Let me speak of an innocent person at Alipore. As an accused in a dacoity case he has been sentenced to ten years rigorous imprisonment. A cowherd by profession, uneducated, without anything to do with reading or writing, his only support was his faith in God and patience worthy of an Aryan and other noble qualities. Faced with this old mans attitude towards life my pride of learning and forbearance was completely shattered. There was a serene and simple friendliness written in the old mans eyes, his talk was always full of amiability and friendliness. At times he would speak of his sufferings, even though he was innocent of the charges, and speak of his wife and children, he even wondered when God would bring him release so that he could meet them, but never did I find him depressed or restless. Waiting for Gods Grace, he spent his days quietly doing his duties in the prison. His efforts and thoughts were not concerned about himself, but about the well-being of the others. His sense of kindness and sympathy for the unfortunate frequently came out in his speech, serving others was the law of his being. The noble qualities were further set off by his humility. Knowing that he had a heart thousand times nobler than mine, I would feel ashamed at his humility; to have to accept the old mans services embarrassed me, but he would not be held back so easily. He was all the time anxious about my comfort. As with me, so with the others, his kindly attention and humble service and respect seemed to be much greater especially for the innocent and miserable ones. Yet on his face and in his conduct there glowed a natural serene gravity and majesty. He had a great love for the country too. I shall always remember the white-whiskered serene visage of this old convict full of kindness and generosity. Even in these days of decline among the Indian peasantry - whom we describe as uneducated, small people, chhotolok - may be found such representatives of Indian race. Indias future is hopeful only because of this. The educated youth and the unlettered peasantry, the future of India lies with these two classes. The future Aryan race will be a blend of the two.
Posted on: Wed, 08 Oct 2014 12:09:25 +0000
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