He was the same gentleman who gave Tarapad a place to live
in Calcutta for almost a month. He took the frightened boy
of the village to his house and gave him shelter and food.
Tarapad's description of the house didn't really imply that
he was a wealthy man. Though the house was very big, there
were no maids or servants in his house. This man lived there
with his wife and four children. The time that Tarapad spent
there was also not entirely blissful-he washed the kitchen
utensils daily and cleaned the house for them. Sometimes
during meals, he even ate the leftovers from someone's plate.
The kitchen was a dingy room with bugs crawling on the floor
and Tarapad used to sit there eating alone after everyone
had finished eating.
Perhaps the gentleman wasn't aware of this, or maybe he
didn't want Tarapad to go through this ordeal. One morning
he started questioning Tarapad about his flight from the
village, the reason why he did so, his father's name and
address. As we later learnt, he wrote to Rasiklal about
his missing son and arranged for him to return home. After
this incident, I never saw Rasiklal beat or scream at his
sons. For years to come, Tarapad kept narrating his experiences,
although gradually his reasons for the escapade became different
in various versions of the story. The portrayal of Rasiskal
in his adventures eventually gathered a better shade and
Tarapad never thought of leaving the village for the dream
world of Calcutta again.
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