Page 121 - DENG105_ELECTIVE_ENGLISH_II

Elective English–II

Notes the money. Someone gave two annas another contributed four annas. Within an hour Ghisu
y
had collected the tidy sum of five rupees. He got grain from somewhere, wood from another.
At noon he and Madhav set off for the market to buy the shroud. Already a few people had
offered to chop some bamboo for the pyre.
The soft-hearted village women came to take a look at the corpse, shed a few tears at its
helplessness and went away.
III
On reaching the market Ghisu said, ‘There is going to be enough wood to cremate her, isn’t
there, Madhav?’
‘Oh yes, we have enough wood. Now we just need the shroud.’
‘Then let’s go and pick up some cheap material.’

‘Yes, that’s right. It will be night by the time we carry the corpse for cremation. Who’s going
to look at the shroud in the darkness?’
‘What a horrible custom! One who doesn’t even have a rag to cover one’s nakedness during
one’s life, needs a brand new shroud after death.’
The shroud gets burnt along with the corpse, doesn’t it?’
‘Do you think it remains intact? If we had these five rupees earlier, we could have bought her
some medicine.’
Each could read the other’s thoughts. So, they loitered about for some time in the market—
stopping at one clothmerchant’s shop after another. They looked at different kinds of fabrics—
silks as well as cotton—but found nothing that met with their approval. Dusk had fallen by
this time. By some divine inspiration, they found themselves at the door of a toddy-house and
entered it with unspoken, mutual consent. Once inside, they stood about undecided for a
while. Then Ghisu approached the counter and said, ‘Mister, give us a bottle too.’
Then he ordered some snacks and fried fish, and father and son sat down on the verandah and
began to drink in companionable silence.
After gulping down several cups in a row, the two became quite pleasurably drunk.
Ghisu said, ‘What’s the point of placing a shroud over her? After all, it gets burnt along with
the corpse. It is not likely to go with her to her next abode.’
Madhav spoke while looking up at the heavens, as though invoking the Gods to bear witness
to his complete innocence in the matter, ‘It is the way of the world or else why would people
give thousands of rupees to Brahmins? Who is there to ensure whether one gets it back in the
next world?’
The rich have money to burn, so let them! What do we have?’
‘But what will you say to everyone? Won’t people ask where the shroud is?’
Ghisu laughed and said, ‘Hell, we’ll say the money slipped and fell from our waist-bands. We
searched all over but couldn’t find it. They might not believe us but the same people will
again give us the money.’

Madhav also laughed—at this unexpected good fortune—and said, ‘She was a good woman,
poor thing! Even in her death, she ensured us a hearty meal!’
They had polished off almost half the bottle by now. Ghisu sent for four pounds of puris, and
also chutney, pickles and braised liver to go with it. There was a shop right in front of the
toddy-house. Madhav ran to do his father’s bidding and returned with two laden leaf-plates.
It cost exactly two-and-a-half rupees. Now all they had left with were a few paise.

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