it's over between you and
me. Give Debi her son back and prove to me and her that you
are the supreme.’
I was in a flashback the whole day. I couldn't

concentrate on my work. It was only Debi and Gopal in my
mind. Debi had lost her husband when Gopal was a toddler
and her daughter, Moyna was a little girl. They were living
in Lokhhikantapur , in a mud house. Debi traveled to
Kolkata, every day, to work as domestic help. With whatever
little she earned, she tried to educate her children hoping that
one day they could work in good companies. Gopal was her
life and soul. He r world revolved around him. Moyna was
married to a good man and was happy with him. Debi was
educating Gopal, and recently he had started going to
college.
Next morning, I got a call from Debi “Boudi…”

Before waiting for her to continue , I asked, stumbling
over my words , “Gopal er .ki.khobor? O .kemon .ache?”
(What's the update? How is Gopal?)
“Gopal opened his eyes,” she said. She was not crying
but there was an unbelievable tremble in her voice.
“Ki.bolle?”(what did you say?) I gasped in disbelief.
“He opened his eyes. He is lying on his stomach, but he
opened his eyes and looked at me. He also had a spoonful of
juice” She said, “The hospital , finally, took Gopal in and
Doctors started treating him.”
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Alakananda Pramanik
I was at a loss of words as I started choking with

emotion, tears flowing down my cheeks. “Oh, Lord! Forgive
me for doubting you. We overlook small miracles in life, but
THIS was THE MIRACLE that will remain in my heart
forever to be told as story down generations.
[I visited Gopal while he was in the hospital and gave

him a picture of SaiBaba. telling him that henceforth SaiRam
is his companion and will look after him. What I saw I cannot
explain, it was ghastly. It took almost two years for flesh and
muscles to grow on Gopal’s back, legs and arms, though
there are deep depressions around his wa ist, lower back
near his spine and thighs. With continuous medication and
exercises, Gopal is well today. By the grace of God, with
government help, they replaced their mud house with a brick
& cement one. Gopal has started taking tuitions at home and
runs a tea and snacks stall from his balcony. They named the
Tea stall ‘SaiGopal’]
4
Rupali
It was a great feeling to help my friend; Robert used to feed

the street children living on the roads & footpath outside
Sealdah railway station, every Saturday morning. Though
my friend would feed them every morning, I could join him
only on Saturday mornings as my office would be closed on
those days. The children always looked forward to this
moment as they would get to play and chat with us and also
get their morning meal. I would also look forward to meeting
them. The happiness on their face was worth seeing
whenever we came and talked to them. It always made me
curious to know their stories. Where are they from? How did
they land up here on the streets? Where are their parents?
There would be so many questions in my mind.
This story is about a girl called Rupali from the street

outside Sealdah Railway station.
Every Saturday morning, I would pick up Robert from

a junction on my way to the station. His nephew and a
volunteer would be waiting for us outside the station, with
bags full of food packets. The moment, we got off the cab all
the children would come runn ing happily to us and hug us.
The slightly older boys and girls would not hug, but came
and stood by us and talked to us. Amongst the girls, there
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Alakananda Pramanik
was one girl with a limp, who had very short hair, almost up
to her scalp and looked as if she never had a ba th for ages.
Everyone would call her insane. She would always come
limping to me, look at me and smile. She loved holding my
hand.
“Aunty… Aunty, I want to tell you something” she

whispered to me one day.
“Sure. Tell me” I replied.
“Not here, Aunty. Let's move a little aside” and she held
my hand and led me away from the crowd of children.
“Tomorrow… they… are… coming… to… take…
me… away” she whispered in my ears.
“Who is coming? Where will they take you?” I asked.
“Those people will come to take me to thehospital? She
replied.
“To the hospital?” I was concerned.
“Yes”, she nodded with the answer.
“Why?” I inquired with curiosity.
“Because I have HIV”, her answer made me numb.
Silence! Suddenly, everything seemed to have come to

a standstill. She was holding my hand and kept staring at my
eyes for my reaction. I was speechless. We kept standing
there holding each other's hand for a while staring at each
other.
“That's … Good... news” I stammered initially, and

continued “you will get well fast. Don't worry”
“I don't know when they will bring me back,” She said
slowly.
“It's for your good that they are taking you to the
hospital. After your treatment, you will be perfectly fine” I
assured her.
“But I will not see you for so long”, she sounded sad.
“I will be there whenever you are back” I reassured her.
6
For the next two weeks, I did not see the girl at the
station. I couldn't forget her. It was sad that everyone called
her insane. She seemed like a normal girl to me who must
have been a victim of circumstan ces. I wondered what
situations she faced and how did she get HIV? Every
Saturday, I went to the station my eyes would search for her
in the crowd of children. I realized I did not even know her
name.
Finally, at the end of the third week, I spotted the

familiar face amongst the crowd of children, her eyes fixed
on me and I noticed a smile on her face. Her hair had grown
a little and she looked slightly cleaner than the previous
occasions. She waited for her turn to get the food packet and
then stood by my side. Once all the food packets were
distributed, I turned to her.
“How are you?” I asked

“I am better. But they will be coming back soon to take me
to the hospital again” she replied.
This time, I was determined to know her life story.
“What is your name?” I asked.

“Rupali”, the reply came.
“Rupali is such a beautiful name,” I said. The girl smiled
happily.
“Where are you from?” I continued
“Assam”
“Are your parents here with you?”
“No. They are dead”
“Oh! I am sorry” I really was. She quietly kept lo oking at
me.
“Aunty, can I tell you something?” She interrupted
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Alakananda Pramanik
“Sure. Go ahead”
“You are very beautiful. You have a sweet smile” she
complimented me.
“Thank you Rupali” I smiled back.
“Rupali, how did you land up at this station? Tell me about

your life before coming here” I wanted to know more about
her.
Rupali smiled and held my hand. “I was eight when my

parents passed away. My brother and his wife didn't want to
take care of me. My sister-in-law hated me. They never lived
with my parents. When my parents passed away, my Chacha
and Chachi (paternal Uncle and Aunt) took me in, but I was
very unhappy. My Chachi used to ill -treat me and beat me
up. Nobody loved me. When I was twelve I decided to run
away from the house. One day, I boarded a train and reached
this station.”
“Didn’t anyone come to look for you?” I was curious to

know. Somebody should have reported her missing at the
local Police station in Assam. Unless and until they were not
bothered and did not want to take responsibility for a girl
child with a limp.
“No.” She replied.

“Once you reached this station what did you do?” I
asked.
“I walked around the platform for some time. I was tired
and fell asleep in one corner of the platform.”
“What about food? You must have been hungry” I asked
“Yes, I was hungry. I found some bread in the garbage.
I did not know anyone. I had nowhere to go. I would go from
shop to shop begging for food or money. Some would help
me and some would chase me away. Sometimes, I would
sleep in the corner of the footpaths.”
8
“Oh! You were very young to be living alone on the
platforms and streets.” I murmured visualizing this little girl
living on the streets in this unsafe world.
It was as if she read my mind. “One day I was walking

on the streets alone deep in my thoughts and lost my way to
the station. The roads were dark. Suddenly, four men
surrounded me. They caught me and pulled me in the bushes
nearby and one by one, they started hurting me and…
and…doing that to me. I was crying with pain. It hurt so
much”
I was shocked. “Did anyone not come to help you when

the men were hurting you?”
“One of them had covered my mouth and nobody was

around” she replied “After they were done, they left me in
the bushes and walked away. There was blood flowing down
my legs. I wiped them with my dress, crying and trembling
with shock and fear, I somehow found my way back to the
station.”
My heart twisted on hearing this. Tears welled up in my

eyes. I couldn't imagine that Rupali was gang raped by four
men at the age of twelve and there was no one to protect her.
At this small age, she had to suffer in the hands of four beasts
and bear the trauma.
It is quite possible that the girl, standing in front of me,

must have been raped by drunken beasts several times after
that. What else c ould be the cause of her contracting HIV?
Our country may cry slogans like ‘Beti .Bachao,
Beti.Padhao’ (protect daughters, educate daughters), but our
daughters are still unsafe in the hands of such beasts.
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Alakananda Pramanik
Her last words to me were in her mother tongue,
Assamese and I could see she was emotional.
“Moi.mur.Maa.Deutar.anupasthiti.antarar.pora.
anubhav. koru. Asha .koru .edin .moi .ghoroloi
ghurijaba.parim.aru.Ma.Deutar.logot.mur.jibontu.akou.
agordare.hoi.poribo. Moi.eti.sukhor. jibon.
japonkoribo.bisaru.” (I miss my parents a lot. I wish
someday I could go back and life would be the same with
my parents. I want to live a happy life too).
After this day I never met Rupali. I guessed those kind

souls, she mentioned, must have taken her to the hospital
again. I could only thank God that Rupali is being treated for
HIV and I am sure they will help her to lead a better life.
10
Love in war
‘Were your ancestors German’, Mr. Wilson asked Priya.

‘No. Why do you ask?’, Priya asked.
‘Well, your family name is Halder’, he replied.
Priya started laughing. ‘Mr. Wilson, Halder is a family
name in India too, mostly in the Eastern parts of India’
This story is of the year 1979. Priya was living in

Baghdad with her parents for the last one year. Her dad was
working as a Technical Expert in the Engineering College
there. She was a happy go lucky teenager and more of a tom-
boy. She loved climbing trees, cycling at full speed without
caring whether the brakes worked and at the same time, got
secretly att racted to a boy living on her campus. But the
attraction remained a secret as she had to join her parents in
Baghdad. Since the medium of language in colleges in
Baghdad was not English, Priya had to continue her
education by correspondence course from Delhi University.
Priya was never a bookworm. She enjoyed reading

storybooks than studying. For a year, she would walk down
to the Indian school close by and help the school office in
typing work, cyclostyling question papers, mind a class if a
teacher is absent, help decorate the school during any school
functions, etc. She was even gifted an award of appreciation
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Alakananda Pramanik
by the school through the hands of the Indian Ambassador
to Iraq. Soon, she got a job in a construction company as a
typist in the administration department, merely because she
could speak English and use a typewriter. This was the first
paid job of her life. The construction site was very far and
the company had provided her with a car and driver. It was
an European company and the staff was from all over the
world including local staff.
Priya enjoyed her work there, especially because

everyone was so friendly. The office had a canteen of its own
and lunch was provided by the company. She made many
friends and especially enjoyed conversing with th e locals in
sign language as they couldn't speak English.
Priya was a friendly girl and everyone in her office

loved her. They loved her smile, her teenage innocence, and
her curious questions.
Once, while crossing Mr. Derek in the corridor, she

stopped him and asked ‘Mr. Derek, I heard your wife is an
Eskimo. Doesn't she feel hot in Baghdad? There is no igloo
here!’
Mr. Derek started laughing ‘Dear girl, my house is air -
conditioned. She remains indoors most of the time’
One other time she asked the Head Secretary of Admin

‘Susan, why did your husband enter the ladies' restroom
instead of gents?’ Susan replied laughing ‘You see, my
husband is an Iraqi and he is not very fluent in the English
language. We had gone on a holiday to Europe. The signs on
the two doors were ‘Lads’ & ‘Lasses’. He thought ‘Lads’
was the short form for ladies so he entered the door marked
‘Lasses’.’
She learned to say Good day or Good morning in different
languages, ‘Dobry den’ in Czech, ‘Buongiorno’ in Italian,
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‘Guten Morgen’ in German, ‘Sabah alkhyr’ in Arabic, and
so on.
Her never-ending curious innocent questions would go

on and on, which made people laugh and love her more.
During lunch break, she attempted to teach Indian dance
steps to Amal & Maryam from the filing departm ent,
giggling and laughing all the while. She was the life of her
office.
‘Mr. Lubomir, I want to go to the construction site one

day. Will you take me? Please, please, please… Don't say
no’ she requested the tall young Czechoslovakian engineer
once. The engineers were allowed to go on -site, but office
staff like her were not, unless and until they were
accompanied by an engineer.
Lubomir was delighted. Secretly, he felt an attraction

towards her but did not know how to approach. He readily
agreed. He would do anything to know her more, express his
feelings and be close to her. ‘Of course, I will take you
around one day if you stop calling me Mr. Lubomir. Please
call me Lubosh, pretty girl’
‘Ok, Mr. Lubomir… Errr... Sorry… Lubosh’ she

blushed as he raised one eyebrow.
‘Very well! I will take you on Thursday since it's the
start of the weekend and we are light on work.’ He said
smiling.
The day arrived. Priya was excited that she will be able
to see the construction site for which she worked, but had no
idea how it looked. Lubomir came in a company -provided
car to pick her up from the office, looking handsome as ever.
Priya felt light butterflies in her stomach as he helped her in
the car.
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Alakananda Pramanik
‘Are you excited, Priya?’ He asked

‘Yes, I am Mr. Lubomir… Oh… errrrr…. Lubosh’ she
blushed again
It took them hardly 10 minutes to reach the site. He

parked and both of them got off the car. Not many workers
were around as it was the beginning of the weekend. Priya
stared in amazement at the construction site. Ther e were so
many types of machinery, cranes, piles of cement, sand,
bricks, and iron rods, and there was a building in the process
of construction. Lubomir took her into the huge under -
construction building. Holding her hand to give her support,
since there was nothing to hold around them, went up the
rough, cemented stairs to an open space still under
construction. She stood there staring at the clear view far
away of the beautiful skyline of palm trees, while Lubomir
explained the area, they were standing on. Lubomir couldn't
take his eyes off her innocent face. He wanted to engulf her
in his arms but was not sure of her reaction. What if she
rejected him?
‘It’s time to go back to the office now. Your car will be

waiting to take you home’, Lubomir wished he got more
time to spend with Priya.
“Ah! Yes... Time has flown. Let's go’, she agreed.
Hand in hand, they started walking down the steps,

Lubomir leading her. After he got off the last step while
Priya was still on the last four steps, Lubomir suddenly
turned around and picked her up like a baby and wrapped her
in his arms, holding her tight he kissed her on her forehead.
All this happened so fast, it left Priya in a daze. One moment
she was on the steps and next moment she was hanging like
a rag doll wit hin his bear hug. It was the most beautiful
feeling, she ever felt in her life.
14
‘Mr. Lubomir... What.. What’s…’, Priya was
stumbling over her words
‘Oh, Priya! I had been drawn to you for long my
innocent girl! I am sorry, I couldn't control myself’, Lubomir
interrupted. ‘Please baby, call me Lubosh’
‘Lubosh!’, She whispered
In silence, they drove back to the office, both were in

their thoughts. Lubomir was fearing her rejection at his
action and Priya was trying to understand what just
happened, because it was such a beautiful feeling.
That night, there was a television and radio

announcement that Iraq had declared war on Iran. The war
was over the waters of the Persian Gulf. Priya did not
understand what war was like and why should anyone fight
over water? Her dad told her & her sisters ‘we may have to
go back to India if the situation gets worse’. As soon as the
announcement was made, people were rushing to stores and
souks to stock their homes with milk, bread, rice, grains,
vegetables, meat and what ever they could stock, including
candles and matchboxes. Within minutes, the stores had
become empty. By evening, electricity was turned off all
over Baghdad and everything was in darkness. They had to
draw their curtains shut and light candles in the house.
Early the next morning, when all were deep asleep Iran
attacked Iraq. Priya and her family were rudely woken up to
the loud echo of air raid siren all over Baghdad. Without
realizing the danger, Priya and her sisters jumped out of bed
and ran to their fifth-floor balcony, looking up at the sky.
Within minutes, there was ear -shattering sound of flocks of
fighter aircraft, flying low and spreading all across the
morning sky, continuously shooting from under their wings,
a sight that Priya will never forget in her life. Priya’s dad had
to pull them indoors and strictly instruct them to run down
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Alakananda Pramanik
the stairs to the basement for safety. In the basement, they
witnessed the wailing and crying of women and children and
chaos. They could all come up to their home only after the
all-clear siren was sounded. Thick black smoke was
billowing far off on the horizon. Later, they came to know
that Iran had bombed a thermal power station on the other
side of the river Tigris.
Everything was changed in Baghdad as the war started.

The roads were flooded with soldiers. Local men and women
were sent to war due to which public buses were being driven
by Bangladeshis. Cases of pickpocket and eve -teasing
started. Televisions and radios would only play Arabic
patriotic songs. Loc al people were always worried and
fearful of their near and dear ones at war. The evacuation had
started. Several foreigners were fleeing the country and their
respective Embassies were helping them to do so. After
some time, despite the war, people starte d settling down to
the situation. Offices, schools & colleges reopened though
people would venture out always in fear that there would be
air raid any moment. Bullet -ridden cars increased on the
roads. For Priya, this was an entirely new experience.
War w as raging and so was the love of Priya and

Lubomir growing. Ever since the beautiful moment at the
construction site, Priya had started thinking a lot more of
Lubomir. He was such a tall good looking man and she was
just an ordinary -looking girl, yet there was a kind of
magnetic pull between them. Every day, Lubomir would
meet her in the office before going to the construction site.
Sometimes, he would hold her hand and give her a quick kiss
on her forehead when no one was around. Public display of
affection was prohibited here.
16
‘Priya, I will come to meet you in the evening
tomorrow’ Lubomir couldn't think of not seeing his love on
weekends.
‘Where and how? My parents would not let me go out
alone in this war, Lubosh.’
‘Will they allow you if you bring y our sister or friend
along?’ He asked
‘They may’ she replied.
‘I will wait for you by the ice cream shop near
Mesopotamia Book Store around the corner close to your
house around 4 p.m.’ he said.
The whole of the next day, Priya was restless, trying to

find some reason to step out of the house in the evening. She
took her younger sister into confidence. When the time
knocked, she gathered some courage and approached her
dad.
‘Papa, please, can I go to the book store around the

corner to get a birthday card for my office colleague? Will
take little sis along and treat her to ice cream too’
‘Please be careful and come back fast. I do not want you
two to be out in the streets, when an air raid strikes.’ Her dad
said.
‘Oh Papa, thank you so much. Please do not worry. We
will be back soon’, saying this Priya rushed out of the house
with her little sis, Pia.
They reached the Ice cream shop in minutes, but

Lubomir was not there. She was worried that she will have
to return without meeting him. The evening sun was sharp
and would be setting soon. Just as she was giving up hope,
she saw his tall silhouette against the setting sunlight
walking fast towards them.
17
Alakananda Pramanik
‘Lubosh…’ Her heart fluttering Priya looked up into his
eyes as he quietly curled his finger around her finger
oblivious of Pia watching them.
‘Priya, I am sorry for keeping you waiting for so long. I
was caught up in traffic.’ He apologized before noticing little
Pia staring up at him. ‘Is she your little sister? She is so
chubby and sweet.’
‘Would you like to have an ice cream little one?’, He
asked Pia.
Pia nodded shyly.
They had double scoops of ice cream standing on the

sidewalk, laughing and talking and so happy to meet each
other. As Priya tried to take a bite of the scoop, the cone in
her hand cracked and broke into three parts leaving just the
end in her palm and the scoops rolled off on the sidewalk
leaving a milky patch around her mouth. The entire site was
so hilarious, Pia burst out laughing tears rolling down her
cheeks. Priya stood red in the face with embarrassment,
initially and then burst out laughing too, wiping her mouth
on her sleeves.
As days passed, Priya and Lubomir’s love started

blossoming in the backdrop of war. Both from two different
foreign lands destined to meet in a war zo ne in another
foreign land and fall in love. They were much in love and
they did not know what the future had in store for them.
‘Hey Priya, I need to drive down to town to purchase

some stuff during lunch hours. How about you join me if you
can get permi ssion from Susan?’, Lubomir suggested one
day
Priya had no trouble getting permission to be out of the

office during lunch hours. She was even more delighted as
they were driving down in Lubomir’s beautiful yellow
18
Volkswagen Beetle, which he had brought d own from
Czechoslovakia. The drive was one of the best of her life as
most of the route was alongside river Tigris. On the way
back from town, Lubomir stopped his car by the side of the
road and turned towards Priya. Holding her hands and
staring tenderly into her eyes he asked her whether she
would like to walk by the river.
They got off the car and walked towards the river hand
in hand. The weather was beautiful. It was a bright day with
a cool breeze blowing, the rushing water of the river Tigris
and the swaying palm trees bordering the other side of the
river. There were huge rocks alongside one portion of the
river. Lubomir climbed a couple of rocks and helped her
climb up too. They went up a few more rocks and sat down
on a rock watching the beauty o f the river in silence.
Lubomir put his arms around Priya and lightly pulled her
towards him to rest her head on his shoulders, planting kisses
on her forehead.
The sound of the river, the breeze, and the rustling of

leaves seemed to create a static lovearound the two innocent
lovers. Lubomir bent his head down and kissed Priya on the
lips for the first time. Priya melted into his arms surrendering
to his tender kisses. Time stood still, the river froze, the
breeze stopped to witness this moment, when the two lovers
united. This was the first time anyone ever kissed her on her
lips and she never knew it could be such a beautiful feeling.
They sat there in each other's arms cherishing every moment
of warmth and togetherness.
It was the time to return to t he office. They drove back

in love and silence holding each other's hands and hoping
they remain united for life. But God had other plans for
them. When Priya returned home there was heaviness in the
air. Her parents looked worried and were waiting to brea k
19
Alakananda Pramanik
the news once she reached home. Her dad had to undergo
surgery for a hernia and he was in much pain. The college
had decided not to extend his contract, which means they
have to return to India. Priya was shocked and rooted to the
ground. Her world came crashing around her. With tears in
her eyes, she left the room.
‘Lubosh, I cannot live without you and I cannot hurt my

parents too’, Priya cried to Lubomir.
‘I cannot live without you too. Oh, Priya! I want you for
life. I have a family in Prague and I want them to be a part
of our happiness’ Lubomir cried too.
‘Is it possible? Can we be one Lubosh?’
‘Nothing is impossible. But at the moment we are on
foreign land and war is going on. We will keep in touch by
post and I promise I will not let you go’, Lubomir promised.
Lubomir visited her house quite a few times and

introduced himself to Priya's parents. They realized the deep
love that Lubomir had for Priya, but at the moment they were
helpless as they had to leave soon. Lubomir would visit them
regularly and help them with packing too. With a heavy
heart, he came to see Priya off at the airport.
At the airport, they hugged and cried. He gave her a

small parting gift; a cassette of Czechoslovakian love songs
and his message recorded in his own voice at the end “Dear
Priya, it is not possible to forget you because it will not be
possible. I love you. We will meet, I promise”
Priya has held the cassette close to her heart ever since
and heard his message infinite times. They used to exchange
letters of l ove, which would take more than two months to
reach due to the ongoing war, but suddenly letters stopped
coming or reaching. Fierce war was going on in Iraq and
20
several places were bombed including the construction site
where she met her first love.
‘Lubosh, were you there at the construction site, when

it was destroyed?’, She still wonders.
Today, Priya is 56 years old with a family of her own

and well-settled children with their own families. It's been
forty years since and she still has not forgotten her first love,
the first hug at the construction site, the first kiss by the river
Tigris all in the backdrop of a raging war.
21
Alakananda Pramanik
Indecent Incest
Trembling with shock, disheveled hair, disorganized clothes,

and watering red eyes, Mishawas choking with disbelief that
this could happen to her too. When reading news or hearing
about women or girls, who are getting sexually molested, she
never thought that one day, she would be a victim too.
It was past midnight and Misha’s husband Brian had

gone out for a walk. Brian was having a relationship with a
woman, and he would call her up every midnight without
failure. Misha and Brian's life-boat had started rocking when
she got the first shock of her life on their 25th wedding
anniversary.
Brian looked like he was under a spell, his eyes would

be glazed and even his facial expressions had changed. It
was like she was living with a complete stranger….”A look-
alike of Brian”. He had started finding faults with her.
Sometimes he would cry and say he loves her and wants her
by his side forever, and other times he would say he wished
he was not married to her. She felt like two different
personalities were residing in Brian. Her world had come
crumbling down and she had gone into a depression not
knowing where & when things went wrong. She could have
22
given up on life had it not been for kind strangers who held
her hand and pulled her out of the darkness. Because of these
kind souls, she had started gathering herself, realized the
inner peace and happiness in selflessly serving the needy and
pursuing her passions. She had started reading and watching
videos on the Law of Attraction, which was helping her a lot
in coming out of depression.
Misha thought that she was emerging as a strong woman

when this unfortunate incident happened within her own
house, which broke her again.
Chris, a close relative had come down to Delhi to attend

a wedding of their extended family member. He was staying
with Brian & Misha for those five days of the ceremony.
Chris was the serious kind and the younger siblings used to
look up to him. Brian would always tell Misha that Chris is
very reserved, he doesn't talk much. But ever since, Brian &
Misha were married, Chris was very talkative with Misha.
He would joke & laugh and pull her leg. They would chat on
different topics and Misha always looked up to him as an
elder brother...
That fateful night, at the end of January 2013, Brian had

gone for his routine midnight walk after returning from the
‘Sangeet’ ceremony. It was pretty cold. Misha changed into
comfortable warm clothes and sat down to watch the repeat
of a music show on the television. Chris joined her too and
sat down in the single couch placed close by.
‘What are you watching?’ Chris asked

‘Well, I love watching music shows. I am watching the
repeat telecast which I missed in the evening due to the
Sangeet ceremony.’ Misha replied.
‘Misha, I am feeling cold’, he said after a while.
23
Alakananda Pramanik
‘Hold on, I will get a warm throw for you to cover up’
saying this, Misha immediately went and got him one to
keep himself warm.
After a while, Chris got up and went to the guest

bedroom whereas Misha continued enjoying the music
show. Shortly, Chris came out of the room, went to the fridge
and drank some water. He came near and stood behi nd
Misha’s couch.
‘Misha, I am calling it a day. I am going to sleep’ he

said from behind her.
‘Hey! Just wait. Let me connect to my son in the UK so
that he can speak to you’ saying this Misha dialed her son.
He immediately came online. Misha spoke to him for a while
and then handed the phone over to Chris. They spoke for
some time. After that, Chris went back to his room.
‘Misha, can you come here for a moment’ called out

Chris from the guest room.
Misha immediately went in, switched on the light and
asked him ‘what happened? Are you still feeling cold? Do
you need another blanket? There is a bottle of water kept
there in case you are thirsty’
‘No no, just sit here, I want to talk’, Chris said.
Misha sat down by the bed ‘Yaa, tell me’
‘What is the Law of Attraction that you keep talking
about?’ Asked Chris
‘Ah well! Law of Attraction is the ability to attract into
our lives whatever we are focusing on. If you focus on
positive thoughts and have goals and aims to achieve, you
will find a way to achieve them. And if you focus on negative
doom and gloom you will remain under that cloud.’ Misha
happily started explaining
‘Hahahahaha… Law… of…attraction… hahaha,’ she
was interrupted by Chris’s laughter. Suddenly, he jumped
24
out of bed and pulled her towards him. Misha pushed him
with all her might and ran out of the room, shocked and
confused. What was that? She was wondering why he did
that? The laughter sounded evil.
Misha looked at the time. It was half -past midnight.

Brian will be back in another half an hou r from his walk.
This time, Misha sat at the dining table facing the guest room
entrance with a tray of rice, planning to clean it till Brian is
back. The music show was still on. Chris seemed to be
restless in the other room. In a little while, he came ou t of
his room and went to the fridge, which was by the kitchen
behind her, to drink water, once again.
Though Misha was aware of Chris’s movement from the

guest room to the fridge behind her, what happened next
threw her off -balance, shocked and traumatiz ed. Suddenly,
Chris was on top of her back, holding her tight from behind,
his face stuffed into her hair, breathing heavily and
murmuring ‘Oh Misha! Misha… please... hug...me. I have
been wanting you...for...so...long’.
Misha froze with shock, initially. She started struggling

to move his hands away, when she felt them on her breasts
over her clothes, while he was kissing and drooling on the
back of her neck and ears. He tried lifting her from the chair,
but Misha had doubled over holding her clothes tigh t with
one hand and the leg of the chair with another.
‘Chris no! Please don't! Leave me, Chris, for God's

sake…. Leave me alone!’ She started crying, all the while
pushing his hands away from creeping under her T -shirt &
skirt and holding on to the chair.
‘Misha, please hug me fast before Brian comes back.
Hug...me...please. I need you’ His hand reached for her skirt.
‘STOP IT!’ she slapped his hand away
25
Alakananda Pramanik
‘Why did you push my hand away, Misha? You have
nice buttocks. Did anyone ever tell you that?’ he trie d
reaching again.
Misha was struggling to protect herself. She was scared

if she stands up to run for the door, Chris who is much
stronger than her will overpower her. If she screams no one
will hear as the windows were closed due to cold weather.
She also held herself from screaming as their family had a
good reputation and goodwill in the building and society.
Chris and Misha kept struggling; Chris trying to lift her off
the chair to have easy access to her other parts and Misha
bent double, face stuffed between her knees holding on to
the chair. He was using his strength to move the chair, shake
it to scare her, drool on her hair and the back of her neck and
she kept crying and pleading to leave her alone. Rice had
scattered all over the place. The room looked a mess in
minutes. All that Chris kept muttering was ‘Misha! Please
hug me before Brian reaches home’
The struggle went on for what seemed like ages when

Misha’s phone started ringing. Like a bolt of lightning, Chris
left her and ran to his room with a start. Misha answered the
call crying. It was her friend calling to find out if all was
okay as he was getting a bad gut feeling. In between sobs,
she told him what just happened. He wanted to come
immediately and confront Chris, but she stopped him as this
was a family matter. She thanked him for this God sent call.
As she disconnected, Brian returned from his walk. But
Brian just walked past her without even looking at her or
noticing the mess around. It was as if Misha did not exist!
Trembling wi th shock, disheveled hair, disorganized

clothes, and watering red eyes, Misha was choking with
disbelief that this could happen to her too. When reading
news or hearing about women or girls getting sexually
26
molested, she never thought that she would be a v ictim too
one day… And the molester was none other than her
Brother-in-law, Brian’s brother!!
27
Alakananda Pramanik
Daisy & the Animal

Communicator
Piu’s heart was crying with pain. She couldn't wipe out the
image of Snoopy, the Labrador, she saw at The Blue Cross
Animal Hospital, suffering from neurological problems.
This was the first time, she had seen this kind of suffering
and she was having sleepless nights. Her heart was reaching
out to that Lab. She just wanted to hug her and soothe her
troubles.
‘Neil, do you think we can adopt this dog and take care
of her? I am not sure whether the hospital will allow me to
and whether I will be able to since I have never done this in
my life. What do you think?’ She asked her son.
‘Maa, can we decide after my exams? It will be over in
a month. We can discuss with Papa too’. Neil replied.
Piu and Neil were volunteers at the Blue Cross Animal

Hospital in Pune. They would go there every weekend for
dog walking, dog bathing, for skin treatments of dogs under
the supervision of animal doctors. They would also take care
of horses, cows, and calves. One day, they had come across
a Labrador named Snoopy, who had neurological disorders.
28
Piu wanted to adopt Snoopy but was hesitant. It took her two
months to decide as Nei l's exams had started and they had
temporarily stopped going to Blue Cross.
When Neil's exams were over, the family sat down for
a discussion and decided to adopt Snoopy. Niloy, Piu’s
husband fully supported the decision. They drove down to
the hospital hoping that they get permission to do so. When
they reached the hospital, a rude shock awaited them. They
were too late. Snoopy’s health had deteriorated. She was in
the last stage of death. All her organs had failed and doctors
were preparing to euthanize her.
Piu burst out crying. She was inconsolable, regretting

not taking an early decision. Snoopy could have had a
chance to live had she adopted her and taken personal care.
‘Piu, please don't cry. Come with us. We want to show

you something.’ one of the volunteers told her.
Sobbing, she followed the volunteer along with Niloy

and Neil. Through her tears, she saw a new Lab in Snoopy's
cage, who also had neurological disorders and the new Lab’s
condition was worse than what Snoopy’s was two months
back.
‘Hello sweetheart’, Piu called out wiping her tears.

The Lab trembled and raised her eyes in response.
Neil sat down and started petting the Lab.
The Lab immediately responded to Neil's touch and
started getting affectionate towards him.
‘Tell us about this Lab. She seems to be having similar
problems as Snoopy’, Niloy asked the volunteer.
The Lab was found in a very bad condition outside a

residential society complex. She had neurological disorders
29
Alakananda Pramanik
too. In fact, she was in terrible condition. Therewere wounds
and ticks on her body, and holes under her hind paws. Her
chin was thawed and there were rashes under the eyes. She
was unable to move. Blue Cross took her in.
Piu and Neil started volunteering again. The new Lab needed
help to walk. This time , Piu spoke to the Blue Cross
Representatives for the adoption of the new Lab without
delay. The Doctors agreed to give the new Lab for adoption.
They named the new member of their family, Daisy.
Delighted, Piu completed the formalities for adoption.

They put Daisy in the car and went to the pet shop to get her
a new harness to help her walk. After reaching home they
gave her a good bath and removed ticks from her body. In
the evening, they took her to the doctor, who checked Daisy
thoroughly.
‘You see, Daisy is suffering from distemper.’ The

Doctor informed them.
‘What is distemper, Doctor? Piu asked.
‘Let me explain. Three booster shots have to be given to
puppies when they are born’ The Doctor explained ‘In
Daisy’s case the previous owner did not give her the booster
shots. Normally, the dogs don't survive if they are not given
the shots. But, those who survive suffer from neurological,
gastrointestinal or respiratory problems. In the case of Daisy,
it is neurological. Because of that, she does not have control
of her limbs. She loses control of her body completely. This
condition is also called Chorea’
‘Can this be cured?’ Piu asked as she lay a comforting
hand on Daisy as if to convey the message “I am there for
you”.
‘This has no 100% cure, but it can be better with steroid
injections. However, not more than five steroid injections
30
can be administered’ Doc replied ‘Homeopathy medicines
can improve her condition too, but not completely’.
They started Daisy’s treatment with steroid injections.

In the me antime, Piu contacted a Homeopath in Delhi,
recommended by an Animal Welfare friend. Homeopathy
medicines were given too for two months. This really
worked well as Daisy started walking, although not steady.
She would walk a few steps and fall, and then tr y to get up
and walk a few steps again. Her walk was unsteady, but she
could manage. The only problem with Daisy was that she
would confine herself in her room and refuse to come out for
a walk in the park. She would urinate & poop in the room
and refuse to drink water. Even the slightest sound of paper
or plastic would scare her. She would hyperventilate.
Piu never forced her. She would hand feed Daisy as she
couldn't eat by herself. Piu would also feed her water through
the feeding bottle. During the Diwali festival, Piu would give
her tranquilizer, hug her tight on her lap with doors closed
and put on music. This would somewhat calm Daisy from
the outside noise.
It took two months for Daisy to gain trust and come out
of her comfort zone. She started ve nturing into other rooms
and now finally started going out to the garden early
morning, but not during the day or evening. She enjoyed
walking on the grass, though unsteadily. However, she
would still hyperventilate with the slightest of sound.
Daisy’s pro gress towards improvement made Piu happy
though.
One day Piu was in the kitchen preparing food for all
her pets when a strong breeze stirred up. She rushed to the
room to hug Daisy and was shocked at the condition of the
Lab. Daisy was trembling uncontro llably. Her eyes, ears &
31
Alakananda Pramanik
tongue had turned blood red and she was unmanageable. She
had pooped and urinated with fear in the room. Only after
Piu closed all the windows, doors, drew the curtains, put on
music and hugged Daisy that she calmed down, but she
wanted someone to be with her. She gave the Doctor’s
prescribed medicines to the Lab, but it was not working.
This condition of Daisy worried Piu, tremendously. She

spoke to some of the volunteers in the Animal Welfare, who
suggested contacting an Animal C ommunicator to know
Daisy’s background. What was the reason behind her fear?
Piu searched through Google for a good Animal
Communicator, checked their reviews and finally contacted
the one she felt was the best. The lady was unable to visit
personally to communicate with Daisy. She requested Piu to
send her a photograph of Daisy staring at the camera lens
and just a couple of basic questions like number of family
members & the concern.
*****
The Animal Commuter took a week to come back with the

conversation she had with Daisy. It was the most loving,
heart touching and unbelievable conversation.
The Conversation Report:
* Daisy’s words are marked in bold & italic*
Daisy has a very gentle and calm energy. She is a young soul.
She welcomed me so warmly into the conversation and she
said ‘finally… mamma has been trying to get someone to
talk to me for so long! Thank you!’
She showed me around the house… which she so ondly

f said
‘come, let me first show you MY house’ She loves the
32
natural light that comes in since it makes the place happy
with all the sunshine.
She shows images of how affectionate you all are towards

her. Physical affection is what she loves most. Shealso loves
the fact that you’ll keep verbally talking to her and she
wishes to convey that she understands every bit of the
information, thoug h sometimes you a ll are sceptical if she
gathers it or not.
With respect to her past, this is what she has shown and
narrated:
I had been bought from a place, which had tons of barking

dogs. My siblings and I were born on a cold floor. Mamma
had shared that this was her 4th litter and that soon she
would be impregnated again for another litter. (What she
showed and narrated looks like a breeder's place. Where
these female dogs are used as cash cows).
I think from the time I can remember my head feels
funny…. (There could be some genetic disorder since she
can remember her head feeling funny from birth).
My earlier name was Rani, but I love my current name.
Daisy! And the way the family calls out my name is so
loving.
What did your earlier house look like? What was life like?
The family who took me home, wanted me to become a

guard dog. They tied me up from the time I was a pup. It
was not a home like the one I live in. There were constant
loud sounds and banging. (What she has shown looks like
a factory/ warehouse with railway tracks right next to it. She
was tied outdoors and has shown images of being frightened
by these loud sounds. She was unable to hide/run away to
quieter place since she was tied down. The fear of these
33
Alakananda Pramanik
sounds and her belief that she would be unable to run away
from it has triggered this fear which even manifests right
now.)
Many times he would come (a middle-aged man in a white

large car) and the car would come to a screeching halt.
When they realized that I was so scared all the time and I
could not bark all the time like they wanted me to, he would
kick me and beat me. He kept saying…that a dog is meant
to bark and protect the place and that’s what they thought
would be my job. How could I? My head felt funny and all
that sound petrified me. Once they realized that I was a
liability, they just let me go one day… I hold no grudges
against them at all for what they did. They wanted me to do
something and I could not. So I am glad that I got my
freedom. Please tell my family to forgive them as well. They
have to genuinely forgive my earlier people since I am glad
to be here with them.
(These images, she has shown of the person coming in the
car and beating her are all of the day time. She is still unsure
about the outcomes of how people outside will behave in the
day time. The breeze as well is something she said, she co -
relates to the sounds and the beatings that would follow. I
have assured her that there is NO way you would face such
consequences EVER again and that she can just relax and
trust the family and the people around.)
With respect to her consumption of liquids, she shared

this:
My aim is not to give her (Piu) trouble. I’m scared of going

out and peeing. If I keep drinking and consuming liquids,
I will have to go out more often and then, how can I? So,
it's best I consume less, so the reasons to go out are less.
Also, there are times where I feel like I have no control over
my peeing. It just happens and I feel bad that they have to
34
clean up. I don’t want them to go through this. Also, when
they give me something and I fall asleep, it makes my
tummy feel like peeing more. (Those tablets you give to
calm her down must be diuretic in nature)
I recommend you have the vet check her kidney. She let me
experience what she does and her bladder control seems low.
I have shared with her that she can keep consuming liquids,
and like the other dogs she can go out fearlessly. I have
requested the other dogs to talk to her as well and give her
the confidence that they are there to protect her on the walks
and that th ey are all a pack. She showed me images of one
stray looking dog in the pack who’s the alpha. I have
requested him to give her the confidence of being a safe and
strong pack as well.
She has a message for you’ll as a family and for you as the
mother of the house:
Please tell them that I LOVE them dearly. I could not have
chosen a better family than you’ll to take care of me and
call me their own. I love them each one of them. Also, when
their family calls and they ask about me, I love the fact that
they all care about me and it’s not just the 3 people in the
house who wish for my well-being. I love and care for each
one of them.
Tell mamma (Piu) that I am in her life so that her patience

levels increase. Please be patient with him (Neil). This
phase is going to pass soon. Please tell baba (Niloy) to take
care of his eyes.
She has requested me to come to see her in person, which I

will do very soon.
~~~~~~~~~3rd July, 2015~~~~~~~~~

~~~~~~~~10:00am~~~~~~~~
35
Alakananda Pramanik
Piu was engulfed with emotion as she read through the

conversation. What surprised her was the description of her
house, the mention of other pets in the house especially the
alpha of the pack, which she had never discussed with the
Animal Communicator. Even more surprising was the
mention of Piu’s patie nce, Niloy’s eye problem, and her
family members calling and enquiring about Daisy.
After this day Piu noticed a remarkable change in the

behavior of other pets towards Daisy, especially the Alpha
of the pack. Daisy is much, much better. Now she does not
fear small sounds of paper or plastic, but loud sounds like
banging, firecrackers, storm or strong breeze still scare her.
She stopped peeing or pooping on the room. If she gets
natures call, she taps her paw on the floor indicating her need
to relieve her self. Sometimes, they carry her out on the
terrace or she walks to the terrace on her own with less
stagger and without falling. She even sits out on the terrace
for 10 to 15 mins.
Daisy loves to interact with people. When guests visit Piu’s
place, Daisy t ries to get up on her own and walks
staggeringly out to meet them and play with them. When the
guests want to leave, she signals with her paw for them not
to leave. She likes being loved and petted.
** Selfless love has no limits. It crosses all boundaries.

Selfless love is pure. It is the cure. Piu has proved it**
j
36
Why did you, Maa?
Tring-Tring, tring-tring, tring-tring

‘Pick up the phone Maa, please pick up the phone’
My heart cried out with fear as I stood at the gate of
Hinduja Hospital, hugging Maa’s medical reports and the
slide containing her tissues that I wanted to get checked once
again to confirm whether ……..
It was a stormy day in spite of the clear sky!
Though there was the sun, I was unable to see the

sunshine. May be my internal catastrophe was covering the
brightness as I could feel the inside grief and fear!
The wait for the car was never so long while I kept
calling my mother and the constant phone ring was not
answered. Nobody was picking up the p hone (actually
nobody, I wanted my mother to pick up the call, only she). I
was panicking to hear her. Yes, I was keen to hear a mere
‘hello’ in her voice.
The sound of strong wind & waves were adding to the
fear and apprehension building inside me. Waitin g at the
gate of the hospital for the driver to bring the car my fingers
couldn't stop dialing Maa again & again…
37
Alakananda Pramanik
But that ‘no response’ of call and the inside bustles

dragged me to the flashback.
It was only a year ago, when my mother started
coughing. When the problem persisted and she couldn’t get
the relief after the general throat treatments, I suggested her
to meet the family doctor.
Being the mother, she procrastinated but seeing my

concern, somehow, she agreed to visit and discuss the throat
irritation with the doctor. The way she had taken the thing
for-granted, the doctor too couldn’t find the root cause.
According to the doctor, it was some side -effects of
medicines that she was taking for controlling her blood
pressure.
As per the suggestion and prescription, I took my

mother from the clinic and returned home. Enroute, we
bought the alternative medicines that the doctor had
suggested for her blood pressure.
But unfortunately, the coughing of my mother didn’t go.

Even after changing the medicines and taking much care of
the throat, she kept feeling the same irritation. This was just
the beginning of our cruel destiny…
My uncle was living in the UK and one day, he called

my mother when he heard of her throat irritation and
coughing. Being a doc tor and a family member, he offered
my mother to come to the UK and spend time with them.
My mother was a jolly lady, who just loved doing

things. When she informed me this in her twittering voice, I
was propelled to accompany her there. Maa was so excit ed
that she was visiting her brother and is going on a long
holiday. My work with an airline entitled me to a free ticket
38
and I could accompany her. Maa was not only very beautiful,
but she was super energetic, talented and dynamic.
The security check, do ne; immigration, done; we were

waiting at the gate to board the flight.
“Let's have some hot tea before boarding starts. My
throat is irritating me”, Maa kept clearing her throat while
she took out a piece of ginger to chew. The juice from ginger
gave her throat temporary relief.
Finally, we were in-flight heading towards the UK. Maa

was mesmerized by the beauty of nature that unfolded before
her eyes as the flight moved ahead; puffs of white clouds in
the sky, the beautiful turquoise blue of Caspian Sea,the dark
stormy look of the Black sea and the snow -capped
mountains of Switzerland.
“You know, brother will be taking me to Scotland too.

We will go on a road trip”, Maa said as she popped a piece
of ginger in her mouth while clearing her throat. “Isn't that
exciting?”
“Wow! Maa, you are so lucky!”, I exclaimed in delight.

I noticed Maa pop another piece of ginger in her mouth
as she cleared her throat and coughed lightly.
“Maa, what's wrong with you? Why do you keep

chewing pieces of ginger?” I asked out of curiosity.
“What can I do? My throat keeps itching and irritating.
At least the juice of ginger gives me temporary relief”, Maa
explained.
“But we have visited the doctor!”, I said.

“Yes. But don't worry, as he has changed the medicine,
hopefully, this throat irritation should stop soon. I just started
with the new medicine, you see”, she said.
39
Alakananda Pramanik
Maa loved chatting and she loved talking incidents of

her childhood, which she must have repeated so many times.
I didn't mind as it was always nice to hea r stories of her
childhood.
We ate, slept, chatted, watched movies, and before we

realized it was time to land at Heathrow. Immigration was
smooth sailing and soon we were out of the airport.
My Uncle and Aunt were there at the airport to receive

us. We stopped at a service station to have lunch before we
proceeded towards Cardiff
I came back to India to resume my work but she stayed

on.
Once, she was a bit restless at my uncle’s residence,

which he noticed.
“Are you having a cold and cough?”, My uncle asked.

“Don’t know what it is? It has been a while now”,
mother replied.
“It may be a trouble, dear. Have you consulted any
doctor in India?” Uncle asked.
“Yep, the doctor has given the medicines too, but in
vain.”, Maa replied.
Hearing this, uncle bro ught her for some tests and
processes to the clinic. Though all the tests were fine, the X-
Ray report shook us for the first time.
There was a shadow in the X-Ray report that was

diagnosed as cancer.
Yes, she had cancer in the lungs!
40
The news not only shook her but also us as we couldn’t

imagine that she could have cancer. But somehow, we
managed to stand by Maa and try to bring her out from the
depression of being ill.
The UK government takes care of their guests who are

diagnosed w ith a critical illness while in their country, for
which we were very thankful... But we needed to work hard
for convincing her for the treatment. She was worried but we
helped her to deal with it.
Finally, the day came when the major surgery happened

and the part of the lung was departed from her body.
Now, she was in a wheelchair after the surgery, when

we came back to India. There was a relief in our sigh that
finally, the merciless cancer was no more!
She started recovering! She was happy once agai n and

despite all restrictions, she started enjoying life.
One evening, I just picked up the phone and called her

my regular ritual as she was living in Pune with my younger
sister.
Though I was forcing her to stay with us for some time

so that I could take care of her well, my children persisted
this time.
“Dida, don’t you miss us?”, my son asked.

“Of course dear, I miss my grandchildren more than my
daughter”, Maa replied.
It was my golden opportunity to crack the deal.
“So, come here to play and stay with them”. I twisted
the entire communication.
41
Alakananda Pramanik
Maa caught my pulse and trick. But, she agreed this time
as she loved the company of her grandchildren. This was the
love of a grandmother as she agreed to stay with us on the
12th floor in Mumbai.
After a while, the hoodoo knocked on her door when she

started the same coughing once again. This time she was
tensed and swinging between hope and fear.
Without a delay, we contacted and brought her to the

Hinduja Hospital. We were hoping that our prompt
consultation could help her. She was sent for biopsy as they
found a shadow in the operated lung once again.
“I am worried. What will happen if it's cancer once

again”, Maa was tensed. She was lying on the stretcher on
her stomach and a couple of long needles sticking out of her
back.
“Maa, d..don't worry. You will be fine. Why do you
fear? ‘Mein hun nah’ (I am there for you)”, I swallowed the
sudden cry coming up my throat, blinked away my tear and
tried to speak as pleasantly as I could.
As much as we tried to assure Maa that nothing is

serious with her, but deep within us we knew that we were
wrong… The biopsy report proved it too!
I took Maa to see the surgeon at Hinduja and show her

biopsy reports. The doctor checked and confirmed the
cancer. Maa heard hi m but didn't react. She was silent as if
accepting fate. We returned from the hospital after check -
ups and lunch at Domino’s Pizza outlet. Though the cancer
was detected once again, my mother didn’t say a word.
42
She was quiet. I settled her in the room and sat by her
side holding her soft hand and running my fingers through
her hair.
“I do not want to be a burden on anyone. Cancer

treatments are so expensive. I cannot be a burden on you all”,
Maa kept saying.
“Please Maa, why do you say this? We are there . We

will take care of you. And please stop uttering the word,
burden. Did you not take care of us all these days? Do we
not have the right to take care of you?” I tried to console her.
“I will go and collect your tissue sample now and get it
checked by an other doctor for a 2 nd opinion. Please don't
worry. Everything will be fine.”
Finally, I got up to leave as I needed to collect the

reports from the hospital and later go for my office shift.
Once again, I consoled and empowered her, “Maa, whatever
will be the reports; we are here to handle everything…. And
Maa, I have kept food out in the kitchen for the children.
They will be reaching home shortly from school.”
Listening to this, she silently went to the washroom. I

noticed the worry and depression on h er face, but I was
unable to steal her pain.
On that stormy day, I collected the tissue slides from

Hinduja Hospital and suddenly my phone rang. It was my
daughter that side, crying, “Maa, Dida is not opening the
door for so long. The neighbors have taken me to their
house”.
Something was bustling inside, but didn’t know what!
43
Alakananda Pramanik
I kept calling on my mother’s number. I called my
husband and asked him to check whether everything was
okay….!
“Don’t worry, I’m going to the building to check what

is happening there”, my husband consoled. In the meantime,
my driver reached the hospital gate with the car. I told the
driver to go via the school to pick up my son as he had to
stay back for sports practice.
I was worried and I was crying internally. I didn't want

to accept what could have happened and hoped I was wrong.
As the car was reaching the building’s gate, I started
shivering with some unknown fear.
As we neared the building, I called my husband once

again to hear the concoction and to hide my fear behind t he
clouds of false hope.
“Is it true…..?”, I asked in an overwhelming voice but

with the hope of listening to a ‘No’.
“Yes, it is…... I’m standing here in front of the
building’s gate to receive you”, he replied what I didn’t want
to hark.
I could see our building gate closed and my husband

standing outside. There were crowds of people across the
road and on the balconies of nearby buildings. It was a sight
I will never forget.
I couldn't control myself and burst out crying. Seeing

me, my son started c rying thinking something happened to
his sister. The building security opened the gate and our car
moved in and halted right there. The building was swarming
with police and the area was cordoned off with yellow tape.
A table was set up under a tree, and police were noting down
44
something. Lady police were standing by the car watching
me, as my husband helped me out of the car. I was wailing
with grief and refused to step out as I didn't want to face
reality.
My husband was hugging me and leading me down t he

long driveway while my driver held my son, who was crying
at the top of his voice. My husband's colleagues were there
too, but at that moment my senses had gone numb. The
police took charge of Maa’s medical file which I left in the
car. They shielded my face with their hands to keep me from
seeing the horrendous sight and led me into the building.
Maa jumped from the 12th floor, holding a ‘Radha -

Krishna’ picture in her hand. Her body was smashed to bits
and opened up from the weak area of her recent surgery.
Police interrogation started, but they were kind. The

lady police was trying her best to console me and explain to
me that they will be taking me to the morgue, but I shouldn't
insist on seeing my Maa. They explained to me that I should
remember and hold on to the pleasant memories of my
beautiful mother.
Through the crowd, my husband took me to KEM

Hospital morgue.
‘I, …….. request you to hand over the dead body of my

mother, Late <Maa's Name> to perform the last rites…’. My
hand shook while writi ng the discharge request in the
morgue register. Everything happened so fast, I still couldn't
believe that Maa was no more.
Maa had left a note behind on the table of the room,

where she mentioned ‘Nobody is responsible for my death’.
45
Alakananda Pramanik
That 72-years old lady was never so brave; but seeing
the chair beside the balcony and the pair of slippers, I was
wondering, “from where my Maa got such strength to take
this step.”
“What took you away Maa…. Cancer or Depression?

You never gave us a chance to take care of you!”
If you were so bold Maa, you should have shown this

stamina for tackling cancer!
If you were going through depression, you should have
discussed it with me, at least once!
If you were …. Why …. Why …. Why did you,
Maa…?!
46
Stranger in the Train
Kavya was done with branch visits for this quarter.

Bhubaneswar branch visit was always in the end. Her return
train coming from Puri was supposed to arrive at
Bhubaneswar station at 1.30 pm. Coincidently, her husband,
Paul, was also booked on the same train by his office and he
was supposed to board the train from Jajpur station.
Kavya sighed deeply at the thought of Paul. The sudden

unexplained turmoil in her married life had left her totally
shattered and broken, that happened a few y ears ago. Also,
whenever a person goes through a bad phase there is always
an angel who comes from nowhere and stands by that
person. Kavya had an angel too, but all of a sudden he had
disappeared totally which left her devastated. When she sat
back and thought about her life, she felt that she had emerged
as a much more strong and confident woman with no regrets
in life.
On reaching the railway station, Kavya checked the

display board and noted down the platform number where
her train, Dhauli Express would be arriving from Puri. She
walked up to the point in the platform, where her
compartment was expected to stop. She fel t her mobile
vibrate in her purse. It was Paul asking her whether she had
47
Alakananda Pramanik
reached the station and what was the update on the train as
he was boarding the same train from Jajpur.
‘The train is around 20 minutes late’ Kavya told him.

‘OK, fine. I am on my w ay to the station. What is your
compartment number?’ he asked.
‘C2 and seat no. is 62. It’s a window seat. Which
compartment are you in?’ she asked.
“It’s C1’ came the reply.
So he is in the next compartment she realized. She

thanked her lucky stars that Paul was on the same train. At
least she will be able to go home with him without having to
look for a cab.
Since the train was late, Kavya was passing her time
looking at people hurrying around, listening to the
continuous announcements of train arrivals & departures on
the speakers, hawkers selling their wares, people jumping on
the dirty railway tracks to cross over to the next platform
instead of using the overhead bridge.
Finally, Kavya could see her train entering the platform

slowly from the far end. Her heart started beating fast as she
was nervous about the crowd pushing around to get into the
train during the 5 to 10 minutes’ halt. The train finally
stopped at the platform and sure enough her compartment
stopped very close to where she was standing.
‘Oh God!’ The big gap between the train and the
platform made her head reel for a split second. ‘Need to start
traveling by train more often to get used to it’ she murmured.
Kavya managed to get into the train with her luggage.

Some of the passengers, who were traveling from Puri, were
standing and stretching themselves; some rushing to the
48
washrooms before the train started moving. The aisle was
narrow and she had to squeeze herself through these
passengers to locate her seat as well as to keep looking up at
the overhead luggage rack to find a place for her luggage.
She spotted her seat, but there was no space on top to keep
her luggage. However, she found a space away from her seat
and lifted her somewhat heavy luggage as it had the laptop
too and pushed it in that space. Now, she needed to reach her
seat. She saw a lady sitting at the aisle seat, the center seat
was empty but the tray was open and food packets kept on
it. A little cute plump boy was sitting on the other side of the
aisle and three guys were standing and chatting.
‘Oh, dear!! How do I reach my window seat?’ Kavya

thought while looking up at the men. One of them was a
young slim boy with big eyes and a sharp nose in red t -shirt
and one was a dark -complexioned man with thick jet black
mustache and a mop of equally black hair. She hardly looked
at the third guy but felt eyes staring at her. She looked up at
him and their eyes met for a fraction of a second. He had a
black sleeveless vest & jeans on. He had trimmed beard &
mustache and a lemon & white checked bandana tied around
his head like a turban the way coolies tie. Oh! He must be a
coolie helping the family with their luggage.
‘Excuse me please, I need to reach my seat by the

window’ Kavya said.
No reply. Silence! They just moved t o make way for

her. The lady picked up the food packets kept on the tray of
the middle seat to let her pass. Phew! She made it to the seat
finally! She hung her purse on the hook by her window and
sat down.
49
Alakananda Pramanik
Kavya called up Paul to inform him that she hasboarded
the train and that the train will be leaving soon. Paul was
waiting at Jajpur station to board the same train.
As Kavya’s mind started drifting, she felt a slight

movement and realized that the train had started moving.
People were settling into their seats. The middle seat, beside
her, remained empty for some time. Her eyes looked out of
the window; her mind was wandering on its own path again.
Platform rushed past as the train picked up speed. The tracks
and houses rushed past and the train moved more towards
greener pastures and wilderness. Kavya’s mind had already
taken its flight, her head jammed again and her heart was
confused and weeping. Thoughts have wings; they travel so
fast, faster than the train she was traveling in.
Kavya had no appetite until she got this aroma of

noodles. She suddenly came back to the present and looked
around. The slim boy in the red t-shirt was sitting beside her
and having his lunch, the food pack which was kept on the
table. He must have been hungry to have finished the entire
box of cold noodles lying there for so long. She felt her
stomach growl with hunger, which made her look up and
down the aisle for a train attendant or a vendor, but there was
no one. She noticed the cute plump little boy, now sitting
beside the slim boy in red t -shirt where earlier the lady was
sitting, and the lady sat on the other side of the aisle beside
the dark-complexioned man. She realized that the little boy
was their son.
Kavya checked her mobile for any messages from her

angel, but there was nothing. No message, no reply, no
inquiry whether she was okay and safe. She consoled her
heart that angels are not to keep. They come to pick you up
when you have fallen, and when you get strong, they move
on to pick up someone who is in need. Very well! She will
50
become an angel for someone who needs her. She will bring
a smile on their faces and she will be the reason for
someone’s happiness, she decided.
The train entered Jajpur station. Kavya saw Paul waiting

at the platform when the train came to a halt. He climbed into
her compartment, C2 and started walking down the aisle
towards his compartment C1.
‘Paul’ she called out, ‘Paul, here I am sitting by the

window’
‘Very well! Remember to get off at Santragachhi station
instead of Howra h station. You better be quick as the train
stops only for a minute’ he said.
‘Don’t worry, I will be by the door on time’ she replied.
Paul moved on towards his compartment. The train

started to move out of Jajpur station. Kavya sat back and
looked out o f the window. Normally she would listen to
music in her playlist, but today she did not feel like listening
to any. She was feeling lonely and lost, once again. So many
thoughts were crowding in her mind. Now that angel had
stopped communicating with her, who will she turn to for
some care and affection, for taking a decision, for financial
advice, for encouragement & motivation?
‘Chips… biscuits … cake… chips… biscuits… cake’

Kavya could hear a vendor calling out as he passed through
the aisle. He was car rying a basket on his shoulder with all
his wares and stopping when passengers called out to him.
‘How much are a packet of Goodday biscuits and a

packet of Ruffles lays?” She asked him.
‘12 Rupees for biscuits and 20 Rupees for chips’ he
extended the pac kets to her. She took them from him and
paid for the snacks. She also picked up a tetra pack of mango
51
Alakananda Pramanik
drink. She realized that she had not had lunch. All she had
was breakfast early morning and a cup of tea before leaving
the office.
Kavya’s mobile batter y was running low. She plugged

it in and kept the mobile in her purse hanging on the hook by
her window. She wiped her hands with the last wet tissue
that she had on her and ate looking blankly out of the
window at the rushing landscape. The sound of the speeding
train seemed to be saying ‘You will not fall, you are strong,
you will not fall, you are strong…’. After she finished eating,
she folded the empty packets and shoved them in the net
pocket in front of her seat which already had previous
passengers used packets and stuff. She checked her mobile,
but there was still no information from her angel. Life is
such, no one is yours forever, and promises have no meaning
she thought sadly.
Her mind kept on drifting and she was trying to hold it

in place, consoling herself. Get going woman, be strong and
give strength to people who need it. It’s your turn to be an
angel and bring happiness and smiles in people’s lives. Isn’t
this what the angel taught her? He always repeated like a
mantra, ‘Serve people selfle ssly, without expecting any
fruits in return. Have faith in God and leave everything to
him even if you are at your worst phase. Serve the needy and
be kind to all, you will get ten times more’. There were so
many words of wisdom he taught her. He taught h er
empathy, to give and to love selflessly. The pleasure that you
get to see smiles and happiness on others' faces cannot be
described in words. You have to feel it to understand it. Be
happy of yourself first, and then only you will be able to
radiate happiness to all who touch your life.
Flying high, high, like a bird in the sky, I am an eagle

that flies…. Kavya could feel her thoughts soaring, when she
52
got this whiff of summer sweat which snapped her back to
reality. She looked around and jumped up to see the ‘coolie’
sitting beside her in the middle seat. What!! When did he
come, and sit beside her? Where is the young slim boy in the
red t-shirt? The cute chubby little boy had the headphones
on and he was browsing through the playlist on his mobile
phone. With his cute chubby fingers, he kept scrolling
through the playlist and finally, chose a song listening to it
with intent. She realized, she was smiling looking at him.
But conscious of the new passenger beside her, she leaned
more towards the window as he drummed his fingers on his
thighs as if listening to some music in his mind. Kavya
turned towards the window and went back to her thoughts.
‘Can I take the garbage out of the pocket?’

‘Huh! What?’ she jumped up and looked at her co -
passenger with the yellow & white checked bandana.
‘Can I take the garbage out of the pocket?’ he repeated
pointing to her empty tetra frooty packet and folded biscuit
and chips packet.
‘Uh! Sure’ she mumbled wondering why he should
clean her and somebody else’s garbage. Sh e gave him her
empty packets, which he took and passed on to the sweeper
waiting at the aisle.
‘Thanks’ she smiled.
Kavya was surprised to see him put his hands back into
the net pocket in front of her seat and take out the rest of the
garbage that was left by some previous passenger and give it
to the sweeper. For the first time in her life, she saw a
passenger, who was cleaning somebody else’s garbage on
the train. She gave a side glance at him to check him out. He
didn’t actually look like a coolie. H e looked more like a
person from modern times. The turban was his style she
realized.
53
Alakananda Pramanik
Kavya unplugged her mobile and went through the
message box, but there was still no sign of her angel. She
fiddled with her mobile for some time then decided to plug
it as the battery was not fully charged. She stretched her arms
and plugged her mobile to the other end of the wire while
dropping it in the side pocket of her purse.
‘The switch is off’, her co -passenger jumped up and

switched on the plug.
‘Oh! Thank you so much. I didn’t notice that it was off’
a wider smile from her now.
Wow! Kavya was impressed. This guy is so observant

and helpful. He could have just not bothered, but he was so
sweet and helpful. Nice decent guy, she thought to herself.
She rested her head on the window and closed her eyes trying
to catch some sleep. The rhythmic sound of the moving train
and the hum of people talking were acting like a lullaby.
*****
‘What is this yo bro’ She heard the little boy ask.
‘Bro is for brother and you say yo-bro and not yo bro’ her
co-passenger replied. He repeated ‘yo-bro’ a couple of times
in perfect English accent for the little boy.
Hmm!! So, after all, he is not a coolie. His accent is pretty
good, Kavya noticed.
‘Ok, tell me the names of some green v egetables’ he asked
the little boy.
‘Spinach, beans, ladies finger…’ the child went on.
‘You know some roots are vegetables too’ the little boy said
with wonder in his eyes.
‘Oh really? Which vegetables are roots?’
‘Carrot, ginger, radish, beetroot….’
‘Did you watch Mahabharata?’ the guy asked the little boy
54
‘Yes, I know the story. I watch it on television’ the boy
replied.
‘What is Mahabharata about?’
‘It is the war between Pandavas&Kauravas. They were
cousins. Pandavas were five brothers and Kauravas were
100.’
‘What were the names of the Pandavas?’
‘Arjun…. Bhim… Shatrughna… Nakul &Sahadev. But they
had one more brother, whose name was Karan, who sided
the Kauravas’ the little boy replied.
Kavya was totally carried away by the conversation between

her co-passenger and the little boy. The cute chubby little
boy was so intelligent. The easy flow of conversation
between them couldn’t stop her from smiling. She realized,
she was looking at the little boy and smiling. Her co -
passenger looked at her and smiled.
‘He is so intelligent.’ she had to say. She couldn’t help it.

‘You heard what aunty said? That you are very intelligent’
he told the little boy, then turned to her, saying ‘yes, you are
right. He is a very intelligent boy and his grasping power is
very high’
‘Awesome’ Kavya gave an ear -to-ear smile. The little boy
gave her a shy look.
‘How old is he?’ she asked.
‘He is 4 years old and already knows a lot’ her co-passenger
replied then turned to the little boy and said ‘you play the
piano and I will give the beat. Is that all right with you?’
The little boy grinned and promptly placed one hand on the
food tray in front of him pretending it to be a piano.
‘Dhi-dhi-dhik-dhik-dhik-dhi-dhi-dhik-dhi-dhik….’ the co -
passenger starts beatboxing and tapping his f oot to the beat
and the little boy's chubby fingers start moving on the tray
55
Alakananda Pramanik
as if he is playing the piano followed by similar ‘jhik -jhi-
jhik-jhik…’ sound from this mouth.
‘Use both hands. You cannot play the piano with one hand.
Dhi-dhi-dhik-dhik-dhik-dhi-dhi-dhik-dhi-dhik…. there you
go! That’s right’
Oh my God!! This was the most engrossing sight unfolding

in front of Kavya. What co -ordination between her co -
passenger and the little boy! She was stunned to see such a
beautiful musical act happening with out any musical
instrument.
‘Now I will sing and you will give the beat’ saying this, her
co-passenger started singing and the little boy started
beatboxing ‘jhiki-jhiki-jhik-jhik….’
Kavya was so taken by this sight that she had a permanent

wide smile on her face, her eyes were wide with amazement
and her mind completely diverted from all the worries and
sorrows she was going through just a while back. She
realized that even she was tapping her foot to this jamming
happening beside her. She was simply lo ving this and
enjoying herself.
‘This is just too good. I am enjoying myself. The child is so

talented. How does he know so much?’ Kavya blurted out.
‘His father, you see that man sitting by that window, is a
Sound Engineer and my Guru. I am learning soun d
engineering from him. He is my mentor’ her co -passenger
said by pointing to the dark -complexioned man. ‘He taught
his son to play all kinds of musical instrument and the little
boy has a good ear to beat and tune’
‘Awesome!’
‘I heard Kolkata doesn’t have good Sound Engineering
colleges’, she said.
56
‘No, Kolkata has some good SE colleges………….’ He
named some.
‘But after doing sound engineering, what?’ she spread her
arms and shrugged her shoulder
‘I mean what do you do?’
‘Well, a sound engineer uses technologies to produce sound
for film, radio, television, music, computer games, etc. He is
concerned with the recording, manipulation, mixing, and
reproduction of sound’ he explained.
‘Oh! I see. Do you live in Kolkata?’ she asked
‘No, I live in Bangalore. I am going to Kolkata for the
completion of a project. I am basically from Purulia’ he
laughed out loud ‘the…. Famous…. Purulia…. for gun drop
incident, hahahaha’.
‘hahaha really?’
‘yaa’ he laughed again.
*****
By now, Kavya was curious to know more about him. There
was something interesting about this guy and she wanted to
know more. Not always do you get such interesting co -
passengers whose mental vibration is almost close to yours.
She almost turned on her seat to face him.
‘What do you do?’ she asked him with interest.
‘I write songs, compose music and sing too. I work for any
project that I get from movies or television. I have a band of
my own called ‘M -The Band’ and we are based from
Bangalore although I am from Purulia. We have a studio in
Kolkata where we do all the sound mixing and stuff.’
Kavya studied his face behind the facial hair & bandana tied
like a turban. Sparkling moving eyes as if looking for
something, a smile on his lips, hidden dimples behind his
beard, restless body language, finger s drumming, and feet
57
Alakananda Pramanik
tapping. It seemed like his mind was continuously working
on something.
‘Wait, I will show you something.’ Saying this, he called out

to his Guru in Bengali ‘Dada, can I show this to Ma’am?’ he
asked pointing out to a video on his Samsung Tab. Dada just
nodded his head.
‘See this video. This is our first music video for our album’
he turned to Kavya and gave his Tab.
‘Wait, I will take my headphone out’ saying this, she stood
up and took them out of her purse and connected it to his ab.
t
He pressed the Play button and gave the Tab to Kavya to
watch and listen to the video.
The video started
The words ‘Entangled by M -The Band’ appeared against a
dark background. The co -passenger makes a lip movement
of ‘My band’. The music with catchy t riple beat started and
then a smart young man on a bike rode in through the trees.
He once again pointed at the screen and then at himself
making a lip movement of ‘That’s me’.
‘That’s you?’ Kavya asked with amazement
‘Yes,’ he smiled with an expectant look on his face.
A thin young boy in the blazer started singing while playing

the piano and then a guitar. ‘My brother’ lip movement
again. Nice strong lovely voice was moving easily from low
to high notes. When the RAP portion started, he again made
a lip movement of ‘That’s me Rapping’.
‘What!! That’s you? Your voice?’
‘Yes’, he grinned.
Kavya was stunned! Her jaw dropped. What a lovely voice

this guy had. The texture of his voice was very rare to find.
The cinematography was beautiful. And the music was so
melodious and foot tapping. The lyrics were awesome. He
58
was a very good looking, smart young man and that dimple
on his cheek could be seen so clearly without his beard.
When the music was over she wanted to hear it again without
any distraction. The first round of watching and listening
was basically like an introduction to himself and his band.
Kavya heard it once again and simply loved it, every bit of
the music video. She could feel herself getting immersed in
music once again. Her worries and sorrows were already on
their way out of the closed windows of the train. She had
started smiling unconsciously. How much she loved music
and here is her co-passenger, who she thought was a ‘coolie’
at first glance was a complete package of musical talent! She
could only praise him with happiness and smile in her eyes
and heart.
‘Amazing! I simply loved your music video. Thank you so

much for making me listen to it’
‘We are releasing our album before Durga Puja and are
working towards it’ he mentioned.
‘I will be the first one to buy your album. I will surely buy.
I will keep a watch on the new releases so that I can buy one’
‘Wooaahh!! You would!!’ he almost bent double with
happiness and grinned excitedly at me.
‘Who wrote the lyrics?’
‘I did. I wrote and composed the song’
‘Beautiful, simply beautiful! I loved it from the bottom of
my heart’
‘You will get it on YouTube too’
‘Wonderful! I know where to go if I have to watch it’ she
smiled happily
‘In fact, when I was sitting in the other compartment a little
while back I got a call to perform in Chandigarh on World
Concert Day. They will show it on the television channel
VH1’ he continued, excitedly.
59
Alakananda Pramanik
‘That’s good news! But how will I know when they will
show it on television?’ she asked
‘You can take down my phone number. I am on WhatsApp.
Are you on WhatsApp?’ he asked
‘Yes, I am on WhatsApp too. It will be easy for you to
communicate with me and let me know. I will be very eager
to see your performance’. Without even thinking twice they
exchanged their numbers.
‘What is your name?’ Kavya asked waiting to save his phone
number.
‘Ronny’ the prompt reply came.
‘R-O-N-N-Y’ she wrote down
Kavya saved his number, not knowing at that time Ronny

will become the sunshine of her life. She gave him a quick
glance and dec ided he must be between 30 to 35 years of
age.
‘You speak Bengali pretty well. I heard you talk to the little
boy’
‘I can speak Bengali. My mother is a Bengali and my father
is a South Indian. They had a love marriage’ he gave a shy
smile at that. Kavya loved his expression when he said that.
His dimples looked deeper.
‘What is your name? I have to save your number too’ he
smiled.
‘It’s Kavya’ she replied and spelled it out.
‘You will find me on Facebook and we have a page too’, he
said ‘let me add you on Facebook too’.
Both of them started searching for each other’s profile on
Facebook. She noticed how fast his fingers were flying on
his Tab.
‘Who is this baby?’ he asked pointing at her WhatsApp
display picture.
‘My grandson’ she replied with a smile. There was this cute
picture of her grandson with big blue eyes on his tab, looking
like a calendar baby.
60
‘Huh! Blue Eyes?’ he asked in a mocking tone as if she was
making stories to keep him at bay.
‘hahaha, yes, Blue eyes. He is my son’s baby. My son is
married to an American’
Here, she goes trying to prove herself once again. But she
was used to it now. She doesn't look her age and has to
explain to people every time that she has grown kids and a
sweet little grandson. Ronny gave her unbelievable looks.
Was she fooling him, he was thinking. Well, there was a lot
to know about each other and she told him about her family
which was musical too. She loved music so much…. so
much, that she would have music plugged into ears while she
worked, music in the car while she drove, music in
everything even though she couldn't sing.
‘You know I have a lovely playlist and I love to write too,

though I have not published any. Whenever I write I listen
to this playlist.’ She told him
‘What kind of music do you like?’
‘I love any music that is melodious and has good lyric. I do
not enjoy music that has no meaning’ she told him ‘Wait, let
me show you my playlist’. Kavya took her iPad out of her
bag and ran through her playlist.
‘Hear this’ and she played the song ‘Sham.tanha.si.lage…..’
‘I love this song. Let me note it down now. I will download
it later’, he quickly took his mobile and noted down the name
of the song on it. He noted down the names of a few more
songs.
Both of them got so carried away by the topic of mu sic that

they started singing together along with the songs on her
playlist. Kavya was simply enjoying herself and lost in the
present moment on the train. Singing with a stranger on the
moving train and enjoying every moment of the journey was
the ultimate. They were smiling, laughing, chatting, singing,
61
Alakananda Pramanik
and sharing songs. The best co-passenger of her life, Ronny,
unknowingly brought a smile on her face, laughter in her
eyes and music in her heart. He showed her lyrics that he
wrote in the train a little while back when he was pondering
over ‘what next’ in his musical life. Beautiful lyrics! She was
amazed. What deep meaning!
*****
Kavya was so immersed in music and laughter that she lost

track of time. They never realized when it became dark
outside. The train was rushing through the darkness towards
their destination. She glanced at her watch and jumped up as
the hands showed past 7.30 pm. The right time for the train
was 8 pm. She quickly dialed Paul’s phone number.
‘What time is the train reaching San tragachi?’ she asked

Paul when he answered the phone.
‘The train is running half an hour late. We should be
reaching around 8.30 pm. We have already crossed
Kolaghat’ he replied
‘Oh! So the train has crossed Kolaghat. When the train
crosses Uluberia I will start coming towards the door’ she
told Paul and disconnected the call.
‘Were you talking to the Engine driver just now?’ Ronny

asked her in a curious & confused voice.
‘What!!! Noooo! Hahahahaha.. That was my husband and
not the Engine Driver’ she couldn’t stop laughing imagining
Paul as the engine driver.
‘Husband! What is he doing on this train?’ He was surprised
wondering why her husband was sitting in a different
compartment ‘Uh! Sorry! You were getting such precise
time and station details that I thought you were talking to the
Engine driver’ he was embarrassed.
62
Ha hahaha, this is hilarious… Paul the Engine Driver.
The next half an hour just flew by. Dada joined them in the
conversation. They spoke about their music video,
‘Entangled’ and their future plans of releasing an album.
Soon it was time to say goodbye to her most interesting co -
passenger. Kavya wished they got more time to chat and
laugh and sing. Paul called her up and told her that she
should start walking towards the door as the trai n stops in
Santragachhi for only one minute and they should be
reaching there in another 10 minutes.
‘Time to get off’ she said ‘it was such a pleasure knowing
you. Do let me know when your performance at World
Concert Day will be telecasted on television. All the best’
‘It was great knowing you too. I will be in touch with you
and l et you know if this happens. Ab . baat.chal.raha.hai
(discussion is on).They will confirm on coming Wednesday’
Dada and Ronny stood up and moved to the aisle to let her
pass.
‘Where is your luggage?’ He looked up at the luggage rack.
‘My luggage is there, that black little bag’ she pointed to her
little black laptop-cum-overnight bag kept a few seats away
from where they were sitting.
He pulled it down ‘Let me reach you to the gate’
‘No no, please don’t, I will carry it myself’
‘Are you sure’
‘Absolutely sure’ She said
They shook hands. Dada went and sat at her seat by the
window, Ronny in the middle seat and the aisle seat got
occupied by the slim boy in a red t -shirt. Kavya was closer
to the rear door. Oh no! There were too many people with
big luggage and boxes queued up at the door. She sat down
63
Alakananda Pramanik
at the empty seat right there for a couple of minutes. She
checked her mobile and found a ‘Hi’ message from Ronny
on WhatsApp. She messaged back ‘Hi…. It was great
knowing you. Nice music… loved it. All the best’.
Kavya suddenly spotted Paul standing by the front door at

the far end of the compartment. She picked up her somewhat
heavy luggage and carried it down the long aisle stumbl ing
at times due to the jerk of the moving train. She, finally,
reached it and Paul took her luggage from her hand and kept
it on top of his suitcase. In five minutes, they reached
Santragachhi station. Paul got down first and carried both the
luggage. Kavya, carefully, stepped down on the platform and
they started walking towards the exit. While passing her
compartment, she looked towards the window where she
was sitting a little while back. Ronny and Dada were both
trying to look out through the tinted gl ass of the window.
They grinned at each other and waved while the train moved
out of her sight.
This was the best train journey in Kavya’s life. She had no
idea whether they will stay in touch or not, but he brought a
change in her life with his music. Sh e was sporting a smile
all through her way home and cherishing every moment
spent in the company of this ‘Stranger in the train’.
64
The Blue Snake
Movement! There was a silent movement, she could sense

it! Pahi could feel a presence in the room. She looked up
from her book and glanced around the room, but everything
was still.
‘Ah! I am disillusioned!’ Pahi was internally broken and

trying to cope up with the reality of a rocking marriage. ‘Oh,
Lord! How could he do this to me? Why did he do it? Please
help me, hold my hands and pull me out of this dark well of
depression!’
She looked at the twilight sky, noticing the beautifully

lit majestic temple in the horizon and loving the faint sound
of temple bells that was floating in thro ugh her bedroom
windows. She sensed a movement again in the far corner of
her room. She glanced at the direction, again. Her jaw
dropped as she saw the long tail of a beautiful turquoise and
royal blue colored snake, which was slowly disappearing in
the direction of the temple.
Pahi woke up with a start and jumped out of bed looking

for the beautiful snake, and then realized it was an early
morning dream. She vividly remembered the spectacular
65
Alakananda Pramanik
blue color of the snake. It must have appeared in her dream
for a meaningful purpose.
Janmashthami (birth of Lord Krishna) was around the

corner and people were already in the mood of celebration.
Pahi was born on Janmashthami too, but she never visited a
temple at midnight to bring in the birth of Lord Krishna.
Despite living with her husband, she was lonely. Depression
was killing her internally. She was groping and looking for
a foothold. The beautiful blue snake in her dream seemed to
indicate divine intervention. Pahi decided to go to the temple
on Janmashthami to be a part of the celebration.
‘Can you give me the car keys, please?I will drive down
to the temple’ Pahi requested her husband around thirty past
ten that night. He was in his room messaging on his mobile
as usual. Without a word of concern for her safety at this
time of the night, he silently gave the keys to her and we nt
back to his mobile. Hurt and disappointed, Pahi took the keys
and stepped out of the house. With uncertainty in her mind
and faith in her heart, she drove down the dark silent road
shadowed by trees. There was not even a single soul on the
road until she approached the temple.
The temple was beautifully lit with rows and rows of

sparkling lights. People of all age groups were out on the
road in their best attire. There was festivity in the air. Some
food stalls lined the road. Vendors selling balloons, toys and
exciting wares walked the roads attracting children towards
them. Cars moved slowly on the roads, looking for a parking
space. Pahi’s heart sunk as she noticed cars parked bumper
to bumper on the roadsides. The lane beside the temple,
where people park their cars on normal days, was full of cars
with more cars driving in to look for space.
‘Oh Gosh! I do not wish to go back home without
seeing the celebration.’ Pahi’s eyes kept moving from left to
66
right hoping to find a vacant place ‘where do I park? Where
do I park? Where do I park?’ She kept muttering to herself
as she followed the slow-moving cars ahead of her. Her eyes
widened with disbelief as she spotted a very easy vacant
parking spot on the left side of the road. Without much
difficulty, P ahi smoothly drove to the spot and parked the
car. She paid the parking fees and started walking towards
the temple.
Pahi found her way through the crowd and reached the
temple gate. The security seemed to know her and guided
her gently to the queue that was entering the temple from the
door to the left. Pahi was not sure what to expect inside the
main temple. All she wanted was to be there right in front of
the idol of Lord Krishna and witness the spectacle unfold.
The queue was moving in at a good pace and soon, Pahi
found herself standing in front of the idol of Goddess Durga
inside the temple. It was a huge temple having the idol of
Lord Krishna and Radha in the middle, Goddess Durga on
the left and Lord Shiva on the right inside of the main temple.
Bells were ringing and devotional songs were going on.
Pahi’s eyes swept across the temple and her heart sunk
once again when she noticed that people had already
occupied all the space on the floor. Everyone was seated and
singing bhajans (devotional songs ) along with the main
singer. People in the queue were looking for a place to sit
and without finding any, they kept moving forward. With a
heavy heart and tears almost spilling over the brim of her
eyelids Pahi followed the queue. As she reached the cente r
of the temple, right in front of the idol of Lord Krishna, she
gasped with disbelief on seeing a vacant space on the floor
amidst the seated crowd. She immediately stepped out of the
moving queue and staggered to the vacant space and sat
down wiping her tears of emotion. After praying and
67
Alakananda Pramanik
thanking God, she too joined the devotees in singing
Bhajans.
Pahi closed her eyes and immersed herself in singing

Bhajans. There was a kind of peace settling around her. She
could see her wish to celebrate Janmashtham i in the temple
being fulfilled.
It was five minutes to midnight. The frenzy of devotees

singing bhajans and ringing bells kept increasing. The air
around seemed to be charged by a live wire. Volunteers were
taking positions and arranging thick ropes bet ween them to
control the crowd. All this was new to Pahi. She had no idea
what the ropes were meant for initially.
It was one minute to midnight. The crowd was going

crazy. ‘Govinda Govinda’ echoed around the closed walls of
the temple. All the devotees l ifted their arms in the air
chanting ‘Govinda Govinda’ at the top of their voice. Pahi
followed them too. The musicians had increased the tempo
of the beats as the main singer stood up in frenzy.
As the clock struck midnight, the bells started ringing

louder, the entire crowd stood up chanting ‘Govinda
Govinda, Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna Hare
Hare’ in a frenzy. They struggled to come closer and to view
the idol of Lord Krishna. The Arati being performed by the
Pujaris, they started pushing forward. The volunteers were
trying their best and using all their strength to control the
crazy crowd with the ropes.
Pahi got caught in this frenzy. She had no control over

her legs. She started getting pushed deeper and deeper into
the crowd. She felt as if her breath was being squeezed out
of her body. A kind of fear started growing into her. What
was happening? This was not what she expected. Was that
68
the way to celebrate Lord Krishna’s birth? Suddenly, she felt
a hand, holding her arm and pulling her backward out of the
frenzied crowd. Trembling, she found herself standing under
the ringing bells. She looked around to see and thank the
kind soul who saved her, but there was no one. From the
point, she was standing; she could see the mob swaying.
Every single person was in a trance, the chant was growing
louder and louder and the entire crowd was swaying
together, uncontrollably, in different directions. No one
cared about the elderly, women and children caught in this
madness. Pahi stood rooted to the ground, shocked at the
entire scene unfolding in front of her eyes.
It was way past midnight. Pahi realized that she had to

drive back home alone. She bowed her head and wished
Lord Krishna a very happy birthday. She wished herself too
and then walked towards Lord Shiva’s idol on the right. The
idol was a beautiful turquoise & royal blue color with snakes
wrapped around his neck and hair.
‘I vividly remember seeing this spectacular color

somewhere’, Pahi thought trying to recollect. There was a
calm look on Lord Shiva’s face and a serene smile as if he
was conveying the message ‘bless you’.
‘Time to go home’, Pahi spoke to herself as she admired

the beauty of the huge sparkling crystal chandeliers. The
frenzy of the crowd had reduced though people contin ued
chanting ‘Govinda Govinda, Hare Krishna Hare Krishna,
Krishna Krishna Hare Hare’. The life of Lord Krishna was
depicted around the premises of the temple.
Pahi stepped out of the main temple and noticed a long

queue again leading to a crowded table from where ‘prasad’
was being distributed. She joined the end of the queue
wanting to carry some prasad home and for office staff too.
69
Alakananda Pramanik
The queue hadn't moved at a ll and it was getting late. She
walked to the table to check and saw people were jumping
the queue, crowding around the table and taking prasad.
None bothered that people were waiting in the queue. Pahi
stood there thinking for some time whether to leave without
prasad or stand in the queue. Finally, she decided to try her
luck and stuck her hand in through the crowd towards the
table. Someone placed a packet in her palm. She closed her
fist and moved away from the crowd. She opened her fist
and stared with disappointment at the small 2” x 1” packet
of dry halwa.
With mixed feelings of satisfaction of bringing in Lord

Krishna’s birthday, the shock of seeing the frenzied crazy
devotees, nostalgia and peace on seeing Lord Shiva and
disappointment on the size of prasad packet, Pahi left for
home.
‘How will I distribute prasad to the entire office? The

packet is so little. After giving some to the domestic help at
home and husband there will hardly be any left for office. I
will try to keep some for the girls I have lunch with’, Pahi
thought as she drove back home down the dark deserted
road.
Next morning, Pahi gave some prasad to the domestic

help at home and her husband and carried the rest to office.
There were more than fifty employees in the office and sh e
was not sure how many she can share the prasad with. She
wanted to share it with all, but the packet of prasad was too
tiny. She first shared some with the group of girls she has
lunch with. There was quite a lot left in the packet. She then
shared some with the entire accounts team, her reporting
boss and the kitchen staff. She was happy to see that there
was still almost half the packet of prasad left. She shared
with the office security and office boys next. Surprised, she
70
looked at the packet. There was quite a lot of prasad still left
in the packet. She continued sharing prasad until each staff
in the office had some. Pahi stared at the empty packet
unable to believe that the tiny packet of prasad catered not
only to the members at home but also the entire office.
That night, Pahi sat at the edge of her bed staring out of
the window at the beautifully lit majestic temple on the
horizon, living the experience of her temple visit the
previous night. Cool breeze, which was flowing in through
the windows, carried the faint sound of temple bells.
‘What was it about Lord Shiva?’ She wondered. ‘Why

did I feel at peace and drawn towards him last night? That
spectacular blue color of the Lord was very familiar and
etched in my mind’
There was a rustle in the far corner of her room. She

glanced in that direction and gripped her pillow with a start
as she saw the long tail of a turquoise and Royal blue color
snake disappear behind the boxes. A sudden whiff of breeze
blew past caressing her face and whispered ‘Bl ess you’ in
her ears!
71
Alakananda Pramanik
The Quake
Deepak stared at the bag that was kept at the foot of the high
ladder he was standing on. Did he carry all the tools that he
needed to fix the ceiling projectors and CCTV cameras, he
wondered? He had traveled all the way from India to Nepal
on office duty. It was a big project in a school, near
Kathmandu. He worked for one of the top IT companies in
India, and his company had bagged this deal. He was a
dedicated Engineer and his office knew that he wou ld
complete the job efficiently.
It was close to noon on Saturday, 25th April 2015.

Deepak wanted to complete his work first before checking
into a hotel and freshen up. He stepped down the high ladder
carefully and just as he bent down to take the toolsout of his
bag, it slid away from him. His head reeled and he fell. The
other people in the room had fallen too. They were trying to
pick themselves up, while his bag and other things in the
room were sliding away. Deepak tried to stand but just
couldn't k eep his balance. He looked up at the ceiling and
started getting cold sweat. The ceiling was moving and it
looked as if it was going to crack and come down on him.
Frantically, he started crawling and sliding towards the door
72
for dear life. He could see th e parked school buses outside
swinging from side to side along with the ground under it.
“Oh no! I am in the midst of an earthquake in a foreign

land!” Deepak wailed, tears profusely flowing down his
cheeks. “I will not live! I will never be able to see my little
daughter and my beloved wife”.
The terrifying sound of concrete crumpling

accompanied by the cacophony of crying and screaming of
people was echoing across the sky. For Deepak, this was the
‘sound of earthquake’ that would remain with him all h is
life. Everyone was trying to keep their balance and reach
open ground. Somehow, Deepak managed to reach the open
swinging ground, away from concrete. Clutching on to the
grass, he was crying profusely fearing that this was the last
day of his life.
The quake lasted for around 50 seconds, but it felt

never-ending. The air was filled with dust from collapsed or
damaged concrete structures around. Screaming and crying
continued. There was chaos all around. Tears streaming
down his dirt covered face, Deepa k took his mobile phone
out of his pocket to call his wife in India, but there was no
signal. He felt lost in this foreign country. All that he had on
him was some cash and the phone. His bag was inside the
school building, which was cracked and tilted on one side.
Within an hour, there were two more aftershocks. All around
people were screaming and crying. Sirens from ambulances
added to the commotion and noise. The entire scene was
horrible and terrifying.
That night Deepak had to camp with others in th e open

field. Signal was back on his mobile and his family could
connect to him.
73
Alakananda Pramanik
“Baba, we saw the news of the earthquake in Nepal on the
TV. We were so worried about you. Are you okay?”
Deepak’s little daughter asked. He started sobbing on the
phone. He had lost his speech due to shock. The aftershocks
hadn't stopped, and there were chances of larger earthquakes
occurring in the next 48 hours. He did not know whether he
would survive those. He was not sure whether he would ever
be able to hug his daughter again.
Nepal Red Cross was quick to arrive. Temporary

shelters were built on the fields for the survivors. Deepak
spent sleepless nights with mosquito bites. It started raining.
The makeshift shelters protected them from getting wet.
Despite all the cha os, food, water and medicines were
provided.
After spending a few nights out in the open in the same

clothes, Deepak managed to retrieve his bag from the
damaged school building. The hotel, he was supposed to
check in, was no more. It was completely destr oyed. He
managed to get a ride up to Raxaul in the India-Nepal border
and befriend a group of men speaking in his mother tongue,
Bengali. Together they hired a twelve -seater traveler and
drove down to Motihari, Bihar in India. From there, he
boarded a trai n and finally united with his family in his
hometown in Kolkata.
Deepak had a nervous breakdown and couldn't join the

office for months. Every minute he felt as if the ground under
his feet is swinging. He had to undergo treatment. His office
had been kin d and provided him full support until he was
able to join the office back.
Today Deepak is back to his normal self, but the ‘sound

of earthquake’ is etched in his mind never to be forgotten.
74
[The April 2015 Nepal earthquake (also known as the
Gorkha earthquake) killed nearly 9,000 people and injured
nearly 22,000. It occurred at 11:56 Nepal Standard Time on
25 April 2015, with a magnitude of 7.8Mw or 8.1Ms and a
maximum Mercalli Intensity of VIII (Severe) lasting almost
fifty seconds. Its epicenter was east of the Gorkha District at
Barpak, Gorkha, and its hypocenter was at a depth of
approximately 8.2 km (5.1 mi). It was the worst natural
disaster to strike Nepal since the 1934 Nepal –Bihar
earthquake.
Credit: Wikipedia]
75
Alakananda Pramanik
Jack
This year, winter set in very early. I am so thankful to

Robert Uncle and the pretty lady who accompanied him for
the warm blankets that they distributed to all the street
children at Sealdah railway station a few days back. My
darling little baby, Maryam also got one. My eyes followed
my cute little girl as she walked bare feet on the platform in
her soiled warm clothes. She was looking up and smiling at
Robert Uncle & the pretty lady as they approached her. I was
delighted to see them. They always make me so happy.
Robert Uncle is the kindest person on the earth. I went to
them and introduced myself to the lady ‘I am Jack, her
father’. I called out to my baby ‘Maryam, say Jai Jishu
(Jesus) to Aunty’. I could see the lady fall in love with
Maryam as she watched her immediately salute with her tiny
hands and said ‘Jai Jishu’. I pointed to my very pregnant wife
and said ‘My wife, Moni. I love her a lot. I love my family a
lot. Everyone, living on this platform, is like my family. The
platform is my home’.
‘Jack, I am very curious to know about you. Do you

mind sharing your story with me?’ The lady asked me.
‘Sure Aunty, I will tell you everything’, I replied.
76
‘Tell me about yourself. I mean, how did you land upon
the platform in the first place? What do you d o for survival
and how do you look after your family? I want to know
everything’, She said
I was silent for a moment. I went into a flashback as I

traveled back on time to that day when things went wrong to
me.
‘My name was Subrasil,’ I paused for a mome nt, then

shook my head and said ‘that's it… Subrasil... I do not want
to tell my last name’.
‘That's fine. Whatever makes you comfortable’She said.
‘But, how did you get the name, Jack?’
I laughed and said ‘Brother Francis named me Jack, but
Robert Uncle calls me John. That is because I have fair skin
& hair. Some people call me Chikna (smooth & soft)
because of my looks’.
This made both of us laugh. ‘Chikna’ is a funny name.

I warmed up and my words started flowing carrying me
through my life from the beginning, once again.
I lived in the Behala area of Kolkata with my father &

step-mother. My mother had left us for a better life and never
contacted us. My step -mother illtreated me and I would get
no support from my father. Things got sour at home & I ran
away. I went to my maternal grandmother’s house, but she
wouldn't keep me too. I had nowhere to go. I kept walking
aimlessly till I reached Sealdah station. I slept on the
platform, relieved myself in street corners or railway tracks
& begged for food. But, this was not the life I wanted to live.
I walked the streets till I found a job at a restaurant where I
did odd jobs in exchange for food, money & shelter. But luck
was not with me, and I lost my job. I came back to Sealdah
railway station platform. For the need for survival, I became
77
Alakananda Pramanik
a ragpicker. If I found any food worth eating in the garbage,
I would keep it aside and eat later. Soon I made friendship
with porters and helped them pull trolleys, in exchange for
money. I would collect, count & fold bed dings provided to
the passengers in long -distance trains and help the
shopkeepers on the platform too.
‘Well, this is what I had been doing ever since I left

home at the age of 14’ I said.
‘That's quite a handful of stuff you’ve done’ she said
‘Yes, and I enjoyed every work I did. Sometimes I even
filled my stomach with leftover food thrown in the garbage
by the passengers’ I replied.
I could see that the lady was getting emotional. To

change the topic, she asked me how I met my wife. I looked
at my wife, lovingly and murmured ‘my beautiful Moni’.
Meeting Moni, falling in love with her, marrying her

and growing a family with her, everything belongs to another
chapter of my life and I am so happy to have her.
Moni was in her early teens, when she would come to

the South platform of Sealdah railway station with her
friends, regularly. Her mother was mentally unstable. Moni
was plump but had a sweet face that attracted me. I would
follow her wherever she went. Initially, she ignored me, but
soon we fell in love and decided to get married.
Moni & I got married in an innovative way on platform

no. 10. I tied my ‘gamchha’ (fine cotton towel) to her dupatta
(scarf). Then piled up the newspaper on one corner of the
platform and lit it. Both of us took seven rou nds with vows
around the fire and I made her wear Shakha, pola & applied
sindoor. In the end when the fire died down, I took soot from
the fire and put ‘tikka’ on her forehead. There were no guests
78
or family to witness this. For us, Jesus was witness to our
marriage. We are now happily married for 6 years.
After we got married I decided to take her to my father’s

house. I thought may be my father will accept us, but
unfortunately, we were thrown out of the house because
Moni was from a different religio n. But since there was no
place on the platform for us to stay together, she went to her
mother’s house, and I would visit her regularly. I worked
hard and got a room on rent to bring my wife home.
Soon Moni got pregnant and delivered a beautiful baby

girl. We named her Rani (Queen). But God had different
plans. Rani lived for only four days. Initially we broke down,
but we gathered ourselves and believed that she is in better
care with Jesus.
Moni got pregnant again after 1&1/2 years. We didn't

realize that she was pregnant until she started feeling
uncomfortable. We found out that she was pregnant when I
took her to the doctor.
This time my maternal grandmother accepted me and

took me in along with Moni as she was carrying a baby.
Moni was growing heavier as the days passed. I did odd jobs
on the platform and took care of her needs.
One day Father Fracis invited us to attend a feast thrown

by him. We were very excited and went for the feast. We ate
to our hearts content. When we just about finished e ating,
Moni felt a slight pain in her stomach. We thought it was
because of overeating. We thanked Father Francis and took
the train back home.
It was the 4th of February 2016. There was a full moon up

in the sky and it was past midnight. Moni started
79
Alakananda Pramanik
convulsions. We realized that it was time for our baby to
arrive in this world. While Moni cried in pain, I rushed out
to look for some conveyance to take her to the hospital, but
there was no help. Moni’s scream could be heard as she
delivered a beautiful baby girl in the room. I rushed back and
stared in amazement at the beautiful creation of God, our
beautiful angel still connected to her mother. I decided to
deliver the baby myself. I took a string and tied the umbilical
cord very tight. Then I washed a s having blade with Dettol
and cut the umbilical cord. I picked up the baby girl, wiped
her, wrapped her up in a cloth and laid her by Moni for her
first feed. I lit a fire inside an earthen pot and while I gave
warm compression to Moni’s stomach and the newborn baby
to make them feel comfortable, I lovingly watched my
beautiful wife & my bundle of joy drift off to sleep.
‘Maryam, my sweet daughter, I want her to study and

grow well in life,’ I said dreamily.
‘Jack, what are your future plans?’ The lady asked

‘I want to own a restaurant,’ I said hopefully.
Moni delivered our 2nd child in a hospital on 19th

December 2017, and we named him John. Baby John was
born with a tumor in his neck, which had to be operated. We
will miss baby John as he will remain in the hospital for two
years, while I continue to live on the platform with my
family, hoping that someday my wish to own a restaurant is
fulfilled and my children grow in a safe & healthy
environment.
j
80

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Soul Stirrer

(An Anthology of real life stories)

This book has been published with all reasonable efforts

Alakananda Pramanik is a dynamic lady with an excellent

Alakananda carries multiple responsibilities and fulfills

My special thanks to my sisters, Piu Nath for being my proof

I couldn’t have done it without the constant

Thank you to Soulitaire and the Content Team of

I would also like to thank my family, relatives, friends,

S.No Chapters Page.No

5 Daisy & The Animal Communicator 28

6 Why did you, Maa? 37

7 Stranger in the Train 47

8 The Blue Snake 65

It was a chilly December morning. I was sipping my cup of

“Boudi, O boudi go. Amar .Gopal.Neyi. Gopal .shesh.

I froze, shocked beyond belief. ‘Am I hearing right or is

Debi snatched the phone from him to speak to me “Doctor

“Debi, nothing will happen to Gopal, believe me. Have

After the line disconnected, I sat still rooted to my chair,

Debi had turned to me to cure her son, how should I do?

I was in a flashback the whole day. I couldn't

Next morning, I got a call from Debi “Boudi…”

I was at a loss of words as I started choking with

[I visited Gopal while he was in the hospital and gave

It was a great feeling to help my friend; Robert used to feed

This story is about a girl called Rupali from the street

Every Saturday morning, I would pick up Robert from

“Aunty… Aunty, I want to tell you something” she

Silence! Suddenly, everything seemed to have come to

“That's … Good... news” I stammered initially, and

Finally, at the end of the third week, I spotted the

“How are you?” I asked

This time, I was determined to know her life story.

“What is your name?” I asked.

“Aunty, can I tell you something?” She interrupted

“Rupali, how did you land up at this station? Tell me about

Rupali smiled and held my hand. “I was eight when my

“Didn’t anyone come to look for you?” I was curious to

“No.” She replied.

It was as if she read my mind. “One day I was walking

I was shocked. “Did anyone not come to help you when

“One of them had covered my mouth and nobody was

My heart twisted on hearing this. Tears welled up in my

It is quite possible that the girl, standing in front of me,

After this day I never met Rupali. I guessed those kind

‘Were your ancestors German’, Mr. Wilson asked Priya.

This story is of the year 1979. Priya was living in

Priya was never a bookworm. She enjoyed reading

Priya enjoyed her work there, especially because

Priya was a friendly girl and everyone in her office

Once, while crossing Mr. Derek in the corridor, she

One other time she asked the Head Secretary of Admin

Her never-ending curious innocent questions would go

‘Mr. Lubomir, I want to go to the construction site one

Lubomir was delighted. Secretly, he felt an attraction

‘Ok, Mr. Lubomir… Errr... Sorry… Lubosh’ she

‘Are you excited, Priya?’ He asked

It took them hardly 10 minutes to reach the site. He

‘It’s time to go back to the office now. Your car will be

Hand in hand, they started walking down the steps,

In silence, they drove back to the office, both were in

That night, there was a television and radio

~3rd July, 2015~