True Love
Suman was waiting for Neela for a long time in the park. He was looking at his watch perpetually. Neela was never that late before. He was wondering if the rumour was true. A sudden fear began to startle his mind.
He could see Neela from a long distance. She was coming to him slowly. She was wearing the blue saree which was his favourite. But Neela’s eyes were looking very anxious.
‘Suman, I am really sorry. I did not inform you as I could not figure out how to tell you about this.’
‘What does he do?’
‘Software engineer. He has his own apartment in Dumdum. His salary is also sufficient.’
‘Oh’, Suman tried to bring an indifferent smile to his face.
‘I still love you, Suman. But how can I go against my family? Please don’t misunderstand me, dear.’
‘There is nothing to misunderstand. I am jobless, he has a decent job. You have taken the right decision. You will be happy with him, Neela.’
‘Take it. It’s the invitation card. Our wedding is scheduled to take place after seven days. Please attend the ceremony. If you have ever loved me a bit, don’t try to create any scene to interrupt our marriage.’
Neela’s eyes turned teary. It was possible that she was struggling hard to suppress her emotions. She began to walk quickly towards the main road.
Suman kept staring at her footsteps. Neela took a turn and completely disappeared from his view. Suman realized that our lives are just like the roads. Only the bends are important. Some people find a better way to walk in those turns; others become prey to road-accidents.
It was the night of Neela’s wedding. Suman decided that he won’t visit her. He was not confident about himself. He might actually create a scene if he went there. He was feeling tired. He went to his bed early and closed his eyes.
Suman woke up from his slumber. He found several missed calls from Neela’s number in his cell phone. But he had been unaware as the phone was in silent mode.
Again a call was coming from the same number. Suman faced a great difficulty in deciding whether he should respond to the call or not. Neela might still have a soft corner for him. It was possible that she was worried as he was not coming. What should a real lover do in this situation?
Suman vowed to himself that he would not respond. He did not want Neela to have a soft corner for him even after her marriage. It would ruin her life in future. But he was also not certain for how long he could be true to his vow.
Neela once again called Suman from her mobile. The groom was not present yet. According to the Hindu customs, she would have to remain unmarried for her entire life if the groom did not appear in a given time. There was a sombre atmosphere in her house. Only Suman could save her from this situation. Neela knew that Suman would respond to her call if his love was true.
TV Serial
Eminent author Anindya Halder could not decide how to react after receiving the proposal. He looked directly into the eyes of the famous director sitting next to him.
‘Mr. Halder, please think about my offer in a broad mind. Your story will reach every household of Bengal. Even the people who don’t read literature will get to know about your story. There is a lot of speculation going on about this upcoming venture’, the director said politely.
‘I understand. But personally I don’t like to watch TV serials. They run so slow that I lose my interest. Some mega serials run endlessly over years irritating the viewers.’
‘Please don’t worry, Mr. Halder. You can have faith on my direction. I will present your story as perfectly as possible. But I need some artistic liberty to change some of its incidents for added drama.’
‘I don’t have any problem if the presentation is well’, said Anindya Halder.
The shooting for this serial began as scheduled. The director requested Mr. Halder to visit the shooting spot one day.
Mr. Halder was mesmerized to see the fantastic location chosen for shooting. The old palace of the landlord, transparent water of the large pond glistening in sun, the gigantic lanterns hanging from the ceiling, the mysterious temple- everything of the set made him awestruck.
He felt a bit comfortable to watch two children acting in a mischievous manner. He realized that the story had almost come to the climax. They must be the children of Jeet, the central character of his story. Mr. Halder was surprised that most of the shooting had been finished in just five months. Now the story won’t seem so boring on television, he thought.
After the director said ‘cut’ and okayed the scene, the whole shooting unit encouraged the little actors with loud claps. Mr. Halder was also pleased at their performance. He called the director and told him, ‘Wow! These kids are so cute! They look great as Jeet’s son and daughter.’
‘You didn’t understand, Mr. Halder. Actually they are playing Jeet and Madhavi.’
‘What? But my story begins with the marriage between 20 years old Jeet with 18 years old Madhavi’, he seemed to be agitated.
‘Mr. Halder, your story is good. But it lacks the background of its pivotal characters’; the director said indifferently, ‘I am trying to give your story a proper background. In the ninth season, they both will turn nineteen. Then eventually I will come to your original story.’