Neela is barely twenty, at this age, it is normal to have colorful lanterns flying in her eyes. But, Neela’s romantic mind is locked somewhere. She wears heavy black-framed glasses all the time, and keeps her face buried in a book. What happiness does she get by keeping her face buried in a book! Sara can’t understand it at all.
While Neela is on the train to Chittagong University, she has seen the reckless and reckless love of her friends, she has seen that love break up immediately, fall in love again, run away from home holding her lover’s hand, then one day go against everyone and get married, which is also a betrayal of that lover, or how that lover weaves a web of dreams for a girl who has run away from home, and even after getting married, throws it away like a used tissue paper. She has seen many emotions being played with, etc. etc. And that is why she has never fallen into the trap of love. But what happened in her life, is that more or less? She still couldn’t name it. What was it? Love? Or marriage? Arranged marriage, or love marriage? She had thought a lot since coming here. She had always struggled to answer these questions from new acquaintances.
Talking about the old days made Neela feel at ease. She had even secured a scholarship saying that she would come to Canada alone. Immediately, she was left alone with Nabil by lying, the elders of the house had planned the whole thing quite well. In that case, it could be called an arranged marriage. But, after sitting alone for a while, the two became close, fell in love, and she herself may have had a small role in that. After that, they got married as a family, although they loved each other very much. But, is love too much about the body? Or, their family broke up because Nabil was gay and did not feel physically attracted to Neela! Neela’s head was pounding. She didn’t want to think about it anymore. She felt upset. Her friend Sara immediately understood her state of mind. Sometimes Neela was surprised, sometimes she was annoyed. Can’t she spend some time alone with her sadness? Whenever she was sad, she would immediately be caught by Sara. However, Sara said,
– Why are you so bored?
– Where?
– I can’t see it? I can’t remember Nabil.
– No! He’s a gon chapter. I don’t think about him anymore.
– So? But why isn’t John proposing to you, are you wondering?
– Oh my god, I want to hang myself from a tree before I get that garbage bin’s proposal.
(Neela burst out laughing. And Sara looked at him in surprise.)
Neela couldn’t think of how she was going to explain to this white foreign friend why she was laughing! And how could she explain why wanting to hang herself from a tree was so ridiculous, or impossible! She decided in her mind that on the way back today, she would take Sara to a Bengali shop, then show her the kachurlati, or whatever she could find, and give the rest to Google Mama. Out of curiosity, she immediately took the phone in her hand and searched. Although she couldn’t remember the English of the girl at all. When Sara said she was hungry, she immediately seized the opportunity. She said, I want to go to a Bengali shop and eat singara like the canteen in my country. You have a car, come on! Before the two friends entered the singara shop, Neela quickly went to the Bengali shop next door and jumped with joy as she got some kachoor shak. Sara was really surprised to see her madness. But Sara also knew that once something entered her mind, she would dwell on it until it was solved. What else could she do, she just silently accompanied her friend. She knew very well that Neela would not even open her mouth until the mathematical formula was solved. And once the mathematical formula was solved, even if Sara herself did not want it, Neela herself would become restless to divide Sara into pieces.
Neela: Did you know that there is something called the Colocasia plant?
Sara: So, apart from the aquatic and attractive boy John, you have been researching trees all this time?
Neela: Oh, don’t tell me!
Sara: No. I don’t know, and I have no interest in knowing. I have always hated botany.
Neela: Hey friend, I’m not asking you to study botany. Well, do you know something called ‘Exotic Giant Taro’?
Sara: No! What nonsense are you talking about?
Neela: Well, at least tell me that you have heard of something called ‘Elephant Ear’?
Sara: Yes, I have heard of it, but I can’t stand all this professorial nonsense of yours with such hunger in my stomach. Tell me something brief, or I’ll go. I’m going straight to the pizza now.
Neela: Okay. As soon as we get out of here, I’ll first take two singaras, then I’ll go with you to your pizza nova. But before you go, just look, this fern-like leaf, it’s called kachu shak, and its tree is called kachu gach. This tree grows up to fourteen feet tall in the Amazon jungle, but in our country I’ve never seen one taller than four feet. This tree sways in the wind, it’s a tuber-like tree.
Sara: But this time I really have a headache. On one hand, I’m hungry, then there’s this riddle of yours, and on top of that, there’s the ongoing botany class. Can’t I be forgiven like today, friend? Have some mercy!
Now Neela smiled and said, I’ve shown what I had to show, I’ll tell you the rest when you’ve had a bite of the pizza, then. Okay, let’s go.
Sara: But, your singara?
Neela: Hey, give up! I’ve found a more interesting topic than singara! What could be more meaningful in life than introducing a Canadian girl to kachugach?
Saying this, Neela started laughing like a madman. This time, Sara was quite surprised to see her attitude, it seemed a little unusual. She put her hand on her forehead to see if Neela actually had a fever. Then, without further ado, she walked towards Pizza Nova. Meanwhile, Neela ran to buy her favorite Kalija singara from the shop next door and arrived at the pizza shop. As soon as Sara ordered and sat down at a table to wait, Neela cleared her throat and prepared for the next step of introducing kachugach. As soon as Neela opened her mouth,
Sarah: Oh my God! If you ever mention the name of that tree or elephant ear again, I’ll take the pizza box and drive away, and I’ll leave you here!
Neela: Listen, I don’t swear, I don’t listen, I don’t believe in that. So you have to listen to what I have to say. But I promise, it won’t be boring like botany class. Just listen while you eat.
Sara: Okay, I got a call. I went to get the pizza. The deal is, I’ll bring it, open it, add chili flakes and oregano to the slices, open a Sriracha-garlic dip, take a sip of my Diet Pepsi first, then eat a slice of pizza, the total time it takes is the time of your total presentation. After that, if you mention that topic again, bye bye.
Neela: More than enough sweetheart!
Sara: (brings pizza, dip, and Pepsi) Let’s start, time starts now!
Neela: I was going to tell you that before John proposes to me, I should hang myself from a kachu tree. I don’t know why this proverb of hanging myself from a kachu tree, the way it sways in the wind, came into being! I’ll research it tonight.
Both the friends burst into laughter after a whole day.
Sara: Whatever you say, I’ve never seen a handsome, smart, rich, fashionable, attractive guy like John. Don’t you feel a little weird when you see him?
Neela: That’s the funny thing. I have trained my brain in such a way that before those adjectives even enter my brain’s radar, my radar signals, “Garbage bin, garbage bin”…
Scarborough, Canada
