by Premchand
6
With this shift in the management of the household, a regrettable change took place in Godavari. Jealousy is a sentiment that cannot be suppressed for long. The neighbours discussed the goings-on in this household all day. ‘See, how selfish this world is! The poor woman shot herself in the foot by getting her husband remarried. She even gave away her clothes and jewellery. Now, she’s crying bitter tears. Well, a saut will always be a saut, but now even her husband has turned against her. All she can do now is to stay in the house like a maid and suffer. Is this life worth living?’
Such words of sympathy only served to inflame Godavari’s jealousy. She didn’t realize that false sympathy like this generally stemmed from the human tendency to take perverse pleasure in the suffering of others.
However, the situation of which Godavari was sure and Panditji feared, did not take place. No problem was encountered in the running of the household. Yes, due to a lack of experience, Panditji’s management was somewhat less efficient than Godavari’s, which resulted in a lot more expense but the house was running quite well. Of course, Godavari found Gomti’s household skills quite clumsy. Jealousy is a fire that lacks the attribute of expansiveness. It doesn’t expand our generosity, it contracts it. Now, if the household suffered any losses, it made Godavari happy rather than sad.
It was the rainy season. The sun could not be seen in the sky for several days. Clothes in trunks grew mildewed and the sesame pickle went bad. Gomti didn’t take care to put them out in the sun. Godavari observed these losses but felt no regret. On the contrary, it gave her the opportunity to make some caustic remarks about Gomti’s clumsiness as a housewife.
There was a change in Pandit Devdutt’s behaviour too. As long as Godavari had managed the house competently, he was perfectly satisfied with her arrangement. He was not even required to go to the market to buy vegetables. Now Godavari could see him running to the market several times a day. As the household was not run on a planned schedule, he would be seen rushing to the bazaar at odd hours. Godavari observed all this and commented loudly so that everyone could hear, ‘This is the same maharaja who wouldn’t lift a straw earlier. Now it seems he keeps rushing to the market the entire a day. It doesn’t interfere with his studies!’
Godavari had found out long ago that Panditji was not very good at getting a good bargain while shopping. Whenever she needed clothes, she would get them through Lala Sahib, an elderly neighbour. Panditji had all but forgotten that Godavari, too, needed saris once in a while. As long as someone else did what was, in fact, his responsibility, it suited his temperament. He would gladly wear what Godavari got for him. He didn’t care at all for new fashions and designs. But now he had to go the bazaar to even buy clothes.
Once it so happened that Gomti needed a few saris. Panditji went to the market and bought some nice ones for her. The haberdasher charged him a high price. Panditji had no qualms in buying on credit. Gomti showed the new clothes to Godavari. Turning her face away, Godavari said, ‘At least you’ve taught him that he should buy clothes for his family. I’ve spent sixteen years with him without ever having the good luck to wear anything bought by him.’
Incidents such as these further aggravated Godavari’s jealousy of Gomti. As long as she had believed that Panditji was dull by nature, she didn’t have any complaint. But now, when she saw all these changes in him, she felt that Panditji’s love, which had eluded her despite all her efforts, had now been won over by Gomti because of her youth. What Godavari had so far perceived as his love in fact, all pretence, born out of self-interest.
7
It so happened that Gomti fell ill. She didn’t have even the strength to move about. Godavari had to take on the responsibility of cooking. She suspected that Gomti was not really sick. It was a mean ploy to make her do the cooking. She grumbled to the neighbours, ‘They wanted to make a maidservant of me and now their wishes are fulfilled.’
During mealtimes, Panditji seemed to be in haste. For some reason, he was scared to be alone with Godavari, lest she begin her litany of grievances. While eating, he dreaded this prospect the most. Godavari observed this with her sharp eyes and felt offended. One day, she couldn’t take it anymore. She said, ‘Have you been asked not to talk to me? You can go on talking with others the entire night but it seems you’ve taken a vow not to open your mouth in my presence. You can see how the household is being run, can’t you? Everything’s happening the way you want it.’
Panditji lowered his head and said, ‘Hmm, it runs the way it’s being run. I can’t worry myself to death about it, can I? If you’re bent upon destroying this house, what can I do about it?’
Hearing this, Godavari exchanged some harsh words. Things became worse. Panditji stood up in a huff, leaving his meal. Godavari coaxed him to sit down again, but he was not to be persuaded! Then she closed the kitchen and everyone had to fast that day.
There was something special about Gomti—she could put up with the harshest of words but could not bear hunger. That’s why she never fasted although, due to peer pressure, she did fast on Janmashtami. But, lately, since her illness, she felt even hungrier. When she saw that it was past noon and there was no sign of a meal being cooked, she grew desperate and sent for some sweetmeats from the bazaar. It’s quite possible that this was done only to tease Godavari because, after all, people do not die if they miss a meal. Godavari fumed within. Immediately, she also sent for some sweetmeats. After many years, she ate them to her heart’s content. Such are the miracles wrought by envy!
The same Godavari, who considered it a sin to touch even a drop of water before noon, now discovered that she could not stay without eating breakfast early in the morning. Earlier, she always used sesame oil to massage her head. Now she found it gave her a headache. She also developed the habit of chewing paan. Envy made her behave like a newly wedded bride.
The auspicious day of Janmashtami arrived. For these two days, Panditji’s habitual passivity would always disappear. He made preparations with great enthusiasm. Godavari was very particular about the fast on this occasion, not eating any snacks or even drinking a drop of water. As for Panditji, he was a great devotee of Lord Krishna. This time, at his instance, Gomti also mustered the courage to observe the fast. However, she was greatly surprised when the maid informed her that Godavari was not fasting and had asked for some puris to be brought from the market.
In the evening, Godavari intended to go to the temple and asked for an ekka to be ordered. Gomti found this demand unreasonable. For one thing, the temple was quite near and then the ekka drivers always acted pricey on this day and charged higher fares. She said haughtily, ‘We have no money to waste. The temple isn’t all that far away. Let her go on foot. It’s easy to make demands, the one who has to earn the money knows how difficult it is.’ Three years ago, Gomti had had to listen to Godavari saying exactly the same words. Now, Gomti was paying her back in the same coin. How time changes things!
Godavari became more careless while cooking meals. She was no longer concerned, as earlier, about the kind of food that agreed with Panditji’s system. One day, she asked the maid to take out the spices on her own and grind them. When daal was cooked with the same spices, they turned out to be too hot. Panditji was too scared to complete his meal. Like other indolent people he, too, was fond of spicy food, but he had to exercise restraint because of his ailment. When Gomti heard of this she raised her eyebrows and said, ‘Has old age loosened his tongue?’
Once Godavari had made a similar jibe, but now it was her turn to listen to it. Oh, the vicissitudes of life!
8
Godavari decided to embrace the Ganga. Three years ago, she had gone with the newlyweds, her husband and Gomti, to offer flowers and milk to the sacred river. Now, she had come to offer her life to it, wanting to rest forever in its joyful waves.
Every moment in that house had become a painful experience for Godavari. It was impossible for a self-respecting woman like her to live as a maid in the sam
e house where she had once been the queen! Her bond with that house had become like an old rope—constantly breaking at the points where the knots were tied. She could think of no other option other than seeking refuge in the Ganga.
For several days, Godavari had been threatening to kill herself. This annoyed Panditji who said nonchalantly, ‘I wish you would die!’
Godavari still remembered those poisonous words. She never forgot the hurtful words people said to her. Gomti, too, had repeated those words today, even though she said them under grave provocation. However, Godavari had forgotten what harsh words she herself had spoken. Only Gomti’s words echoed in her ears. And Panditji had not even reprimanded her for saying such things. ‘Such injustice was done to me,’ she thought, ‘and he did not even utter a word in my favour!’
That night, after everyone had retired, Godavari left home. Dark clouds overcast the sky. The rain was falling in sheets. Tears streamed down Godavari’s face. The bond of love was so strong and, at the same time, so fragile! Fragile in the face of betrayal and strong at the prospect of separation! Godavari stood at the doorstep and wept for hours, remembering so many things from the past. Once she had received love, honour and the comforts of life in that house. But all of these were things of the past. Presently, she remembered Panditji’s cruel words and tears began to flow from her eyes. The next moment, Godavari set off from the house.
If, at that moment, Pandit Devdutt had run after her, drenched in the rain, bareheaded and barefooted, held her in a tight embrace and uttered the word, ‘Beloved!’ and nothing more, could Godavari have remained steadfast in her resolve?
It was the month of Kunwar in the autumn season. The waves in the river roared threateningly at night. Whenever there was a flash of lightning, the leaping waves appeared to be like so many mad elephants splashing about in the water. A fearsome vision of the struggle of life spread before her eyes.
Godavari’s heart was also experiencing a tumult of emotions that collided with each other and then disappeared. Where did they go, she wondered. ‘Into the darkness, where there’s nothing.’ Could that roaring, gushing river set Godavari’s restless heart at rest? The waves did not convey the sound of harmony, nor did they have any compassion. At that moment, they had a terrifying and fearsome aspect.
Godavari was sitting on the riverbank, thinking. Who could say what were her thoughts? Was she still hoping that Pandit Devdutt might turn up at any moment. The bond of love was ever so strong.
The luckless woman, torn between jealousy, despair and life’s cruelty, fell into the lap of the Ganga. The waves enveloped her from all sides and the mighty river swallowed her.
Dawn broke. Godavari was not to be found in the house. There was a letter lying on her charpai that read—
Swami,
I did not have anyone else in the world except you. I gave all I had to make you happy. Now, your happiness demands that I should leave this world. Therefore, I offer you my life. Please forgive the wrongs I have committed. May God always keep you happy!
As Panditji read the letter, he fell down unconscious. Gomti began to cry. But it was not clear why.
Translated from the Urdu by M. Asaduddin
The Co-wife
1
After Razia had two to three children who died and she had lost her youth, Ramu’s love for her started diminishing. The desire for a second marriage occupied his thoughts.
He started bickering with Razia every day. He would find one or the other excuse to lose his temper and beat Razia. And then, finally, he got home a new wife. Her name was Dasi or Dasia. She was youthful, big-eyed and as fair as the champa flower. How could the pale and feeble Razia compete with this girl! Even so, she tried to retain her authority and maintain her slackening hold over the household for as long as she could. But this was like trying to prevent a crumbling roof from falling with inadequate support. She had painstakingly built this house. She could not bear to leave it so easily. And she was not so stupid that she would leave the house and go, thereby allowing Dasi to rule over it.
2
One day, Razia told Ramu, ‘I don’t have saris; go and get one for me.’
Only a day before Ramu had got a Chanderi sari for Dasi. Hearing Razia’s demand he said, ‘I don’t have money now.’
Razia did not crave much for saris; what she really wanted was to put obstacles in the way of Ramu and Dasi’s happiness. She said, ‘If you did not have money, why did you buy the Chanderi for your darling? In place of that, you could have bought two saris with the same money; then I could have used one.’
Expressing his independence, Ramu said, ‘It’s my will. I will do what I want. Who are you to question me? She’s young, it’s time for her to have fun and enjoy herself. You want her to be engrossed in the worries of the household right now? I can’t do this. If you want to wear fineries then go and work. Hasn’t God given you hands and feet? Earlier, you used to wake up at the crack of dawn and start working. Now, you keep gloating in spite and malice against her the entire day. Will money fall from the skies? Why should I give up my life for you?’
Razia asked, ‘Am I her maid that I should do all the work in the house while she sits like a queen? All these days I have worked really hard and this is the result I get. I am not going to take it any more.’
‘You will have to stay the way I keep you.’
‘I will stay if I want to, or I will live separately.’
‘Do what you want but get off my back.’
‘Well said. From today, I relieve you. I will think that I’m a widow now.’
3
Ramu knew that the household was put together by Razia, even though she lacked beauty that pleased the eye. It was quite possible that he would have made up with Razia after a while, but Dasi too was no less cunning. She decided to strike while the iron was hot. She said, ‘What got madam angry today?’
Ramu replied with an air of carelessness, ‘It was because of your Chanderi that Razia raised hell. Now she says that she will stay separately. I have told her to do what she wants.’
Rolling her eyes, Dasi said, ‘These are all tantrums to make one plead with her, to beg before her. You sit quietly. In a day or two, she will cool down. You don’t say anything; if you do then her temper will shoot sky-high!’
Ramu said in a serious tone, ‘Dasi, you have no idea how proud she is. Once she says something, she does it.’
Razia did not expect Ramu to be so thankless. She wasn’t as beautiful as she once was, which is why Ramu did not love her any more. This was not an unusual thing for a man to do; but Ramu separating from her was something she couldn’t believe. This house had been put together bit by bit with the money she had saved. The household too had been put together by her. It was she who had started selling vegetables. She had to face great hardship after coming to this house. And for what? Only to eat a coarse meal and retire into a corner after a weary day! Today she was thrown out of the house with such unkindness, as if she was a fly in the milk! Ramu didn’t even say this much: ‘You cannot stay separately. Either I will die here or I will kill you, but I will not let you live separately. You are married to me. This is no trivial matter.’
When Ramu did not care for her, why should she worry about him? Do all men with wives keep sitting, doing no work? Everyone else has their mothers or fathers, sons or grandsons. Had his sons been alive, would he have dared to bring in a new wife? Would I be so distressed then? What a heartless fellow that he did not have even a trace of mercy for me!
The woman in her rebelled against such torture owing to her situation of dependence. The same fire that cannot light a log of wood can set a flower aflame!
4
The very next day, Razia left for another village. She took nothing with her. The sari draped across her body was all that she owned. God had already snatched her sons from her. Today, He took away her house.
When she left, Ramu was so engrossed with his young wife that he hardly noticed that Razia was leavin
g for good. At least that is what Razia thought. She did not want to leave like a thief. She wanted to show Dasi and her husband and the entire village that she was not taking a thing from the house. Her objective was to humiliate Ramu before the village. If she left quietly none of this would happen. Instead, Ramu would claim that Razia had taken away everything from the house.
She called out to Ramu and said, ‘Now look after your house. I am going. I am not taking a thing from your house.’
For a moment, Ramu was rendered speechless. He could not fathom what to say. He did not think that she would go like this. He had expected her to try and take everything from the house and seek the sympathy of the villagers. What to do now?
Dasi said, ‘Go and blow your trumpet in the village. Here nobody fears anything. What did you get from your house when you came here that gives you the right to take away something ?’
Instead of bickering with her, Razia said to Ramu, ‘Do you hear what your darling says? I will still not open my mouth. I am going but, Dassorani, you too will not rule for long like a queen. In the divine court of the Lord, wrongdoings don’t bear fruit. The haughtiness of many a man has been broken to bits by Him.’
Dasi laughed but Ramu lowered his head. Razia went away.
5
The new village that Razia went to shared borders with Ramu’s village. The people there knew her. They knew how skilled a housewife she was, how hard-working and how honest she was. She faced no obstacles in getting work there. The one who works double compared to others on the same wage is hardly deprived of employment.
If one starts describing how Razia spent three long years, how she built another household and how she started farming, then one could write a book. She knew the secrets of saving well. She gained confidence and did not need any male patronage to survive on her own. Seeing her work tirelessly, the villagers thought that she was trying to show Ramu that ‘I can live without you in comfort’.
