Daughters of Kalika

৪.‌ the beauty dies

Death knocks at the door.

****

Maya felt a tornado swirl in her mind. It uprooted the very foundation which she had built before coming here.

Devipuram was slowly becoming more than just a place to explore, more than a mere piece of inspiration for an article. It was becoming a part of her life, whether she liked it or not.

The mysteries that enveloped Maya pulled her into the abyss along with them.

At present, she slurped the sweet tomato soup that Nathu had cooked specially for her. It surprised her to know she could have this dish here too, from someone who wasn't her mother. But it was just a smile that Maya could force. Internally, she knew she couldn't think straight.

Her brows were furrowed and head lowered. Not even once did she match her gaze with Nathu, Anandi or Aadi Babu while eating. The other three often spoke about the daily occurrences of the village, about the rising prices of food products, the current Chief Minister and his policies... seemingly everything under the sun...

"Would you like to have some pakora?"

Anandi stood up with the tray of cabbage pakoras– fried balls made from cabbage and spices– in her hand.

"These are very tasty," she said, but neither time did it produce a reaction from Maya. She was busy in her own world, playing with the spoon and the sauce on her plate.

Aadi Babu carefully placed his palm over that of Maya. The touch made her shiver for a moment. Returning back to the present, she exhaled deeply.

"What happened, Maya?" Aadi Babu asked.

Maya clutched the tablecloth in her fist, shaking her head. "It's nothing. I was just wondering about some of the difficulties of being disconnected from the city."

Aadi Babu frowned. He took back his hand, looking at Maya with suspicion. "You can tell me if something troubles you here."

"She might be homesick," Anandi interrupted. She pushed forward a bunch of pakoras on Maya's plate and gave her a stern look. "Eat them. You can always think about troubles all day long but not while eating. It harms the energy intake."

Maya saw worry in Anandi's gaze. The latter wiped her neck with her aanchal and began scooping the rice pudding. Her fingers quivered as she held on to the spoon.

Nathu too got affected by the choking secretiveness of the silence, but in a flick his look of curiosity changed into a sense of understanding. He gave his wife a patronising glance and turned to Aadi Babu.

"I heard a new policy in education will be implemented, something about the vigorous inclusion of mother tongue in each state."

"Oh yes!" Aadi Babu raised his fists in the air. "That I have also heard and I am very happy. People should respect their mother tongue. We need to study it with dedication and devotion. We need to analyse the works and lives of Tagore, Nazrul, Saratchandra and alike with more minute attention."

Soon the conversation steered away from Maya's tensed behaviour to the political and social interests of the common folk. Anandi's shoulders slumped and she looked better and less pallid, but there was not much change in Maya's disposition. She was still lost in another world, with reluctant participation in the conversation, sometimes with a slight nod of the head or an ejaculation.

After the meal was over, Aadi Babu retired to his room with a novel, Nathu went to the kitchen to wash the dishes, and Maya went upstairs to the common balcony and sat there with a cup of ginger tea.