Tamas by Bhisham Sahni

Author:Bhisham Sahni [Sahni, Bhisham]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9788184757316
Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
Published: 2012-05-24T04:00:00+00:00

11

After taking his morning bath, Dev Datt came and stood outside his house, rubbing his hands. Every time he rubbed his hands, or put his hand to his nose or gently stroked his cheeks and again rubbed his hands, it meant that he was busy preparing his work-schedule for the day. There lay a diary in his brain. By rubbing his hands and stroking his nose he was making one entry after another into that diary, another item of work to be attended to. ‘There is trouble in Ratta, the comrade there will not be able to send his report, we must send another comrade there.’ ‘To put a stop to the riots, it is imperative that we bring together leaders of the Congress and the Muslim League, to arrange a meeting between Hayat Baksh and Bakshiji.’

On the previous day too, Dev Datt had somehow managed to call on some people. Raja Ram had straightaway shut the door in his face. Ram Nath had said derogatory things about the communists. Hayat Baksh had agreed to attend the meeting even though he had turned red in the face and, with his eyes burning, had started raising slogans and shouting, ‘We shall not rest till we have achieved Pakistan… Pakistan will become a reality!’ He had not given Dev Datt even the chance to speak. ‘It will be necessary to go to him again today.’ Dev Datt again rubbed his hands and stroked his nose. ‘Send Bakshiji to Hayat Baksh; take Atal along and go to Bakshiji, and take Amin along and go to Hayat Baksh.’ But then he rejected the whole idea. ‘Leave out the leaders. Let ten persons each from the Congress, the Muslim League and the Singh Sabha be brought together and have a joint meeting. No, this too will not work. This proposal will have to be discussed in the Party office with other comrades. Another problem. Every effort must be made to stop communal riots from spreading to the labourers’ colony. To have only one comrade there is not enough. Ratta is a Muslim area. Comrade Jagdish is there, but he alone cannot be effective. Besides, two or three comrades must be sent to the villages; they must go from village to village, and try to stop the riots from spreading. We have so few comrades.’ He again moved his hand over his face, then looked at his wrist-watch. ‘There is a meeting in the commune at ten’clock, in which comrades will present reports about their respective areas. It is time to leave,’ Dev Datt said to himself and quietly went back into the house to take out his bicycle from the veranda.

‘Who is there? Is that you Dev Datt?’

Dev Datt left the cycle and went into the room.

‘Are you going out again?’ asked his father, a bulky, middle-aged man sitting on a cot. ‘If you are bent upon getting killed, then first kill all of us, all your family members. Can’t you see what is happening?’

Dev Datt stood in the doorway without uttering a word, rubbing his hands and stroking his nose.

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