Stories from Tagore
There was only one flaw in this unalloyed happiness. Kalipada had a
fierce pride in his poverty which prevented him ever speaking about his
family's better days. Therefore when his father used to talk of his
former prosperity Kalipada winced. Bhavani could not keep to himself the
one great event of his life,--the theft of that will which he was
absolutely certain that he would some day recover. Kalipada had always
regarded this as a kind of mania of his father's, and in collusion with
his mother he had often humoured his father concerning this amiable
weakness. But he shrank in shame when his father talked about this to
Sailen. He noticed particularly that Sailen did not relish such
conversation and that he often tried to prove, with a certain amount of
feeling, its absurdity. But Bhavani, who was ready to give in to others
in matters much more serious, in this matter was adamant. Kalipada tried
to pacify him by saying that there was no great need to worry about it,
because those who were enjoying its benefit were almost the same as his
own children, since they were his nephews.
Such talk Sailen could not bear for long and he used to leave the room.
This pained Kalipada, because he thought that Sailen might get quite a
wrong conception of his father and imagine him to be a grasping worldly
old man. Sailen would have revealed his own relationship to Kalipada and
his father long before, but this discussion about the theft of the will
prevented him. It was hard for him to believe that his grandfather or
father had stolen the will; on the other hand he could not but think
that some cruel injustice had been done in depriving Bhavani of his
share of the ancestral property. Therefore he gave up arguing when the
subject was brought forward and took some occasion to leave as soon as
possible.
Though Kalipada still had headaches in the evening, with a slight rise
in temperature, he did not take it at all seriously. He became anxious
to resume his studies because he felt it would be a calamity to him if
he again missed his scholarship. He secretly began to read once more,
without taking any notice of the strict orders of the doctor. Kalipada
asked his father to return home, assuring him that he was in the best of
health. Bhavani had been all his life fed and nourished and cooked for
by his wife; he was pining to get back. He did not therefore wait to be
pressed.
On the morning of his intended departure, when he went to say good-bye
to Kalipada, he found him very ill indeed, his face red with fever and
his whole body burning. He had been committing to memory page after page
of his text book of Logic half through the night, and for the remainder
he could not sleep at all. The doctor took Sailen aside. "This relapse,"
he said, "is fatal." Sailen came to Bhavani and said, "The patient
requires a mother's nursing: she must be brought to Calcutta."
It was evening when Rashmani came, and she only saw her son alive for a
few hours. Not knowing how her husband could survive such a terrible
shock she altogether suppressed her own sorrow. Her son was merged in
her husband again, and she took up this burden of the dead and the
living on her own aching heart. She said to her God,--"It is too much
for me to bear." But she did bear it.
V
It was midnight. With the very weariness of her sorrow Rashmani had
fallen asleep soon after reaching her own home in the village. But
Bhavani had no sleep that night. Tossing on his bed for hours he heaved
a deep sigh saying,--"Merciful God!" Then he got up from his bed and
went out. He entered the room where Kalipada had been wont to do his
lessons in his childhood. The lamp shook as he held it in his hand. On
the wooden settle there was still the torn, ink-stained quilt, made long
ago by Rashmani herself. On the wall were figures of Euclid and Algebra
drawn in charcoal. The remains of a Royal Reader No. III and a few
exercise books were lying about; and the one odd slipper of his infancy,
which had evaded notice so long, was keeping its place in the dusty
obscurity of the corner of the room. To-day it had become so important
that nothing in the world, however great, could keep it hidden any
longer. Bhavani put the lamp in the niche on the wall and silently sat
on the settle; his eyes were dry, but he felt choked as if with want of
breath.
Bhavani opened the shutters on the eastern side and stood still,
grasping the iron bars, gazing into the darkness. Through the drizzling
rain he could see the outline of the clump of trees at the end of the
outer wall. At this spot Kalipada had made his own garden. The passion
flowers which he had planted with his own hand had grown densely thick.
While he gazed at this Bhavani felt his heart come up into his throat
with choking pain. There was nobody now to wait for and expect daily.
The summer vacation had come, but no one would come back home to fill
the vacant room and use its old familiar furniture.
"O Baba mine!" he cried, "O Baba! O Baba mine!"
He sat down. The rain came faster. A sound of footsteps was heard among
the grass and withered leaves. Bhavani's heart stood still. He hoped it
was ... that which was beyond all hope. He thought it was Kalipada
himself come to see his own garden,--and in this downpour of rain how
wet he would be! Anxiety about this made him restless. Then somebody
stood for a moment in front of the iron window bars. The cloak round his
head made it impossible for Bhavani to see his face clearly, but his
height was the same as that of Kalipada.
"Darling!" cried Bhavani, "You have come!" and he rushed to open the
door.
But when he came outside to the spot where the figure had stood, there
was no one to be seen. He walked up and down in the garden through the
drenching rain, but no one was there. He stood still for a moment
raising his voice and calling,--"Kalipada," but no answer came. The
servant, Noto, who was sleeping in the cowshed, heard his cry and came
out and coaxed him back to his room.
Next day, in the morning, Noto, while sweeping the room found a bundle
just underneath the grated window. He brought it to Bhavani who opened
it and found it was an old document. He put on his spectacles and after
reading a few lines came rushing in to Rashmani and gave the paper into
her hand.
Rashmani asked, "What is it?"
Bhavani replied, "It is the will!"
"Who gave it you?"
"He himself came last night to give it to me."
"What are you going to do with it?"
Bhavani said: "I have no need of it now." And he tore the will to
pieces.
When the news reached the village Bagala proudly nodded his head and
said: "Didn't I prophesy that the will would be recovered through
Kalipada?"
But the grocer Ramcharan replied: "Last night when the ten o'clock train
reached the Station a handsome looking young man came to my shop and
asked the way to the Chowdhuri's house and I thought he had some kind of
bundle in his hand."
"Absurd," said Bagala.
WORDS TO BE STUDIED
=detailed.= From the French "tailler," to cut. Compare _tailor_,
_entail_, _retail_.
=patrimony.= From the Latin "pater," a father. Compare _paternal_,
_patriarch_, _patriot_. The ending -mony is from the Latin
-monium. Compare _testimony_, _matrimony_, _sanctimony_.
=revert.= From the Latin "vertere," to turn. Compare _convert_,
_subvert_, _divert_, _invert_, _advert_, _version_, _conversion_,
_adverse_.
=amazement.= This word is of doubtful origin. We have the simpler form
"maze" but do not know how it has come into English.
=preposterous.= The Latin word "pre" means "before," and the Latin
word "posterus" behind. The literal meaning, therefore, is
"before-behind" and so "absurd," "outrageous."
=treachery.= This comes from the Old French "treacher," to trick. It
is to be distinguished from the word "traitor," which comes from
the Latin "traditor," one who gives up another. Compare
_intricate_, _trickery_, _trick_, _intrigue_.
=parasites.= From the Greek word "sitos," food,--one who feeds on
another.
=property.= From the Latin "proprius," meaning "one's own." Compare
_proper_, _appropriate_, _improper_.
=haggle.= This is an Old Norwegian word which has come into English,
meaning literally to chop.
=good-for-nothing.= Such "phrase" words as these are not very common
in English. They are more common in French. Compare the English
_ne'er-do-well_, _lazybones_, _out-of-the-way_, and the French
_coup-d'A(C)tat_, _nom-de-plume_, _fin-de-siA(C)cle_. On the other hand,
adjectives made up of two words are quite common in English.
Compare _simple-hearted_, _middle-aged._
=rA(C)gime.= This word still retains its French form and accent and
pronunciation. Little by little such French words become
pronounced and spelt in an English form and take a permanent place
in the language. For instance, the French word "morale" with
accent on the last syllable is now becoming a common English word.
In time it will probably be accented on the first syllable like
ordinary English words and will drop its final "e."
=gap.= This is another Old Norwegian word meaning a wide opening.
Compare _gape_. These Norwegian words came into English somewhat
plentifully at the time of the Danish Conquest.
=sympathy.= From the Greek "syn" with, and "pathos" suffering. It
should be noted that the word "compassion" from the Latin "cum"
with, and "passio" suffering, has the same root meaning, viz.
"suffering _with_ another."
=law-suit.= The English word "suit" comes from the Latin "sequi," to
follow, which in French becomes "suivre." We have two English
forms, one form directly from the Latin, the other from the
French. From the Latin _prosecute_, _persecute_, _consecutive_,
_execute_. From the French _pursue_, _ensue_, _sue_.
A "suit" in a game of cards means the cards that follow one
another in a sequence.
A "suit" of clothes means the trousers, coat, waistcoat,
following the same pattern. Compare also the French word _suite_
which has now been taken into English, e.g. a _suite_ of rooms, a
_suite_ of furniture (pronounced like "sweet").
=incoherence.= From the Latin "haerere," to stick. Compare _adhere_,
_cohere_, _inherent_, _coherence_.
=foreign.= From the Old French "forain," out of doors. The letter "g"
has become wrongly inserted in this word as also in "sovereign."
=bargain.= From the late Latin "barca," a boat, because trade was
carried on by boats along the rivers. Compare _barque_, _barge_,
_bark_.
=husky.= From the noun husk,--as dry as a husk.
=shawl.= From the Persian word "shAel." A considerable number of words
are coming into use in English now from the East. One of the most
curious recent ones is Blighty which is a corruption of wilayati,
bilaiti. For words introduced into English compare _karma_,
_sanyasi_, _fakir_, _brahmin_, _ghat_, _puggaree_, _pyjama_,
_pucca_, _curry_, _chutney_, _chintz_, _cummerbund_, _khaki_,
_rupee_, _durrie_, _turban_, _sepoy_.
=doll.= This is a shortened form of the English girl's name Dorothy,
Dolly, Doll. Compare _poll-parrot_ from Polly or Poll.
=soup.= This word still retains its French form, without the final "e"
(French _soupe_), but the English words _sup_, _supper_ have
dropped their French spelling altogether.
=ticket.= From the Old French "estiquette," meaning something fixed
like a bill on the wall. (Compare the English word to "stick"
which comes from the same root.)