Smiling in the face of adversities is a quality very few possess. It's like embracing life the way it is presented, acknowledging it as a gift rather than sighing away from it. Bondita had that quality, she could smile even in the greatest of hardships, she could smile in starvation, during sleepless nights, and it was this unblemished smile of hers that gave Anirudh the zeal to do better, to live better, for the both of them.

The small polythene tent was set, the fire was made, the men went down the river to fish with harpoons made of wood, and as Bondita sat by the broken riverbank sharpening a knife, Raimoti lay on her stomach, on the fresh green grass, watching the men in their action.

"Oh goodness... I've never seen anyone jump around the river like this..." Raimoti chuckled, throwing the words at Bondita, and yawned, " Do you think they would be able to fish this year?"

"Let's hope so." Bondita laughed, as a splashing sound made them both look infront, only to find Satya and Anirudh falling on each other in their futile attempts of catching fishes.

"Anirudh Da, I thought you're an expert...!" Raimoti raised her voice, breaking the silence of the night, and Bondita giggled out loud.

"I fish with rods Madam... Not with bare hands", came the answer, as he launched the sharp stick into the dark water.
"Plus it's Padma, not Ganga... It has currents!"

"Isn't it the same?" Raimoti laughed, picking up a twig as she twirled it playfully around her beautiful fingers.

"Damn!" Satya gasped, and in another attempt he stuck his harpoon in the dark, piercing a fish with it.

"Shabaash!" Anirudh cheered, and a large Mrigal of about two kilos came out of the water.

"Anirudh Da... Let's go, I think we're good for the night."
Satya smiled brightly, and Anirudh exchanged a look with his wife.

"I've heard they have excellent Pabda here, in Padma... It's my wife's favourite you see." He winked at Satya as he pushed the fish offshore to Bondita, and the duo started the battle against water once again, cheerfully.

Three Pabda, and a large Mrigal, and Bondita sat happily gutting the fishes with her skillful hands.

"Yuck... I already feel like throwing up Bondita." Raimoti flinched her face and retched at the sight of the bloodied fishes, clutching her stomach.
"I don't think I could eat these."

"Have you never seen a fish being gutted?" Bondita asked, curiously.

"Never..." Raimoti turned her face away, and focused on the two men bathing in the shallow water of the river.
"I wish I could bath like them too."
She sighed.

The water was cold, yet pleasant, and in the dying twilight, Raimoti lay down, admiring the masculine beauty of the two men coming out of the river.

"Can mermaids be men Bondita?" She asked her lazily, without looking, and Bondita looked up, casting her eyes at the two men and smiled.

"See if you can grow them some fins."

The two women laughed out loud, in sync, perhaps visualising the men as mermen, or perhaps fantasizing, and Raimoti let out a loud sigh and sat up, eyeing the men with a renewed enthusiasm.

Anirudh was taller, muscular, with a clear fair complexion glowing in the moonlight, whereas Satya was leaner, more agile, his arms and legs tanned compared to the other parts of his perfectly toned body. They both wore soaked trousers, hanging low on their waist without the suspenders, and their bare glistening torso made Raimoti gasp. Anirudh's straight hair was back-brushed, while Satya's curls had covered his forehead, making him appear innocent, playful.

"Who do you think would win if they compete for beauty?" She asked Bondita enthusiastically, and looked up at the men again, admiring the curves of their muscles as they move.

Bondita pressed her lips.
"You are asking the wrong person Rai... I'm a biased judge."

Raimoti sighed loudly.
"They kind of looks similar, don't you think... only yours one is larger..."

Bondita smiled again, without replying, as she finished cleaning the sliced stakes in the river water.

"Their hair is different though... Satya has curls, and ofcourse their eyes."
Raimoti continued, as if speaking to herself, as she addressed Bondita once again.
"Do you like curls Bondita?"

Bondita was amused by this sudden interest that Raimoti showered at the physic of the men, it's rare of her to speak such openly, with such ease, and Bondita found this frankness pleasing. She arranged the stakes in a clean banana leaf and got up from the grass.

"No one has curls in our family, so can't compare." She turned to leave, "Oh barring Barrister Babu's grandmother... I've only seen her potraits though." She smiled.

"Then according to Wilhelm Johannsen's new theory on genetics, the third generation, that is Anirudh Da's generation should have been born with curls." She stretched her arms over her head and yawned again.

"Do you always think so much?" Bondita nodded her head sideways in amusement and winked her eyes at her.

"No... Only when hungry.. and sleepy." Raimoti sighed.

The meal was simple, yet wholesome. They broke tender coconuts from the trees, and bananas, and oranges from the morning, and each had a thin long stick with pointy end to grill the fish steaks in the fire.

"Yuck... This tastes horrible..." Raimoti almost gagged taking a bite from the stake and Satya scooted closer to her.

"Here... Let me.. ", he took her stick and squeezed some fresh orange juice on the stake, and smiling at her warmly, he gestured her to eat.

"Umm... This is better..." Rai widened her eyes in approval, making Satya happy.

"It's all about salt Miss Mukherjee... A pinch of it and this would have tasted heaven." He remarked.

"It's still tasting heaven." Bondita winked at her husband and took a bite of the roasted Pabda, as Anirudh blew a kiss at her in the air.

"Yaa... That's the salt of love, Bondita... It doesn't work for me." Raimoti rolled her eyes and took some more oranges from the leaf platter, and Satya helped her with it.

"So, before I forget, just wanted to ask... Why do you not do picnics again?"
She took another bite of the stake and nodded at Satya acknowledging it's improved taste.

"Umm... Well... It's just that we have a little history." Bondita shrugged, exchanging another look with her husband, as he smiled and sighed at the same time.

"History as in?" Raimoti was persistent.

"As in I might have broken a tent before, along with her." Anirudh spat the soft bones aside and focused on the fish again.

"Wow... Sounds interesting... Tell us Bondita... How did you do it...come on... We have the entire night!"
Raimoti insisted, pouting her lips and flattering her eyelashes, urging them to regale the group with their story, and Bondita and Anirudh gulped and stammered, finally deciding to share an abridged version of the incidents inducing appetite and hearty dinnertable laughter.

"Aww... Sharmi is just adorable!!" Raimoti pressed her eyes, and touched her heart with her left hand, expressing her liking for the girl.
"So did she take the cat home? Did her husband allow?"

"Ofcourse! Not just that but Mukundo Da got her admission in a school right after that picnic." Bondita grinned gleefully and looked at her husband, her eyes reflecting pride for him.

"Wow... Are you still in touch?"
Rai asked, and Bondita exchanged another glance with her husband.

"Well, there is a little story to it, not a very happy one, but if you insist..."
Anirudh sighed, and Raimoti widened her eyes.

"Ofcourse... I want to know."

"Sharmila had conceived the next year, and although she survived, they lost their newborn due to ill health..." He looked down, discarding the leftovers of the stakes and the orange peels.
"To improve her health, Mukundo took her to the south, and now she is studying in Madras Medical College, aspiring to be a doctor."

"She's of Batuk's age actually, and Barrister Babu had tried to get her into Calcutta Medical College, but they rejected her application because of her gender." Bondita sighed too, cleaning up the place, as she arranged the used banana leaves and folded then into balls.
"When will we women get our right atleast to study freely Barrister Babu?"
She looked at her husband with a forlorn expression, and Anirudh touched her head, patting her with a gentle optimism.

"Very soon Shona... Very soon."

Raimoti too was caught up in the emotion, remembering how she had to be homeschooled after being rejected by the major institutions of the city.
Satya was staring at her, gauging the sad nostalgia in her eyes, as he placed his hand on her palm and squeezed her a little.
"What about the other couple? Are you in touch still?" He asked suddenly, trying to navigate their thoughts into a different, hopefully a more cheerful memory, but it just made Bondita exhale louder.

"I don't know Satya... And it's strange provided how Bimi Didi used to write to me even when I was in Dehradun." She casted her eyes downward, and looked up again, thoughtfully.
"It's been three years we haven't heard from them."

Satya nodded slightly, and arranged the leftovers into a banana leaf as Anirudh stirred up and cleared his throat.

"Umm... Shona would you fetch me the water flask from inside the tent please." He held her hand and asked her politely, and Bondita got up at once, almost sprinting inside the tent to fetch it.

"The flask is empty, it's right here." Raimoti narrowed her eyes and raised an eyebrow, looking at Anirudh and he nodded his head slowly.

"I know Raimoti... I wanted her not to be here." Closing his eyes, he inhaled a lung full of melancholy, and looked at them once again.
"I had to get this out... I had to share this with someone..." He paused, making Satya and Rai frown at the same time.
"Brojo and Bimala was arrested by the British police charged with treason against the Raj, and were sentenced to exile, but outside the Delli high court, they shot each other on the way back to the prison."

Raimoti's mouth fell open, her grip tightened on Satya's arm as Satya gasped out loud, his eyes widening in awe.

"Brojeswar Patronobish and Bimala Debi... Ofcourse!... How can I not see this!"

Anirudh nodded.
"The news never made it to the papers, as it's looked upon as a blow to the British judiciary...and, Bondita is still in dark."

He swallowed and Satya nodded thoughtfully.

"They are a inspiration Anirudh's Da... Real martyrs." He looked up at the dark starry sky and closed his eyes, as if paying a silent homage, and Raimoti wiped a single tear from the corner of her eyes.

"Bondita..." She shouted suddenly, a little over enthusiasm in her voice, as they saw Bondita coming towards them from the tent, empty-handed with only a bright happy smile on her face, and the little cloud of apprehension that her husband had in his heart about keeping her in the dark, faded away in that smile.

"You look prettier when you smile like that Bondita..." He remarked softly.

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