Stories on Caste
Page 13
‘No, Munshiji, I would give my life for you. Come and choose your clothes so I can run the iron over them once more and make them fresh. At worst, I’ll have to hear the abuses of my customers. So even if I do lose a couple, that’s nothing to mope about.’
4
Munshiji reached the wedding in style. His Benarasi turban, silk achkan, long coat and shawl created such an impression that people thought he was some wealthy nobleman. Munshiji took Bechu along with him, and made sure he was taken care of. He got him a bottle of liquor and a plate of food when he went in to eat. He would keep calling him Choudhury instead of Bechu. After all, this pomp and show was all thanks to him.
It was past midnight. The revelry and celebrations were over, and people were preparing to retire for the night. Bechu was lying next to Munshiji’s cot under a sheet. Munshiji took off his clothes and carefully hung them on a line. The hookah was ready. As he lay down and began to smoke, an atai from the troupe of musicians accompanying the wedding party suddenly came and stood before him, and asked, ‘May I ask you where you got this achkan and turban from, sir?’
Munshiji looked at him suspiciously and said, ‘What does that mean?’
‘It means that both of these belong to me.’
Munshiji then somewhat recklessly ventured to say, ‘So in your opinion, no one can possess a silk coat and turban other than you?’
‘Why not? He whom Allah gives to wears it. There are so many of them here, each greater than the last. I hardly come in that reckoning. But both these things are mine. If you can find another man in this city who possesses the same achkan, I’ll pay you whatever you ask. There’s no other craftsman in the whole city like him. He cuts clothes with such finesse that one could kiss his hands. My insignia is on the turban—I can show you if you bring it here. All I want to ask is where did you procure these garments from.’
Munshiji realized that this was not the place to argue. If things got out of hand, it could be humiliating. Diplomacy wouldn’t work here. So he said humbly, ‘Bhai, do not ask me that; this is not the time or place to tell you these things. Your honour and mine are one and the same. Just think that this is the way the world goes around. If I had to get such clothes made, I would have spent thousands right now. I just had to attend the wedding somehow, that is all. Your clothes will not get spoiled, I take full responsibility. I’ll take better care of them than if they were mine.’
‘I’m not concerned about the clothes. By your grace, Allah has given me plenty. May He protect the rich; thanks be to Him, all five fingers are immersed in ghee. And neither do I wish to malign your good name. I am a slave at your feet. All I want to know is who gave you these clothes. I had given them to Bechu Dhobi to wash. So is it that some thief whisked them away from Bechu’s house, or did some other dhobi steal them from him and give them to you? Because Bechu certainly would not have given these clothes to you with his own hands. He does not do such things. In fact, I too had wanted to make such an arrangement with him once. I even put money into his hands. But, sahib, he picked up the money and threw it away, and he gave me such a talking-to that I was stunned out of my wits. I don’t know what the understanding is here, because thereafter I’ve never even mentioned something like that to him. But I find it hard to believe he has stooped so low. That is why I ask you again and again, from where did you get these clothes?’
‘Your surmise about Bechu is absolutely right. He is indeed a selfless man. But neighbours also have some rights. He lives in my neighbourhood, we are part of each other’s lives. He saw my need, and gave in. Bas. That is all. And I would do the same for him.’
The atai had neither put money into Bechu’s hands, nor had Bechu given him a talking-to. The atai had exaggerated Bechu’s selflessness. But this little exaggeration had a far greater impact on Bechu than if he had merely spoken the truth. Bechu was not asleep. He had heard every word the atai had spoken. He felt as if his soul had just awoken from a deep sleep. The world sees me as such an honest, true and deceitless man. And I . . . I am such a fraud and a cheat. It was on this false charge that I left the village of my forefathers. But after coming here, I’ve got ruined running after liquor, ghee and sugar.
5
Six months passed by. It was evening. Some guests had arrived to discuss Bechu’s son Malkhan’s marriage. When Bechu came in to talk to his wife about something, she said, ‘Where will the liquor come from? Do you have some money?’
Bechu: ‘Didn’t I already give you whatever I had?’
Wife: ‘But I bought rice, dal, and ghee with that. I’ve cooked for seven people. All of it got used up.’
Bechu: ‘So what do I do then?’
Wife: ‘They will hardly eat without drinking first. It will be so embarrassing.’
Bechu: ‘Whether it is embarrassing or disgraceful, it is not possible for me to get liquor now. At the most what will happen? The marriage will not be fixed. So let it not.’
Wife: ‘Hasn’t that shawl come in for washing? Go pawn it at a bania’s shop and get back four or five rupees. You can retrieve it in two or three days. We must keep our honour. Or else, everyone will say, “All talk, and nothing to show. He couldn’t even serve us liquor.”’
Bechu: ‘What are you saying? Is this dushala mine to pawn?’
Wife: ‘Whosoever’s it may be, at this moment, just use it. No one will come to know.’
Bechu: ‘No, this I cannot do, whether we get liquor or not.’
And he walked out. When he came in again, he saw his wife digging up something from a hole in the ground. Seeing him, she quickly covered the hole with the end of her sari.
Bechu went out again smiling to himself.
Translated from the Hindi by Moyna Mazumdar
1 ‘Munshi Premchand ki Kahani Unki Zubani’ in Zamana (Premchand Number), 1938. Reprinted by National Council for Promotion of Urdu Language, July 2002, p.54.
2 ‘Premchand ki Afsana Nigari’, Zamana: Premchand Issue, February 1938; rpt. National Council for Promotion of Urdu (New Delhi, 2002), p. 173.
Notes
Thakur’s Well
First published in Hindi as ‘Thakur ka Kuan’ in Jagaran (August 1932), and later collected in Mansarovar 1 (1936). Not available in Urdu. Transliterated from Hindi to Urdu for Kulliyaat-e Premchand 13 (2003).
Salvation
First published in Hindi with the title ‘Sadgati’ in Vishaal Bharat (October 1931), and later included in Mansarovar 4 (1939). In Urdu, it was published in Aakhiri Tohfa (1934) with the title ‘Nijaat’. Now available in Kulliyaat-e Premchand 13 (2003).
Temple
First published as ‘Mandir’ in the Hindi monthly Chand (May 1927), and subsequently included in Mansarovar 5 (1946). In Urdu it was published in Prem Chaleesi 1 (1930) with the same title. Now available in Kulliyaat-e Premchand 12 (2003).
One and a Quarter Ser of Wheat
First published in Urdu as ‘Sawa Ser Gehun’ in Chand (November, 1924), and later included in Firdaus-e Khayaal (1929). Now available in Kulliyaat-e Premchand 11 (2001). It is available in Hindi in Mansarovar 4 (1939).
The Woman Who Sold Grass
First published in Hindi as ‘Ghaaswali’ in Madhuri (December 1929), and later included in Mansarovar 1 (1936). In Urdu, it was published with the same title in Prem Chaleesi 2 (1930). Now available in Kulliyaat-e Premchand 13 (2003).
The Mantra
First published in Hindi as ‘Mantra’ in Madhuri (February 1926), and later included in Mansarovar 5 (1946). In Urdu, it was included in the volume Khaak-e-Parwana (1928) with the title ‘Taalif ’. Now available in Kulliyaat-e Premchand 12 (2003).
The Lashes of Good Fortune
First published in Hindi as ‘Saubhagya ke Kodey’ in Prabha (June 1924), and later included in Mansarovar 3 (1938). In Urdu, it was included as ‘Nekbakhti ke Tazianey’ in Firdaus-e Khayaal (1929). Now available in Kulliyaat-e Premchand 11 (2001).
From Both Sides
First published in Urdu as ‘Dono Taraf S
e’ in Zamana (March 1911). Now available in Kulliyaat-e Premchand 9 (2000). It was published in Hindi as ‘Dono Taraf Se’ in Naya Prateek (October 1976), and collected in Premchand ka Aprapya Sahitya 1 (1988).
Witchcraft
First published in Hindi with the title ‘Mooth’ in Maryada (January 1922), and later collected in Prem Pacheesi (1923) and Mansarovar 8 (1950). It was published in Urdu with the same title in Zamana (December 1922), and later collected in Khwab-o Khayal (1928). Now available in Kulliyaat-e Premchand 11 (2001).
A Dhobi’s Honour
First published in Urdu as ‘Husn-e Zan’ in Zamana (October 1922), and collected much later in Kulliyaat-e Premchand 11 (2001). In Hindi, it is included in Mansarovar 7 (1947) as ‘Lokmat ka Samman’.
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ISBN: 978-0-670-09144-7
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