When Shibram Chakraborty met Premendra Mitra

Author Shibram Chakraborty had the rare ability to laugh at himself. His creations, Harshabardhan and Gobardhan will remain immortal in Bengali literature. There are many snippets that show the humorous side of Chakraborty.One such story revolves around Chakraborty and another renowned Bengali poet/author/ filmmaker, Premendra Mitra. Chakraborty was a happy-go-lucky man who lived life on his terms. He led a very simple life and had absolutely no craving for the good things of life. He was never keen on saving or hoarding money. He was content to have enough to pay his monthly mess rent and his meals. Only when he could not procure enough to pay for these basic needs, he would think of ways to earn money.

Chakraborty and Premendra Mitra met in a movie hall and introduced themselves. Chakraborty was addicted to movies and went to cinema halls every afternoon. In no time Chakraborty and Mitra got talking. They were so engrossed in their adda that their conversation continued even inside the hall while the movie was running. They were both very keen to travel and see new countries. They went into lengthy and detailed discussions about exotic foreign locales they would visit. Tour plans were finalized, routes were chalked, mode of transportdecided and tentative expenses were calculated. Mitra then quipped, about the source of money required to implement the elaborate travel plan. Chakraborty confidently assured him, “Don’t worry I have filed a law suit for Rs one lakh, and once I get the ruling in my favour, there won’t be any paucity of funds and we two will go on this trip as planned.”

It was true indeed, Chakraborty had filed a law suit demanding his share in his father’s property. He had not appointed any lawyer or barrister to represent his case. He had only one witness in his favour and he happened to be the same person against whom he had lodged the complaint. He was confident that his witness would not lie and he would win the case.

But the inevitable happened. His witness stood before the judge and said, “Me Lord. The allegations brought by Shibram are bogus and have no basis.” The judge immediately dismissed the case.