There were 2 more hours to go before the sun rises. Master da and Vikash settled in the car to take a quick nap to alleviate the exhaustion brought on by the hectic and long day.
I was wide awake now with nothing to do at 3 a.m. I made up my mind to pursue reading the remaining journal entries in this free time. With it being starkly dark inside the car and the lack of room due to my now snoring car mates, who I must say did not take much time at all to drift off to sleep, I chose to seek sanctuary inside the hospital and chose a bench which was lying outside Geeta's room.
Ignoring the missing pages, I turned to the next available entries.
26th July 1992
It has been 11 days since I had last written. I know this is a long time to keep myself away but something happened and I was feeling very empty and numb. I have lost everything and feel very aloof in this world. On the 15th of July, as I was at my basketball practice, Uncle came to school worried and took me home. He told me that we needed to leave to somewhere urgently. I asked uncle if everything is all right and he replied that it is fine, we are going to meet dad. I was very excited and got my things ready. Aunty also wanted to come with us. Aarohi, Aamaya didi, Darika, and Garima stayed back in Kolkata. We reached Purulia around 2 a.m. in the night. Uncle had already arranged for a hotel where we checked in. Uncle asked Aunty and me to sleep on the bed and he went and slept on a couch. Uncle looked worried and when I asked him again he told me everything is perfectly fine. Aunty asked me to try to sleep as we will have a busy day tomorrow. I asked aunty if everything is fine and she replied that everything is all right, she picked me up on her arms and made me rest my head on her shoulder and started to pat my back gently. This gentle motion drifted me off to sleep.
The next day I woke up at around 7:30 a.m. and saw that Uncle and Aunty were already awake and dressed. They asked me to freshen up as dad has sent someone to pick us up and we needed to leave. I was ready in 15 minutes, the excitement of meeting dad made me skip breakfast too. We were picked up in an army ambassador car and as we were about to leave I observed that we had a military escort with us and the escort vehicles had LMG mounted on them. Back when dad was posted in Ladakh, dad once showed me how an LMG looks like. We reached the army base camp by 9:30 a.m. and was greeted by an officer who introduced himself as Brigadier Shahi. He was tall and fair and had a long mustache. He said he is the General Officer Commanding of the region. Uncle introduced me to the Brigadier said that I am the son of Colonel Banerjee, and then we were escorted to his tent. We had breakfast with him and then I asked him where dad is.
Brigadier Shahi informed that 8 days ago, the army received a tip that some Naxalites were in the region. My dad and 8 others went into the jungle to arrest them. There was gunfire and they received information that my dad was badly injured. Upon hearing his words, a sense of dread and terror spread through my being. I could not focus myself to listen to his next words. The only thought echoing in my mind was "Dear God, Please keep my father alive." He continued with the details of the incident. My mind only could register the details he was narrating vaguely. A reinforcement party was sent to rescue them. After 4 days of an extensive search, they found a decapitated body of an officer whom they believed to be my father. His head had been crushed, but the uniform and the tags he was wearing confirmed his identity. I do not remember what happened after I heard those words. There was a large part of me who wanted to wake up from this nightmare.
I kept believing that if I closed and re-opened my eyes, my dad would be there to hug me and calm me down and yet somehow, I did not have the energy to shut my eyes. I was numb and shocked. After what felt like an eternity, I felt someone's arms gathering me up and I don't know how but something about that warm embrace, made my eyes well up with unrestrained tears of frustration and pain. My choked up throat let out a howl of pain and grief made me oblivious to what happened next. I could only see the letter in dad's handwriting handed to me by Brigadier Shahi.
**** Even though I considered myself strong both mentally and physically, but upon reading what happened to Lt. Col. Banerjee I couldn't help but feel a strong sense of loathing towards these people, despite the fact that one of my dearest friends was also a Naxalite. Even though he had reformed his ways but does it justify the crimes he had committed during his prime. I really don't have an answer to that question. Master da says that he joined the movement because he felt the teachings of the leaders gave them hope, but what kind of teaching takes a father away from his 6-year-old son, or for that matter a brother from his sister. There is no justification for that. I found that Abhinu had kept the letter inside the diary too. ****
My Dear Son Abhinu,
If you are reading this letter, it means that I have to leave you all alone in this world, my son. I know this must be very surreal and painful for you. I am really sorry about this. You may not know this but I have been following every match of yours and I am so proud of you my son. Your mom was also a great basketball player and it was her dream to see you on national television, with people cheering for you. I wish she was there to see you play.
You know son, the day you and your team played the match against East Medinipur we were having our lunch in the officer's mess. You might want to know that when you scored the basket from the Charity Stripe, your mentor Lt. Sagar, announced to the mess that he was the one who taught you how to play, and I informed everyone proudly at that moment that you are my child.
All the officers stood up and gave me a hearty round of applause. That was the happiest day of my life. I also came to know, that someone approached your uncle asking him for permission to get you trained by the S.A.I. coaches. I allowed your uncle to start your training with S.A.I. Your future career seemed pretty evident to me at that point in time and as a father, I could not feel more proud and happy for you.
My dear son, please promise me, no matter how difficult life gets, you will always stay strong. You know your mom and my blessings will always be with you. We will always be watching from the heavens above.
We are really proud of your achievements. In case you decide to make a career in basketball, our blessings will always be with you.
Right now, you are very young, so it might be possible that the court might take into account your wish as to with whom you want to live. They might allow you to grow up with other children in an orphanage, or live with your closest relatives. I want you to think well before you decide anything.
Talk to your uncle, he is a wise man, if you feel they don't want you with them, I will leave it up to you to decide.
Please know one thing, if you feel there is no one for you or with you in this world, always remember our home in Purulia. You can always go and stay there. Always count on your friends whom you trust and who has always showered their love on you.
Your mom had an account in the bank where there is sufficient fortune for you to live peacefully for the rest of your life. Also, my pension would be transferred to your mom's account until you reach the age of 21.
That should be enough for you to complete your studies and attain the career you desire. Till you are the age that you can take care of yourself on your own, Mr. Jairus would act as your caretaker and manage your accounts and assets. I hope you still have the telephone number I wrote down for you on the first day of school.
He is a very trustworthy friend and you can always contact him if you are in any sort of trouble. He will be your guardian angel till you turn 21.
Remember one thing son, your mom had done good deeds for a lot of people and it may be possible that in your life God might send these people to you to come and help in various stages of your life.
There are so many things I wanted to tell and teach you, my son, in this lifetime, but I guess this is where our journey ends. I know I have raised a strong man and I know no matter whether we are with you or not, you will grow up to be a remarkable and great human being. Always remember that we both love you and will always be with you in every step of your life.
Always remember one thing son, whenever you are sad, or you don't know what to do "Always think with your heart and feel with your soul." It will help you survive in this world.
I LOVE YOU TILL ETERNITY...
You loving father
Col. G. Banerjee
**** I continued to read the diary further. Abhinu wrote that they cremated Lt. Clo. Banerjee in Purulia with full military honors. After the cremation, the army awarded the family with the Indian flag, the medals which Col. Banerjee won during his career and his beret which had the crest of the 18th Battalion of the Assam Regiment. Abhinu had to be admitted to the hospital because of the trauma and aunty always made sure she stayed by his side whenever he had any nightmares and kept crying for his father. Uncle finally decided that if they take him to Kolkata, maybe the presence of his friends and sisters might help him recover. ****
27th July 1992.
We reached Kolkata around 4:00 p.m. Uncle had not told my sisters what had happened and as soon as we reached he had to break the news that my dad is no more. Aarohi came and hugged me and said that I shouldn't be sad and that she will always be there with me by my side. Even Aamaya didi came and tried to console me. Darika and Garima were very little to even understand what had happened. I knew of all the family members Aarohi is the only one who truly understood what situation I am in. I went to my room and cried, but Aarohi never left my side. Aunty and uncle took turns to keep me calm but I didn't know how to stop myself. I didn't have any dinner and went off to sleep.
28th July 1992
As I woke up, I found Aarohi was sitting on the bed and had her head rested on the wall. I came to know from Aamaya didi that she was awake the whole night, just to make sure I didn't cry and if I did she would caress me so that I fall asleep. I slowly tried to help Aarohi lie on the bed and helped her sleep in a better posture. Aunty got our breakfast into the room and told us that we have a surprise waiting for us in the hall. I was in no mood for surprises, but somehow gathered up the strength to go to the next room. I saw Monika waiting outside. As she saw me she ran towards me and hugged me, and told me that uncle had told her what had happened and she has taken an off from school to meet me. Principal sir also told her that right now, I would need my best friend to help me recover. I took her to the room and the 3 of us spend the whole day together, which took my mind somewhat away from my misery.
**** That's my sister, I am really proud of her, helping a friend in need is a great virtue, Monika, great job. The next entry was a little bit sad. ****
29th July 1992
Today an officer from the court along with a lady came to my home and asked Uncle, Aunty and me to come to the hall as they had some important matters to discuss. They told me that the lady is from Child Protective Services and wanted to know what was intended for my future. They said that according to the law, I get to stay with my closest relatives or in an orphanage. In my case, my closest relatives are my Uncle's family and my Grandma. Since my Grandma is too old, me staying with her was out of the question. They left it up to me to make a final decision. I asked the lady if I can talk to my uncle and decide. They replied that I can take as much time as I want but I will have to make the decision today. I went with uncle and aunty to my room and had a word with them. Uncle told me that if I wanted to stay with them, he will be more then happy. God has blessed them with 4 girls and he wants me to be the son they never had. Aunty asked me if I want to be their son and I happily agreed on the condition that I could address her as Mom to which she happily agreed. We informed the lady about this and she presented some papers for uncle and me to sign and said that from today officially I would be their child. She also made it clear that every first week of the month she would be visiting for regular inspection to keep an eye on my well being and if she suspects any foul play or any problems at all, Uncle and aunty would land into deep trouble.
****Wow, that good. It feels like he made a good decision to stay with the family instead of going to an orphanage. It would have destroyed him. The boy is really lucky to have got such a family. I continued reading the journal further. I found it very hard to believe that the same family who supported Abhinu through this ordeal ended up treating Geeta so horribly. It felt like both were 2 different sides of the same coin.****