In Memory Of My Father
I was proud of the name of my father : his name was Aniruddha Majumdar . Still now I feel the name is very much uncommon. .Lots of memories of my parent embrace me:from childhood to this late adult. I will narrate some of them : Among them I will mention a story related to his name.
The last two years before retirement my father was almost bed -ridden for acute pain of arthritis in both the legs; sometimes he used to even whimper out of pain .
Either ASM or porter used to bring lots of files from the office to my father for signature and spent time on discussions and guidance from my father. My father retired as Station Superindent. It was summer vacation ; I was with my parent. The postman came and asked my father to come and sign up registered mail . I told him "he is unable to get up ; Please give me so that he can sign up."
The postman hesitated to give me.
" see ,this is very important confidential 'registered' mail."
" Don't worry .I will bring back the receipt for you soon."
I looked at the brown-colored long envelope on which name and address was written by black ink. To my surprise , I noticed that in place of name it was written : " AmirRuddin Mazumdar.'After the signing I hand over the receipt to the waiting peon .Coming back to my father I asked him, ' Did you notice it was not your name but a muslim-name and still you signed? Why ? I was then doing final year of B.A.
Am I a daughter of muslim man?..................
Then observing my bewildered face, my father divulged the story,- quite interesting ! The first part of the story I heard more than hundred times but not the last mysterious part about "Name."
My father was not only first boy in study but also all -rounder in the class. The name of his competitor in academic field was Kalikanando Mitra .In the Final School-Leaving Board Exam (1926 ) Kalikanando stood first in the district by getting 530 whereas my father got 525 and became second;...... My father always lost himself in the blackhole of memory ( perhaps me too! ),.......... lamenting ,"It is only for the 5 marks!" Coming to this far a deadly silence swooped over the story.
He was sad ; In addition my grandfather scolded him harshly . He left home for Calcutta without telling anybody and took admission in Scottish Church college . He performed there so brilliant ................He stole very soon the attention of the British principal ......a handsome. smart jovial boy, fluent in spoken English, good in games and excellent as musician, . He got full scholarship throughout the study period...... But I don't know where did he manage his his accommodation.
{I am thinking now where did he stay ? ...perhaps with his eldest brother who was student of MA (Mathsematics ) in the University of Calcutta !....Not sure !
After finishing the College course my father came to Howrah Station cheerfully to go back his home after two years ! As he was proceeding to get train ,he noticed excited crowd and long que in front of a Office. Out of curiosity he came in front of the que to ask the uniformed security man what was going ;but somebody from the que pushed him forward to thrush inside the room ;my father found himself in front of a 'SAHEB'(White British who was the interviewer ).
The British officer raised his head from a big red-covered registry copy and asked,"What's your name?"My father though puzzled in an unknown environment and encountering with huge -figured white officer with pure English accent, dusted off his hesitation and answered smartly,
-"Aniruddha Mazumdar ", sir.
"Show your mark-sheet".
Luckily it was with him in his bag .He promptly produced it. The officer 's facial expression became bright .
"What is your hobby?
-"Umm,... playing football, solving crossword puzzle, and reading biographies of great men ."
"Quite interesting !" He surveyed my father from top to bottom.
"O.K. You can go now ."
Looking towards the other officer he ordered ," "Take his name, register him."
The other two bewildered officers , who were fumbling the pages of huge copy, said,
"Sir, his name is nowhere in the list of applicants. We searched thoroughly...........
The officer ordered in his baritone voice ",Write down his name in the first list, I say: it is Amir Ruddin Mazumdar.........yes, hurry up!
" Call the next ."
My father heard the conversation while getting out of the room.
He was sweating partly in in nervousness and for humid climate of September. He hurried to catch the train. As he reached near the wall of his village home, he could hear the bell and musical tone from the conch along with the smoke and smell of incense powder in the air from our own ancestor's home-temple; Sound of conch indicates the end of evening rituals ,distributing sweets as finishing touch .All members gathered in the temple -yard in the evening . All the family members cheered to see my dad in the temple yard after long 2years! Grandma embraced him emotionally and began to cry in joy ; her soft puffy palm rubbed his head and face several time; "What a sweet surprise to see you after such a long time !.It is an auspicious full moon day ;...Within two weeks the great festival of Durgapuja !...you are grown up , look like a man !"he bowed down to god and then the priest before leaving the temple .
Then my dad followed by all family members along grandmother who announced loudly,"see Ani has come back !"
Coming outside the temple he bowed down to all his elders . Grandfather ,too, blessed him warmly. Cheers and joys overflowed the house . The fragrance of "Seuly "(like jasmine) flowers in air reminded the festival of Durgapuja. My father enjoyed the warmth of the family .
"But on that very week my father got the job-letter from the Eastern Railway to join next week in "Chandsi "which is now in Bangladesh.Then another wave of cheers in the family!My father was the third of six brothers ;but he was the first one to get prestigious governmental job in Railway .
My father saw his name as "Anir Ruddin" Mazumdar. in the job letter ! My father joined and continued his entire service efficiently up to retirement with reputation as "Ani Ruddin ."
It stroke my mind why in all letters my father was addressed as A.R. Mazumdar and never that super-elegant ultra-modern "Aniruddha"; but never needed to ask. Perhaps nobody knows uptil now this history behind his name except me .
My ailing father told me on that day, "It seem to me some times that the job was offered to me as (surprisingly without prior applying,) the officer thought me Muslim, though my interview was also excellent. The British (on their principle of Divide &Rule policy ) preferred to employ a Muslim candidate than a Hindu. It was hard for him to correct once he joined as "Ani- Ruddin". He tried but found complicated.
So my father had to leave home, missing to enjoy the festival of Durgapuja.
My grandfather was happy and proud of his son now. Before my father left , he informed my father that he wanted to fix his marriage in the month of November with a girl of some reputed family from near by village named "JOFLAI. "
"The girl is calm & quite , father is a doctor, very humble and widower . So you must come back in November ,i.e.after two months)"
My father was not happy at all ! He was not prepared to marry then . He was an ambitious boy. But he was obedient and carried out his father's wish.
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