Abu Naser did not realize that marrying a beautiful girl would
get him into so much trouble. However, shortly after their
wedding he started realizing that he and his wife had become
essential to all the official-unofficial parties, social
gatherings and addas, and that everything in these get-togethers
revolved around his wife – Sultana Mitul. Initially, he was not
bothered, but almost proud to have a beautiful girl as his wife.
He quite enjoyed the increase in his importance because of her.
He had been adamant to marry a beautiful girl and had a valid
reason for it. Though he had always been attracted to beautiful
girls since adolescence, not a single beautiful girl had ever
looked at him. Why they did not take him seriously, he could
never really make out! It was not as though they never got
involved with anyone! They did, and most of the time with
mediocre guys. He was also a mediocre person in every sense. He
had seen beautiful girls interested in guys with fewer qualities
than him and never could understand why no one wanted to go out
with him. These thoughts had given rise to his obstinacy. He
knew that the love-market and the marriage-market, in which the
choice of one’s parents were supreme, were not the same. He also
knew that it was hard to get a good bride: beautiful brides were
very valuable in such marriage-markets and the bridegroom had to
give up several preconditions in case of a gorgeous bride. He
himself had to be equally valuable. Naser thought about it a lot
and decided to become “a first class gazetted officer of the
government” in order to become a valuable bridegroom. He steered
away from all sorts of inclinations to study with ten times
higher concentration. He sweated and drudged in the battle of
the BCS examination and found himself to be a member of the most
coveted BCS Administration Cadre.
Of course Naser did not get married immediately after his
initial dream materialized. He took five years to learn the
etiquette, behaviour, attire, posture, speaking style and
manners of “a first class gazetted officer of the government.”
As an extra plus point, he kept track of all the loopholes,
alleys and lanes to flatter and get favour. He used these to get
a transfer to Dhaka so that he could present himself as a
desirable-fashionable-attractive-valuable bridegroom in the
marriage market. In the meanwhile, his parents had already begun
to look for their prospective daughter-in-law. Naser told them
clearly that all he wanted was for the bride to be very
beautiful. To find a perfect bride or groom in the marriage
market is like winning forty lakh takas in a lottery. Naser had
to compensate in other ways when he married Afroza Sultana Mitul.
He had received many marriage proposals from the families of
military and civil officers and big business tycoons during
those five years and it made him realize that he was a very
valuable bridegroom. If one considered his overall status, he
should not have got this marriage proposal. He was from a very
ordinary middle-class family, his father was a mid-level
government officer and, moreover, honest. That is why he had
aged twenty years while building a single storeyed house on the
three-katha land he had inherited from his father.
Naser was his parents’ eldest child and there were three younger
ones after him. This made it very difficult for his father to
maintain the family. It was difficult to provide essentials, let
alone luxuries. Naser thought about his own family and rejected
all the high-class marriage proposals. Perhaps his rise would
have been easier if he had, but he felt that such a bride would
not be able to adjust with this family. He therefore stuck to
his only condition: the bride had to be beautiful. Thus he came
to marry the educated Mitul from a middle-class or rather lower
middle-class family.
Mitul was beautiful enough to make anyone sad. Any young man
seeing her was bound to become sad because he would start
thinking, “This girl can never be mine.” After their marriage,
Naser discovered that Mitul’s family had not struggled upwards
to reach their middleclass status. Rather, the opposite had
happened: they had once been aristocrats and there were a lot of
reasons behind their losing that status. But they had not given
up their taste, manners, and pride. Glimpse of this aristocratic
background could be seen in Mitul. Though she was very
beautiful, she did not like to show off like the daughters of
the nouveau riche. She was sober and elegant in the way she
dressed, behaved, and spoke. She wrapped the sari round herself
so skilfully that no part of her back, stomach, or waist was
exposed. No one could get even the slightest hint of her
breasts. But her beautiful face, ever-smiling lips and behaviour
emitted a sophisticated elegance that drew everyone’s attention.
She elevated Naser’s status. His friends, juniors and colleagues
and even some senior officers kept trying to catch Mitul’s
attention shamelessly whenever they went to any event.
Naser had mixed feelings about his wife’s effect on people. He
felt both proud and annoyed. With these feelings came a sense of
insecurity. Of course there was no reason for this insecurity as
his wife was nice – in other words, she devoted to her husband.
She never took much time to let others know that she was Mrs.
Naser and that she was devoted to him. But still this strange
sense of insecurity shadowed Naser’s mind. No matter how
innocent a flower is, how long can it preserve its purity in the
crowd of so many honey bees? There was no sign of the troubling
bees becoming fewer. Though they had observed their second
marriage anniversary last month, the problem seemed to increase.
Friends did not even wait to be invited, but popped into the
house at the oddest of times. He had not noticed such frequent
visits before. There was, of course, no such problem with his
old friends. His relationship with them was very close as well
as clear: they did not hide anything from one another and had
been like family members. One day, one of these friends, Rajib,
came up with a surprising and strange offer. Rajib was a famous
ad man. He had entered this world as a student and had, by this
time, reached the pinnacle of success. Rajib wanted Mitul to
model for his new ad.
Naser was not so conservative as to say “No” to this proposal.
But he was not alone. His family could have reservations,
society would not accept it – he had to think about all these
things! Rajib tried to make them understand that society did not
consider modelling bad. Nowadays, even professors of
universities were becoming models. Modelling added dignity
rather than reducing it. While saying these things, Rajib told
them about the total amount of money Mitul could get from the
ad. Naser was shocked to hear the amount – it was equal to his
five months’ salary! One could get so much money working just
for two or three days for a small ad! The situation seemed
complicated to them. Naser was sure that if he refused the
proposal now, he would regret it later, but they could not say
“Yes” just like that!
Seeing them hesitate, Rajib reiterated his offer. “Think about
it seriously, both of you. It is all right if you let me know of
your decision within seven days.”
They kept thinking about the matter for the next few days. Both
of them pondered the pros and cons individually; they informed
their families; they discussed it together. And were finally
able to come to the decision that it was good have someone in
the family in this line. Lots of benefits could be achieved
through this.
However, when everything was agreed, Mitul said that she would
not agree without talking to Rajib about the matter in detail.
Though Rajib was a bit anxious, he believed that Mitul would
agree to do the advertisement in the end. Very few people can
forego the pleasure of seeing their faces on the coloured
screen. Moreover, advertising was the most attractive “art
media” of the moment. Because their attractive presentation, ads
could result in instant fame. God knew! If this ad became a hit,
Mitul could become a star with only one ad. Who would give up
such a golden chance to become famous? But Mitul asked him
innumerable questions. He had not had to listen to so many
questions from new models let alone established ones. Models
today did not even want to look at the script.
First Mitul asked innocently, What is this ad about, Rajib Bhai?
Huh?
I mean to say, what is the product being advertised?
When Rajib mentioned the name of a new soft drink, Mitul
objected. Then, I can’t do this.
Why not?
Ads for soft drinks are full of songs and dances. I can’t do
that.
Suppose this ad does not have any song or dance?
How can that be?
I haven’t prepared the script yet, haven’t even thought about
it. You tell me, how you want the ad to be.
An artistic one.
An artistic one? Isn’t an ad artistic when it has a song in it!
Yes it does. Dances can also make it artistic. But I hope you
know what kind of dance I’m talking about.
Yes, I do. Very well then, the ad won’t have that much of song
or dance. But tell me about one or two of your favourite ads…
Like…like…the paint ad that Chaity and Shimul modelled for . . .
Berger Paints or something . . . the one where they said, The
drawing room will be pink, the bed room will be blue, like the
sky. Can you remember which one I am talking about?
Yes.
Like that one. No song or dance. The ad can have background
music, but no direct relation between the model and the product
– it has to be suggested. The total ad must be graceful and
soft.
Rajib smiled. No famous model dares to give the conditions that
you are giving. But it’s okay. I’ll make an artistic ad for you.
First let the script be prepared, then see if you like it.
Rajib brought the script within seven days. Mitul and he had a
long discussion about it. After two months’ shooting, editing
etc. an exceptional ad was visible on the television screen.
Within seven days of being telecast, the ad and its model became
an inseparable part of all discussions in the city. No one had
seen a Bangladeshi television ad of such standard, such
sophistication before. No one had seen a Bangladeshi model of
such beauty, glamour, and modesty before. The girl did not hold
the soft drink bottle anywhere in the ad but the message was
clear: the beautiful girl was attracted to the soft drink.
The next year went by swiftly. Newspapers started to write about
Mitul; cultural reporters came one after another seeking her
interview. Many reports on her and interviews were published.
She was also on the cover of one of two entertainment
quarterlies. She started to get offers of ads and television
serials. However, Mitul refused all of them as Rajib had
forbidden her to do any other work for at least a year. Models
become cheap if they started to do too many things in the
beginning.
Another surprising thing happened! Rajib received the award of
“Best Ad Maker” at the annual award- giving ceremony of a
popular newspaper while Mitul achieved the award of “Best
Model.”
Rajib specially thanked Mitul while receiving the award. I got
the idea of the ad from Mitul. He had to narrate the whole story
how he discovered Mitul while replying to the audience’s
questions. Mitul, however, while expressing her feelings about
her award, gave all the credit to Naser – although Naser himself
knew that he had nothing to do with the making of the ad.
Naser had had no role to play in this entire series of events.
Though no one else realized it, Mitul felt that, for some reason
or the other, a slight change had taken place in him. Meanwhile,
their lives changed enormously. It had been difficult to go out
with Mitul earlier as well as people would stare at her. Now
they also started talking. Young boys and girls came to take her
autograph while some people said, Hey! Aren’t you Mitul? and
tried to strike a conversation with her. Most of these people
gazed at Naser for a moment – naturally those stares were full
of pity and scorn. Their eyes seemed to say What a fate! Such a
beautiful girl to be married to that chubby dumbo for a husband!
Naser was well aware that he was not a dumbo at least. But how
could anyone control the language of other peoples’ eyes? His
identity had also started to change now. He was not a first
class gazetted officer of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh
anymore, he was model Mitul’s husband. But this was not the
reason behind his change. The mystery lay somewhere else. On the
very first day when the ad had been telecast, he had looked at
model Mitul and realized that he did not know this girl. Mitul’s
acting had been artistic as well as gorgeous. One needed the
eyes of an artist to present the ad in that way, and he had to
agree that Rajib was gifted. But he could not understand why
Mitul seemed like a stranger to him.
Mitul had had to adjust her way of dressing for the sake of the
adv. She had worn a sari – but not in her usual way, covering
her waist and bosom with the anchal. Although her stomach and
waist were not shown in the ad, she swung the anchal briefly to
reveal her upper back or bare neckline above the blouse. Was
that reason enough to find her a stranger? No, the ad was not
objectionable or vulgar, rather Naser thought it perfect. In
fact, Mitul had worn the sari tastefully. Naser had never told
her how she should wear it. Her modesty had not been violated
the slightest bit in the ad. Then, why did she seem a stranger?
He could not understand. He looked at the television screen and
at Mitul again. They were different. Even at the time of their
sweet union at night, Naser thought that this wife of his and
the Mitul of the television screen were not the same. He could
not touch the screen’s Mitul; he was not worthy of her.
No one but Mitul noticed the change in Naser.
One day, she asked him, Tell me the truth. Don’t you like all
these things?
What things?
This… modelling, reports in magazines, awards…
No, why should I not? There’s nothing to dislike!
Then, what’s wrong with you?
Why? Nothing’s wrong with me!
Don’t hide from me. Tell me the truth. What’s the matter?
How can I tell …?
Why are you hesitating? Tell me frankly.
Actually…Umm…you see, you seem to be a stranger.
Why? Have I changed so much?
No, I’m not talking about you, I mean to say that…. How can I
make you understand? You seem to be a stranger on T.V.
Mitul smiled. Why?
I don’t know why. That Mitul doesn’t seem to be mine. She is
beyond my reach, someone of far away.
Ooof! Nonsense! That Mitul is also your wife, got it, Mister?
Your adorable, lovely wife. The camera makes everyone look
different, that’s why you feel like that.
But this explanation did not work – at least, it did not satisfy
her. It seemed that there was another reason, an unfathomable,
mysterious one.
The problem was not solved when Rajib came up with the offer of
a new advertising job. Modelling for only one ad had made Mitul
reach such a height – from nowhere to the zenith of fame – that
Rajib had no doubts that she would accept the offer.
But Mitul heard his offer and said, Ask him first, Rajib Bhai.
For some time Rajib remained silent, then he said, All right.
You better go to the next room.
As Mitul left the room, Rajib asked, Is there any problem, my
friend?
No, not at all!
Then, why did Mitul tell me to talk to you? Do you have any
objection?
No, why should I?
I think something is wrong here. Either your family is not
taking it well or you yourself don’t like it, right?
No, no. Nothing like that.
Then, what’s the matter? You can tell me, can’t you?
Actually, it is not worth telling.
Still, at least share it with me. You’ll feel better.
How can I say... actually...I mean... the ad she has done,
whenever I see it, I feel that I don’t know the girl; she is out
of my reach.
Rajib smiled. Oh, that’s it! Well, it’s the magic of make-up and
camera, nothing else. If you want, I can turn you into a model
and you won’t even recognize yourself.
Rajib could not understand Naser’s problem. Naser had known that
he wouldn’t be able to. Mitul did not understand it herself. Why
did he try to tell him about it? Only he knew how complicated
the problem had become. The whole world of his imagination was
filled with the image of the Mitul he saw in the advertisement.
While having sex, he wanted to have that Mitul. He writhed in
agony in his desire to have that seductive, hypnotic, gorgeous
girl. Even the extremely seductive body of the real-life Mitul
could not satisfy him; rather it became the source of his pain.
Could he share all these thoughts with anyone? Of course he
couldn’t.
That was why he showed a first class-gazetted-government-officer-like
smartness and replied, Really! Amazing! You make me want to be a
model myself. Ha ha ha...this damn government post. Anyway, talk
to Mitul now.
Rajib and Mitul laughed at the whole matter when she came into
the room. Though Naser felt bad about it, he joined in their
laughter out of courtesy.
This time the product was a toilet soap.
Mitul was terrified. No, no Rajib Bhai, I won’t do an ad for
soap.
Rajib smiled. I knew that you wouldn’t want to. May I know why?
Models in soap ads get wet with water. No, no Rajib Bhai, I
can’t do all that.
Why are you making a fuss before even seeing the script? Who
told you that you’ll have to get wet?
The ad was telecast in due time after the script had been read;
and shooting and editing were completed. Mitul did not have to
get drenched, but there was a scene where she washed her face.
It was a mesmerising scene: Mitul’s wet face with dewdrops of
water all over it. This ad too, like the previous one, created a
sensation among audience and media
Everyone was quite ignorant about Naser’s different reaction.
This Mitul was even more of a stranger to him. He could not
understand how Mitul became so beautiful, so seductive, so
attractive and so unfamiliar in the ad.
One aspect of television ads had escaped his attention. He
discovered seven days later when big billboards around the city
showed Mitul washing her face all bedewed with water. He did not
notice the ad the first day. When he was leaving office, a
colleague of his said, How gorgeous she is, my goodness!
This exclamation made Naser look at the billboard his colleague
was staring at. It surprised him. The first thing that caught
his sight was that Mitul was splashing water on her face with
both her hands and her sari had moved slightly to expose a part
of her stomach and her blouse. This gave a slight hint about her
curving breasts. Perhaps the camera had been held from below to
make the whole scene so appealing. But how could a part of
Mitul’s bosom and stomach be seen when she was always careful to
cover herself carefully with her anchal? Was it done
intentionally or unintentionally? The television ad had not
shown this. Then when had that son-of-a-bitch cameraman taken
this shot? Or was it a shooting-editing-camera-makeup trick? He
gaped at the picture.
His colleague said, Naser saheb, why are you looking at your own
wife on the street like that? Go home and watch her! You’re damn
lucky to have such a wife at home.
Naser returned to reality. Returning home, he carefully watched
the television ad. Yes, he could see the same scene on the
screen, but it was hard to notice it as the scene came on very
briefly. It was clearly noticeable on the still photograph of
the billboard.
For days, Mitul did not suspect that the new ad had brought a
huge and intense transformation in Naser. And there was a reason
why. She had started to enjoy the popularity gained during last
year. She used to be doubtful and hesitant before. The first ad
had happened suddenly, like an accident – unexpected but life
changing. She really did not have any talent to make her the
talk of the town. But the amount of appreciation for the second
ad made her confident. Moreover, the ads had relieved her
tension. Even as a teenager she had been conscious of her
glamour and had grown up amidst the infatuated glances of people
of different ages. She had tried heart and soul to hide her
beauty from men’s lustful eyes. She had draped an invisible
curtain around herself by not showing anything in the way she
dressed or behaved to allure men. She used to think that all the
men around her had only greed and lust in their eyes. She had
never thought that a person could look at her with a chaste
enchantment or liking in his eyes. But after watching the ads,
she realized that one could present beauty in a modest and
clever – not at the cost of her own taste. Though beauty was not
a thing to exhibit, it was not a matter to keep hidden. That was
why she no longer shrank back as before whenever someone looked
at her. She started to think that just as someone could look at
some beautiful scenery with a fascination and wonder, one could
also look at a beautiful woman in the same way. Her life became
easier with the change in the world of her thoughts, and she
felt the presence of an unknown joy in herself.
The two of them started to draw apart from each other
unknowingly because of these transformations.
Naser’s conflict drew him to a hypnotic world. Though the office
hours ended much earlier, he left the office late in the
evening. As soon as he stepped out of the building, he looked up
at the billboard. Mitul’s picture seemed to be more gorgeous and
more unfamiliar in the dazzling electric lights. He roamed about
the city, watching one billboard after another. He started a one
sided conversation with the bright and breezy Mitul on the
billboards. These wanderings made him late coming home. He had
never returned home so late, and this change of routine did not
go unnoticed. But, if anyone asked him, he would say, Had some
work in office and avoided the topic.
Mitul also started to suspect him in a few days. What kind of
work did he have everyday?
She did not get a satisfactory answer even after asking. Rather
Naser’s hypnotized eyes appeared unfamiliar to her. She could
not find out why and so could not decide what she should do or
if she really had something to do.
In the meantime, a miracle happened in Naser’s life. He was
looking at a billboard as usual. Suddenly the electricity
failed. Wherever he looked, there was no light. The streets,
shops, houses were all dark. It seemed as if load-shedding had
started in the whole city. But a strange glow,
mellow-magical-mysterious, had immersed the whole city. Trying
to find out the source of the glow, he looked up at the sky and
found that countless stars were scattered in the sky like
jasmine blossoms. Do stars emit such a glow? He did not know. He
went close the billboard to see Mitul once again in that strange
light and was astonished to see the incredible scene. The Mitul
of the picture had come alive. The smile on her lips covered her
entire face. Her hair was flying in the wind and she was wiping
the drops of water from her face with her palm.
He heard Mitul calling him. Wait, I’m coming too.
He stopped.
Mitul came down from the billboard. You always stare at me, talk
to yourself, but you never call me. Don’t you think I feel hurt?
Let’s walk together today.
They started to walk. The streets were deserted, there was not a
single rickshaw even. The shadows of the drunks, prostitutes and
vagabonds, who keep the city awake all through the night, could
not be seen. Grave silence prevailed all around as if the road
had gone through an unknown forest.
It was pretty late at night. Why were the streets so empty,
asked Naser, but he ignored the question. Mitul had been talking
incessantly as she walked beside him. She had not talked like
this in days. That was why Naser listened to her attentively.
Maybe there was really load-shedding that night, maybe the stars
had really bloomed all over the sky, maybe the streets had
really been deserted or maybe he had forgotten that buses and
trucks rush like monsters late at night. And that was why he did
not realize when someone came out of the blue to run him over on
the street.
** Translated from “Bingapan O
Manususher Galpa” by Sabreena Ahmed
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