Chapter 5.

Forty Years Curtain -lifted?

Where have all the feelings gone?

The face now is vague

The man now meaningless

The memory now painful 

The longing now forgotten.

'Aesculapia ',the medical college fest was the rendezvous. The Quiz Master ,a dashing bright scholar of one of the best medical colleges of the country.

Ani represented her college with two other students. Amit, a reputed quizzer, sat with his team. They were from a reputed state government college too. Amit's team got the first position with a wide margin. Ani's team left with the participation certificate with a fifth ranking. 

As Ani waited for the bus ,Amit politely congratulated her for their sincere effort and some bright responses. Ani felt humiliated. She wondered whether he was pulling her legs or is he a 'lady -killer' sort of male or may be those stick-jaw males ,who keep following ladies of their choice.

Ani waved out at to a taxi. She never bothered to turn back to see his reaction at her apathy towards him.

Why was Ani feeling restless en route home ? Why did she take a taxi when a bus would have been cheaper and money was important for her. Her father had lost his job suddenly. She offered home tuitions to school students of the higher secondary level and 'Spoken English' classes at home for upstart women, and conducted counselling sessions for the emotionally challenged adolescents .

She had worked out a schedule with no space for distracting emotional conditions for her. Why then did she feel different when Amit met her personally? Many males did meet her in the community centre in her residential area to discuss about social and religious programmes, cultural shows or  literary events. Why was her feeling of a different kind in the presence of Amit today? Why did Ani want to avoid him? His eyes ,she thought ,were too deep and captivating. His voice was like the sound that she heard, while standing with her family, on the hard shore of Digha. His words were so collected ,precise and demanding response.

Ani looked at the hazy sky of February. Why had she met Amit four decades  ago ,she wondered. 

Many a time ,in Ani's life, many a thing, has kept her pondering and till date she has received no appropriately satisfying answer to her deep queries regarding them. Friends and acquaintances had offered suggestions or solutions but they were too puerile Ani thought.

Was Amit the third, a Nor'wester, in Ani's life? Will she be blown away? Will she stand firmly rooted to the soil beneath her feet? Her experiences with the second , a Gulf Stream,  the first a typhoon, were still fresh in her mind .

Life has already made her familiar with some emotional servings that either she misunderstood, or over- rated , or under estimated or found too complex to comprehend. They did leave some scars like the chicken -pox marks but hidden away from access of the inquisitive eyes.