Surangi, The Child Bride

Part 33

  "सरफ़रोशी की तमन्ना अब हमारे दिल में है
देखना है ज़ोर कितना बाज़ू-ए-क़ातिल में है"

"But what do these words mean?" Waman asked, unable to comprehend the meaning of words penned in Urdu. Naturally, because it was a language the children were unfamiliar with. Waman's father Vinayak explained that these were the opening lines of a patriotic poem written by an Urdu poet whose pen name was Bismil Azimabadi. Another revolutionary called Ram Prasad Bismil had immortalised these lines as a war cry for the Indian struggle for independence from British rule. 

Ram Prasad Bismil was the mastermind of the Kakori conspiracy that involved looting the government treasury on a train near Lucknow. He and his co-conspirators Ashfaqulla Khan, Roshan Singh and Rajendra Nath Lahiri were later executed by the British for the crime. Vinayak went on to explain the meaning of the words of the Urdu couplet.

 "Our hearts now nurture the desire of sacrificing our lives

We shall test the tenacity of the executioner's arms"

"Waman, the British are opportunistic manipulators who stepped in to take advantage of their technological superiority and the lack of solidarity between our numerous rulers. They took over the Maratha Empire from Peshwa Bajirao II following the Third Anglo-Maratha war in 1818 and ever since we have been forced to be their subjects. They have depleted our resources, subjugated us and tried to impede our way of life. It is little wonder that our countrymen first rose in revolt against them in 1857. And the good thing that emerged from that struggle was that the British East India Company went out of business and for the first time in history our people rallied for a common cause, laying a foundation of a democratic nation!" Vinayak was an impassioned nationalist, albeit mostly in thought, not in actions. 

He continued to explain about the banishment of Bal Gangadhar Tilak to Mandalay in Burma from 1908 to 1914 on charges of sedition and the imprisonment of Vinayak Damodar Savarkar in the Cellular Jail in Andaman between 1911 to 1921. The children- Waman , Madhav and Surangi- were listening intently when a sharp reprimand from Saraswati Kaku brought everyone back on terra firma.

"Vinayak, you should know better than to try and sow the seed of dissension in these impressionable minds. Nowadays it has become a fashion to be a Krantikaari. Have you forgotten how much the Chapekar family suffered after their sons- Damodar, Balkrishna and Hari-were hanged by the British for the killing of Commissioner Rand of Pune? The old man Chapekar died soon after, so did Vasudev's wife. Balkrishna's widow Gangubai, Damodar's widow Durgabai and her son Dhondu struggled to survive afterwards. Did the British or anyone else worry about what happened to that hapless family? And Vinayak, you are a father of two young ones, leave the war of independence to the rich Congress leaders who will commandeer all credit in the end, in any case!" Aaji stopped to catch her breath.

Everyone stared at Aaji wondering what she had meant by Vinayak having two children. Waman looked puzzled as he was not aware of the existence of a sibling.

"Bur Aaji, I don't have a brother or a sister!" Waman declared, with a question mark on his face.

"Not yet, but come next monsoon and you shall have one!" Aaji clarified and Surangi squealed with delight. 

"Aai, you mean Sharayu is..........." Vinayak forgot to finish his sentence as he internalised the truth which had been hidden from him so far. He remembered that women waited until their first trimester passed safely before disclosing their secret to the others. .

"How would you notice? Your mind is filled with those silly separatist ideas!" Aaji gave him a disapproving look while Raghav gave his brother an encouraging smile to hear the good news.