Sis Gets To Taste Defeat From Anil (22) :
Chapter – 22 (Sis Gets A Taste of Defeat From Anik)
“You here, Miss?”
There was something about the way the 10+boy let out the remark that made Sis curious. No, curious is not the right word. The more appropriate word would be suspicious.
Why does his face seem familiar? Where did I see the face before? His familiarity tone is rather disturbing. MISS……He must be someone from NP. While all these thoughts were going through her mind, something somewhere rang a bell as her mind travelled back in time.
It happened in the last year of her stay at NP. This boy called Anik Ghosh Dostidar, got admitted in NP. An extremely talented artist, with a fair command over English (I learnt from Sis that whenever Anik was annoyed, he would start speaking in flawless English), he became an orphan even though both his parents were alive. His mom ran away with someone and dad was going out with another lady. The result was all too predictable. Anik became a burden, and eventually got dumped in NP.
A couple of weeks after his arrival at NP, one furious afternoon Anik found his jumpers missing. Some enquiries and a thorough search revealed his jumpers discarded in the commode. Not the one to be easily deterred, Anik went after the roommates like a lunatic on a biting spree. He bit the hell out of some of them. 10 to be more precise. My sister as a senior matron realised that she had a serious customer in hand.
Anik kept himself mostly to himself. The hostelers somehow got wind of him being a psychiatric patient and made life hell for Anik calling him ‘mental’, ‘mental’ whenever they had the chance. What had to happen, happened sooner than later.The result was a foregone conclusion. Anik, retaliated when cornered thus by attacking another hosteler which eventually resulted in his suspension and outster from the hostel. Sis left NP soon afterwards.
So when Sis was greeted by an innocent looking Anik on an afternoon at AA, she could sense trouble brewing. One Ms.Jyotsna, had been by then, appointed as a Matron to assist Sis. She was a lawyer looking for a job at that time. As AA was faced with an acute shortage of matrons at that time, she was forced into accepting the job. Sis requested her to take care of the boarders on the upper floor, while she was responsible for the ones on the ground floor. Sis also tried briefing Ms.Jyotsna about the history of Anik Ghosh Dostidar.
On the 16th to 18th holidays were declared at AA due to the local Panchayat elections. Sis and Ms.Jyotsna couldn’t go home as there were still three boarders including Anik, staying back. It was around 12 a.m. when Sis heard a bloodcurdling shriek coming from upstairs. She ran up like the wind and on entering the dorm, was greeted with a sinister sight. Ms.Jyotsna, scared like hell, was trying to free herself from the bounding and pouncing Anik, who looked doped or drugged. Anik had his hands on Jyotsna’s chest, scratching and strking at het with unbelievable agility. Sis knew she had to act quickly. She sped to the centre of the room where there was action, caught hold of Anik by the hands, pinning him down and away from the horrified Jyotsna with all her might. Anik was possessed of inhumane strength at that time. It took Sis another 15 to 20 minutes to bring him back to his sense using all the counseling techniques she had picked uo over the years as a Matron.
“Common, Anik. Look me in the eyes. Let’s have eye contact. EYE CONTACT, did you hear me?” Sis kept shouting at the kid not to let things out of control. Anik eventually came back to sense to the utter bewilderment of the few onlookers. Sis made a blunder though by not snapping the photos of the bleeding Jyotsna, bleeding profusely from the heart.
The Leave Application was approved with Ms.Jyotsna being asked to stay back for those three still clueless about where they were to spend their holidays. Sis left for Howrah Station for a trip to Digha, a very popular sea resort not very far away from Kolkata. Hardly had Sis arrived back at the hotel when she received a message from Principal, AA. She had heard from Anik’s parents that he was beaten black and blue. Sis was shocked and tried giving an exact account of what had happened earlier on the day. She realized while talking to the Principal that she had called Ms.Jyotsna earlier and was trying to verify things now by finding out what Sis had to say about the incident. The Principal also unformed Sis that there was a complaint lodged against both the Matrons at the local Police Station. Sis was also asked to report back to school two days prior to the end of the holidays, on the 26th of May. Sis was shocked to realize that instead of lending a helping hand the school administration was trying to make a compromise between the parents of Anik and the matrons concerned. I may not be very far from the truth in saying that it was only at around this time that Sis must have decided to call it quits from dirty school politics for life.
Sis reported back to school on the last day, i.e, the 28th of May. She had called Ms.Jyotsna earlier in the day and together they reported to the Principal’s Office. Without any further ado, she did what she had been thinking a good deal of by handing her resignation letter to the Principal.Inspite of the FIR, Anik’s parents couldn’t charge sheet Ms. Jyotsna and Sis. Anik was given a clear sheet and continued reigning supreme in AA till date. Despite a couple of lucrative offers even from outside of the state of West Bengal, Sis right now is reeling under what she considers to be an ‘ignominious experience in her career. She has always listened to her conscience and acted accordingly. She has always been guided by her sense of right and wrong. No matter what the future holds for her, Sis will continue to be the courageous, conscientious and a righteous woman that she has always been till the last day of her life.
