Mother not aware of his Naxal links

KOLKATA: He sat in a corner in Milan Da’s canteen, drawing hard on a cigarette, watching us freshers. Having weathered the first day of nerves and ragging at Jadavpur University, four of us were enjoying our first canteen adda and his stare was making us nervous.
‘‘Tora ki UG? Kemon lagche JU? (Are you under-grads? How do you find JU),’’ he said, in a heavy voice.Clad in faded green cargos, he was sitting cross-legged on one of the concrete benches. ‘‘Bhalo (Nice),’’ I replied, with meekness of a fresher. He introduced himself as a senior in the department of international relations and immediately asked whether politics has ever been my interest. I said I was apolitical.
‘‘No one is apolitical,’’ he shot back. He explained vehemently how important it was in life to take a stand. ‘‘Would you stand on the pavement if you see someone being beaten up?’’ he asked. A week after the first encounter, we realized that he was an active member of Revolutionary Student’s Front, one of the many student bodies on campus.
His mother Lekha Mukherjee said: ‘‘I am not aware about his Maoist identity. I knew he was doing his MA in Jadavpur University. He came to see me some days ago and had machher jhol and bhat with me. Where is he now?’’