When Riya returns home, Maya says, “I will take you to Bengali class today”. It takes a little practice.
Rhea: Mom, I have an assignment. i don’t have time
Maya: You can go play basketball, play with friends, and don’t have time to go to Bengali class?
Riya: Mom, everything I do, everything has a purpose. This Bengali of yours does not have any purpose.
Maya: May not be for you, for me, for us.
Riya: So, do I need to live to serve your purpose?
Maya could not control her anger and slapped her daughter.
Maya: You have become very rude. You have grown a lot by not saying anything. We never asked our mother such a question. I heard what mother said. Because who can wish for the well-being of the child more than the mother?
Riya: That’s why you beat me? You are assaulting me. It’s harassment. Physical abuse! And all for your stupid Bangla! To accomplish your dream. I’m not doing anything that has no point at all!
Maya: Mamni, you know how much I love you. Please, try to understand! This is your mother tongue. It is very important for you to know that this is the language your mother speaks.
Rhea: But what is the function? What is its application? What will I benefit from practicing it? Rather go to French classes, which will help me in my future career, learning Spanish or Mandarin will also help me in my practical life. What do I do with Bengali?
Maya: Look, I don’t like arguments. It is your mother tongue, you must practice it.
Rhea: Even so, I don’t like it?
Maya: Yes. If you don’t want to learn it out of love, you must learn it as a duty.
Rhea: I hate you and your stupid bangla.
Maya says in a serious voice, ‘It’s not your choice, it’s my order. Get ready, I will take you to class now.’
Maya forcibly drags Riya to Bengali class like this. I hope, even if I go back and forth, one day the language will definitely come under the control of the girl.
On the way back from the Bengali class, Maya said, ‘How was the class mommy?’
Rhea: Disgusting.
Maya: Mother doesn’t say that. You will like it someday.
Rhea: It is just wasting my time and your money.
Maya decides to avoid the topic.
Maya: Want to eat something? Krispy Kreme Donuts?
Rhea: Can we just get home? I have assignment to do.
Back home, Riya no longer falls in front of her mother. He sits with his laptop in his room with headphones on.
As Maya slowly opened the door and went to Rhea’s room, Rhea said, ‘Say something?’
Maya: It’s nine o’clock at night. won’t eat Come on, eat it.
Riya: Ok, go. I will be there soon.
Maya noticed that whatever Bengali the girl used to speak, she had stopped trying to teach it by force.
Maya feels very helpless. Life itself begins to feel like a failure.
At the dinner table at night, Maya talks about the same topic again. Riya gets up after eating a little bit.
Mothers, it is important to remember one thing, ‘lemon is bitter when squeezed too much’. And besides, in the schools of this country where ‘It’s my life, my choice’ is taught, how reasonable is it to increase bitterness in your relationship with your child?’
Riya washes her hands and says, “Mom, don’t you have anything else to do except give lectures on Bengali?” Is it your job to just cook and lecture me now? You join the work. Otherwise I will leave this house as soon as I turn eighteen. And go so far that you will not find. I don’t want to live for your dream. I want to live for my dream.
Maya gets stunned. Can’t think of what to say. Is this his daughter? For nine months in the womb, waking up at night, little by little the treasure of his chest raised for the past fourteen years? His world comes crashing down. He gets up and goes to his room.
When Milon comes at night, Maya already goes to bed and sits up. Seeing his serious face, Milan said, ‘What happened? Why is the face black?
When Maya tells everything, Milon says, ‘Look, if you feel bad listening to me, it’s the absolute truth. You really have to think about the functionality of what you’re doing. And besides, it’s very true that she doesn’t speak Bengali except to her grandparents once or twice a month. How good is it to spoil your relationship with the child by forcing him so much for this. Stop being emotional. I myself love my language very much. But I don’t want to impose that love on anyone. We will try to give him all the best of Bengali language. If he loves it, he will practice it, if he doesn’t, I think we will give more priority to our child’s well-being. I will teach and practice as much as possible without imposing, sometimes by loving and explaining.
Maya just let out a sigh.
The next day Riya returns home even more late. Riya is very quiet when she reaches school in the morning. If friends want to know, keep quiet, say nothing. Even though she is angry with her mother, Rhea doesn’t like it when someone says something about her parents. Girlfriend Stephanie says, ‘You know I’m going on a date with Colin today?’
Stephanie: I’m going to Colin’s house today after school. will you go
Riya: No, mother gets very upset if you are late.
Stephanie: Are you a baby? After school, you can go here and there! And does your mother sit at home all day and watch over you? You are no more a child.
Rhea: To my mother, I am a child.
Stephanie: Tell mom to give you some personal space. My previous boyfriend’s mother was like this. He was worried about everything.
Riya: Hey, drop it. How many more years? When I’m eighteen, I’ll go where my eyes go. I don’t want to fulfill her dream. I have my own life to live.
Mike comes forward to see the two of them. Says, ‘What are these khukiras doing?’
Stephanie: We are young, and you mean old?
Mike: Yes, I’m not crying because my mother is bent! Look, how I am enjoying my life!
So he took out the electronic cigarette (vape) from his pocket and started blowing smoke on their faces. Lena comes and says, why here? How many cars in the driveway! Someone will see that!
So the wasp took it from Mike’s hand and went behind a tree. Everyone in the group ran towards it laughing one behind the other.
Riya sits alone for quite some time. After a while, Stephanie came, took him by the hand and led him to the other friends. Mike sings Rhea a beautiful song, Katy Perry’s ‘Eye of the Tiger’, which once again motivates Rhea. Float along with friends.
After school in the afternoon, he also goes to Colin’s house with his friends. Colin-Stephini, Mike-Lina, Rhea and Nikki. After sitting in the living room for some time, Rhea notices that she is alone watching TV, while Nikki is playing games on her phone. There is no one else around. After a while, Colin and Stephanie came out of a room with lipstick on their lips, and after a while Mike and Lena came back from the balcony. As the three boys then returned to the balcony, Lena and Stephanie continued to talk about their respective experiences. Riya thought to herself, ‘My mother is just different.’
Riya remembers that her mother sometimes showered her with wisdom under the guise of being a good friend. As he said that day, “You will definitely love, but let me know.” And not before eighteen years.
Sometimes the mother is so angry! Like Lena and Stephanie’s mother, why didn’t she have a mother!
(to be continued…)
