Rebati-Fakir mohan Senapati

      Rebati

In Cuttack zilla, Hariharpur  mauza there is a rural village named Patapur. Located towards the end of the village is a house. The house comprises of four rooms with a small extension of thatched roof where a wooden rice pounding machine is placed; a well in the courtyard further on there’s the entrance door and the back door towards the rear. In the dingy parlor people who come to meet them sit , people who want to deposit there land charges also stop by that room to drop off their tax. Shyamabandhu Mohanty works as a Karan() appointed by the zamindar, with a monthly allowance of rupees two, apart from that he gets commission towards land fees , interest from mortgage given .If he adds up the entire thing it wouldn’t be less than four rupees a month. The family can somewhat afford a good living by that. Nobody says a word about there being deficiency in anything. They have a vegetable patch where they grow all sort of vegetables throughout the year ,not forgetting  the two drumstick trees. Close to the house there is a small turf where two cows are attended throughout the year and they provide them with the best kind of milk and curd. Budhi makes cakes out of cow dung and husk for the furnace for cooking purpose, buying wood is also not a problem. Zamindar has provided them with three and a half acres of land for agricultural from which they get the exact amount of rice required to sustain the entire family not an ounce more or less. Shyamabandhu is a simple and compassionate person, he is very much liked by the people under his jurisdiction/ authority, are even happy and greatly benefited with his way of work. He approaches people with a pleasant manner; he never tries to fabricate them in order to get something extra in his pocket. They don’t bother about the receipt when its shyamabhandhu, he makes a four finger long palm leaf and leaves it in the between the gap of the thatched roof.  When the zamindars accountant come for inspection he doesn’t let them into the village ,  instead  asks them earnestly to leave from there with a little money which he tucks it in there dhoti towards cigars. Shyamabandhu has four member to look after, the couple, old mother(budhi) and a ten year old daughter ,Rebati.  Shyamabandhu sings devotional songs and krupa sindhu’s prayers . Sometimes he lights a oil lamp placed on a wooden platform to read the epic Bhagwad ,Rebati listens to all this with great sincerity . She is well skilled in the bhajans now and it suits her for her childish intonation .when she sits next to her father and sings people now and then stop by to listen to her sing.

              

                  While visiting the village two years back the deputy inspector had rested/halted for a night in the village. The village heads put a petition before him for a school the deputy with the approval of the inspector has had them built an upper primary school.  The salary of the teachers working here is four rupees per month; the money is sanctioned by the government. And on top of that every child gives 6 paisa towards their tuition fees. There’s a particular teacher from Cuttack Nirmala schools who is an outstanding student, his name is Basudev. As his name he is also quite celestial, reminiscent of Lord VISNU or BASUDEV.   While walking past the houses in the village he walks with his head bowed down. His age will be about twenty. When he was a kid he was attacked with Pihula. His mother in order to cure her son had heated a cork of a bottle and left an impression on his cheeks, as any mother would do back in those days. This mark on his face suited him a lot. He losing his parents at an early age had left him an orphan, but was taken in by his maternal uncle. Basudev is Karan by caste and so is Shyamabandhu. On this context, on auspicious days of Purnima (full moon) and on Thursdays Syamabandhu drops by the school and invites basu for home made pitha( rice cakes). The frequent visits created a bond between the family and the boy. When Rebati’s mother is full of empathy and concerned for the child she even wonders with deep anxiety, “what does the motherless child eat? Who takes care of his victuals?” At times Basu goes and sits with syamabandhu for hours . Rebati runs to greet him when she sees him from far ,She sits by him to sing to him the devotional songs learned from her father . Basu liked them every time Rebati sang them, they sounded different all the time. While having a chat at the village hub shyamabandhu learned that there is a school for girls in cuttack , that brought a fervor to teach his own daughter . Basudev always looked upon Shyamabandhu with respect considering him a father figure, even he recommended the same. On mutual consent they decided to make Rebati a literate. Rebate was present at the scene when the conversation commenced, out of enthusiasm that something new is going to happen. She ran in to inform her mother and grandmother what she had heard .The excitement was so elevated that she began singing it out to them. Grandmother was shocked she didn’t seem to like the idea of Rebati being taught so she very bluntly blurted out,” What studies? Girls cannot study! Go learn cooking, making pithas and other household chores, what’s all this fuss going on?”

     In the evening while shayamabandhi and Rebati were having dinner on the veranda, grandma was also there drilling her daughter- in- law to fetch some rice, dal, salt and many other things for them .Finding this moment right to blurt out her heart’s content  she began,’ Well Syama! Rebati was saying that she wants to study, what use is studies for a budding girl?  Shyamabandhu replied, ‘Okay! If she is saying so then let it be. If Jhankad Pattnaiks daughters can read and sing Bhagabad , even the Baydehisa Bilasa Chanda  why can’t our Rebati read and write’. Rebati loathed her grandmother for saying so. She started to plead to go to school which her father gladly approved of. The very next day Basudev got a Sitanath first grade book for Rebati, her joy knew no bounds .She jumped about with the book showing her mother and grandmother the pages and the contents in it. The writer very fittingly puts a fact that, kings like to possess horses people like to ride on them but our Rebati was simply happy seeing the pictures. But this thing made the old lady least happy she looked at her with eyes full of disdain and gave nasty comments, Rebati was no less she shouted back with the same air and stomped out of the room.

                                       It’s a very auspicious day today, as it is Shripanchami. Rebati has woken up early, taken dip in the village pond and has put on new clothes. Now these festivals are fun time for kids so our darling is loitering from the house to the yard. The family is waiting for Basu’s arrival for the commencement of the sacred ceremony. They haven’t started out of fear of budhi. But it had to start somehow so around 6 in the evening Basu began teaching with the basics i.e. the alphabets, matras and etc. So that is how Rebatis started her learning process.  Since the pachami Basu has been coming every evening to teach her .In a span of two year rebati has learned a lot, Madhuraos Chandamala are on the tip of her tongue . On an evening while the son was taking his meal, his mother started to converse about something which is not clearly conveyed to the readers but we can make out its something regarding Basu and rebati.  Rebati was also present there all this while and apparently on hearing that what the child understood can’t really be explicable/explainable but we can clearly notice the changes in her behavior in the presence of Basu. She reads very quietly and hardly responds to anything asked by him. Every evening she stands holding the door at the entrance as if in wait of someone and when she sees Basu from far she hurries herself inside and doesn’t move after five calls. Budhi also gets annoyed when rebate comes out till the courtyard which she hardly steps on anymore now -a -days. All this shows the impact of the other day’s discussion on the innocent mind, which has developed a different feeling for her basu bhai. She is not aware of what her elder have come to she doesn’t care about the caste or the family but girls of yesteryear were happily accepting their parents decision without any complains ,so did rebati .

Almost a year has passed now its panchami all over again. There’s a universal rule by The Almighty himself that people are not always destined to have the same kind of fate throughout  their life. If we have gone through terrible years happy days are on the way and vice versa.  Phalgun is here with its scorching hot weather, its consequences are inevitable. And there it was all, without a slightest hint of its arrival. In the morning people heard that their gomasta(clerk) was suffering from cholera , so the simpletons of villages who tried to keep themselves safe tried to stay indoors and nobody  bothered to stir out. Even on the dying bed of their beloved person theywere not ready to let go of their orthodox belief. How could they when Gods have cursed the fallen ones, visiting them is futile it might even get them misfortune. So they make it a point to avoid the place and the family. The writer again beautifully states that cholera dressed as an old haggard lady with a wicker basket picking human life one after the other as it lies scattered. Two helpless women nobody even dares to go see them, the child is running in and out shouting for help. When Basudev heard about shyamabandhu he ran for them, without any concern for himself or his health he sat next to shyamabandhu and started caressing him and slipping few drops of water through his mouth/offering him few drops of water in intervals. At around three Shyamabandhu with wavering tone said something to basu and breathed his last. The woman of the house gave a howling cry for Basu.  There was chaos in the house. Rebati was rolling over the ground in dirge, people were heard saying that everything is finished .The day seemed to be passing fast its already evening nothing has been moved. Basu being the sole man in their friend and family has to finish all the rituals, or else how can these two helpless women carry out all the ceremonies by themselves. Another man of their caste from their village was bana sahu who eagerly waiting to be beckoned he is expecting a pair of dhoti and towel for his service. So with a gamcha(towel) tied round his waist and axe on his shoulder he arrive. They were the only karanas in the entire village so the family had to manage all by themselves. The cremation ceremony was finished by that same evening. They four returned home when the evening star was up and it was dark all round .On entering the house rebatis mother passed away and by the next afternoon everybody in the village talked that Rebati’s mother is no more.

   Days pass by, time waits for nobody for some it brings good and some have to deal with the worse. Life is predestined for one and all and it shows no mercy for any one.  On a blink of an eye three months have passed. Shayamabandhu had two cows in his farm that has been taken by the zamindar due to the mortgage towards the farmland. We all know what sort of person was shyamabandhu , very honest and down to earth , if he earned 1 rupees a day he made a point to first deposit at the zamindar or else he wouldn’t get sleep that night but now that Shyamabandhu is dead and the zamindar claims that shyamabandhu hadn’t refunded any of the money , so what can the old lady and child say. In reality the zamindar had an eye for the well breed mulching cows so he had to come up with this story to get his hand on them. Apart from this zamindar has also taken back the land he had given them for farming. In such a situation the old lady and the child can’t afford to keep a help and the plough assistances had no work to do, so they were discharged. The pair of oxen was sold off at the cost of 17 and half rupees. After the cremating function whatever was left has been spent off on monthly expenditures. Now the duo was left with nothing, they were living in a very wretched state today an utensil was sold tomorrow another .Basu comes to visit them twice a week and stays till late when the duo are about to sit for dinner he leaves. He doesn’t like to stay back its either because he can’t stand to watch the people who used to have ample of food eating meager amount of food consisting of only rice and daal that too half stomach or If he stays back they might even out of modesty ask him to have a share of that food leading them to eat nothing for the night. Basu offers budhi money but she never accepts it. If something remains from the daily expenditure it goes to the piggy bank. Basu sensing the uneasiness has stopped pushing them. He takes 1 or 2 paisa for grocery shopping and with that they manage for more than 8 or 10 days. The thatch needed repair basu got them hay for 2 rupees and stacked them in the yard due to sarana work hasn’t started. Since the day her son died till now budhi has been crying everyday but now she sits and moans in the dark. Loneliness offshoots the thoughts of her dead son and daughter-in-law and having nothing to do in the evening, remembrance of her poverty and miseries is evident. After crying for hours she becomes lethargic and loses her consciousness. Poor child rebati seeing budhi in it condition how can a child control herself even she feels remorse budhi and both grand-daughter and mama crash right there. Budhis eye sight is getting flimsy too. And now she has come up with a better alternative to crying nagging the poor orphan every now- and- then. The cause for all her sorrow and misfortune is rebati; it’s all because she wanted to study. This stubborn resolution to study killed her son and daughter in law, the workers left, oxen were sold, zamindar took away everything. At this moment rebate is the ill-fated one who got the house reduced to rubble .She also drove Goddess laxmi out. Budhi eyes have become week and she can’t see; the sole reason is Rebati. When budhi starts her routine colloquial speech of odious words, the frighten child listens from far and two line of tear flows from her eyes. Now- a -days she doesn’t come before of budhi or stands next to her. she either stands at the door facing the yard or sits in one corner of the house her face down between her  crossed knees. She lies in one corner of the house like log of wood. Basu is also at fault Rebati wasn’t studying before it all started because he came up with the idea of teaching her and eventually fulfilled his evil mission by carrying it out. But she fears to say anything to Basu as the house will fall apart, plus the Zamindars due is still hanging on their neck. Zamindar’s accountant comes every day to harass them for the money. If Basu wouldn’t be with them who else would come to help them and listen to their plight nevertheless she can’t help holding her tongue of long and blurts out her disapprovement and the…. if they would have had listened to her. Rebati has grown up she has learned to behave like a mature girl she no longer fights back when budhi nags her , nobody gets to hear her voice . And after her parents left she has almost kept herself buried, nobody has seen her near the front door. She used to moan loudly now she cries silently save for the two eyes are always flowing. Rest of the world is void, as if she has renounced life, only the death of her parents has filled her heart. She can only see her mother sitting there and her father leaving. She is not in a state to believe that her parents are dead and won’t return. She sits and thinks about them at times even forgets to eat and sleep but the fear of grandmother makes her to eat. Wherever she sits it’s hard to find her moving from that place. She has turned into a skeleton with a skin over it. Only when Basu comes she gets up and stares him with her two big button eyes, when he looks at her she gives a sigh and bows her head down. Only Basu tend to divert her mind from her little world basus presence makes her think about him. Her every thought and mind would be filled with Basudev.

It’s been 5 months from the day of tragedy, its winter now, right in the afternoon Basu knocked ay there door he never comes at this time. He was leaving town for five days on school purpose, the deputy inspector has organized a question answer quiz completion for the children throughout the state back in Cuttack. Rebati who was listening from behind the door dropped there with a thud; if the door wouldn’t have been there she would have straight fallen flat. He had bought the grocery for five days which he left at the door and hurried for the city at about dawn. Budhi who was really concerned about the child’s irrational decisions said a few things to follow, while out of the town and concluded with heavy sigh, Rebati was ogling at Basu all this time. Previously basu always wanted to look at rebati but couldn’t, today it’s the meeting of their eyes they don’t want to stop, as if he wants to fill his heart with rebati’s image. Basu has left its dark everywhere but Rebati is still sitting in the same place and looking at the same direction however Budhi’s calling her woke her from her dream.

                Rebati is counting on the days it’s been six days. Since her parents died she hasn’t stepped on the yard but today she has given it two round of tour. About six in the evening after the school children of Hariharpur returned .People started talking that the master was suffering from cholera and breathed his last on the way back home at Gopalpur . People of the village muttered with pity regarding his beauty, his behavior and some ladies shed tears for the unfortunate orphan.

Rebati heard the news and so did Budhi. Budhi started her usual fault finding in rebati because he taught rebati, he died. Rebati has returned to her recluse state, no noise coming from her. The next day when budhi did not feel her presence called forher,” lo rebi lo nia lo chuli”. Budhi looks fanatical she doesnt cry only scolds rebate, takes out all her anger on her. Neighbors, pedestrians and passer by all hear, “lo rebate lo rebi lonia lo chuli” Budhi can’t see clearly nowadays so she tried to reach her with great difficulty , simultaneously calling her loudly but when she didn’t get reply she tried to search for her all over the house  when finally her hand touched Rebis body it felt hot, boiling hot she had a high temperature. Budhi sat there and thought something for a while she tried everything to do or look for somebody for help without any help coming and not able to do anything she feeling helpless took out her anger on rebati. Whatever she has done in the past regarding studies is being paid off now why should she suffer for her cause. A day passed than the other and then the next it’s been the fifth day rebati is lying motionless. Today is the sixth day budhi heard her groaning, her body is cold she is gawking at everything even if Budhi doesn’t ask anything she goes on blabbering about something. The village physician announced it as the after effect that of pneumonia. Budhi was glad to hear that she wasn’t talking for all these days or looking at anything now she is. She’s even asking for water to drink since the past two days she hadn’t taken a drop of water. Only if something is put in her stomach she will be able to sit and walk. So Budhi asked rebati to rest in the mean while she will cook something fast. What will she be make with nothing in the house she frantically searched every container. Out of despair sat down and heaved a long sigh. Basu had got food for five days budhi has pulled it till the tenth, if she has had a better eye sight she could have made out. Anyways she thought for an alternative, found a broken jug held it and headed straight for Hari Sah house. Hari Sah hasn’t got any particular shop he keeps extra amount of rice and salt and dal for people who are in real need, generally foreigners. As People in his village grow crops and sundry on their farm they don’t have necessity for buying. Seeing the mug in budhis hand got the idea,but was waiting for budhi after hearing thought of fooling with the old lady He said the mug was a junk piece and couldn’t afford to give anything in exchange .It’s not that Hari hasn’t got rice at his place or he doesn’t want to give its about making a nice profit out of it by trading with a little cheap amount. When Hari said he didn’t have rice at his place budhi felt as if the sky fell on her head she even tried to beg Hari twice to give him a little and let her go. But Hari won’t give up with his evil plan finally when budhi saw no hope she thought to go back and check on the girl. It was getting late and the sick gal was lying alone in the house. So she picked her mug and started for home, here, when Hari saw budhi leaving, suddenly had a change of mind or else his haggling will be futile, asked her to wait. He came back with a little rice and pulses and salt. Budhi walked back home sitting at few places. She isn’t contemplating about her pain, what pain she hasn’t even brushed or eaten anything herself since morning. Reaching home she called for rebati she thought rebati has recovered well so if she could go draw some water from the well, she will cook. When rebati didn’t reply she shouted with disgust” lo rebi lo………………..”, still no reply.

On the other side rebati’s fever has returned, painful aches, tongue is sore and dry ,body is on fire  , gluttonous. She got the desire to go to a cooler place so she crawled out of the room but couldn’t find solace so again crept wearily to the veranda. The day is coming to an end,its dusk there is lots of breeze . She leaned upon the fence and sat there, looked all around her, last year her father had planted a banana tree now it’s ready to give fruit and before that two years back her mother had planted a guava tree rebati being a kid, used to run and fetch water for the plant with mug full. Even this one has grown big and is bearing flowers now. All those reminded her of her dead mother, her mind is not stable, incoherent thoughts are coming to her mind. Her mother’s loving and charming face is dancing away in front of her. It’s getting darker now and darkness has filled everywhere she looked up the evening star in glazing bright. She is continually gazing at it, the size of the star has grown it has taken the shape of a chakra. It’s growing bigger and finally there’s light everywhere. What’s this figure coming of the light! It’s her mother, loving kind benevolent mother! She has spread her arms for her, the two arms are bright with the rays of the light. Seeing all this she was bedazzled, it felt as though the light through her eyes, entered her heart. Midst the darkness she couldn’t hear any voice it was all void only her breathing, deep and loud and finally she calls her mother in a faint tone, after that the yard is all quite.

                     Budhi who has been looking for Rebati has crawled all around the house finding Rebati nowhere has come to the veranda.  She reaches for her at the veranda on feeling her body she is taken back. She goes ahead and checks her breath. The repercussion was so shocking that that she dropped down from the veranda. There was a loud thud on the ground.

         Since that day nobody has come across any of member of Shayamabandhus house. The last thing the neighbors happened to have heard that night was,’ lo rebati, lo rebi, lo nia, lo chuli’