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@ Kabullwallah, Rabindranath Tagore, , th Tagore (1861-1941), who contributed immensely, to giving modern India a place in the world literary scene, was, a multifaceted personality. He was a poet, a dramatist, a shortstory writer and a novelist. He was also a philosopher and a, nation-builder. He wrote primarily in Bengali, but translated, a number of his own works into English and in the process, he, wrote them afresh. Of the volumes of poetry which he rendered, into English, the important ones are Gitanjali and The Gardener., The songs of Gitanjali are mainly devotional poems in the Indian, tradition. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1913., , Tagore modernised Bengali art by spurning rigid classical, forms. His novels, stories, songs, dance-dramas and essays cover, both political and personal topics. Gitanjali (Song Offerings),, Gora (Fair-Faced), and Ghare-Baire (The Home and the World), are his best-known works, and his verse, short stories, and novels, were acclaimed for their lyricism, colloquialism, naturalism and, , contemplation. Tagore was perhaps the only litterateur who, penned anthems of two countries - Jana Gana Mana, the national, , anthem of India and Amar Shonar Bangla, the national anthem, , of Bangladesh., ous divisions among human beings on the, , Society makes vari, basis of class, caste, gender, beliefs, etc. These distinctions are, f adults. Children have their, , often deep-rooted only in the minds o, , own unique way of accepting people where divisions and barriers, , are non-existent. This story by Rabindranath Tagore describes, , abana between a little girl and a travelling salesman,, at manages to break societal barriers even in adult minds., , Rabindrana, , M five-year-old daughter Mini cannot live without chattering., minute oa believe that in all her life she has not wasted a, inp Hef patties Her mother is often vexed at this, and would, , prattle, but I would not. To see Mini quiet is unnatural,

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and I cannot bear it long. And so my own talk with her is always, lively, , One morning, for instance, when I was in the midst of the, seventeenth chapter of my new novel, my little Mini stole into the, room, and putting her hand into mine, said; ‘Father! Ramdayal, the doorkeeper calls a crow a kanval He doesn’t know anything,, does he?”, , Before I could explain to her the differences of language in this, world, she was embarked on the full tide of another subject. ‘What, do you think, Father? Bhola says there is an elephant in the clouds,, blowing water out of his trunk, and that is why it rains!”, , And then, darting off anew, while I sat still making ready some, reply to this last saying, ‘Father! What relation is Mother to you?’, , “My dear little sister in the law! I murmured involuntarily to, , myself, but with a grave face contrived to answer: ‘Go and play, , with Bhola, Mini! I am busy!, ‘The window of my room overlooks the road. The child had seated, , herself at my feet near my table, and was playing softly, drumming, on her knees. I was hard at work on my seventeenth chapter, where, Protap Singh, the hero, had just caught Kanchanlata, the heroine, in, his arms, and was about to escape with her by the third-storey window, of the castle, when all of a sudden Mini left her play, and ran to the, window, crying, ‘O Kabuliwallah! O Kabuliwallah! Sure enough in, the street below was a Kabuliwallah, passing slowly along. He wore, the loose soiled clothing of his people, with a tall turban; there was a, bag on his back, and he carried boxes of grapes in his hand., , I cannot tell what my daughter's feelings were at the sight of, this man, but she began to call him loudly. ‘Ah!’ I thought, ‘he, will come in, and my seventeenth chapter will never be finished”, , At which exact moment the Kabuliwallah turned, and looked, up at the child. When she saw this, overcome by terror, she fled to, her mother’s protection, and disappeared. She had a blind belief, that inside the bag, which the big man carried, there were perhaps, two or three other children like herself. The pedlar meanwhile, entered my doorway, and greeted me with a smiling face., , So precarious was the position of my hero and my heroine, that, my first impulse was to stop and buy something, since the man

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had been called. I made some small purchases, s, and a conv. ‘, ersation, , began about Abdurrahman, the Russians, the Engli, prontier Policy. inglish, and the, As he was about to leave, he asked: ‘And where i, ’ . eist 4, girl, sir? 5 the little, And 1, thinking that Mini must get rid of her false fear, had h, brought out. , er, She stood by my chair, and looked at the Kabuliwallah and his, , bag. He offered her nuts and raisins, but she would not be tempted, , and only clung the closer to me,, , ‘This was their first meeting., One morning, however, not many days later, as I was leaving the, , house, I was startled to find Mini, seated on a bench near the door,, jaughing and talking, with the great Kabuliwallah at her feet. In all, her life, it appeared my small daughter had never found so patient, listener, save her father. And already the corner of her little sari, was stuffed with almonds and raisins, the gift of her visitor, ‘Why, did you give her those?’ I said, and taking out an eight-anna bit,, I handed it to him. The man accepted the money without demur,, , and slipped it into his pocket., ter, I found the unfortunate coin, , Alas, on my return an hour la, n worth of trouble! For the Kabuliwallah, , had made twice its ow, had given it to Mini, and her mother catching sight of the bright, round object, had pounced on the child with: ‘Where did you get, that eight-anna bit?’, , “The Kabuliwallah gave it me,, , “The Kabuliwallah gave it you!, shocked., , ‘Oh, Mini! How could you take, , I, entering at the moment, save, and proceeded to make my own inquiries., , It was not the first or second time; I found, that the two had mice, _ the Kabuliwallah had overcome the child’s first terror by 2, ot bribery of nuts and almonds, and the two were DOW a, it They had many quaint jokes, which afforded them ae, po a Seated in front of him, looking down on his 8 a, nall her tiny dignity, Mini would rippl, , with all her doubts increased., , said Mini cheerfully:, cried her mother much, , it from him?’, , d her from impending disaste, , fe her face with lau!

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and begin: ‘O Kabuliwallah, Kabul, your bag?’, , And he would reply, in the nasal accents of, ‘An elephant!’ Not much cause for merriment, a, they both enjoyed the witticism! And for me, this child's talk a, a grown-up man had always in it something strangely fascin, ating, , Then the Kabuliwallah, not to be behindhand, would take his, turn: “Well, little one, and when are you going to the father-in-law’s, house?’, , Now most small Bengali maidens have heard long ago about, the father-in-law’s house; but we, being a little new-fangled, had, kept these things from our child, and Mini at this question must, have been a trifle bewildered. But she would not show it, and with, ready tact replied: ‘Are you going there?’, , Amongst men of the Kabuliwallah’s class, however, it is well, known that the words ‘father-in-law’s house’ have a double meaning, It is a euphemism for jail, the place where we are well cared for, at, , No expense to ourselves, In this sense would the sturdy pediar take, my daughter's question. ‘Ah; he would say, shaking his fist at an, invisible policeman, ‘I will thrash my father-in-law! Hearing this,, and picturing the poor discomfited relative, Mini would go off into, peals of laughter, in which her formidable friend would join., , These were autumn mornings, the very time of year when kings, of old went forth to conquest; and |, never stirring from ny tittle, corner in Calcutta, would let my mind wander over the whole world, , At the very name of another country, my heart would go out, to it, and at the sight of a foreigner in the streets, | would fall to, weaving a network of dreams - the nvountains, the glens, and, the forests of his distant home, with his cottage in its setting, and the, free and independent life of far-away wilds, , Perhaps the scenes of travel conjure themselves up before me., and pass and repass in my imagination all the more vividly, because, I lead such a vegetable existence, that a call to travel would fall, upon me like a thunderbolt., , In the presence of this Kabuliwallah, | was immediately, transported to the foot of arid mountain peaks, with narrow, little defiles twisting in and out amongst their towering heights, , iwallah, what have You got in, , 4

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[could see the string of camels bearin, g the merchandi, f turbaned merchants, carrying some o eae ane a, ro!, , company 0, d some of their spears, journeying downward toward, rds, , firearms, an, , the plains., I could see—but at some such point Mini’s mother would, , loring me to ‘beware of that man:, , Mini’s mother is unfortunately a very timid lady. Whenev, she hears a noise in the street, or sees people coming ane, the house, she always jumps to the conclusion that they are, either thieves, Or drunkards, or sakes, or tigers, or malaria or, cockroaches, or caterpillars, or an English sailor. Even after all, these years of experience, she is not able to overcome her terror. So, she was full of doubts about the Kabuliwallah, and used to beg me, , to keep a watchful eye on him., I tried to laugh her fear gently away, but then she would turn, , round on me seriously, and ask me solemn questions., Were children never kidnapped?, , Was it, then, not true that there was S, d that this big man s, , Was it so very absur:, offa tiny child?, , I urged that, though not impossible, it was highly improbable., But this was not enough, and her dread persisted. As it was indefinite,, however, it did not seem right to forbid the man the house, and, the intimacy went on unchecked. !, , Once a year in the middle of January Rahmun, the Kabuliwallah,, was in the habit of returning to his country, and as the time, approached he would be very busy; going from house to house, , collecting his debts. This year, however, he could always find time to, d to an outsider that there, , come and see Mini. It would have seeme, was some conspiracy between the two, for when he could not com? in, the morning, he would appear in the evening., , Even to me it was alittle startling now and then, in the corner of, a rk room, suddenly to surprise this tall, loose-garmented,, Seca but when Mini would run in smiling, i, age, we and the two friends, 50 ©, Teassured. subside into their old laughter and their old jokes,, , intervene, imp!, , Javery in Kabul?, hould be able to carry, , far apart in, I felt