Zest,Chaos,Death

Winters in Calcutta are quite mild. The temperature barely falls
below ten degrees Celsius. In fact winter is considered the best season
in the city. People celebrate the good weather by going on picnics. The
event is generally held on a Sunday or on holidays. Families or groups
of friends hire buses for the purpose. The same buses ply as public
transport on other days. It is a strange feeling to travel in these
picnic buses. On other days you have to be so careful about them. These
are ladies' seats, sit here and you will not be able to get down at
your stop because it is so distant from the door. But on picnic days
things are so very different. The whole bus belongs to you, there are
no reserved seats. Each bus seats about thirty-five people at the most.
Sometimes even fewer. Most picnics are held at the local beach, near
lakes or at places which are just suitable "picnic spots". These may be
old factories with a lot of extra land which has been developed for
beautification. Very often flowering plants are allowed to grow and
flourish here. The places have a lot of greenery which makes them very
attractive. Sometimes vegetables are also planted. The picnic spot thus
becomes a venue for a great nature trip. Jogger Jute Mill stopped
production many years back. Today, it is very popular as a picnic spot
and a film shooting area. The Batters and the Sens come on picnic to
Jogger every year. This year is no exception.
Mr Batter has two sons from his first wife. They are called Arin and
Andy. Arin is a struggling dancer while Andy is just an exam away from
becoming a chartered accountant. The present Mrs Batter is much younger
than her husband. In fact she is just ten years older than her eldest
step-son Arin. Mrs Dolly Batter is known to be rude, haughty and very
self-centred. Though she has been married for eight years she has had
no children. Her husband does not think this is a problem. After all he
has two grown-up sons. Dolly Batter thinks otherwise. She wants an
issue to establish her hold on her husband's property. Mr Sen is Mr
Batter's business partner. Mr Batter has a bigger share though. The
Sens have been married for thirty years. They have no children. The
Batters and the Sens come to Jogger Jute Mill every year for their
winter picnic. As always Mr Batter has paid for everything including
food, conveyance, drinks and all other things.
The two families had started from Calcutta at six am. They reached
Jogger Jute Mill by nine am. There was trouble to begin with. A local
cook was supposed to come and prepare breakfast for the two families.
He sent word that he would only arrive at lunch. Naturally, one of the
ladies had to take charge. Mrs Sen volunteered. She also requested Mrs
Batter to help her. But Mrs Batter was categorical, "We have paid for
everything. Why should I cook?" The Sen family was angry, very angry.
But they felt that this was not the proper time to quarrel. Breakfast
was brief and unmemorable. Then, a game of musical chairs was
organized. Following an unwritten picnic law, Mr Batter was declared
winner. At around eleven am a quarrel started between Arin and Andy.
Andy repeatedly told Arin that the latter was now twenty five years
old. Instead of trying to be a dancer, he reminded, Arin should try and
earn some money. Get a job at any rate. The quarrel became more and
more intense till the boys started hitting each other with their hands.
Things became so bad that they had to be separated physically. Mr
Batter suddenly felt some heaviness in his chest.
After lunch a pretty girl arrived at Jogger Jute Mill. She was Jane,
Mrs Sen's cousin. She was young and very attractive. It was obvious
right away that she had a great rapport with Andy. It was also clear
that Mrs Batter hated her. In fact she and Arin ganged up together to
act against Jane. They started a conversation in which they called Jane
and her family all kinds of obscene names. After a few minutes Andy and
Jane disappeared into the main dilapidated building of the jute mill.
When they had gone Dolly Batter started a fight with her husband. She
told him that neither of his sons helped in the family business.
Instead, they preferred philandering with all manner of girls. She
suggested that Mr Batter deny both his sons their share in the family
property. Strangely, Arin began to support her. After five minutes
Andy, the budding accountant, appeared with Jane. Both of them looked
flushed and excited. Suddenly Andy shouted, "You, dancer, over there.
Here is some pocket money for you." And he threw some loose change at
Arin. He then took out a pistol from his hip pocket and pointed it at
his brother. Arin put his right hand into his hip pocket and out came
another pistol. As the boys were about to shoot each other Mr Batter
collapsed. A local doctor was called and he examined Mr Batter. The
gentleman was pronounced dead. Mrs Dolly Batter lost consciousness
immediately. It was later determined that Mrs Batter was three months'
pregnant.