The Princess and the Political Agent

by Binodini

  One day Sanatombi was fishing with the nets in the pond at the queen’s residence. Her aunts sat around their sister-in-law Premamayi. How happy they all were meeting and talking at the house of the Lady of Ngangbam that day. It was after they had eaten that Premamayi, having gathered them all together, said it had been long since she had had a meal with her younger sisters. Sanatombi also came from the Nongmaithem household to join the lunch for the princesses. She went off while the others were talking, and having caught two fishes when she pulled up the fishing nets that a house servant had cast in the pond of the residence, she stayed on fishing for fun. She was not with the others as they sat around.

  There was one important reason the queen, the Lady of Ngangbam, had called her sisters-in-law today. The queen had heard that there were some among the princesses who were not faring well. Some had fallen destitute during the turmoil and chaos of the war and had even been reduced to adding water chestnuts to their rice for their meals. They were living in great hardship—like the proverbial proud python that starves itself to death. The Lady of Ngangbam was very distressed when she heard this and wondered—What to do? During the thirty-six years of his reign, the monarch Chandrakirti was absorbed in the law and order of the land and in developing his kingdom. And so, he did not have time to set up his daughters and women for the future. It was not just his children, he did not have time to think of anyone individually. He was not able to think of personal matters while he was dealing with the responsibilities of Manipur as a whole. In addition, it was a time when the Anglo-Manipuri relations that had been established since the time of Maharaja Bhagyachandra had become much stronger. He always attended to these ties very closely. He maintained relations with the shrewd foreigners very carefully. He had to face many a big groundswell and raise Manipur to a higher level, and so he did not think about small matters. On top of that, he did not think he would die so soon.

  In those days, all the princesses were found sons from good families and lineages of accomplishment to marry. They did not look much into the man’s own capability and personal accomplishments because, with the merger of their destiny with that of the royal family, it followed that those would be taken care of. The daughters of Chandrakirti were all married to sons from families of good breeding but they were not all men who were worthy individuals. The Lady of Ngangbam was truly agitated when she heard of the distressed princesses of Manipur. With their father no longer as the king, and the shape they were in, what was to be done? Nor did she have the resources to help and set them all up herself.

  She first called upon the clever ones among her staff of old and consulted with them about what she could do. The queen summoned various people and sought their advice, and Bamacharan was one among them. She thought that even though Bamacharan was an outsider, and was no longer under her patronage, there was no harm in soliciting his thoughts. On top of that, Surchandra had died as a friend of the foreign government. If one were to think about it, they ought to listen to the queen of Surchandra and do accordingly. She hinted as much to Bamacharan. She said, ‘Mister Clerk, my lord Surchandra was never an enemy of the foreigners’ government—this much you will agree with. And the throne of Manipur belongs to the Divine Majesty, and this all has happened because of ill fortune. This too you ought to agree with. The Divine Majesty died while on the throne—and I am his queen. … … …’

  ‘It is true, Royal Dowager Queen, it is all true. It was fated to turn out this way. Oh Lord, it is all Your will!’ Bamacharan wiped away his tears. And then he added, ‘I am just a servant, and even now I am a servant of the palace. What advice could I give? But what you say is all true, I understand it all. I will convey this matter to your servant Maxwell and then I will bring word back to you.’

  He kowtowed and left. After discussing the matter with the Saheb he brought back word: ‘Maxwell says the queen may say anything to him but he has the Chief Commissioner above him, and the Viceroy. But he will listen to what the queen has to say and he will help as much as possible, and so on … … … . He will come if the queen asks him to.’

  The queen listened to this message and thought about it. This matter was not one she should be involved in openly, and thinking it would be better if each of them said so individually, she had called her royal sisters-in-law and princesses to join her in a meal to discuss it.

  When she called in her royal in-laws and brought the matter up, there could be no further discussion. The princesses called their father’s name out loud and started to weep volubly. ‘Sovereign Father, are we now to beg from other people … … … .’ The Lady of Ngangbam waited for them to calm down. Then she said, ‘My sisters, there is no use in crying now. Let us discuss carefully what to do. If the ladies will listen to what I am thinking and then consult with the royal sons-in-law, for you should not do simply as I say.’

  The solution was to develop paddy lands for the princesses, but to develop the paddy fields they would need the permission of the foreigners. And so, she said, ‘Your Highnesses may not be aware, but we now cannot develop or sell paddies without the orders of the Saheb. You must know that Little Majesty and the king of Moirang rule in name only. They cannot do anything. Now you know, don’t you, that Manipur exists only in name. … … … Even if the word of Little Majesty were to hold sway, that time is yet to come. He is just a small child now, and so I think there is no harm in requesting the Saheb if we are to keep our paddy fields.’

  ‘We cannot do that, it is better that we die.’

  ‘We can’t just do that, can we? If you think about it, it isn’t really begging, it is about pointing it out. It is a matter of letting them know that they should not interfere in our interests. Who is going to respect princesses who are starving? Will the princesses think about this carefully? I myself do not see a problem.’

  They began to discuss seriously what was to be done. The queen did not want to call the Saheb to her residence for a talk. Since they were in power, it was not desirable to leave the request of the princesses in black and white in writing in case they were turned down. And so, after a great deal of discussion, they decided that they would first write to Maxwell saying that they would like to meet with him. The Lady of Ngangbam remembered Sanatombi when they were discussing this matter.

  ‘And where is Sanatombi?’

  ‘She is fishing in the residence pond.’

  ‘Oh, how daft that girl is. Go call her. Tell her to come and listen to this.’

  Sanatombi came in with her sarong half wet.

  ‘Go change your clothes first, Sanatombi. Come listen to what we are talking about.’

  After Sanatombi came back after changing her clothes, the Lady of Ngangbam went over what they had been talking about all over again.

  Sanatombi did not answer. Her face reddened. Neither did she cry like her aunts.

  ‘What do you think about this?’ asked the Lady of Ngangbam.

  Sanatombi did not answer.

  ‘What are you thinking?’

  ‘I do not agree. I’d rather sell vegetables than ask them.’

  After convincing Sanatombi with great difficulty, they decided that some of them would go and meet the Saheb. They would say directly, ‘Do not stop us from developing paddy fields in our own country.’ But it would not do to start a confrontation, it would be best to smoothen things over as much as possible. Only a few sensible princesses among them would go, and Sanatombi, the royal daughter of Surchandra, would be among them.

  After the rest of them had left, the Lady of Ngangbam held Sanatombi back and continued, ‘Sanatombi, it is stupidity to be courageous at the wrong time. Man cannot live by courage alone. It must be expressed at the right time. And this you may not know, Mesin Saheb seems unlikely to do much wrong. They say he recommended that your younger brother Lukhoi should be made king. It was just our bad luck.’

  ‘Who said so?’

  ‘Your Ta’Tonjao reported to me. It is surely correct.’

  They all knew Tonjao of
Moirang was a man who was still loyal to them. As a soldier of Kulachandra, Tonjao of Moirang had met the foreign soldiers in battle. Kulachandra was defeated, and he was on the run. Kulachandra and his retinue, along with about two hundred men, fled towards the Nongpok Chasat. The idea was to reach Yunnan but they did not know the way.

  Tonjao of Moirang said, ‘I know the way, I will lead.’ He left three days ahead with a Burmese man, carrying 3000 rupees tied in a bundle of royal cloth. When Subedar Tonjao of Moirang arrived at the rendezvous spot he and the king had agreed upon, the king was not there. Kulachandra failed to reach Yunnan and had turned back. Tonjao’s beloved Surchandra was alive at the time.

  The Lady of Ngangbam told Sanatombi these stories. At last Sanatombi said, ‘All right, I will also go—but I find this excruciating, my royal mother.’

  CHAPTER 10

  One morning before lunch, three palanquins with parasols and attendants emerged in a procession from the residence of Maharani Premamayi and headed north. Princess Phandengsana and Princess Amusana, daughters of Maharaja Chandrakirti, rode in two of the three palanquins, and in the last one rode Princess Sanatombi, daughter of Surchandra. Her two royal aunts wore long-sleeved tops of velvet, fine stoles draped over with flannel shawls. The younger Sanatombi was also properly attired and turned out. It would not have done to dress inappropriately. She wrapped herself in a striped sarong the colour of mustard blossoms. She put on a white half-sleeved shirt with embroidered lace borders of the kind that was worn in Calcutta by women of the progressive Brahmo Samaj families of the day. She only pulled on a red Kashmiri shawl over it. The shawl had a fine border of gold. Trade between Manipur and other parts of India had begun during the reign of the Divine Majesty Chandrakirti. Many fine imports had begun to be used. Residents of the palace especially used fineries imported from outside Manipur a great deal. Her husband Manikchand, who was fond of going abroad and was a skilful trader, often brought back these beautiful things. During this time, Manipur had an agent permanently stationed in Calcutta to facilitate this trade with the outside world. He was Chancellor Gulapsingh. As Manikchand was close friends with Gulapsingh, the former always stayed with him whenever he visited Calcutta. Manikchand had seen this kind of fancy blouse worn by the Indian women of the Brahmo Samaj at some point and had one made for Sanatombi to wear. Sanatombi had never worn this blouse before as she had never found an occasion all this time. She had taken the shirt out on this day and wore it for the meeting with the Saheb. It was very becoming on Sanatombi. She tied her long hair in a reverse chignon with its lush tail raised to fan up like a black mynah cock. But Sanatombi went gloomily on her palanquin. She gripped the balustrades of her palanquin.

  With parasols over their heads, the princesses of sovereign Manipur crossed the royal gate of Kangla Fort. They were met warmly by the Saheb’s men who were waiting for them. This was the first time since the outbreak of the war that the princesses were entering Kangla. Who knew what her royal aunts were feeling but Sanatombi was immediately struck by the absence of the two tall leogryphs that had been blown up by cannons. The two beasts that she loved so dearly were not there today. Not a fragment of them was to be found. Everything had been swept away—They had destroyed them! From then on Sanatombi began feeling unhappy. Had it not been the royal command of Dowager Queen Premamayi, she would have turned back from the gate. But no, her aunts were present and she was merely accompanying them.

  The Saheb himself came out on foot to receive them. He bowed his head respectfully to them and proceeded to lead the way. Sanatombi tried not to look to her left or to her right. She was afraid to look, for who knew what else she might see that would pointlessly inflame her again. Bamacharan and Tonjao of Moirang were waiting where preparations had been made for their reception.

  Bamacharan said, ‘Please come in, princesses.’ Tonjao of Moirang did not say a word. He was there because the queen had instructed him to be present. There were also a few people who knew the tongues of other lands. There would not be too much difficulty in their talking with each other.

  Except for seeing him from a distance, her two aunts had never met the Saheb at close quarters until this day. They had not been among those taken to the sahebs’ place by Koireng as they were all either married or were fully grown maidens at the time. Sanatombi had been taken along as she was still somewhat a young girl. What with not knowing the language, and seeing the Saheb for the first time, the princesses felt very uneasy. But Sanatombi looked hard at Maxwell. Flustered as to what to call him or say, Princess Amusana blurted out, ‘Daddy sir.’

  They sat in silence for a while.

  Maxwell first noticed Sanatombi’s calm face—her fair face framed by her black hair, her delicate eyes. The two clear, sharp eyes were looking at him. The blue eyes of the dignified Saheb could not meet these eyes for long. He diverted his gaze but when he returned his eyes upon her he saw once more—Sanatombi was still looking at him. The look was not that of a friend.

  The matter was simply this—You must not stop the princesses of the sovereign king from tilling new paddy fields, you must not tax these lands, and so on. The discussion was mostly in Hindi and English. Even though Maxwell had begun to learn Meiteilon he did not know it well enough to express himself properly on important matters. He still had difficulty in comprehending. After listening to everything, he had the interpreters let the princesses know—He will look into it. But he cannot proceed until he had informed his superiors. ‘I will let you know later, I will try my very best. … … …’

  While Maxwell was talking in English, Sanatombi said impatiently to Bamacharan, ‘What is he saying, Mister Clerk?’

  Bamacharan translated into Meiteilon.

  Sanatombi said, ‘Mister Clerk, the matter of creating paddies is of small importance. Ask him why he has confiscated the paddy fields belonging to Sovereign Grandfather and Sovereign Father. Tell him to till new paddy fields for the new king. He cannot take the possessions of our fathers and forefathers. Tell him we do not agree.’

  Maxwell listened to Sanatombi’s words and though he did not understand fully, he got a general grasp and could tell that she had a problem. He smiled a little. The words from this young woman, these words of anger that spilled rapidly from her delicate lips were unfamiliar to him. After listening to her words, he turned to Sanatombi and said, ‘Princess, I will let you know later.’

  ‘Ask him, Mister Clerk, how much later?’

  Maxwell said, ‘As soon as possible. I will surely get news back to you. I am afraid I cannot take action without hearing from my superiors. Please indulge me and please wait a little.’

  Sanatombi listened to these words and then she said, ‘Why did you blow up the beasts of Kangla? Did you also take orders from there to do that? What use was it to you to destroy the two beasts?’

  The Saheb could not understand her as she had spoken these words too rapidly. He did catch her say Kangla. He asked Bamacharan, ‘What did she say?’

  Bamacharan hesitated about telling the Saheb what Sanatombi had just come out with. The others were also somewhat alarmed. They did not think that Sanatombi should have brought up this unrelated matter when they had come to talk about paddy lands. They were apprehensive about what else the uninhibited Sanatombi might bring up next.

  Seeing Bamacharan’s hesitation, Maxwell asked again, ‘Tell me what she said? Why is she angry?’

  Bamacharan let him know briefly that Sanatombi was expressing her unhappiness at finding the ‘Dragon Gate’ gone.

  There could be no more discussion after the matter of the destruction of the Kangla leogryphs had been brought up. That ended it there for the day. They left Maxwell saying over and over: ‘I will do as best I can … … … Thank you for your visit. … … …’

  Maxwell saw them to the palace door and saluted them. And the three princesses came back on their palanquins in silence. They did not talk, they did not know what to talk about.

  Sanatombi said, ‘Your servant may plea
se go home now.’

  ‘What, let us go to the Dowager Queen and give her the news. She will be waiting.’

  ‘I will come later please.’ Saying this, she stepped off the palanquin, kowtowed to her royal aunts, then got back on to the palanquin and headed off towards the Nongmaithem house.

  Sanatombi could not forget the two leogryphs. She could not forget how they were there, she could not bear how they were not there—So, it was him, so it was this Saheb. Is this the man who is said to have written to recommend Lukhoi? Why did he blow up the beasts? Was it unavoidable? Was he ordered to? Lukhoi—her younger brother Lukhoi, the only son among the daughters—was very spoilt, very misbehaved, but today he was no more. How they had fought, how they had played near the enormous beasts—How would it have been if Lukhoi had been alive! The line of my Sovereign Father is now ended … … … . Sanatombi’s eyes filled with tears as she went on her palanquin—What use is it now to be angry? I should not have spoken so angrily … … … .

  No one in her husband’s household had thought Sanatombi would return so quickly since it had been decided that she would lunch at the Dowager Queen’s after meeting the Saheb. They were surprised when Sanatombi came in on her palanquin. Manikchand and the rest had already eaten.

  Her mother-in-law came out running and said, ‘My goodness, hasn’t the princess had lunch?’

  ‘No, I didn’t have lunch, mother. Please send Tembi, I would like to bathe.’

  After she had entered the house, her husband Manikchand asked about the meeting with the Saheb. Sanatombi answered with terse replies. But she did not mention how she had brought up the destruction of the leogryphs. She also did not feel like talking about this much. She thought it had been a waste of time to have gone at all. She had only come back with a feeling of sorrow. She had seen Kangla Fort today after a long time. Kangla! Their Kangla, which now belonged to others.