The signs had been there since morning. The moment he opened his eyes after waking up, he noticed two well-fed mosquitoes sitting inside the mosquito net. He immediately understood that the pests had feasted on his blood all night. Then, while squeezing out toothpaste to brush his teeth, a large amount of paste slipped and fell straight into the basin. As fate would have it, his wife saw it too. What followed was inevitable. His long history of incompetence was once again recounted, right in front of his two sons and the maid, Jyotsna.
Even at the market, he didn’t fare any better. After returning home, he realized that the shopkeepers had tricked him into buying substandard goods, passing them off as “premium beans,” “special brinjals,” and “guavas from Baruipur.” Yet, at the time of purchase, he had felt quite proud, thinking he was bringing home rare and special items. In the end, his mother lightly tapped him on the head and said, “Bublu is still as foolish as ever. People dump all sorts of worthless things on him, and he happily pays extra and brings them home as if they’re treasures.”
This incident, too, took place in front of everyone.
Later, during his bath, he decided not to count the fact that the soap slipped from his hands twice. But how could one explain the shower suddenly running dry at the exact moment when his head was full of shampoo and his face covered in soap?
After all this, while hurriedly eating lunch, he almost poured boiling lentils onto his hand and got scalded. On the way, he was scolded by an auto driver, and while trying to board the metro, he got elbowed by a gentleman. The moment he entered the office, Sarkhel Sir exclaimed loudly on seeing him.
“Why are you so late, Govardhan? Sahay Sir has been looking for you twice already.”
Sahay Sir was a senior officer, someone Govardhan barely met once every couple of months. Why would he suddenly be so eager to find him today? There could be only one answer—this was an unlucky day.
After sitting uneasily for a while, Govardhan went to Sahay Sir’s chamber, only to learn that he had already left for a meeting.
When he returned to his seat, Sarkhel Sir said gravely, “I’ve been hearing for some time that someone will be sent to our Andaman branch. I’m worried your name might come up.”
Hearing this, Govardhan’s throat went dry. Andaman meant exile! In the past, criminals were sent there as punishment. Would he now suffer the same fate just for being late to the office once?
He suddenly remembered the previous evening. His neighborhood friend Animesh had practically forced him to visit an ashram to meet a supposedly powerful spiritual figure named Bhomora baba. Govardhan had tried to avoid it but failed to convince Animesh that he had other urgent work.
He had always avoided such godmen. He disliked hollow sermons, as he already received plenty of those daily from his mother and wife. He knew his past well enough and had little desire to know his future. Nor did he believe much in stones and talismans solving life’s problems. However, he was not an atheist. He believed in God and in the idea that good deeds bring good results and bad deeds bring bad results. But when he saw opportunistic people promising to rescue others from major troubles in exchange for rings or rituals, it made his blood boil.
So when Bhomora baba had looked at him and said gravely, “You are under the wrath of the planets; a difficult time is about to begin. Be careful,” Govardhan had not been particularly worried. Instead, ignoring him, it was Animesh who had anxiously asked, “Then what is the solution, Baba?”
With a faint smile, the baba had taken out a copper ring from his bag and said, “This is called the ‘Kalyani Ring.’ Wear it, and within a few days, you’ll see all your troubles disappear.”
Hearing the price of the ring, Govardhan nearly choked—seven thousand seven hundred rupees! The baba had reassured him, “No need to worry if you don’t have cash; we have a credit card machine.”
Somehow, Govardhan had managed to escape from the ashram that day.
But today, with the fear of being transferred to the Andamans looming over him, all his resolve vanished. Was it just bad luck, or was Bhomora baba’s curse also at work?
The rest of the day passed in deep anxiety. He kept imagining that his transfer order was being typed at that very moment, or that his colleagues were poisoning Sahay Sir’s mind against him.
As soon as he left the office, he took a taxi straight to the ashram. But upon arriving, his heart sank...why was it so quiet? Just the previous day, the place had been crowded. Had the baba already left for the Himalayas with his followers?
“Baba is here, but he won’t meet anyone today. He has appointments with a few special devotees,” someone informed him.
“But I urgently need to see him today! If I don’t get that ring, I’ll be ruined!” Govardhan pleaded tearfully.
The man, clearly compassionate, asked him to wait and went inside. A few minutes later, he returned with a smile and the precious ring. However, Govardhan had to pay extra apparently, the previous day’s price did not include taxes, and an additional 18% GST was applied.
After paying, Govardhan asked, “May I at least meet Baba once?”
The man calmly explained that all of Baba’s blessings were already infused within the ring, and wanting to see him after that would be an insult to the sacred object. He then handed Govardhan a card and said, “Call this number if you need anything.”
Govardhan did not argue further.
The next morning, he was summoned again by Sahay Sir. Touching the ring to his forehead, he nervously entered the chamber.
“I was looking for you yesterday for some information. Were you on leave?” Sahay asked sternly.
“No, sir… I was just a little late. It doesn’t usually happen, only yesterday…”
Handing him a slip, Sahay Sir said, “Bring me this information within half an hour.”
“Sure, sir!”
Govardhan hurried out, drank two glasses of cold water, and started searching through files. Though he couldn’t find everything, he managed to prepare a reasonable report. But when he went back, Sahay Sir had left again. He handed the documents to the secretary and asked to be called when Sahay Sir returned.
No call came that day, but the tension remained. On his way home, he stumbled badly while getting off an auto. At home, he learned that his elder son Chirantan had scored 41 out of 100 in a math test. Yet, he lacked the confidence to scold him. He simply sighed, staring at the ring on his finger.
Later that night, he called the number on the card. After hearing everything, the man said, “You have no idea what happens when someone falls under planetary wrath. By Baba’s grace, you are living like a king. The ring is constantly protecting you from danger. Your son hasn’t failed, has he? And whose boss is ever happy all the time? Don’t dwell on such things, observe carefully, and you’ll see many positive changes in your life.”
The man wasn’t entirely wrong. Govardhan had begun to notice small signs of the ring’s beneficial power. One day, the notoriously stingy Gobinda treated him to tea and biscuits. He found a lost key he had been searching for days. His wife even praised the cauliflower he had bought. And despite being late to the office twice, Sahay Sir hadn’t asked for him on those days. Most importantly, he had not been transferred to the Andamans.
Of course, not everything had improved. He still faced occasional embarrassment at home, on the road, and at the office. The cucumbers he bought were often bitter, the brinjals old. Auto drivers still scolded him if he lacked change. He had slipped badly in the bathroom last month and was bedridden for three days. This year, a junior colleague got promoted ahead of him. He even bit his tongue painfully while eating in a hurry one day. And his son’s studies hadn’t improved much either.
But these were minor issues. Despite everything, wasn’t it enough that, by the grace of Bhomora baba’s ring, he and his family were still managing to live safely in this world?
