Annapurna - The Child Bride

"Annapurna! Annapurna! Where are you?"- pisima's voice could be heard in the entire house. Everyone heard her except the one who was called for. Perched on the highest branch of the mango tree of their courtyard, little Annapurna was happily eating mangoes. "Uff! Who made these mangoes so tasty! They may be God's favourite fruit too.!" - she thought dangling her tiny feet coloured with Alta. "Naughty child. Come down this instance!" - bellowed pisima from under the tree sweating profusely. It was the peak of summer in Bengal which meant the Sun God would shine with all his glory on the top of one's head. Annapurna climbed down the tree with the swiftness of a squirrel. "Ishh! Look at you so filthy. Is this how you are going to look in front of your in-laws?" said pisima carrying Annapurna in her arms. "Do they also have mango trees in their courtyard pisima?". Pisima laughed hearing the innocent question of the child.

"What are you doing? See the mess you have made. Who will clean this up now?" - a shrill voice brought Annapurna from her reverie. It was her mother-in-law Shankamala. Annapurna was making Nadu, a Bengali sweet made from Jaggery. It was Lakshmi Puja at home, preparations were going on in full swing. This was Annapurna's fifth Lakshmi Puja in her in-laws' house. She still remembered the first year where her mother-in-law had told her she was little Lakshmi Maa. She was not made to do any work but given sweets now and then during the preparation. She adored her mother-in-law then. She was like the mother Annapurna never had.

Shankhamala loved her daughter-in-law. She praised herself for finding such a good match for her son. Two years before when Annapurna has her first-period Shankhamala has pacified the scared girl and explained everything that a mother would do. Soon after that, there was a change in Annapurna she became quieter and more ladylike if you say so. Shankhamala was happy to see the change in her daughter-in-law. But during that time that fateful incident occurred that changed the entire equation of the household. She blamed Annapurna for what had happened. Only if she had taken better care of her son. "I must have done something bad in my past life that is why I'm being punished now.!" She would always be heard mumbling nowadays.

While the entire house was busy with preparations Parimal was sitting by the window and drawing sketches in his notebook. Parimal was Annapurna's twenty-two-year-old husband. Parimal has just completed his matriculation exam and was waiting to go to Kolkata for higher studies. He was a silent young man but was not so always. When Annapurna came to this house as his child bride at the age of eleven they were the best of friends instantly. Parimal would take care of his child bride as if she were his favourite doll. He would deck her up, play games with her and he even fed her with his own hands. The only time they would be separated was when Parimal had to attend school. The only person he was more close to than Annapurna was Mahesh dada, the gardener's son. He was a year or two older than Parimal. Parimal would worship him. He would follow his Mahesh dada wherever he went tried to imitate whatever he did.

Things weren't the same anymore since that fateful Lakshmi puja day two years ago. Mahesh dada had died. Nobody told him how. The next morning after Lakshmi puja he received the news that Mahesh dada had died due to an accident. That was it and no more. Parimal started becoming a recluse, his relationship with Annapurna had also begun to strain. Everything had changed.

Early mornings were Annapurna's favourite. She would wake up when the first ray of the sun entered her room. Her favourite part was seeing the sunlight playing with the curtains. She never missed it. And also she liked to watch Parimal sleep. This was a very new feeling to her. She would watch Parimal sleeping and smile to herself. She used to feel shy whenever he came very near to her. This had never happened before. She began to avoid Parimal for the fear of getting caught for something she didn't know she was doing. But today she didn't have time to think about these things. Today it was Lakshmi puja and she has a lot to do. She had to pluck flowers, apply alpona (rangoli made used rice paste), make arrangements for the puja. So she got up and began her chores for the day. Parimal woke up a little later thinking about yesterday. A smile spread across his face along with a tingling sensation. He was in love. A feeling that was so pure yet so sensational. He just wanted to wrap himself around his love and sleepover. But a little later Annapurna came and broke his reverie. Annapurna, he thought looking at the girl standing beside his bed, till a few months back they were best of friends. But suddenly something changed and now Annapurna used to look at him weirdly. She avoided him more often than not. "What was wrong with her?" - he thought. Nevertheless, he got up and went out. His eyes were searching for someone in the busy household. Bypassing everyone he went to the garden and there finally he saw his love on the terrace arranging flowers. He saw his Mahesh dada.

Lights everywhere, the smell of dhoop throughout the entire house, filled with peoples voices - Lakshmi puja was indeed a very extravagant affair at the SinghaRay mansion. People from all over the village had come, the zamindar also had come along with his family. Everyone was busy serving them. Annapurna looked no less than Goddess Lakshmi herself in the red Benarasi saree. Shankhamala was busy overlooking all the preparations for the puja. As the evening progressed Shankhamala noticed that Parimal was nowhere to be seen. She asked Annapurna about him and as fate would have it zamindar babu also asked for Parimal at the same time. Hurriedly Shankhamala & Annapurna both went to look for Parimal. He was nowhere to be found in the house. "What a beautiful night," thought Parimal lying in Mahesh dada's arms in their terrace room.

They had just made love for the first time and Parimal was euphoric. He had never experienced these sensations before. He felt he had got all he wanted. As Parimal was tracing his fingers through the lips of Mahesh he felt he had never seen something so serene so pure in his entire life. He looked at Mahesh lovingly to which Mahesh responded by kissing him. "I love you Mahesh dada". "I love you too Parimal" and they got lost in themselves. "WHAT IS THIS? WHAT IS HAPPENING?" screamed Shankhamala as she and Annapurna entered the terrace room looking for Parimal. Hurriedly Parimal wriggled out of Mahesh's arms picked up his clothes and ran to wear them. Mahesh too followed the suit. When they came back Shankhamala was red with furry not understanding what all this was about. She looked at both of them with loathing and turned her head towards Annapurna. "It happened because of you. You couldn't make my son happy. See what came of it" - growled Shankhamala.

Annapurna was taken aback by this accusation before she could make herself answer Shankhamala asked Parimal to go down with Annapurna she had something important to talk to Mahesh about. That was the last Parimal saw of Mahesh. The next morning his dead body was found floating in the lake.