He: (Shey) (Modern Classics (Penguin)) by Rabindranath Tagore

now?’
    ‘Right now.’
    Hearing this, I cried, ‘Splendid!’
    ‘Why?’
    ‘I can’t imagine why the idea didn’t occur to me sooner. You view your office boss in the glare of day, and your wife in the darkness of night.’
    ‘Dada, your words are like nectar. Give us an example from the scriptures.’
    ‘Just think of Mahadeva 22 staring at Mahakali 23 in wonder, in the inky darkness of a moonless night.’
    ‘Oh, Dada, your words make my spine tingle. Sublime, as they say. In that case, we mustn’t waste time on words. Let’s be off.’
    ‘Who is the bride, and where is she?’
    ‘She’s the younger sister of my sister-in-law. She’s at my sisterin-law’s house.’
    ‘Does she resemble your sister-in-law in appearance?’
    ‘I’d say. It’s obvious they’re sisters.’
    ‘In that case, there is need of a dark night.’
    ‘My sister-in-law’s told me herself, “You mustn’t bring your electric torch.” ’
    ‘Where does your sister-in-law live?’
    ‘Twenty-seven miles from here—in the Unkundo quarter of Chouchakla village.’
    ‘Will there be a feast?’
    ‘Certainly.’
    I was seized by I don’t know what giddy delight. My liver has caused me untold suffering for twelve years—the very mention of food makes me bilious.
    I asked him, ‘What will the food be like?’
    He answered excitedly, ‘Delicious, delicious, delicious! My sister-in-law makes a wonderful stew of mango jelly and boiled bitter-gourd, and a chutney of kul seeds ground in a paddy-press, mixed with tobacco-leaf juice—’
    So saying, he began to dance in English fashion— ti-ti-tom tom, ti-ti-tom-tom, ti-ti-tom-tom!
    I have never danced in my life, but I was suddenly possessed by a wild desire to join him. The two of us linked arms and began prancing— ti-ti-tom-tom …
    I felt extraordinarily light-footed; if Jamuna-didi had seen me, she would have been impressed.
    Finally, out of breath, I sat down heavily. ‘That sumptuous menu you recited, why, it’s nothing but vitamins. Nectar for the liver. You’re going to see your bride, but she must be tested first.’
    ‘There’s been a round of testing already.’
    ‘How was that?’
    ‘Well, I thought, before we’re eternally matched, let’s find out if we match at all. Tell me if that wasn’t wise.’
    ‘Wise it was. But what method did you employ?’
    ‘I thought we should see if we could match verses. I sent the assistant editor of the Rangmashal 24 to represent me. He began: “Beauty, you’re as dark as night.”
    ‘“Give me a rhyme that matches this,” he challenged. “A perfect match, mind.”
    ‘The bride reeled off in a single breath:
     
    You’re almost blind, so dim your sight.
     
    ‘The assistant editor found this intolerable. He retaliated:
     
    Long-armed Brahma 25 in the night
    Made you at the cease of light.
     
    ‘What made him say “long-armed”?’
    ‘I’ve heard the girl is tall. She must be a good two inches taller than you. That’s the main reason for my ardour.’
    ‘You can’t be serious!’
    ‘Marry one wife, and get half an extra one thrown in.’
    ‘I admit I hadn’t looked at it that way.’
    ‘Anyway, having submitted to defeat at the hands of the assistant editor, she has pledged submission.’
    ‘A bond?’
    ‘Yes, she’s strung fish-scales on a thread to make a necklace, and put it round his neck, saying: “The scent of fame will follow you to the ends of the earth.”’
    I leapt to my feet, exclaiming, ‘I am indeed fortunate! I see this will be a marriage of one exceptional person to another. Such an event is rare in the extreme! In that case, why hunt for an auspicious day and hour?’
    ‘But the girl has laid down a condition. Whoever defeats her receives her hand in marriage.’
    ‘What do you have to beat her in? Looks?’
    ‘No, in matching words. If I can match my words with hers, she’s prepared to resign herself to me.’
    ‘Are you sure you’ll be able to do that?’
    ‘Of