And the voice faded: Rimli Bhattacharya
Mrudul is still my best friend and confidante….. It is nine in the morning and the crowd outside the courtroom building is already buzzing with people. In poetic verse I would say the crowd was like those crystal raindrops protesting to join the ocean. The lawyers are surrounded by the petitioners and respondents……why only them, it can also be their relatives sounding loud and looking disquieted. The court opens at ten, so I settle down on the bench under the Gulmohar tree adorned with dazzling red flowers matching the rage which is waging a war deep down my heart. The six month old plays on my lap as if amused to think what might be going through the mother’s mind. But her silence and smile doesn’t last long. She starts wailing. Removing my sari a little I lift my blouse and my netted black bra with a red outline, which he always said beckoned him. I hold the baby to my chest. She starts suckling. And then I see him. Alighting from his Sedan he walks straight towards the entry gate,...