14. Alexander Burnett is referring to Ananta Lal Singh, mistaking him for a Sikh, for both Sikhs and Rajputs share the title Singh. At times like these there is no end to the number of rumours that abound.
15. The Abors of modern-day Arunachal Pradesh were first discovered by the British in 1826. In 1911, the British assistant political officer, Mr Williamson, his colleague Dr Gregorson and their party were murdered while touring the Tibetan border area. It resulted in a punitive expedition by the British Indian army.
16. This particular observation about sending seventy against a hundred when the army manuals clearly states a ratio of 3:1 is not John Younie’s but that of Ananta Lal Singh. The rest has been drawn from the Younie Papers.
CHAPTER 14
1. This train was carrying the Tripura state troops belonging to the maharaja of Agartala and was headed towards Bilonia to counter the revolutionaries. The police had been waiting at Feni station to welcome them when the telegram from the Bhatiari stationmaster arrived.
2. The last few years of Ananta Lal Singh’s life had to be spent once again in jail. He had been convicted for a dacoity conducted in independent India. Once again, he chose to defend himself and raised the money for the expenses by publishing his account of the revolution in a popular Bengali magazine. This story had elicited a response and a young woman had come to meet him in jail, claiming to be the girl he had written about. Ananta Lal Singh passed away before the case could be concluded. Though he maintained his innocence till the end, it is well known that he had been obsessed with the unification of Bengal – a passion shared by many, including Sarat Chandra Bose who had not only contributed to the fund but had written about it openly in his last editorial, minutes before he passed away.
3. Bengalis avoid using the words ‘go’ or ‘going’, ‘I will be back’ is preferred to ‘I am going’, ‘you may come’ actually means ‘you may go’, etc.
CHAPTER 15
1. Letter from the chairman, Chittagong Branch, European Association, to the political secretary, Government of Bengal dated 1 May 1930, in GOI Home Poll File No. 336/1930. Quoted in Do And Die, Manini Chatterjee.
2. Note attached to copy of Letter No. 57869/163/G dated 13 June 1930 from the general officer commanding-in-chief, Eastern Command, to the chief of general staff, Army Headquarters, Simla, in GOI Home Poll File No. 4/9/31.
3. Binoy Sen.
4. Subodh Roy.
5. These were retrieved by Shanti Chakraborty of the Anushilan Party who later switched to Master-da’s group.
6. Master-da and his boys had long abandoned this practice of drawing blood for the dikkha (initiation), but Kalpana did not know that.
GLOSSARY OF BENGALI WORDS AND EXPRESSIONS
Aag Hindi word for fire
Aaggey (Hindi aagya) beg permission
Aamader chokhey dhulo diye palalo kothaye. Achchha dekhbo – palabi kothaye? Dhora ki porbi na? Fooled us, has he? Let us see – where will you run? Will you not be caught?
Aamar praan bhora aashirbaad I bless you with all my soul
Aanchal (Hindi pallu) the long free end of the sari
Aandolan movement
Aatchala a hut, the roof of which is assembled by putting together eight mats.
Abdaar to exercise a loved one’s right to make demands
Abeer red-coloured powder used during the festival of Holi
Abritti recitation
Ahimsa the doctrine of doing no harm
Ain Amanya non-cooperation movement
Akhara gymnasium
Allah ho Akbar (Arabic) God is great
Almirah (Arabic) cupboard
Aalok light
Aalta a red dye applied to the rim of women’s feet
Amar immortal
Amavasya new moon
Amrit sacred elixir
Anna a coin. Sixteen annas make a rupee.
Attar a perfume extracted from roses
Atyachar torture
Atyachari the one who tortures
Baas that’s all
Baba father or son
Babu a gentleman belonging to the educated middleclass equivalent to the English Esquire. It is often tagged onto names as a measure of respect. The term was extended to Indian government servants, all of whom were drawn from the middle class.
Bagaan-bari a large bungalow surrounded by large gardens
Bagh tiger
Bahurupia con-men who assume many disguises
Balika girl
Bande Mataram (Hindi Vande Mataram) prayer to the motherland, a song by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay
Basha a temporary residence
Bau the word babu being pronounced in the Chittagong dialect
Bazaar market. The term was used by the British to denote the Indian quarters.
Beedi hand-made cigarettes filled with tobacco flakes and wrapped in leaves of East Indian Ebony tree
Beel natural waterbody
Bel Bengal quince
Bhaat steamed rice
Bhadralok civilized middle class
Bhagya fortune
Bhai brother
Bhai-rey-bhai brother-o-brother
Bharatvarsh the land of Bharat or Hindustan or India.
The country gets its name from the legendary King Bharat. The Arabs named Bharatvarsh the land of Hind or Hindustan as it lay across the river Sindh, a name they mispronounced as Hind and called its people the Hindu. The British in turn mispronounced Hind as Ind and called the river Indus and the land India.
Bharatvarshi people of the land of Bharat
Bhojali dagger
Bhojali Gurkha dagger
Bhojon (Hindi bhojan) feast, in common parlance, it means the act of eating
Bhoy fear
Bhrahmacharya bachelorhood
Bigha a measure of land
Bijoya (Hindi vijaya) victory
Bikrom (Hindi vikram) valour
Biplob revolution
Boloon Please speak.
Bon (Hindi van) forest
Bor-da eldest brother
Boudi elder brother’s wife
Bundobust preparations
Burkha a long dress worn by Muslim women which covers them from head to foot and has a piece of net before the eyes.
Burra (Hindi) for big or senior
Busti settlement
Cha (Hindi chai) tea
Chacha Hindi word for father’s younger brother
Chai Hindi word for tea
Chandal one of the lowest castes who carry out the last funeral rituals.
Chandan sandalwood
Chaprassi a low-grade employee who runs errands and does odd jobs.
Char sandbank
Cheerey flat rice; dry and hard; needs to be soaked or fried before it can be eaten.
Chhoi a small covered area with one opening on the deck of a boat
Chhokra little rascal – a term both derogatory and yet implying fondness at the same time
Chik reed curtains
Chol let us go
Chot-potey quick-footed
Choubachcha a small water-storage tank
Chowki low wooden stool
Crore hundred lakhs or ten million
Da abbreviation for dada
Dada Babu Dada
Dada elder brother. The term is extended to men and boys older in age or in stature (as the son of the master of the house) as a measure of respect.
Dadi Hindi word for paternal grandmother. The term is used to address ladies of one’s grandmother’s age.
Dakaat dacoit. Like the highwaymen who looted coaches on the highway, dacoits loot travellers and raid homes.
Dal lentils
Danda-beri the assembly of shackles and wooden or iron rods used to bind dangerous convicts
Daroga head of a police station
Daya mercy
Debota (Hindi devta) god
Dekhli did you see?
Dera camp
Deshpran the life of the nation
Devi the term r
efers to a goddess but is also tagged on to the names of women as a measure of respect.
Dhaba roadside food stall
Dhan khet rice fields
Dhoop (Hindi agarbatti) joss sticks
Dhuti (Hindi dhoti) a long piece of fabric wound around the waist and legs by Hindu men
Di abbreviation for didi
Didi elder sister. The term is extended to women and girls older in age or in stature (as in the daughter of the master of the house) as a measure of respect.
Didimoni Didi
Dighi reservoir
Dikkha initiation
Durbar court. The term refers to the court held by British royals in India.
Duronto hyperactive
Durry coarse cotton mats like a shataranji
Dushshashan one of the evil brothers from the legend Mahabharata
Dushtu naughty
Ejlash raised platform, the place where the judge will sit
Eto (Hindi jootha) contaminated by another mouth
Ferari absconders on the run
Firingee (Hindi Firangee) refers to a person of European origin. It is derived from the word Frank.
Gaj thirty-six inches or one yard
Gamchha a thin red-coloured fabric, usually checked, used as a towel or a wipe
Ghee clarified butter
Ghomta the edge of a sari draped over a woman’s head as a veil
Ghrina hate
Gita sacred Hindu book
Godha a canal with sides made permanent with bricks and cement
Golmal trouble
Gup gossip
Haat village markets
Hajat-ghar lock-up room
Hartal Hindi word meaning strike
Hato Bhago! Jaan Move Run! Save your lives.
Bachao
Hilsa a type of salmon
Hoi-hoi-roi-roi a medley of cheerful boisterous chatter, including singing and dancing with loud cheering
Ingrez Englishman
Jaat a combination of caste; race; religion
Jaithaima jaithamoshai’s wife
Jaithamoshai father’s elder brother
Jamadar Indian office bearer, usually in charge of keys
Jamadarni Indian office bearer, usually in charge of keys
Japani kusti the Japanese style of wrestling
Jatra a play performed in an open area
Ji added on to the names of older men or women as a measure of respect. The use is popular among north Indians.
Ji used as a suffix with north Indian names as a mark of respect
Joy (Hindi jai) hail
Juddho war
Kaka father’s younger brother. The term is used to address men younger than one’s father.
Kakima kaka’s wife
Kala Pani black waters or the Ocean
Kalchand Shiva
Kali Bari temple of Kali
Kansha bell metal
Kantha a light highly decorated cotton quilt made of several layers of fine muslin, stitched with a running stitch called the kantha stitch
Kartik Hindu month corresponding to mid-October to mid-November
Kaun hai Hindi words meaning who is there?
Khaddar coarse hand-spun cotton cloth
Khal canal
Khalaas finish. The word is an Arabic word used popularly throughout India.
Khansama Urdu word for chef
Khela play
Khichuri a semi-solid preparation of rice and lentils. The recipe was adapted by the British to make kedgeree.
Khoi soft puffed rice
Khoka little boy, used as a term of endearment
Khol drum
Khoob anondo hochchhey I am experiencing tremendous happiness
Khunti a metal spatula
Ki hotey paarey what can happen?
Ki korchhilish etokhun what were you doing till now?
Kirtan devotional song
Kobi poet. The word in this text refers to Rabindranath Tagore unless otherwise specified.
Kokil Indian cuckoo
Kon hai? Kya mangta hai Who is there? What do you want?
Korobi oleander
Koruna compassion
Kotha house of ill repute
Kukri curved dagger used by the Gurkhas
Kusti wrestling
Kutcha Hindi word for temporary or raw. Antonym pucca
Kutchery court
Lajja shame
Lakh (lac) one hundred thousand
Lathi wooden rods
Lokkhi Laxmi, the goddess of wealth and prosperity
Lomba tall
Luchi light puffy fried Indian bread
Lungi a length of cloth wrapped around the waist and legs; commonly worn by Muslim men
Ma mother or daughter; used also when referring to the mother goddess
Machaan elevated seat, platform
Madur a woven mat
Maidan field
Majhi boatman
Mali gardener
Mama mother’s brother
Mamar-bari mama’s home
Mamima mama’s wife
Mantra chant
Masala Hindi word for spice
Mashima mother’s sister. The term is used to address ladies of one’s mother’s age.
Maya illusion
Meherbani Urdu for much obliged
Mej-da an older brother but second in line after the eldest
Meshomoshai mashima’s husband
Mon (Hindi mun; English maund) forty seers to a mon
Moori crisp puffed rice
Moshai an abbreviated version of Mohashoy – a formal way of addressing men instead of the relatively informal babu
Moshai tagged on to the names of gentlemen as a measure of respect
Mourghee chicken
Mukti Aadesh-nama release order
Murga chicken or more specifically a cock
Mushaira a singing competition
Nalla open drain
Namastey the traditional Hindu salutation with folded hands: I salute the god within you.
Natok (Hindi natak) drama
Nazar-bandi a captive who has to remain within sight of the police or under house arrest
Neem Azadirachta indica, a medicinal plant
Nikumma Urdu word for good-for-nothing
Nouko small boat
Paagol (Hindi paagal or pugla) insane
Pallu see aanchal
Paltan platoon
Panja hand
Panta-bhaat boiled rice soaked overnight until it ferments
Pari nai couldn’t do it
Peyey boshbey will take you for granted
Phalar a light refreshment of fruit, sweets and curds
Phool flower
Pishemoshai pishima’s husband
Pishima father’s sister
Porotha (Hindi paratha) fried Indian bread
Potol pointed gourd; Trichosanthes dioica
Pradeep a little earthenware oil lamp
Pronam taking the dust off an elder’s feet as a mark of respect and applying it to one’s head
Proshaad (Hindi prasad) food shared by the gods and the devotees
Pugla Hindi word for mad or insane; see paagol
Pukur reservoir; pond
Pul bridge
Purna swaraj complete independence
Purnima full moon
Purut (Hindi purohit) priest; respectfully referred to as purut-moshai
Raag or raga – the principles on which Indian classical music is based
Rajmistri mason
Raksha kabaj protective shield
Riyaz voice training; singing practice
Rohu a type of carp
Roop appearance; beauty
Sadhu see sanyasi
Sajna Danta drumstick pods
Samadhi memorial built over the ashes of the dead
Samiti association
Sandesh a sweet made of cottage cheese
Sandhi the crossover period
Sanyas relinquishing the materi
al world
Sanyasi one who has relinquished the material world
Seer a measure of weight, a little less than a kilogram
Sej-da an older brother but third in line after the eldest
Shaala (Hindi sala) wife’s brother; also used as an abuse
Shaathi companion
Shahbaash well done
Shahosh courage
Shakti strength; a name for the mother goddess
Shashan (Hindi shamshan) funeral ground
Shataranji a coarse cotton mat
Sheedur (Hindi sindoor) vermilion worn in the parting of the hair as a symbol of marriage
Shikaar hunt
Shikkha education
Shinduk strong boxes made of metal or wood
Shingho bikrom lion-like courage
Shishu infant
Shoontki dried fish, a favourite amongst the people of East Bengal
Shoopoori (Hindi supari) betel nut
Shorbonash (Hindi sarvanash) calamity
Sipahi sepoy
Sraddha ceremony prayers held for the dead
Sraddha religious ceremony held for the dead
Surahi A clay pot used to cool and store water
Swadeshi revolutionary
Swadhin free
Talwar sword
Teerth pilgrimage
Thakur god
Thakur-Dada (Dadu) paternal grandfather. The term is used to address men of one’s grandfather’s age.
Thakur-Ma paternal grandmother. The term is used to address ladies of one’s grandmother’s age.
Thala metal platter
Thamo stop
Tikka gharry horse drawn cart also known as the Tumtum
Tila hillock
Tui you, the version used with extreme familiarity as opposed to tumi which is less formal and aapni which is formal
Tumasha show
Ude-thakur Oriya Brahmins are noted for their simplicity and country bumpkin ways. The term is used by Bengalis to describe a simple person.
Upasana griha prayer room used by members of the Brahmo Samaj
Uthon courtyard
Vakalatnama power of attorney given to a lawyer to represent his client in court
Vibhag division
Vidrohi revolutionist
Zila district
PRONUNCIATION
ch as in the Hindi word chamcha
chch as in the Hindi word bachcha
chh as in the Hindi word chhatri
PLACES
British names Indian names
India Bharat; Bharatvarsh;Hindustan
Calcutta Kolkata
Midnapore Medinipur
Alipore Alipur
Chittagong Summer of 1930 Page 38