Neela: Victory Song

Bad News

Neela is carrying a wicker basket with freshly picked marigolds from their courtyard. She’s wearing a new sky-blue sari with peacocks woven into it and silver anklets on her feet, as she walks behind her mother to the temple of Goddess Kali. They are going to do a special puja, a prayer ceremony, for Father’s welfare. It has been almost three weeks since he left for Calcutta, and they still have received no word from him.

Now, Mother is worried. But hopefully if they do the puja, the goddess will bless them and send him back safely. Neela’s worried, too. She wonders if she should tell Mother why Father had really gone to Calcutta. Mother’s face is already thinner, and there are dark circles under her eyes. Neela suspects she’s not sleeping well.

When Neela goes to sleep, her dreams are filled with garbled, disturbing images. She sees the mysterious and beautiful woman, with sad eyes and a crown of jewels. Samar smiling as a great fire blazes behind him, and her father, looking ill and gaunt. Neela lifts her sari a little more to walk easier. Mother insists that Neela is old enough now to be wearing a sari, especially to a puja.

Even though it’s not a special festival day, the temple is very crowded. A woman tells them that another family, the Chatterjees, have a new grandson. They’ve invited friends and relatives from many villages. Neela and her mother push through to the priest and hand him their offerings along with some money so that he will chant the prayers for them. Neela finds an empty spot to wait while Mother talks to him. She gazes at the statue of the goddess, obscured by garlands of marigolds and red hibiscus. Kali, the dark goddess, is known as the protectress of the good and destroyer of evil. Neela bends her head and says a prayer for her father and Samar.

Neela hears her name, and turns to see a woman. It is a woman Neela vaguely recognizes from the wedding. The woman is dressed in a fine handloom sari, and she wears a lot of beautiful jewelry. Neela doesn’t really know who this woman is, so maybe she’s a relative of the Chatterjees.

When the woman asks to speak with Neela, she nods her head. This woman seems really interested in Neela. Not in telling her what to do or what she is doing wrong. The woman wants to know all about how Neela spends her day, and isn’t surprised when she hears Neela likes to go fishing and to climb trees. The woman says she’s also fond of cows. She lives a couple of hours from here in Jal Gram, and they have quite a few cows that she milks each day. Neela and the woman laugh together. Then, the woman invites Neela to come visit her sometime.

Neela nods in excitement. She’s always wanted to see new places. She’ll have to ask her mother’s permission of course. The woman nods. It’s time to see if Mother is finished with the priest. Neela watches from a distance as the woman and Mother speak for a few minutes, and then Mother tells Neela to go home. She can eat if Mother is late.

An hour passes, and Mother still isn’t home. Neela sits on the porch, but she’s reluctant to eat by herself. She thinks about a time when all of them, Father, Mother, Usha, and herself used to sit on the porch to have a snack. Now, half of her family is gone. Just then, Neela hears the twang of an ektara. She looks up to see the baoul. Neela runs to him and says she’s glad to see him.

The baoul asks where Neela’s parents are. Apparently, he doesn’t know Father has gone away. Neela says that Father went away and Mother is at the temple. Neela asks the baoul if he would like to join her for lunch. He smiles and says he would. Neela wipes the porch with a damp rag, unrolls two mats, and pours some water. She arranges the rice and curry on two brass plates, making sure there’s still enough for Mother. She asks the baoul if he came from Calcutta. Does he know what’s happening?

The baoul shakes his head. He was in Dhaka across the river. He went to see what the freedom fighters on the other side of Bengal are doing. He heard news of Calcutta while he was there, but nothing good. There was a big march demanding that the British quit India. On the day of the march, the British authorities ordered their soldiers to charge the demonstrators with nightsticks. He heard it was a terrible sight and many heads were cracked open. When some of the marchers fought back, they were arrested and thrown in jail.

Neela’s eyes filled with tears. She says that Father went to Calcutta to join that very march. And they haven’t heard back from him since. The baoul pets her hand and says he doesn’t think he is dead. She must trust him—he has a sixth sense for such things. But, he may be imprisoned. The baoul says it won’t be easy to get him out. The government isn’t allowing a trial for political prisoners. They’re just deporting them in droves to the prison colony. Just then, the gate creaks. Mother is home.

Mother begins to say that she has wonderful news for Neela. And then, her eyes fall on the baoul. She frowns at him and says he’s not supposed to come to the village anymore. They’ll get in trouble if he’s seen at their house. She says the baoul is nothing but mischief. For all she knows, he is the reason that Father went off to Calcutta. He pretended he was going on business, but he couldn’t fool her. Neela stares. All this time, she had known the truth!

The baoul looks at mother with kind eyes. He says that he knows that she is worried about her husband. But great things are going on right now. The old empire is crumbling and the new order will take its place. Brave and caring men like Father want to be a part of this moment.

Mother hisses that she doesn’t want to listen to his metaphors. All she wants to know is if he can bring Father back. If he can’t, he should leave. The minstrel stands up calmly, and says that he will do what she wishes. He will pray for Father’s safe return.

Neela can tell that Mother feels bad. Mother often tells Neela that a guest is sacred and that it’s bad luck if a guest goes away hungry. But today, all she says is she must lie down. She will tell Neela what her news is later.

Neela puts her bundle on the steps of the ruined Krishna temple and wipes the sweat from her face. The afternoon sun is very hot, but she doesn’t want to wait until Mother wakes up. She looks to the side, and sees the baoul lying down in the peaceful shade of a pillar. Neela calls to him and says she saved his lunch for him.

The baoul says that Neela shouldn’t have come. Her mother will be angry. And she shouldn’t blame her mother either. This is a very hard time for her. He opens the bundle and takes out the food Neela wrapped for him in banana leaves. He eats with relish. Neela asks how they can help Father. The baoul thinks for a few minutes, and then he says that he’ll go back to Calcutta and make some discreet inquiries.

Neela suggests that maybe the freedom fighters can help. The group that came here. The baoul nodes and says it’s an excellent idea. Biren is a good man and brave, too. He says he will contact Samar’s cousin once he gets to Calcutta so she can put him in touch with them. But before he leaves, he wants to teach her the song, “Vande Mataram.”

The minstrel sings the words, and Neela sings them after him, picking up the tune effortlessly. Her voice is pure and sweet. The words resonate in Neela’s heart all the way home.

When Neela gets home, she goes straight to her room on tiptoe. She wants to wash up, but she’s afraid the sound of the pump will wake mother. The baoul said there was a train that stopped at Shona Gram at six in the morning. He would get on it to go to Calcutta. And if father is in prison, the baoul promises to get him out.

Neela feels good about this promise. Deep in her heart, she knows there’s more to the baoul than most people suspect. She wouldn’t be surprised if he does manage to bring Father back. With a smile on her face, she dozes off.

When Neela wakes up, the shadows outside her bedroom window have grown long. She hears the voice of the half-witted son of the village goatherd calling her. The boy says that he has something for her. He hands Neela a note and a bundle. She recognizes it as belonging to the baoul. With a beating heart, she reads the note.

The note says that after Neela left, he learned that the police are looking for him. So now, he must go into hiding. This means he cannot go to Calcutta to find Father. Neela must do it herself. Vande Mataram!

Neela’s heart sinks as she reads the note. Then, she hears Mother’s calls. Neela pushes the boy out the door before she answers. It seems like Mother has recovered a little bit of her good humor. Neela feels guilty about deceiving Mother, but she doesn’t know what else to do. So much has happened so quickly and her head is whirling.

That evening, as Neela lets her mother comb through her hair, Mother tells her about the woman at the temple. Her name is Sarojini Misra, and she’s the wife of a rich businessman in Jal Gram. She wants Neela to be her daughter-in-law.

Neela is too stunned to say anything, but Mother doesn’t seem to notice. Mother says that the woman really likes Neela. Mother asked the Chatterjees about her, and they all say that she is a very nice person and well-respected in Jal Gram. With this marriage, Neela will be able to have everything she wants. The woman’s son is an educated young man—he even studied for a year in college. He helps his father run the family business.

Neela whispers that she’s much too young and that she doesn’t want to get married at all. Mother says not to worry. The Misras are not in a rush. The wedding can take place in a couple of years. But they want to go ahead with a small engagement ceremony.

Neela protests that she hasn’t even seen the son. Mother says that she invited the whole family over in a couple of days for lunch so they can all meet.

Neela cries that Father will miss it. If her father was here, he wouldn’t be rushing her into an engagement. Mother sighs, and says that it is unfortunate he’s not here. But he wouldn’t want them to let a good match slip through their fingers. It’s not every day a rich and cultured family wants to form a marriage alliance with their daughter. Neela knows that Mother won’t change her mind.

Alone in her room, Neela gives in to tears. What is she going to do?! An engagement ceremony is a serious thing. Once completed, girls cannot back out. She wishes she had someone to discuss her problems with, like Samar. But she knows she will never see Samar again. And with father in jail, who will rescue him?

After some time, Neela grows tired of her tears. She opens the bundle the boy brought to see the baoul’s minstrel outfit. Without thinking, Neela slips on the saffron robe. On the baoul, it was calf-length, but on her it reaches the ankles. She’s glad she’s been practicing wearing a sari because now she can walk in it without tripping. She bundles up her hair and ties the turban tightly over it. An idea begins to form in her mind.