"Himadri said while sipping coffee, 'It's not Kolkata, it's Gujarat. Starting a Bengali startup here, hoping for profits, seems wrong.'"Rahul was sitting at the table for breakfast. He hears these things every day. He starts nibbling on his toast without paying much attention. Tapsi went to buy chicken and vegetables. If they buy these, both will go to the café when they return home. They have to attend their father's lecture before that.Himadri asked, "What day was it yesterday?"Rahul replied, "What day?"Himadri said, "Oh, yesterday was Sunday. How much tea and coffee did you sell? There was quite a crowd; I saw."Rahul replied, "Twenty."Himadri said, "Huh. Will you be limited only to snacks?"Rahul said, "When the bar opens, it's twenty lakhs. We'll do that once we get the license."Monica was making omelets. Himadri, looking at Monica, said, "Have you heard what the boy said? Forgot how to talk to dad? Need a license? Really? After studying so much?"Rahul said, "What's the problem? Your arbitrary tab on liquor. Anything can be sold. What's wrong with having a job?"Himadri replied, "Are you unable to learn from your friend Animesh who settled in London?"Rahul said, "I like Kolkata. What should I do? I won't go anywhere." Himadri replied, "Let's see that after two years. By then, who will even consider giving you a job?"Rahul, using a knife, said while cutting the omelet, "Weren't you comparing Gujarat to Kolkata back then? Even if someone from a Gujarati family does business, they wouldn't make such negative comments. At least that support is needed. Understand?"Monica redirected to Rahul, "Hey, is this how you talk to dad?"
"Ra let out a sigh and said, 'No. End of the discussion. Nothing more can be said.'"Himadri raised his hand towards Monica and said, "Wait. Tell dad. Say, what other support do you need now? How much money have we invested in the café?"Ra replied, "I've said I'll return all the money."Himadri stated, "By using family capital, you've become a businessman. There's no need to show off. You don't understand the difference between rice and paddy. If you had to make a living on your own, then you'd understand."Ra said, "I am working. It'll take time. Café sales have increased. Next Sunday, an album will be released. A heroine from Tollywood will come. It'll be covered by two newspapers. Isn't that progress?"Himadri replied, "If it were for someone else, it would indeed be progress. These things are not for you. I had many dreams for you, my boy. Now it all ends with an executive class."The doorbell rang. Ra understood Tapas had arrived. He finished his omelet and said, "According to your Gujarat model, you should be happy with this. By selling tea, one is running a country. I will also manage like that for sure. See you. Take care. Come."Himadri said, "I don't know anything, my boy. Two years..."Ra interrupted, "We'll see."Ra kissed Monica and left.Monica said, "Go carefully. Make sure Tapas rides the bike slowly."Ra said, "Yes, yes."He opened the door and sat behind Tapas's bike, saying, "Give me the helmet."Tapas gave him the helmet. After a while, the two reached the café. Ra found the key and opened the door. Tapas placed groceries in the café's kitchen.Ra stood on the street and lit a cigarette. He had a headache. Mondays remained empty all day. A small crowd gathered in the evening.While smoking his cigarette, he thought of making tea for himself, turned around, and at that moment, a girl's voice came from behind, "Hey, brother."Ra turned around and saw the girl from Kolkata, Sonamon. She said, "Are you calling me?"
"Sonamon stomped towards Ra and exclaimed, 'Yes, I'm calling you. You were sitting in front of that boy yesterday. Do you have his number?'"Ra looked at Sonamon and asked, "Why do you ask?" Sonamon replied, "Useless guy. I sent a friend request yesterday after going home. He deleted it. Really? What does he think of me? I'll find out!" Sonamon spoke angrily.Ra nodded and kept looking at Sonamon.
"It was 9 o'clock in the morning. Birupaksha was dozing off with a squished nose. Haimanti nudged him, 'Wake up now.'Birupaksha jolted and sat up, 'What's the time? Oh! What's wrong with my head!' Haimanti remarked, 'When you drink gallons of alcohol, your head will hurt for sure. What else do you expect?' Birupaksha said, 'What day is it today, Haimu?'Haimanti said, 'It's Monday. Why?'Birupaksha grimaced and said, 'Had a hangover. Had to go to the office today.'Haimanti said, 'Wow. Still in bed. That means no question of entering before 11 then. Wow, wow. Great.'Birupaksha chuckled, put on a shirt over his shorts, and said, 'I'll go wash my face and hands at the office. Here I come.'Haimanti asked, 'Meaning? The bathroom?'Birupaksha rushed out of the room in a hurry and said, 'Going to the office. If I find a place on the street, I'll sit there. The whole city is convenient for Bengali poets. Here I come.'Haimanti nodded for a few seconds in surprise. Truly, Birupaksha was already gone!She said, 'No need to say anything.' There's some work to do in the morning. Parul, the cook, has arrived. She went into the kitchen to cook."
The girl said, "What will you do, sister-in-law?"Haimanti said, "There's meat, make that. Meat and rice. Nothing else needs to be done. Your brother will come back after eating tonight."Parul wisely remarked, "Eating outside every day upsets the stomach, sister-in-law."Haimanti said, "Yes, that's right. What to do? Your brother is getting old. If he doesn't understand himself, what can I do?"Parul began to chatter. Haimanti started browsing Facebook while listening. As soon as she opened it, she saw a message from a girl with a link. She opened the link. Subhadra Purkayastha shared a screenshot of herself and Birupaksha. She mentioned what Birupaksha had said after drinking. She accused him.Haimanti couldn't believe her eyes. Her mind was spinning. Countless comments poured in. Everyone was expressing disgust. Comments flooded the Bengali poetry thread. Birupaksha was now on the road. Haimanti checked Birupaksha's profile. The profile of a girl from a college. She sat for a few seconds and then dialed Birupaksha's number.Birupaksha picked up, "Yes, tell me."Haimanti asked, "Who is Subhadra?"Birupaksha said, "Why? What happened?"Haimanti said, "Have you molested her?"Birupaksha asked, "When?"Haimanti asked, "How will I know? When did you do it? She has posted a screenshot on Facebook mentioning you."Birupaksha said, "She's saying I molested her?"Haimanti said, "Yes."Birupaksha replied, "I have no recollection of what I did under the influence of alcohol. Can you keep the phone? There's a lot of chaos at the office today."Haimanti couldn't control her rage, couldn't scream. She said, "Can't you understand what I'm asking? The girl has called you a potential rapist on Facebook. Everyone is disgusted. What should I do?"
Birupaksha said, "Eat and sleep. What will you do? Subhadra will talk about a lot of things now. Tell it to the police if not on Facebook. Go to the hotel with Jamil in the morning and evening. Do you know him?" Haimanti replied, "I don't know anyone."Birupaksha said, "When you don't know anyone, check Shreemoyee on Facebook. Alright, give me ten minutes." He hung up. Haimanti sat, feeling confused. Ten minutes didn't pass; Birupaksha called after five minutes, holding Haimanti, "Speak."Birupaksha said, "Open Facebook. Clear your confusion. Just told you something by calling. I have CCTV footage of where Jamil goes with Shreemoyee at the hotel. I'll hand it over if necessary. Alright? Happy? Keeping it."Birupaksha hung up. Haimanti quickly opened that link. Indeed. "The attachment is not available," it says.Parul came in and said, "Want some tea, dear?"Haimanti replied, "Will have poison, got some, huh, mother?"
"The heroine has gone missing. The hero can't find her. The hero has taken on a rescue mission. At this moment, the hero has nothing with him. The money bag has been stolen. In an unknown city, the hero is searching for the heroines. 'Ribhu.'"Hearing the call for Ribhu, he was startled. He said, "Yes, sir.""Are you daydreaming, son?" Sir Sahas asked in a voice as smooth as butter.Sir Sahas was always like this, with a voice as smooth as butter and words as sharp as a mosquito's knife. When he started moving, he swayed back and forth.Ribhu said, "No, sir. Actually, I was just thinking about the project."
"Saha asked, 'What were you thinking?'Ribhu replied, 'I might have to stay in Mumbai for a few days. The client's requirement can be better understood from the site, sir.'Saha said, 'You should go. Alright. Prepare a proposal. I'll take a look.'As Saha left, Ribhu sighed with relief. When engaged in such work, ideas about the cinema come up, creating significant pressure. This is how one manages.The phone rang. Ribhu saw it was Rai calling. He answered, 'Speak.'"Hey bro, won't you give me peace in business?" Rai's voice was plaintive.Ribhu stood up from his desk and stepped outside. "Why? What happened?"Rai said, "Yesterday, when you were sitting with that girl, what did you talk about?" Ribhu replied, "Just normal stuff. Why are you asking?"Rai said, "Haven't you accepted her friend request on Facebook? She's hassling me in my café. She wants your number."Ribhu nodded and said, "She did what? Has she sent me a friend request? And besides that, do I have to accept it? Who's giving her this kind of authority?"Rai said, "I don't know, brother. You figure it out. Oh, here she comes. Let's talk."As Rai held the phone to Sonamoni, a loud voice came from her end, "You're terribly uncivilized!"Ribhu was taken aback. He said, "What did I do?" Sonamoni said, "I sent you a friend request. Why haven't you accepted it?"Ribhu explained, "See, I saw a weird name in the morning with a friend request. 'Malatiwala Balika Vidyalaya' or something. I thought it was fake."Sonamoni burst into laughter. "You thought it was fake? Do you study? Do you read Bengali poetry? Malatiwala Balika Vidyalaya is a famous poem. There's a song too. Do you even know?"With his face buried in the laptop screen, Ribhu grew irritated. "Look, I don't have time for your nonsense. I have work in the office."
"Sonamoni said, 'She'll speak for sure. Work will continue. You have your own work. And I'm off to sell local lenses in Bonagan.'"Ribhu angrily hung up the phone and muttered, "Strange crazy people!"Within moments, Rai called again, "Hey, why did you cut the call? It's your mess, bro.""My mess means?" Ribhu was astonished. "How is it my mess? If someone sends a friend request and I don't accept it, does it become my mess? What kind of concept is this?""I don't know, bro. Please handle the request. I don't know what's going on here. People from nearby are looking suspiciously. What are they thinking? Look."Rubbing his forehead, Ribhu said, "Okay, give me the phone."Sonamoni's voice came through, "Speak."Ribhu said, "Listen, I'm sorry. You sent a friend request. I'm accepting it now.""I won't send it again.""Alright, I'm accepting it. Malatiwala Balika Vidyalaya, right? Accepting it.""Hmm.""Sorry.""Hmm."Ribhu hung up. He muttered to himself, "Who is this girl? What's wrong with her?"He quickly opened Facebook and searched, then added her as a friend.Within ten seconds, the request was accepted. Instantly, a message popped up in her inbox from Sonamoni, "Hi." Ribhu saw her looking at him from the corner of his eyes.He nervously put the phone back in his pocket and said, "It was a call from home, sir."Saha said, "You've come to the office. Don't forget, please."Ribhu replied, "Alright, sir."Saha added, "Prepare the proposal. Is that okay?"Ribhu said, "Okay, sir."Saha continued, "You're a fresh blood. Don't waste your energy anywhere else. Alright?"
Ribhu hesitated, saying, "Right, sir."Saha said, "Go."Ribhu replied, "Alright, sir."But he didn't leave. Saha urged, "Come on, go."Ribhu was taken aback this time and said, "Sorry, sir. I'm going, I'm going."