Read Nightrunners of Bengal Online
Authors: John Masters
“Stop, stop!”
“That’s not the worst. Men, brown men and white men, are turning into wild beasts. The Silver Guru saw it all. India will never recover from the hatred. The longer it goes on, the worse it gets. Perhaps there’s a beginning of something new and better—God knows. Give yourself up. Caroline and I can prove you were not responsible for the massacre in the fort You’ll never rule Kishanpur again, but the boy might—if you help us now when we need help; we won’t for long.”
Under the urgency in his words she grew quiet, and he saw she had not changed. Still sunshine and shadow, storm and calm, love and hate, possessed her in rapid succession, each equally fierce, each obvious in every look and word. She said, “Will you take my son?”
Rodney stared, disbelieving his ears.
“Yes, my son, the Rajah, that prince there, eating gur from the hand of a casteless thug! King of Kishanpur, King of Gondwara, Viceroy of the Nerbudda, Prince of the Sindhya Hills, Lord of the Waters of the Kishan and the Ken and the Betwa!”
She trembled violently. Rodney answered slowly, “I’ll take him, if you wish. I’ll raise him with my own son. You and I will never understand each other, but perhaps they will. It’s going to be important.”
“Promise! Because there is no other hope for him. Oh, I know you’re right about the rebellion! You will win, we will be destroyed. Our cause was lost here at dusk, through you—and this morning, through a few Lancers.”
“They were too great for causes,” he interrupted quietly. “They could only do what they had to, so that they could live with themselves.”
She flung out her hand. “But the rebellion will go on, until I and those who will follow me are wiped out. My fate is there, My lord,
I
cannot turn back now,
I
cannot survive, as many will, a silk and diamond doll. For me it is written,
decided! I know my road, I can see my end. And no one will ever take me, to tie me to your cold cannon, while your English soldiers devour my body with their blue eyes—ugh—like the sky seen through a skull—like yours.”
She stopped and finished in a breathless rush. “I hate you so much, and I love you.”
A deep breath lifted her breasts. She opened her arms, stumbling forward, and pressed her wet body against him. “My lord, you know? You have suffered this? I am proud, and you love the pale girl. Kill me.”
His arm in the sling hurt savagely where her breast throbbed against it. He gasped at the pain and jerked away. She sprang back, eyes glittering and lips spitting, and raised the pistol to shoot him. Then she realized; her face softened, and she opened her mouth to speak.
Before she could say anything, Rodney cried, “Here, Piroo. Quick!”
He pressed the horse’s reins into her hand, and helped Piroo to heft her, unprotesting, into the saddle. He turned his face up into the rain and shouted, “Go on, there’s a little ford thirty miles up river. Go on! Good-bye—and I promise.”
She looked down from him to her son, while the big gelding reared and snorted under her. Then she gathered the reins and galloped for the river. Rodney cried out and ran a few paces after her. She forced the horse over a high bank and plunged into fast deep water. The curtains of mist and rain parted a moment, and he saw her dark head in the river; then it was gone and he saw nothing but the torn water and heard nothing but the hiss of the rain. He turned on his heel and walked away.
A yard ahead of him the little brown boy in the brilliant clothes rode on Piroo’s shoulder, drumming on the old man’s head with his fists, and shouting, “Hola! Get up, elephant! I am the king. Why did my mummy jump in the water?”
Piroo’s whining voice answered,
“Your Majesty, Your Excellency …”
They could cashier him if they found out, or shoot him perhaps. He’d have to make up a story for the general, and Sir Hector Pierce was a wise and inward-seeing man. The horse might finish up in the shallows of the ford for all to see—and so might Sumitra Lakshmi, Rawan, Rani-Regent of Kishanpur, musk and sandalwood woman, flame of courage.
But he had reached the uttermost end of his strength and must lie down a space and let the storms of the Great Bengal Mutiny roar where they would over the land. He had fought himself, and found himself. He had fought his enemies, who were his friends, and won—and lost. He had fought Caroline, and lost—and won. She must be there to accept his surrender, so that he could lie down at her feet and sleep. He whistled tunelessly and walked faster into the surge of the rain.
With the exception of a few well-known names, such as “Peter the Hermit,” “China,” “Gladstone,” etc., all places and persons mentioned in the story but not covered by notes in this glossary are imaginary.
The meanings given for Hindustani words apply only to this story; other meanings and shades of meaning are not given. Long phrases already translated in the text are not explained.
Inevitably, the expert will consider many of these brief notes inadequate, if not actually misleading; nevertheless, in connection with this story, they may be helpful.
achcha
(utcha), good.
Addiscombe,
village near Croydon; site of the H.E.I.C.’s military cadet college.
admi
(ahdmi), man.
Afghanistan,
various references in the book are to the First British–Afghan War, 1839–42.
Agra
(Ahgra), city, 27.10 N., 78.00 E.
a-gya
(ah-geea), has come.
Al Kadhimain
(Al Kadhimain), mosque near Baghdad.
Almora
(Al-mora), village, 29.37 N., 79.41 E.
Angla-India
(
n
), the British community in India; at this time people of mixed British and Indian blood were referred to as “Eurasians.”
ankus
(unkas), pointed elephant goad, with a hook on one side.
anna
(anna), coin; sixteenth part of a rupee.
Auckland,
George Eden, Earl of Auckland; Governor General of India 1835–42.
ayah
(eye-ya), children’s nurse.
baba
(baba), baby.
babu
(bahboo), clerk, educated man (literally, father).
bahadur
(b’hahda), brave; used as suffix when addressing military men, e.g., sahib-bahadur.
bahin
(bine), sister.
bahut
(bote), much, very.
baje
(budgey), o’clock.
bannia
(bun-ya), merchant.
Bareilly
(B’relly), town, 28.30 N., 79.30 E.
barnshoot,
corruption of
bahin ka
chute
Barrackpore,
town and military station fifteen miles north of Calcutta.
Bengal Proper,
roughly, the modern province of Bengal (in 1857 “Bengal” would usually
have meant the much larger Presidency of that name).
Berhampur
(Berram-pore), town and military station, 24.07 N., 88.10 E.
Betwa
(Bate-wa), south-bank, tributary of the Jumna; junction at 25.54 N., 80.13 E., forty miles south-south-west of Cawnpore, q.v.
bhi
(b’hee), also, too.
Bhowani
(B’wahny), imaginary town. To get a geographical bearing on the story it should be imagined to be about where Jhansi really is—25.27 N., 78.33 E.
Bhurtpore
(Bhurtpore), town and fortress, 27.13 N., 77.30 E.
Black Water,
ocean, sea (direct translation of Hindustani
Kala
Pani
).
B.L.C.,
Bengal Light Cavalry (Native).
B.N.I.,
Bengal Native Infantry.
Brahmin
(Brahmin), member of the highest Hindu caste.
buddha
(boodda), old.
burqa
(boorka), shapeless one-piece garment, usually of white cotton, covering the whole person; worn in public by most Mohammedan and some high-caste Hindu women.
Canning,
Charles John, Earl Canning, Governor General of India 1856–62.
Carnatic
(Car-nattic), name formerly used for a part of the southeast coast of the Indian peninsula.
Cawnpore,
city on the Ganges, 26.28 N., 80.30 E.
Chandernagore
(Chundra-n’gore), small territory belonging to France; on the Hooghly twenty miles north of Calcutta.
Chillianwallah
(Chillyun-wolla), town in the Punjab, 32.45 N., 73.35 E. Site of a hard-fought battle, January 1849, between British and Sikhs.
chhe
(chay), six.
cheetah
(cheeta), hunting leopard.
cheetal
(cheetle), common spotted deer of India,
Cervus axis.
chokra
(choke-ra), youth, boy. chor do (chor doe), let go!
chupatti
(ch’patty), flat disk of unleavened wheat bread.
chute
(choot), vulva.
civil,
the,
non-military officials of the government (Anglo-Indian jargon). Stemming down from the Governor General there were governors (of presidencies); lieutenant governors (of provinces); commissioners (of divisions); collectors, or deputy commissioners (of districts). A resident was the Governor General’s ambassador to a princely state, and thus not part of the administration of British India. In the story, Mr. Dellamain’s job was that of a collector, but he is ranked as commissioner because he was also resident to Kishanpur under the peculiar circumstances of that (imaginary) state.
collector,
see
civil
.
Colvin,
John Russell, Lieutenant Governor of the N.W. Provinces of Bengal, 1853–57.
commissioner,
see
civil
.
cornet,
see
ranks
.
Cuddalore
(Cudda-lore), town and seaport, 11.44 N., 79.45 E.; site of many battles between the French and English.
daffadar
(duffa-dah), see
ranks
.
Dalhousie
, James Andrew Broun Ramsay, 10th Earl and 1st Marquess of Dalhousie, Governor General of India 1848–56.
Deccan
(Dekk’n), unofficial name for the part of peninsular India south of the Nerbudda River.
dekhana
(d’khahna), to show (tr.).
dewan
(D’wahn), chief minister of an Indian ruler.
Dinapore
(Dinah-pore), town and military station near Patna, q.v.
down country
,
closer to a Presidency capital (Anglo-Indian jargon).
dum
(dum), breath.
Dum-Dum
,
town, military station and arsenal four and a half miles northeast of Calcutta.
ek
(eck), one.
ek dum
(eck dum), at once (literally, one breath).
ensign
,
see
ranks
.
follower
,
one of the noncombatants, usually of low caste, who accompany armies in India to carry out menial tasks.
gaddi
(guddy), throne (literally, heavy cushion).
gaonwala
(gown-wolla), villager.
ghat
(gaht), step, platform.
ghi
(ghee), clarified butter.
ghusl
(ghoosl), bath.
Goa
,
town and territory belonging to Portugal, 15.28 N., 73.50 E.
gold-mohur
(mo-hoor), tree,
Poin
ciana regia
.
Gond
(Goand), member of aboriginal race inhabiting jungles of central India.
gora
(gora), pale-faced.
gurdwara
(goord-wahra), Sikh place of worship.
guru
(goorroo), teacher.
Gwalior
(Gwollyor), princely state; also, its capital city, 26.13 N., 78.10 E.
hai
(hay), is.
havildar
(huvvle-dah), see
ranks.
hazri
(hahzri), breakfast.
Hearsey
,
Major-General commanding Presidency Division of Bengal in 1857.
H.E.I.C.,
the Honourable East India Company.
Hindi
(Hindy). Aryan dialect of northeast India; now the lingua franca of the Republic of India.
hogya
(hoe-geea), finished, done.
Holi
(Holy), Hindu religious festival, in early spring.
howdah
(howdah), framework for carrying passengers on elephant back.
hut!,
exclamation.
huzoor
(h’zoor), honorific term of address (literally, presence).
Hyderabad
(Hydra-bad), city and state of the Deccan, between Bombay and Madras; not to be confused with the town of Hyderabad, Sind.
Jaipur
(Jye-poor), princely state of Rajputana, intersected by 27 N., 76 E.
jai ram!
(jye rahm!), a form of greeting.
jata
(jahta), going.
Jattra
(Juttra), a pilgrimage.
jemadar
(jemma-dah), see
ranks
.
-ji
(-jee), polite suffix added to, e.g.,
babu, guru
.
jildi
(jildy), quickly (British soldiers’ corruption of Hindustani
jaldi
).
Jodhpur
(Joad-poor), princely state of Rajputana, intersected by 26 N., 72 E.; also the Rajput type of trousers.
John Company,
nickname of the H.E.I.C.
Johnny Sepoy,
generic term for sepoys.
Jubbulpore
(Jubble-poor), city, 23.10 N., 80.03 E.
ka
(ka), postposition, meaning “of” (cf. “’s” in English).
Kalpi
(Kulpy), town, 26.07 N., 79.45 E.
ke mwafik
(k’mwahfik), postposition, meaning “like,” “similar to.”
Ken
(Ken), south-bank tributary of the Jumna River—junction fifty miles south-southeast of Cawnpore, q.v., at 25.48 N., 80.32 E.
khabbar
(khubber), news, information.
kih
(k’), that (conj.).
koi hai
(kwa hi), a call for service (literally, is anyone there?); used instead of “boy!” etc.
Konkan
(Konkahn), a region on the western coast of the Indian peninsula.
Kotdwara
(Coat-dwahra), town, 29.48 N., 78.33 E.
lagao
(l’gow), put on!
Lake
,
Gerard, Viscount Lake, Commander-in-Chief in India 1800–1805.
lalkurti
(lahl-koorty), redcoats; hence British soldiers as opposed to Indian sepoys, though many of the latter also wore red coats.
Laswari
(L’swahry), village seventy-eight miles south-southwest of Delhi. Here, November 1, 1803, the British under Lord Lake defeated the Mahrattas.
liya
(leeah), brought.
log
(loag), people. mahout(ma-hoot), elephant driver.
Mahratta
(ma-hratta), member of Hindu race inhabiting the western and central parts of the Indian peninsula; at times they overran India.
maila
(mile-ah), dirty.
Mangal Pande
(Mungle Pundy), sepoy, 34th B.N.I.; attacked the adjutant of his regiment March 29, 1857; tried April 6, executed April 8.
Meerut
(Mare-oot), town and military station, 29.00 N., 77.43 E. (twenty miles northeast of Delhi).
Monghyr
(Mung-geer), town and military station on the Ganges, 25.22 N., 86.29 E.
mullah
(moolla), Mohammedan priest.
murari sanp
(m’rahry sahnp), milk snake.
mynah
(mine-ah), bird of starling family.
Nagpur
(Nahg-pore), city, 21.10 N., 79.10 E.
nahin
(na’ee
or
nay), no, not.
naik
(nike), see
ranks
.
namaste
(n’musty), gesture of obeisance made by putting hands to forehead, palms inward.
nautch
(nawtch), dance.
Nawab
(N’wahb), princely ruler (always a Mohammedan).
-ne
(-nay), meaningless appositive used after the subject of a sen
tence when the verb is in the past tense.
neem
(neem), tree,
Azadirachta
indica
.
Nerbudda
(Nerbudda), river, flowing westward into the Gulf of Cambay about lat. 21.35 N.
nini
(ninny), sleep (baby-talk for Hindustani
nind
).
Nizam
(Nye-zam), ruler of the princely State of Hyderabad in the Deccan.
Oudh
(Ood), kingdom; capital Lucknow, 26.52 N., 80.55 E.; annexed by the British, February 7, 1856.
panchh
(pahnch), five.
Pande
(Pundy), name of Brahmin sub-caste.
pandit
(pundit), teacher, wise man (also used as title).
pani
(pahny), water.
Pashupatti
(Pushoo-puttee), one of the eight principal manifestations of Shiva; represented under the material form of fire.
Patna
(Putna), town, 25.35 N., 85.12 E.
peepul
(peeple), large fig tree,
Ficus religiosa
(the Bodhi under which Lord Buddha sat was a peepul).
pice
(pice), coin; one-fourth of an anna.
pie
(pie), coin; one-twelfth of an anna.
pher
(fair), again, once more.
Plassey,
village on the Hooghly eighty-five miles north of Calcutta. Here, June 23, 1757, the British under Clive defeated Suraj-ud-Dowlah.
Pramathas
(Pr’mahtas), demons, servants of Shiva.
punkah
(punkah), fan.
Queen’s
,
the epithet denoted that the official, officer, soldier, regiment, etc., was based in the United Kingdom; it would be contrasted with, e.g., “local,” or “colonial,” or (in India) “Company’s.”
Rajputs
(Rahjpoots), Hindus, divided into numerous clans, who regard themselves as descended from the ancient Kshatriya or Warrior caste; also the rank below Brahmins in the Hindu religious hierarchy.
ram ram
(rahm rahm), a form of greeting.
rani
(rahny), wife of princely ruler; also, a woman ruling in her own right.
ranks
. British officers’ ranks were the same as to-day, except that the lowest rank, corresponding to modern second lieutenant, was ensign in infantry and cornet in cavalry. Below the British Officers there were three grades of Native Officers, the titles of which again varied in infantry and cavalry: infantry—subadar-major, subadar, jemadar; cavalry—rissaldar-major, rissaldar, jemadar. The three-striped noncom was havildar (inf.) or daffadar (cay.); the two-striper was naik (inf.) or lance-daffadar (cav.). The private soldier was sipahi (sepoy) in infantry, sowar in cavalry.
regiments
. The 19th, 24th, and 34th B.N.I. were real and did the things they are said in the story to have done. All other regiments mentioned are imaginary.
resident
,
see civil.
rissaldar
,
see
ranks.
Rohilkand
(Roe-ill-kund), the district round Bareilly,
q.v.
roko
(roe-koe), stop!
sab
(sub), all, every.
sadhu
(sahdoo), religious mendicant.
sal
(sahl), large tree,
Shorea ro
busta
.
sambhur
(sahmba), the Indian elk,
Rusa aristotelis
.
sanp
(sahnp), snake.