_Aduri._ Our Mistress is making noise within; the day is far
advanced; will you not go to bathe, and take your food. The boiled
rice is very near become dry.
_Sadhu._ (_Standing up._) Sir, decide something about this, or I
shall die. If we give the labour of one-and-a-half of our ploughs
for the cultivation of nine bigahs of Indigo-fields, our boiling
pots of rice will go empty. Now, I am going away, Sir, farewell,
our oldest Babu.
(_Sadhu goes away._)
_Goluk._ We don’t think that God will any more allow us to bathe
and to take food in this land. Now, my son, go and bathe.
(_All go away._)
-----
Footnote 2:
The Mahomedans and all other nations who are not Hindus, are
called by that name.
-----
----------
FIRST ACT—SECOND SCENE.
THE HOUSE OF SADHU CHURN.
-------
RAY CHURN _enters with his plough_.
_Ray._ (_Holding his plough._) The stupid Amin is a tiger. The
violence with which he came upon me! Oh my God! I thought that he
was coming to devour me. That villain did not hear a single word
and with force he marked off the ground. If they take five bigahs
of land, what will my family eat. First, we will shed tears before
them; if they don’t let us alone, as a matter of course, we shall
leave the country.
KHETROMANI _enters_.
Is my brother come home?
_Khetra._ Father is gone to the house of the Babu’s and is coming
very soon. Will you not go to call my aunt? What were you talking
about?
_Ray._ I am talking of nothing. Now, bring me a little water, my
stomach is on the point of bursting from thirst. I told my
brother-in-law[3] so much, but he did not hear me.
SADHU _enters, and_ KHETROMANI _goes away_.
_Sadhu._ Ray, why did you come so early?
_Ray._ O my brother, the vile Amin has marked off the piece of
ground in Sanpoltola. What shall we eat; and how shall I pass the
year? Ah, our land was bright as the golden champah.[4] By the
produce of only one corner of the field, we satisfied the
mahajans. What shall we eat now, and what shall our children take?
This large family may die without food. Every morning two _recas_
(nearly 5 lbs) of rice are necessary. What shall we eat then? Oh,
my Ill-fortune! Ill-fortune (burnt forehead)! what has the Indigo
of this white man done?
_Sadhu._ We were living in the hope of cultivating those bigahs of
land; and now, if these are gone, than what use is there of
remaining here any more. And the one or two bigahs which are
become saltish, they yield no produce. Again, the ploughs are to
remain in the Indigo-field; and what can we do. Don’t weep now;
to-morrow we shall sell off the ploughs and cows, leave this
village, and go and live in the Zemindary of Babu Basanta.
KHETROMANI _and_ REBOTI _enter with water_.
Now, drink the water, drink the water; what do you fear? He who
has given life, will provide also food. Now, what did you say to
the Amin?
_Ray._ What can I say? He began to mark off the ground, on which
it seemed as if he began to _thrust burnt sticks_ _into my
breast_, I entreated, holding him by his feet, and wanted to give
him money; but he heard nothing. He said, go to your eldest Babu;
go to your father. When I returned, I only punished him with
saying, “I shall bring this before the Court.”
(_Seeing the Amin at a distance._)
Just see, that villain (_Shálá_) is coming; he has brought
servants with him, and will take us to the Factory.
_The_ AMIN _and the two Servants enter_.
_Amin._ Bind the hands of this villain.
(_Ray Churn is bound by the two Servants._)
_Reboti._ Oh! What is this? Why do they bind him? What ruin! What
ruin! (_to Sadhu_) Why do you stand looking on? Go to the house of
the Babus, and call the eldest Babu here.
_Amin._ (_To Sadhu._) Where shalt thou go now? You are also to go
with me. To take advances is not the business of Ray. We shall
have much to bear with if we are to make signature by cross marks.
And because you know how to read and to write, therefore you must
go and make the signatures in the Factory Account-book.
_Sadhu._ Sir, do you call this giving advances for Indigo; would
it not be better to call it the _cramming down_ Indigo?[5] Oh! my
Ill-fortune, you are still with me. That very blow through fear of
which I fled, I have to bear again. This land was as the Kingdom
of Rama before Indigo was established; but the ignorant fool is
become a beggar, and famine has come upon the land.
_Amin._ (_To himself observing Khetromani._) This young woman is
not bad-looking; if our younger Saheb can get her, he will, with
his whole heart, take her. But while I was unable to succeed in
getting a peshkar’s (overseer’s) post by giving him my own sister,
what can I expect from getting him this woman; but still she is
very beautiful; I will try.
_Reboti._ Khetra, go into the room.
(_Khetromani goes away._)
_Amin._ Now, Sadhu, if you want to come in a proper manner, come
with me to the Factory.
(_Going forward._)
_Reboti._ Oh Amin! have you no wife nor children? Have you kept
only the plough and this beating (_márpit_)? Did he not want to
drink a little water? By this time he ought to take a second meal,
how can he then, without taking any food, go to the Saheb’s house
which is at such a distance. I ask for the Saheb’s grace; just let
him have some food; and then take him away. Oh! he is so very much
troubled for his wife and his children. Oh! he is shedding tears,
his face is become dry. What are you doing? To what a burnt-up
land am I come? Destruction has come upon me both in life and
money. Oh! Oh! Oh! I am gone both in life and money. (_Weeps._)
_Amin._ Oh, stupid woman! Now stop your grunting. If you want to
give water, bring it soon; else I shall take him away. (_Ray Churn
drinks water; exit all._)
-----
Footnote 3:
Here the word is used sarcastically; and is taken to mean the
brother of the wife.
Footnote 4:
The name of a beautiful yellow flower.
Footnote 5:
There is a play here an the words _Dádan_ and _Gádan_.
-----
----------
FIRST ACT—THIRD SCENE.
THE FACTORY OF BEGUNBARI. THE VERANDA OF THE LARGE BUNGALOW.
-------
_Enter_ J. J. WOOD _and_ GOPI CHURN DAS, _the Dewan_.
_Gopi._ What fault have I done, my Lord? You are observing me day
by day. I begin to move about early in the morning, and return
home at three o’Clock in the afternoon.
Again, immediately after taking dinner, I sit down to look over
papers about Indigo advances; and that takes my time to twelve and
sometimes to one o’Clock in the night.
_Wood._ You, rascal, are very inexperienced. There are no advances
made in Svaropur, Shamanagar, and Santighata villages. You will
never learn without Shamchand, (the leather strap).
_Gopi._ My Lord I am your servant. It is through favour only that
you have raised me from the _peshkári_ business to the Dewani. You
are my only Lord, you can either kill me or can cut me in pieces.
Certain powerful enemies have arisen against this Factory; and
without their punishment, there is no cultivation of Indigo.
_Wood._ How can I punish without knowing them? As for money,
horses, latyals (club-men), I have a sufficiency; can they not be
punished by these? The former Dewan made known to me about those
enemies. You do not. I have scourged those wicked people, taken
away their kine, and kept their wives in confinement, which is a
very severe punishment for them. You are a very great fool; you
know nothing at all. The business of the Dewan is not that of the
Kayt caste; I shall drive you off, and give the business to a
Keaot.
_Gopi._ My Lord, although I am by caste a Káystha, I do my work
like a Keaot (a shoe-maker). The service which I have rendered in
stopping the rice cultivation and making the Indigo to grow in the
field of the Mollahs, and also to take (_lákhraj_) his rent-free
lands of seven generations from Goluk Chunder Bose, and to take
away the iron crow[6] from the Government; the work I have done
for these, I can dare say, can never be done by a Keaot (a
shoemaker). It is my ill-fortune only (evil forehead) that I don’t
get the least praise for doing so much.
_Wood._ That fool, Nobin Madhab, wants the whole account settled.
I shall not give him a single cowrie. That fellow is very well
versed in the affairs of the Court; but I shall see, how that
braggart takes the advances from me.
_Gopi._ Sir, he is one of the principal enemies of this Factory.
The burning down of Polasapore would never have been proved, had
Nobin no concern in the matter. That fool himself prepared the
draft of the petition; and it was through his advice and intrigues
that the Attorney so turned the mind of the Judge. Again, it was
through his intrigues that our former Dewan was confined for two
years. I forbade him, saying, “Babu Nobin, don’t act against our
Saheb; and, especially as he has not burnt your house.” To which
he replied, “I have enlisted myself in order to save the poor
ryots. I shall think myself highly rewarded, if I can preserve one
poor ryot from the tortures of the cruel Indigo Planters; and
throwing this Dewan into prison, I shall have compensation for my
garden.” That braggart is become like a Christian Missionary; and
I cannot say what preparations he is making this time.
_Wood._ You are afraid. Did I not tell you at first, you are very
ignorant? No work is to be done through you.
_Gopi._ Saheb, what signs of fear hast thou seen in me? When I
have entered on this Indigo profession, I have thrown off all
fear, shame, and honor; and the destroying of cows, of Brahmins,
of women, and the burning down of houses are become my ornaments,
and I now lie down in bed keeping the jail as my pillow (_thinking
of it_).
_Wood._ I do not want words, but works.
SADHU RAY, _the_ AMIN, _and the two Servants enter, making
salams_.
Why are this wicked fool’s hands bound with cords?
_Gopi._ My Lord, this Sadhu Churn is a head ryot; but through the
enticement of Nobin Bose he has been led to engage in the
destruction of Indigo.
_Sadhu._ My Lord, I do nothing unjust against your Indigo, nor am
I doing now, neither have I power to do any thing wrong; willingly
or unwillingly I have prepared the Indigo, and also I am ready to
make it this time. But then, every thing has its probability and
improbability; if you want to make powder of eight inches’
thickness to enter a pipe half-an-inch thick, will it not burst? I
am a poor ryot, keep only one-and-a-half ploughs, have only twenty
bigahs of land for cultivation; and now, if I am to give nine
bigahs out of that for Indigo, that must occasion my death, but my
Lord, what is that to you, it is only my death.
_Gopi._ The Saheb fears lest you keep him confined in the godown
of your eldest Babu.
_Sadhu._ Now, Sir Dewanji, _what you say is striking a corpse_
(useless labor). What mite am I that I shall imprison the Saheb,
the mighty and glorious.
_Gopi._ Sadhu, now away with your high flown language; it does not
sound well on the tongue of a peasant; it is like a sweeper’s
broom touching the body.
_Wood._ Now the rascal is become very wise.
_Amin._ That fool explains the laws and magistrate’s orders to the
common people, and thus raises confusion. His brother draws the
ploughshare, and he uses the high word _pratápsháli_ “glorious.”
_Gopi._ The child of the preparer of cow-dung balls is become a
Court Naeb (deputy). My Lord, the establishment of schools in
villages has increased the violence of the ryots.
_Wood._ I shall write to our Indigo Planters’ Association to make
a petition to the Government for stopping the schools in villages;
we shall fight to secure stopping the schools.
_Amin._ That fool wants to bring the case into Court.
_Wood._ (_To Sadhu_) You are very wicked. You have twenty bigahs,
of which, if you employ nine bigahs for Indigo, why can’t you
cultivate the other nine bigahs for rice.
_Gopi._ My Lord, the debt which is credited to him can be made use
of for bringing the whole twenty bigahs within our own power.
_Sadhu._ (_To himself_) O oh! _the witness for the spirit-seller
is the drunkard?_ (_Openly_) If the nine bigahs which are marked
off for the cultivation of the Indigo were worked by the plough
and kine of the Factory, then can I use the other nine bigahs for
rice. The work which is to be done in the rice-field is only a
fourth of that which is necessary in the Indigo-field,
consequently if I am to remain engaged in these nine bigahs, the
remaining eleven bigahs will be without cultivation.
_Wood._ You, dolt, are very wicked, you scoundrel (_háramjádá_);
you must take the money in advance; you must cultivate the land;
you are a very scoundrel (_kicks him_). You shall leave off every
thing when you meet with Shamchand (_takes Shamchand from the
wall._)
_Sadhu._ My Lord, _the hand is only blackened by killing a fly_,
_i. e._, your beating me only injures you. I am too mean. We—
_Ray._ (_Angrily_) O my brother, you had better stop; let them
take what they can; our very stomach is on the point of falling
down from hunger. The whole day is passed, we have not yet been
able either to bathe or to take our food.
_Amin._ O rascal, where is your Court now? (_Twists his ears_).
_Ray._ (_With violent panting_). I now die! My mother! my mother!
_Wood._ Beat that “bloody nigger,” (_beats with Shamchand, the
leather strap_).
_Enter_ NOBIN MADHAB.
_Ray._ O thou Babu! I am dying! Give me some water. I am just
dead!
_Nobin._ Saheb they have not bathed, neither have they taken the
least food. The members of their family have not yet washed their
faces. If you thus destroy your ryots by flogging them, who will
prepare your Indigo? This Sadhu Churn prepared the produce of
about four bigahs last year with the greatest trouble possible;
and if with such severe beatings you make such cruel advances to
them, that is only your loss. For this day give them leave, and
to-morrow I myself shall bring them with me, and do as thou do’st
bid me.
_Wood._ Attend to your own business. What concern have you with
another’s affairs. Sadhu, give your opinion quickly, as it is my
dinner time.
_Sadhu._ What is the use of waiting for my opinion? You have
already marked off the four bigahs of the most productive land;
and the Amin has, to-day, marked off the remaining part. The land
is marked without my consent, the Indigo shall be prepared in the
same way; and I also agree to prepare it without taking any
advances.
_Wood._ Do you say my advances are all fictitious you cursed
wretch, bastard and heretic, (_beats him_).
_Nobin._ (_Covers with his hand the back of Sadhu_). My Lord, this
poor man has many to support in his family. Owing to the beating
he has got, I think, he will be confined in bed for a month. Oh!
What pains his family is suffering? Sir, you have also your
family. Now, what sorrow would affect the mind of your wife if you
were taken prisoner at your dinner-time?
_Wood._ Be silent thou fool, braggart, low fellow, cow-eater.
Don’t think that this Magistrate is like that one of Amaranagara,
that you can, for every word, lay complaints before him, and
imprison the men of the Factory. The Magistrate of Indrabad is as
death to you. You rascal, you must first give me a hand-note to
state you have received the advance for sixty bigahs of land, or
else I shall not let you go this day. I shall break your head with
this Shamchand, you stupid. It is owing to your not taking
advances, that I have not been able to force advances on ten other
villages.
_Nobin._ (_With heavy sighs._) O my Mother Earth! separate
yourself that I may enter into you. In my life I never suffered
such an insult. O, oh!
_Gopi._ Babu Nobin, better go home, no use of making fuss.
_Nobin._ Sadhu, call on God, He is the only support of the
helpless.
(_Nobin Madhab goes away._)
_Wood._ Thou slave of the slave. Take him to the Factory, Dewan,
and give him the advance according to rule.
(_Wood goes away._)
_Gopi._ Sadhu, come along to the Factory. Does the Saheb forget
his words?
Now _ashes have fallen on your ready-made rice_; the Yama[7] of
Indigo has attacked you, and you have no safety.
-----
Footnote 6:
An instrument made use of for breaking down buildings.
Footnote 7:
Yama is Death, the king of terror.
-----
----------
FIRST ACT—FOURTH SCENE.
GOLUK CHUNDER BASU’S HALL.
-------
_Enter_ SOIRINDRI _preparing a hair-string_.
_Soirindri._ I never did prepare such a piece of hair-string. The
youngest Bou[8] is the most fortunate, since whatever I do in her
name proves successful. The hair-string I have made, is the
thinnest possible. According to the hair, the hair-string is made.
Oh! how beautiful the hair is; it is like unto that of the Goddess
Kali. The face is as the lotus, always smiling. People may say
whatever they choose to one whom they do not like. I don’t attend
to that. For my part, I feel pleasure when I see the face of the
youngest Bou. I consider the youngest Bou in the same light, as I
do Bipin. The youngest Bou loves me as her own mother.
SARALOTA _enters with a braid in her hand_.
_Saralota._ My sister, just see whether I have been able to make
the under part of this braid? Is it not made?
_Soirindri._ (_Seeing the braid._) Yes, now it is well made. O! my
sister, this part is made somewhat bad; the yellow does not look
well after the red colour.
_Saralota._ I wove it by observing your braid.
_Soirindri._ Is the yellow after the red in that?
_Saralota._ No; in that the green is after the red. But because my
green thread is finished, therefore I placed the yellow after
that.
_Soirindri._ You were not able, I see, to wait for the market-day.
I see, my sister, every thing is in haste with you. As it is said,
“_Hurry is in Brindabun; but as soon as the desire rises, there is
no more waiting._”[9]
_Saralota._ Oh! What fault have I committed for that? Can that be
got in the market? At the last market-day, my mother-in-law sent
for it; but that was not got.
_Soirindri._ When they write a letter this time to my husband’s
brother, we shall send to ask for threads of various colours.
_Saralota._ Sister, how many days are there still remaining of
this month?
_Soirindri._ (_Laughingly._) On the place where the pain is, the
hand touches. As soon as his[10] College closes, he shall come
home, therefore you are counting the days. Ah! my sister, your
mind’s words are come out.
_Saralota._ I say truly, my sister; I never meant that.
_Soirindri._ How very good-natured our Bindu Madhab is? His words
are honey. When we hear his letters read, they _rain like drops of
nectar_. I never saw such love towards one’s brother as his; and
also his brother shows the greatest affection for him. When he
hears the name of Bindu Madhab, his heart overflows with joy, and
it becomes, as it were, expanded. Also, as he is, so our Saralota
is, (_pressing Saralota’s cheek_) Saralota is _as honesty itself_
(_Saralota_). Have I not brought with me my huká? I see, that as I
cannot remain without it for a moment, that is the first thing
which I have forgotten to bring along with me.
_Enter_ ADURI.
Aduri, will you just go and bring me some ashes of tobacco?
_Aduri._ Where shall I now seek for it?
_Soirindri._ It is stuck on the thatched roof of the cook-room, on
the right side of the steps leading into the room.
_Aduri._ Then, let me bring the ladder from the threshing floor;
else how can I reach to the roof?
_Saralota._ Very well.
_Soirindri._ Why can she not understand our mother-in-law’s word?
Don’t you understand what steps are, and what Dain[11] signifies?
_Aduri._ Why shall I become a Dain; it is my fate. _As soon as a
poor woman becomes old and her teeth fall out_ _she is immediately
called a Dain._ I shall speak of this to our mistress; am I become
so old as to be called a Dain?
_Soirindri._ (_Rising up._) Youngest Bou, sit down, I am coming;
to-day we shall hear the Betal of Vidyeasagar.
(_Soirindri goes away._)
_Aduri._ That Sagar allows marriage to the widows; fie! fie! Are
there not two parties to that? I am of the Ajah’s[12] party.
_Saralota._ Aduri, did your husband love you well?
_Aduri._ O young Haldarni, do not raise that word of sorrow now.
Even up to this day, when his face comes before my mind’s eye, my
heart, as it were, bursts with sorrow. He loved me very much. And
he even wanted to give me a daughter-in-law. He even did not give
me time to sleep. Whenever I felt drowsy, he said, “O my love, are
you sleeping.”
_Saralota._ Did you call him by his name?
_Aduri._ Fie! fie! fie! The husband is one’s Lord. Is it proper to
call him by his name?
_Saralota._ Then, how did you call him?
_Aduri._ I used to say, “O! do you hear me.”
_Enter_ SOIRINDRI _again_.
_Soirindri._ Who has irritated this fool again?
_Aduri._ She was inquiring after my husband, therefore I was
speaking with her.
_Soirindri._ (_Laughing._) I never saw a greater fool than this
our youngest Bou. While having so many subjects of talk, still you
are exciting Aduri in order to hear from her about her husband.
_Enter_ REBOTI _and_ KHETROMANI.
Welcome, my dear sister, I have been sending for you for these
many days; still I see, you don’t get time to come. O our youngest
Bou, here take your Khetra; here she is come. She was troubling me
for these days, saying, My sister Khetra, of the Ghose family, is
come from her father-in-law’s house; then, why is she not yet
coming to our house?
_Reboti._ Yes, such is your love towards us. Khetra, bow down
before your aunt.
(_Khetromani bows down._)
_Soirindri._ Remain with your husband for life; wear vermillion
even in your white hair; let your iron circlet[13] continue for
ever, and the next time you go to your father-in-law’s house, take
your new-born son with you.
_Aduri._ The young Haldarni speaks most fluently before me; but
this young girl bowed down before her; and she spoke not a single
word.
_Soirindri._ Oh! what of that. Aduri, just go and call our
mother-in-law here.
(_Aduri goes out._)
The fool knows not what she says. For how many months is she[14]
with child?
_Reboti._ Did I yet express that? The bad turn of my fortune
(_broken forehead_) is such, that I yet cannot say whether that is
actually the case or not? It is because that you are very familiar
with us, that I tell it you: at the end of this month she will be
in her fourth month.
_Saralota._ Khetra, why did you cut off the curls of your hair?
_Khetro._ The elder brother of my husband was much displeased at
seeing the curls in my hair. Our mistress said, that curls agree
best with prostitutes and women of rich families. I was so much
ashamed at hearing his words, that from that very day I cut off my
curls.
_Soirindri._ Youngest Bou, the shades of evening are spreading
about; just go, my sister, and bring the clothes.
_Enter_ ADURI _again_.
_Saralota._ (_Standing up._) Aduri, come with me; let us go up,
and bring down the clothes.
_Aduri._ Let young Haldar first come home, ha! ha! ha!
(_Ashamed, Saralota goes away._)
_Soirindri._ (_With anger, yet laughing._) Go thou unfortunate
fool; at every word, you joke. Where is my mother-in-law?
_Enters_ SABITRI.
Yes, she is come.
_Sabitri._ Ghose Bou, art thou come, and hast thou brought your
daughter with you? Yes, you have done well. Bipin was making
noise, therefore, I sent him out and am come here.
_Reboti._ My mother, I bow down before you. Khetra, bow down
before your grand-mother. (_Khetromani bows down._)
_Sabitri._ Be happy, be the mother of seven sons. (_Coughing
aside._) My eldest Bou, just go into the room, I think my son is
up. Oh! my son has no regular time for bathing, neither for taking
food. My Nobin is become very weak by mere vain thoughts—(_aside_,
“Aduri”) Oh! my daughter, go in soon, I think, he is asking for
water.
_Soirindri._ (_Aside, to Aduri._) Aduri, calling for you.
_Aduri._ Calling for me, but asking for you.
_Soirindri._ Thou burnt-faced. Sister Ghose meet me another day.
(_Exit Soirindri._)
_Reboti._ O my mother, here is none else. Some great danger has
fallen upon me, that Podi Moyrani came to our house yesterday.
_Sabitri._ Rama! Rama! Rama! who allows that nasty fool to enter
his house? What is left of her virtue? She has only to write her
name in the public notices.
_Reboti._ My mother, but what shall I do! My house is not an
enclosed one. When our males go to take dinner outside, the house
is no more a house; but you may call it a mart. That strumpet says
(I do shrink at the thought), she says, that the young Saheb is
become, as it were, mad at seeing Khetromani; and wants to see her
in the Factory.
_Aduri._ Fye! fye! fye! bad smell of the onion! Can we go to the
Saheb. Fye! fye! bad smell of the onion! I shall never be out any
more alone. I can bear every other thing, but the smell of the
onion I can never bear. Fye! fye! bad smell of the onion!
_Reboti._ But, my mother, is not the virtue of the poor actual
virtue? That fool[15] says, he will give money, give grants of
lands for the cultivation of rice; and also give some employment
to our son-in-law. Fie! fie! to money. Is virtue something to be
sold? Has it any price? What can I say? That fool was an agent of
the Saheb, or else I would have broken her mouth with one kick. My
daughter is become thunder-struck from yesterday; and now and
then, she is starting with fear.
_Aduri._ Oh, the Beard! When he speaks, it is like a he-goat
twisting about its mouth. For my part, I would never be able to go
there as long as he does not leave off his onions and beard. Fie!
fie! fie! the bad smell of the onion.
_Reboti._ Mother, again that unfortunate fool says, if you do not
send her with me, I shall take her away by certain latyals.
_Sabitri._ What more is the Burmese (Mug) power? Can anyone take
away a woman from a house in the British Dominion?
_Reboti._ O my Mother! Every violence can be committed in the
ryot’s house. Taking away the women, they bring the men under
their power. In giving advances for Indigo they can do this; only
they cannot commit this before one’s eyes. Don’t you know, my
mother, the other day, because certain parties did not agree to
sign a fictitious receipt of advances, they broke down their house
and took away by force the wife of one of the Babus.
_Sabitri._ What anarchy is this! Did you inform Sadhu of this?
_Reboti._ No, my mother. He is already become mad on account of
the Indigo; again, if he hear this, will he keep quiet? Through
excessive anger he will rather smite his head with the axe.
_Sabitri._ Very well, I shall make this known to Sadhu, through my
husband; you need not say anything. What misfortune is this! The
Indigo Planters can do anything. Then why do I hear it generally
said, that the Sahebs are strict in dispensing justice. Again, my
son Bindu Madhab speaks much in praise of them. Therefore I think
that _these are not Sahebs_; no, _they are the dregs_, (_Chandál_)
_of Sahebs_.
_Reboti._ Respecting another word which Moyrani has said, I think
the eldest Babu has not heard of it—that a new order has been
proclaimed, by which the wicked Sahebs, by opening a communication
with the Magistrate, can throw any one into prison for six months;
again, that they are making preparations for doing the same with
the Babus.
_Sabitri._ (_Sighing deeply._) If this be in the mind of God it
will be.
_Reboti._ Many other things she said, my mother; but I was not
able to understand her. Is it the fact, that there is no appeal
when once a person is imprisoned?
_Aduri._ I think, the wretch has aggravated this imprisoning.
_Sabitri._ Aduri, be silent a little, my child.
_Reboti._ Moreover, the wife of the Indigo Planter, in order to
make her husband’s case strong (_pakka_), has sent a letter to the
Magistrate, since it is said that the Magistrate hears her words
most attentively.
_Aduri._ I saw the lady; she has no shame at all. When the
Magistrate of the Zillah (whose name occasions great terror) goes
riding about through the village, the lady also rides on
horseback, with him.—The Bou riding about on a horse! Because the
aunt of Kesi once laughed before the elder brother of her husband,
all people ridiculed her; while this was the Magistrate of the
Zillah.
_Sabitri._ I see, wretched woman, thou wilt occasion some great
misfortune one day. Now it is evening, Ghose Bou, better go home.
There is Durga.
_Reboti._ Now, I go my mother. I shall buy some oil from the shop;
then there will be light in the house.
(_Exit Reboti and Khetromani._)
_Sabitri._ Can’t you remain without speaking something at every
word.
_Enter_ SARALOTA _with clothes on her head_.
_Aduri._ Here, our washerwoman is come with her clothes.
_Sabitri._ Thou fool, why is she a washerwoman? _She is my Bou of
gold, my Goddess of good Fortune_ (_patting her back_). Is there
no one in my family excepting you to bring down the clothes? Can’t
you, for one dunda[16] sit quiet in one place? Art thou born of
such a mad woman? How did you tear off your cloth. I think you
bruised yourself. Ah, her body is, as it were, a red lotus; and
this one bruise has made the blood to come out with violence. Now,
my daughter, I tell you, never move up and down the steps in the
dark, in such a manner.
_Enter_ SOIRINDRI.
_Soirindri._ Now, our young Bou, let us go to the ghát.
_Sabitri._ Now, my daughters, while the evening light continues,
you two together go and wash yourselves.
(_Exit all._)
-----
Footnote 8:
This is a term which is applied to one’s son’s wife; but
sometimes, though rarely, it means wife.
Footnote 9:
This is only a quotation, explaining, by an example, the
eagerness of the mind when the desire in once excited.
Footnote 10:
This pronoun “his” refers to the husband of Saralota.
Footnote 11:
This is a Bengali term signifying sometimes _right_ and
sometimes _a witch_.
Footnote 12:
The word Rajah is here pronounced in an odd form; and it has
reference to those rajahs who were against widow marriage. As
the word is pronounced by a woman of the lower class, it is
spelt here incorrectly.
Footnote 13:
The iron circlet worn by a woman on her left hand, is the mark
or sign of the husband being alive.
Footnote 14:
Referring to Khetromani.
Footnote 15:
Referring to Podi Moyrani (sweet-meat maker).
Footnote 16:
A dunda is equal to 24 English minutes.
-----
----------
SECOND ACT—FIRST SCENE.
THE GODOWN OF BEGUNBARI FACTORY.
-------
_Torapa and four other Ryots sitting._
_Torapa._ Why do they not kill me at once? I can never show myself
ungrateful. That eldest Babu, who has preserved my caste; he
through whose influence I am living here; he, who by preserving my
plough and the cows, is preserving my life,—shall I by giving
false evidence throw the father of that Babu into prison? I can
never do that; I would rather give my life.
_First Ryot._ _Before sticks there can be no words_; the stroke of
Shamchand is a very terrible thrust. Have we a film on our eyes;
did we not serve our eldest Babu? But, then, what can we do? If we
do not give evidence they will never keep us as we are. Wood Saheb
stood upon my breast and blood began to fall drop by drop. _And
the feet of the horse were, as it were, the hoofs of the ox._
_Second Ryot._ Thrusting in the nails; don’t you know the nails
which are stuck under the shoes worn by the Sahebs?
_Torapa._ (_Grinding his teeth with anger._) Why do you speak of
the nails? My heart is bursting with having seen this blood. What
do I say? If I can once get him in the Vataramari field, with one
slap I can raise him in the air; and at once put a stop to all his
“gad dams” and other words of chastisement.
_Third Ryot._ I am only a hireling, and keep men under me. When I
heard about the plan which our master formed, I immediately
refused to take any Indigo business on my hand, saying I shall
never work for that. Why was I then confined in the godown? I
thought that serving under him at this time, I shall be able to
make a good collection and shall be able to attend to my friend;
but I am rotting here in this place for five days, and again I am
to go to that Andarabad.
_Second Ryot._ I went to that Andarabad once or twice; as also to
that Factory of Bhabnapore, every one speaks good of the Saheb of
that place; that Saheb once sent me to the Court, then I saw many
things pleasant in that place.
_Torapa._ Did he find any fault with you? The Saheb of Bhabnapore
never raises a false disturbance. “_By speaking the truth, we
shall ride on horseback._” Had all Sahebs been of the same
character with him, then none would have spoken ill of the Sahebs.
_Second Ryot._ My heart over-flows with joy.
Now his torturing is all put a stop to. In his godown there are
now seven persons; one of them a child. The vile man has filled
his house also with kine and calves. Oh, what robbery is he
carrying on!
_Torapa._ As soon as they get a Saheb who is a good man they want
to destroy him. They are holding a meeting to drive off the
Magistrate.
_Second Ryot._ I cannot understand whether they have found fault
with the Magistrate of this or the other Zillah?
_Torapa._ He did not go to dine in the Factory. They prepared a
dinner for the Magistrate, in order to get him within their power,
but the Magistrate _concealed himself like a stolen cow_; he did
not go to dinner. He is a person of a good family. Why should he
go to the Indigo Planters? We have now understood, these Planters
are the low people of Belata.[17]
_First Ryot._ Then how did the late Governor Saheb go about all
the Indigo Factories, being feasted like a bride-groom just before
the celebration of the marriage.[18] Did you not see that the
Planter Sahebs brought him to this Factory well-adorned like a
bride-groom?
_Second Ryot._ I think he has some share in this Indigo Company.
_Torapa._ No! can the Governor take a share in Indigo affairs? He
came to increase his fame. If God preserve our present Governor,
then we shall be able to procure something for our sustenance; and
the great burden of Indigo shall no more hang on our shoulders.
_Third Ryot._ (_With fear._) I die. If the ghost of this burden
once attack a person, is it true that it does not quit him soon?
My wife said so.
_Torapa._ Why have you brought this my brother here? For fear of
the Sahebs, people are leaving the village; and my uncle
Bochoroddi has formed the following sentence:
“The man with eyes like those of the cat, is an ignorant fool;
“So the Indigo of the Indigo Factory is an instrument of
punishment.”
Bochoroddi is very expert in forming such sentences.
_Second Ryot._ Did not you hear another sentence which was
composed by Nitá Atai?
“The Missionaries have destroyed the caste;
The Factory monkeys have destroyed the rice.”
_Torapa._ Aola Nochen has composed “Destroyed the Caste,” what is
it?
_Second Ryot._
“The Missionaries have destroyed the caste;
The Factory monkeys have destroyed the rice.”
_Fourth Ryot._ Ha! I do not know what is taking place in my house;
I am become the inhabitant of three villages at once. I came away
to Svaropur, and through the advice of Bose, I threw away the
advance which was offered me. When my young child was sick I came
to Bose to get from him a little sugar-candy. Ah! how very kind he
was; how agreeable and good-looking in countenance I found him;
and sitting as solemn as an elephant.
_Torapa._ How many bigahs have they given this year?
_Fourth Ryot._ Last year I prepared ten bigahs; but as to the
price of that, they raised great confusion. This year again, they
have given advances for fifteen bigahs; and I am doing exactly as
they are ordering me; still, they leave not off insulting me.
_First Ryot._ I am laboring with my plough for these two years,
and I have cultivated a little piece of ground. That piece of
ground which I prepared this year, I kept for sesamum; but one
day, our young Saheb, riding on his horse, came to the place, and
waiting there himself, took possession of the whole piece. How can
the ryots live if this is to continue?
_Torapa._ This is only the intrigue of the wicked Amin. Does the
Saheb know every thing about land? This fool goes about like a
revengeful dog: when he sees any good piece of land, he
immediately gives notice of it to the Saheb. The Saheb has no want
of money, and he has no need for borrowing money on credit. Then,
why is it that the fool does so; if he have to cultivate Indigo,
let him do so; let him buy oxen; let him prepare ploughs; if he
cannot guide the plough himself, let him keep men under him. What
want have you of lands? If you can cultivate the whole village;
and we do not refuse to give the village. In that case the land
can overflow with Indigo in two years. But he will not do it.
—(_Aside, ho! ho! ho! má! má!_) Gazi-Saheb! Gazi-Saheb! Durga!
Durga![19] call your Rama. Within this there are ghosts. Be
silent, be silent.
(_Aside_, Oh Indigo! You came to this land for our utter ruin. Ah!
I cannot any more suffer this torture. I cannot say how many other
Factories there are of this Concern. Within this one
month-and-a-half, I have already drunk the water of fourteen
Factories; and I do not know in what Factory I am now; and how can
I know that, while I am taken in the night from one Factory to
another, with my eyes entirely shut. Oh! my mother where art thou
now?)
_Third Ryot._ Rama! Rama! Rama! Kali! Kali! Durga! Ganesha! Ashra!
_Torapa._ Silence, silence.
(_Aside_, Ah! I can make myself free from this hell, if I take the
advance for five bigahs of land. Oh! my uncle, it is now proper to
take the advance. Now, I see no means of giving the notice; my
life is on the point of leaving the body. I have no more any power
to speak. Oh my Mother, where art thou now? I have not seen thy
holy feet for a month-and-a-half.)
_Third Ryot._ I shall speak of this to my wife; did you hear now?
Although these are become ghosts after death, still have they not
been able to extricate themselves from the Indigo advances.
_First Ryot._ Art thou so very ignorant?
_Torapa._ A person of a good family; I have understood that by the
words. My uncle Prana, can you once take me up on your shoulders,
then I can ask him where his residence is?
_First Ryot._ Thou art a Musulman.
_Torapa._ Then, you had better rise on my shoulders and see—(_sits
down_) rise up—(_sits on the shoulders_) take hold of the wall;
bring your face before the window—(_seeing Gopi Churn at a
distance_) come down, come down, my uncle, Gopi is coming (_first
Ryot falls down_).
_Enter_ GOPI CHURN _and_ MR. ROSE _with his Ramkanta[20] in his
hand_.
_Third Ryot._ Dewan, there is a ghost in this room. Now, it was
crying aloud.
_Gopi._ If you don’t say as I teach you, you must become a ghost
of the very same kind. (_Aside, to Mr. Rose_) These persons have
known about Mojumdar’s confinement, we must no more keep him in
this Factory. It was not proper to keep him in that room.
_Rose._ I shall hear of that afterwards. What ryot has refused;
what rascal is so very wicked? (_Stamps his feet_).
_Gopi._ These are all well-prepared. This Musulman is very wicked;
he says, I can never show myself ungrateful, (_nimak harámi_).
_Torapa._ (_Aside._) O my father! How very terrible the stick is!
Now I must agree with them; as to future considerations I shall
see what I can do afterwards. (_Openly_) Pardon me, Saheb! I,
also, am become the same with you.
_Planter._ Be silent, thou child of the sow! This Ramkant is very
sweet. (_Strikes with Ramkant and also kicks him_).
_Torapa._ Oh! oh! my mother, I am now dead! My uncle Prana, give
me a little water; I die for water. My father, father!
_Rose._ Shall not filth be discharged into your mouth? (_Strikes
with his shoes_).
_Torapa._ Whatever thou shalt say, I shall do. Before God, I ask
pardon of thee, my Lord.
_Rose._ Now the villain has left his wickedness. To-night all must
be sent. Just write to the Attorney, that as long as the evidence
is not given, not one of these shall be let out. The Agent shall
go with them. (_To the Third Ryot_). Why art thou crying? (_Gives
a kick_).
_Third Ryot._ Bou, where art thou? These are murdering me. O my
mother! Bou! my mother! I am killed, I am killed. (_Falls upside
down on the ground_).
_Rose._ Thou, stupid, art become (_bonra_) mad.
(_Exit Mr. Rose_).
_Gopi._ Now, Torapa, have you got your full of the onion and the
shoe?
_Torapa._ Oh Dewanji, preserve me by giving a little water. I am
on the point of death.
_Gopi._ The Indigo ware-house and the steam-engine room—these are
places where the sweat shoots forth and water is drunk. Now, all
of you, come with me, that you may at once drink water.
(_Exit all._)
-----
Footnote 17:
Belata means England.
Footnote 18:
This refers to a certain practice in India of the Bride-groom
going to the houses of relatives amid great feasting, before the
celebration of the marriage.
Footnote 19:
These are all words used by Mahomedans in times of great alarm;
and here it is used to express the fear of ghosts.
Footnote 20:
It is very like Shamchand.
-----
----------
SECOND ACT—SECOND SCENE.
THE BED-ROOM OF BINDU MADHAR.
-------
_Saralota sitting with a letter in her hand._
_Saralota._ Now, my dear love with an honest tongue is not come,
and an elephant, as it were, is treading on the lotus-like heart.
I have become hopeless amid very great hope. In expectation of the
coming of the Lord of my life, I was waiting with greater
disquietude of mind than the swallow (_chátak_) does when waiting
for the drops of rain at the approaching rainy season. The way in
which I was counting the days exactly corresponded with what my
sister said, that each day appeared, as it were, a year, (_deep
sigh_). The expectation as to the coming of my husband is now of
no effect. The course of his life itself will prove successful, if
the great action in which he is now engaged, can prove so. Oh,
Lord of my life! We are born women, and cannot even go out to walk
in the garden; we are unable to walk out in the city; can by no
means form clubs for general good; we have no Colleges nor Courts,
nor Brahma Samajs of our own; we have nothing of our own, to
compose the mind, when it is once disturbed; and, moreover, we can
never blame a woman when she feels any disquietude. O my Lord, we
have only one to depend upon,—the husband is the object of the
wife’s thought, of her understanding, her study, her acquisition,
her meeting, her society; in short, this jewel—the husband—is all
to a virtuous woman. O thou letter! thou art come from the hand of
the dear object of my heart, I shall kiss thee, (_kisses it_); in
thee is the name of my Lord; I shall hold thee on my burnt heart,
(_keeps it on her breast_). Ah! how sweet are the words of my
Lord; as often as I read it, my mind is more and more charmed
(_reads_).
MY DEAR SARALA,—_In my letter I cannot express what anxiety my
mind feels, to see your sweet face. O what inexpressible pleasure
do I feel when I place your beautiful (moonlike) face on my
breast! I thought that that moment of happiness is come; but pain
immediately overtook pleasure. The College is closed, but a great
misfortune has come upon me; through the grace of God, if I be not
able to extricate myself from it, I shall never be able any more
to show my face to thee. The Indigo Planters have secretly brought
an accusation against my father in the Court; their main design
being, in some way or other, to throw him into Jail. I have sent
letters, one after another, to my brother, giving him this
information; and I myself am remaining here with the greatest care
possible. Never disturb yourself with vain thoughts? The merciful
Father must certainly make us successful. My dear, I have not
forgotten the Bengali translation of “Shakespeare;” it cannot be
got now in the shops; but one of my friends, Bonkima by name, has
given me one copy. When I come home, I shall bring it with me. My
dear, what a great source of pleasure is the acquisition of
learning! I am conversing with you, although at such a great
distance, Ah! what great happiness would my mind have enjoyed if
my mother did not forbid you to send letters to me._
“_I am, yours_,
“BINDU MADHAR.”
As to myself—I have a full confidence as to that. If there be any
fault in your character, then who should be an example of good
conduct? Because I am fickle; cannot sit, for some time quietly in
one place, my mother-in-law calls me the daughter of a mad woman.
But, where is my fickleness now. In the place, where I have opened
the letter of my dear Lord, I have spent nearly a fourth part of
the day. The fickleness of the exterior part has now gone into the
heart. As, on the boiling of the rice, the froth rising up makes
the surface quiet, but the rice within is agitated; so am I now. I
have not that smiling face now. A sweet smile is the wife of
happiness; and so soon as happiness dies, the sweet smile goes
along with it. My Lord, when thou shalt prove successful, every
thing shall be preserved; if I am to see your face disquieted, all
sides will be dark unto me. O my restless mind, wilt thou be not
quieted? If you remain unquiet, that can be suffered. As to your
weeping, none can see it, nor can hear it; but my eyes! you shall
throw me into shame, (_rubbing her eyes_); if ye are not pacified,
I shall not be able to go out of doors.
_Enter_ ADURI
_Aduri._ What are you doing here? The elder Haldarni[21] is not
able to go to the tank-side. All whom I see are of a disturbed
countenance.
_Saralota._ (_A deep sigh._) Let us then go.
_Aduri._ I see you have not yet touched the oil. Your hairs are
yet dusty, and you have not yet left the letter. Does our young
Haldar write my name in the letter?
_Saralota._ Has the Bara Takur (the eldest brother of the husband)
finished his bathing?
_Aduri._ The eldest Haldar is gone to the village. A law-suit is
being carried on. Was that not written in your letter? Our master
was weeping.
_Saralota._ (_Aside_) Truly, my Lord! Thou shalt not be able to
show thy face, if thou can’st not prove successful. (_Openly_) Let
us now rub ourselves with oil in the cook-room.
(_Exit both._)
-----
Footnote 21:
Referring to Soirindri, the wife of Nobin Madhab.
-----
----------
SECOND ACT—THIRD SCENE.
A ROAD POINTING THREE WAYS.
-------
_Enter_ PODI MOYRANI.
_Podi._ It is the degenerate Amin who is ruining the country. Is
it through my own choice that I am levelling the axe at my
feet,[22] by giving the young woman to the Saheb? As to that
preparation which Ray made, had it not been caught[23] by Sadhu,
she would have been provided with food and clothing for life. Ah,
it bursts my heart when I see the face of Khetromani. Have I no
feelings of compassion, because I have made a paramour my
companion? Whenever she sees me still, she comes to me, calling me
Aunt! Aunt! Can the mother, with a firm heart, give such _a golden
deer into the grasp of the tiger_? How detestable is this, that
for the sake of money, I have given up my caste and my life; and
also am obliged to touch the bed of a Buno (rude tribe). That
libertine, the elder Saheb, has made it a practice to beat me
whenever he finds me, and has also said, he will cut off my nose
and ears;—that vile man is come to an old age, can keep women in
confinement, and can kick them; such a vile man, I have not seen
in the present day. Let me go to the black-mouthed Amin and tell
him that shall not be effected by me. Have I any power to go out
in the town? Whenever the nasty fellows of the neighbourhood see
me, they follow me as the Phinga (a kind of bird) does the crow.
(_Aside, a song._) Whenever I sit down to reap the rice in the
field, his eyes immediately come before my sight.
_Enter a Cow-herd._
_Cow-herd._ _Saheb_, have not insects attacked thine Indigo-twigs?
_Podi._ Let them attack thy mother and sister, thou degenerate
fool. Leave off thy mother’s breast, go to the house of Death; go
to Colmighata, to the grave.[24]
_Cow-herd._ I have also sent orders to prepare a pair of weeding
knives.
_Enter a Latyal or Club-man._
Oh! the Latyal of the Indigo Factory.
_The Cow-herd flies off swiftly._
_Latyal._ Thou, Oh lotus-faced, hast made the tooth-powder very
dear.
_Podi._ (_Seeing the silver chain round the waist of the Latyal._)
Your chain is very grand.
_Club-man._ Don’t you know, my dear, the clothing of the bailiff
and the dress of the dancer?
_Podi._ I wanted a black calf from you a long while ago, but yet
you did not give it me. My brother, I shall not ask from thee any
more.
_Club-man._ Dear lotus-faced, don’t be angry with me. To-morrow,
we shall go to plunder the place called Shamanagara; and if I can
get a black calf, I shall immediately keep that in your cow-house.
When I shall return with my fish, I shall pass by your house.
(_Exit the Club-man._)
_Podi._ The Planter Sahebs do nothing but rob. If the ryots be
loaded in a less degree with exactions they can preserve their
lives; and you[25] can get your Indigo. The Munshies of
Shamanagara entreated most earnestly to get ten portions of land
free. “_The Thief never hears the instructions of Religion._” The
wretched elder Saheb remained quiet, having burnt his wretched
tongue.
_Enter four Boys of a Native Patshala._
_Four Boys._ (_Keeping down their mats, and expressing great mirth
with the clapping of their hands._)
My dear Moyrani, where is your Indigo?
My dear Moyrani, where is your Indigo?
My dear Moyrani, where is your Indigo?
_Podi._ My child Kesoba, I am your aunt. Never use such words to
me.
_Four Boys._ (_Dance together._) My dear Moyrani; where is your
Indigo?
_Podi._ My dear Ambika, I am your sister; don’t use me in this
manner,
_Four Boys._ (_Dance round Podi._)
My dear Moyrani, where is your Indigo?
My dear Moyrani, where is your Indigo?
My dear Moyrani, where is your Indigo?
_Enter_ NOBIN MADHAB.
_Podi._ What a shame is this, that I exposed my face to the elder
Babu.
(_Exit Podi, covering herself with a veil._)
_Nobin._ Wicked and profligate woman. (_To the children_) You are
playing on the road still; it is now too late, go home now.
(_Exit four boys._)
Ah! I can within five days establish a school for these boys, if
only the tyranny of the Indigo be once stopped. The Inspector of
this part of the country is a very good man. How very good a man
becomes, if only learning be acquired. He is young; but in his
conversation he has the experience of years. He has a great desire
that a school be established in this country. I am also not
unwilling to give money for this purpose; the large Bungalow which
I have, can be a good place for a school; moreover, what is more
happy than to have the boys of one’s own country to read and
write, and study in his own house, this is the true success of
wealth and of labour. Bindu Madhab brought the Inspector with him,
and it is his desire, that all with one mind try to establish the
school. But observing the unfortunate state of the country, he was
obliged to keep his design to himself; how very mild, quiet,
good-natured, and wise is he become now! Wisdom in younger years
is as beautiful as the fruits in a small plant. In reading of the
sorrow which my brother has expressed in his letter even the hard
stone is melted and the heart of the Indigo Planter would become
soft. I cannot now rise up to go home, I do not see any means; I
was not able to bring one of the five to my side, and I cannot
find where they are taken away.[26] I think Torapa will never
speak a lie. It shall be a great loss to us, if the other four
give evidence; especially as I was not able to make the least
preparation; and again the Magistrate is a great friend of Mr.
Wood.
_Enter a Ryot, two Peadas or Bailiffs of the Police, and a Taidgir
of the Indigo Factory._
_Ryot._ My elder Babu, preserve my two children; there is no one
else to feed them. Last year, I gave eight carts’ load of Indigo,
and I did not get a single pice for that, and also I am bound, as
with cords, for the remainder. Again, they will take me to
Andarabad.
_Guard._ The advance-money of the Indigo and the marking nut of
the washer-man, as soon as they come in contact, become mostly
joined. You villain come; you must first go to the Dewanji; your
elder Babu also shall come to this.
_Ryot._ Come, I don’t fear this. I would rather have my body rot
in the Jail than any more prepare the Indigo of that white man. My
God! my God! none looks on the poor (_weeps_). My elder Babu, give
my children food; they brought me to the field; and I was not able
to see them once.
(_Exit all, except Nobin Madhab._)
_Nobin._ What injustice! These two children will die without food
in the same way as the new-born young of the hare suffer when the
hare is in the hand of the savage hunters.
_Enter_ RAY CHURN.
_Ray._ Had not my brother caught hold of us, I would have put a
stop to her breathing. I would have killed her; then, at the
utmost, I had been hanged within six months.[27] That villain!
_Nobin._ Ray Churn, where art thou going?
_Ray._ Our mistress ordered me to call Putakur. The stupid Podi
told me that the bailiff will bring the summons to-morrow.
(_Exit Ray Churn._)
_Nobin._ Oh! oh! oh! That which never took place in this family,
has now come to pass. My father is very peaceful, honest, and of a
sincere mind; knows not what disputes and enmities are; never goes
out of the village; trembles with fear at the name of Court
affairs, and even shed tears when he read the letter. If he is to
go to Indrabad, he will turn mad; and if, to the jail, he will
throw himself into the stream. Ah, such are the misfortunes that
are to fall on him, while I, his son, am living! My mother is not
so much afraid as my father is; she does not lose hope at once;
with a firm mind, she is now invoking God. My deer-eyed is become,
as it were, the deer in my volcano[28]; she is become mad with
fear and anxiety. Her father died in an Indigo Factory; and her
fear, now, is lest the same happens to her husband. How many sides
am I to keep quiet? Is it proper to fly off with the whole family;
or, is it not right that to do good unto others is the highest
virtue? I shall not turn aside hastily. I see, I am not able to do
any good to Shamanagara; still, what work is there which is beyond
the power of exertion? Let me see what I can do.
_Enter two Pundits._
_First P._ My child, is the house of Goluk Chunder Bose in this
quarter? I heard from my uncle, that person is very honest—the
grandeur of the Bose family.
_Nobin._ (_Bowing before him._) Sir, I am his eldest son.
_First P._ Yes! yes! very honest! To have such a son is not the
result of a little virtue.
_Second P._ We had been invited by Babu Arabindu, of Sougandha.
To-day, we remain in the house of Goluk Chunder; and shall do good
unto you.
_Nobin._ This is my great fortune. Sirs, come by this way.
(_Exit all._)
-----
Footnote 22:
This expression “striking the axe on my feet” signifies ruining
myself.
Footnote 23:
That is, had the intrigue used by Ray not been detected, it
would have proved very advantageous.
Footnote 24:
All these signify that let Death come upon thee.
Footnote 25:
The word “you” refers to the Indigo Planters.
Footnote 26:
This number, five, here referred to, are the persons whom he was
trying to bring on his side for the law-suit.
Footnote 27:
This expression “had been hanged for six months,” is only used
sarcastically.
Footnote 28:
That is, as the deer feels disquieted when exposed in a volcano,
so is my mate troubled by the many anxieties in my mind.
-----
----------
THIRD ACT—FIRST SCENE.
BEFORE THE FACTORY IN BEGUNBARI.
-------
_Enter_ GOPI CHURN _and a Native Jailor_.
_Gopi._ As long as your share is not less, don’t bring anything to
my notice.
_Jailor._ Can that filth be digested by one person eating the
whole? I told him, if you eat, give a part to the Dewanji; but he
says what power has your Dewan? He is not so much the son of a
Keát, (_shoemaker caste_) that he shall direct the Saheb like unto
one leading a monkey.
_Gopi._ Very well, now go; I shall show that Kaot (what a club)
how strong he is.
(_Exit Khálási._)
The fellow has got so much power through the authority of the
younger Saheb. I shall also say it is a very easy thing for one to
carry on his work, if his master be the husband of his sister; the
elder Saheb becomes very angry at this word. But the fellow is
very angry with me; at every word, he shows me the Shamchand. That
day he kicked me with his stockings on. These few days, I see that
his temper is become somewhat mild towards me; since Goluk Bose is
summoned, he has expressed a little kindness. A person is
considered very expert by the Saheb, if he can bring about the
ruin of many. “_One becomes a good Physician by the death of one
hundred patients._”
(_Seeing Mr. Wood._)
Here he is coming; let me first soften his mind by giving him some
information about the Boses.
_Enter_ MR. WOOD.
Saheb, tears have now come out of the eyes of Nobin Bose. Never
was he punished more severely. His garden is taken away from him;
the small pieces of land he had are all included among the lands
which are given to Gada, Poda (_low castes_); his cultivation is
nearly put a stop to; his magazines are all become empty, and he
was sent into Court twice; in the midst of so many troubles, he
still stood firm; but now he has fallen down.
_Planter._ That rascal was not able to do any thing in
Shamanagara.
_Gopi._ Saheb, the Munshis came to him; but he told them, my mind
is not at rest now, “my limbs are become powerless through weeping
for my father, and I am, as it were, become mad.” On observing the
wretched condition of Nobin, about seven or eight ryots of
Shamanagara have all given up, and all are doing exactly as your
Honour is ordering them.
_Planter._ You are a very good Dewan, and you have formed a very
good plan.
_Gopi._ I knew Goluk Bose to be a coward, and that if he were
obliged to go to Court, he would turn mad. As Nobin has a great
affection for his father, he will of course be punished; and it
was for this reason that I gave the advice to make the old man the
defendant. Also, the plan which your Honour formed was not the
less good. Our Indigo cultivation has been newly made on the sides
of his tank; thus laying the snake’s eggs in his heart.
_Planter._ _With one stone two birds have been killed_; ten bigahs
of land are cultivated with Indigo, and also that fool is
punished. He shed much tears, saying that if Indigo be planted
near the tank we shall be obliged to leave our habitation; but I
said, to cultivate Indigo in one’s habitation is to the best
advantage.
_Gopi._ And the fool brought an action in the Court, on hearing
that reply.
_Planter._ That will be of no effect; that Magistrate is a very
good man. If the case turn into a civil one it will never be
concluded in less than five years. That Magistrate is a great
friend of mine. Just see, by the new Act, the four rascals were
thrown into prison only by making your evidence strong. _This Act
is become the brother of the sword._
_Gopi._ Saheb, in order that those four ryots might not suffer
loss in their cultivation, Nobin Bose has given his own plough,
kine, and harrow for the ploughing of their lands; and he is
trying his utmost that their families might not suffer great
trouble.
_Planter._ When he is required to plough this land, for which
advances are allowed, he says, my ploughs and kine are less in
number. He is very wicked; and now he is very well punished.
Dewan, now you have done very well, and now I see work may be
carried on by you, without loss.
_Gopi._ Saheb, it is your own favour. My desire is, that advances
should be increased every year. But that cannot be done by me
alone; some confident Amin and Khalasis are necessary. Can the
Indigo cultivation be improved by those who, for the sake of two
rupees, occasioned the loss of the produce of three bigahs of
land?
_Planter._ I have understood it, the rascally Amin occasioned this
confusion.
_Gopi._ Saheb, the new habitation, and the taking of advances of
Chunder Goladar are not allowed here. The Amin once, according to
regular custom, threw one rupee on his ground as an advance. That
person, in order to be allowed to return that rupee even shed
tears and came along with the Amin as far as Ruthtollah, begging
him earnestly to take it back. There he met with Nilkanta Babu,
who has chosen the profession of an Attorney immediately after
leaving the College.
_Planter._ I know that rascal; he, it is, who writes every thing
concerning me in the newspapers.
_Gopi._ Their papers can never stand before yours, can by no means
bear a comparison; and, moreover, they are as _the earthen bottles
for cooling water compared to the jars of Dacca_. But, to bring
the newspapers within your influence, great expense has been
incurred. That takes place according to time; as is said,
“According to circumstances, the friend becomes an enemy:
The lame ass is sold at the price of the horse.”
_Planter._ What did Nilkanta do?
_Gopi._ He sharply rebuked the Amin; and the Amin with no little
shame brought back that one rupee, with two rupees more, from
Goladar’s house. Chunder Goladar would have been able very easily
to supply the Indigo for three or four bigahs. Is this the work of
a servant? If I can conduct the Dewanny and the business of the
Amin, then this kind of ingratitude can be stopped.
_Planter._ Great wickedness this is; evident ingratitude.
_Gopi._ Saheb, grant pardon for this bad conduct; the Amin brought
his own sister to our younger Saheb’s room.
_Planter._ Yes! Yes! I know; that rascal and Podi corrupted our
young Saheb. I must give that wicked fool some instruction very
soon. Send him to my sitting room.
(_Exit Mr. Wood._)
_Gopi._ Just see, _in whose hand the monkey plays best. The Khait
is one rogue, and the Crow another._
“_Now have you fallen under the stroke of the Khait; where even
the grand-father of the sister’s husband loses the game._”
----------
THIRD ACT—SECOND SCENE.
THE BED-ROOM OF NOBIN MADHAB.
-------
NOBIN MADHAB _and_ SOIRINDRI _sitting_.
_Soirindri._ Lord of my soul, what is preferable, whether the
ornament or my father-in-law? That, for which thou art wandering
about day and night; that, for which thou hast left thy food and
sleep; that, for which thou art shedding tears incessantly; that,
for which thy pleasant face has been depressed; and that which has
occasioned thy head-ache; my dear Lord, can I not for that give
away this my trifling ornament.
_Nobin._ My dear, you can, with ease, give; but with what face
shall I take it? What great troubles the husband is to undergo in
order to dress his wife: he has to swim in the rapid stream, to
throw himself into the deep ocean, engage in battles, to climb
mountains, to live in the wilderness, and to go before the mouth
of the tiger. The husband adorns his wife with so much trouble; am
I so very foolish as to take away the ornament from the very same
wife. O my lotus-eyed, wait a little. Let me see this day, and if,
finally I cannot procure it, then I shall take your ornaments
afterwards.
_Soirindri._ O my heart’s love! We are very unfortunate now; and
who is there that shall give you on loan the sum of Co.’s Rs. 500
at such a time. I am entreating you again, take my ornaments and
those of our youngest Bou, and try to procure money from a banker.
Observing your troubles the lotus-like young Bou is become sad.
_Nobin._ Ah! my sweet-faced, the cruel words which you used struck
on my heart like arrows of fire. Our youngest Bou, she is a girl;
good clothes and beautiful ornaments are objects of pleasure to
her. What understanding has she now? What does she know of family
business. As our young Bipin cries when his neck-lace is taken
from him in play, so our youngest Bou weeps when her ornaments are
taken away. Oh, oh! am I formed so mean-spirited a man? Am I to be
so cruel a robber? Shall I deceive a young girl? This can never
be, as long as life exists. The worthless Indigo Planters even
cannot commit such a crime. My dear, never use such a word before
me.
_Soirindri._ Beloved of my soul, that pain with which I told these
words, is only known to me and the omniscient God. What doubt is
there, that they are fiery arrows? They have burst my heart and
burnt my tongue, and then having divided the lips, have entered
your heart. It is with great pain that I told you to take the
ornaments of the youngest Bou. Can there be any pleasure in the
mind, after having observed this your insane wandering, this
weeping of my father-in-law, the deep sighs of my mother-in-law,
the sad face of the youngest Bou, the dejected countenance of
relatives and friends, and the sorrowful mournings of the ryots?
If by any means we can restore safety, then all shall be safe. My
Lord, I do feel the same pain in giving the ornaments of our
youngest Bou, as if I had to give those of Bipin; but if I give
away the ornaments of Bipin, before giving those of the youngest
Bou, that would prove an act of cruelty to her; since, she might
think that my sister looks on me as a stranger. Can I give pain to
her honest heart by doing this? Is this the work of the elder
sister who is like a mother?
_Nobin._ My dear love! Your heart is very sincere. There is not a
second to you in sincerity in the female race. Is this my family
reduced to this state! What was I, and what am I now become! The
sum of my profits was seven hundred Rupees. I had fifteen
warehouses for corn, sixteen bigahs of garden land, twenty ploughs
and fifty harrows. What great feasts had I at the time of the
Puja; the house filled with men, feasting the Brahmins, gifts to
the poor, the feasting of friends and relations, the musical
entertainments of the Voishnabas, and also pleasant theatrical
representations. I have expended such large sums, and even given
as donations one hundred Rupees. Being so rich, now I am obliged
to take away the ornaments of my wife, and the wife of my young
brother. What affliction? God, thou didst give these, and thou
hast taken them again. Then, what sorrow?
_Soirindri._ My dear, when I see you weep, my life itself weeps
(_tears in her eyes_). Was there so much pain in my fate; am I
thus destined to see such distress in my Lord? Do not prevent me
any more. (_Takes out the amulet._)
_Nobin._ My heart bursts when I see your tears (_rubbing the
tears_). Stop my dear, of the moon-like face, stop (_taking hold
of her hands_). Keep these; one day more, let me see.
_Soirindri._ My dear, what further resource is left? Do, as I tell
you now. If it be so destined, there shall be many ornaments
afterwards (_aside, sneezing_); true, true. Aduri is coming.
_Enter_ ADURI _with two letters_.
_Aduri._ I can’t say whence the letters came; but my mistress told
me to give them to you.
(_Exit Aduri, after giving the letters._)
_Nobin._ It shall be known by these letters whether your ornaments
are to be taken or not. (_Opens the first letter._)
_Soirindri._ Read it aloud.
_Nobin._ (_Reads the letter._)
“DEAR FRIEND,—_This is to make it known to you, that to give a sum
of money to you at present is only to make a return of favours. My
mother has taken leave of this world yesterday; and the day of her
first funeral obsequies is very near. This have I written
yesterday. The tobacco is not yet sold._
“_I am, yours_,
“GHONOSYAM MUKERJI.”
What misfortune is this! Is this my assistance on the funeral
obsequies of the mother of the honorable Mukerji? Let me see what
deadly weapon hast thou brought. (_Opens the letter._)
_Soirindri._ My dear, it is very miserable to fall into despair
after entertaining high hopes. Let the letter remain as it is.
_Nobin._ (_Reads the letter._)
“HONORED SIR,—_I received your last letter, and was much pleased
with reading of your good fortune. I have already collected the
sum of three hundred Rupis, and shall take that along with me to
you to-morrow. As to the remaining one hundred, I shall clear that
on the coming month. The great benefit which you have bestowed on
me, excites me to give some interest._
“_I am, your most obdt. Servt._,
“GOKUL KRISHNA PALITA.”
_Soirindri._ I think God has turned his face towards us; now, let
me go, and give this information to our youngest Bou.
(_Exit Soirindri._)
_Nobin._ (_Aside._) My life is, as it were, the idol of sincerity;
it is a piece of a straw in a rapid stream. Let me take my father
now to Indrabad, depending on this; as to the future it shall be
according to Fate. With me I have one hundred and fifty Rupis. As
to the tobacco, if I had kept it for a month more, I would have
sold that for the sum of five hundred Rupis; but what can I do? I
am obliged to give it for three hundred and fifty Rupis, since I
have to pay much for the Officers of the Court; and also heavy
expenses for going to and returning from the place. If on account
of this false case, there be a delay, then am I certain that the
destruction of this land is very near. What a brutal Act is
passed? But, what is the fault of the Act; or of those who passed
the Act? What misery can the country suffer if those who are to
carry out the Act, do it with impartiality? Ah, by this Act how
many persons are suffering in prison-houses without a fault! It
bursts the heart to see the miseries of their wives and children;
the pots for boiling rice on the hearths are remaining as they
are; the several kinds of grain in their yards are being dried up;
their kine in the rooms are all remaining bound in their places;
the cultivation of the fields is not fully carried out, the seeds
are not sown, and the wild grass in the rice fields is not cut
off. What further prospects are there in the present year? All are
crying aloud, with the exclamation, Where is my lord? Where is my
father? Some Magistrates are dispensing justice with proper
consideration; in their hands this Act is not become the rod of
death. Ah! Had all Magistrates been as just as the Magistrate of
Amaranagara is, then could the harrow fall on the ripe grain and
the locusts destroy the fields? Had that been the case, would I
ever have been thrown into so many dangers? O, thou
Lieutenant-Governor! had’st thou engaged men of the same good
character as thou had’st enacted laws, then the country would
never have been miserable. O, thou Governor of the land! had’st
thou made such a regulation, that every plaintiff, when his case
is proved false, shall be put in prison, then the jail of
Amaranagara would have been crowded with Indigo Planters; and they
would never have been so very powerful. Our Magistrate is
transferred, but our case is to continue here to the end; and that
will occasion our ruin.
(_Enter Sabitri._)
_Sabitri._ If you are to give up all the ploughs, is it that even
then you are to take the advance-money? Sell all your ploughs and
kine, and engage in trade; we shall enjoy ourselves with the
profits that shall accrue from that. We can no longer endure this.
_Nobin._ Mother, I, also, have the same desire. Only, I wait till
Bindu is engaged in some service. If we leave off ploughing the
land, it will be impossible for us to maintain the family; and it
is for this reason, that we have still, with so much trouble, kept
these ploughs.
_Sabitri._ How shalt thou go with this headache? Oh oh! was such
Indigo produced in this land! (_Places her hand on Nobin’s head_).
(_Enter Reboti._)
_Reboti._ My mother! Where shall I go? What shall I do? They have
done what! Why is it that through ill-fortune I brought her?
Having brought one of a strange caste, I am become unable to
preserve propriety. My eldest Babu! preserve me; my life is on the
point of bursting out. Bring me Khetromani; bring me my _puppet of
gold_.
_Sabitri._ These destroyers can do all things. Ye are taking by
force the pieces of ground of men, their grain, their kine and
calves. By the force of clubs, ye are cultivating Indigo, and the
people are doing your work with cries and sobbings.
_Reboti._ My mother! I am preparing the Indigo, taking only half
the food. Those bigahs which they had marked, on them I worked.
When Ray works, he weeps with deep sighs; if he hear of this my
work, he would become, as it were, insane.
_Nobin._ Where is Sadhu now?
_Reboti._ He is sitting outside, and is weeping.
_Nobin._ To a woman of good family, _constancy in faithfulness to
her husband is, as it were, the loadstone_; and how very beautiful
does she appear (_ramaniki ramaniyá_) when she is decorated with
that ornament. Is a woman of a good family carried off, when the
Bhima-like Svaropur of my father is still in existence? At this
very moment shall I go. I shall see what manner of injustice this
is. _The Indigo frog can never sit on the white waterlily-like
constancy of a woman._
(_Exit Nobin Madhab._)
_Sabitri._ _Chastity is the store of gold which is given by
Providence; it is so valuable that it makes the beggar woman, a
queen._ If you can rescue this jewel before it is soiled, from the
hands of the Indigo monkey, then shall I say that you have
actually answered the purpose of my being your mother. Such
injustice I never heard of. Now, Ghose Bou, let us go out-side.
----------
THIRD ACT—THIRD SCENE.
MR. ROSE’S CHAMBER.
-------
MR. ROSE _sitting. Enter_ PODI MOYRANI & KHETROMANI.
_Khetra._ My aunt, don’t speak of such things to me; I can give up
my life, but my chastity never; cut me in pieces, burn me in the
fire, throw me into the water, and bury me under ground; but as to
touching another man that can I never do. What will my husband
think?
_Podi._ Where is your husband now, and where are you? This shall
no one know. Within this night, I shall bring you back with me to
your mother.
_Khetra._ Very well, the husband may not know it—but God above
will know it, and I shall never be able to throw dust in his eyes.
Like the fire of the brick-kiln it will still burn within my
breast, and the more my husband shall love me for my constancy,
the more my soul shall be tortured. Openly or secretly, I never
can take a paramour.
_Podi._ My child, come, come to the Saheb. Whatever you have to
say, say to him. To speak to me is like _crying in the
wilderness_.
_Planter Rose._ To speak to me is _throwing pearls at the hog’s
feet_. Ha, ha, ha, we Indigo Planters, are become the companions
of Death; can our Factories remain, if we have pity? By nature, we
are not bad; our evil disposition has increased by Indigo
cultivation. Before, we felt sorrow in beating one man; now, we
can beat ten persons with the Ramkant (leather strap), making them
senseless; and immediately after, we can, with great laughter,
take our dinner or supper.
_Torap._ I will swim over the stream to my house, this night. What
more shalt thou hear of my fate; I broke down the window of the
Attorney’s stable, and immediately ran off to the Zemindary of
Babu Bosonto, and then in the night came to my wife and children.
This Planter has stopped every thing; has he left any means for
men to live by ploughing? How very terrible are the thrusts of the
Indigo? Again, the advice is given to serve for it. Now, Sir,
where are your kicks with your shoes on, and your beating on the
head? (_Thrusts him with his knees_).
_Nobin._ Torap, what is the use of beating him? We ought not to be
cruel, because they are so; I am going.
(_Exit Nobin, with Khetromani._)
_Torap._ Do you want to show such ill-usage and bad conduct? Speak
to your old father and carry on your business by mutual consent;
how long shall your force of hand continue? You shall not be able
to do anything, when I shall fly. There is no abuse more horrid
than to say, Die! When your destiny shall decide, you shall have
to enter the Factory of the Tomb. Just settle our eldest Babu’s
account of the last year; and take what he consents to sow of
Indigo in the present year. It is owing to you that they have
fallen into a state of confusion. It is not merely to load one
with advances, but cultivation is necessary. Good evening, our
young Saheb. Now, I go. (_Throws him about, lying on his back, and
flies off._)
----------
THIRD ACT—FOURTH SCENE.
THE HALL IN THE HOUSE OF GOLUK BOSE.
-------
_Enter_ SABITRI.
_Sabitri._ (_With a deep sigh._) O thou cruel Magistrate! Why
didst not thou also give me a summons? I would have gone to the
zillah with my husband and my child; that would have been far
better than remaining in this desert. Ah! my husband always
remains in the house, never goes out to another village even on
invitation. Is he destined to suffer so much?—The peadahs taking
him away, and he himself to go to the jail. Bhagavati, my mother!
was there so much in thy mind? Ah! he says, that he can never
sleep, but in a room very long and broad; he eats only the boiled
Atapa rice;[29] he takes the food prepared by no other hand but
that of the eldest Bou. Ah! he brought out blood out of his breast
by severe slaps; he made his eyes swollen by tears; and at the
same time, he took his leave, he said this is my going to the side
of the Ganges[30] (_weeps_). Nobin says, Mother call on Bhagavati.
I must return home having gained my object and bring him home
also. Ah! the face of my son, like unto that of gold, is
blackened; what great troubles for the collection of money!
Wandering about without rest, his brain is become like a
whirl-pool. Lest I give away the ornaments of the Bous, my son
encourages me, saying, My mother, what want of money? What large
sum will be necessary for this case? How shall my child grieve, if
my ornaments be given in mortgage for our suit on small portions
of land! He says, as soon as I get a small sum of money, I shall
immediately bring back the ornaments. My son has courage in his
tongue and tears in his eyes. Ah! he started with tears in his
eyes. My dear Nobin, in this heat of the sun, went to Indrabad;
and I, a great sinner, remained confined in my room. Is this the
life thy mother spends!
_Enter_ SOIRINDRI.
_Soirindri._ Madam, it is now too late. Now bathe. It is our
unfortunate destiny; else, why shall such an occurrence come to
pass?
_Sabitri._ (_With tears._) No, my daughter, as long as my Nobin
does not return, I shall never give rice and water to my body. Who
shall give food to my son?
_Soirindri._ His brother has a lodging house there, and they have
a Brahmin; there will be no disturbance. You had better come and
bathe.
_Enter_ SARALOTA, _with a cup of oil_.
Young Bou, you had better rub the oil on her body, and make her
bathe, and bring her to the cook-room. Let me go to prepare the
place.
(_Exit Soirindri._)
(_Saralota rubs the oil on her mother-in-law’s body._)