Mr. Sen glanced towards the wall, the hands of the clock indicated that it was three in the afternoon. He would have to leave office right away for his appointment with the doctor. He looked up at his assistant Sayantini, sitting in front of him, and conveyed his intention of leaving early.
“Please finish the
pending work before you leave Ms. Paul”, he added, looking at Sayantini, as he
rose from his chair and prepared to leave.
Mr Sen’s words made Sayantini
look up and for a moment or so she looked distant but then nodded politely and
left the room. Mr. Sen had a reputation of being a kind and understanding boss
and he did not fail to notice that his assistant had become absent minded.
Sayantini had always
been a star performer and the different departments of the organization vied to
have her services. Mr. Sen had fought quite doggedly to retain her in this
section. Lately certain personal issues had mentally disturbed Sayantini to
quite an extent and he was well aware of that. He had tried to be as helpful as
possible in his own way but deep inside he knew that no amount of sympathy was
enough to make her feel better.
Mr. Sen packed his Tiffin-box
and umbrella into his smart looking leather bag and made his way out of the
office. “See you all tomorrow” he said as he made his way out of the office
through the hall where all the members of the staff had their cubicle.
The figures on the
paper made little sense to her at the moment. Her mind had been wandering and
trying to push back the thoughts did not help. They had firmly taken root in
her mind and attempts to smother them did not help. Sayantini, looked at her
watch, it was three-thirty, just then her colleagues Gayatri and Bhabna walked up
to her desk.
“Sayantini Di, what
are you doing? Still working? It is your birthday and you should be on your way
home, your family must be waiting to cut the cake” chuckled Gayatri.
“Nah, say that her
hubby dear will be waiting for her with open arms” said Bhabna mischievously
with a twinkle in her eyes. Sayantini smiled.
Yes she had to leave
early but before that she needed to complete the job at hand. It would take
another hour to finish it off and after that she was free to go, Mr. Sen would
have let her off if she had told him but she had chosen not to. Sayantani was
not in the mood to discuss her birthday plan with her boss.
Her two sons Totan
and Santu would be dancing in excitement and waiting to cut the cake on their
mother’s birthday. She made her way to the washroom. Washed her face and looked
up into the mirror. At 39 she looked good she felt, taking into consideration
the mental state she was in. Sayantini was not a classical beauty in fact she
was short and had a dark complexion but had the most beautiful pair of eyes in
the world. Friends and colleagues adored her for the person she was. Her
helpful nature made her touch people’s heart, inspite of all her problems she
never forgot to wish people on their birthdays and anniversary and was a
wonderful host to people who visited her home. She brushed her hair and
adjusted her dupatta. The rust color new dress which she wore looked gorgeous
on her. After finishing the job at hand she was ready to leave.
Her colleagues
gathered around her as she collected her belongings and the small gifts they
had given her on her birthday. Another round of wishing and joking followed
before she finally left. Making her way to the nearest suburban train station Sayantini
sunk back into her melancholic mood once again. Totan her elder son was a sweet
child but was enormously hyperactive. He was always upto something which was
dangerous and disturbing. He was an average student and had to be regularly
cajoled, threatened or spanked to get through his regular studies and exams. It
was not Totan though who disturbed her more. It was Santu, her three year ten
month old younger son who was born with Downs’ Syndrome and had been the source
of a lot of distress. After he was born Sayantini came to know about the
pitfalls of a child having Downs’ Syndrome. Slow learning process, being prone
to illness and a constant need to attend to him was taking a toll on her. She
had become irritable and having to manage her home, aged in-laws, her office
and two kids was becoming too much of a stress for her.
In two months time Santu
would turn four years and yet he was yet to speak and this had been the biggest
disappointment she was facing right now. Speech therapy sessions and visits to
doctors had yet not given her the joy of hearing her son speak. Not being able
to speak meant he would not get into a proper school. A drop of tear moved down
her cheek as she settled into a seat in the train taking her homeward. Totan
would turn eleven soon and his constant defiance of her efforts to discipline
him made her lose her cool often. Nowadays he had taken
to taking Santu inside a room and locking the door with a plea that he would
play with his younger brother. Given Totan’s temperament his grandparents were
apprehensive that he might hurt Santu while playing one of his dangerous games.
When queried, Totan never came up with a proper answer as to what he had been
doing with his brother inside the room. Sayantini’s husband was busy with his
business and found little time to spend with them.
Sayantini let out a
sigh. She felt cornered and over burdened by the situation. The train moved
into her home platform and she brightened up at the thought of being able to
spend time with her children on her birthday. She disembarked from the train
and made her way through the lanes of Birati.
She approached the
gate and was surprised to see that no one was the gate. It was usual to find
them near the gate if they knew mom was coming home early and Sayantini had
expected Totan to be jumping around in excitement with Santu in tow. The door
was open and this too was unusual, as she moved inside she peeked into her
mother-in-law’s room and found her sleeping while her father-in-law sat on an
easy chair with his eyes closed, obviously resting. She still could find her
sons and called out for Totan. Bappa, her husband was also not at home and a
sudden fear gripped her that something terrible must have happened to Santu. She
swiftly moved on to the first floor and just as she approached the door of the
room, Totan came out smiling. Sayantini felt disappointed and irritated.
Totan must have been
playing with Santu as he usually did and had perhaps forgotten that it was his
mom’s birthday, she thought. “What have you been up to? Where is Santu?” she
asked somewhat sternly. Totan just shrugged his shoulders and said “Oh, we were
just getting your birth-day gift ready”.
Curiosity took over Sayantini
as she walked behind Totan, quickening her steps. “What is that?” she asked,
trying to think of what it could be possible and why he had involved Santu in
his activity. A strange sense of apprehension tinged in her mind. “I think you
should change your clothes and wash before you can have your gift” said Totan
matter-of-factly as he walked down the stairs like an adult. Sayantini glanced
inside the room and saw Santu sitting quietly on the sofa and her eyes searched
for a hidden packet or something which she could make out to be her gift. She
found none.
Reluctantly she walked back to her room as she knew pressing Totan
any further would not yield any result. He could be very adamant if he chose to
be so. She went to the washroom, changed her clothes and drank a glass of water
and tried to remain as calm as possible. Totan suddenly appeared in front of
their bedroom and said “it is time to have your gift, please come upstairs” and
turned around to walk up the stairs. Sayantini followed her son like a dutiful
mother. On reaching the room, Totan turned to his mother and said, “Every year
I give you something on your birthday and this year Santu will give you
something, I just helped him”. Sayantini found the statement enigmatic but
could hardly hold back her intense curiosity and moved straight ahead into the
room. “Please sit down on the floor” ordered Totan.
Sayantini followed
what he said mesmerized by the way things were going. Totan looked up and Santu
and nodded smiling an impish smile. Santu moved up slowly and walked towards
his mother and suddenly threw his arms around her and said in clear words
“Happy birthday ma, I and dada love you so much”. Tears rolled down Sayantini’s
cheeks she pulled both his sons close to her and wept the happiest tears of her
life. Totan had all along helping Santu with his speech and had planned the
perfect gift for his mother.
