Diary of Slaves

Wali Kiron
[Translation: Hasinul Islam]

[Here is an extract of the novel Daasjuger Dinlipi published in 2008. This part of the story
revolves around Moyezuddin, his kaamlaa (laborer) Sader and Saders wife Soru in the setting of
a village in Rajshahi. These are the last two chapters of the novel. A senior banker of Sonali
Bank, the novelist mainly writes poems.]

Chapter Nine

The next day Soru starts work at Moyezuddin Hazis house. Sader also keeps going to Hazis in
the afternoon hours. Then the day came. Moyezuddin asked Sader to stay at tangighar (high
platform for watching purpose). He comes chewing at a wooden toothbrush of the branch of
jamalkotha. A long piece of paper can be seen in his hand. He transfers it to Saders hand. As if
in a trance, in a feeble cry of anguish, Moyzuddin speaks out: You have no job now, Sader.

Of course, Sader is illiterate and so he looks at the piece of paper turning it this way and that,
trying to grasp what it means, all in vain.

What is it for? His heart starts pounding like an undisciplined child, fearing the imminence of
some unpredictable threat in his life. He looks up with a gaped mouth struck with wonder. All on
a sudden night descends into his eyes.

Moyezuddin responds with chastisement, kaeh! (Dont you understand?) Didnt you get rice on
daily basis? Today one kg and then the next day other two kg again. I thought you might have
forgotten; so I took note of all of these. Now surrender six thousand taka. Well, well. How can
you manage to give me this amount of money? You can sort it out in an easy way. Record your
ancestral home in my name. Ill turn it into a lichi orchard, you see. An orchard full of fruits. It
has been a dream for long...

Why? Why would I transfer my ancestral home to your name? Helpless Sader utters in an
undemanding voice. In his muted voice he tries to convince Moyezuddin, Think it over. True
that I took rice; but I worked for you. I worked during night time also. Ive been working this way
for long four years. Sader tries to come up with the same arguments that he used the earlier day.

Moyezuddin says, You can borrow things. But wont you consider the days of difficulties of the
lender? No problem. Let me subtract 500 taka for you. What about the rest? I ask you to give me
that sum without making any trouble. Otherwise, I can go for shaalish (arbitration). Earlier, you
threatened me of going for the shaalish first. Now I want to go for that.

The sky above Saders head is unspeaking. Black ants crawl in swarm on his body. Impatience
mutters through his body. His body quivers like the lightning. All the chirpings of birds around
him gradually subside and get buried in a mound of unconsciousness. Somewhere in his
consciousness in a far away spot a cow alone lows gnah gnah. It seems the sunrays start to dim.
Moyezuddin seems to keep on saying things. Sader fails to hear those words in full, with clarity.
Even if he hears, his consciousness goes into forgetfulness again. He can remember one thing
only. They will put up their dwelling place by Moyezuddins brick-framed pond. Moyezuddin
will do this for them. Now he is their god. His face is now that of gods. God banished man from
heaven. He sent man to earth. Now Moyezuddin says, you go to the pond side. God says, let it be
and things happen to be. Will what Moyezuddin says happen? Will then Saders have to go to the
pond side? Panchayet said: Moyezuddin has asked for the rightful. These mean tramps dont
think of any responsibility when they beg for getting advantages.

Well. People sat for shaalish. They gathered at the tangghar of Ghukra sarder, head of
Monnadang. The shaalish went on for a long time. Sader told them about his rewardless work he
provided at no cost. As a general rule a day laborer works at best till 2 pm if engaged in a half day
work; whereas he worked even in the afternoon hours. He had to go to haat for shopping for
Moyezuddin, all this was done in the night time. He has been working this way for four years.
Now Moyezuddin comes up with a different logic. Sader took his dinner at night at Moyezuddins
when he worked extra hours.

In the crowded meeting of arbitrators Sader can do nothing but hold his head between his palms,
placing the elbows on the thighs. There he keeps sitting. Claim of money was subtracted by 1000
taka. And yet the ancestral home cannot be saved.

Moyezuddin comforts, What am I here for? Your responsibilities are mine. Am I going to throw
you away? Youll stay as my permanent laborer till you breathe. Why are you worrying so
much?

Is it Moyezuddin alone? All other heads of the village now come forward to comfort Sader in a
convincing manner. Siddik, leader of Awami League, is another head of this village. He says,
Why are you getting so nervous? In case brother Moyez doesnt give a damn for you, do you
think that were going to leave you undone?

When everything is almost finished, Sader stands up and speaks in a calm voice, Im not
obeying this shaalish. Thunder stroke the whole gathering. In the meantime, people were
hushing with one another. The crowd have already divided into two groups.

What kind of shaalish is this? Saders uncle Ajab Ali leaps up in a cry. His voice got hoarse.

You see. You have to consider the context. He took rice after he has worked for him. Is it a
misdeed?

This is an outright injustice. Its making the utmost illegal act legal in broad daylight. Sader
wont renounce his ancestral home.

Bader, another fellow farmer cries out, It cannot be. Were not renouncing our ancestral home
till death.

All of a sudden Sader couldnt grasp a change happening inside him. He felt as if his head was
acting incoherently. He hopped his fore finger in front of Moeyzuddins eyes and yelled at him.

Insatiable greed? Havent you got insatiable greed for land? Sumundir baeta (You, son of a
rogue), you unduly crave for land. Okay. Come to my place. If you have the gut, come to take
possession of it. Ill bury you there, in that piece of land. Mind it.

Moyezuddin also comes pounding at Sader. Veins of his throat become stringy. He yells at Sader.
Sader. Hold your tongue. I told you. Otherwise...
Ghukra sarder, head of the arbitration committee, tries to get everyone calm down. Even at one
point he threatened them. If they dont honor this judgment, necessary measures will be taken.
They can be ousted from the village or ostracized. At that time, Samedal, Saders buddy, along
with two or three more poor farmers and agricultural laborers yelled back. They now announce
theyll see who can oust Sader from his ancestral home. Sader and his friends and supporters
leave the place in a hullabaloo. Now they find many ordinary agricultural laborers and farmers
are with them. They promise to stay by Sader if needed. These farmers propose to guard Saders
home at night.

Saders uncle, Bader, buddy Samedali and several others making them about six in number lay
their bed in Saders kitchen. They have carried along spear, pike etc with them. Saders old mom
Vooti leaves for Baders house.

Chapter Ten

That night tyranny of the rats reached its peak. They were chomping at windows and doors. The
nibbling sound was increasing and going on for forever. The whole place was getting mad with
the screeching sound, choo-chee-keech-keech. It seems the rats have gone wild. Sader is at the
verge of being out of his mind. Do you think that the sounds were homogenous? These were of
varying natures. Some seem to be of quarrelsome activities; while some other ones sound to be of
violent fight. Some are simple regular sounds of communication. Some are found to be of
foreplay. Of course, all these explanations are made up by Sader. When two rats scuffle and
screech khaech khaech, it reminds Sader of cats. The sound of scuffling speaks of either a fight or
foreplay.

All day long it has been quite sultrily hot. The sky is wearing a dark face. When the arbitration
was going on in the evening hours, Monnadang went under the canopy of thick darkness.
Monnadang reeled with a sensation that reminded people of the Underworld of spirits. Now when
night has ripened to its full, lightning starts to pound from the west. Monnodang vibrates with the
goorh goorh hoomm hoomm rumbling reminding people of supersonic fighters. At the flash of
lightning one can see the hilly clouds. They encroach upon Monnadang on slow footsteps.

Little by little the immobile, sleepily resting bamboo throngs start to stretch and roll their bodies.
Hush hush, they start to hiss and whisper. They create a sound of masticating teeth; they rub
against one another. Kator kator karrr. Kator..r..r..r...

Soru gets almost bathed in sweat in the sultry hot weather. Theres only a ragged petticoat on her
body. Sader calls Soru: Hey, Soru. Are you asleep?
Nah. Speak up. Soru responds.

You see. This is the first time in my life I threw invectives at Moyez, among everyone of the
village. Shaalaa, soomoondi- whatever came to my mouth. Simply washed him in verbal abuses.
Hooh. Can you imagine? In front of all the villagers. You wont believe what look he had then.
As if he could kill me. Of course, he ran at me. I also ran back at him. All my life Ive seen the
Hazis abusing us. Once Khushi Hazi threw me out of the tangghar. Were all mean people; were
not worth sitting on chairs. Yet we could never talk back. Ive avenged it today. Oh, it feels so
wonderful now.

Soru grins. She says, Seems youve become a hero.

No, I dont mean that. Still, dont you know hes the son of a zaminder? Theyre a great lineage.
His dad, grandpa were also zaminders. None called them names ever. Today I did that. Sader
lights a biri (cigarette with tobacco like tree leaf). He breathes in all the smoke in a happy mood.
His bosom seems to be quite light as if all the grimy air that has stored inside for a long time
leaked out all on a sudden.

Their son Ashun is asleep. Soru extends comforting touch on Saders head. She says, You had a
turbulent day today. Now go to sleep. In a flash of lightning a realization comes to Saders mind,
Soru has no outward beauty, true, just a skeletal body, but she has never been miserly in giving
him love. Otherwise where would such empathy come from? He has doubted her character for
nothing; all the scandalous talks were outright rumor, a great falsehood. It may have been the
fraudulent manipulation of Moyezuddin. They have suffered from hunger for a long time but
Soru didnt desert him. Soru must be a girl of pure heart, a simple beauty. Sader now feels sorry.
He beat her that day quite unduly.

Sader turns to Soru and places his palm on her head. He now mutters, Soru, have you forgiven
me? I beat you that day. In the darkness Soru laughs and comments, Chhi chhi, shame on me.
What are you saying? Arent you my hubby? Is there any fault in getting beaten by you? Sorus
eyes get hazy as they start watering. Her voice gets choked with hiccups of sobbing.

No, no. It has been quite a misdeed. You forgive me now, Soru.
Soru has to say, Forgave you long ago.

No, forgive me now, once again. Sader clasps Sorus hands into his. Soru keeps silent for some
moments, and then shuts her eyes out of shyness, saying, Forgive you. Uttering this she hides
her face and immediately turns to her side.

Nobody speaks now. Both of them try to sleep. Eyelids get heavy with red and blue stars.
Darkness sits on their eyebrow. Sader went into drowsiness. A sudden khat khat sound made the
sleepiness go away. The sound is coming from the door. Someone is trying to open the door.
Sader feels his bosom getting free and empty. His heart starts to pound like the children. His
throat becomes dry. It must be Moyezuddin or his people. Theyre trying to break the door open.

Sader sits up on the bed on the sly. Somehow Soru has also become awake and just after getting
awake she can hear the sound at the door. Immediately her hands jump up to cover her bare
breast. Sader stands up and collects the spear kept in the corner of the room. He slowly goes to
the door and stands beside it. The room is in complete darkness. The oil lamp was put out.
Lightning strikes at a far away place and sudden flash of light enters through the gaps of the door.
There is a gap of about an inch at the bottom of the door as no doorstep is there. Sader can clearly
see a black hand in that gap. That hand is pulling at the shutter. It seemed the hand might be
Moyezuddins. Saders jaws become tensed in anticipation. He silently moves towards the hand.
The sharp shaft of the spear pounds at the Black Hand in the manner of a silently jumping gecko.
Sader expected a loud human cry of pain, aah ohh. Instead, the resting night woke up with some
kich kich chee chee screeching. A master rat. He was trying to enter their room but he got trapped
under the door. Sader takes the rat out from under the door keeping it pinned at the spear shaft.
Soru lights the oil lamp. A really huge rat he is. He must be of the species of tree climbing rat
almost the size of a small hare, the whole body covered with long fur. He may be the leader of the
rats with whom people were talking about getting old Vooti married. Soru has never seen a rat
this size, neither has Sader. They got astonished as the rat was still alive. The long thin shaft of
the spear has pierced through his stomach letting his blood go drip drip profusely. And yet hes
making faces at them.
Opening the door Sader goes outside, holding the rat pinned at the shaft. Holding the spear to the
front, he walks towards the kitchen. How can he stay calm till others see this big hunt? Sader
starts to cry out, Hey, dosto. Dear buddy. Come out now, please come outside. He makes a big
ruckus out of it.

Look here. Ive caught that rogue Moyez. Ha-ha-ha. Sader roars into laughter incoherently. It
seems that he has gone mad with this hilarious laugh.

Hearing Saders ruckus, his uncle, Samedali, Aman, Ashid and Dukhae come out of the kitchen,
pushing its mat-door away. They have spears ready in their hands; they thought something had
happened. Theyre wearing a warlike attitude. There is no sign of sleepiness in their eye balls.

Whats happened? Anything wrong? Samedali asks in an excited voice.

Ha-ha. Ive caught Moyez, uncle. Look here. Saying this, Sader holds the spear in front of their
eyes; the rat is pinned at the shaft.

Baisrey (My God)! See, how large it is! Samedali speaks up. Truly he has never seen a rat of
this size.

Why wont it be so big? This bastard has devoured windows, doors, the thatch of the roof,
everything, Sader comments.

Santals will make a great barbecue if they can get hold of it. You see, Samedali says.

Soru holds the oil lamp in front of the rats face. She is wearing a petticoat only. A gaamchha
(handloom produced napkin of big size) is wrapped around her breast. Everyone bends forward to
have a good look at the rat. The rat goes on making faces, showing his teeth, and continues
screeching kich kich. In a violent force, turning his body this way and that, he tries heart and soul
to get rid of Saders clutch. Sader can see the face of Moyez while looking at its menacing face
gaping with the two long protruding teeth seen in the oil lamp light. Sader feels as if Moyez was
looking at him in an angry face.

(Translated by: Hasinul Islam, Assistant Professor, English Department, Rajshahi College. Email:
hasinul_islam@yahoo.com)