The April summer evening is here. The sun bidding its farewell for the day as the sky turns in hues of orange pink and blue. The beauty of this summer evening and CR Park is buzzing with kids. Holidays started early this year.

A thin sweat covers Sheuli's forehead as she walks through the unknown roads. Delhi summer is irritating to her. She sigh.

The loose white lucknow chikan kurti and ripped faded blue jeans with those silver jhumkas kissing her collar bones and dark black waves pulled back in a low messy bun. Her light brown orbs with a tinch of orange in them are lined with a thin stroke of eyeliner and those thick eyelashes are coated with mascara.

"At least back in the home, it's not humid like this" She whispered irritatedly.

Back in the home.

She smiled even at the thought of that.

Home is where your heart is, that place is certainly not home. But that place holds a piece of her heart, a piece of herself. A sigh.

Kolkata is surely her home after all she is in love with the city of joy, after all, she had spent twenty-two summers there, on those alleys of red painted wall, on those Ganga ghats. A sigh as she comes back to her present.

Sheuli Bakshi, a second-year masters student. JNU was her dream once and now she is living that dream. But certainly, the hostel Life is getting under her nerves. So now she is here, looking for a house for rent. And damn it's hard. And what's Sheuli Bakshi if she gets anything without a fight.

At least here it feels like Kolkata even is a bit. Taking the turn she opens the fence gate and walks through the tiled porch. A similar red wall house welcomes her and suddenly a smile shines upon her nude lips making her dimples prominent.

The Bougainville among the green lawn and the wooden swing with all those plants, the old Volkswagen parked under the shade. This surely feels like home and the soft music of sitar playing somewhere near.

As she rings the old vintage bell, a lady opens the door dressed in a cotton saree. The pepper hair pulled up in a bun, an elegant smile and that red bindi resting on her forehead. A few lines wrinkle near her eyes.

"Yes?" She asked with her deep Bengali accent.

"Hello. I am Sheuli,"

"Oh, acha tumi Sheuli?" She smiles warmly now opening the door widely. Slowly Sheuli steps inside as the lady gestures her.

The aroma of tea is filled in the lounge, asking her to take a sit on the couch the lady goes way somewhere maybe the kitchen as Sheuli concludes. And she took the moment to look around, and surely this place is just like her home.

The bookshelves are filled with collections of Ray, Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay, and Tagore obviously Sunil Ganguly. On a smaller shelf, she finds Ahmed Fazar and Rahat Indori too. The one towards the left holds Amitav Ghosh, Arundhati Roy, and many more. Above it, the old gramophone playing the Sitar cassettes. Ravi Shankar, she concludes, so many times she had heard them that now she can't mistake it anyhow. She loves how this lady had sorted them so nicely.

A thing about Sheuli, she loves books and literature. Her mind wanders back to the day she spent in Boi Para and College street buying books and spending sleepless nights upon them. Books and her are a match rather it's something she has been carrying her in genes.

"You read books?" A sudden voice brings her back to the present and she smiles as an answer.

"Not to stereotype but Bengalis have a thing for books and adda (Gossips) over a tea and that can go on and on for hours." She said while taking the tea slowly from the lady.

"Ekdom thik boleche, I have to agree with you. Like we can't just live without books. Just imagine people not reading booking are missing out on so many things." The lady said taking a sit on the next couch. She seems friendly and someone who likes to chat a lot, another thing Sheuli loves too.

"Exactly, how can someone not read Tagore. Like to take part in adda?"

"I agree. And these children nowadays don't know anything about the rich culture we have."

"Well now you're stereotyping it, Ma'am," Sheuli said smiling taking a sip of her tea.

"Ma'am? Baba re baba"

"Kakima boli? I mean of course if you have any issue"

"Of course not. And why would I? By the way, I am Prof. Sebanti Sarkar." The lady said.

"I know now about the room."

"Yes. So the top floor is empty you can shift there. About the rent I guess you already know.."

"Yeah I do, this is half of the advance the other half I'll transfer on your account once I move here."

"Perfect. And yes the rules, though I am quite modern and friendly and you seem to have a good impression on me but still,"

"Don't worry I hardly get late and even if I do, I am not planning to get myself arrested so you can relax." She joked as Sebanti glared at her hiding her smile."

"Better be like that way." She said standing up as they move towards the stairs leading them to the upper floor.

The plants on the side and the open balcony welcomes her at first, the chesslike tiles and the flowers of Bogainvellia surmounting through the railings. Walking towards the door Sebanti opens the brown wooden double door with the keys. The hall has a two-seater couch and two single ones, a round table in the middle. Towards the right a long bookshelf but empty, she will be stacking all her books there as Sheuli concludes.

The bedroom is pretty much good with attach bathroom, so is the small kitchen and another washroom towards the left. Overall the ambience of the place, the off white and coffee shaded walls with pictures of Tagore is what she had been looking for.

The little is the budget and rent but that not going to be an issue. With her stipend and savings her had she can manage not to forget her parents also there. And it's only for a year max, after that she will be getting her job, she hopes so at least.

"So you like it?" Sebanti asked.

"I love it. I think I'll be shifting here in two days if you.."

"Of course."

"Can I ask you something?"

"Yes? Why are you being so formal Sheuli?"

"Why are you giving this place on rent? Like I don't think it is for a monetary issue or something like that."

"Of course not. Money is never an issue. I need a company now, you see I am getting old just took my voluntary retirement last year when my husband passed away and my son is hardly here so I was just thinking about a tenant, then my sister called me last week and as she told me about you I am ready for it. I have seen years ago but of course, you don't remember you were hardly a year old back then." She smiled.

A strange thing about the metropolitan cities amongst the mayhem of the busy lives here, loneliness lingers in their life and slowly eating one up. So is the case with Prof. Sebanti Sarkar. Sheuli smiles as she talks with it for few more minutes then bidding a quick goodbye she takes her to leave.

As she takes her cab way back to the hostel, she thinks about Sebanti. She is a lady in her early fifties. Her husband Major Rishab Bose died last year after his long battle with cancer. She used to teach at Shaheed Rajguru College of Applied Sciences for Women but with her husband's demise, she took her voluntary retirement.

From what she heard from her Aunt, Rishab was Sebanti's second husband. Her first marriage ended in a few years reason no one known. And she didn't even bother to know. Sheuli is not someone to judge someone rather she hates those who did so. People love to talk shit, and about a woman, they somehow always manage to question her character.

The bitter truth of the society, no matter what a man finger always found a way to point a woman's character. And she learnt it early, the hard way but she did. Another reason to come all the way to Delhi leaving Kolkata. That place was caging her. Though her parents are open-minded certainly the extended family was not. With all their increasing talks and uncountable marriage alliances, she was fed up.

So when she got admission to JNU she was more than ready. A happy smile shines on her face as looks at the traffic-filled road. Not like most people, Sheuli finds a certain peace in the chaos of the cities. She loves it. She is one of those people who knows to enjoy the journey rather than just waiting to get to the destination.

In the next two days, the weekend came over, Sheuli shifted to CR Park. The Bengali ambience suits her and with Sebanti being a constant company her days are going good. And she is looking for more such good days.

As the moons keep going back and forth, Sheuli and Sebanti keep on getting close. With passing time, Sheuli came to know more and more about Sebanti. She notices how she rehearse Rabindra sangeet once or twice a week, so a few weeks later Sheuli started practising her Tabla too. And again Sebanti was impressed, according to her, she regrets coming over to Delhi. For that made her son so aloof of their culture.

Another thing was Sheuli being a great cook, Bengali cuisines on Sunday afternoon started being their thing and so is the even tea adda. And over those hours of talk from literature to politics to sometimes family.

"So you are a single child," Sebanti said taking a sip of the tea slowly praising the girl who had come to become a daughter to her now.

"Yeah. Maybe that's why I am so talkative. Maa used to have different shifts mostly and Baba was always busy with his things"

"I see, so not in a good relation with Father"

"Not really, it's more like he is misogynist, not patriarchy but yeah he always used to love to control lives." Suddenly she stopped. Another thing about Sheuli, she doesn't like to talk much about her father.

"You don't like him much?"

"We mostly have different opinions so I always tend to avoid him as much as I can. Not that I succeed much but that helps."

"It happens you know. I had a strained relationship with my Father too. But our time was way too different from now. It was because of him I got married to Sekhar"

"Sekhar?" Sheuli asked frowning a little.

"My ex-husband. He was one of his friend's sons. A Scholar in Physics. So after two years of marriage we got separated on mutual grounds, he was in love with someone else and I was just a burden upon him. So when I understand this, I freed us, him and me."

"You did right. We can never bound someone in a relationship where there is no happiness or where one doesn't want to stay. Kisi rishte mein kisi ko bandh kar nahi rakhna chahiye, rishtey toh azaad ho, Khushiyon ke ho."

"Yes. Then I moved here and completed my PhD and after four years got married to Rishab. He accepted Abeer as his own. You see years of friendship and companionship did that to us. He was a perfect husband and a great father. Sometimes I regret not accepting his love before, not having the guts to accept his love. Woh kehte hai naa kabhi kabhi sirf pyaar hona hi kafi nahi, uska iqraar hona bhi zaruri hai. Afsoos uss zamane mein hum burzdil the. But I realized that sooner and then lived a happy life with him."

Sebanti finishes with a smile always shining on her face and her black eyes fixed upon the glimmering stars just like those resting upon her eyelashes threatening to fall any minute as she loses herself in the past alleys.

"It was his decision not to have their own baby, he never wanted Abeer to feel that he is not his father, when Abeer get to know about the truth he was already twenty. That night both father and son went on a long drive. They talk and became more close. Rishab told him, he may not be his biological father but Abeer is his son. And that's the only truth he believes in. For Abeer, he was more than that. He was his best friend, his confidant and most important his idol."She speaks softly smiling slowly looking at the family photo that can be seen on the wall through the open windows.

Major Rishab was a great husband it was because of him Abeer Bose joined the India Air force. That Someone who always cherished his family who lived life happily, loved and lived. People like Major Rishab were normal humans still they left so much behind.

Sheuli squeezes her hand softly and Sebanti holds it tightly. The joint hands is a sign of the bond, a bond between two strangers who slowly becoming a family.

In the city of unknowns, they are finding their entities.

---------------

So it begins. I'm writing a story with Bengali people. I just wish to do Justice to it. I'm shit scared but yeah here it is now.

Also readers are requested to leave comments please because I'm honestly writing this book for readers. I hope you guys are enjoying this too. Updates will be regular.

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