Barrister Babu— 21st Century Version (Chapter 9)

CHAPTER 9: THE REAL MEANING OF EDUCATION

Bondita and Mimi were sitting on a windowsill, in an almost empty corridor, chatting about silly things.

“I’m telling you! When animals look at us, they must be thinking of us as other species of animals”, Mimi said confidently.

“Yeah. What must they be thinking, when they hear us talk?”, Bondita wondered.

“Exactly what we think, when they talk”, Mimi replied, nodding her head wisely.

“Yes! And I think, the way some human beings are cruel to animals, animals must be using the word humans as curse words for other animals”, Bondita said, laughing.

Mimi silently nodded again.

“Hmm… I think, if animals started talking in a language that we understood, then they could make people understand what they go through, isn’t it? There would be so less brutality against animals”, Bondita wondered aloud.

Mimi just ‘hmm’ed in response.

Bondita giggled. “Oh God! Mimi! I’m becoming like you day-by-day! I’ve even started talking like you!”.

Mimi smiled. “Well, it’s good to learn and absorb new and different things, right?”.

“Yes, of course! And you are so unique, Mimi”, Bondita said, grinning.

Mimi looked up, smiling serenely. “You are the second ever person to call me unique, you know. First was my Baba”, she said quietly.

Bondita knew that Mimi had lost her mother at a young age, and her father had taken care of her, since then. As a result, she was as much attached to her father, as much Bondita, to her mother.

“What were we actually discussing about, though?”, Bondita asked, trying to lighten the mood.

“No idea! Anyways, does it matter WHAT we were discussing? It just matters that we WERE discussing something. We should always keep discussing SOMETHING, right?”, Mimi replied, grinning. Bondita grinned back.

A few moments later, Bondita looked at Mimi, who was pointing towards something. Looking towards the direction that she was pointing, Bondita saw a boy, carrying a huge pile of books.

“Look at that boy. You know what, he’s having troubles with his homework”, Mimi said mysteriously.

“What? How do you know?”, Bondita asked.

Mimi just smiled and remained silent.

Looking back at the boy, Bondita saw that he was almost stumbling, not being able to handle the heavy load of books.

Bondita ran to him and freed him of half the load.

“Always look at the path that you are walking on. My mother says so, and I think that it’s true. You should never carry unnecessary load. You could have fell down, you know. Then you would have an injury or something. And then this load of books would have crushed you and worsened your injury and then…”

As Bondita looked at him, she realised that she had been blabbing and he was silently looking at her in nervousness.

“Ohh… Sorry. Usually, I always stay silent, but sometimes, I just can’t stop when I start speaking…err…so yeah… I will help you carry these”, Bondita said, smiling brightly at him.

“Thank you so much”, he said meekly.

Mimi had joined them by now and together, the three of them reached the campus library to keep the books back.

“Thank you very much for your help”, the boy said.

“Welcome! By the way, I’ve seen you in classes, but I don’t know your name. What’s your name?”, Bondita asked.

“I’m David Dixon”, he replied, turning his nervous ocean blue eyes towards her.

“Hey David!”, Bondita greeted and Mimi waved her hand as a hello. David merely smiled back.

Bondita frowned. “Won’t you ask our names? No problem! I’ll tell you myself. I’m Bondita Das and this is my friend, Mimi Thakur”.

“Hi Bondita and Mimi”, he said.

Bondita reckoned David was shy and didn’t socialize much. Or else, why would he act so aloof? Whatever it be, he was a decent boy. Of this, she was sure.

————————–

Anirudh Roy Chowdhury was not a very patient man. He often tended to be reckless and impatient. Anyone who knew him, would know this very well, that he got impatient easily.

Just like he was being impatient, when his student, Bondita Das, hadn’t shown up on time, in his cabin. She was ten minutes late!

He was about to get up and step out of his cabin, when someone knocked the door. Knock. Knock. Knock.

“Come in”, he commanded, sitting back down.

Due to his hectic schedule, he hadn’t even been able to talk to his Sakhi a.k.a Miss Curious properly.

Yes, he had developed a deep bond with the girl, whom he had neither ever seen, nor knew the name of. And yet, he felt deeply attached to her. There was a certain peace of mind, he got, when he had a chat with her. He sighed.

Bondita got in, and looked around nervously. As Anirudh approached towards her, she started retracting her steps.

Confused, Anirudh asked her, “Why are you moving back? I won’t bite you!”.

She looked up at him, staring right into his eyes, and blurted out without thinking, “Are you one of those perverted teachers, who eyes their students in a not-so-innocent way?”.

No sooner had she uttered these words, than a shocked Anirudh let out a horrified gasp. “What?! Bondita Das!”

“Yes, sir! Err… Sorry… I mean…umm…sorry sir”, she stammered.

“What makes you think of…of…these…things?”, he asked, gritting his teeth, seconds away from unleashing his wrath upon her.

“I mean… Why else would you call me into your cabin? Couldn’t you give me an assignment in the class itself? And why me? There are other students who are weaker in studies than me”, Bondita asked.

Taking off his spectacles, Anirudh pinched the bridge of his nose and said, “Bondita… Listen to me”, he said as calmly as he could.

“First of all, I can’t dump all my attention onto one particular student in the class, can I? And secondly, I can see the potential in you. And I didn’t really call you here for an assignment. I wanted to discuss something with you. Regarding your studies. But I didn’t know that you had such opinions about me!”, Anirudh ranted.

Bondita silently listened to him, and felt somewhat guilty, for thinking that about him. She had called him, her Rakshak Babu. How could she think THAT about him?

“Sorry”, she quietly muttered.

“It’s okay. Sit here Bondita. Yes. Now tell me, what’s the problem that you are facing? Why aren’t you being able to concentrate on your studies? Tell me?”, he asked, his tone a lot more gentle now.

“I just… I really don’t know why. I don’t think I can be as successful as you are saying. I just want to quickly finish my studies, then get a job, earn a living, and be independent. Because I want to take care of my Maa on my own”, she said, honestly and truthfully. She couldn’t help but be honest and straightforward with him. The way he was showing the utmost sincerity in helping her with her studies, didn’t leave an inkling of doubt in her mind, about the fact, that she just HAD to be honest with him.

“That’s where the problem lies, Bondita!”, Anirudh exclaimed, slamming his hand on the table.

Wincing, Bondita asked, “Where is the problem here? Isn’t that, what all of us want? Isn’t that why we all study and work?”.

“Yes, Bondita, we do. But this implies, that you study, just for the sake of a job. That you treat studies like a burden. And if you treat studies like a burden, it will weigh you down the path of stress and distraction. This won’t help you in life, Bondita. Maybe you can get a good job and earn a good living and even be independent and able to support your mother. But… It will become a life full of stress and strain for you. But if you do something that you are really interested in, then not only will you be successful in your job, but also, enjoy doing it”, Anirudh explained.

Bondita had hung on to each and every word. “So, Shikshak Babu, what do I have to do, for achieving that?”, she asked.

Anirudh smiled, happy that she was paying attention to him and taking him seriously.

“You know Bondita… I’ve always had a boring and serious life. All I enjoyed doing, was my studies, and now, my job. You know why I was interested in it? Because it was what I had always wanted to do. I have always done, what I found right, and what was right for me. I knew my capabilities, Bondita. And I’m sure this will work for you as well”, he said.

“Will it? But I don’t know my capabilities”, Bondita innocently stated.

Anirudh looked at her gloomy face, and approached her, patting her shoulder encouragingly.

Bondita felt a caring and protective touch on her shoulder. For a wild moment, Bondita was reminded of her father’s protective and encouraging touch; of the way he patted her shoulder or her head, when he encouraged her, or praised her at her small achievements.

“You don’t know your capabilities…yet Bondita. But soon, you will. Because I can see your capabilities. I can see that one day, you will shine. Only if you put in a little more effort. And for that, you have to treat studies; education and knowledge like a friend, and not a burden. Education is not something that will weigh you down. Education and knowledge is freeing. It’s liberating. It gives you the ability to spread your wings and fly high. It enables you to reach the sky and achieve great heights. It is the solution to all your problems. It is the weapon that eradicates all evils without any destruction. That is the real meaning of education, Bondita”, he said.

Bondita proved to be a very good listener. Not only did she listen to him carefully, but also understood and absorbed each and every word.

“You are Inspiration Babu! My Prerna Babu!”, Bondita exclaimed happily.

Anirudh laughed and said, “Bondita Das and her weird naming tendencies”.

“They are not weird names. They are the perfect names, Shikshak Babu. And I’ll follow all the advices of my Shikshak Babu”, Bondita said, smiling brightly.

…

Tujhme roshan hoga suraj

Toh dhoop bhi aayegi,

Shabd kaagaz par chalenge

Toh raah tu paayegi,

Teri kismat, tere hatho se hi likhi jaayegi,

Tere kadmo ke nishano par chalegi duniyaa

Main teri aankhon mein dekhun sapna mera…

Rishta tera mera

Rishta tera mera…

…

Author’s Notes: Read and Review please 😊

Love you loads 💙💛