Evening star., 1928-12-30

the deitys doings through a. glass plate
| Up to the time of this discovery, my ac-
quaintanceship with Rameni remained
| one of the pleasantest memories of
the 10 months that I had been in
India.
A bullock cart brought my luggage up
from the harbor, and we three-my boy
Panya, my cook Pasha and myself-set
to work to put the rooms with the best
exposures in order for the night Panya
was full of the most urgent warnings,
but he had come to realize that many
of his fears were Identical with my
hopes.
" make sure that there was not a
window in the house was was not brok-
en-, Panya was squatting on box of
books, smoking, with my hammock w.
ing across his knees.
"It's all in holes" he said, not rising
and not starting to work busily as he
had used to do when he saw me coming
"Sahib, that's what comes of using a
hammock for fishing net"
1T was splendid idea," said in
excuse.
"You didn't catch anything" retorted
Panya.
examined the floor. It had been un-
dermined everywhere by the white ants.
The fiagsto1es and the boards shook as
one walked, and sometimes ones feet
| sank in, destroying a whole Sodom and
Gomorrah of the ant population.
IF you want to see how those crea-
lures live, you must not disturb them, "
1 cki Nv "a
| way" he added, there are rats in the
house, and there are cases of plague
| just outside Cannanore."
I'VE must get cats" decided. go
to the city tomorrow and buy sone.'
Panya looked at me pityingly. PAY
| for a cat? There are cats running
loose all over. I'm sure there must be
cats in this house."
He was referring to a small variety of
cat, of which had seen plenty in Mala-
| bar; they are to be found in most old
buildings. decided, therefore, to wait.
One had to be careful since rats are
supposed to be the carriers of the plague,
and this dread epidemic still hung on,
although the rainy season had been over
| for some time. AS rule plague dis
appears with the last rainfall at the be-
| ginning of the Indian Spring, for the
| plague bacillus only fiourishes in the
| damp. 1t appears again with the first
rain after the hot season.
| My account of this conversation may
| have given false impression of my re-
| lationShip to Panya, and of the general
attitude of Europeans toward the serv-
ant class in Hindustan. I allowed Panya
and every one else who served me great
deal of personal freedom, but my sacri-
| flee of authority. even of independence,
brought return which have always
valued more highly than any other Of
ferings of human contact.
Servility Is synonymous with sinlula.
| ton. The Englishman's treatment OF
the natives keeps out OF sight their traits
of character and Suppresses their true
nature. admit that the attitude of the
ruling caste of white is essential to
/ the maintenance Of their position as
rulers. But I did not go to India to be
one of its rulers.
| Sometimes there were exciting scenes
between Panya and myself, when we
wrestled with one another for the posi-
| ton of authority. They ended usually in
| the overthrow of the slave. And yet my
blow and his collapse were phenomena
that stood In no relation to one another.
| Often he broke down before I even
| touched him, and at the worst he was
mostly able, by an artful twist of his
| body or some other device, to escape
with no more serious consequences to
| himself than the arrangement of his
turban or his oiled headdress.
Nevertheless he invariably went to
| pieces, sQuirmed from one corner or
the room into another, and howled and
walled over my ingratitude and the re-
ward he got for his devotion. But be-
| fore evening he would take care that
| the burden of my guilt should not rob
me of my nights rest.
"Sahib," he would say standing erect
| as q pole in front of me, his features
| illumined with pride and a dignity
which did in truth fill my heart with
gratitude. "Sahib, how could you forget
yourself like that?" His face expressed
such sorrow that could not for the
world bring myself to doubt its honesty.
I would modestly explain to him the
magnitude of his offense and its serious
consequences; but in such cases his
command of English was too poor to
| follow me.
"You are not getting on very well
with your Hindustani," he would say
with some concern, and we were both
| glad to have found topic upon which
we could resume the footing OF our Or
binary intercourse. Then would come
times of happy transformation and
beautiful fellowship. While they lasted,
Panya's self-renunciation went so far
as to place the whisky bottle on the
table without having filled it with water,
so that I could tell exactly how much
he had stolen.
| X X X X
IT ONG after Panya fell asleep on this
~ night, I remained on the veranda
waiting for the moon and GOODNESS to
come. From the notionless drapery of
the trees, shrubs and flowers in the
garden came a sultry breath, an intoxi-
eating mixture of perfumes. Every
plant was in bloom and voluptuous
exuberance of life forced itself upon
me, into my very blood.
The whole atmosphere, resounding
with the chirp of the crickets, was
charged with this quiet, mighty urge to
rank burgeoning ane was 80 still that