Page:Tales of Bengal (Sita and Santa Chattopadhyay).djvu/96

Tales or Bengal but friends are hard to come by. Large palatial buildings reared their stately heads on every side of our humble home. We saw the chuprassis at the gate, heard the whirr of their masters' cars, and sometimes caught glimpses of the residents themselves, but to us they were like the animated pictures of the cinema. We could not think of them as living men and women.

Our house stood in a narrow lane. On the opposite side could be seen a large building of red brick with an adjoining garden. The main gate opened on to the high road, but there was a small back door for the servants which opened on our lane. My younger brother and sister soon struck up an intimacy with the gardeners and began to bring home flowers and fruits from the garden. I did not know to whom the house belonged, and the windows of the house which faced the lane were never opened.

One day when I returned from the school, I found Montu and Tara, my brother and sister, in tears. On enquiry I found that there was to be a great feast and much rejoicing in the large house over the way. Splendid arrangements had been made to entertain the guests, and there would be no lack of music and dancing. So Tara and Montu were determined to attend as uninvited guests and mother equally determined to prevent their going. I effected a compromise and sent them off with Probodh to visit the Zoo.

I could not afford to rest long after my return from school. I had to put on my outdoor clothes again and sally forth to my private tuitions.

As I came out into the lane, I found it all alive with the bustle of preparation. The green lawn flaunted a great Durbar tent and it was shining all over with electric lights, banishing the shades of evening from the entire neighbourhood. The garden had been despoiled of all its Rh