Storm Came To An End Sujoy Bhattacharya   © Copyright 2018 by Sujoy BhattacharyaE

It was a stormy night . The nature without was growling wrathfully . I was sitting on the threshold of our kitchen . My mother was making hand – made chapatis ( Indian bread , thin and round made at home ) .I was twelvd4Pe then , a student of 7^th standard . I held a book in my right hand and was watching my mom making chapatis . It was a home made earthen oven . Dried cow – dung cake and coal helped to ignite the oven . My mom cooked vegetable curry with potato and cauliflower .it goes well with chapatis . Every evening my mom has to make forty five whole chapatis for seven members of our family comprised of my elder brother , three sisters , my parents and I myself . At dinner we take on average six chapatis each . Her expert hands knead atta (wheat flour) with a scant amount of salt , two table spoon of cooking oil and water as needed and make doughs and roll each dough to give a round chapati shape and bake on iron pan . I never discovered tiredness on her face doing the same hackneyed job daily . An Indian house wife can outshine a robot in performing daily domestic activities .

The red glow of the oven and meagre flickering flame of the kerosene lamp allowed an enigma to play on her face . She extended me a piece of hot chapati and I started nibbling it happily like a giant rat . All on a sudden my elder sister accompanied by my two younger sister rushed in panting . They went to attend a birthday party of our neighbor Mr. Ghose ‘ s only son , Uttam . My dad bought a tiffin box and my sisters gave it to Uttam as a birth day present . All three of them got drenched to the skin as it was raining cats and dogs outside . My mom chided them mild and ordered them to change their wet clothes immediately lest they could have caught cold.

My dad was out for giving home tuition to the perverted son of our family physician Dr. Mandal. The urchin was too insolent to be tamed . Still my dad took the charge of rectifying the boy pampered by overindulgence of his too – much – affectionate mom , for two obvious reasons . My dad could not defy importunate request of Dr. Mandal to rectify his depraved son and the second reason was the covetable remuneration Dr. Mandal offered for teaching his son . My dad was a low – salaried school teacher who had to look after a large family . The extra income would have come to a good use to maintain his family with reduced tension and lesser hardship . But my mom raised a mild unwillingness to accept my dad the lucrative offer . She remarked that it would be unwise to take the responsibility of correcting a brat beyond control . In the long run my dad would have been deviated from the good book of Dr. Mandal when my dad would be defamed for his discomfiture in his effort to set his son to right track .

My dad never goes out without umbrella - be it a sunny or inclement weather . His umbrella is as faithful a companion to him as his shadow is ! He might go out without his wallet but not without his umbrella . His umbrella could not protect him from the torturing torrents of heavy rain . He was out and out wet and his feeble frame was shivering like a deserted nest when he stepped in sneezing consecutively . My mom admonished him for taking indigent risk of combating with calamitous weather forgetful of his sensitiveness to even minor cold . She prepared a cup of ginger tea for my dad and prayed God so that my elder brother come back home safe .

My elder brother is mentally retarded and slightly crippled . He is a talented student . He was admitted to a college for his bachelor degree in textile engineering .My dad could not afford meeting the expenses of engineering degree college . My brother was awarded a scholarship for higher study . in addition he got a job in a Textile Mill as a ‘ night shift' supervisor . On a winter morning he was returning home in the early morning from his factory . A group of inebriated tramps attacked him with a vicious purpose of robbing him of all he carried with him . My brother revolted and came to an untoward fray with them .The unanimous power of the miscreants outshined undaunted valor of my brother and he received major injury - his femur none got fractured . His wounds healed up turning him slightly crippled . I bleed internally to tell how he kissed mental retardation . My elder brother is a handsome chap . He is a well – built body with enticing muscles . A marvelous glow of candid innocence and a rare masculine suppleness can’t help making a magnetic attraction towards him – indiscriminate of male or female. He is a treasure house of precious stones to the proud eyes of my mom . Such a fabulous figure is liked and loved by many a captivated look . Daughter of a rich and powerful man , a class mate of his engineering college fell in love with my brother . But she was not a true lover . She only loved the becoming body and masculine beauty of my brother . My brother confessed to my mom that he also loved the girl very much . My mom was perturbed to hear about the love affair of my brother . She feared that his son might be duped by the girl . She might be toying with genuine love of my brother . Really my mom was a foresighted , sagacious woman . It came to happen what she contemplated in her conscious mind . The girl discarded my brother as a fly on her nose after tasting tactfully his physical aroma . My brother loved her from the core of his heart and could not digest the fatal blow - molestation of his true love . He lost his mental balance and fell prey to severe insanity .

My mom waited on the bruised mental sickness of my brother with love , sympathy and encouragement . Friend , philosopher and guide - she performed the role of the trio and slowly my brother recovered from his mental ailment .

My elder brother was out on attending an interview in a neighboring city for the post of a textile designer . He will be late in coming home . My mother was baking chapati and she was almost finished . At that very moment my elder brother arrived at the door step and overcoming the roaring howls of the irate storm , his shout of jubilant delight startled all of us with a feeling of joy untasted ever before . My elated mother hugged him tight to reverberate the echo of joy all around our house . My brother had pocketed the enviable job ! All the members of our family danced together with fanatic pleasure to celebrate the auspicious moment the fortune smiled on our family . The rain came to an abrupt halt and fury of the devastating tempest subsided to a placid tranquility to share our merriment !