RECAP
The next morning, Nihar has left for work even before Ila is awake, afraid to hope. She too is afraid when she awakes, afraid and uncertain. In a newspaper, she reads about Dipta’s death having been finally proved for what it was – that he had been shot down by the men in uniform. When Nihar comes home, she shares the newspaper item with him. As he makes tea for the two of them, there suddenly is hope and even happiness in the air…
CHAPTER 25
It had been Nihar’s suggestion and Ila had given in after some initial misgivings. She was once again traveling in a Guwahati-bound Kamrup Express, this time in an air-conditioned compartment, with Nihar for company, along with memories of Dipta. Nihar wanted to go back there with her, to see the place where she had lived... he couldn’t explain it to her too well but it was like a gap in his life that he had to fill. As the train rocked steadily into the night, they sat in the companionable silence that many greying couples share.
Her friend of some afternoons from a long time ago, Sabitri, met them at the station. She folded her hands in greeting, bowing a little in deference. Ila hugged her warmly. The Dipta Chowdhury Shelter had a rickety Jeep and they traveled in that as Sabitri tried to talk to her. A lot had changed, but not Sabitri’s communication skills, or hers, and they still did most of their communicating in disjointed words and gestures. Nihar was quiet, taking in the new place, the place to which he had almost lost his Ila. It was a beautiful place, overwhelmingly, frighteningly beautiful.
The Shelter was much bigger than what had been Dipta and her home. Apparently, Dipta’s father had donated a huge amount of money and also encouraged some NGOs to chip in. at the entrance there was a bust of Dipta’s, garlanded with marigolds. Ila looked away as she felt her eyes sting. She reminded herself that this trip was about the living, and not about the dead. Sabitri led them to a sparsely but adequately furnished room and left them to rest for a while.
‘You would have never come back to me, would you?’
The question caught her off guard as she stood looking out of a window at some children playing outside. She wondered for a fleeting moment whether to tell a lie and then shook her head. She turned to face him.
‘No, I don’t think I would have gone back to you if things hadn’t gone so horribly wrong... I – I did think of you sometimes, but I never wanted to go back...’
‘I am glad you did Ila. I will always be glad that you came back to me.’
She went to the bathroom to wash up, and also to let the tears roll down. The tears that she had to shed for the dead man and also the ones that she shed for the living man. Then, more at peace, she stepped out.
They walked around; acknowledging the good work that was being done as a proud Sabitri showed them the place. Sabitri said that things were more peaceful than before but many killings still happened. There were factions within her people too and all killings were not those committed by the forces. Her son was dead and the killers who had stormed into their home at night had not spared his wife either. Only the child remained, all of two years now, and the grandmother hoped little Brahma would grow up in a more peaceful Assam.
A few days later, Nihar and Ila were back in a train, headed back to Calcutta. In between them sat a rather bewildered looking little Brahma. Unknown to Ila, Nihar had asked Sabitri and Sabitri had agreed. She hadn’t even been very reluctant, glad that the child would be away from the turbulence. While leaving, Ila and Nihar had promised to bring Brahma back once in a while. And Sabitri, who had felt a great heaviness in her heart, had waved at them cheerfully.
Nihar had no clue about what to do with a small child and even Ila was at an awkward age to be a mother but they were enjoying every bit of the process of learning. They had spent a few days in Mangaon familiarizing themselves with Brahma’s lifestyle and now felt reasonably confident to set off on an uncharted course. As the train whistle rang out, little Brahma imitated the sound. Nihar helped him by adding a few sounds of his own and seeing them thus, Ila felt a lump in her throat.
Epilogue
News item: A powerful bomb explosion ripped through the air-conditioned compartment of the Howrah bound Kamrup express in the early hours of the morning. All the passengers of the coach died in the blast which flung three coaches off the track. The number of injured is around 120, out of which around 30 are said to be seriously injured. The Railway Minister has rushed to the spot to take stock and also announced an ex-gratia payment of rupees one lakh to the families of those who have lost someone. The seriously injured will get rupees fifty thousand each and those who have sustained minor injuries will get ten thousand rupees.
It is suspected that the explosion was the handiwork of the Ultras. Preliminary investigations indicate that a powerful explosive device was attached to the railway tracks and set off by a remote controlled trigger.
In a freak incident, there has been one survivor amongst the passengers of the air-conditioned coach. A little two year old boy, whose cries are painful to hear. All efforts are on to contact the boy’s relatives. We are reproducing his photo with the hope that someone who knows about the boy will come forward.
** The End **
Oh Irene,
Why did you have to give that news item? When I read "news item" in the epilogue, I thought it must be some item about unrest in Assam which might have inspired you to write this novel. I was about to skip it and come straight to comment saying "So they found their lost child!" Then, a strange urge made me read the epilogue and I too had a lump in my throat. They surely found their lost child, but the child lost them! This was really painful, Irene. Imagine, if you can influence your readers like this, it reveals that you are a great writer. I enjoyed reading every chapter of this novel and more than that commenting on it. Often I lost words while posting a comment because your chapters often left me clueless as to how to react! It was a wonderul experience to be a part of Ila's world.
Congrats for your new novel. Waiting for it eagerly!
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Perhaps Nihar and Ila should have lived...? Somehow my story led itself to this end. Where lives get spent waiting and then suddenly, it is all over.
Thanks for reading my novel.
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Oh..GOD!! Why Irene why??? As I read the chapter I was relieved to see a happy ending for Nihar , Ila and also little brahma. The chapter was so beautiful but but the epilogue was so shattering....
Anyways you know you did such a great job and made us all live the story rather than just reading it. You must have heard it a million times but I just have to say it again, "Irene you are a great writer!". Thank God you are not going anywhere and we readers would get to read your next novel from the coming week. Congratulations!!
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Thanks so much for reading the novel and for all the kind words. I know I am not a great writer and it felt so nice to be amidst you all, being read and appreciated. I hope you read the next one too and I'll try not to let you down.
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Irene, I am really sorry I have not been able to read your novel so far. But from 4IW's account in the blogs page introduction in this issue and the number of responses to your novel every week I know I have missed a great story and a great writing style. It is hectic time ahead for me now with daughters boards, house shifting and taking up new responsibilities et all. But I do intend catching up with this one and keeping track of the upcoming new one as and when I find time.
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That epilogue was a master stroke. We long to see your new novel.
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Thanks Suman. I hope you read the new one.
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It'll be nice to be read by you, whenever you have time... Hope to read your comments then.
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Three people on the threshold of finding some stability and happiness in their otherwise turmoil filled lives when fate decides to deal a cruel blow. The epilogue brought home the fact the life is unfair after all.. Beautifully written...
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Life is often unfair isn't it, driving us to despair beyond all repair? Thanks for reading Sandy.
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Dear Irene
Congratulations for making it work! We don't know if it's your first on a platform like this or the first ever u wrote? If u did indicate anything ever here while going off, i don't know. everything so good about this, it worked for all concerned: the platform, the writer and the readers, some of whom came from another platform! something within you compelled you to make it tragic most of the time, if not all through. the end could have been different with brahma getting a new life and both nihar and ila a purpose in bringing up. agreed lives do get spent in waiting and sometimes it's all over . but it's here that we need to weave in hope even if for the brief dusk time of life? i tend to say leaving the trio to start life afresh was certainly a better end than to be forced by a compulsive obsessive streak to wring in tragedy all around. all the best for your new work!
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Thanks Yatra-Tatra. I guess I do have a love for tragedies. Even my favourite films have sad endings and my favourite love stories don't end with the hero and heroine living happily ever after. Like I love 'Casablanca'!
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OMG! I did not even dream that you will end it like this. Not fair ... not at all! As a reader who followed this novel from day 1 feels let down after such a great story of life was narrated ... only to be consigned to a bomb blast by ultras. Are they larger than the life that we learnt to worship for the last 24 chapters. I am sorry, but this is what I feel ... but let Brahma live on among ourselves.
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It seems that only I like sad endings... they somehow seem more real to me.
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Great work but sad.Life is tragic sometimes but don't let art imitate life.Enjoy the goodness of life and please stop loving sadness.It is very scary in reality.
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I don't love sadness in life; it causes me as much grief as anyone. But in fiction, poetry, films... I do love sadness. Thanks for reading Jasmin.
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Irene, you are not the only one who is not hooked to tragic ends. Even I'm one of those! I loved the end of your novel. I had also planned a tragic end to The Meat Shop, but changed it to show the strength of the characters.
By the way, I forgot to tell you about the surprise about which I spoke to you last week. Doesn't your story In the Kingdom of Ghosts has some resemblance of the fist chapter of The Companion. Great minds sometimes do think alike!
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Mosest, aren't we?!
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dear irene i think ive missed agreat novel,u cannot judge an elephant by its tail.so eagerly waiting for ur new novel
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Well, if you want to you can always read the earlier chapters. They're just a click away.
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..and tears for the living man too.
surely, they deserved a chance -
there was so much potential for a future..
why that epilogue, Irene? NO. NO.
anyway, i guess that's the essential sad nature of life and so on.
but Why, Irene?
congratulations on your first novel.
many more ahead, and lots of love,
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So you too say that at least fictions should not be sad... since life is... ?
Thanks for reading Nadi.
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The fate of the two-year old child epitomizes the ordeal the ordinary Assamese went through. A gripping tale. Looking forward to your next novel.
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Thanks for seeing touches of real in my story
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All good things must come to an end.A very nice novel.Every chapter was a good read.My only hope was that ,like most Bollywood movies,even this will end on a happy note.But it was not be...
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Sorry about the sad ending. Read my next one. I promise to keep it happy!
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I wasn't aware that you had added this final chapter. Last time I logged in I found the message that the story was over and you were about to start a new one. But I realized only today that this was not the case. After reading this instalment, I feel this was perhaps the only logical end possible, at least for Ila. She would have found it hard to live on, not being able to stop loving Dipta and start loving Nihar. Knowing Dipta was no longer there to be loved in real life was pain. Worse, Nihar was available to be loved in real life, but not lovable. Living with Nihar would be a farce. Sooner or later, even someone as gentle as Nihar would have found the burden of her loveless pity unebearable. Nihar, though gentle, was in my opinion not particularly intelligent. I came to this conclusion after I reached the end of this last chapter. There is a limit to which one should sacrifice oneself. Whatever the cause may be. To travel to the North East to watch his wife pay respect to the man with whom she ran away does not look like an impressive act on the part of a man. No woman would do it either for the sake of a woman with whom her husband ran away. Even in this sick, male dominated world. Frankly, I have ended up disliking all three characters. Dipta of course is the rich man's son, who has the right to destroy another man's life and be glorified for enriching society. Nihar is not a complete man in the final analysis. Ila fortunately admitted to Nihar that she didn't love him. I don't know if this makes her hallowed. I wish I had not read this last chapter. The penultimate one did not raise hopes, but it did suggest that some sort of a reconciliation was possible, not love, but friendship, preservation as opposed to destruction. Unfortunately, that's not what happened. Three people died. One was a glorified scroundel, the second was a half-wit in the shape of a romantic professor, but one who didn't deserve respect for his intelligence. And the third of course was a woman who loved the rascal but was forced to live with the fool till she was claimed back. None of the three inspired me in the final analysis. But I must admit, I may just be trying to avoid looking at reality straight in the face. It may well be the rage of Caliban not seeing his face in the glass as well as his rage seeing his face in the glass. You might have indicated this at one point. I was not reading the way the story was meant to be read. Anyway, what matters ultimately is that the author is satisfied with her creation. So, I will assume that the author's purpose is fulfilled. As far as this reader is concerned, the work is doubtlessly powerful. It is powerful because of the hatred for the three characters it has successfully generated inside me. It has disturbed me immensely. I wish the world has fewer people like these.
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I don't know Dipankar, why you think that Ila cannot love two men during her lifetime. I am sure it is possible and that if they had not succumbed to the bomb blast, they might have had a happy life together. Ila finally overcame her insanity because of Nihar's caring for her and because she one day realized the depth of Nihar's feelings. She didn't go to Assam because she still love Dipta but because she had loved him once, and she needed to go back once, just to be able to round it off... Not to defend my characters, but I do like them all. Nihar with his unconditional love and his ability to live in hope has become my favourite. I like Ila because she is human, frail, honest and yet also dishonest, and capable of great love. I like Dipta because I do not see him as a rich man's spoilt son but a young man who lived out his crazy dream. I don't expect my characters to be more than human, and definitely not perfect. I am sad that you hated them all finally, but also glad that the story at least aroused some emotions!
Perhaps you'll have time to read the next?
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I guess you do like the dramatic touch, hence the epilogue...But I feel the story would have a natural circle completed just before the epilogue...perhaps when you publish this you could have a rethink?
The rendering is quite the best here, I am sure you know that w/o my saying it...
I look forward to your next novel.
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Thanks Suneetha, was waiting for your feedback, and hope to have your continued patronage. As you probably know, not many of my readers liked the epilogue.
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delayed but my train just came in...should have been here much earlier...did halt too at the previous station on the way...fabulous 'closures'...extremely artful writing...and serialisation must have meant that your writing remained a bit reflexively open to comments and observations...how very interesting from the point of view of writing...i take away from it a great narrative woven around the 'cult of eros' and the 'cult of thanatos', interacting and even colliding in our world and our times...superb work of contextualised story telling that leaves me totally in awe of this writer and her craft...fondest congratulations dear...cheers
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Thanks Charlie. Great to see you here... finally!
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