Series: Gatchhora

Episode: 148
Scene: 1
Time: Day
Place: Singha Roy House
Characters: Khori, Riddhi, Bony, Kunal, Dyuti,
Paramita, Riddhi’s grandfather, Riddhi’s
grandmother, Riddhi’s mother, Prasun,
Rahul, guests, reporters, an Admirer

Guest 1: What! Elder wife of Singha Roy

house has not passed higher secondary
education – this is hard to believe. I
cannot imagine this house has brought a
wife of such qualification.

Reporter 1: Doesn’t Riddhiman Babu know

this?

Dyuti: Oh my God! Riddhi don’t you know this

– Khori didn’t say it? You lived in our
house for long – Khori and you patched
up again – still Khori did not tell you?
 What Khori, didn’t you tell anything to
Riddhi? You always tell truth, you always
lead an honest life, so isn’t it against your
ethics? You didn’t tell this big truth to your
husband!

Khori: Do I need to tell him while you are

there to tell everything on behalf of me.
Look, I know very well – your only agenda
in life is to show me low – insult me – you
cannot digest your food unless doing this.

Dyuti: Why are you telling like this? I agree

that I did many wrongs before, but trust
me, I didn’t intend to initiate today’s
incident. I just said the truth casually. I
thought you have said all these truth
already. I just wanted to express the truth
of your sacrifice proudly.

Khori: Absolutely.

(Riddhi pulls Khori in private)

Riddhi: Tell me Khori – tell me – what Dyuti is
saying – is it right? True or false tell me on
my eye.

Khori: Why it would be a lie? My elder sister

told the truth for the first time, even if that
is regarding me. I didn’t pass higher
secondary education.

Reporter 1: Did you hide this level of truth?

Oh what a fallacy, Riddhiman Singha Roy
have rejected all the highly educated girls
in the city and get married to a HS fail.

Paramita: What is this father – the elder

grand-daughter-in-law is HS fail? She is
your pride father – you said she is your
pride! Now what will you say father.

Riddhi’s grandfather – I will say the same

thing today as well my daughter. You
cannot judge the real education by
someone’s degree of qualification. I know
– I know you couldn’t learn to identify real
person. You judge human’s skill –
 character – by their outer presence.
Therefore, today I and your mother is
having laugh for your naïve behaviour.

Riddhi’s grandmother – And by-the-way – you

all insult Khori always, even if she has
acted wrong or not. We have seen this
always. So, whatever you all say – I and
your father stood beside her, standing,
and will stand. And I have no doubt that
she is a far better personality than you all,
even if she is not highly educated.

paramita: is it? Oh my dear mother, look how

the media is laughing at us. Daughters,
wives of our house – okay leave – leave
our family members – our staffs – they all
have a minimum qualification – they are at
least graduate – and she is HS fail. No,
no, no, I really – I really feel for you sister-
in-law. I mean, what you thought about
Riddhi – you thought to bring a highly
qualified, beautiful, smart daughter-in-law
from a great background and look at her
class – what is this – HS fail! Prasun also
 say that he feel so bad. You contributed
your entire life to make Riddhi great and
this is the result! No, it can’t be.

Parsun: Really sister-in-law – really – it’s like

hammering the last nail on the coffin of
your hope – your belief. Do you have a
handkerchief?

Paramita: No.

Prasun: It’s okay.

Reporter 1: Sir, Please say something – tell

us your reaction after knowing that you, a
highly educated from abroad and an well-
established businessman has a HS fail
wife?

(Riddhi remains silent, reporter asks riddhi’s

mother)

Reporters: Madam, you say something.

Ridhi’s mom: Look, you know everything
about the situation of Riddhiman’s
marriage. I couldn’t present there. So,
everybody in Bhattacharya family is a liar
– and you all were cheering for Khori
sometimes before, now look how big liar
she is.

Khori: No, I didn’t lie. Do not say anything

about my family anymore, madam. I
proved earlier that my family is not a liar
and I proved repeatedly. So, I will not
listen to any bad words regarding my
family.

Riddhi’s mom: How dare you raise your

voice? You hide such a huge incapability
of yours – and after that you can say that
you didn’t ditch my son?

Khori: No, I didn’t ditch. I didn’t ditch. Nobody

asked me about my qualification before or
after my marriage. Nobody asked me,
how much educated I am. Mr Riddhiman,
have you asked me? Tell me, have you
 asked. Please don’t stay silent, tell the
truth – have you asked me before?

Riddhi: No, I didn’t.

Khori: See, he didn’t ask me – nobody asked

me. You don’t need to believe me, but will
you believe your son?

Pasun: Hey, Do not use such arrogant words.

It’s not the matter, what you said about
your qualification, the matter is, you have
failed in higher secondary. This is truth –
can you make it a lie?

Bony: (says kunal) Grab it. What are you all

saying? You all are strange people – you
all are addicted in digging Mejdi’s flaws
and criticizing her. Jumbo just brought
Mejdi into this house and you all started
acting to split them up again.

Kunal: Bony please! Let Khori speaks.

Bony: One minute! You go away. You are
insulting my Mejdi in front of all these
press-media and guests by listening to my
eldest sister – do you know her truth? Do
you know?

Riddhi’s mom: I don’t care.

Bony: You have to know.

Riddhi’s grandmother: Tell us Bony. We want

to hear - we want to hear from you not
Dyuti.

Bony: Yes grandmother, Mejdi was a bright

student. Everybody stayed stunt by seeing
her mathematical skill. Her teachers used
to appreciate very much. She had passed
in secondary education with Star marks.
Do you she had to leave education for
whom?

Ridhhi: for whom?

Bony: (Bony pulls Dyuti) for her.

Dyuti: What do mean? What I did? Did I tell
her to leave learning, strange!

Bony: No, you didn’t say, but we need a lot of

money to teach you in English medium.
You wanted to learn in English medium, in
a renowned college – not to be educated,
because you were a dumb –
“consideration pass” was written with red
ink in your every result. Actually, the thing
is you wanted to marry a rich man, so you
wanted admission in English medium
school and big college. Therefore, Mejdi
had to leave her education and start
working with our father. You all are
saying, Mejdi is HS fail, she is HS fail, but
do you know the truth. Mejdi for our family
pressure – for the poverty after the death
of our father’s elder brother – had to
choose working. So, Mejdi has failed in
HS. She could not give exam except the
first two. So, she couldn’t pass the HS.
You have to know all these, Madam. You
can’t deny knowing these. But, Mejdi got
more than ninety in those two exams she
 gave. My eldest sister will not say these.
So listen from me. Our father’s elder
brother suddenly died in an accident, our
father became ill, we all would have come
to road, unless Mejdi took the
responsibility.

Khori: Leave Bony – I don’t want to

remember the reason of leaving school. I
only learned, bookish knowledge doesn’t
make human educated. Real education
comes from life.

Riddhi’s mom: Khori, you can say big words

even if you have no knowledge, but that
doesn’t change the reality.

Bony: What is problem? What is your

problem with Mejdi? Do you try to judge
her often? Okay, let’s decide today. You
all calculate fifteen headgears for groom is
300 rs per piece, twenty Kulo is 150 rs per
piece, fifty pots 55 rs per piece, sixty
Chandmala 80 rs per piece, and eleven
 menu card for marriage gifts is 350 rs per
piece. So what is the total?
(Everyone starts calculating)

Bony: What happened, say? Mejdi, you say.

Khori: eighteen thousand nine hundred.

Prasun: Correct.

Bony: what uncle-in-law. I heard you are a

student of commerce. So you need to take
calculator for this little sum.

Prasun: no, no, I knew it. I just cross-checked

it.

Bony: This was mathematics. Now, you ask

any question from Ramayana,
Mahabharata, or any other mythology.
Mejdi will give all the answers. (To the
reporters) Okay now you say, Kauravas
had sister after their one hundred brothers
in Mahabharata, what is her name? What
 happened say? You all are looking
educated, so say it?

Reporter 2: Oh my god! It seems we are

trapped by asking such questions.

Dyuti: I know, Kunti. Sure it is Kunti.

(Everyone starts laughing)

Riddhi’s grandfather: Leave Dyuti, don’t try to

prove your qualification, your originality
will reveal then. So, leave. Khori, you say
the answer.

Khori: Dusholla.

Bony: (to riddhi’s mother) have you heard it? I

learned all these from my Mejdi. Mejdi
knows every ritual, its necessary
elements, everything. (to riddhi’s
grandmother) you ask Mejdi, Mejdi will
answer instantly.
Khori: Not knowing these are not a crime. I
learned all these out of my passion. I
learned these from my life. However, as
not knowing these is not a crime, not
passing higher secondary for my
circumstances, for personal reasons can’t
be my crime too.

Bony: Now, you all are pointing whom as

beautiful and educated, let’s see how
much talent she has. My eldest sister, tell
me a Tagore’s poem.

Dyuti: Tagore’s poem…okay...

Bony: What! Why are you stuttering this

much? We used to learn Tagore’s poem
before school, have you forgotten all?

Dyuti: I have in mind, telling, wait. (Starts

wrong poetry).

Bony: Okay, okay, don’t take too much

stress. Now, Tagore will come from
heaven, will slap you, and then again go
 back to heaven. Now, aunt-in-law, can
you tell me the table of fifteen?

Paramita: Really, is it a classroom that I

would need to give an exam to you?

Bony: Wow, great, you can take Mejdi’s

ordeal anytime, just you leave her to walk
on the fire, and can’t I take a little
mathematical exam? You seem like an
educated woman, what grandfather, she
is graduate, right?

Grandfather: I know that.

Grandmother: What happened my eldest

daughter, say it. Say it, if you know.

Paramita: Ridiculous (Starts the table and

misses)

Bony: Leave, aunt-in-law if you say in this

manner, it will be ending tomorrow. And
Mr Rahul, can you say number of vowels
in Bengali language.
Rahul: I do not play such childish games.
Sorry, I cannot participate, I am leaving.

(Rahul left the room)

Bony: This is the sample of few members of

the graduate Singha Roy house. It’s true
many of you have achieved Gold medal,
silver medal, but not all. Yet, who didn’t
achieve, they also think them a member of
this house. So, why Mejdi’s not passing
higher secondary became such a huge
matter? I think, now you all understood,
speaking big words doesn’t prove
anything – education doesn’t mean
memorizing – it’s about knowing by heart,
which my Mejdi did. Yet, you all highly
educated people couldn’t.

Khori: Actually, life gives the biggest lesson to

people. People put effort to make them
talented. I don’t think any degree can
judge one person’s talent.
Admirer: She said absolutely right. Practical
knowledge is real. We can’t help others
with all our studies, but Khori – Khori
saved the Singha Roy business by her
talent, her skill. Our local and international
guests have appreciated her skill – and
who really knows human, he cannot stay
without acknowledging her talent. I am a
huge admirer of you Khori.

(Flashback)

Riddhi: This is not an unknown person. This

is your fan.

Khori: Who will be my fan?

Riddhi: is it your lover?

(Present time)

Admirer: I have been infatuated by seeing

your decoration in the newspaper and in
exhibitions. Congratulations, for such a
wonderful work. This is for you.
Riddhi: (Takes the flower on behalf of Khori)
Thank you. My wife and I became very
happy to know you liked everything. We
appreciate. Isn’t it Khori? And, nobody
knows better about my wife’s ability than
me. Her talent exceeds her educational
qualification. And by-the-way, we came
here with another purpose rather than
discussing her qualification. So, let’s end
the discussion here.

Riddhi’s mom: what are you saying Riddhi?

You will remain silent after knowing this
big incident.

Riddhi: Which incident, mother? What are

you talking about? She didn’t say any lie.
She said her truth firmly in front of
everybody here. Nobody dared to ask her.

Riddhi’s mom: Riddhiman, I taught you in

abroad since childhood. Do not forget you
belonged to an elite class in abroad.
Today you became the owner of this
 Singha Roy Diamonds and that credit
goes to me. And, you are getting involved
with this lower class from Adi Kali Bazar
nowadays, you are living in their house,
you are celebrating Tagore’s birthday with
them, I am amazed. What has happened
to you? And what kind of magical trick this
girl has applied on you Riddhiman? I just
failed to understand.

Riddhi: Enough, mother. Please enough. I do

not want to listen anything about Khori. I
agree that whatever I became today, it
could happen for you, but today your son,
Riddhiman Singha Roy is standing with
pride again – called the media in this
house again – the reputation of Sigha Roy
jewellers could return to its early stature
again, because of that illiterate girl from a
beggar’s house in Adi kali Bazar, Khori.
Khori is my wife and I brought her in this
house by giving her deserving respect. It
is my responsibility to protect her respect.
I will protect her respect who will protect
mine and this house’s – I can go to any
 length. Now, I will not allow anybody to
raise their finger at her, not even you
mother.

(music, Khori gazes at riddhi with wet eyes)