Master Mashai

"Master Mashai" is a poignant short story by Rabindranath Tagore that explores themes of education, personal growth, and the complexities of human relationships. Set in a rural Indian context, the narrative follows the interactions between a dedicated schoolteacher, Master Mashai, and his students, particularly focusing on a boy who struggles with his studies. Through the lens of their relationship, Tagore delves into the challenges of teaching, the impact of societal expectations, and the transformative power of mentorship. The story highlights the emotional depth and moral dilemmas faced by both the teacher and the students, showcasing Tagore's profound understanding of human nature and the educational landscape of his time.

• Short story

								
I

Adhar Babu lives upon the interest of the capital left him by his
father. Only the brokers, negotiating loans, come to his drawing room
and smoke the silver-chased hookah, and the clerks from the attorney's
office discuss the terms of some mortgage or the amount of the stamp
fees. He is so careful with his money that even the most dogged efforts
of the boys from the local football club fail to make any impression on
his pocket.

At the time this story opens a new guest came into his household. After
a long period of despair, his wife, Nanibala, bore him a son.

The child resembled his mother,--large eyes, well-formed nose, and fair
complexion. Ratikanta, Adharlal's protA(C)gA(C), gave verdict,--"He is worthy
of this noble house." They named him Venugopal.

Never before had Adharlal's wife expressed any opinion differing from
her husband's on household expenses. There had been a hot discussion now
and then about the propriety of some necessary item and up to this time
she had merely acknowledged defeat with silent contempt. But now
Adharlal could no longer maintain his supremacy. He had to give way
little by little when things for his son were in question.

II

As Venugopal grew up, his father gradually became accustomed to spending
money on him. He obtained an old teacher, who had a considerable repute
for his learning and also for his success in dragging impassable boys
through their examinations. But such a training does not lead to the
cultivation of amiability. This man tried his best to win the boy's
heart, but the little that was left in him of the natural milk of human
kindness had turned sour, and the child repulsed his advances from the
very beginning. The mother, in consequence, objected to him strongly,
and complained that the very sight of him made her boy ill. So the
teacher left.

Just then, Haralal made his appearance with a dirty dress and a torn
pair of old canvas shoes. Haralal's mother, who was a widow, had kept
him with great difficulty at a District school out of the scanty
earnings which she made by cooking in strange houses and husking rice.
He managed to pass the Matriculation and determined to go to College. As
a result of his half-starved condition, his pinched face tapered to a
point in an unnatural manner,--like Cape Comorin in the map of India;
and the only broad portion of it was his forehead, which resembled the
ranges of the Himalayas.

The servant asked Haralal what he wanted, and he answered timidly that
he wished to see the master.

The servant answered sharply: "You can't see him." Haralal was
hesitating, at a loss what to do next, when Venugopal, who had finished
his game in the garden, suddenly came to the door. The servant shouted
at Haralal: "Get away." Quite unaccountably Venugopal grew excited and
cried: "No, he shan't get away." And he dragged the stranger to his
father.

Adharlal had just risen from his mid-day sleep and was sitting quietly
on the upper verandah in his cane chair, rocking his legs. Ratikanta was
enjoying his hookah, seated in a chair next to him. He asked Haralal how
far he had got in his reading. The young man bent his head and answered
that he had passed the Matriculation. Ratikanta looked stern and
expressed surprise that he should be so backward for his age. Haralal
kept silence. It was Ratikanta's special pleasure to torture his
patron's dependants, whether actual or potential.

Suddenly it struck Adharlal that he would be able to employ this youth
as a tutor for his son on next to nothing. He agreed, there and then, to
take him at a salary of five rupees a month with board and lodging free.

III

This time the post of tutor remained occupied longer than before. From
the very beginning of their acquaintance Haralal and his pupil became
great friends. Never before did Haralal have such an opportunity of
loving any young human creature. His mother had been so poor and
dependent, that he had never had the privilege of playing with the
children where she was employed at work. He had not hitherto suspected
the hidden stores of love which lay all the while accumulating in his
own heart.

Venu, also, was glad to find a companion in Haralal. He was the only boy
in the house. His two younger sisters were looked down upon, as unworthy
of being his playmates. So his new tutor became his only companion,
patiently bearing the undivided weight of the tyranny of his child
friend.

IV

Venu was now eleven. Haralal had passed his Intermediate, winning a
scholarship. He was working hard for his B.A. degree. After College
lectures were over, he would take Venu out into the public park and tell
him stories about the heroes from Greek History and Victor Hugo's
romances. The child used to get quite impatient to run to Haralal, after
school hours, in spite of his mother's attempts to keep him by her side.

This displeased Nanibala. She thought that it was a deep-laid plot of
Haralal's to captivate her boy, in order to prolong his own appointment.
One day she talked to him from behind the purdah: "It is your duty to
teach my son only for an hour or two in the morning and evening. But why
are you always with him? The child has nearly forgotten his own parents.
You must understand that a man of your position is no fit companion for
a boy belonging to this house."

Haralal's voice choked a little as he answered that for the future he
would merely be Venu's teacher and would keep away from him at other
times.

It was Haralal's usual practice to begin his College study early before
dawn. The child would come to him directly after he had washed himself.
There was a small pool in the garden and they used to feed the fish in
it with puffed rice. Venu was also engaged in building a miniature
garden-house, at the corner of the garden, with its liliputian gates and
hedges and gravel paths. When the sun became too hot they would go back
into the house, and Venu would have his morning lesson from Haralal.

On the day in question Venu had risen earlier than usual, because he
wished to hear the end of the story which Haralal had begun the evening
before. But he found his teacher absent. When asked about him, the
door-servant said that he had gone out. At lesson time Venu remained
unnaturally quiet. He never even asked Haralal why he had gone out, but
went on mechanically with his lessons. When the child was with his
mother taking his breakfast, she asked him what had happened to make him
so gloomy, and why he was not eating his food. Venu gave no answer.
After his meal his mother caressed him and questioned him repeatedly.
Venu burst out crying and said,--"Master Mashai." His mother asked
Venu,--"What about Master Mashai?" But Venu found it difficult to name
the offence which his teacher had committed.

His mother said to Venu: "Has your Master Mashai been saying anything to
you against me?"

Venu could not understand the question and went away.

V

There was a theft in Adhar Babu's house. The police were called in to

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