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Collection: Part 10 · VIDEHA MITHILA MAITHILI DISCUSSION CRITICISM SERIES PART 10
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Detected language: en (0.9968)
Duration: 24:11
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0:00–0:22विलीच आप दिस्ट्रक्ट आप विलीच अछि।
0:22–0:28in the villager's eyes. The collector sits as the greatest authority in the world.
0:28–0:35Brother Bosker, I heard that some work of yours is held up.
0:36–0:41Yes, brother. A matter is stuck in the collector's office.
0:42–0:48Whenever you need anything done, tell me. I sit with the collector morning and evening.
0:48–0:50I remain there for hours.
0:50–0:56Whenever I get up to leave, he stops me, seats me again, and starts another conversation.
0:56–1:02Only then will the people of this village understand who has influence and how far it reaches.
1:02–1:11Very well, brother. I shall tell you if the need arises. I do not even know the collector's name.
1:11–1:14He has a very long name IAS Prashant.
1:14–1:19Now, who would dare ask him what IAS stands for?
1:19–1:22So everyone simply calls him Prashant.
1:22–1:27IAS is the abbreviation for the Indian Administrative Service.
1:27–1:30It cannot be part of his name.
1:30–1:33Ah, then that must be it.
1:33–1:38That is why it is written beneath his name on the nameplate IAS.
1:38–1:40Very well, brother.
1:40–1:44I shall tell you if I need anything.
1:44–1:51First I must weigh whether I shall receive help or merely hear another story.
1:51–1:54What a remarkable man.
1:54–1:58Last year, when I needed something, he kept saying,
1:58–2:01Why did you not tell me last year?
2:01–2:04Whose work have I not managed to get done?
2:04–2:07But this time there is no possible arrangement.
2:07–2:11You had never asked me for anything before, and now, when you finally have, I cannot
2:11–2:13manage it.
2:13–2:18That truly torments me.
2:18–2:21But Yarthi's children are very difficult.
2:21–2:24They never once came back to visit me.
2:24–2:29And today, when they need something, they have come.
2:29–2:32An old memory rises in Bhaskar's mind.
2:32–2:38A friend of his father's, speaking once to a Bengali gentleman.
2:38–2:45Look Dada, this is Bhaskar, the son of my dearest friend, Sadhyaarthi.
2:45–2:49But his son was very small.
2:49–2:51This is the same boy.
2:51–2:55You saw him many years ago when he was little.
2:55–2:57Now he has grown up.
2:57–3:00I was saying that his father left nothing for him.
3:00–3:08My own father died in 1960, but in those days he left me twelve cat as of land in town,
3:08–3:10a house, and a scooter.
3:10–3:16Now if this boy goes to someone for help, he will be asked, Why did you not come
3:16–3:18last year?
3:18–3:24his back they will say, he came only because he needed something. People offer less help
3:24–3:33and demand more accounting. That is wrong. But when the boy was in difficulty, you should
3:33–3:40have asked after him. You did not. Now that he has come to you, you speak in reverse.
3:40–3:45And if he does not come for help, manages the work himself, and that gentleman later
3:45–3:52hears of it, he will arrive as though bestowing a favor and ask, Was the work completed? Why
3:52–4:00did you not tell me? The boy will answer, It was completed by God's grace. So, Dada, whenever
4:00–4:06someone comes to you with some work, understand that he has not come gladly. A problem has
4:06–4:10driven him to your door. Help him.
4:10–4:16This lesson that help is most necessary where a person cannot ask for it directly settles
4:16–4:18in Bhaskar's mind.
4:18–4:26In time, unlike Sankarshan, he will put it into practice.
4:26–4:27Get out.
4:27–4:32Can you not see that a discussion is in progress?
4:32–4:37Some time later, when Bhaskar comes out, Sankarshan also emerges.
4:37–4:40His back is turned, so they do not come face to face.
4:40–4:45Yet anyone who hears of the scene will assume Sankarshan is close to the collector.
4:48–4:51Tell me, Sankarshan. Where are you coming from?
4:53–4:59Oh, what can I say? But collector Saheed would not let me leave. That is why I was delayed.
5:00–5:04Sometimes one must also endure the insistence of important people.
5:05–5:08Did you happen to meet his stenographer as well?
5:08–5:16No. Though the way out does pass through the stenographer's room. But those people freeze
5:16–5:17with fear in my presence.
5:17–5:26Sankarshan, listen. I shall tell you a story. There were three black dogs, identical in color
5:26–5:33and appearance. They decided to go, one after another, to Mata's sweet shop and eat piping
5:33–5:39hot jalabees. This is not a story about honor. It is about the sickness of calling an injury
5:39–5:47in honor. The first dog reached Mottershop. Seeing him enter, the owner hurled a scale
5:47–5:53weight at him. The poor dog was badly hurt, but hear what he told his companions.
5:53–5:57Well, brother, how was it?
5:57–6:00You are coming back with such a swagger.
6:00–6:03Ah, what can I say?
6:03–6:05I received tremendous honor.
6:05–6:09They weighed out jalapees for me with their weights, large weights, small weights, every
6:09–6:11weight they had.
6:11–6:16They kept weighing and serving, weighing and serving.
6:16–6:20Then why should I lag behind in receiving such honor?
6:20–6:23Look, he has come back again.
6:23–6:25Last time I hit him with a scale weight.
6:25–6:31Since even that did not stop him, this was the only remedy left.
6:31–6:34What sort of honor did you receive?
6:34–6:35What can I say?
6:35–6:38They fried piping hot jalapees and fed them to me.
6:38–6:41The owner of Mauder's shop is a wonderful man.
6:41–6:49He kept frying them and feeding them to me, hot from the oil.
6:49–6:50Lord Mahadev is drinking milk.
6:50–6:56Come, let us go and offer him some ourselves.
6:56–6:59God drank milk from everyone else's hand.
6:59–7:03But if I tell people he did not drink from mine, they will say I am a sinner, and that
7:03–7:05is why God refused me.
7:05–7:07Yes, Liddy Jha.
7:07–7:09I have lived such a respected life.
7:09–7:15If Mahadev drank from everyone else's hand, he certainly drank from mine too.
7:15–7:18Liddy Ja, do not let him escape.
7:18–7:20Two visits were not enough for him.
7:20–7:21Bring a rope.
7:21–7:24Bring a stick.
7:24–7:26You took so long.
7:26–7:29What honors did they shower upon you?
7:29–7:31Enormous honor.
7:31–7:32They would not let me come away.
7:32–7:35They kept saying, eat more, eat more.
7:35–7:40I barely escaped with my life, saying that I could eat no more or my stomach would
7:40–7:43burst.
7:43–7:46You heard the story, Sankarshan.
7:46–7:50When the collector was driving you out, I was the man sitting before him.
7:50–7:54My back was towards you, so you did not see me.
7:54–7:57Then you sat for a while in the stenographer's room.
7:57–8:02When you came out, people might well have assumed that you were close to the collector.
8:02–8:06But calling a wound in honor does not heal it.
8:06–8:10Baskar, do not tell the village what you saw.
8:10–8:14listen to tales of honor, not humiliation.
8:14–8:16Come.
8:16–8:38Let us make a puffed rice snack.
8:38–8:39Sankarshan.
8:39–8:41Thank goodness I found you.
8:41–8:45I was going to knit your carcar, but it would take too long to reach him.
8:45–8:47The little one is terribly ill.
8:47–8:51Fever, vomiting, and diarrhea have all begun at once.
8:51–8:54Nonsense, you fool.
8:54–8:56Give the child the juice of the paisage thorn.
8:56–9:00I am going towards the grazing ground to tend the buffaloes.
9:00–9:01Do not worry.
9:01–9:05It is a powerful medicine, one dose and every illness is finished.
9:05–9:07Physicians look in books.
9:07–9:13I understand merely by looking at the symptoms.
9:13–9:18J.Ram, what are you bringing from the field boundary?
9:18–9:20What can I say, Karkar?
9:20–9:24The little one has fever, vomiting, and diarrhea all at once.
9:24–9:28Sankarshan said that if I gave the child the juice of the posse each thorn, every
9:28–9:29illness would end.
9:29–9:32I went to fetch it.
9:32–9:35Sankarshan is a dangerous fool.
9:35–9:39Last year he poured the juice of the parsley thorn into the pond and killed every fish in
9:39–9:41it.
9:41–9:45If you give that poison to the child, the illness will not improve, the child will
9:45–9:47die outright.
9:47–9:51For one who knows nothing, even silence can be medicine.
9:51–9:54Come, let us go to the pharmacy.
9:54–9:57I shall get medicine for the child.
9:57–10:03Brother, are you coming from the village?
10:04–10:05Yes, brother.
10:07–10:09I thought I heard wailing from Jerem's neighborhood.
10:11–10:12Not wailing.
10:12–10:15The village council is sitting at the shrine of the guardian spirit.
10:16–10:17I have come to summon you.
10:21–10:22I admit my fault.
10:23–10:26From today I shall wear the confi.
10:26–10:29I shall pay the fine by tomorrow evening as well.
10:29–10:34Words released by the tongue can sometimes strike harder than a blow from a hoe.
10:34–10:41For the first time, Sankarshan's vanity produces a concrete consequence.
10:41–10:47Whether the lesson reaches his heart or remains only on his lips will soon become clear.
10:47–10:50Well, look at that.
10:50–10:53Leave the other work, we are going straight home now.
10:53–10:58Brother Sankarshan, what have you done?
10:58–11:02You have become a Vaishnav, yet you are carrying fish.
11:02–11:03fish.
11:03–11:06Oh, goner!
11:06–11:10You may be my equal in age, but how did I become your brother?
11:10–11:15Do you not know that the place where you are standing is called Baba Dogahi?
11:15–11:19Even a child born here is a Baba in relation to the people of the village.
11:19–11:24First understand the rules of kinship, then ask your question.
11:24–11:27You are quite right, some Christian.
11:27–11:29But what I was saying was...
11:29–11:36I gave up eating fish, not killing it.
11:36–11:39What are you looking at?
11:39–11:42I have written down telephone numbers in this diary.
11:42–11:45I am searching for one of them.
11:45–11:51And what if the police stop you somewhere on the road and ask what you are carrying?
11:51–11:52What are you saying?
11:52–11:57Is a person not even allowed to keep telephone numbers?
11:57–11:58That is true.
11:58–12:02But if they ask why you have so many numbers, and you cannot answer, will the police
12:02–12:09not take you for a terrorist and put you in prison? Your name will appear in the newspapers.
12:09–12:12Then you will understand.
12:12–12:16How could they arrest me for that? I shall tear this diary into pieces and throw it away
12:16–12:20at once.
12:20–12:25Some kurshans baseless, but confident words turn even an innocent man's ordinary habit
12:25–12:48into a source of fear. This is the final lesson of the second wave.
12:48–12:54fail to notice the glow on the young man's face. Sankarshan is lustrous black, not dull
12:54–12:57black. He is radiant.
12:57–12:59Bring him another sweet.
12:59–13:07Yes, give me one. Families with daughters will form a queue. Do not become impatient.
13:07–13:14The matchmaker leaves. Another arrives, makes similarly flattering suggestions and goes.
13:14–13:20Each smooth-praise spreads through Sankarshan's family the same hunger for prestige that Sankarshan
13:20–13:22spreads outside it.
13:22–13:26A prospective bride's family is coming today.
13:26–13:30Loll Kaki telephone from Delhi.
13:30–13:32Then keep sherbet ready.
13:32–13:37It seems all the kagsi lemons have been used up serving sherbet to matchmakers.
13:37–13:41See whether any jambiri lemons remain on the tree.
13:41–13:48Even the lemons have grown tired of hearing suncussion praised.
13:48–13:51My friend, what is your bride like?
13:51–13:53You like her, did you not?
13:53–13:57Yes, yes, brother Jagannath.
13:57–13:59She is very beautiful.
13:59–14:02Have you seen Hema Malini?
14:02–14:04Exactly like her.
14:04–14:08Though her complexion is a little darker than mine.
14:08–14:10I see.
14:10–14:17But her complexion is a little darker than mine.
14:17–14:23My friend, do you people also have to clear Dong early in the morning, as I do?
14:23–14:27Some karshan notices Goner's wife standing nearby.
14:27–14:31If he answers now he may embarrass her, so he walks on without speaking.
14:31–14:36When he returns, he meets Goner alone, and the conversation resumes.
14:36–14:41Brother, in those days one had to pay money for a marriage.
14:41–14:44You must have had to pay as well.
14:44–14:47It must be why you married at an older age.
14:47–14:52Yes, money certainly had to be paid.
14:52–14:54But we did not have to pay anything.
14:54–15:00That is why I do not have to clear Dung either, my wife is not so pampered, you see?
15:00–15:04The household runs because I am not pampered.
15:04–15:09The day I become pampered, who will clear away the Dung of your vanity.
15:09–15:15That single sentence, the wife's voice from offstage, holds a mirror to Sunker Shun's
15:15–15:16entire vanity.
15:16–15:21Yet he hears it and pretends not to, as though his ears were made only for praise.
15:21–15:27Jageri is very good for a cold, it clears the congestion.
15:27–15:30Drink tea with Jageri, my friend.
15:30–15:35A few days ago, Donner said that at a pilgrimage he had renounced Jhamni, and therefore
15:35–15:37he continued to eat Jham.
15:37–15:40What harm was there in that?
15:40–15:44Push an argument too far and the whole meaning drowns.
15:44–15:49When I went to Lord Jagannath at Puri last year, I had to give up one fruit, so I gave
15:49–15:51up sugar cane.
15:51–15:54Jaggery is made from sugar cane.
15:54–16:00Give me tea made with that thin Russian beet sugar instead.
16:00–16:01People.
16:01–16:04Listen, everyone.
16:04–16:11Alkaka arranged my marriage, but he never told me that marriage also produces a son.
16:11–16:14My grown son has run away from home.
16:14–16:16What shall I do now?
16:16–16:23I spent my life teaching everyone else, yet I could not teach my own son the road home.
16:23–16:26Most likely he has gone to Delhi.
16:26–16:29Everyone who runs away goes there.
16:29–16:33Now I too must take the road to Delhi to search for my son, and if I do not find
16:33–17:00him, to look for a job for myself.
17:00–17:04would you please give me a little space on the seat?
17:04–17:06Mother, I am no boy.
17:06–17:09This boy has three boys of his own.
17:09–17:15What is this?
17:15–17:20Sir, these are only bundles of Kasari greens.
17:20–17:23Oh? Do you take me for a fool?
17:23–17:27Mahan Singh, tell me what this is.
17:27–17:29It is Ganja, sir.
17:29–17:32He looks like a Ganja smoker.
17:32–17:38Now tell me, passenger. I never told Mohan Singh that this was Ganja.
17:38–17:45But because it is Ganja, Mohan Singh said so. Do you understand the language of the law or not?
17:45–17:52Sir, they are bundles of greens. My wife packed them as a gift for Lal Kaki.
17:52–17:56Take him to jail. He can explain everything there.
17:56–18:09Tears stream from Sankar Shanzay's eyes. For a moment he remembers the humiliation in the collector's chamber, the tail of the dogs, and the paisage thorn. But the constable is shrewd.
18:09–18:11How much money are you carrying?
18:11–18:26Ah, that is good news. Our friend worries over everything until he nearly bursts. Did you hear? Your son has reached the village.
18:26–18:29Wonderful. Thank God.
18:29–18:36But, son, swear that you will never again play a cruel joke like the one with the passage
18:36–18:37thorn.
18:37–18:40What happened about his job?
18:40–18:43I am not made for jobs, khaki.
18:43–18:48I swear I shall never again make a joke like the paisage thorn affair.
18:48–18:52What happened on the train was not a matter of human intelligence, it was fate.
18:52–18:56Now let me prepare to return to the village.
18:56–18:59At least see Delhi before you go.
18:59–19:02Visit the Red Fort.
19:02–19:08For the first time, Sankarshan accepts a truth about himself, although he dismisses it as
19:08–19:09fate.
19:09–19:31He has yet to acknowledge his vanity fully.
19:31–19:34What are you hiding?
19:34–19:37It is beyond your means.
19:37–19:38Tell me.
19:38–19:42What rare treasure are you holding so close?
19:42–19:46I am waiting for the owner of some great motor car, someone who will step out, recognize
19:46–19:51the true quality of these shoes, and pay their proper price.
19:51–19:54Name the price.
19:54–19:56Since you insist, listen.
19:56–20:00They cost 400 rupees.
20:00–20:04I have only 360 rupees.
20:04–20:06I warned you from the beginning.
20:06–20:08Where is your home?
20:08–20:11Jeanne-Cauport.
20:11–20:13Then we are neighbors.
20:13–20:15Why would I profit from you?
20:15–20:19You will also need 10 rupees for the DTC bus fare.
20:19–20:22Very well, give me 350.
20:22–20:28Even in this age, there are still people like you who value their neighbors.
20:28–20:30Everyone in Delhi is one of our own.
20:30–20:34Even if you spit here, it lands on one of your own people.
20:34–20:38I recognize my own people before I name a price.
20:38–20:43The man who taught lessons and cleverness to everyone in the village is being cheated to
20:43–20:49his face in Delhi's thieves market without realizing it.
20:49–20:53My friend, why are you carrying your shoes in your hands?
20:53–20:57Goner, how can I let water touch them?
20:57–21:00If the skin of my feet rots, new skin will grow.
21:00–21:04But if these shoes rot, where will another pair come from?
21:04–21:09They are a remembrance of Delhi.
21:09–21:12What are you doing, my friend?
21:12–21:15Why are you having such handsome shoes stitched?
21:15–21:18Goner, I was thoroughly cheated.
21:18–21:23Whenever I saw water, I let my feet suffer and lifted the shoes into my hands.
21:23–21:26I cannot have worn them for more than four days.
21:26–21:30Today the entire soul came out of the shoe before my own eyes, like a heart torn out
21:30–21:33of a body.
21:33–21:35Who managed to cheat you?
21:35–21:38Your name is counted among the cleverest of men.
21:38–21:41Friend, what can I say?
21:41–21:46Whenever anyone calls me clever or praises these shoes, I feel as though I shall burst.
21:46–21:50Somehow I shall have them stitched and salvaged what I paid.
21:50–21:55I boasted so much that, being a mathal, I had no equal in cleverness.
21:55–21:58But after the way I was cheated in Delhi, I feel like bowing continually before the
21:58–22:00people there.
22:00–22:04The traders in the thieves' market behind the Red Fort could grind the wisdom of many
22:04–22:07a Mahama Hopadaya into dust.
22:07–22:11And here we are, distributing Bharat Ratnas and then arguing over them.
22:11–22:16The true Bharat Ratnas are behind the Red Fort, not one or two, but in abundance.
22:16–22:23Yet, to tell you the truth, Ghanar, the swindle did not strike the shoe, it struck my pride.
22:23–22:26Bharat Ratnas, all of them.
22:26–22:29Everyone else keeps teasing me about this affair.
22:29–22:33At least you, my friend, do not remind me of it.
22:33–22:37But if you do remember it, say that for the first time Sankarshan did not call being cheated
22:37–22:46an honour.
22:46–22:48Sankarshan is not a distant character.
22:48–22:53He sits in some corner of every village, every city, and every home.
22:53–22:58In the collector's chamber, in the passage thorn, in the punishment of the concy, in
22:58–23:03the question of dung, and in Delhi's thieves market, he did the same thing again and
23:03–23:08again, he called injury honour and being cheated cleverness.
23:08–23:13But the true turning point of this play comes when Sankarshan calls his deception by its
23:13–23:14name for the first time.
23:14–23:18The swindle did not strike the shoe, it struck my pride.
23:18–23:23The admission may seem small, but that single sentence contains more courage than he has
23:23–23:26shown anywhere else in the play.
23:26–23:32A person who recognises his own vanity is not wholly defeated, he has already taken
23:32–23:34the first step towards change.
23:34–23:39Sankarshan's story ends here, but his question remains for the audience.
23:39–23:45Is there also a Sankarshan hidden somewhere within us, forever calling injury honour?
23:45–23:48I was wounded and called it honour.
23:48–23:50I called the soul prestige.
23:50–23:53Now ask yourself, where have I too been cheated today?

Plain text

विलीच आप दिस्ट्रक्ट आप विलीच अछि। in the villager's eyes. The collector sits as the greatest authority in the world. Brother Bosker, I heard that some work of yours is held up. Yes, brother. A matter is stuck in the collector's office. Whenever you need anything done, tell me. I sit with the collector morning and evening. I remain there for hours. Whenever I get up to leave, he stops me, seats me again, and starts another conversation. Only then will the people of this village understand who has influence and how far it reaches. Very well, brother. I shall tell you if the need arises. I do not even know the collector's name. He has a very long name IAS Prashant. Now, who would dare ask him what IAS stands for? So everyone simply calls him Prashant. IAS is the abbreviation for the Indian Administrative Service. It cannot be part of his name. Ah, then that must be it. That is why it is written beneath his name on the nameplate IAS. Very well, brother. I shall tell you if I need anything. First I must weigh whether I shall receive help or merely hear another story. What a remarkable man. Last year, when I needed something, he kept saying, Why did you not tell me last year? Whose work have I not managed to get done? But this time there is no possible arrangement. You had never asked me for anything before, and now, when you finally have, I cannot manage it. That truly torments me. But Yarthi's children are very difficult. They never once came back to visit me. And today, when they need something, they have come. An old memory rises in Bhaskar's mind. A friend of his father's, speaking once to a Bengali gentleman. Look Dada, this is Bhaskar, the son of my dearest friend, Sadhyaarthi. But his son was very small. This is the same boy. You saw him many years ago when he was little. Now he has grown up. I was saying that his father left nothing for him. My own father died in 1960, but in those days he left me twelve cat as of land in town, a house, and a scooter. Now if this boy goes to someone for help, he will be asked, Why did you not come last year? his back they will say, he came only because he needed something. People offer less help and demand more accounting. That is wrong. But when the boy was in difficulty, you should have asked after him. You did not. Now that he has come to you, you speak in reverse. And if he does not come for help, manages the work himself, and that gentleman later hears of it, he will arrive as though bestowing a favor and ask, Was the work completed? Why did you not tell me? The boy will answer, It was completed by God's grace. So, Dada, whenever someone comes to you with some work, understand that he has not come gladly. A problem has driven him to your door. Help him. This lesson that help is most necessary where a person cannot ask for it directly settles in Bhaskar's mind. In time, unlike Sankarshan, he will put it into practice. Get out. Can you not see that a discussion is in progress? Some time later, when Bhaskar comes out, Sankarshan also emerges. His back is turned, so they do not come face to face. Yet anyone who hears of the scene will assume Sankarshan is close to the collector. Tell me, Sankarshan. Where are you coming from? Oh, what can I say? But collector Saheed would not let me leave. That is why I was delayed. Sometimes one must also endure the insistence of important people. Did you happen to meet his stenographer as well? No. Though the way out does pass through the stenographer's room. But those people freeze with fear in my presence. Sankarshan, listen. I shall tell you a story. There were three black dogs, identical in color and appearance. They decided to go, one after another, to Mata's sweet shop and eat piping hot jalabees. This is not a story about honor. It is about the sickness of calling an injury in honor. The first dog reached Mottershop. Seeing him enter, the owner hurled a scale weight at him. The poor dog was badly hurt, but hear what he told his companions. Well, brother, how was it? You are coming back with such a swagger. Ah, what can I say? I received tremendous honor. They weighed out jalapees for me with their weights, large weights, small weights, every weight they had. They kept weighing and serving, weighing and serving. Then why should I lag behind in receiving such honor? Look, he has come back again. Last time I hit him with a scale weight. Since even that did not stop him, this was the only remedy left. What sort of honor did you receive? What can I say? They fried piping hot jalapees and fed them to me. The owner of Mauder's shop is a wonderful man. He kept frying them and feeding them to me, hot from the oil. Lord Mahadev is drinking milk. Come, let us go and offer him some ourselves. God drank milk from everyone else's hand. But if I tell people he did not drink from mine, they will say I am a sinner, and that is why God refused me. Yes, Liddy Jha. I have lived such a respected life. If Mahadev drank from everyone else's hand, he certainly drank from mine too. Liddy Ja, do not let him escape. Two visits were not enough for him. Bring a rope. Bring a stick. You took so long. What honors did they shower upon you? Enormous honor. They would not let me come away. They kept saying, eat more, eat more. I barely escaped with my life, saying that I could eat no more or my stomach would burst. You heard the story, Sankarshan. When the collector was driving you out, I was the man sitting before him. My back was towards you, so you did not see me. Then you sat for a while in the stenographer's room. When you came out, people might well have assumed that you were close to the collector. But calling a wound in honor does not heal it. Baskar, do not tell the village what you saw. listen to tales of honor, not humiliation. Come. Let us make a puffed rice snack. Sankarshan. Thank goodness I found you. I was going to knit your carcar, but it would take too long to reach him. The little one is terribly ill. Fever, vomiting, and diarrhea have all begun at once. Nonsense, you fool. Give the child the juice of the paisage thorn. I am going towards the grazing ground to tend the buffaloes. Do not worry. It is a powerful medicine, one dose and every illness is finished. Physicians look in books. I understand merely by looking at the symptoms. J.Ram, what are you bringing from the field boundary? What can I say, Karkar? The little one has fever, vomiting, and diarrhea all at once. Sankarshan said that if I gave the child the juice of the posse each thorn, every illness would end. I went to fetch it. Sankarshan is a dangerous fool. Last year he poured the juice of the parsley thorn into the pond and killed every fish in it. If you give that poison to the child, the illness will not improve, the child will die outright. For one who knows nothing, even silence can be medicine. Come, let us go to the pharmacy. I shall get medicine for the child. Brother, are you coming from the village? Yes, brother. I thought I heard wailing from Jerem's neighborhood. Not wailing. The village council is sitting at the shrine of the guardian spirit. I have come to summon you. I admit my fault. From today I shall wear the confi. I shall pay the fine by tomorrow evening as well. Words released by the tongue can sometimes strike harder than a blow from a hoe. For the first time, Sankarshan's vanity produces a concrete consequence. Whether the lesson reaches his heart or remains only on his lips will soon become clear. Well, look at that. Leave the other work, we are going straight home now. Brother Sankarshan, what have you done? You have become a Vaishnav, yet you are carrying fish. fish. Oh, goner! You may be my equal in age, but how did I become your brother? Do you not know that the place where you are standing is called Baba Dogahi? Even a child born here is a Baba in relation to the people of the village. First understand the rules of kinship, then ask your question. You are quite right, some Christian. But what I was saying was... I gave up eating fish, not killing it. What are you looking at? I have written down telephone numbers in this diary. I am searching for one of them. And what if the police stop you somewhere on the road and ask what you are carrying? What are you saying? Is a person not even allowed to keep telephone numbers? That is true. But if they ask why you have so many numbers, and you cannot answer, will the police not take you for a terrorist and put you in prison? Your name will appear in the newspapers. Then you will understand. How could they arrest me for that? I shall tear this diary into pieces and throw it away at once. Some kurshans baseless, but confident words turn even an innocent man's ordinary habit into a source of fear. This is the final lesson of the second wave. fail to notice the glow on the young man's face. Sankarshan is lustrous black, not dull black. He is radiant. Bring him another sweet. Yes, give me one. Families with daughters will form a queue. Do not become impatient. The matchmaker leaves. Another arrives, makes similarly flattering suggestions and goes. Each smooth-praise spreads through Sankarshan's family the same hunger for prestige that Sankarshan spreads outside it. A prospective bride's family is coming today. Loll Kaki telephone from Delhi. Then keep sherbet ready. It seems all the kagsi lemons have been used up serving sherbet to matchmakers. See whether any jambiri lemons remain on the tree. Even the lemons have grown tired of hearing suncussion praised. My friend, what is your bride like? You like her, did you not? Yes, yes, brother Jagannath. She is very beautiful. Have you seen Hema Malini? Exactly like her. Though her complexion is a little darker than mine. I see. But her complexion is a little darker than mine. My friend, do you people also have to clear Dong early in the morning, as I do? Some karshan notices Goner's wife standing nearby. If he answers now he may embarrass her, so he walks on without speaking. When he returns, he meets Goner alone, and the conversation resumes. Brother, in those days one had to pay money for a marriage. You must have had to pay as well. It must be why you married at an older age. Yes, money certainly had to be paid. But we did not have to pay anything. That is why I do not have to clear Dung either, my wife is not so pampered, you see? The household runs because I am not pampered. The day I become pampered, who will clear away the Dung of your vanity. That single sentence, the wife's voice from offstage, holds a mirror to Sunker Shun's entire vanity. Yet he hears it and pretends not to, as though his ears were made only for praise. Jageri is very good for a cold, it clears the congestion. Drink tea with Jageri, my friend. A few days ago, Donner said that at a pilgrimage he had renounced Jhamni, and therefore he continued to eat Jham. What harm was there in that? Push an argument too far and the whole meaning drowns. When I went to Lord Jagannath at Puri last year, I had to give up one fruit, so I gave up sugar cane. Jaggery is made from sugar cane. Give me tea made with that thin Russian beet sugar instead. People. Listen, everyone. Alkaka arranged my marriage, but he never told me that marriage also produces a son. My grown son has run away from home. What shall I do now? I spent my life teaching everyone else, yet I could not teach my own son the road home. Most likely he has gone to Delhi. Everyone who runs away goes there. Now I too must take the road to Delhi to search for my son, and if I do not find him, to look for a job for myself. would you please give me a little space on the seat? Mother, I am no boy. This boy has three boys of his own. What is this? Sir, these are only bundles of Kasari greens. Oh? Do you take me for a fool? Mahan Singh, tell me what this is. It is Ganja, sir. He looks like a Ganja smoker. Now tell me, passenger. I never told Mohan Singh that this was Ganja. But because it is Ganja, Mohan Singh said so. Do you understand the language of the law or not? Sir, they are bundles of greens. My wife packed them as a gift for Lal Kaki. Take him to jail. He can explain everything there. Tears stream from Sankar Shanzay's eyes. For a moment he remembers the humiliation in the collector's chamber, the tail of the dogs, and the paisage thorn. But the constable is shrewd. How much money are you carrying? Ah, that is good news. Our friend worries over everything until he nearly bursts. Did you hear? Your son has reached the village. Wonderful. Thank God. But, son, swear that you will never again play a cruel joke like the one with the passage thorn. What happened about his job? I am not made for jobs, khaki. I swear I shall never again make a joke like the paisage thorn affair. What happened on the train was not a matter of human intelligence, it was fate. Now let me prepare to return to the village. At least see Delhi before you go. Visit the Red Fort. For the first time, Sankarshan accepts a truth about himself, although he dismisses it as fate. He has yet to acknowledge his vanity fully. What are you hiding? It is beyond your means. Tell me. What rare treasure are you holding so close? I am waiting for the owner of some great motor car, someone who will step out, recognize the true quality of these shoes, and pay their proper price. Name the price. Since you insist, listen. They cost 400 rupees. I have only 360 rupees. I warned you from the beginning. Where is your home? Jeanne-Cauport. Then we are neighbors. Why would I profit from you? You will also need 10 rupees for the DTC bus fare. Very well, give me 350. Even in this age, there are still people like you who value their neighbors. Everyone in Delhi is one of our own. Even if you spit here, it lands on one of your own people. I recognize my own people before I name a price. The man who taught lessons and cleverness to everyone in the village is being cheated to his face in Delhi's thieves market without realizing it. My friend, why are you carrying your shoes in your hands? Goner, how can I let water touch them? If the skin of my feet rots, new skin will grow. But if these shoes rot, where will another pair come from? They are a remembrance of Delhi. What are you doing, my friend? Why are you having such handsome shoes stitched? Goner, I was thoroughly cheated. Whenever I saw water, I let my feet suffer and lifted the shoes into my hands. I cannot have worn them for more than four days. Today the entire soul came out of the shoe before my own eyes, like a heart torn out of a body. Who managed to cheat you? Your name is counted among the cleverest of men. Friend, what can I say? Whenever anyone calls me clever or praises these shoes, I feel as though I shall burst. Somehow I shall have them stitched and salvaged what I paid. I boasted so much that, being a mathal, I had no equal in cleverness. But after the way I was cheated in Delhi, I feel like bowing continually before the people there. The traders in the thieves' market behind the Red Fort could grind the wisdom of many a Mahama Hopadaya into dust. And here we are, distributing Bharat Ratnas and then arguing over them. The true Bharat Ratnas are behind the Red Fort, not one or two, but in abundance. Yet, to tell you the truth, Ghanar, the swindle did not strike the shoe, it struck my pride. Bharat Ratnas, all of them. Everyone else keeps teasing me about this affair. At least you, my friend, do not remind me of it. But if you do remember it, say that for the first time Sankarshan did not call being cheated an honour. Sankarshan is not a distant character. He sits in some corner of every village, every city, and every home. In the collector's chamber, in the passage thorn, in the punishment of the concy, in the question of dung, and in Delhi's thieves market, he did the same thing again and again, he called injury honour and being cheated cleverness. But the true turning point of this play comes when Sankarshan calls his deception by its name for the first time. The swindle did not strike the shoe, it struck my pride. The admission may seem small, but that single sentence contains more courage than he has shown anywhere else in the play. A person who recognises his own vanity is not wholly defeated, he has already taken the first step towards change. Sankarshan's story ends here, but his question remains for the audience. Is there also a Sankarshan hidden somewhere within us, forever calling injury honour? I was wounded and called it honour. I called the soul prestige. Now ask yourself, where have I too been cheated today?

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