Suddenly a great fear crept into his mind. What if I should miss Shaibalini on reaching home? Why should I miss her? If she is ill? Everyone is liable to illness, she will get cured. Chandrashekhar meditated and asked himself—Why do I feel so much uneasiness at the mere idea of her illness? Who is above it? But then if she is seriously ill? Chandrashekhar quickened his pace. If she is ill, God will cure her; I will make propitiatory offerings for her cure. But if she be not cured? Tears started into Chandrashekhar’s eyes. He thought——would God deprive me of this jewel at this time of my life after having once given it to me? Nothing is strange in that! Am I so much favoured of Him that He will dispense nothing but happiness for my lot? May be, there is a great sorrow in store for me, who knows? If on my return, I do not find Shaibalini, if I hear that in severe illness she has departed this life?—then surely I will not live. Chandrashekhar set himself to a brisk pace. On entering the village he observed the folk very gravely looking at his face,—he could not understand the meaning of that look. Seeing him, the boys quietly smiled. Some followed him at a distance, the elderly people turned round at his sight. Chandrashekhar was astonished; he was frightened, became abstracted, and without glancing on any side reached the door of his house.
The door was closed. On hearing his knock outside, the servant opened the door. At the sight of Chandrashekhar he set up a weeping. “What is the matter?” anxiously enquired the former.
The servant without making any reply went away weeping.
Chandrashekhar inwardly offered up prayers to the god of his worship. He found the yard unswept, the hall-of-worship full of dust, burnt torches were lying about, and here and there were broken doors. He entered the inner house and found all the doors fastened from outside. The serving-woman slunk away on his appearance. He heard her loud cries of weeping, coming from beyond the house. Then he took his stand in the centre of the courtyard, and with a loud distorted voice called out “Shaibalini.”
No one answered, Chandrashekhar’s distorted voice quieted the weeping maid-servant.
He again called out. The sound of his voice was echoed back from the rooms; no one answered.
By that time over Shaibalini’s painted boat, the red English flag was fluttering in a current of gentle breeze, which came skimming over the waters of the Ganges; the oarsmen were singing their own peculiar boat song.
Chandrashekhar heard everything. Thereupon, he carefully carried the stone family-idol in his house to Sundari’s father and left it with him. He then called his poor neighbours together and distributed the crockery, clothes and other household articles to them. Upto dusk he remained busy in this way. At night-fall he brought out one by one and collected together all the books, both studied and unstudied and dear as his life-blood. One by one he began to pile them up in the yard; now and again he would open a book and instantly tie it up unread, and ultimately collected them all in a heap. When the pile was made up he set fire to it.
The fire blazed up. The Puranas, History, Poetry, Rhetoric, Grammar, everything gradually took fire; the laws of Manu, Jagnavalka, and Parasara, the Darsanas, the Philosophy of Naya, Vedanta, Sankhya, etc., the Kalpa —Sutras, Arannyakas and the Upanishads,[1] one by one, all caught the flame and blazed up. Nothing but ashes was left of that mass of invaluable books collected with infinite pains and studied over a length of time. By nine o'clock at night when the burning had been done with only a single scarf to wrap his body with, Chandrashekhar left his ancestral roof-tree. No one knew whither he went nor did any one enquire.
1 ↑ All these form part of the sacred literature of the Hindus.
Chapter I :- Kulsam
PART II.
SIN.
CHAPTER I. KULSAM.
“No, the bird will not dance. Now for your news.”
With these words Dalani Begum gave a tug at the tail of a refractory peacock. Unclasping a diamond bracelet from her wrist, she fastened it round the neck of another peacock and scattered a rose-spray over the bill and eyes of a foul-mouthed cockatoo. The cockatoo retaliated shrieking out, “slave.” This term of abuse Dalani had herself taught the bird.
At hand a serving-maid was trying to make the birds dance; to her Dalani had said, “Now for your news.”
“The news is not much," began Kulsam. “Two cargo-boats laden with arms have landed. An Englishman is in charge. These boats have been seized. Ali Ibrahim Khan is of opinion that they should be allowed to proceed. For no good there will be war with the English if their progress is obstructed. Gurgan Khan maintains—let there be war, if necessary, he will not release the boats.”
“Where are these arms going to?”
“To the factory at Patna. If war should break out, it would first break out there. To guard against sudden dispossession the English are sending arms. This is rife within the fort.”
“But why does Gurgan Khan want to capture the boats?”
“He says that if so much arms are allowed to collect there, it will be difficult to defeat the English. The enemy should not be allowed to grow strong. Ali Ibrahim Khan is of opinion that, whatever we might do we could not defeat the English. Therefore, it is better we should not go into war. If that be so, why bring about war by seizing the boats? That in the main is no doubt true; there is no escaping the hands of the English. I am afraid the scenes of Nawab Serajudowlla’s time will be acted over again.”
Dalani remained buried in thought for a time, and ultimately said, “Kulsam, are you game for a dangerous adventure?”
“What is it? Have I got to eat the Hilsa fish [1], or take a plunge in cold water?"
“Go to, it is no joke. If it reaches the Nawab’s ears, then both of us will be trampled under elephant’s feet.
“If it reaches his ear, then! Why, I have made away with so much attar, rosewater, gold and silver, and yet no one has been able to know of it. My idea is that the eyes of man have been put in his head as a mere decoration, he cannot see with them. Why, when has a man been able to detect awoman’s guile? I have not seen such a case.”
“Tut! I am not talking of the eunuch guards The Nawab is not like other men; what can escape his notice?”
“But what is there which I cannot hide? What do you want me to do?”
“A letter has got to be taken to Gurgan Khan.”
Kulsam remained mute in astonishment.
“What do you say to it? ” asked Dalani.
“Who will send the letter?”
“I. ”
“What, have you gone mad?”
“Nearly.”
Both sat silent for a time. The two peacocks finding them speechless perched upon their respective roosts. The Cockatoo set up a stupid scream. The remaining birds busied themselves