The Poison Tree

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The Poison Tree

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Title: The Poison Tree A Tale of Hindu Life in Bengal
Author: Bankim Chandra Chatterjee
Translator: Miriam S. Knight
Release Date: January 4, 2006 [EBook #17455]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
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THE POISON TREE
A Tale of Hindu Life in Bengal
BY
BANKIM CHANDRA CHATTERJEE

TRANSLATED BY
MIRIAM S. KNIGHT

WITH A PREFACE BY
EDWIN ARNOLD, C.S.I.

London T. FISHER UNWIN 26 PATERNOSTER SQUARE 1884

PREFACE
I had been asked by the accomplished lady who has translated the
subjoined story to introduce it with a few words of comment to the
English public. For that purpose I commenced the perusal of the proof
sheets; but soon found that what was begun as a literary task became a
real and singular pleasure, by reason of the author's vivid narrative, his
skill in delineating character, and, beyond all, the striking and faithful
pictures of Indian life with which his tale is filled. Nor do these
qualities suffer, beyond what is always inevitable, in the transfer of the
novel from its original Bengali to English. Five years ago, Sir William
Herschel, of the Bengal Civil Service, had the intention of translating
this _Bisha Briksha_; but surrendered the task, with the author's full

consent, to Mrs. Knight, who has here performed it with very
remarkable skill and success. To accomplish that, more was wanted
than a competent knowledge of the language of the original and a fluent
command of English: it was necessary to be familiar with the details of
native life and manners, and to have a sufficient acquaintance with the
religious, domestic, and social customs of Bengali homes. Possessing
these, Mrs. Knight has now presented us with a modern Hindu
novelette, smoothly readable throughout, perfectly well transferred
from its vernacular (with such omissions as were necessary), and
valuable, as I venture to affirm, to English readers as well from its skill
in construction and intrinsic interest as for the light which it sheds upon
the indoor existence of well-to-do Hindus, and the excellent specimen
which it furnishes of the sort of indigenous literature happily growing
popular in their cities and towns.
The author of "The Poison Tree" is Babu Bankim Chandra Chatterjee, a
native gentleman of Bengal, of superior intellectual acquisitions, who
ranks unquestionably as the first living writer of fiction in his
Presidency. His renown is widespread among native readers, who
recognize the truthfulness and power of his descriptions, and are
especially fond of "Krishna Kanta's Will," "Mrinalini," and this very
story of the Bisha Briksha, which belongs to modern days in India, and
to the new ideas which are spreading--not always quite happily--among
the families of the land. Allowance being made for the loss which an
original author cannot but sustain by the transfer of his style and
method into another language and system of thought, it will be
confessed, I think, that the reputation of "Bankim Babu" is well
deserved, and that Bengal has here produced a writer of true genius,
whose vivacious invention, dramatic force, and purity of aim, promise
well for the new age of Indian vernacular literature.
It would be wrong to diminish the pleasure of the English reader by
analysing the narrative and forestalling its plot. That which appears to
me most striking and valuable in the book is the faithful view it gives
of the gentleness and devotion of the average Hindu wife. Western
people are wont to think that because marriages are arranged at an early
age in India, and without the betrothed pair having the slightest share in

the mutual choice, that wedded love of a sincere sort must be out of the
question, and conjugal happiness very rare. The contrary is notably the
case. Human nature is, somehow, so full of accidental harmonies, that a
majority among the households thus constituted furnish examples of
quiet felicity, established constancy, and, above all, of a devotedness on
the part of the Hindu women to their husbands and children, which
knows, so to speak, no limit. The self-sacrifice of Surja Mukhi in this
tale would be next to impossible for any Western woman,