THE
COLONY
19
forgotten, all doubt and all fear. The warmth of the moment super–
ceded consciousness and in an imtant the public devotion, overleaping
politics, met its reward out of time. The country was a nation, free,
its ends accomplished.
It was only a metaphorical joy. A cordon of police had been
drawn around the crowd. In the distance, coming down the slope of
the outer range of hills, could be seen another troop of provincial
police, and several magistrates, riding on elephants.
"Comrades," he began, "I am aware that your prayers were
offered lovingly for one who was with us five years ago, at our last
general session, and who today is no more." His voice was loud and
high; it reached clearly to the edge of the crowd. "I join you in that
prayer. No one has known better than I how great a loss was the
death of Bapu." He knew that his mind would take up its accustomed
critical position, a little to the left of him-he felt it actually in terms
of space-and run a commentary on his words. Already he was aware
of duplicity-he had spoken of "joining in prayer" when, as everyone
knew, he never prayed, and in
his
very first reference to Bapu he had
inserted the words "at our last general session," as if he were careful
to grant Bapu no more than his due and to restrict attention to the
present and therefore to himself, by withholding complete reverence.
"It is my painful duty to correct a misconception." (These words had
not been prepared, but had sprung out of the tension created by the
preceding statement.) "Some have paraphrased the speech I deliv–
ered at Bapu's funeral as a sigh of relief. Some of you have even put
my
message into the language of modern advertising: 'Now watch
our speed!' or, 'watch how we go on from here!' Nothing is further
from the truth. You will recall that I said : 'Though this loss is inev–
itable, it is one from which we may never recover. It may also be
inevitable that we fail'." (He was aware of the pride he was taking
in his memory.) "I should repeat those words today. I cannot recall
a general party session which met under more unfavorable, more
threatening circumstances." He described a wide arc with
his
arm to
accompany these words; his hand swept over the line of soldiers and
police ringing the crowd. The magistrates had dismounted from their
elephants and had been brought, in golden sedans, carried by natives,
to points of vantage on the sunounding hills. The administrators–
governors, commanders and bureaucrats-sat in a small grandstand
at the side of the field shaded by large squares of bamboo, which,
when worked with rope'l, could serve also as fans.
"But it is true that I should like to hurry you, our time
is
running
