Tales from the Island of Serendip 4 4

[Flex Mentallo]

The room in the old house where the family had lived all of Mridula's married life has been cleared, and the plan is that Latif and I will sleep there on my last night, on a thin mattress on the bare ground...

 

 

[Flex Mentallo]

West Bengal is one of the most densely populated places on Earth, even more than Bangladesh. Before partition, they were one state, Bengal, unified by history, culture and language. Their combined population is around 250 million people, inhabiting a land area of 232,752 square kilometers. It is roughly equivalent to the entire population of the United States living in an area the size of Minnesota.

 

 

[Flex Mentallo]

The second week of my visit is if anything more eventful and emotional than the first. As you will see in the end it also becomes rather surreal, but more on that later. Lucina takes me to visit a model village, where one of her PhD colleagues is introducing simple techniques for the upkeep of the farms that will reduce waste contamination.

 

 

[Flex Mentallo]

Lucina herself has recently been researching strains of rice that can survive in saline conditions, as sea water is killing crops in low lying coastal areas.

 

 

[Flex Mentallo]

These young people are committed to their mission, to feed an ever growing population.

 

 

[Flex Mentallo]

The village we visited strongly reminded me of what Bonhooghly had looked and felt like in 1985.

 

 

[Flex Mentallo]

Beautiful.

 

 

[Flex Mentallo]

Tranquil.

 

 

[Flex Mentallo]

But now the sky above us is pink with dust and pollution from the encroaching city. And where before the nighttime sky was full of stars, now virtually none are visible.

 

 

[Flex Mentallo]

Within days I had developed a bronchitic condition, and at one point almost lost my voice. It did not clear up until well after my departure.

 

 

[Flex Mentallo]

So there is nothing idyllic about local conditions, and the work of Lucina and others like her is clearly of vital significance. But the family do not understand the pressure Lucina is under, or realize just how distracting the ongoing family drama has become. These matters Mridula's death has only compounded.

 

 

[Flex Mentallo]

So I propose to rent her a flat near the university. She can still visit home as often as she wishes, but will have control of her life in a way that couldn't be possible now at home.

 

 

[Flex Mentallo]

It is a good plan, but it will be far beyond her means, and she at first protests that she cannot allow me to use my money for this purpose. When I explain that it is only a matter of selling a few comic books I didn't really need, she relents without further protest. (They may include comics I'll possibly never see the likes of which again, but she will never know it.)

 

 

[Flex Mentallo]

The final problem is to get her mom to accept it. But in family politics, Manju has always been Lucina's staunchest ally, and Lucina soon wins her over. So with Manju's blessing, the search begins...

 

 

[Flex Mentallo]

While the new house is being built, Latif and his daughters are living in a makeshift tent in the compound, and I with them. While I sit reading in the bedroom, Poppy and her cousin Lilufar are watching television in the small living area behind the partition. Suddenly, both girls begin howling inconsolably, and I rush out to see what has caused it. They are completely overcome, and as the entire family gathers in the tiny space, it comes out that a month before, Mridula had been filmed giving a speech as part of a cable TV program on local politics. Unknown to the girls, this program is being repeated in honor of Mridula's death, on the very channel Latif's television is set to.

 

They have switched off the television. But on another evening, Latif takes me to a friend's house, where a CD of the event is played for me. I see a woman unaware of her impending departure. Mridula's speech is slurred, her eyes wander.

 

 

[Flex Mentallo]

The next day Latif insists that I get dressed in my Sunday best and come meet his boss, Firdousi Begum, West Bengal Minister for the Gram Panchayat (local government). She had brought comfort to Latif's house when she heard about Mridula, and he wishes to thank her.

 

 

[Flex Mentallo]

I know one Bengali song, Asha Chilo, which I normally sing only to small children. It is a sad love song from a Bollywood movie about a man who has lost hope, because he has lost his beloved Asha. Asha is also the Bengali word for hope.

 

 

 

[Flex Mentallo]

Latif solemnly tells Firdousi this, so I find myself reluctantly serenading a somewhat bemused West Bengal Minister.

 

 

 

[Flex Mentallo]

Tomorrow I will depart on a nightmare 42-hour return journey to England (a miserable prospect, but the only affordable flight I had been able to get as part of the package that got me here in time.)

 

 

[Flex Mentallo]

The new house is rapidly emerging, and we are standing on the roof, where a second story is being built.