It was Poila Baisakh. Iyasmina's eyes became moist when she thought about the Mangal Shobhajatra of Dhaka, Bangladesh. Which country was hers? She left Bangladesh years ago. After her marriage, when she applied for Indian citizenship, she was informed that marrying an Indian person could not be the sole eligibility to obtain citizenship. Presently she was on a PR VISA. She sighed silently as she looked outside the window to the swaying branches of a mango tree. Back in Dhaka, Amma used to make mango pickles during summer.
Five years ago, she came to Kolkata for professional enhancement where she met Rajiv. They fell in love. Despite vehement opposition of both the families, they tied the knot. But now-a-days, Iyasmina, pregnant with her first child, missed the presence of a mother and a mother-in-law.
An urgent knock at the door jolted her out of her reverie. A beaming Shobha kakima, her neighbour, was standing at the door. She handed her a glass jar of mango pickles. "This is a gift for you. I know that women love the tangy taste of pickles during this time. So I made this for you." Iyasmina teared up. Kolkata suddenly felt like home.
Glossary: Poila Baisakh: The first day of Bengali New Year.
Image source: Unsplash
This flash-fiction received a Jury Special Mention at the April 2022 Writing Challenge conducted by Beyond the Box. The challenge was to write a literary piece in which mango/mango tree plays a key role. Word/Line Limit was 200 words for prose/20 lines for poetry.
No comments:
Post a Comment