DASI THE BRIDEGROOM

HIS name was Dasi. In all the Extension there was none like him an uncouth fellow
with a narrow tapering head, bulging eyes, and fat neck ; below the neck he had an
immense body, all muscle. God had not endowed him with very fluent speech. He
gurgled and lisped like an infant. His age was a mystery. It might be anything between
twenty and fifty. He lived in a house in the last street. It was a matter of perpetual
speculation how he was related to the master of the house. Some persons said he was
a younger brother, and some said he had been a foundling brought up by the
gentleman. Whatever it was it was not a matter which could be cleared by Pasi himself
for, as I have already said, he could not even say how old he was. If you asked, he
said a hundred one day and five on the next. In return for the food and protection he
received, he served the family in his own way ; he drew water from the well from dawn
till midday, chopped wood, and dug the garden.
Dasi went out in the afternoon. When he stepped out scores of children followed him
about shouting and jeering. Hawkers and passers-by stopped to crack a joke at his
expense. There was particularly a group in a house nicknamed Mantapam. In the front
porch of the house were gathered all day a good company of old men ; persons who
had done useful work in their time but who now found absolutely nothing to do at any
part of the day. They were ever on the look out for some excitement or gossip. To them
Dasi was a source of great joy.
The moment Dasi was sighted they would shout, " Hey, fellow, have you fixed up a
bride ? " This question never failed to draw Dasi in, for he thought very deeply and
earnestly of his marriage. When he came and squatted in their midst on the floor they
would say, " The marriage season is closing, you must hurry up, my dear fellow."
" Yes, yes," Dasi would reply. " I am going to the priest. He has promised to settle it
today."
" Today ? "
" Yes, tonight I am going to be married. They said so."
" Who ? "
" My uncle. . . ."
" Who is your uncle ? "
" My elder brother is my uncle. I am in his house and draw water from his well. See
how my hand is ... all the skin is gone. . . ."
He would spread out his fingers and show his palms. They would feel his palms and
say, " Hardened like wood ! Poor fellow ! This won't do, my dear fellow, you must
quickly marry and put an end to all this. . . ."
Dasi's eyes would brighten at this suggestion, and his lips would part in a happy smile
showing an enormous front tooth. Everyone would laugh at it, and he, too, would sway
and rock with laughter.
And then the question, " Where is your bride ? "
" She is there ... in Madras ... in Madras. . . ."
" What is she like ? "
" She has eyes like this," said Dasi, and drew a large circle in the air with his finger.
" What is the colour of her skin ? "
" Very, very white."
" Has she long hair ? "
Dasi indicated an immense flow of tresses with his hand.
" Is she very good looking ? "
" She is ... yes, yes."
Dasi hid his face in his hand, looked at the group through a corner of his eye and said
shyly, " Yes, yes, I also like her."
" Where have you the money to marry ? "
" They have to give me three thousand rupees," replied Dasi.
" He means that his wages have accumulated," some one explained obligingly.
When he went home he was asked where he had been and he said, " My marriage."
And then he went and sat down in the shed on his mat, his only possession in the
world. He remained there brooding over his marriage till he was called in to dine, late in
the night. He was the last to eat because he consumed an immense quantity of rice,
and they thought it a risk to call him in before the others had eaten. After food he
carried huge cauldrons of water and washed the kitchen and dining-hall floor. And then
he went to his mat and slept till dawn, when he woke up and drew water from the well.
For years out of count this had been going on. Even his life had a tone and rhythm of
its own. He never seemed to long for anything or interfere in anybody's business ;
never spoke to others except when spoken to ; never so much as thought he was
being joked at ; he treated everyone seriously ; when the Extension School children
ran behind him jeering he never even showed he was aware of their presence ; he had
no doubt the strength of an ox, but he had also the forbearance of Mother Earth ;
nothing ever seemed to irritate him. . . .
The little cottage in the third street which had remained vacant from time immemorial
suddenly shed its " To Let " notice. Along with the newspaper and the letters, the train
one morning brought a film star from Madras, called Bamini Bai a young person all
smiles, silk and powder. She took up her abode in the little cottage.
Very soon the Extension folk knew all about her. She was going to stay in Malgudi a
considerable time training herself under a famous musician of the town. She had her
old mother staying with her. The Extension folk had also a complete knowledge of her
movements. She left home early in the morning, returned at midday, slept till three
o'clock, went out on a walk along the Trunk Road at five o'clock, and so on.
At the Mantapam they told Dasi one day, " Dasi, your wife has arrived."
" Where ? " asked Dasi. He became agitated, and swallowed and struggled to express
all the anxiety and happiness he felt. The company assumed a very serious expression
and said, " Do you know the house in the next street, the little house. . . . ? "
" Yes, yes."
" She is there. Have you not seen her ? "
Dasi hid his face in his hands and went away. He went to the next street. It was about
one o'clock in the afternoon. The film star was not to be seen.
Dasi stood on the road looking at the house for some time. He returned to the
Mantapam. They greeted him vociferously. " How do you like her ? " Dasi replied, " My
eyes did not see her, the door would not open."
" Try to look in through the window. You will see her."
" I will see through the window," said Dasi, and started out again.
" No, no, stop. It is no good. Listen to me. Will you do as I say ? "
" Yes, yes."
" You see, she goes out every day at five o'clock. You will see her if you .go to Trichy
Road and wait."
Dasi's head was bowed in shyness. They goaded him on, and he went along to the
Trunk Road and waited. He sat under a tree on the roadside. It was not even two
o'clock, and he had to wait till nearly six. The sun beat down fully on his face. He sat
leaning against a tree trunk and brooded. A few cars passed raising dust, bullock carts
with jingling bells, and villagers were moving about the highway; but Dasi saw nothing
and noticed nothing. He sat looking down the road. And after all she came along.
Dasi's throat went dry at the sight of her. His temples throbbed, and sweat stood out on
his brow. He had never seen anything like her in all his life. The vision of beauty and
youth dazzled him. He was confused and bewildered. He sprang on to his feet and ran
home at full speed. He lay down on his mat in the shed. He was so much absorbed in
his thoughts that he wouldn't get up when they called him in to dinner. His master
walked to the shed and shook him up. " What is the matter with you ? " he asked.
" My marriage. . . . She is there. She is all right."
" Well, well. Go and eat and do your work, you fool," said his master.
Next afternoon Dasi was again at the Trunk Road. This became his daily habit. Every
day his courage increased. At last came a day when he could stare at her. His face
relaxed and his lips parted in a smile when she passed him, but that young lady had
other thoughts to occupy her mind and did not notice him. He waited till she returned
that way and tried to smile at her again, though it was nearly dark and she was looking
away. He followed her, his face lit up with joy. She opened the gate of her cottage and
walked in. He hesitated a moment, and followed her in. He stood under the electric
lamp in the hall. The mother came out of the kitchen and asked Dasi, " Who are you ? "
Dasi looked at her and smiled ; at that the old lady was frightened. She cried, " Bama,
who is this man in the hall ? " Bamini Bai came out of her room.
" Who are you ? " she asked. Dasi melted at the sight of her. Even the little expression
he was capable of left him. He blinked and gulped and looked suffocated. His eyes
blazed forth love. His lips struggled to smile. With great difficulty he said, " Wife . . .
wife, you are the wife. . . ."
" What are you saying ? "
" You are my wife," he repeated, and moved nearer. She recoiled with horror, and
struck him in the face. And then she and her mother set up such a cry that all the
neighbours and passers-by rushed in.  Somebody brought in a police Sub-Inspector.
Dasi was marched off to the police station.
The members of the Mantapam used their influence and had him released late in the
night. He went home and lay on his mat. His body had received numerous blows from
all sorts of people in the evening ; but he hardly felt or remembered any of them. But
his soul revolted against the memory of the slap he had received in the face. . . . When
they called him in to eat, he refused to get up. His master went to him and
commanded, " Go and eat, Dasi. You are bringing me disgrace, you fool. Don't go out
of the house hereafter."
Dasi refused to get up. He rolled himself in the mat and said, " Go, I don't eat." He
turned and faced the wall.
On the following day Dasi had the misfortune to step out of his house just when the
children of the Elementary School were streaming out at midday interval. They had
heard all about the incident of the previous evening. They now surrounded him and
cried, " Hey, bridegroom." He turned and looked at them ; there were tears in his eyes.
He made a gesture of despair and appealed to them : " Go, go, don't trouble me. . . . "
" Oh, the bridegroom is still crying ; his wife beat him yesterday," said a boy. On
hearing this Dasi let out a roar, lifted the boy by his collar and hurled him into the
crowd. He swung his arms about and knocked down people who tried to get near him.
He rushed into the school and broke chairs and tables. He knocked down four teachers
who tried to restrain him. He rushed out of the school and assaulted everyone he met.
He crashed into the shops and threw things about. He leapt about like a panther from
place to place ; he passed through the streets of the Extension like a tornado. . . .
Gates were hurriedly shut and bolted. A group of persons tried to run behind Dasi,
while a majority preferred to take cover. Soon the police were on the scene, and Dasi
was finally overpowered.
He was kept that night in a police lock-up, and sent to the Mental Hospital next day. He
was not very easy to manage at first. He was kept in a cell for some weeks. He begged
the doctor one day to allow him to stand at the main gate and look down the road. The
doctor promised this as a reward for good behaviour. Dasi valued the reward so much
that he did everything everyone suggested for a whole week. He was then sent (with a
warder) to the main gate where he stood for a whole hour looking down the road for
the coming of his bride.