Narrator and Bed-da are sitting in the general compartment of a Krishnanagar Local. The narrator has many questions in his mind. Bed-da was doing something on his phone, then he calls someone again.
In Kolkata, under the Rajabazar bridge, Bankim Bhattacharya comes and stands under the Bankim Bhattacharya Bridge as soon as college ends. When his mobile phone rings, he sees the name Vedanta Biswas and answers the call. Standing next to him was a gentleman with bobbed hair, wearing a pajama-panjabi and carrying a khadi bag on his shoulder. Bankim Babu moves away slightly to strike up a conversation with him and learns that his name is Nirmalendu Mitra and he is a stage actor. When Bankim Babu introduces himself, Nirmalendu Mitra falls silent, and Bankim Babu feels that he sees a ferocious look in his eyes. When the phone rings again, Bankim Babu moves a little further away to say something to Vedanta but stops. Because, at some point, Nirmalendu Mitra comes close to him with a pen and an open notebook in his hand and says in a distorted voice, "Dada oh Dada." Hearing this call, Bankim Bhattacharya gets frightened and becomes stunned looking at Nirmalendu, completely forgetting about the phone in his hand.
Bed-da hears someone reciting lines of poetry from Abol Tabol in a distorted voice over the phone. Bhoy peyo na bhoy peyo na tomay ami marbo na /
Sotti bolchi kusti kore tomar sathe parbo na /
Mathay amar shingti dekhe bhoy peyecho kotoi na /
Mathay amar bejay beram kauke ami gutoi na"( "Don't be afraid, don't be afraid, I won't hit you /
Truthfully, I can't win a wrestling match against you /
Seeing the horn on my head, you've been so scared /
But my head is very sick, I don't go to anyone at all.")Then suddenly everything goes silent, and he hears Bankim Babu's agonizing scream and the sound of something falling. After that, the call gets disconnected, and despite repeated attempts, Bed-da cannot contact him again. Anxious, Bed-da says, "I don't understand what happened. What do I do? Now there is no choice but to wait to reach Kolkata."
Due to two consecutive murders within a gap of three days, the media and the public are slamming the police. The atmosphere of the Puja has increased this tension further. Inspector Nila Banerjee realizes that the DIG Sahab has been scolded by the higher-ups. The DIG calls her to his office and scolds her for almost two hours. If the news of the third murder had not arrived, this scolding would have continued a bit longer. Furious with rage, the DIG roars, "Why are you sitting? Why wouldn't it bother me if you don't give me a little more headache?" Emerging from the DIG's room, Nila Banerjee calls Vedanta Biswas.
Upon reaching Kolkata, Bed-da had first decided to go to Bankim Babu's house. But hearing the news of another murder under the Rajabazar bridge, he decides to go there instead. Reaching under the Rajabazar bridge, they learn that Bankim Bhattacharya, a professor at Rajabazar Science College, has been murdered. Hearing this, the narrator's mind goes blank, but Bed-da's face remained expressionless.
In response to Bed-da's question, Nila-da says that the murder happened at 4:55 PM and the wristwatch is also showing that time. Bed-da wants to know if today's date is written in the notebook. Nila-da says, "The number is 6. It is indeed today's date. But the style of writing..." Bed-da says, "That mystery will also be solved." Bed-da tells Nila-da to inform him of the rest of the news and returns home. The narrator's heart remains heavy because Bankim Babu was unmarried and he couldn't imagine his end would be like this.
It is then half-past nine at night; Vedanta Biswas and Oishi Biswas are sitting face to face at Oishi Biswas's house. According to Vedanta's theory, finding information on Advocate Tanmay Bhaduri is not difficult for Oishi. Oishi was conveying the information about Mr. Bhaduri, "While suffering from various insults and humiliations since childhood, some changes occur within Nirmalendu. Among these, his strange resentment towards teachers is prominent." Oishi starts again, "When the mathematics teacher Kamalkrishna Das began insulting him in unspeakable language, Nirmalendu suddenly attacked him. The students restrained him, and after this, the case went to the District Court and later to the Calcutta High Court." As Oishi stops, Vedanta listens intently. Oishi says again, "It was proven in court that he is suffering from 'Homicidal Mania.' He was sent to a home for treatment." As Oishi stops, Vedanta's eyes sparkle. Thanking Oishi, he sets out for Arnab's house.
Reaching Arnab's house around 10:05 PM, Vedanta wants to know more details about 'Homicidal Mania.' Arnab says, "Look, it's hard to say exactly what kind of effect this type of disease will have; it varies from case to case." After some discussion, Bed-da heads home.
On the night before Mahalaya, there is a strange mixture of panic and joy in the minds of the people of Kolkata. Due to the upcoming Puja and the menace of the serial killer, the police have increased the number of mobile vans.
At around eleven o'clock at night, there are still thirty minutes left to reach Esplanade. As soon as the bus stops at a bus stop, one person gets off and a middle-aged gentleman boards the bus. Nirmalendu Mitra was sitting in a vacant seat in a corner of the bus. The middle-aged man goes and sits right next to him. After sitting silently for a while, the man speaks first, "Where do you live, brother?" Nirmalendu replies, "Esplanade. You?" The man says, "There as well." After being silent again for a while, the man asks his name, and Nirmalendu says, "Nirmalendu Mitra." Introducing himself as Srinibas Dhar, the man wants to know what Nirmalendu does. Nirmalendu informs him that he acts in plays. Srinibas says, "Good, good. I am a lecturer." When asked what kind of lecturer, he says, "Medical." When the bus conductor shouts "Dharmatala" (Esplanade), Srinibas gets off. If he had noticed, he would have seen that Nirmalendu Mitra was silently following him, an ancient ferocity in his eyes and face.
The narrator, Ankhi, Nila-da, and ten constables are hiding behind a wall in a dingy alley in Esplanade. The narrator doesn't know where Bed-da found such a place. While enduring mosquito bites, they see a middle-aged gentleman approaching the darkest part of the alley. He is none other than Bed-da in disguise.
This afternoon, sitting in the DIG sir's cabin, Bed-da had prepared the climax plan. Accordingly, they have been waiting here for about an hour. Bed-da is gradually approaching, and the distance between Nirmalendu and Bed-da is decreasing.
Nirmalendu Mitra is wearing a pajama-panjabi, a Shantiniketani bag on his shoulder, bobbed hair on his head, and a pen and a notebook in his hand. A devilish look is in his eyes. Coming within almost a hand's distance, Nirmalendu Mitra stops and says in a strange voice, "Dada oh Dada?" Bed-da turns around and says, "Oh, you? Do you want to say something?"
Nirmalendu Mitra starts reciting lines of poetry: Bolechen guru mor shono shono botso /
Kagojer rugi kete age koro mokso /
Utsahe kina hoy kina hoy cheshtay"("Said my Guru, listen, listen child / Cut paper patients first and practice / What cannot be done with enthusiasm / What cannot be done with effort.") Suddenly, he lunges forward, raising the pen over his head and pouncing on Bed-da. But Bed-da leaps aside just in time, and Ankhi emerges from the darkness and fires a shot aiming at the man's shoulder. Although Nirmalendu is not injured, his bag falls off and he sits down on the ground from the shock of the shot. Ten constables emerge from the nooks and corners of the alley.
It is half-past three in the morning. After putting Nirmalendu Mitra in jail and calling a midnight press conference to declare Kolkata safe, the DIG sir arrives at the office. The narrator, Ankhi, Bed-da, Nila-da, and the DIG sir are sitting around the DIG's desk.
The DIG sir asks Vedanta, "Tell me Vedanta, how did you do it?" Bed-da drinks some water and begins to speak, "Nirmalendu Mitra has been a dyslexia patient since childhood. For this reason, he had to face humiliation at home and outside, and neglect from teachers. From this, a rage towards teachers developed, and gradually he became a victim of a mental deformity called 'Homicidal Mania.' This deformity led to his first attempted murder." Bed-da stops and, relieving our anxiety, begins to speak, "The case went to court and he was sent to a home. Although treated, he was not fully cured; rather, his illness remained dormant in his brain and merged with a new disease called 'DID' or 'Multiple Personality Disorder.' The loneliness of the home and the previous illness were the reasons for this. Two different characters of two different ages of his own resided in his body at the same time. The DID character is the thirteen-year-old Nirmalendu Mitra, the moment he went to kill Kamalkrishna Das."
Bed-da drinks water again and says, "This Nirmalendu Mitra slept in his body until he was insulted in front of a train full of people. Being insulted, the DID's Nirmalendu Mitra woke up. You know the rest." Bed-da starts speaking again, "What you don't know, that is his strange way of killing. Actually, in his childhood, he had memorized the book of poems Abol Tabol very well. Especially 'Noteboi' (The Notebook). I got this news later from Purnendu Mitra. I had a suspicion. Therefore, while killing, that notebook and Abol Tabol became his companions. 'Look at this pencil, notebook in hand'—for this line, the use of a pen to kill and leaving the notebook behind. 'Look, all filled with squiggly writing'—for this reason, the date of the murder was written in a peculiar style. 'Let me write the question neatly for now / I will find the answer by poking Mejo-da'—here, for the word 'poking' (khuchiye), the murder was done by poking five times with a pen. And 'Mejo-da' here refers to a fifty-year-old or middle-aged man or a teacher." Bed-da stopped. Then he said again, "He would ask questions from the poems of Abol Tabol. And whatever subject the teacher taught, that kind of question. For example, to me, 'Quack' (hature), because I was disguised as a medical lecturer. To Bankim Babu, 'Don't be afraid' (bhoy peyo na) because he was a psychology lecturer and 'Don't be afraid' mentions the head. Psychology and the head, the mention of the head in 'Don't be afraid'." As Bed-da stopped, the DIG sir said in an elated voice, "Brilliant Vedanta, nice job." Vedanta thanks him.
When they stepped out of Lalbazar, it was 4:00 AM. One side of the autumn sky has turned red. Erasing the darkness of the night, it is giving the message of a new morning's arrival. From the houses on both sides, the very familiar Mahalaya Chandi Path by Birendra Krishna Bhadra is floating in.
Ankhi asks Bed-da, "The brain is very strange, isn't it?" Bed-da says, "How much do we even know? There is so much more, stranger and more complex." The blue autumn sky is clearing up and clouds like torn cotton are visible. Bed-da looks at the sky and recites a poem by Sukumar Ray: "Come, oh Bhola, with an open whim / Come dancing on the dream-swing / Come, oh madcap, gibberish (Abol Tabol) / Come playing the frantic drum." The corporation truck is washing the road, and occasionally a car or two passes by. Walking on the pavement, the poem recited by Bed-da seems to want to merge into the horizon of the distant blue sky: " "Ayre bhola kheyal khola / Swapon-dola nachiye ay, / Ayre pagol abol tabol / Motto madol bajiye ay." Corporation-er gari rasta dhucche, majhe majhe du-ekta gari chole jacche. Footpath-er upor diye hantte hantte Beddar abritti kora kobita jeno durer nil akasher digonte miliye jete chaiche, "Ajgubi chal bethik betal / Matbi matal rong-ete, / Ayre tobe bhuler bhobe / Osombhober chondete."( "Come, O Carefree! Open your whims,
Come dancing on a swing of dreams;
Come, O Madman! With rhymes nonsensical,
Come beating the drum of the wild and whimsical.
With bizarre gaits and rhythms all wrong,
Get drunk on colors and join the throng;
Come then, to this world of errors and glee,
To the meter of the Impossible, wild and free!").
( The end )