The Bose family had a good life in Yangon. Kaveri was
growing up fast and was a lovely baby. She loved cats and would get up to all
sorts of mischief. An incident stands out in my mind. A Bengali couple had come
for tea one afternoon. Sova was in the midst of making her famous chanar
jilipis. Now, the jilipis were numbered for another event later. So, Sova
served tea and some other refreshments to the visiting couple. Suddenly,
Kaveri, who was playing nearby, ran up with two small teapoys which she set in front
of the guests. Then she ran off again. A minute later, she came back with two
glasses of water. Then again, she ran off and came back with two plates on
which there were fresh jilipis.
After that she went back to her playing. Sova was dumbstruck
while the couple who guessed that these had not been meant for them, chuckled
and said, “Thairen! So you did not want to give us. But your daughter did!
Haahhahhaa!” Sova had no choice but to smile and bear it...
That was Kaveri for you. Unusually generous and selfless,
she loved almost everyone she met. Most of all she loved her big sister,
Krishna, whom she worshipped.
By this time, Debu had completed his MBBS degree and Bijoy
decided to send him to London to do his MRCP in medicine. Debu left for London
amidst much fanfare. A couple of years later, in 1959, Bijoy retired from Burmese Government Service. He was a true patriot, who was determined to come back to
India as soon as he retired. Krishna tried to convince her father not to move
back, as they had a good life in Yangon. However, Bijoy was adamant. "My country, right or wrong!" was his response. So, in
1959, the four of them flew back to Kolkata, renting a house on Suren Tagore
Road in South Kolkata.
It was possibly the worst decision of Bijoy’s life. His
children who had known a good time in Burma were miserable in Kolkata. His
health, after ignoring it for many years, started to fail. He took a job as a
consultant in Raymond Industries but they never could get back the splendor of
the days in Yangon. Sova was happy to be back near her family, who had by then
moved to Kolkata from Dhaka. She would help them out in anyway she could, her mother
and her younger siblings. She had a brother who was exactly Debu’s age and six years older to Krishna. His name was Shyamaprasad Das and he became great
friends with his nieces.
Two years later, in 1961, Bijoy became totally bedridden
with ventricular malfunctions and Sova tied herself to his bedside to become
his nurse and attendant. Krishna was studying for a Master’s Degree in Bengali from Calcutta
University and Kaveri was going to South Point school. However, she suffered
diptheria and thereafter, could not really keep up with the pace at school. So,
Sova admitted her to Kamala Chatterjee School. Actually she had learning disabilities,
which the educators of that time, could not diagnose and Kaveri never completed
school finally.
Bijoy and Sova had helped people all their lives but sadly
enough, very few ones came to help them in their time of need. In 1961, they
moved to a smaller house in Ballygunge Gardens as Bijoy’s income had dried up.
Debu did not do his MRCP, instead did an alternate degree and became a doctor
in England.
Unbeknownst to anyone in Kolkata, he had fallen in love with
this aunt Bela’s cousin and wanted to marry her. Debu had grown up to be a
popular guy, and despite his rough start in life, he was an achiever.
Mr. and Mrs. Bose were aghast when Debu told them that he
wanted to marry this lady. In their view, an aunt’s sister is also an aunt. It was
Krishna, who convinced them to accept this liasion. Finally they did, and Deb
married, taking his wife back with him to Wolverhamption near London.
Krishna completed her Masters and urged her parents to find
a groom for her. She had not had any serious relationship, but she realized it
was important to get married. From a newspaper ad, they connected with
Chittaranjan Ghosh and Shanti Bala Ghosh of Behala. This couple were looking
for a bride for their eldest son, Milan Ranjan Ghosh.
Sova asked Krishna many times, whether she would be able to
adjust in a joint family. The Ghoshes had eleven children, two of whom had died
in infancy. Krishna however, was determined to marry here as she had made
friends with the youngest Ghosh daughter, Tapasri. A weird reason but I guess
destiny has its own logic.
In 1966, Milan and Krishna got married. Sova gifted most of
her heavy pieces of jewelry to Krishna. Debu did not bother to come down for
his sister’s wedding nor did he send a gift. He had his own life with his wife
and he had grown rather distant.
Sova had loved Debu for many years as a son. However, Debu
after growing up would often insult his father, showing anger at the fact that
his father had married again. He never expressed his gratitude to the woman who
had saved him from a life of servitude. Bijoy and Sova were disappointed in
their son. Then soon after, Krishna, left her in-laws house and moved back with
them. She had not been able to adjust to life with the Ghoshes and her main
reason was that Milan was not respected in his own house.
Sova was a conservative lady and this was not the ideal turn
of events. However, she took it in her stride and when a few months later,
Milan came to live with them as well, she genuinely grew fond of her
son-in-law. Debu and Protima had two children, Keya and Protip and would visit
India once in 5 years, playing the snooty NRIs to the hilt. In 1973, Krishna
became pregnant but the baby died the day he was born due to CNS failure.
Krishna became severely depressed as a result. She came out of this dark phase, only after
she conceived again in 1974, giving birth to a daughter, Indrani in the winter
of 1975.
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| Sova and Bijoy with Indrani |
Sova loved her tiny grandaughter with all her heart and showered
affection on her. She had journeyed from a young girl to wife, to mother, and
now she was a grandmother. All the love that she had not been able to show Bijoy
or Krishna or even Kaveri, overflowed onto Indrani, whom she called “Thoko” with affection.
Her day was divided between attending to her husband and
caring for her grandaughter. The Boses and Ghoshes had managed to turn things
around. To read more about Sova’s life, wait for my next blog post!
To be Continued…
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