My Sis: Through My Eyes (Prologue)
Prologue
(Inspite of being younger to my Sis, Tapasi, by almost two and half years, I had some satanic pleasure in picking up fights with her every now and then in our childhood. I thought that I was the stronger one. It took me donkey’s years to realise that I won those fights because they were always one-sided. My Sis, being more mature, never laid a finger on me while I punched her, kicked her, hit her really hard, sometimes even bringing tears to her eyes.
I was studying at Sarada Sishu Vidya Bhawan then, a local primary school when much to the chagrin of the Massi, I shitted in my pants on the way to the attached bathroom one day. I didn’t know where to hide. I was also worried of the loose-tongued Massis. Standing in a corner, with tears streaming down my cheeks, I was praying to God to rescue me from the impending fire and fury of one of the Massis (Aunty).
Most probably, my Ma was called and I heaved a huge sigh of relief when I found Sis heading to my direction shortly afterwards. Everyone knew her at school. She was a very popular former student. The Headmistress, the teachers loved her and the Massis knew it best not to mess with her.
That day, while she was cleaning and consoling me, I uttered a silent prayer to God for blessing me with such an adorable, caring and loving Sis. I was yet to know anything about her invincible character at that time.)
“Arey Pissimoni! fatafati lagchhe! Chenai jachchhe na to!” (Wao, Pissimoni! You look fabulous! You don’t look recognisable anymore!)
Sister Tapasi, looking gorgeous in a deep purple-blue sari with a matching blouse; a pearl necklace with looped, hanging earrings, her face sparkling in the dim light of the room, finally beams at them.
Sis Tapasi came to know about Thikana Shimla through an advertisement when she was trying to help a childhood friend, Ruma, find a suitable old age home for her( Ruma’s) mother.
A few months later, when she dropped in the spacious building of Thikana Shimla at Anandapur, she couldn’t believe her eyes. She was so impressed with the facilities being provided there and the care with which each of some hundred inmates are being treated that she requested one of the admins to book a seat for herself in advance.
The admin on her part was equally impressed with this middle-aged lady trying to do so much, untiringly, for a friend’s mother. She asked Sister for her number. And soon after that when Tapasi could see the post about the Contest from Thikana Shimla, she just tried to overlook it. But one of the PG students Tapasi was very fond of called Ipsita Layek, staying in one of the hostels at the SNU complex near Biswa Bangla, New Town, started insisting Madam to participate in the Contest, she had to give in.
“Madam, I googled and downloaded their (Thikana Shimla’s) app last night. All you need to do, to be eligible for the Contest is to answer three rounds of questions. If you qualify, you go for the Final Round and the winner is awarded the Title of The Senior Beauty Queen along with some attractive prizes…”
Ipsita was cut short by her Matron,” Cut it out, Ipsita. At my age, I have no time to engage in such trivials any more.”
“Please Madam, for my sake at least! Please, please. Don’t you get bored staying within this building 24×365? You’re still young at heart and should be enjoying Life.”
Ipsita loved Sister Tapasi a lot. The way she changed the atmosphere and ambience of the hostel in the six months or so, spoke volumes about the kind of lady she was.
It was not so long ago that Madam taught a lesson to that bitch,Sneha, on the second floor who had invited her boyfriend, dressed and disguised as a female to spend the night in her room! It was an act completely against the PG Hostel Policy. But neith that beastly Sneha nor her boyfriend could fool Tapasi Madam. The boy was caught red-handed; the HR was called, and Sneha was lucky enough not to have been suspended, it was all due to request made by Madam to the authorities.
She was a fair, kind, strong-willed and independent lady. She cared two hoots about that bitchy Sneha being the relative of an MLA! Ipsita had taken an instant liking to Madam from then on.
As their love for one another was mutual, Sis Tapasi couldn’t totally ignore Ipsita’s request. The girl was good. She was a hardworking, sincere, helpful girl who didn’t do drugs or delighted in changing boyfriends as was the trend these days with many of the other hostel inmates.
Tapasi just clicked the link during her leisure time in the afternoon – when most of the PG, BSC Nursing students were gone to university college – that Ipsita had sent her earlier in the day. Soon she was being directed to the Contest details on Thikana Shimla website.
She took the only question carrying 10 marks in the First Round more as a joke. It had something to do with her views on girls getting addicted to drinking as an escape from the harsh realities of Life. Through her answer, Sis condemned this habit of innumerable girls taking to drinking and suggested,in the conclusion, that they should be more of a fighter in order to face the harsh challenges that Life tended to throw on their ways.
Subsequently, she got through the other two rounds as well. And then, one glorious evening there came an invitation from the NGO asking her to take part in the Finale at the Nehru Museum as a participant.
That she eventually didn’t win the Winner’s Trophy like it happens in the movies, shows the stark reality of her life. She was asked though to write an extempore on the topic “Spondylitis”, something she had very little knowledge of! So, true to her nature, wrote a few lines on the paper, apologising for her little knowledge on the given topic, the fact that she had heard about the disease and many people fell a victim to this bothersome ailment due to sitting long hours on office chairs or in front of the TV. But that was all she knew about it.
Sister was awarded a Certificate by the organisers. Unfortunately, in Life, some people rarely get rewarded for their honesty, truthfulness or loving, caring and helpful nature. Sis Tapasi has no regrets though and is slowly awakening up from her long-held notion of being a happy housewife to the stark necessity of living life on her own terms…….
