So many people have gathered in Mitu’s house
today. Obviously, why not?! Mitu’s brother has
just been born. Mitu’s mom and her newborn
brother were in the hospital for a few days.
They came back just today. That is why everyo-
ne has come to see her newborn brother. Aun-
ties, Uncles, Grandparents- everyone is falling
headlong into that bedroom! Because mom
has kept little brother in that room. Dad was
with Mitu a few minutes ago, now he is not.. He
went to see the baby in that room.
Mitu was in deep sleep when dad was with her.
Suddenly she wakes from sleep and realizes
that nobody is there in her room. A big crowd
has gathered in their house, she realizes. It
seems like there is a village market inside their
house! But no one cares about Mitu today!
Could anyone remember that there is another
child, Mitu, in their house?No one remem-
bered her today. Mitu was so upset thinking
about all that.
But now she’s feeling lonely in this room. What
is happening over in that room?! Suddenly Mitu
is feeling curious to see what the other pe-
ople were doing over in that room. An idea of
peeping over the door suddenly comes to her
mind…
Instantly Mitu stands up from her bed and
starts heading for the next room with her tiny
footsteps. While walking Mitu could clearly hear
the laughter, joy and jest coming from that
room. “Had their relatives’ gone crazy?What’s
so joyful about a newborn?Haven’t they seen
a newborn before?!” Mitu is thinking. She could
not realize the amusement of this crowd with
this tiny little baby in their hands. Mitu could
easily see from the door-sill. Alas! Nobody
had thought of Mitu, not even mom and dad.
Suddenly, she could hear a voice in the crowd.
“Look! How pretty this baby is!” And another
voice started talking over that, “He looks exactly
like a fresh flower from the garden. Doesn’t he?
O baby! We love you so much.”
Mitu hears everything and gets jealous. How
dramatic these people are! “Listen you people,
yesterday, all this drama would have been
about me, ok?” Mitu’s subconscious mind starts
to revolt. They had completely forgotten Mitu.
She was not their child anymore.
Mitu was about to return, when suddenly, she
noticed colorful puffy toys and new clothes.
“Oh! They have bought these things for the
baby. Now everything is for him, not for me.”
Mitu’s mind rages at that moment.
Mitu’s little heart starts wriggling with sadness.
She begins to sob. Somehow she manages to
catch her breath and returns to her room.
It was really late when the maid hurriedly woke
Mitu up from sleep. She couldn’t measure how
long she had slept. Now the house was comple-
tely empty, the guests had gone. In the meanti-
me nobody had woken her up.
The maid tells Mitu, “Hey, wake up for dinner.”
But now Mitu is feeling tired. She couldn’t wake
up from the maid’s calling. Mitu could see that
dad was there in the dining room. Neither mom
nor dad had called her for dinner. Everything
was upside down nowadays.
Silently, Mitu wakes up, has her dinner and
goes back to sleep. Again, the maid woke her
up from sleep the next morning. The school-
bus takes her to the school, afternoon comes,
and she returns home. The day ends and the
night comes. Days are running like that.
This year Mitu is in class three. Before, mom
used to take her from school, now she has to
go by school-bus. Even mom used to be pre-
sent during her tiffin time in school. And now!
Mom is spending all her time with her brother,
that little monster! Thinking about all this ma-
kes Mitu become gloomy and dreary.
Days are passing by. Some new things have
happened. Mom and dad have given a name to
her little brother- Prithu. Within what seemed
like a few days, Prithu would start to take eve-
rything that used to be Mitu’s. Previously Mitu
used to sleep between mom and dad. Now Prit-
hu sleeps there. It was easy to hug mom and
dad before. Now it seems almost impossible to
go near them!
A few days later... Grandma comes from the
village to see Prithu. She takes Prithu on her
lap, and she sits like that, with Prithu on her lap
for twenty-four hours in their house. Grandma
used to give all her affection to Mitu. And now!
Everything is for him! “This baby has taken all
my happiness.” Mitu thinks.
Two years later. Prithu has learned to talk. Now
he calls Mitu every now and then,” Sista…..
Sista….”
Sometimes he wants to hug Mitu. It sounds
very adorable when he calls Mitu “Sista”. Oc-
casionally, Mitu wants to take him on her lap.
But instantly she remembers that this one has
taken all her happiness away. Consequently,
her wish to take him on her lap vanishes.
Six months later. One evening. Mom and dad
went to visit the doctor. The maid had gone to
her house. There was a thunderstorm and rain
outside. Only Mitu and Prithu were at home.
Mitu was reading a book with a lantern. Her
brother was sitting beside. Suddenly Mitu starts
shouting, “G….H….O….S….T!!!”
Prithu is surprised at that. He asks, “Where’s
the ghost?”
“Look under the dining table. Can you see the
glowing pair of eyes?” Mitu replied.
“Sista, that’s not a ghost. It’s just a cat! Are you
afraid of a cat?”
Instantly Mitu takes a look under the table
shyly. She replied, “Oh! Just a cat?!”
In the middle of the conversation, surprisingly,
Mitu hugs her brother and puts him on her lap.
Thank God! Her brother had been there…. How
lucky she was! Mitu was thinking to herself.
Sujan Barua is a Bengali poet, writer and editor.
