A Suitable Boy(169)

At ten o’clock he was saying to an old colleague and lawyer: ‘As for that bastard, do you think that he can get his way with me? He came into my office with a wad of money, trying to get me to soften a provision of the Zamindari Bill, and I was tempted to have him arrested – title or no title. He might have ruled Marh once, but he had better learn that other men rule Purva Pradesh. Of course I know that he and his kind will challenge the bill in court. Do you think we are not going to be ready ourselves? That is why I wanted to consult you.’

At eleven o’clock he was saying: ‘The basic problem for me personally is not the temple or the mosque. The basic problem is how the two religions will get on with each other in Brahmpur. Maulvi Sahib, you know my views on this. I’ve lived here most of my life. Naturally there is mistrust: the question is how to overcome it. You know how it is. The rank and file of Congress opposes old Muslim Leaguers who wish to join Congress. Well, this is only to be expected. But Congress has had a long tradition of Hindu-Muslim collaboration, and, believe me, it is the obvious party to join. And as far as tickets are concerned, I am giving you my word that there will be fair representation for Muslims. You won’t regret that we have no reserved seats or separate electorates. Yes, the nationalist Muslims, who have been with our party throughout their careers, will receive preference in this matter, but if I have anything to do with it there will be some room for others as well.’

At noon he was saying: ‘Damodarji, that’s a very handsome ring you have on your finger. How much is it worth? Twelve hundred rupees? No, no, I’m pleased to see you, but as you can see’ – he pointed to the papers piled on his desk with one hand and gestured towards the crowds with the other – ‘I have much less time to talk to my old friends than I would wish…’

At one o’clock he was saying: ‘Are you telling me that the lathi charge was necessary? Have you seen how these people live? And you have the gall to tell me that there should be some threat of further punitive action? Go and talk to the Home Minister, you’ll find a more sympathetic audience. I am sorry – you can see how many people are waiting –’

At two o’clock he was saying: ‘I suppose I have a little influence. I’ll see what I can do. Tell the boy to come around to see me next week. Obviously, a lot will depend upon his exam results. No, no, don’t thank me – and certainly don’t thank me in advance.’

At three o’clock he was saying quietly: ‘Look, Agarwal has about a hundred MLAs in his hand. I have about eighty. The rest are uncommitted, and will go wherever they sense victory. But I’m not going to think of mounting a challenge to Sharmaji. It’s only if Panditji calls him to join the Central Cabinet in Delhi that the question of the leadership will come up. Still, I agree that there’s no harm in keeping the issue alive – one has to remain in the public eye.’

At a quarter past three, Mrs Mahesh Kapoor came in, reproved the PAs gently, and pleaded with her husband to come and have lunch and lie down for a while. She herself was clearly still suffering from the residual neem blossoms, and her allergy was causing her to gasp a little. Mahesh Kapoor did not snap at her as he often did. He acquiesced and retired. People drifted away reluctantly and very gradually, and after a while Prem Nivas once more reverted from a political stage, clinic, and fairground to a private home.

After Mahesh Kapoor had eaten, he lay down for a short nap, and Mrs Mahesh Kapoor finally ate lunch herself.





6.14


AFTER lunch, Mahesh Kapoor asked his wife to read him some passages from the Proceedings of the P.P. Legislative Council that dealt with the debate on the Zamindari Bill when it had first gone to the Upper House from the Assembly. Since it was about to go there again with its new encrustation of amendments, he wanted to regain his sense of the possible obstacles it might face in that chamber.

Mahesh Kapoor himself found it very difficult to read the Purva Pradesh legislative debates of the last few years. Some members took peculiar pride these days in couching their speeches in a heavily Sanskritized Hindi which no one in his right mind could understand. That, however, was not the main problem. The real difficulty was that Mahesh Kapoor was not very familiar with the Hindi – or Devanagari – script. He had been brought up at a time when boys were taught to read and write the Urdu – or Arabic – script. In the 1930s the Proceedings of the Protected Provinces Legislative Assembly were printed speech by speech in English, Urdu, and Hindi – depending on the language that the speaker wrote or spoke. His own speeches were printed in Urdu, for instance, and so were the speeches of a good many others. The English speeches he could of course read without difficulty. But he tended to skip the Hindi ones, as they made him struggle. Now, after Independence, the Proceedings were printed entirely in the official language of the state, which was Hindi; Urdu speeches too were printed in the Hindi script, and English could only be spoken – and that too extremely rarely – with the express permission of the Speaker of the House. This was why Mahesh Kapoor often asked his wife to read the debates out to him. She had been taught – like many women at the time – to read and write under the influence of the Hindu revivalist organization, the Arya Samaj, and the script that she had been taught was, naturally enough, the script of the ancient Sanskrit texts – and the modern Hindi language.