<Then>
“Debu”!!!
“Debu!!! Stop running around with my hair band. Give it back to me or i’ll complain to my mother”. Jhumki would always yell at him, whenever Debu would pull the hairband from her hair and run on the streets waving it. The sound of his slippers echoing down the street, while Jhumki would stand in the middle of the road connecting her house with the rest of the colony, her hands trying to hold on to some of her hair in a bunch behind her head. She was never successful while doing it and most of the hair would rest on her cheeks. She would always be near tears… just like all little girls her age did. And when tears did start to brim her eyes and rain down on her cheeks, she would turn in the direction of her house and run inside.
For Debu, the fun stopped almost immediately when Jhumki would leave for her home. And then, would the coaxing and cajoling of Jhumki from Debu would start. Though the truth remained that for Debu, being away from Jhumki for even a single moment would be the saddest part of the day. It wasn’t that he was not aware of the scolding he would get from both his & Jhumki’s parent, but somehow getting a scolding while his eyes examined the fine grain of the floor and still be able to steal a glance at Jhumki, who would in turn look at him with a concerned look… was in most ways, all Debu ever wanted.
As a punishment, Debu and Jhumki would be separated from each other and would not be allowed to study or play together… but neither of them could bear a separation for more than few minutes and what would follow would be apologies from Debu & requests from Jhumki to be allowed to be together again… and who would not accept apologies and request made with innocent faces? And so the two of them would finish their lunch, do their homework and go to play. At times when it used to rain, the two would go to Debu’s house and play. Debu’s house was old and richly built as compared to Jhumki’s parent’s house and it comprised of an old attic. Children were not allowed to go in there as it was a big room, full of old trunks. It was used as a store room where Debu’s parents would put away clothes, furniture, Debu’s toys etc… which were not used any more. Moreover, it also had toys, clothes & books used by Debu’s father which were put in the attic by Debu’s grandparents when Debu’s father was a young boy.
But the main attraction of the attic, was a window through which, Jhumki could see the entrance of her house, as Jhumki’s & Debu’s house were directly opposite to each others. The window had a canopy too and birds like sparrows, parrots, pigeons would sit under it… taking shelter from the rain. Debu & Jhumki would watch the birds and try to speak in their voices. Debu would make voices of cat or dog and Jhumki would giggle seeing the birds getting nervous as though there was a real cat or dog nearby.
Even when they grew up, the attic was their favourite place. It would rain a lot in Shillong and it used to get cold. So they would sit in the attic by the window… watch the rain and the birds, do their studies and their gossip. A hot cup of chocolate milk, comfortable sofa seats, a heater and the wooden floor would set the mood for long hours of togetherness. Conversations would range from what they felt like doing, to movies or plays they were going to watch over the weekends or trips they could make over nearby places hitchhiking all the way. They would gossip about all the fun they could have and they used to have fun too.
Schools got over and colleges started. On recommendation of family members, Debu was to go to UK to study for his BBA and MBA, as was the tradition in his family. The course would take 4 years and Debu fighting tears had bid a tearful goodbye to Jhumki. The only promise they had kept was that they would stay in touch through letters.
4 years had passed, Debu had come back home. He had also got himself a job in a reputed bank in Calcutta. The entire day he had been meeting relatives who had come to congratulate him. He yearned to meet Jhumki but when he went to her place, he found a different scene. Jhumki’s family lived as tenants and had to move away when their house owner had decided to come back and sell the property. The property was now brought by a rich businessman who had been renovating the house according to modern needs.
<2 years ago>
Debu stood in front of the Attic window…
Sepian memories flooded before him, even as he looked around the Attic. It was a special place for them. It was filled with memories of Jhumki and Debu. Now even as he stood there, he was alone… and he missed Jhumki a lot. He had tried to find from his family about her whereabouts but they had no information. He began to feel tears brimming his eyes and he cried. He had cursed himself for leaving Jhumki when he should’ve stayed with her and helped her, but alas, this was something neither of them could have ever forseen.
<Now>
ABC Bank, Calcutta had struck a major deal with an international bank and this was being regarded as a landmark achievement by any bank in Indian history. More than any of this was the fact that, ABC Bank attributed this to their young visionary banker, Debjyot Chakraborty for this achievement. And he had been receiving interview requests from leading news channel reporters. However, there was one card which he kept in his wallet with a smile. It read Jhumki Baruah, Journalist, Calcutta Times.
