Unit - 10th - - Aditya and I were returning from the site of our new factory at Deodarganj. We were driving along National Highway . We had reached a point where the road bifurcated . If we drove ten kilometres along the road that branched off to the right, we would reach Bramhapur.
I asked Aditya whether he was interested in revisiting the place of his birth, which he had left after he had passed the matriculation examination from the local school to continue his studies in Calcutta. ‘When I left our ancestral house, twenty- nine years ago, the house was almost two hundred years old,’ recollected Aditya. ‘I doubt if even the school building, which may have undergone many changes, will be recognisable any more. Trying to revive old childhood memories may prove disappointing!’ But he said he wished to visit the tea shop of Nagen Uncle, if it still existed, and have a cup of tea there.
So we took the turning to the right and decided to drive to Bramhapur, of which Aditya’s ancestors were once the zamindars. Aditya’s father had left the ancestral home and moved to Kolkata, where he had set up his own business. After his death, Aditya was looking after it, and I was his friend and business partner. It was the month of Magha, that is January – February by the English calendar – the middle of winter.
By my watch, it was in the afternoon. The sun was soothing . On either side of the road were paddy fields, as far as the eye could see. Harvest was over and there had been a good crop that year.
After about ten minutes, we came to the local school. Beyond the iron gates were the playing field and the two-storeyed a. When did Aditya leave the local school? b.
Why did Aditya think that the school would not be recognisable?