Part 3

_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.