Kalipada explained to her that it would not be necessary to spend a
single pice on him; his scholarship would be sufficient, and he would
try to get some work to supplement it.
But it was necessary to convince Bhavani of the wisdom of the course.
Rashmani did not wish to employ the argument that there was very little
of the estate remaining to require supervision; for she knew how it
would hurt him. She said that Kalipada must become a man whom everyone
could respect. But all the members of the Chowdhuri family had attained
their respectability without ever going a step outside the limits of
Saniari. The outer world was as unknown to them as the world beyond the
grave. Bhavani, therefore, could not conceive how anybody could think of
a boy like Kalipada going to Calcutta. But the cleverest man in the
village, Bagala, fortunately agreed with Rashmani.
"It is perfectly clear," he said, "that, one day, Kalipada will become a
lawyer; and then he will set matters right concerning the property of
which the family has been deprived."
This was a great consolation to Bhavani Charan and he brought out the
file of records about the theft of the will and tried to explain the
whole thing to Kalipada by dint of daily discussion. But his son was
lacking in proper enthusiasm and merely echoed his father's sentiment
about this solemn wrong.
The day before Kalipada's departure for Calcutta Rashmani hung round his
neck an amulet containing some mantras to protect him from evils. She
gave him at the same time a fifty-rupee currency note, advising him to
keep it for any special emergency. This note, which was the symbol of
his mother's numberless daily acts of self-denial, was the truest amulet
of all for Kalipada. He determined to keep it by him and never to spend
it, whatever might happen.