(to be completed and corrected!) Aparna was, needless to add, overjoyed; what more could be demanded! a world-renowned economist, from the very land of Adam Smith, invited to be her thesis opponet
Yet, a lingering doubt gnawed her; will he accept the call, given his global commitments? and even if he did, will more pressing matters whisk him away her at the last moment?
She should have rested content afterreading his warm, confirming message; it read:" I will be there, rest assured, on the assigned date, and on dot at the fixed hour
It is a promise I have to keep, more to myself than to Aparna and the university, for have I not yearned my whole life to be in historically significant, culturally throbbing Calcutta?"
So adds he, uncharacteristically emotional, not his usual understating self: "and do I not deeply regret the occasions on which Calcutta visits were dropped in favour of other personal and official plans?
So, touch my heart, this offer is a boon from the blue, and I fully intend to abide by my word, even if it means saying no to an invitation from God himself"
But little did the honourable professor know as he wrote these emotional lines, that he will, indeed, get a heavenly invitation, one to which no one says no
Soon after his uncharacteristic message reached Calcutta UNiversity, he was called away on jis final journey, from which mo one returns, right at the prime of his abilities
Aparna. crestfallen at the turn of events, broken by the cruel bolt from the blue, took no interst in the alternate arrangements being made to see her through
I will just go through the motions of defense. which has hardly any meaning any more, it's just a formality, she thought, nursing her leaden heart
AS usual in almost all matters, the pendelum, had swung from one to the other extreme, in this case from a land beyond the sea to the region next door
A professor, accomplished, no doubt, from the sun-soaked, often storm-lashed coastal region of Orissa,was to be the replacement external examiner for Aparna's doctoral defense
The day of the defense dawned cloudy and sultry, and with the threat of a national strike. a so-called bandh. against the budget, hovering over the event
The bandh, as always, was called by the sitting opposition in the state assembly, against the national budget, which, interstingly enough, was yet to be presented!
Perhaps not so strange as it may seem, for the opposition always seems to know in advance which Achille's heels the budget would have, which may be exploited
It did happen as the university authorities feared (Aparna was beyond caring); the message came as they sat waiting in the sloping, king-sized hall
The professor from Orissa had been held up, well, the train carrying him, to be precise, and he would make his August entry earliest the next morning.
But as they moved up, away from the well of hall, towards the exit at the top, Aparna's guide inhaled sharply and exclaimed, "but there he is!"
A figure rose from the chair at the table on stage, and stood in formal posture, clad in black and white with a black tie
Let the proceedings begin, he said in a deep, sepluchral tone, 'My time is limited, I have to return soon'. Return to where, no one dared ask, breaking the pin drop silence
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I am afraid this is a long verse not a linked verse.
In the linked verse each unit must be independent poetically !
I apologize for this clarification.
Narayanan, I see what you mean. Should this be posted as a long verse - or rewritten as a linked verse/