Stories from Tagore-9

The God ... the great man.] These words refer to the

bridegroom himself, who wields such mighty powers of

choice or refusal. They are ironical.

VII.—THE POSTMASTER

like a fish out of water.] Completely out of place, because

he was used to city life.

macadamised road.] He would have infinitely preferred

the streets and shops and crowded markets of Calcutta.

smoke ... from the village cowsheds.] Such as is used

to drive away the mosquitoes.

Baül.] A religious sect in Bengal whose members sing

songs and often go about begging.

No more of this.] He was afraid he might become too

deeply attached to Ratan if he stayed.

Its fond mistakes are persistent.] We continually try

to deceive ourselves that what we wish to be true is

true. When at last we find out the truth, we could

almost wish we had not done so.

VIII.—THE CASTAWAY

Like a rudderless boat.] Notice how the metaphor is

kept up to the end of the sentence.

The writ of Fate.] They said that if she was to die, she

was to die, and nothing could prevent it.

profiting their Brahmin guest.] She would believe this

to be an act of merit for which she would be rewarded.

out of his repertory.] Out of the stock of plays he recited

when he belonged to the theatrical troupe.

hearing sacred names.] This also, she believed, would

bring her merit.

forcing house.] Like some glass conservatory used for

exotic flowers.

[Pg 234]

exact stature.] The manager wished him to take the parts

of women who are smaller than men.

came to adequate revelation.] Were now abundantly

apparent.

twice-born bird.] Once born in the egg and once after

the breaking of the egg. The goose in the story was

the messenger between Nala and Damayanti.

the tiger has no wish to become a mouse.] A reference

to a folk story of a saint who turned a pet mouse into

a tiger.

German silver.] A kind of cheap silver containing much

alloy in it.

to look for your Damayanti.] To find Satish a wife.

IX.—THE SON OF RASHMANI

do the duty of the father.] By disciplining and punishing

the child.

crippling his patrimony.] Injuring the estate.

this is preposterous.] The natural thing would be for the

property to be divided between the two brothers and

their descendants, but by this will only one son was

recognized and one set of grandsons.

given to the grandsons.] To Shyama Charan's and Bhavani's

sons. According to this preposterous will Bhavani

was left out altogether, and also his son.

Shyama Charan's treachery.] She fully believed that he

had stolen the will and put this false one in its place.

Noto used to get reprimands.] Used to be blamed for

wishing to save this waste of money. Of course the

whole thing was imaginary, but it gave Bhavani the

pleased feeling of being generous.

traditional extravagance.] Such as had always been displayed

in former days when the family was prosperous.

Some imaginary dog.] She would say that some dog had

run off with the food which she had prepared.

Bhavani had confessed.] Rashmani, Noto and Bhavani

[Pg 235]

himself were all alike ready to keep up the illusion that

the old magnificence was still there, if only this or that

accident had not deprived them of its display.

invisible ink.] Ink which is invisible when first written

with, but when heated becomes visible.

Baba, wait a little.] In Bengal daughters are often called

Ma (mother) and sons Baba (father).

it became absurdly easy.] Because, after this, both the

mother and her son could join in the pretence together.

lacking in proper enthusiasm.] Did not care much about

the subject.

more than compensated.] The pleasure of telling the

news was greater than the pain of knowing that such a

sacrilege was going to take place.

with all the more deadly force.] The thrower being up

above, the speed would increase all the more on the

downward flight of the missile.

requiring expensive fodder.] Vanity can feed itself on

the idea of self importance.

to graze at large.] Merely to feed on what is before it.

He gave it extra food by paying for a number of flatterers,

just as a horse is stall-fed with extra supplies of

food.

turned round on him.] His vanity would be offended and

he would be his enemy instead of his helper.

forced extravagance.] Kalipada had been forced by the

sneers of the students to give far more than he could

afford.

draw tears from the eyes.] An amusing way of saying

that no burglar would ever dream of trying to rob such

a room.

laid their impious hands.] Had grossly insulted.

let him climb down first.] An English metaphor meaning

"let him be humble."

he discovered the truth.] The truth that he was a near

relative of Kalipada.

grandchild's privilege.] Especially in Bengal, a grandchild

[Pg 236]

is allowed the liberty of making jokes with his

grandfather.

he found it easy.] He loved his mother so much that

when he found anyone pleased with things which she

had made he enjoyed seeing them use these things

rather than himself.

X.—THE BABUS OF NAYANJORE

the days before the flood.] The word "antediluvian"

meaning "before the flood," is used sometimes in English

for things very ancient and out of date. There is

a play upon this here.

dazzling outburst.] Just as, at a firework display, pitch

darkness follows the last firework.

drawing his heavy cheques.] To "draw a cheque" is

to take so much from a credit account in the bank.

The words are humorously used here of taking something

from the public belief about the greatness of the

Babus of Nayanjore.

and er-er.] He hesitates a little as he mentions the ladies.

Thakur Dada.] Grandfather.

my moral character was flawless.] Note how the author

shows the conceit of this young man. Compare, lower

down, the phrase "because I was so good."

poet Bhabavuti.] The poet means that there must be some

one in this vast universe of time and space who is the

match for the hero of his poem.

Chota Lât Sahib.] The story refers to the time when

Calcutta was the Capital of India. The Burra Lât

Sahib was the Viceroy, the Chota Lât Sahib was the

Lieutenant-Governor.

walking backward.] As a mark of respect. He was continually

bowing and then stepping back. This kind of

ceremonial bowing was commoner in earlier days than

it is now.

tall silk hat.] These were only worn in India at State

[Pg 237]

functions and their use in this country by Englishmen

is becoming more and more rare. But in earlier days

they were not uncommon. They are black in colour

and shining.

ugly modern custom.] The author dislikes the passing

away of an old beautiful custom of reverence towards

old men.

becoming an epic.] Becoming legendary by its additions.

An epic poem often goes on describing an incident with

all kinds of marvellous events added to it, till it becomes

a very long story.

PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Transcriber's note:

The following corrections have been made to the text:

Page 86: mornng replaced with morning.

Page 119: teachnig replaced with teaching.

Page 166: circumstance replaced with circumstances.