Neela: Victory Song

The Rescue Mission

It seems like an age that Neela has been sitting on the lopsided cart. The church bells’ echoes have long since died away and been replaced by thick silence. Where is the lorry? She glances at Samar, but he’s staring worriedly down the dark road, biting his knuckle.

Just then, they hear the roar of a heavy engine reverberating through the night. In a moment, they see the headlights of a covered lorry as it bumps its way on the little street. Samar quickly stands up, yelling and waving his hands in the air to get the lorry’s attention. Neela waves, too. She glances at the warehouse to see the freedom fighters are in position, but she’s afraid the men in the lorry will notice. One careless glance will give their presence away.

The lorry is coming straight at them, very fast. She hopes the driver can see them properly in the dark. Maybe he would see them, but too late, and he wouldn’t be able to stop. Maybe he wouldn’t even care to stop, but would slam his way through the cart.

But then, Neela hears a screech of brakes, and the lorry comes to a halt, just a couple of feet away from them. An angry voice curses at them to clear the road. Samar asks them for help. A British officer carrying a gun jumps down from where he is sitting.

Samar goes up to him, and bows differentially. He says that his cousin and him are having trouble. Neela tries to look suitably scared, but it’s not difficult. Her heart hammers in her chest as she watches the officer from behind her raised arm to see what he’ll do. Samar explains, in broken English mixed with Bengali, that they’ve been trying to move the cart, but they can’t by themselves.

The officer calls them idiots, children of swine, who couldn’t find another place to break down. He viciously swipes at his gun as Samar, who ducks just in time. Then, the officer orders a couple of men out of the cart to help them push. Four Indian soldiers jump down from the truck, and run to the cart. Neela can barely manage to step away before it’s dragged into the ditch and tilted over, along with everything on it. Neela cries out and tries to save some of the boxes, but the soldiers laugh and shove her away. One of the soldiers snarls that it’s too late now, unless Neela wants to end up in the ditch herself.

Neela stares in angry astonishment at the man in his uniform. He’s short and dark, with a curly mustache. Why, he’s an Indian, a Bengali just like her. How can he be so cruel to her? How could he slavishly obey a Britisher, no matter what the man commands?

Behind Neela, she hears confused cries and yells. Neela turns around to see that a number of dark figures have appeared on the scene. One of them, his nose and mouth covered by a scarf, holds a gun to the back of the British officer’s head. Biren has arrived.

In just a few minutes, the freedom fighters have taken the soldiers’ weapons. Biren instructs his team to tie them securely. The officer glares at him and says that he is Mayor Lytton. They will never get away with this. Biren just laughs, and then says that they should be gagged.

Another freedom fighter says they should shoot them. Biren shakes his head, remembering the vow they took. Unnecessary killing is not their way. Instead, they should be rolled into the ditch, since Mayor Lytton seems to like it so much. The mud will keep them nice and cool, and they won’t be found for a while.

Biren points to a lanky young man, and says that it’s his job to take the wheel. He says he wants a handful of people on the truck, and they should keep their rifles with them. The rest should scatter. He beckons to Neela, and tells her to climb into the back. Neela will help untie the prisoners.

The back of the lorry is covered in canvas, and is crowded, dark, and smelly with the odor of bodies that haven’t been bathed in a long time. But Neela doesn’t mind. Armed with a knife, she goes from one man to another, cutting their bonds and giving them water from a canteen. They each thank her, but none of them are her father. Neela’s heart sinks as she makes her way through the lorry. Was Biren mistaken? Is there another lorry that they missed? She’s glad all the men on the truck are freed, but her eyes filled with tears of disappointment.

Neela has almost reached the front end of the lorry when she sees a man sitting on the floor, half-hidden behind two other prisoners. His bandaged head rests on the lorry’s side. His gaunt face is covered by an untidy, grizzly beard, but Neela knows him right away. It is her father!

She calls his name and pushes through the crowd of bodies. The man opens his eyes and stares incredulously at her. He must be delirious. When she says it’s really her, he simply holds his daughter close and breathes the smell of her hair. Neela can feel his arms trembling. He asks how she got there.

Neela starts to tell her father all of the things that happened to her since he left home. She’s so excited that her words get tangled up in her mouth, and Father has to slow her down. But finally, she’d given her father the gist of the story. She says that she’ll have to tell him some other time about Bimala and her papa, Bishu, and the girls at the Drama Club, and how Samar dressed up as the monkey-dance man. And how scared Neela was waiting in the road for the truck. She hopes that he and Mother won’t be angry at her. Father shakes his head and gives her a warm hug. How can he possibly be angry? If it wasn’t for Neela, he would be deported now, and he would have to spend the rest of his life away from India and his family. Neela was a smart, brave girl to do what she did, and he’s sure Mother will understand.

Suddenly, the lorry comes to a stop. The canvas covering the back is lifted, and Biren climbs up. The freed prisoners crowd around him, and the younger men touch his feet to show respect. Father thanks Biren for saving their lives. Biren says there’s no need for thanks, because he’s happy to be able to do it. It’ll be a great blow to British pride—capturing the prisoners from under their noses.

Biren says the ship must have realized what happened, and they’ll have sounded an alarm. Everyone must get out of Calcutta right away. Biren’s team is going to drive it to one of their centers up north, and the freedom fighters will change the appearance of the vehicle so that not even its own mother would recognize it. Those who want to come and join them are welcome, but for the rest, it’s time to say goodbye.

Some of the younger men decide to go with Biren, but some of the others opt to return home or go back to the Congress Party. Biren says they’re near Howrah Station, so everyone will be able to catch a train or bus to wherever they wish to go. Biren has also brought clothes for everyone, so they can change out of the prison garb. They must separate from each other right away because the police will be searching for groups of men.

The men change hurriedly in the truck, and Neela climbs down and looks around. She recognizes the Howrah Bridge looming in the distance. If they can just cross it, they can get on a train for Shona Gram. Then, she sees her father climb out of the truck. He has a bad limp and walks very slowly. He grimaces in pain as he leans on one of his companions.

Father explains that a policeman hit his shin with a lathi during the march. He may have broken something. The pain is slightly better now, but it’s probably not healed right. Neela’s eyes filled with tears of despair. She knows he’ll never be able to walk in his condition. Biren beckons to Samar, and says that they can use help. Samar will go with them as far as their village, and then come back to their center in Calcutta to wait for his next assignment.

The driver revs the engine, and everybody shouts their goodbyes. Then, in a cloud of dust, the freedom fighters are gone.