MG OS - The lost Jewels-Part 2-pg 07-05-23

I am inspired to write "THE LOST JEWELS" By Sir Rabindranath Tagore in maan geet version I have that story in my syllabus of 11th grade might someone from you guys may had too.

Well enjoy reading it and leave your comments to read further and avoid the confusion of striking with "I" word here as this story is being narrated by untold speaker I have named as Lakshi .This OS will end in 2-3 parts

Part 1

Lakshi's boat was moored beside an old bathing ghat of the river, almost in ruins. The sun had set.

On the roof of the boat the boatmen were at their evening prayer. Against the bright background of the Western sky their silent worship stood out like a picture. The waning light was reflected on the still surface of the river, in every delicate shade of color from gold to steel blue.

A huge house with broken windows, tumble-down verandahs and all the appearance of old age was in front of me. He sat alone on the steps of the ghat which were cracked by the far-reaching roots of a banyan tree. A feeling of sadness began to come over, when suddenly he was startled to hear a voice asking:

"Sir, where have you come from?"

Lakshi looked up and saw a man who seemed half-starved and out of fortune. His face had a dilapidated look such as is common among his countrymen who take up service away from home. His dirty coat of Assam silk was greasy and open at the front. He appeared to be just returning from his day's work and to be taking a walk by the side of the river at a time when he should have been taking his evening meal.

The new-comer took his seat beside Lakshi on the steps.

"I come from Ranchi."

"What occupation?"

"I am a merchant."

"What sort?"

"A dealer in cocoons and timber."

"What name?"

"Lakshi"

"What have you come here for?"

Lakshi replied: "For a change of air."

The cross-examiner seemed a little astonished. He said:

"Well, sir, I have been enjoying the air of this place for nearly six years, and with it I have taken a daily average of fifteen grains of quinine, but I have not noticed that I have benefited much."

"Still you must acknowledge that, after Ranchi, I shall find the air of this place sufficient of a change." Lakshi said

"Yes, indeed," said he. "More than you bargain for. But where will you stay here?"

Pointing to the tumble-down house above the ghat, Lakshi said:

"There."

Lakshi found that he was the schoolmaster of the place. The boatmen, having finished their evening prayer, turned their attention to their cooking. As the last light of the day faded the dark and empty house stood silent and ghostly above the deserted ghat.

The schoolmaster said: "Nearly ten years ago, when I came to this place, Maan Khurana used to live in this house. He was the heir to the large property and business of his uncle Durga Khurana, who was childless.

But he was modernized. He had been educated, and not only spoke faultless English but actually entered sahibs' offices with his shoes on. You had only to look at him to see that he was a modernized Bengali.

In his own home too he had another drawback. His wife was beautiful. With his college education on the one hand, and on the other his beautiful wife, what chance was there of his preserving our good old traditions in his home?

Sir, you are certainly a married man, so that it is hardly necessary to tell you that the ordinary female is fond of sour green mangoes, hot chilies, and a stern husband. A man need not necessarily be ugly or poor to be cheated of his wife's love, but he is sure to be too gentle.

A stag chooses a hardwood tree on which to sharpen its horns, and would get no pleasure in rubbing them against a banana tree. From the very moment that man and woman became separate se*es woman has been exercising all her faculties in trying by various devices to fascinate and bring man under her control.

The wife of a man who is, of his own accord, submissive is altogether out of employment. All those weapons which she has inherited from her grand-mothers of the untold centuries, are useless in her hands: the force of her tears, the fire of her anger, and the snare of her glances lie idle.

Under the spell of modern civilization man has lost the God-given power of his barbaric nature and this has loosened the conjugal ties. The unfortunate Maan had been turned out of the machine of modern civilization an absolutely faultless man. He was therefore neither successful in business, nor in his own home.

Geet was Maan's wife. She used to get her caresses without asking, her Dacca muslin saris without tears, and her bangles without being able to pride herself on a victory. In this way her woman's nature became atrophied and with it her love for her husband. She simply accepted things without giving anything in return. Her harmless and foolish husband used to imagine that to give is the way to get. The fact was just the contrary.

The result of this was that Geet looked upon her husband as a mere machine for turning out her Dacca muslins and her bangles—so perfect a machine indeed that never for a single day did she need to oil its wheels.

Maan's wife did not talk very much, nor did she mix much with her Neighbours. To feed Brahmans in obedience to a sacred vow, or to give a few pice to a religious mendicant was not her way. In her hands nothing was ever lost: whatever she got she saved up most carefully, with the one exception of the memory of her husband's caresses. The extraordinary thing was that she did not seem to lose the least atom of her youthful beauty. People said that whatever her age was she never looked older than sixteen. well suppose youth is best preserved with the aid of the heart that is an ice chest.

But as far as work was concerned Geet was very efficient. She never kept more servants than were absolutely necessary. She thought that to pay wages to anyone to do work which she herself could do was like playing the pickpocket with her own money.

Not being anxious about anyone, never being distracted by love, always working and saving, she was never sick nor sorry.

"I hope I am not tiring you, sir? I live alone, you see; I am banished from the company of my wife and there are many important social questions which I have leisure to think about, but cannot discuss with my pupils. In course of conversation you will see how deeply I have thought of them."

Just as he was speaking, some jackals began to howl from a neighboring thicket. The schoolmaster stopped for a moment the torrent of his talk. When the sound had ceased and the earth and the water relapsed into a deeper silence, he opened his glowing eyes wide in the darkness of the night and resumed the thread of his story.

"Suddenly a tangle occurred in Maan's complicated business. What exactly happened it is not possible for a layman like myself either to understand or to explain. Suffice it to say that, for some sudden reason, he found it difficult to get credit in the market. If only he could, by hook or by crook, raise a lakh and a half of rupees, and only for a few days rapidly flash it before the market, then his credit would be restored and he would be able to sail fair again.

So he began to cast about to see whether he could not raise a loan. But, in that case, he would be bound to give some satisfactory security, and the best security of all is jewelry.

So Maan went to his wife. But unfortunately he was not able to face his wife as easily as most men are. His love for her was of that kind which has to tread very carefully, and cannot speak out plainly what is in the mind; it is like the attraction of the sun for the earth, which is strong, yet which leaves immense space between them.

Still even the hero of a high class romance does sometimes, when hard pressed, have to mention to his beloved such things as mortgage deeds and promissory notes. But words stick, and the tune does not seem right, and shrinking of reluctance makes itself felt. The unfortunate Maan was totally powerless to say, "Look here, I am in need of money, bring out your jewels."

He did broach the subject to his wife at last, but with such extreme delicacy, that it only titilated her opposition without bending it to his own purpose. When Geet set her face hard and said nothing, he was deeply hurt, yet he was incapable of returning the hurt back to her. The reason was that he had not even a trace of that barbarity, which is the gift of the male. If any one had upbraided him for this, then most probably he would have expressed some such subtle sentiment as the following:—

'If my wife, of her own free choice, is unwilling to trust me with her jewelry, then I have no right to take them from her by force.'

What I say is, has God given to man such ferocity and strength only for him to spend his time in delicate measurement of fine-spun ideals?

However that may be, Maan, being too proud to touch his wife's jewels, went to Calcutta to try some other way of raising the money.

As a general rule in this world the wife knows the husband far better than the husband ever knows the wife; but extremely modern men in their subtlety of nature are altogether beyond the range of those unsophisticated instincts which womankind has acquired through ages. These men are a new race, and have become as mysterious as women themselves. Ordinary men can be divided roughly into three main classes, some of them are barbarians, some are fools, and some are blind; but these modern men do not fit into any of them.

So Geet called her counsellor for consultation. Some cousin of hers was engaged as assistant-steward on Maan's estate. He was not the kind of man to profit himself by dint of hard work; but by help of his position in the family he was able to save his salary, and even a little more.

Geet called him and told him what had happened. She ended up by asking him: 'Now what is your advice?'

He shook his head wisely and said: "I don't like the look of things at all." The ​fact is that wise men never like the look of things.

Then he added: 'Maanu will never be able to raise the money, and in the end he will have to fall back upon that jewelry of yours.'

From what she knew of human nature she thought that this was not only possible, but likely. Her anxiety became keener than ever. She had no child to love, and though she had a husband, she was scarcely able to realise his very existence. So her blood froze at the very thought that her only object of love,—the wealth which like a child had grown from year to year,—was to be in a moment thrown into the bottomless abyss of trade. She gasped: 'What then is to be done?'

Modhu said: 'Why not take your jewels and go to your father's house?' In his heart of hearts he entertained the hope that a portion, and possibly the larger portion, of that jewelry would fall to his lot.

Geet at once agreed. It was a rainy night towards the end of summer. At this very ghat a boat was moored. Geet wrapped from head to foot in a thick shawl, stepped into the boat. The frogs croaked in the thick darkness of the cloudy dawn. Modhu, waking up from sleep, roused himself from the boat and said: 'Give me the box of jewels.'

Leave your likes and comment

Unique story

Maan geet love story is different from others as they are husband wife but still not share love and understanding like other couples.

What will happen now when geet leaves with her jewels, what will be maan reaction

How this story move forward looking forward to see

Update soon

Nice concept👍

Great start! Thank you.

Maan is a proud man and it’s a shame he is going through such hardship. Let’s hope Modhu is not about to rob her of those jewels. Looking forward to the next.

Originally posted by: akkub.92

Unique story

Maan geet love story is different from others as they are husband wife but still not share love and understanding like other couples.

What will happen now when geet leaves with her jewels, what will be maan reaction

How this story move forward looking forward to see

Update soon

Nice concept👍

Yes 👍🙌

Originally posted by: simranDi

Great start! Thank you.

Maan is a proud man and it’s a shame he is going through such hardship. Let’s hope Modhu is not about to rob her of those jewels. Looking forward to the next.

The comment should be more expressive

Congratulations on your Amazing OS

Will read again and comment in few minutes

Part 1

Unique and Curious Update

Maan and Geet have very different characters in this story

though both are husband and wife

their both did not show much love though Maan gave her a lavish lifestyle

and worst at the end he lost all his wealth and seemed to be alone

was Geet given advice to leave her jewels at her parents place though she also knew

it could save her husband

and what about the money she has been saving could that not help at the time of need

now it almost seem like Geet is in some danger of handing over her jewels to someone

that may not be trustable.

Congrats on the OS

Part 1

Fascinating update... well written

so Maan was wealthy

well he was married to Geet

but seems like there was no love between them

he always gave her what she desired

alas he lost all his wealth

she was advised by Modhu to take her jewellery and go to her dad's place

however Modhu asked for the jewels

update soon

The old man tells a story of an easy husband and a woman who took advantage of that.