House No. 302

A woman on a lonely highway at night seeking shelter finds herself in the house of a mental patient...

 

The highway was deserted Rakhee checked her watch it was 10.30 p.m. sitting in the car she clutched the bag containing 70,000 rupees. 

Ajay the driver tried to start the car but to no avail.  For the last half an hour his efforts had failed.  There were no buses plying where would they get a mechanic at this hour and at such a place?  A phone call by her sister Madhabi had brought her out of her house at 8pm at night. “Ma fell and hurt her head I have shifted her to the ICU of the nursing home nearest to our house.  An operation is necessary because of a blood clot in her head. Di there is not much money in the house and you know that banks are on strike. .”  Madhabi’s voice quivered ever since her husband had died she lived with their mother and looked after her.

 

“Don’t worry Madhu I will reach the hospital as soon as I can with the money”, Rakhee tried to reassure her sister inspite of being worried herself. Rakhee did not inform her lawyer husband who was in Delhi in connection with a case so as not to worry him . Thankfully there was money at home .The distance between her house in Kolkata and her mother’s house in the small town Madanpur was 60 km. caught in a traffic snarl it had taken them a  long time to reach the highway.

Ajay the driver got down from the car and tried to stop a cyclist further down the road, when suddenly a car stopped  and two men got down from it, they came towards the car and tapped at her window, Rakhee lowered the window pane, “Is anything wrong madam can we help”?  Rakhee felt uncomfortable but still she decided to put on a brave face.  “Oh not really I am waiting for my husband he has gone to relieve himself”. The men stood uncertainly for some time and then decided to move away. 

It was not safe to sit in the car on a cold December night neither was it proper to take a ride with unknown people anything could happen and on top of it she was carrying money with her.There were about six to seven very small and ordinary houses some distance away from the highway.  The lights were off in some houses probably the inmates had rolled in for the night.  “You will have to wait in one of the houses madam they are all family quarters it is safe for you the bicyclist who I was just talking to said, he also informed me about a mechanic, there is a garage further down the road the mechanic sleeps there but I need some transport to take me to the place.” I will wait on the highway for conveyance and you wait in one of the houses.  As soon as the car is ready I will call your number” Ajay said.

Rakhee did not meet with much success her knock did not evoke any welcome response from the inmates of the houses, twice she was told rudely that strangers were not allowed in at such odd hours of the night. Rakhee did not know what to do she felt terribly cold and clutched the shawl around her. 

The last house was situated at quite a distance from the other houses and the entire area in front was engulfed in darkness.  Her first tap brought no response no rebuke either Rakhee decided to continue, “Could you please open the door and let me in for some time I need a little shelter”. 

There was a slight shuffle inside the room and the door was opened.  A bearded man with specs around forty years opened the door.  Two chairs and a table occupied the small room but what encouraged Rakhee to enter the house was a woman’s voice coming from the next room as if she was saying something probably reciting.

The man did not say anything but pointed to the chair, Rakhee sat down.

“Can I have a glass of water?” Rakhee’s voice was parched. The man brought a glass of water for her nodded as Rakhee explained her plight about the car breaking down, the woman’s voice had stopped.  After sometime he went into the next room and closed the door. Minutes ticked by the woman did not come out of the room Rakhee wondered why?  There were some newspapers stacked in one corner of the room Rakhee decided to leaf through them to while away the time.  The newspapers were old most were open at a particular page which had the photograph of a young man Nilanjan Bose. Beneath the photograph was a notice which said this man was mad and had escaped from the mental asylum, his identification mark was a long cut on his left forehead decades old.  Anyone who would give information about the man would receive one lakh in cash, The advertisement was signed Avik Bose (brother).

 

Rakhee froze she was in a house with a mad man, suddenly she remembered the man who had opened the door he also had a cut on his left forehead. Her first impulse was to open the door and flee and that was what she was about to do when the door opened and the man stood in front of her with a knife in hand.

Rakhee clutched at her throat ‘ What would happen to ma’s operation the money was with her,’ The man looked at her for some time and then went towards a cardboard box on one side of the room cut the rope of the box and took out a packet of biscuits and milk powder.

Rakhee felt herself unable to move within seconds the man was with her with two cups of tea.  He took some biscuits and put them on a plate and stirred the milk powder in her tea.

“Please sit down there is nothing to be afraid of I am not mad”. The man smiled.

As if having no power of her own controlled by someone else Rakhee sat down.

“Where is your wife?” Rakhee could hardly trust her voice.

“She works in a village hospital about eighty kms from here and visits me during the weekend”. The man said.

“I just heard a woman talking”. Rakhee stammered

“That was Asha my wife reciting a poem actually she was my nurse and has been with me ever since they hatched a plot and put me in a mental asylum.” The man held up the cup of tea for Rakhee.

“Haven’t you heard about the case they referred to it as ‘ The mad professor’s case. 

Rakhee stared of course she had read about it in the local paper. How a professor of English had suddenly lost his mind and attacked his stepmother.  Her husband Raja used to come back from court and discuss in details the proceedings of the case.  Nilanjan Bose lost his job in college his bank accounts were seized after a criminal case was brought against him for assaulting his mother.  Lastly he was declared mentally unfit and thrown into a mental asylum.  Actually the house, business and all bank accounts were transferred in his name by his father before the latter’s death.

The last Rakhee remembered was her husband telling her that a nurse called Asha had come asking him to take up Nilanjan Bose’s case she had enough evidence to prove  he was innocent.  The step mother had herself rolled down the stairs and Nilanjan was nowhere in sight at the time of the accident.  The nurse had the video recording in her mobile she had said.  The conversation between the two brothers and the mother had also been recorded by the nurse would prove that it was a conspiracy neatly planned.

Raja had almost decided to take up the case when a news flash surprised everyone Nilanjan Bose had escaped from the mental asylum helped by the nurse Asha probably after bribing the gatekeeper.

“You are Nilanjan Bose aren’t you” Rakhee was not afraid of him anymore.

The man smiled and nodded.

“You deserved a fair trial why did you escape from the asylum?”. Rakhee asked.

“The electric shocks were too severe it would have driven a sane man insane”.Nilanjan said matter of factly.

 

 “What do you do for a living Mr.Bose?” Rakhee felt a deep sense of sympathy for a man who had suffered unjustly in the hands of fate only for his property and bank balance.

“I teach the local children,” Nilanjan Bose paused “ I have a different name here  and my appearance has completely changed so I think I am safe.” He laughed. “For if they should find me I would be thrown into the asylum again”.

“You took a great risk by opening the door to a stranger “, Rakhee said

“Well a lady in distress I thought it my duty to help”. Nilanjan said lightly.

“Would you like your case to be reopened? My husband is a lawyer he can fight your case and bring justice to you.” Rakhee said.

Nilanjan  shook his head “ That is very kind of you but I have had it all wealth, respect everything what I have now I did not have before mental peace and I do not want to give it up for anything”.

Dawn was breaking, Rakhee’s phone rang it was Ajay the driver informing her that the car was ready. Rakhee was delighted, Ajay had hitched a ride on a motorcycle found the mechanic and on the latter’s scooter had come to the place where the car stood and got it repaired.

It was time to leave when Nilanjan said, “If you can help me in a way I would be grateful. Sensing trouble my father had made a new will which said  that in my absence the house and bank balance would go to an orphanage the name and address has been mentioned in the will. I left the will in a vault the key of which Asha misplaced but it was only last week she found the key in her mother’s house.  The vault is in Asha’s name she will write a letter of authority in your husband’s name.”Rakhee took down the name of the bank vault no and Asha’s mobile number and thanked him for his hospitality.

“Keep the letter ready, next week on my return home I will collect the letter and give it to my husband” Rakhee said. ‘’ Justice will be done.” Nilanjan smiled and nodded gratefully.     

Outside Rakhee looked at the small house that had given her shelter for the night the no of the house was 302.  Rakhee sighed as the car sped towards the small town where her mother was waiting to be operated on.Rakhee had a feeling everything would turn out to be the best, her mother would be successfully operated on and Nilanjan Bose would finally take his revenge on his brothers  by throwing them out of the house and depriving them of a share in the ancestral property.