Anuradha’s husband Amitabha Sengupta got home late in the evening on the 15th of December 1966. While having tea, which was promptly served with his arrival, he announced
“We have to go to Chirimiri, I have been transferred”
“Rahul is just three months old, how will we manage there?” Anuradha exclaimed and added after a brief pause “Where on earth is Chirimiri?” Her face had a definite worried look.
“We will figure that out when we reach” Amitabha sternly replied leaving no chance for his wife to argue and then added.
“It’s in Madhya Pradesh”
They started from Ranchi, a small town in the state of Bihar, in the wee hours of January 1967 . The rented car was a mark II ambassador. The journey was a long and tedious one, a full 300 Kilometers. By the time they reached, it was dark and they were completely drained out.
The house they had rented belonged to one of the most prominent families in that area; The Lahiris were the owners of the surrounding collieries and were regarded as the founders of the place. Situated on a hill top one could view the railway station at the foot hills and could savor the panoramic view of the surrounding hills. It had about 11 rooms in total, 6 on the top floor and the rest on the ground floor.
So the Senguptas finally made themselves comfortable in the top floor apartment.
“I never though this place would be so beautiful” Anuradha exclaimed one day while she and Amitabha were having Tea one evening.
“Did you know that Satyajit Ray shot some parts of the movie called Apur Sansar here” Amitabha said with a smile and added “He got mesmerized by the hills and the landscape”
“No wonder” Anuradha continued “Where would they find such a place near Calcutta”
Anuradha was a beautiful woman. She was about 5 feet 4 inches tall and had a petit frame. She had almond shaped light brown eyes and very thin eye brows. Her long brown hair was always tied at the back resembling a bun. She had pale skin. The soft and innocent face made her stand apart from the crowd. To top it all she had a heart of gold. At an age of 21 others considered her as the perfect hostess.
Amitabha was stout and muscular. Had broad shoulders and with his thick moustache and curly back brushed hair looked very manly. He wasn’t very tall but had an amazing personality. If one were to comment then what came to people’s mind were his self confidence and his articulation. At the age of 30 he had already become a Manager of a reputed British company.
Barouni sat next to them with Rahul.
“Barouni, do you know where Calcutta is?” Anuradha asked her.
“No, but I hear that it’s a very big city, so big that you need trains to travel from one place to the other” Barouni proudly answered widening her eyes.
They both amusingly smiled, they were sure that she was referring to the trams that ply inside the city. Anuradha wondered whether she was aware how slow they were.
Barouni, a native of that place had become a surrogate mother to the Senguptas. An old lady despite of her language barrier and her age became a part of their small family. Whether it was taking care of Rahul or household work, Anuradha completely depended on her.
Amitabha’s office was on the next hill and one could see it from the top floor terrace. During the week at lunch hour Barouni and Anuradha used to go to the terrace and stand there, once they saw Amitabha’s Jeep coming out of the office gate they started laying the food on the table. By the time they were done, Amitabha was home for lunch.
“Let’s settle down here in Chirimiri” Once Anuradha confided to Amitabha.
Amitabha had smiled and said nothing.
