Neela: Victory Song

A Daring Plan

A voice yells at Neela to wake up. Neela sits up in confusion, rubbing her tired eyes. She laid awake for much of the night, wondering about Biren and Samar and what plan they could come up with. For a moment, Neela thinks she’s back home in the village on her own cot. Had she merely dreamed that she went to Calcutta? And then, she realizes the bed is too luxurious for home. Bimala teases Neela that she sleeps so much. Bimala woke her because she needs to talk to her before she goes to her classes.

Bimala announces that she has news. It’s from Bishu’s friend who works at the prison. Yesterday, some of the guards who serve lunch to the prisoners were sick with influenza, so Bishu’s friend was called to serve. He noticed that one of the prisoners had a scar like a V on his hand. When Bishu’s friend was about to serve the prisoner, he dropped his ladle on purpose. As he picked it up, he asked if it was Neela’s father from Shona Gam, and the man nodded.

Neela cries out, almost too happy to believe that they had found her father. Bimala says that she already sent Bishu to the grocery to let Biren and Samar know. At least they know he is alive. Bishu’s friend said that Neela’s father looks very thin, has a dirty bandage around his head, and walks with a limp. But he didn’t seem ill.

Neela blinks back tears. It could be a lot worse. Bimala adds that Bishu’s friend went into the guards’ quarters and overheard the guard saying that a large group of prisoners was going to be deported tonight. Neela cries in dismay. Bimala hisses to keep quiet. They don’t want any of the servants to overhear them and tell Papa. Anyway, Biren knows about the deportations, too. They’ll just need to trust him to see what he decides to do.

Bimala sees the look of impatience on Neela’s face and smiles. She knows it’s hard for Neela to wait.

Neela has lunch by herself, barely picking at the fish fries with tomato sauce that the cook brought. After lunch, she goes to the music room and looks through the poem that Bimala will be performing tonight. The poem is titled Bashab Datta, and it’s about a beautiful, dancing girl from ancient times who falls in love with a young monk. She invites him to her home, but the monk refuses saying the time isn’t right. Years pass, and the dancer falls ill with smallpox. The townspeople, afraid of catching the disease, put her outside the walls of the city where she lies delirious and alone, preparing to die. When a stranger comes and nurses her back to health with love and compassion, it is the monk.

Neela likes the way the poem gives her a sense of a different time and place. Tagore’s words are powerful and evocative, and they paint pictures inside Neela’s closed eyelids. She sees the beautiful dancer walking home, as if she’s really there. She imagines that the monk looks a little bit like Samar.

But Neela’s mind is too restless for her to focus on the poem for long, so she begins to look through the other records in the music room. There are so many songs that she hasn’t even heard of. There’s religious songs, songs by Tagore, and songs by a singer called Rajani Kanta. There’s folk songs by baouls of Bengal. Neela thinks of her own baoul at this. Hopefully he is safe. Because she’s thinking of him, she starts absentmindedly humming. Before long, she realizes that she is singing “Vande Mataram.”

When she’s done, there’s a moment of silence, followed by some clapping from the door. Neela whirls around, afraid she’ll be in trouble for singing a banned song. Luckily, it’s only Bimala. She says that Neela sings beautifully. And the song is powerful. It makes her understand a little bit of how Samar must feel.

Changing the topic, Bimala says that Bishu brought a message back from the grocery. The note is unsigned and short. It says that N must be at the intersection of Rajmohan and Belgachi roads at eleven tonight. She must come alone, and B must not be involved in this any further.

Bimala is so excited that she’ll finally get to do something exciting. But then she realizes Samar’s right. It would cause a great scandal if she’s caught trying to free the prisoners that her father sentenced.

Bishu tells them that the two roads are small side streets near the docks. It is the route the army lorry is supposed to use to get the prisoners to the docks. Bimala says that they must figure out a way to get Neela over there tonight.

Together, the girls decide that Neela will accompany Bimala to the dress rehearsal at the Drama Club. On the way back, Bimala will tell the driver to drop Neela at the intersection mentioned in the note. Bishu will wait for them there, and will stay until Samar comes. Bimala tears the notes into many pieces and gives them to Bishu to burn. She is sure that Biren has planned the next stage carefully.

The members of the Drama Club are like Bimala, daughters of rich, old Calcutta families who don’t want their children getting involved in political messes. For the most part, the children don’t want it either, as Neela can clearly see by their imported clothing, shoes, and makeup. Their manners are affected and western, and Neela thinks they’re quite comical. Their talk is peppered with fancy English phrases, and they discuss mostly new fashions, upcoming parties, engagements, and high-society scandals.

Bimala introduces Neela to all of her friends. But the young women don’t pay much attention to Neela once they figure out she’s not part of an important Calcutta family. Many of them are enrolled in women’s colleges, but Neela thinks they seem less interested in books and more interested in landing a rich husband. Why do they feel this way? Even Neela knows more about the world than they do? Neela wonders of Bimala would have been like that, too, if Samar hadn’t made her realize there was more to life than fancy jewelry and French perfume.

In addition to playing the dancer’s role, Bimala is in charge of the makeup. Neela watches as Bimala transforms the Drama Club into wrinkled old men and women, a haughty queen, a palace guard, and a monk with matted hair. The best part comes in the last scene when Bimala turns herself into a bloated, pox-infected woman.

When Neela asks how she does it, Bimala says it’s not difficult. She mixes the skin-colored paint with powder and lets it crust up on the skin. Then she adds another layer of reddish paint and then oily, oozy stuff. It’s wonderfully disgusting. And with that, Bimala rushes onstage.

It is late by the time the rehearsal is over. Neela is sitting in the backseat of Bimala’s car, her heart pounding. In just a little while, she’ll be dropped off at the place specified in the note. The army lorry carrying the prisoners will arrive at the same spot soon after. And then? If all goes well, Neela will have Father back. And if not? Neela shutters when she thinks of that. She can’t bear to think of having to return home alone.

Bimala says that they are almost there. She has some things for Neela that may come in handy. An old cotton frock, with long sleeves and a collar. Neela should put it on over her dress. Silently, Neela pulls the dowdy, old frock over her lace-and-silk dress she wore to the Drama Club. She slips off the shiny leather shoes and braids her hair into a tight, old fashioned braid. Bimala is right. Neela now looks like any poor girl on a street center. Bimala says she put some food in the bundle with some money, just enough to get Neela and her father home. Biren will have clothes for her father, too.

Then, she hands over a packet for Samar. He’s probably short of money. Bimala says it has been a joy having Neela there, and planning all of this. She feels like she’s part of something big, at least for a little while. She also says she kept the baoul’s costume that Neela was wearing when she arrived, to remind her. Neela reaches for Bimala’s hand and squeezes it. Samar was right about Bimala. The two say their goodbyes, and both agree they hope to see each other again in the future.

The driver slows down the car and says they’ve arrived. It’s in the middle of nowhere, not safe late at night. Bimala says they’ll be leaving in just a minute and she whispers to Neela to wait in the shadow of the big banyan tree on the corner. Bishu’s probably already there waiting. She hands Neela the bundle, and says the last thing in there is her makeup box. Who knows if it’ll come in handy.

Neela stands under the banyan tree, watching the receding taillights of Bimala’s car get swallowed up by the darkness. There’s total silence around her, and she feels like she is the last living person on earth. This is not a residential area, so there’s no streetlamps. And Bishu isn’t there. Neela calls Bishu’s name softly into the darkness, asking where he is. But there is no reply. Neela’s hands are clammy with sweat as she clutches at the bundle. Is this whole thing a plot? What if Bishu isn’t the loyal servant Bimala thinks he is. Perhaps he’s going to kidnap her and sell her to slave traders. Just then, Neela hears a rushing sound behind her, and she turns to see a shape creeping out through the roots of the banyan tree.

Neela’s blood pounds in her head with fear. Whoever he is, he’s not going to take her without a fight. Before she can think her actions through and grow too scared to move, she rushes at the shape and swings the bundle as hard as she can. It hits him in the belly with a grunt and he falls. The attacker tells her to stop. He’s already been hurt enough by her. Then, he starts to laugh. It is Samar!

Neela says that he shouldn’t creep up on a person like that. He scared her half to death. He explains he was trying to attract her attention silently, but it just wasn’t meant to be. Samar says Bishu is helping with the cart.

Neela looks over to see a long flat, two-wheeled cart in the middle of the narrow street, blocking the way. It’s loaded with bundles and boxes of various sizes. Bishu is kneeling and removing a wheel. Their story is that their cart broke down on the way back from the market, and it was too heavy to push out of the way. When the lorry stops, and it must because the road is too narrow to get past, they’re going to ask the soldiers for help. Neela must make sure she looks suitably scared. When the soldiers get down, then Biren and his men will be waiting.

Bishu comes up to Samar and says that he is done. Samar thanks him, and dismisses him to go home. Just in case things go wrong, he must not be found near here. Neela can see that he wants to be a part of the rescue, but Samar says that Bimala needs him. In just a moment, Bishu has faded into the darkness.

Then, it is just the two of them, sitting on the lopsided cart waiting. Neela stares intently at the warehouse, but she can see no movement. She hears the clang of a bell from some distance away. It’s eleven o’clock. In the dark, Samar’s hand reaches for hers. His fingers are sweaty, just as hers are. It makes her feel a little better knowing that he is nervous, too.