8. Part II, Paragraphs 10-12

 

Duttada returned to Calcutta after a three-week absence. When Duttada returned home, he was surprised to find another big crowd gathered in front of his house, which was surrounded by a pandal. He didn't understand why guests were invited to his house. He cast a suspicious gaze at his wife, Indrani Debi. Indrani Debi was fully aware of her husband's dislike of crowds. So, Indrani appeared a bit nervous in front of her husband. She then informed Duttada that people had been invited to the yajna she had organised and that priests had been called to bless Duttada.

 

 

The motive for Indrani's yajna was apparent. She may have planned for yajna at home since she felt the discovery of Comet Dutta was connected with bad luck. Duttada fought with his wife because he didn't want the yajna to be done at home. He was enraged at her for organising a thing (yajna) that he hated since he believed that doing yajna would be useless. He questioned Indrani whether she had planned the yajna because he was out of India, knowing well that such rituals would be disapproved by him. He also wanted to know if she thought Duttada would approve of such rites. Moreover, in any situation, Indrani was well aware of his opinions about those pointless rituals.

 

Indrani Debi sought assistance from Sibaji Babu, Duttada's younger brother because she could not avoid her husband's rage in any manner. Duttada's rage terrified Sibaji Babu as well and so he coughed a bit without knowing how to tackle him. He then began by gently explaining that Duttada's family members had been disturbed since the discovery of Comet Dutta. Guruji recommended doing a shanti yajna to pacify the evil force behind the comet. As a result, Duttada's guests were invited to the yajna, and they awaited Duttada's arrival because he (Duttada) was the one who had to perform the pooja.

 

Meaning of difficult words: