Rakta Kain (First Part) "The Red Lilly"

The first part of this story is published in
Prabha SarjanaJanuary 2012 - An Odia Literary magazine
published from Bhubaneshwar

Abstract: Two friends Sourav and Alex have come to Bangalpur in connection with bio-physics research that can grow agriculture stuffs of wants at a place irrespective of its environmental conditions. Idea is globalization of agriculture so that wherever it's cheap than corporate houses can grow any stuff of global demand. The story in the second part brings in corporate farming.
In first part: Sourav has come to a village Bangalpur (my village) with his friend Alex to carry out research in a farm, belongs to Alex's father who is a multi-national industrialist in corporate farming. Sourav is a second generation of Indo-American with strong reminescences of his grand father Hrudananda who is no more. Hrudananda never chose to migrate to USA with his son Prof.Sobhan Patnaik a renowned biologist. Alex is a research scholar of Prof.Patnaik. Sourav is a particle physicist with special interest in bio-physics. Both have intiated a collaborative research and Alex's father provides financial as well as infrastructural support. Sourav's girl friend Elsa with special interst in Odishi and Indology does not approve this kind of research that is against nature.
Sourav on reaching Bangalpur feels a strange attraction to the place. And feels the nature is even sensitive of his presence and keeps entertaining. He keeps joking with Elsa telling the nature may even arrange a girl friend like Elsa. Elsa dissaproves it as if she has premonition of what supernatural force happening there and it will support her conviction on corporate farming and forcible localization of global phenomena.
The village Bangalpur is almost empty leaving few ageds for massive migration due to blatant urbanization and systematic annihilation of agriculture for blunt and erratic policies of globalization. An old man Dhusa has shown ineterst on two young guys and keeps meeting them. And when he knows of corporate farming and commercialisation of research in agriculture, feels very unease; dissuades them. Dhusa keeps telling of a person who was having a strong link with the village. Dhusa always remembers of that infront of Sourav in process of discussion. With this Sourav starts remembering his grandfather with whom he had a very pleasant childhood. Granfather used to read out stories on web-chat from Bhubaneshwar when he was alive. And Asapurna, the grandmother of Sourav had a big role in raising Sourav in USA. At the same time, she had to leave her husband at Bhubaneshwar as he never agreed to live away towards his the last part of his life. Asapurna remebers her husband and laments his obstinacy. Nupur the mother of Sourav, understands the agony of her mother-in-law and hopes somehow she can do something to get over it. In the mean time, Elsa an American has become a God-sent angel. ( More will be in next part .... )
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