Pratanu Guha is in a hurry to come to his hometown. His native place Kalyani has hardly laid any opportunity for him till date. A diploma holder in hotel management couldn’t spread his wings beyond a certain limit. After all, where are the prospective jobs in abundance? He has stationed himself in Ludhiana, remotely located from his turf. A below-average student from a vernacular medium, losing his father at a tender age, Mrs Guha struggled a lot to make both ends meet. After Pratanu’s unsuccessful second attempt in clearing his Higher Secondary, Mrs Guha saw an astrologer. The soothsayer got her introduced to a tout, who conducts admission to different institutes providing hospitality management, cruise line management and hospital management against a large sum of commission from the institutes.
The peddler Mithilesh convinced Mrs Guha to let Pratanu get admitted to a college in Durgapur for a hefty course fee and assured a topsy-turvy future for the mother and son. A year later Guha junior got into a hotel in Kolkata for an internship. He understood the hardship and rigidity of the hospitality sector during his training days and felt he wasn’t game for it. But he had no other option left except obliging to the given situation. When it came to placement he didn’t get any break in Kolkata much to the chagrin of his mother.
Over the last few months, he had developed an online relationship with a girl named Tanima. They met during Pratanu’s short stint in a hotel management institute, where the former was a student. Tanima Ghosal comes from an affluent background. Her father is a school headmaster who commands tremendous respect amongst his kin and society. For many households, he is the ideal father who is bringing up his two daughters in the best possible way. Once he got to realize the blasphemy that social media can threat adolescent minds, he barred his children from going online socially. He felt that if he can’t discipline his own wards, what example he will set for his students in his school.
But Tanima was somewhat like a black sheep of the erudite family. She disdained her father for his cynicism. She tried a romantic deal with a fellow student Adil, who rejected her advances on religious grounds. Most importantly he was engaged to his childhood sweetheart Suhana. So for Ms Ghosal it was like, trying to find solace in someone who could stand up to her father and confront him. During her first year, Pratanu was reprimanded by the institute authorities for an allegation of molestation by Tanima’s batchmate Moutushi. Not to mention Moutushi got into her hit list from that very day. Pratanu had to quit out of shame. He got a chance in a luxurious property in Ludhiana.
Their virtual relation continued after his parting ways with the state. Tanima wasn’t ever keen on studies contrary to her family tradition. Else we all understand who all get enrolled for hotel and hospital management courses. When an idealist father becomes an adversary in a daughter’s mind, then only God can help him.
Well, if you feel that they were heads over heels in love, you are seriously mistaken. Pratanu was slogging in a different town in Punjab. It’s a surplus producing state where the cost of living is much higher compared to an insolvent state like West Bengal. He got a chance to meet Parminder Batoi, a pimp, who is wanted by the police for flesh trading. After seeing Tanima’s bold pictures on social media, Pratanu was offered a large commission by Batoi.
He comes to Kolkata. Tanima runs away from her home with some cash, jewellery and belongings. She is dreaming of a romantic and exquisite future with Pratanu at an unripe age of 20. Once the Ghosals got to know of her intention, the patriarch decided to snap up all ties with his elder daughter. He is firm on his stand. None can deter him. Hurriedly they got married in a registrar’s office. Pratanu’s plan was a short honeymoon in Shimla followed by his business deal because now he knows there wouldn’t be any trail from the Ghosals. After a couple of nights, Pratanu set out for a walk leaving Tanima behind. She felt the knock on the door of their hotel room. Cops were at the door with a constable grabbing her husband’s collar tight. The bottom line is Batoi got caught and he spewed everything. The hotel was raided to catch the lewd son of a fraught widow. Tanima was free but she defended her hubby tooth and nail but she had neither formal education nor any sense to fight the system which trapped Pratanu in his lustful attempt.
Tanima lands in Kolkata to start a new life far away from her shattered dreams of conjugal life. She approaches the prepaid taxi booth. She was trying to recall during her journey back, the accounts classes of Aniruddha sir, who used to explain assets and liabilities. She realised that the only fixed asset she possesses now is her youth and her glamour. She had been a liability to her father. Her charm and allure will help her survive in this beautiful world, made brutal by her. Her final destination is Sovabazar, considered to be the biggest red light area in eastern India.
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