Subha: Page 3

Besides Sorboshi and Panguli, there was a goat and a kitten. But Subha was not as friendly with them, although they expressed their attachment to her unconditionally. The kitten would climb onto Subha's warm lap whenever it felt like it — whether day or night — and prepare to go to sleep. When Subha gently ran her fingers along its back and under the chin, it made the kitten's slumber more pleasant, and it indicated this through appropriate gestures.

Subha had found another companion among higher living beings. But it is difficult to say what kind of relations she shared with him. That was because he spoke only through oral language; so, there was no common language between the two.

The youngest son of the Gosains — his name was Pratap. He was good-for-nothing. His parents had abandoned all hopes that he would help the family by doing some work. But good-for-nothing people enjoy an advantage: it is true that their relatives can't stand them, but they are the most sought-after people by neighbours and acquaintances. Such people, since they are not chained by any work, become public property. There have to be one or two public gardens in every city so that everyone can come and enjoy; in the same way, there have to be a few idle persons in every village. Whenever, during functions or ceremonies or any other kind of work, you fall short of hands, idlers are always at hand and can be relied upon to help.

Pratap's chief hobby — sit with a fishing rod to catch fish. One can easily spend a lot of time in this activity. Pratap was usually found by the riverside in the afternoons engaged in this hobby. Because of this, he often met Subha. Now, Pratap was a person who enjoyed company; while catching fish, a silent companion is the best company. So, Pratap understood Subha's importance. While the others called her Subha, Pratap showed her a little more affection and called her "Su".

Subha would sit under a tamarind tree, and Pratap, a little distance away, would cast his line and sit looking at it intently. Pratap carried with him a box of betel leaves. Subha, at regular intervals, prepared the betel leaves for him. After sitting and watching for a long time, Subha, perhaps, used to crave to assist Pratap in some special way. She wanted him to understand that she, too, was someone on this Earth who was worthy and not useless. But there was nothing to do. So, she prayed to God, asking for divine powers — powers that would allow her to perform miraculous feats to amaze Pratap and make him say to himself, "Oh my, I never knew our Subhi was capable of such things!"

Just imagine if Subha were a mermaid, she would have come out of the water slowly and placed on the banks of the river a gemstone from a serpent's crown. Pratap, then, would give up fishing and dive into the waters, carrying the gemstone with him. Reaching the underwater world, whom would he see sitting on a golden bed in a silver palace? Our mute girl, Su, from the Banikantha household, of course! Our Su is the only princess in that deep and silent underground kingdom, which is shining with jewels. Could that not have happened? Was it impossible? Actually, nothing is impossible. Yet, Su, instead of being born as a princess in a subject-less kingdom below the ground, was born in Banikantha's house, and she was not able to amaze Pratap, the boy from the Gosain household.

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