Achi news desk-
8 minutes ago
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Those were the delicious summer days. If you come out of the bathroom after taking a bath, you would be drenched in sweat again. Water didn’t feel as cold as sweat.
Annie came to this world with her friends for an internship. At first, it seemed to him nothing less than an adventure trip. But within four days the wind of the adventure ran out and they began to wonder how they would spend three months in this hell.
Dusty roads. Not a cab or any other means on time. Only buses and auto rickshaws are shared. That also selects the times of the day. There is electricity, but it is so weak that if you keep your eyes open for too long, your vision will definitely decrease. The fans run so fast that it would be easy to count their revolutions in a minute. If the electricity goes out, there’s no telling when it will come back on. If you ever feel like eating something, make it with Maggi or a five rupee biscuit. Apart from this nothing available here. To add insult to injury, Annie got into an argument with her superior during the first week of her internship.
After the field visit, data was also recorded. Now there’s no work, so will you sit here and learn to fly? Annie had said this out loud. It was just a five minute argument and from then on there was tension between him and Vikas sir.
Annie was always at the top of her batch. She was also the undesignated leader of her group but Vikas was her designated reporting manager. Therefore, all the work had to be done only with the ‘yes’ of the development.
In the last semester of MSW, Annie’s college groups went to different states with difficult geographical conditions. Annie and her group were in a village surrounded by forests and illiterate people, struggling with the lack of basic health services, where roads and electricity were still the eighth and ninth wonders of the world for the people . The other seven wonders were Annie and the six girls in her group.
Well, the whole group had to face the weight of the argument with Vikas sir. Now their monitoring became more strict. Earlier, during field visits, women would fill in some forms on their own. But now his day work would be scrutinized at night and the forms that Vikas sir had doubts about would go in the rejection list. Everyone had to stay in the office until this work was completed. Only after this is data recorded and only then is consent given. Earlier we were free until 5 o’clock in the evening, now it would be until 7-8 o’clock.
Yes, but after the argument with Annie, Vikas sir did not force this group to sit in the office. Sometimes, when the work was over early, he himself would ask what would happen if he sat in the office. Go, wander somewhere. Take a break or go to your room and read something. What was also an office was a set of three rooms, a kitchen and a common bathroom. They were given rooms in the closed government schools to stay.
On days when the group had to leave early, Annie would have to rush to talk to Vikas sir. Vikas sir would listen to the whole thing without looking at it and would repeat the same line by heart as it goes, but there should be no harm in the work and teaching you.
‘It won’t happen sir.’ Saying this, Annie would return.
It was a month after the internship ended and after the scorching heat, it was getting humid which means it could rain here. One night suddenly two or three girls woke up screaming. There was lightning amidst strong wind and rain. No one among them had ever seen such rain and such lightning before. Everyone spent that night awake in the dark room and counting the lightning.
The next day nobody felt like a field visit. There was sleep in everyone’s eyes. Vikas sir told his subordinate to tell these girls to go to the room and get rest. Hearing this, everyone’s eyes widened with joy. After Vikas Sir and the entire office returned in the evening, the girls were not able to create much fuss. Today was a good opportunity.
It started to rain as soon as I left the office. Everyone was drenched when they got to the room. After so many days, we got used to it or we were happy with the rain that the heat no longer bothered us much. Yes, the mud on the roads and the frogs jumping and earthworms crawling in it would definitely fill everyone with disgust and a strange fear.
There was no light for a long time today so we had to light the lantern before it got dark. As soon as Annie went out to clean the lantern, she screamed. A snake about 2 meters long passed quickly by his feet. Now the women’s dhamaal quartet stopped and everyone sat down in a protective circle with women-slippers-newspaper-broom in their hands. The lantern was kept near the door so that the women would be alert if they saw a frog, snake or any other uninvited creature coming again.
By the time Vikas sir and the rest of the team arrived, Annie was lying down with a fever and the girls had not eaten or cooked anything in the afternoon except Maggi and tea and biscuits. Today no one was going to sleep and everyone was preparing to stay awake.
When sir Vikas came to know the whole story, he made tahari of potatoes, peas, carrots, cabbage and rice for all the girls. mint and green amiya chutney pcs. Annie had to be fed. After feeding everyone, he arranged everyone’s beds in his room. He knew it would take some time to get over the fear of snakes. He said he would light the lantern and wait at the gate. Women sleep comfortably.
The next morning Soni made a shocking revelation – Vikas sir had changed the bandages on Annie’s head for an hour at night. That no one believed but Annie.
Well, from this day onwards the ice between Annie and Vikas sir had melted just as Annie’s fever had subsided the next morning. There was also friendship between the girls and Vikas sir. The problem of talking to people in the village and understanding them was solved in a jiffy by Vikas Sir by changing three-four questions in his form. Now the girls started getting good responses and their work also started getting completed on time.
Every Friday, all the important documents from the office go to the Tehsil office. After he returned from there, sir Vikas started bringing food items to the girls. Many times he also took them all with him to the tehsil office so that their exposure increased.
Another use of the office car was to take the women to different places in the area after their work had finished. From here he also took everyone to the museum, memorial, lake, archaeological sites, zoo, butterfly park, bee farm.
When Annie got her finger stuck in the door, it was Vikas Sir who helped her complete her assignment.
Yes, during this period, so many things had been discussed between the two regarding family, college, career, plans for the future, favorite books, films or I don’t know because of a different point of view, there were so many battles that now for Annie it is ‘Vikas sir’, instead of ‘Vikas’ only ‘Vikas’ was left. After all, one can’t fight someone properly by saying ‘Sir-Sir’ in every line, right?
Now, even after the work was over, Annie would sit in the office near Vikas sir. The girls thought maybe she wants to learn Vikas sir’s work. But the matter was not so simple. She started liking Vikas’ slow and low speaking, his arrogant nature, his dedication to work and complete even the smallest things to perfection. In between, Vikas would look at her and say – ‘Hey, you’re still here’, making Annie forget the fatigue of staying in the office for 12-14 hours.
Some friends told Vikas – Girl, don’t get serious, be careful. Then he realized that not only Annie, he is also talking to her meaninglessly. He knew Bengaluru was waiting for him after this project. Having to take care of the family. Annie will never go out of Delhi after returning. He also has to get married in Delhi only. So now he began to withdraw into himself. He would spend only a few words throughout the day. That’s only with Annie too.
As time passed, three months ended. After buying a gift for everyone, Vikas sir dropped them at the railway station in the office car.
Annie must have made up her mind. She broke the fifteen minute silence between her and Vikas on the platform bench – Will you meet again?
Vikas looked at Annie and then started looking down. He couldn’t even move his tongue.
‘Don’t meet’. Saying this, Annie went and sat in the compartment without turning back.
What with eight years, she couldn’t forget the different kind of smell coming from that tall, muscular statue for the rest of her life. Even if he is now bearded or wearing a cap and goggles.
Annie had seen Vikas getting on the elevator in the only mall in that area of Bengaluru. There was a distance of just six inches between him and Vikas. Annie had her daughter Reeva in her lap. After getting married, she moved here with her husband. He knew that it was not possible that Vikas had not seen him.
– Geetanjali
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