MEOW - मैं आऊँ - Triloki Nagpal - 30th May 2021. 2273 Words
In the year 1981, I was visiting Calcutta, now Kolkata, while I was working in the British Company - Molins of India Ltd, which had one of its factories cum Head Office in Behala, in Calcutta, not too far from the DMET, on the Taratala Road. I was posted at the other factory in Mohali, near Chandigarh. A childhood friend of mine had completed his Marine Engineering from the DMET (Directorate Of Marine Engineering Training), and was staying in the Behala area itself. He was my best friend when I was studying in the South Point School in the Gariahat area. We were also staying very close, barely about 100 metres from each other's place. We were in Lake Place and his house was on Parasar Road. We used to be picked from the same point by our school bus. His name was Sukumar, an only child of a Keralite father and a Bengali mother. Because of the mixed lineage he was not only very handsome, but also a very rational and an intelligent young man. He did not believe in blind superstitions, after life, ghosts or god. I would say his thinking was very similar to my rationality and thinking.
He invited me to spend an evening with him. He told me that he was living alone. I was aware that he had married quite a few years ago.
I asked, “How is baudi?”
He said, “We are meeting in the evening!”, without really answering my query.
I reached his house in a black and yellow cab, after finishing my work for the day at Molins. It was a three bedroomed house and was furnished appropriately for a family. It was immaculately clean and decorated tastefully, that made me feel the presence of a feminine touch. The master bedroom also did appear to have the feminine touch with small and simple artifacts and photo frames on the walls and the cabinets. The second bedroom was converted to a well furnished guest room. The third and the smaller bedroom was converted into a study. There was a small outhouse, ideally suited for a live-in domestic help.
Although Sukumar had a live-in manservant who did his cooking and cleaning, he wanted to take me out for drinks and dinner on board of a ship that was berthed in the harbour docks between the Calcutta Port Trust and Garden Reach. We walked through the DMET campus and boarded the ship by a ramp, he did tell me the name of the vessel though it eludes me now. I felt that this was his regular haunt, as the waiters and the crew members all seemed to know him and almost everyone we accosted exchanged greetings with him. After reaching there I discovered that they had the availability of a vast range of imported alcohols, viz., beers, hard drinks - like scotch, single malts, liqueurs, and many others. I was told to enjoy, have my pick and imbibe whatever I desired. First time I saw a bottle of Benedictine (liqueur). It is distilled and bottled in France, and contains 40% alcohol. Tastes almost like honey and cognac mixed together. It's a sweet liqueur that has a very deliciously unique flavor and taste. The label on the bottle informed me that it is made with 27 herbs, spices, and peels. The flavor is smooth and sweet, like honey, and also has a subtle taste of licorice to it too, with a flavor of sweet spices. The original drink, also explained on the bottle, was distilled and prepared by the monastery of the Order of St, Benedict, an Italian monk. The present day drink was developed in the 19th century. I relished it so much that I did not try the favourite Scotch or any of the Single Malts at all. In fact this needs to be taken straight and can really knock you down easily. He told me that you can drink for free on the ship, as much as you desire, but no drink can be carried out from the docks unless it is in your tummy.
Sukumar was happy with his single malt. After his three 60 ml pegs he told me the story that I am repeating almost verbatim.
“After finishing school, I joined DMIT and completed my B. Tech from there with good performance. Somehow, I was not eager to start as a sea-farer, and I easily managed a job in Balmer Lawrie as a Management Trainee and was posted to their head office in Calcutta.
“I got married almost four years ago, within two years of starting my job, and had a very loving and beautiful Bengali girl for my wife. She was also working in the same company and that's how we met. We loved life, and were literally ‘made for each other’. We must have visited most of the restaurants in Calcutta. We saw movies, spent time in theatres, and did whatever was there to do. Like lovers, we would always hold hands while walking, or going anywhere. The company was also kind enough to allot me a two bedroom flat in the Alipore area. It was on the second floor with a beautiful view of a children’s park from its balcony and our master bedroom windows. It was fully furnished, as it had been used as a guest house by the company for some time; so we could just move into it just with our suitcases.
“We were both very happy. We had our small world. Stable job, decent income and a comfortable lifestyle with all amenities that could be desired by an upper middle class couple. The first two years of my marriage were like an extended honeymoon. We were both fond of similar and non-vegetarian fare. Having been brought up in Calcutta, I also loved the Bengali food and the local cuisine. We always slept close together on the double bed and cuddled up like newlyweds. When she slept curled up, with her head on my chest, she used to snore softly, almost sounding like a cat purring. Soft fragrance of shampoo from her hair would put me into a deep and peaceful slumber.
“I used to call her a biral, a cat, in Bengali, and it was a standard joke between us; she would show her fangs and claws and playfully attack me. I had given her the pet name of Biral; her actual name was Tapti and was affectionately called Tinku in her parents’ house. She would say that she will be born as a cat in her next life. We both used to laugh about it. Like me, she was also a rationalist and did not actually believe in the afterlife, rituals or any superstitions.”
Sukumar became very emotional at this point in his story and I could see tears welling up in his eyes. He took another fill of his single malt and just gulped down the full peg. He continued:
“We were both fond of visiting historical sites and ancient temples, churches, mosques and other religious places. She was always the planner for our trips and visits. Although we both had been to Dakshineswar and Belur Math, we decided to go there once again - more as an outing than a pilgrimage. We took a cab till Belur Math and had planned to cross the river by boat and visit Dakshineswar. The return home would be by a cab or any other public transport from the eastern shore of the Hooghly. Although the river is less than a kilometer wide, going across by boat made one traverse a distance of 2.5 to 3 km, for landing at the ghat near the temple. A large size boat was available and filling up when we reached the boarding point. It could roughly take about 35-40 persons at one time, it had only two oarsmen cum punters. We took the particular boat and started our small journey across the river. All went smoothly till we reached near the pylons of the connecting bridge. The boat started going round and round, spinning on an imaginary central axis. Suddenly without warning, Tinku, who was sitting close to the edge, tumbled over and fell into the whirlpool in which our boat had got stuck. Her falling overboard was noticed and a lot of people on the boat started shouting. She disappeared in the water before anyone could react. Instinctively, I also dived in. We both knew swimming. I just could not locate her. One oarsman had also jumped in but she was just not traced. The deep currents of the whirlpool probably sucked her to the river bed. We remained in that area for a long time, maybe about an hour or so without any luck. Ultimately the boat reached the shore near the Dakshineswar temple. I was accompanied by the oarsman to the police post in the vicinity to lodge the report and to be able to receive communication in case she or her corpse was found.”
At this point of the story Sukumar just could not keep control of himself and was sobbing and convulsing.
He continued,
“Days turned into weeks, there was no sign or news of Tinku. I returned and joined my duty after a month of the incident. I was still not normal. I was distracted at work, I used to get nightmares and imagine her being in our bedroom and had a very disturbed sleep most of the time. I had to be prescribed antidepressants. At times I would have guilt feeling as to why we went by boat, or why I was not holding her hand at that time
“It had been a little over two months since Tinku disappeared in the river, I had a strange experience one night. I felt as if she were sleeping with me with her head on my chest, I could hear her soft snoring that I used to call ‘purring’ and I could smell the scent of her shampoo. I woke up sweating, I could feel her head on my chest. I reached for the light switch and I saw a white cat, a kitten about 6 week old, with yellow patches jumping out of the window. Calcutta does have a lot of semi-stray cats and mostly the Bengalis are quite affectionate to the felines. I did not think too much of it at that time.
“Later I realized that this particular cat had adopted me and I too would be looking forward to her coming. I named her Tinku. She would actually come and snuggle with me into my bed and I started sleeping quite soundly with the warmth from her body and the imagined perfume of Tinku’s shampoo in my nostrils.
“I have had a live-in female servant since before Tinku’s disappearance. She wanted to be excused and did not want to continue in my house after Tinku’s disappearance. I had managed to get another female servant for the house. Tinku, the cat, refused to accept her, it would hiss and try to attack the new servant. She had to be replaced and I opted for a man servant. It did resolve the issue. Meanwhile, I tried to get back into my social circle again. I had become close to another Bengali girl, Kajal, and I invited her for dinner to my place. To make it a little less obvious I had also roped in two male colleagues for the evening. The cat’s hostility towards Kajal seemed very obvious and apparent. In fact she lunged at her and scratched her cheek with her claws. It was apparent that Tinku, the cat, had become very possessive of me and was not willing to share me with another female. I have not dared to invite anyone and I have also stopped socialising.
“I am not able to discuss this dilemma with any of my friends or colleagues - they might feel that I have gone crazy; but I tell you that I am convinced that it's Tinku, my Biral, who sleeps with me every night. She also gives me company over dinner. She still enjoys her fish as well as all other favourite foods that we had. Please tell me TN, if you think I am going nuts? Do you think I need psychiatric help? You are the only one to whom I have told my full story.”
I was nonplussed and very disturbed by the facts as he narrated them.
We both had consumed more than enough alcohol and were in no position to even walk upto the gate of DMET from where we might have got a cab for his house. So we slept on the ship, in two of the empty bunkers in a cabin.
In the morning I took a cab to my hotel in Shakespeare Sarani, from where I would be picked up by the Molins car. Sukumar was dropped off on the way. He was saying he shall take the day off and was keen that I join him for lunch. I told him I have to be in Molins till 5.30pm and can come to meet you at your place after that and can have dinner together. You have a good cook or we can get some food delivered and spend the time together. He seemed quite reluctant to be at home for dinner time. I had a feeling that he wanted to avoid exposing his Tinku to me.
I was wondering if we had spent the previous night at his house, would his Tinku have come and shared his bed?
***
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