(From left to right: Rita, Juna,Lina)
A good chunk of my summer holidays of school was spent with my cousin Lina ba (do not get carried away by the ‘ba’ tag..She is only a year and a half older). She was (and still is) one of my closest friends. With a heart of platinum (Lina ba, you are more precious than gold), she ushers in sunshine to the gloomy shadows of life. We have shared our little secrets, cried and laughed with each other and till date we keep each other updated about life in general. I remember a particular incident which took place about 17 years ago. The year was 1995, somewhere in the middle of the year. I had just appeared in my Class X board exams and Lina ba was awaiting her Class XII results. Ponkhy, my Aunt’s daughter, was in Class XI. We were all in Jorhat at my Aunt’s place, and went to Mala ba’s (another cousin) for lunch. We were sitting in the drawing room when Mala ba suddenly said,” Lina, you are putting on so much of weight”. I too noticed that Lina ba, who was trimmer till breakfast that day, suddenly had grown fuller at the waist, hips and thighs. Lina ba replied, “Yes, something seems wrong, and I feel something damp when I sitting.” Now, we were far past the age of wetting our beds by then. Than why was she complaining of dampness? Knowing Lina ba, I instinctively knew that something must be wrong. I lifted up her skirt a bit, and what I saw made me almost fall on the floor. Lina ba was wearing a huge brown towel below her skirt, wrapped snugly around her waist! Had she gone nuts? She looked down at the towel and calmly declared, “Oh, I came out of the bathroom after the shower with this towel wrapped around my waist and forgot to remove it before wearing the skirt.” And Ponkhy added, ” And I was searching for it! I had to lay it out in the sun so that it does not smell or has mildew.” This is how my dear sister is!!
Another incident makes me feel sorry for one of the thousand admirers that Lina ba had. Again after my Class X boards, Lina ba, Khuku (another cousin) and me went to Boloma (Teok, Jorhat), my maternal grandparents’ place. A BHAONA was being staged in the local Naamghar on the evening, and all three of us went there. Being girls from the more urban territories, we were clad in frocks and skirts which displayed our legs. Now, Lina ba was the fairest of us all (she still is….). And added to this fact, she was wearing a black skirt which made her milky-white calves stand out in the Naamghar premises like a full moon in the black night sky. We were very amused to see all the female characters being portrayed by male actors. A scene from the RAMAYANA was being enacted, and the male SITA was staring at Lina ba (or to be more precise, at her milky white legs). He (She) was talking to Ram, but his eyes pendulating between Lina ba and the overly made up Ram. Suddenly, I saw a leech (JUK). I told Lina ba that a leech was lurking nearby, and Lina ba, Khuku and I cried out in terror. The performers of BHAONA came to a standstill, and the stunned audience was staring at us. “Sita” came to the rescue, charging towards my dear sister with his arms outstretched to save her from the danger; and before he could save the damsel in distress, I dragged Lina ba out and the three of us ran into the night. Lina ba might have found an ideal husband in Tutun Bhindeo now, but the ardent admirer of the Naamghar must be still cherishing her memories till date………….
And Lina ba, I love you and I know that we will be sharing a lot of wonderful memories throughout our lives…You have been a tremendous sister, a wonderful friend and a fabulous company all throughout.
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