Page:The Autobiography of an Indian Princess.djvu/17

Rh to the Brahmins were the Katnyas; they were rulers, fighting people; they guarded their families, states. and countries. Then came the Sudhras, who served the others. But now there are hundreds of different castes, which makes people rather narrow-minded, for if one believes in caste one can never believe in universal brotherhood.

From the days of his youth my father was earnest and devout. He must have gone through much trouble of mind before he decided to fly in the face of family tradition and take a step which meant partial separation from his nearest and dearest. My mother was a member of a strict Hindu family, and their marriage had been solemnised with Hindu rites; but she did not fail him in the hour of trial. I have often heard my mother talk of the difficulties of those days, before she left Coolootola with my father. When he announced his approaching conversion, the "Sen House" was plunged into a state of agitation, and my mother was by turns entreated and threatened by angry and dismayed relatives. "Do not go against our customs," urged the purdah ladies. "You are one of us. Your place is here. You must not renounce your caste. Imagine the results of such a dreadful sin." When thus reproached, the young girl dreaded the horrors of the unknown. It may be that she wavered; but if so, it was not for long; and it was arranged that she should go with my father to be converted by the Maharshi D. Tagore. On the day fixed for their