Take 1: Ten Years Back

A girl of merely sixteen was astonished to notice the hue and cry in her house. There were so many relatives and cops pouring into the mansion where she lived with her parents, sister and a handful of maids, drivers, security guards and gardener. Oops! Please forgive my sloppy narrative. Her sister was already dead.

The girl was not surprised when she noticed her elder sister’s corpse barely 500 metres away from the mansion. She was lying on the ground as if she was in a deep sleep, with blood all around her silky hair drenching the earth. It looked like she had been hit with a heavy object at the back of her head.

The reporters of different media-houses had visited the place early in the morning to cover the news of the homicide. The girl knew that for one evening, her dead sister would be the talk of the town. The curious people would try to conduct a post-mortem on various angles. “Why was she killed? Who killed her? Probably it was an attempted rape gone wrong or unsuccessful love and blah blah blah….”

The police were interrogating the members of the house. It surprised her even more. She knew that these were not needed at all as everyone was aware of who did this and why. But no one had the courage to admit it openly. She knew that it was bound to happen when she had got the news of another murder a few days back. Her sister was not safe anymore after that horrible incident which the cops had termed as ‘a robbery gone wrong’.

A lady police officer with a kind face started interrogating the girl. There was no one present in the room except these two people.

‘You are her younger sister. Am I right, young lady? The police officer asked the girl gently with a friendly gesture.

‘Yes ma’am, I am’, the girl quivered.

‘Oh! Sweetheart! Don’t be afraid of me. We are here to investigate the truth. You can tell me anything you want.’

The girl did not reply. She knew that she would also face the dire consequence if she opened her mouth. The maid Lalita, who was almost her age and worked in her house, had advised her clearly not to mention anything to the cops.

‘I don’t know anything about it’, she said at last, ‘Please leave me alone.’

‘But your eyes are saying something else. Are you actually telling the truth, dear?’

The girl hung her face below. Her eyes were filled with tears and she was shivering continuously. The police officer put a hand gently on her head and said politely, ‘Don’t you want justice for your elder sister?’

The girl didn’t know if she actually wanted justice. She knew that her parents would be jailed for life or worse, would be hanged and she would become an orphan. But still she felt sorry for her deceased sister. She felt that she would commit a grave sin if she remained silent. It was her chance to choose the way of truth. Maybe the Almighty was testing her ability to be in the path of righteousness in the tumultuous ocean of reasoning and fear.

‘I do’, she said firmly looking directly into the eyes of the lady officer, ‘I obviously want justice for my sister. I will tell you everything that I know.’

‘Good’, the officer seemed relieved. ‘Then tell me the truth’, she said.

The girl told everything she knew. Her elder sister Ranjana had an affair with a college student. Ranjana used to tell everything to her about their relationship. Ranjana knew that her parents would object to it as her lover belonged to a different religion. It was a severely punishable offense in the eyes of her father who was a powerful politician. Her mother also supported him immensely.

The things got worse when Ranjana escaped with her lover one evening after college hours. They got married secretly and left the town thereafter. The local goons who were under her father’s control were sent to hunt them down wherever they were.

A few days back, the goons killed Ranjana’s lover brutally and it was certain that they would kill Ranjana next. Her parents were behind this whole operation and to them it was a necessary killing to regain honour. They never thought that it was wrong. They did not even consider Ranjana as their beloved daughter.

The police officer listened to the girl patiently. Then she suddenly turned serious. ‘Do you know the meaning of what you are telling me? Your parents are very respectable persons of this area. You are implying that those people were behind this heinous crime which you term as “honour killing”!’ she sighed.

‘That’s all I know’, the girl said with a stern face, ‘I thought that the police already knew about what exactly happened.’

‘But you should believe me when I say that I had no hint of it’, the officer said, ‘I will definitely collect sufficient evidence to apprehend the killers. No one will know that you have told me these things.’

‘Thank you, ma’am’, the girl said to her affectionately.

‘We will meet again’, the police officer said, ‘Take care of yourself, sweetheart. Tell no one about this conversation for your own protection.’

The girl did not meet her again. For two months, she waited for her patiently and one day she got the news that the officer had been transferred to another police station in a remote area known as ‘Jangalmahal.’ Lalita was suspicious because of this transfer and asked the girl what exactly she had told the officer during the interrogation.

‘Nothing, Lalita’, the girl lied to the maid, ‘I did not mention what I knew.’ But she knew for sure that her lone fight had gone in vain. She couldn’t do more than that, could she?

Take 2: Eight Years Back

It was my first day in the college. I had taken admission in Kolkata College with honours in Sanskrit. It was one of the best colleges in Bengal. Due to my insufficient marks in the board exam, I could not choose any other subject offered that seemed more interesting to me.

I met the seniors and other fresher students like me in a ‘Fresher’s Welcome’ ceremony organised on the first day. I made some new friends. But I remember the day so well because it was the first time I had fallen in love. I knew that it was not a mere crush or a childish infatuation. It was real love which is often termed in novels as ‘love at first sight’.

A girl of my age went slowly to the dais and introduced herself. ‘Ananya Sen.......Psychology honours......I am from Burdwan......Higher Secondary from Burdwan Girls’ High School........My hobby is painting.’ She said these in one breath and heaved a sigh of relief after she was done.

At that moment, I was sanguine that I had found my soul mate. Ananya was very pretty. She was the perfect example of ‘beauty with brains’. Whenever I saw her gossiping with her friends in nightingale voice and bursting into laughter, I used to feel my heart pounding continuously.

Ananya was friendly in nature. She was a bit shy but obviously not introvert. I always spent some time with her cooking up excuses. But I was not courageous enough to tell her about my feelings. Gradually we became very good friends after some months.

Ananya said many things about her life. I also used to share a lot with her. She used to comfort me in my distress and eliminate all my anxieties. Finally after a year I told her about my feelings towards her.

Ananya said, ‘Let me take some time and think about it thoroughly.’

‘You have all the time in the world’, I said.

A month passed and I got no reply from her. I became very impatient. If she didn’t love me, she should’ve told me on my face, I thought. One day I put the matter again in discussion while having lunch in the canteen together.

‘Sorry, I can’t love you’, Ananya said.

‘Why?’ I asked her.

‘Please don’t ask me anymore’, she said.

I was a bit exasperated but didn’t express my anger and disappointment. After two days, Ananya told me everything herself. She told me how her parents had killed her elder sister because she had fallen in love with a person belonging to a different community.

‘But we have same religious views’, I said.

‘It’s not only about difference in religion’, Ananya said, ‘My parents felt betrayed when my sister married secretly. Their socio-economic status also didn’t match.’

‘Then we won’t get married secretly. We will take their blessings and then they will not kill us’, I said.

‘You are thinking much ahead of time’, Ananya said with a faint smile lingering on her lips, ‘We are not even committed yet and you are thinking about marriage!’

Then she suddenly turned serious, ‘I don’t need any blessing of the killers to get married. There was no evidence of their involvement in my sister’s death. But I know that it was their work.’

‘But you may be wrong also’, I said, ‘Your parents may actually be innocent.’

Ananya took some time and said, ‘I don’t think so. The murder of my elder sister’s lover, the murder of my sister, the transfer of the officer whom I told everything........ these all are connected with one another. They are the beads of the same chain.’

‘Besides’, Ananya added, ‘My father had planned some political killings in the past and they were executed successfully. I don’t want to put your life in danger. My parents are damn control-freaks who killed my sister because they did not get the chance to arrange her marriage.’

‘But I love you, Ananya’, I said, ‘And I know that you also love me.’

‘I love you too’, Ananya said with tears in her eyes, ‘But I don’t want to lose you, Aryan.’  

Take 3: Five Years Back

It was our final year in college. Ananya and I were in a relationship. We used to spend a lot of time together. Sometimes I went to the guest house where she lived. She used to go to Burdwan to meet her parents every weekend. That time I missed her a lot. Our friends in college were aware of our romantic rendezvous. But Ananya was clever enough to hide it from her parents.

I had asked her once, ‘How do you spend time with your parents? You perceive them as killers. But at the same time you are their beloved daughter!’

Ananya had smiled and replied, ‘Most of the time, I live in my room filled with lots of books and a television set. I don’t interact with them much. But I make sure that they don’t get the hint of what I think about them. Besides, they both are very busy with politics and don’t have time to interact with me.’

Our days were passing swiftly. But one day Ananya looked very disturbed. Her disheveled hair and clueless eyes confirmed that something was wrong.

‘What happened, Ananya?’ I asked.

Ananya hugged me tightly and said, ‘My parents know about you. I don’t know how they got the information. I feel very helpless, Aryan! What should I do?’

I was also worried a lot. I thought this type of situation could occur only in commercial Bengali films. But still I tried to keep myself calm.

‘What did they tell you?’ I asked her.

‘My father said that he knows who I spend time with’, she looked directly into my eyes and added, ‘He also threatened to take measures if I don’t end this relationship.’

‘But I can’t leave you’, I blurted.

‘Me neither’, Ananya said, ‘But I promise to you that we will be united again. We won’t see each other frequently but we will be in touch through our mobile phones.’ She seemed extremely sad.

‘Ok’, I also felt sad but tried to look indifferent, ‘As you wish.’ Then I railed the conversation along a different line, ‘It’s the final year and I will try to get a job as a school or college teacher. What will you do, Ananya?’

‘I will be a cop. I am preparing for the police exam’, Ananya said.

‘What?’ I was surprised as hell, ‘Have you gone mad? Do you know how hard it is to crack it?’

‘I know, Aryan’, she said with determination in her voice, ‘I may not get justice for my sister after so many years. But I want to get justice for others who deserve it.’

‘And what about your parents? They will never allow you.’

‘I also worry about it, Aryan. But at least I want to prepare well. I was considered a good athlete in my school. I think I am physically and mentally fit for this job.’

I wished her good luck.

From that time, we began to maintain a distance between us. But we kept loving each other just like the older days. Or maybe our love sprouted more with new hopes and novel dreams.

After completing graduation, I became a part time teacher in a high school. Ananya was successful in her quest to become a police officer. Her parents had protested initially but she made them realise that this could work as an image builder for them. Besides, they could extend their political influence using her as a weapon. Due to Ananya’s father’s connections with various top officials, Ananya was posted in the police station in his area. It was the same police station which had investigated her sister’s murder.  

Take 4: One Year Back

Ananya became the officer-in-charge of the police station in just three years. A lot had changed in between those years. Ananya’s father was literally powerless after a major setback in the assembly elections. Many cadres and goons of his party had joined the opposition. Some old cases against him had been reopened. He could have saved himself if he switched sides. But it was not possible as he had an image of a corrupt leader and the opposition did not take the risk of taking him into the party.

Ananya started to investigate the murder of her sister. The old files that had turned rusty were on her table again. But she found no evidence that could link her parents with the murder. Either the police had found no evidence at all or they had destroyed them intentionally.

Suddenly Ananya remembered the lady police officer who had been investigating this case. It did not take long to trace her.

The police officer had retired some years back. When Ananya met her in her house, the lady did not recognise her first. But Ananya had no problem in recognising the retired officer. Obviously she had become older and a bit chubby; but her eyes were still gleaming brightly and still there were traces of kindness on her round face.

Ananya introduced herself. The retired officer kept looking at her with astonishment in her eyes.

‘You are now an officer!’ she sounded extremely happy, ‘A constable had told that you would arrive today, but I never imagined it would be you, the little girl who wanted justice for her sister.’

‘I still want justice’, said Ananya, ‘I know that you were transferred for taking up the investigation. I have reopened the case. Did you find any evidence at that time?’

‘I had some evidence’, the lady said, ‘But they were destroyed by the police after receiving orders from the higher authority.’

Seeing Ananya’s face growing pale, the lady tried to console her, ‘Don’t be sad, sweetheart. I am sorry that I could not keep my promise.’ But her own eyes turned teary.

‘Cheer up, ma’am. I know you tried hard to establish the truth. Now I’m too a cop, see! I was motivated a lot to see you when I was younger. Then I had decided to be a cop someday’, Ananya said.

The lady hugged her affectionately and advised, ‘Ananya, don’t lose your heart. You may or may not get justice for your sister but remember that many other persons like your sister are awaiting justice. Be an honest officer and do your work courageously.’  

Ananya was not successful in her attempt to nab her sister’s killers. After some days Ananya and I made plans about our wedding. Ananya married me secretly and didn’t invite her parents. She knew that they did not have the political power or guts to engineer another honour killing.

Ananya resumed her duty as a police officer even after our marriage. Sometimes I feared for her safety as the police station was close to her paternal house. But Ananya was fearless.

‘Ananya, your father may be powerless now. But political scenario does not remain same forever. When he will be back in power, he will definitely try to harm you’, I warned her.

‘Remember mister that I am a cop’, Ananya said, ‘I know how to take care of myself. Besides, he is now busy with old cases and corruption charges. He may be jailed anytime.’

Take 5: Yesterday

Yesterday was a day of celebration. No, it’s not what you are expecting. I have not become a father yet. But definitely it was a grand day.

Ananya had solved a case on honour killing. The killers belonged to the high class of the social hierarchy. The parents had killed their daughter brutally after she had married a young man belonging to a lower caste.

Ananya was applauded a lot for this feat. For the first time in her life, she was on the front page of the newspaper. Even she had given a live interview to a popular news channel.

During the interview, her nightingale voice was reflecting her firm determination, ‘Honour killing still exists in the society even in the 21^st century. It’s a shame. The killers hiding behind the mask of sophistication must know that there is no honour in killing their own children. This social epidemic needs to be uprooted completely...........’

After many days I felt tears in my eyes. I don’t know how she had managed to hide them. Wasn’t she thinking about her sister then? I don’t know. But now it’s clear to me that she indeed is ‘Ananya’, which means ‘extraordina