Bankimchandra Omnibus: Volume - 1: v. 1

by Bankimchandra Chattopadhyay

  I kept quiet. I could see my plan clearly.

  Part III

  Sachindra

  1

  THIS TASK HAS FALLEN TO ME—THIS PART OF RAJANI’S LIFE-STORY MUST BE written by me. I shall do so.

  I had made all arrangements for Rajani’s marriage. But on the morning of the wedding I heard that Rajani had run away and she was nowhere to be found. I searched for her, but all in vain. Some said she was not chaste; I did not believe them. I had seen her many times. I could swear that she was innocent. But it was possible that while being unmarried, she had lost her heart to someone and fearing a wrong match, she had run away from home. But there were two questions that raised their heads. One was: how would a blind girl trust anyone enough to leave her home? Two: is it possible for a blind girl to fall in love? Impossible, I felt. Please don’t laugh at me, there are many a fool just like me. We may have read a book or two or three and we feel we have in our grip the deepest of deep knowledge of this world—that, whatever doesn’t come within the sphere of our beliefs cannot possibly be true. We refuse to accept God because such metaphysics goes beyond our tiny frame of thoughts. How would I then comprehend the romantic inclinations of a blind girl?

  As I continued my search for her, it came to light that on the same night that Rajani had disappeared, Hiralal too had vanished. Everyone said she had eloped with Hiralal. Consequently, I came to the conclusion that Hiralal had betrayed Rajani into eloping with him. Rajani is exceedingly beautiful. Albeit blind, there isn’t a man around who wouldn’t be taken up by her beauty. Hiralal must have fallen for her looks and cheated her into running away. It is obviously very easy to deceive the blind.

  A few days later Hiralal turned up. I asked him, ‘Do you have any news of Rajani?’

  ‘No,’ he said.

  What could I do? Complaints and entreaties were useless. I asked my elder brother for advise; he said, ‘Beat up the rascal.’ But how would that help? I began to advertise in the newspapers and announced a reward for anyone bringing news of Rajani. But it yielded no results.

  2

  RAJANI WAS BORN BLIND. BUT HER EYES GAVE THE LIE TO THAT FACT. VISIBLY, there was nothing wrong with her. Her eyes were blue, almond-shaped with irises as dark as the bee. Very pretty eyes—but lifeless. She was blind through the fault of optic nerves. The passivity of the nerves had rendered mute the image-signals from her retina to her brain. Rajani was undoubtedly beautiful. Her complexion was fair as the golden hued, brand new banana leaf, her form as complete as the river after the rains, her visage solemn, her pace, her movements, all gentle, calm and due to her blindness, always hesitant; her smile was wan. Sometimes, the sight of those sightless eyes lodged in this matured, beautiful form brought to mind the stone statue of a woman sculpted with great care by a skilful sculptor.

  The moment I set my eyes on Rajani I had felt that though attractive, her beauty wasn’t addictive. Rajani was eye-catching, but her beauty would never drive someone mad. She lacked a sparkle in her eyes. People would praise her beauty, perhaps wouldn’t even forget it in a hurry. That still, sombre form did have a fascinating quality. But that fascination was different—not sensual in any way. Rajani’s beauty had nothing to do with Cupid’s arrows. Or did it?

  Whatever be it—I did often wonder what would happen to Rajani. She was born to a low-caste family. But she didn’t appear to have a single lowly thought in her head. She could only be married to someone of her class. But even that had not happened till date. The poor man’s wife was meant to work in the house. If her blindness came in the way of housework, which poor man would want to marry her? But if it weren’t for an indigent man, who would marry this girl who worked for a living? To cap it all, she was blind too. Even with such a husband, Rajani’s life too would be a living hell. Just like a tender blossom blooming amidst the thorny bushes, Rajani was born into this flower-seller’s home. She would die her death amidst the thorns. Why then was I so eager to get her married to Gopal? I am not sure. But Chhoto-ma was very insistent; it was her perseverance that had urged me to arrange this match.

  Besides, how shall I say this—if I couldn’t marry someone myself, I at least wanted to get her married.

  At this, many a beauty may smile sweetly and say, ‘Do you have any secret longings to marry Rajani yourself?’ No, that I don’t. She may be beautiful, but she is also blind. Rajani is the daughter of a flower-seller and she is illiterate. I cannot marry Rajani and neither do I wish to. I am not averse to marriage—but I haven’t yet found the girl of my dreams. The woman I shall marry must be as attractive as Rajani and also the proud owner of lightning glances; by birth she should be of royal or very prestigious stock; in erudition, she should be Goddess Saraswati doing her penance on earth; her chastity should be as legendary as Savitri’s; in grace, she should be the equal of Lakshmi; her culinary skills should match those of Draupadi’s; her hospitality should be as cordial as Satyabhama’s and in housework she would have to be as skilled as Gada’s mother! When I wanted my betel leaf, she’d take the clove out of it, when I wanted to smoke the hookah, she’d warn me if there was no tobacco in it, when I ate my fish, she’d pick out the bones for me and when I had my bath she’d check if I had dried myself properly. She’d keep a lookout so that I didn’t stir my inkpot with a spoon while drinking tea, or dip my pen into the teacup. She’d rebuke me gently so that I didn’t leave my wallet in the spittoon and spit in the drawer instead. If I wrote a letter to my friend and addressed it to myself, she’d correct me as she would if I handed over notes instead of coins and while joking, if I named my pious neighbour instead of my in-law she would point it out immediately. She would always be on her toes so that I didn’t drink castor oil instead of the tonic, or called out the name of a colleague’s wife instead of the maid’s. If I find such a girl, I’d marry her like a shot. Why are you all giggling and winking at one another? If there is among you, a girl who is the holder of all these virtues, please let me know—I shall send for the priest.

  3

  EVENTUALLY, RAJCHANDRA DAS INFORMED US THAT RAJANI HAD BEEN FOUND. But his behaviour with us thereafter was very strange indeed. He didn’t tell us a word of where and how Rajani was found. We asked him repeatedly, but he refused to divulge any information. We asked after the reason for her leaving home, and he was silent on that too. His wife was the same. Chhoto-ma usually entered into people’s minds like a needle. But she, too, could get nothing out of Rajani’s mother. Rajani herself had stopped visiting our house. As to the reason for her behaviour, we were in the dark. Gradually, Rajchandra and his wife too stopped coming to our house. Chhoto-ma was a little upset at their withdrawal from our lives and she sent people to their house. They came back to say that they had all moved from their home, without leaving a forwarding address.

  A month later, a gentleman came to see me. He introduced himself saying, ‘I am not from Calcutta. My name is Amarnath Ghosh and I live in Shantipur.’

  I soon got talking with him but I could not suddenly ask him why he had come. He too did not volunteer the information. Hence, we began to discuss social and political subjects. From his talk and manner, I came to the opinion that he was quite sensible in his thoughts, well rounded in his knowledge and far-sighted in his vision. When there was a lull in the conversation, he began to turn the pages of the Shakespeare volume on my desk.

  In the meantime, I began to study Amarnath. He was handsome, fair, a little short, neither fat nor thin, with large eyes and thin hair that lay in well-arranged waves; his clothes and habit were not overly ostentatious, but neat and clean. His manner of speech was very pleasant and his voice was very sweet. I also realized this was a very shrewd man.

  Once he finished turning the pages of Shakespeare’s work, he began to discuss the illustrations in the book instead of stating his business. He argued that whatever has been expressed by words and action, can never be truly replicated in imagery. Illustrations would never give the whole sense and hence they were quite incomplete. He poi
nted to Desdemona’s picture and said, ‘In this drawing you can see patience, sweetness and humility. But where is that courage, that pride in her chastity?’ He pointed to Juliet and said, ‘This may be the drawing of a youthful girl, but do you see here in this picture that playful impatience of Juliet that characterizes her youth?’

  Thus he continued to speak; from Shakespeare’s heroines we moved on to Shakuntala, Sita, Kadambari, Basavadatta, Rukmini and Satyabhama. Amarnath analysed each of these characters in turn. From ancient literature, we wandered into the arena of ancient history and thereof came some penetrating analysis of Tacitus, Plutarch, Thucydides, etc. From his discussion of Comte, we came to his critics Mill and Huxley; from Huxley to Owen and Darwin and from Darwin to Buchnaire, Schopenhauer, etc., they all came to be discussed. Amarnath’s amazing erudition fell upon my ears like music, and wonderstruck, I forgot to ask him the real question—the purpose of his visit.

  When it was late in the day, Amarnath said, ‘I shall not keep you any longer. I am yet to state the purpose of my visit. Rajchandra Das, the man who sold flowers in your house, has a daughter.’

  I said, ‘Probably he does.’

  Amarnath smiled a little and said, ‘Not probably, he does. I have decided to marry her.’

  I was surprised. Amarnath spoke on, ‘I had gone to Rajchandra to place this proposal before him. I have done that. At this moment, I have something to discuss with you as well. This topic should perhaps be broached to your father, because he is the master. But what I have to say may be a cause of your ire. You are the most composed and judicious of the lot and so I am telling you all.’

  ‘What is it, sir?’ I asked.

  Amarnath said, ‘Rajani owns some property.’

  ‘Really? But isn’t she Rajchandra’s daughter?’

  ‘She is his adopted daughter,’ replied Amarnath.

  ‘But then, whose daughter is she?’ I asked. ‘And how did she come upon the property? Why didn’t we hear of it before?’

  ‘The inheritance that you are enjoying happens to be Rajani’s. She is the daughter of Manohar Das’s brother.’

  For an instant I was shocked. Then I realized I had walked into the trap of a conman, a cheat. I laughed out loud and said, ‘You, sir, appear to have nothing to do. I, on the other hand, am a busy man. At this moment, I do not have the time to play games with you. Please go home.’

  Amarnath said, ‘In that case you will hear it all from the lawyers.’

  4

  MEANWHILE, BISHNURAM WHO WAS THE EXECUTOR OF MANOHAR DAS’S WILL sent word to us that Manohar Das’s successor had appeared and that we would have to give up the inheritance. So then, it seemed as if Amarnath was not a cheat after all.

  At first, Bishnuram Babu did not state who the successor was. But I remembered Amarnath’s words. Perhaps Rajani was the one. I went to Bishnuram Babu to ascertain whether he had any proof that the person who claimed to be the successor was in fact the genuine inheritor. I said, ‘Sir, you had said earlier that Manohar Das had drowned in the river with his entire family and you have proof of that. So where is the successor coming from now?’

  Bishnuram Babu said, ‘Perhaps you know, he had a brother called Harekrishna Das?’

  ‘Yes, I know that, but he too is dead, isn’t he?’ I asked.

  ‘Certainly, but after Manohar’s death. Therefore, he died after he became a successor to the property.’

  ‘That’s fine, but Harekrishna also wasn’t survived by anyone, was he?’

  Bishnuram said, ‘That’s what I thought at first and I let the property go to you. But now I have come to know that he had a daughter.’

  ‘Why then was there no mention of this daughter in all these days?’

  ‘Harekrishna’s wife died before him. Unable to raise his infant daughter, Harekrishna gave her away to his wife’s sister, who raised the child as her own and calls her as such. After Harekrishna’s death, his body was declared to be unclaimed and his belongings obtained by the magistrate and so I assumed he was survived by no one. But as of now, a neighbour of Harekrishna has presented himself to me and made me aware that he had a daughter. I have conducted the necessary investigations and come to the conclusion that what he said is indeed true.’

  ‘Any shrewd and clever man can catch hold of any girl and present her as Harekrishna Das’s daughter. Is there any proof that she is indeed the one?’ I said, still unconvinced of the matter.

  ‘Yes, there is,’ said Bishnuram.

  He handed me a piece of paper and said, ‘Each and every verification attained in the course of these investigations has been noted on this paper.’ I took the paper and began to read it. I came to know from it that Harekrishna Das’s wife’s sister was married to Rajchandra Das and Rajani was Harekrishna’s daughter.

  The proof before my eyes was indeed conclusive. For so many years we had been enjoying the wealth that belonged to the blind Rajani, all the while pitying her and looking down upon her.

  Bishnuram handed me a true copy of a testimony and said, ‘Now take a look and tell me whose testimony is this?’

  I read it. It was a testimony by Harekrishna Das given before the magistrate, a testimony concerning a case of some stolen bangles. In the testimony, Harekrishna’s name and address was also mentioned. It was the same as that of Manohar Das’s father. Bishnuram asked me, ‘Do you not agree that this is a testimony given by Manohar Das’s brother Harekrishna Das?’

  I said, ‘Yes, I do.’

  Bishnuram said, ‘If you have any doubts, they’ll be dispelled in an instant. Continue to read.’

  I read on. It said, ‘I have a six-month-old daughter. A week ago, I celebrated her annaprasan, and on the same evening her gold bangles were stolen.’

  At this point, Bishnuram said, ‘Just check how long ago this testimony was made.’

  I glanced at the date—it was nineteen years ago.

  Bishnuram said, ‘In that case how old would that girl be now?’

  ‘Nineteen years and a few months—almost twenty,’ I replied.

  ‘How old is Rajani?’ asked Bishnuram.

  ‘Almost twenty.’

  ‘Go on reading. A little later, Harekrishna mentions his daughter’s name.’

  I read on. At one point, after getting back the stolen bangles, Harekrishna clarified, ‘These belong to my daughter Rajani indeed.’

  There wasn’t much room for doubt. Still, I read on. The defendant’s lawyer was asking Harekrishna, ‘You are a poor man—how did you give your daughter gold bangles?’

  Harekrishna replied, ‘I may be poor, but my brother Manohar Das earns ten rupees a month and he has gifted these bangles to my daughter.’

  So now all doubts were dispelled about the relationship between Manohar and Harekrishna Das.

  The lawyer had further asked, ‘Has your brother ever given you or any member of your family any jewellery before?’

  The answer was ‘no’.

  The lawyer continued to question Harekrishna, ‘Does he contribute to the household expenses?’

  ‘No,’ answered Harekrishna.

  ‘So, why is he giving gold ornaments to your daughter for her annaprasan?’

  Harekrishna said, ‘My daughter is congenitally blind. My wife always weeps for that reason. My brother and his wife took pity on us, and wishing to alleviate our sorrow somewhat, they gifted these ornaments to my daughter.’

  Blind at birth! Then there was no doubt at all that this was the same Rajani.

  I handed back the testimony with an air of dejection and said, ‘I have no more doubts.’

  Bishnuram said, ‘I do not ask you to be content with such little proof. Take a look at the copy of another testimony.’

  The second testimony was also regarding the case of the stolen bangles. Here the speaker was Rajchandra Das. He was the only living relative of Harekrishna Das and hence he was present at the annaprasan. In his testimony, he declared himself to be a relative of Harekrishna and detailed everything as a witness to the
theft.

  Bishnuram now told me, ‘The present Rajchandra is the same as this one. If you are in doubt we can send for him and ask him.’

  ‘No need,’ I said.

  Bishnuram showed me a few more documents, the details of which would bore most of my readers. It is suffice to say that I was left in no doubt that this Rajani Das was the daughter of Harekrishna Das. I also realized that with ageing parents, I would now be hard put to earn a living!

  I said to Bishnuram, ‘Contesting this would be pointless. The inheritance belongs to Rajani and we shall give it back to her. But my elder brother has an equal share in all that I own. I need to consult with him first.’

  I dropped in at the courts and took a look at the original testimonies. Nowadays they tear up the old documents, but earlier they used to preserve them. I discovered that there was no difference between the original and their copies.

  We gave up our inheritance to Rajani.

  5

  WE GAVE IT UP TO RAJANI, BUT NOBODY CAME UP TO CLAIM IT.

  Rajchandra Das came to meet us one day. He said that he had purchased a house in Shimla and he was now living there with his wife and Rajani. I asked him where he got the money to buy a house from. He said that Amarnath had given it as a loan, to be recovered later from the inheritance. I asked him the reason for which they had not claimed the property. He replied, ‘All those things are known to Amarnath Babu.’ Was Amarnath Babu now married to Rajani? Rajchandra said, ‘No.’ As our conversation meandered along I asked, ‘Rajchandra, why were you not to be seen for some time?’

  He said, ‘I was lying low for some time.’

  ‘What have you stolen and from whom, that you needed to lie low?’ ‘Why would I steal?’ asked Rajchandra, ‘But Amarnath Babu had said that since the property was being fought over at this point, I should lie low. After all, we all have our pride and considerations.’