A Rainy Day Out by Asis Mukherjee

It’s monsoon in the Bengal and the sky was usually overcast with quick cloud. A general
weather forecast was there of rain. But you can not forecast when and where and how long it
will be raining. And if you remain confined to your room during those months together you will
certainly get bored and can not enjoy the rainy season and can not sing or listen to either a
Tagore’s song on rain or a Phill Collins’ famous “I wish it would rain down on me ….” Because it
automatically oozes out from your heart when you are totally filled with joy.

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So one dull monsoon morning we set forth for a day out. We are four consisting of myself, my
wife, my son and his wife. My son Abir was on the steering. We planned to visit the house of
Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay, the stalwart writer of Bengali literature at Deulty village in our
Howrah district about sixty kilometers away. We drove through the drizzle and gradually
proceeded through traffic jam until we crossed the toll tax gate. After a few kilometers we got rid
of the traffic jam and Abir began to drive smoothly along the national highway leading to
Chennai and Mumbai. Despite the drizzle, as the wippers cleaned the windscreen, our minds
were also brightened in the spirit of joy drive. We reached Deulty around 1 p.m. We parked our
car and entered into the compound of the house. Though other days it’s closed by twelve, but
due to our good luck it was kept open for some VIP visitors. Anyway we found the enclosed
garden and the two storied house was well maintained and very impressive at the first sight. We
also stepped up the verandah and moved from one room to another. From the balcony of the
first floor we got a nice glimpse of the river Rupnarayan.

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A young boy, named Tubai, the son of the caretaker, was there who was narrating us like a professional guide the stories of the great
man, where he used to sit and write or meet the revolutionaries who fought for our indipendance
and used to come here by that time. We took rest there for a while and then started for
Kolaghat. On our way we had already seen the Damodar river and now we would see the
Rupnarayan river. Within half an hour we reached Kolaghat just crossing the bridge over the
river Rupnarayan. But due to continuous rain we could not stop to watch the surroundings of the
Rupnarayan. We went straight to the market place in search of a good restaurant. There were
many, but all were overcrowded. We could not imagine that in such bad weather so many
people had come for outing. Abir contacted one of his friends and took the return lane. Within a
few yards we parked our car in the parking lot and entered into a nice hotel cum restaurant. We
preferred to sit in the covered garden. Indeed the place was a worth selection and whatever
dishes we ordered were equally good. It’s 2 p.m. at the clock now and the right time for lunch.
After having our lunch we set out on the road again bound for home. The rain had been
subsided now. No hurry scurry! We drove comfortably. We paused for a while at the site of
Rupnarayan and Damodar. We started again while John Denver was singing in the back ground
“Country Roads Take Me Home….” Indeed we all want to go home, so a non stop drive of two
hours brought us home before dusk. A day out in the rain thus remained for ever vibrant in the
books and volumes of our memory.

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