Tales of Bengal

Tales of Bengal

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Title: Tales of Bengal
Author: S. B. Banerjea
Release Date: February 10, 2004 [EBook #10999]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
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BENGAL ***

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TALES OF BENGAL
by
S. B. Banerjea
Edited by
Francis Henry Skrine.

Contents.
I. The Pride of Kadampur II. The Rival Markets III. A Foul Conspiracy
IV. The Biter Bitten V. All's Well That Ends Well VI. An Outrageous
Swindle VII. The Virtue of Economy VIII. A Peacemaker IX. A
Brahman's Curse X. A Roland for His Oliver XI. Rámdá XII. A Rift in

the Lute XIII. Debenbra Babu in Trouble XIV. True to His Salt XV. A
Tame Rabbit XVI. Gobardhan's Triumph XVII. Patience is a Virtue

Introduction.
That "east is east, and west is west, and never the twain shall meet," is
an axiom with most Englishmen to whom the oriental character seems
an insoluble enigma. This form of agnosticism is unworthy of a nation
which is responsible for the happiness of 300,000,000 Asiatics. It is not
justified by history, which teaches us that civilisation is the result of the
mutual action of Europe and Asia; and that the advanced races of India
are our own kinsfolk.
The scene of Mr. Banerjea's tales has been won from the sea by alluvial
action. Its soil, enriched by yearly deposits of silt, yields abundantly
without the aid of manure. A hothouse climate and regular rainfall
made Bengal the predestined breeding-ground of mankind; the seat of
an ancient and complex civilisation. But subsistence is too easily
secured in those fertile plains. Malaria, due to the absence of subsoil
drainage, is ubiquitous, and the standard of vitality extremely low.
Bengal has always been at the mercy of invaders. The earliest inroad
was prompted by economic necessity. About 2000 B.C. a congeries of
races which are now styled "Aryan" were driven by the shrinkage of
water from their pasture-grounds in Central Asia. They penetrated
Europe in successive hordes, who were ancestors of our Celts, Hellenes,
Slavs, Teutons and Scandinavians. Sanskrit was the Aryans'
mother-tongue, and it forms the basis of nearly every European
language. A later swarm turned the western flank of the Himalayas, and
descended on Upper India. Their rigid discipline, resulting from
vigorous group-selection, gave the invaders an easy victory over the
negroid hunters and fishermen who peopled India. All races of Aryan
descent exhibit the same characteristics. They split into endogamous
castes, each of which pursues its own interests at the expense of other
castes. From the dawn of history we find kings, nobles and priests
riding roughshod over a mass of herdsmen, cultivators and artisans.
These ruling castes are imbued with pride of colour. The Aryans' fair
complexions differentiated them from the coal-black aborigines; varna
in Sanskrit means "caste" and "colour". Their aesthetic instinct finds
expression in a passionate love of poetry, and a tangible object in the

tribal chiefs. Loyalty is a religion which is almost proof against its
idol's selfishness and incompetence.
Caste is a symptom of arrested social development; and no community
which tolerates it is free from the scourge of civil strife. Class war is
the most salient fact in history. Warriors, termed Kshatriyas in Sanskrit,
were the earliest caste. Under the law of specialisation defence fell to
the lot of adventurous spirits, whose warlike prowess gave them
unlimited prestige with the peaceful masses. They became the
governing element, and were able to transmit their privileges by male
filiation. But they had to reckon with the priests, descended from bards
who attached themselves to the court of a Kshatriya prince and laid him
under the spell of poetry. Lust of dominion is a manifestation of the
Wish to Live; the priests used their tremendous power for selfish ends.
They imitated the warriors in forming a caste, which claimed descent
from Brahma, the Creator's head, while Kshatriyas represented his arms,
and the productive classes his less noble members.
In the eleventh century B.C. the warrior clans rose in revolt against
priestly arrogance: and Hindustan witnessed a conflict between the
religious and secular arms. Brahminism had the terrors of hell fire on
its side; feminine influence was its secret ally; the world is governed by
brains, not muscles; and spiritual authority can defy the mailed fist.
After a prolonged struggle the Kshatriyas were fain to acknowledge
their inferiority.
When a hierocracy has been firmly