Neela: Victory Song

A Desperate Search

Neila pours the last mug full of warm water on top of herself and sighs luxuriously. She wipes herself with a thick towel and looks around again. She can’t believe that a room as grand as this could exist. Bimala’s bathroom has a white sink and shiny brass taps. A huge bathtub with feet like birds’ claws sits in a corner. It has a pretty soap dish and a big bar of scented soap. The bathroom even smells lovely. Bimala says it is lavender. It comes from Britain. She says that Samar used to get mad about the lavender when he lived here. Bimala would rather not use the foreign stuff but Papa doesn’t agree. And she can’t fight with him all the time.

When Neela is clean, she slips on a pale pink dress with lace cuffs and pearly buttons down the front. The waist is gathered and has a sash that ties into a bow in the back. The dress reaches her calves and has a soft pink petticoat of the finest linen. Lastly, Bimala gave her a pair of black leather shoes and shiny silver buckles.

When Bimala sees Neela for the first time, Neela protests that the clothes are too fine. It’s obviously foreign-made. Bimala says the dress was just gathering dust in the cupboard because she outgrew it. It’s a disguise. Neela must fit the role that they came up with for her. Neela nods. She’s supposed to be a cousin of one of Bimala’s classmates at Lady Brabourne College. She came from her home in the countryside to spend a week with her cousin Calcutta, only to find that she and her family have come down with chicken pox. Their doctor has recommended that Neela not stay with them.

Limping because of her new shoes, Neela feels her heart beat wildly as she follows Bimala to the dining room to meet her father. Surely the honorable Lal Mohan Das, the eminent judge, wouldn’t be fooled by their story. When they get to the table and Neela sees the silverware set by the plates, she is hesitant. At home, they always eat with their hands, like most Indians. How will she manage all the utensils? What if the servants give her away? Bimala assured Neela that all of the servants will not reveal her true identity, but Neela is still doubtful.

The servants don’t say a word, and Bimala’s father only briefly glances at Neela, before giving an absent-minded nod. He says that he’s glad that his daughter has someone closer to her own age to spend time with.

Neela can see in Bimala’s eyes that despite all of her criticisms of her father’s ways, she loves him dearly. Bimala’s father says that there’s even more terrorists to be deported. There was an attempt on the governor general’s life by a group of young men. Some of them are most likely teenagers. The country has gone crazy. Gandhi’s followers are bad enough.

Neela tenses, and Bimala stares at her father, her face stricken. He answers that Samar was not among them. But if he were, he still would do his job, even though Samar is his dead sister’s son. Bimala nods wordlessly, and they finished the rest of their dinner in silence, even though Neela hardly eats a thing.

The next morning, Bishu leaves a message for Samar at the grocery store. He also goes to stop at the Alipore Prison. He has a friend who works in the kitchen there, and he says that a lot of freedom fighters are being kept in that jail. Soon after, Bimala has to go to her college classes, so Neela is left at home with no one to talk to. She paces the upstairs balcony restlessly. Bimala said she can read whatever book she’d like from the library, and use the gramophone in the music room, but Neela is too anxious to read or listen to songs. What if Bishu can’t find out where Father is? What if he’s not in prison, but lying wounded and ill somewhere else. What if he’s dying? And what about Samar? He’s really just a boy. What can he do against the British empire?

Three days later, they still have not heard anything. Bishu’s friend from prison was willing to help, but he didn’t know much. The prison cooks don’t have any contact with prisoners. Almost no one working there knows the real identity of the prisoners, who are referred to only by numbers stitched on their uniforms.

When Bishu asks Neela if her father has any distinguishing features, she says all he has is an old V-shaped scar on the back of his left hand. Of Samar, there’s no news at all. Bimala says they can’t do anything else. They will just need to wait. Waiting has always been hard for Neela, and this time it’s even more so. She tosses and turns in bed. She dreams of flames and floods, and of her mother’s face thinning with worry. In her dreams, her father calls to her for help, and the beautiful, crowned woman beckons sadly to her with silvery arms.

Neela looks so dejected, that even Bimala’s father notices and asks if she’s feeling homesick. He says she mustn’t sit in the house and mope. Even if Bimala’s cousin is ill, Neela cannot see her. Calcutta is a fine city, so Neela must make the most of her time. Bimala’s father suggests that Bimala take Neela to see the dress rehearsal of her next performance. Bimala will be performing a dance drama based on one of Tagore’s poems.

Neela is surprised to find that Bimala’s father is so kind to her. She hadn’t expected such kindness from the man who had been so harsh with Samar and who was such a ruthless judge. There are many sides to people. Before he goes to bed, he kisses Bimala on her cheek and lays his hand on her head for a moment, much like Neela’s own father would. The other day, Neela saw him secretly passing a stack of rupee bills to the cook, whose sick son was taken to the hospital. Neela had been prepared to hate him, but she simply cannot.

The next day, Bimala takes Neela sightseeing. They drive by the racecourse and walk along a cobbled footpath where the Hooghly River goes on its way out to the sea. They shop for trinkets at a bazaar, where Neela buys a pair of white conch shell bangles for her mother, and they offer prayers at Kali Ghat, the famous temple of the Goddess Kali. But Neela is distracted the entire time. Bimala insists that Neela must be patient. Complicated things take time to achieve. But Neela has a feeling that time is running out.

Later that day, as Bimala and Neela sip their tea, a bearded man stands outside the gate of their home. He’s a street vendor, and he wears loose kurta and dhoti, but he doesn’t carry any wares. instead, he holds a drum and has a tiny monkey dressed in a velvet cap and jacket on his shioulder. Bimala claps her hands and says it’s a monkey-dance man. They’re monkeys who do amazing tricks. The gatekeeper grudgingly lets the man enter. The man bows deeply to the girls and plays on his drum. He sings a song about a monkey’s wedding while his monkey dances. For the first time in days, Neela catches herself laughing.

When the performer is done, he asks if the ladies will give him some money to buy food. Bimala says yes, but instead of throwing the money down the balcony, she runs downstairs and straight into the man’s arms. He references her by name, and says she’s going to give him away.

The performer is Samar! He is wearing a false beard and mustache, and it makes him look so much older. He says it’s not safe to stay. Bimala hurries Samar inside the house, and tells him to talk to Neela while she goes to talk to the gatekeeper. Neela laughs as Bimala and Samar playfully joke a little together before she leaves. Samar asks Neela what brought her to Calcutta. Neela explains that her father never returned to Shona Gram. She can’t even hold back the tears as she confides her fears. She tells him how much she misses home and her mother.

Samar says that they should not worry. They’ll think of something. And with his and Biren’s help, they’ll come up with a good plan. Bimala returns with a plateful of puffy fried bread and potato-and-cauliflower curry. She nods reassuringly at Neela as Samar takes the food.

Samar explains he won’t be able to come home again. It’s too risky. They must send Bishu to the grocery the day after tomorrow. Samar will leave a message for him. After checking to make sure none of the servants are around, Bimala lets Samar out through the side door that faces the alley. They hug each other and he says he’ll be okay. He has no intention of dying or missing out on Bimala’s eventual wedding feast, whenever that is.

The girls can’t help smiling as Samar says goodbye to them. His face looks handsome and brave in the flickering light of the gas street lamp. Neela whispers goodbye to Samar, feeling more hopeful than she had in weeks.