A Journal of Mahatma Gandhi Antarrashtriya Hindi Vishwavidyalaya

“my lord this hut is yours. I have not
come to take it. Could I make a humble
request?” When the landlord told her to
proceed, she said, “Since the day we left
the hut, my grand-daughter has not taken
food. I tried to bring her around but all
my attempts have failed. She insists on
coming back home, only then will she
touch food. So, I thought I would take
a basket full of earth from here and make
an angeethi out of it in order to cook
food for her. Perhaps! If god wills, this
will induce her to eat. Lord, please allow
me to take a basketful of earth from here”.
When the widow went inside the hut,
old memories flooded back into her
consciousness, tears streamed down her
wrinkles. Suppressing her intense agony,
she filled the basket with earth and brought
it outside. Standing in supplication in front
of the landlord she spoke “please help
me to lift this basket and place it on
my head.” Though annoyed at first, her
repeated prayers and supplications melted
his heart and pity softly crept in. instead
of assigning the task to his servants he
himself came forward to assist her. But
utterly dismayed he instantly realized that
he could not lift it. Anxious to lift the
basket he applied all the strength at his
command but the basket did not budge
an inch. Embarrassed and ashamed he
admitted “No, I am unable to lift it.”
The widow replied “don’t take offence
master, you cannot lift just one basket
full of earth and there are thousands of
basketfuls lying there. How will you carry
their burden all your life? Please think
over this.”
Drunk with the aroma of wealth the
landlord had forgotten his duty. But words
of wisdom jarred upon his consciousness
and re-awakened him. Full of remorse for
his misdeed, he apologized to the widow
and returned the hut to her.
Madhav Rao Sapre (1871-1931) : A nationalist scholar, intellectual
and journalist belonging to Bhartendu period. His mothertongue was
Marathi but he adopted Hindi for his creative expression. He is credited
with writing one of the first short stories in Hindi. He worked for
journals such as Chhattisagarh Mitra, Hindi Kesari. He wrote under
many pen names. He also translated Bal Gangadhar Tilak’s Gita Rahasya
into Hindi besides many other literary Marathi books. In all he wrote
four short shories out of which ‘ek tokri bhar mitti’ is better known
for its moral message.
Nishi Tiwari, a post graduate in English from Benaras Hindu University,
has taught English literature in various colleges on ad-hoc basis. She
has also worked as Extension Officer in the government of Bihar and
has been teaching English literature for several years. She lives in
Delhi.
8 :: January-March 2012