Vaidya and his friends: In the evenings
That day, Vaidya went to Shekhar's house in the evening. Shekhar greeted him with enthusiasm. He had already mentioned about their rendezvous to his mother. Shekhar's father also worked in the aluminium factory. He used to have duty at different shifts. Today, he was on duty when Vaidya visited their house. Shekhar had 4 sisters. Three of them were elder to him and one was younger. The oldest sister used to study in a college in the city. The other sisters went to a Hindi-medium school in Birlanagar.
After getting aquainted with all the family members, Vaidya and Shekhar went out to play. Shekhar had a cricket bat. In those days, not every child had a cricket bat and owning a bat was a matter of prestige. So Shekhar chose to bat and Vaidya took the bowling end. Shekhar was a good batsman and hit a lot of runs and won in the end. (That is just an information)
Cricket was the hobby for both of them. So a game of cricket became a daily routine. At 4.30 in the evening, Vaidya would go to Shekhar's house and they would play in his compound. They never played with other children in the street. Vaidya was not allowed to play with them.
His father used to tell him, "These children in the colony do not go to your school. So they do not have to study as much. If you start playing with them, then your studies will be affected." Studies were very important to Vaidya. He was always the class topper and he wished to become one in his new school also. So he took his father's word and played only for an hour in the evening. It was necessary that he returned home at 5.30 pm before his father returned from office.
Though Shekhar was a frolicsome, yet he was very good at studies. His friendship with Vaidya became stronger due to that. They started enjoying each others' company while studying. After an year, there was reshuffling in the school and Shekhar and Vaidya were put in the same class in the 5th grade. After that Shekhar started coming to Vaidya's house in late evenings for combined study.
Slowly the bond between them became inseparable. They were known as brothers to many in the township as they would be seen together wherever they went. If one has to go somewhere, like to somebody's house or the market, he would go to other's house to fetch him. And then they would go together.
After getting aquainted with all the family members, Vaidya and Shekhar went out to play. Shekhar had a cricket bat. In those days, not every child had a cricket bat and owning a bat was a matter of prestige. So Shekhar chose to bat and Vaidya took the bowling end. Shekhar was a good batsman and hit a lot of runs and won in the end. (That is just an information)
Cricket was the hobby for both of them. So a game of cricket became a daily routine. At 4.30 in the evening, Vaidya would go to Shekhar's house and they would play in his compound. They never played with other children in the street. Vaidya was not allowed to play with them.
His father used to tell him, "These children in the colony do not go to your school. So they do not have to study as much. If you start playing with them, then your studies will be affected." Studies were very important to Vaidya. He was always the class topper and he wished to become one in his new school also. So he took his father's word and played only for an hour in the evening. It was necessary that he returned home at 5.30 pm before his father returned from office.
Though Shekhar was a frolicsome, yet he was very good at studies. His friendship with Vaidya became stronger due to that. They started enjoying each others' company while studying. After an year, there was reshuffling in the school and Shekhar and Vaidya were put in the same class in the 5th grade. After that Shekhar started coming to Vaidya's house in late evenings for combined study.
Slowly the bond between them became inseparable. They were known as brothers to many in the township as they would be seen together wherever they went. If one has to go somewhere, like to somebody's house or the market, he would go to other's house to fetch him. And then they would go together.
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