Too many footnotes!!! Unfortunately I could not find any other option to explain certain elements particular to the regional culture, though I feel uncomfortable with footnotes while reading stories myself.
This is a story of an era more than hundred years back.
Rangpur was a village near Chanak. Baikunthanath Chattopadhyay was a renowned Zamindar here. One of the his close relative's wedding ceremony was being held in a village far from his place and his entire family decided to attend the grand celebration. They had no reason to worry. The huge mansion of the Zamindar was protected by high brick built walls and moreover, there were enough number of security guards to take care of the house. Only some distant women relatives and his distant cousin’s wife, Annada devi, stayed back at home. Annada devi was about forty at that time.
This was the first new moon night of the rainy season*. The intense darkness in the middle of the night made the world almost invisible. Entire village was sleeping. The only noise one could here was of dogs barking and jackals howling time to time. The sky was cloudy and a heavy rain was expected soon. The narrow canal with its many curves and twists in one side of the village was flowing towards the small stream at a distance as always. Both its banks were covered by bamboo forests, mango grooves and other trees and plants. Only slightly unusual thing in the picturesque canvas was the sight of three canoes, with ten to twelve people on each of those, speeding through the canal towards the village. All of them were carrying weapons – sticks, swords, spears and shields. Everyone’s face was painted strangely in red and black. The silent sailors anchored their canoes behind Baikunthanath’s palace – at the darkest stretch under the mango groves and bamboo forest. Gadadhar das, the Bagdi, was leading the gang. Not only he was an unusually strong person, but all his team-members were strong and daring. The notoriety of Gadadhar's gang created terror among landlords and business people in the region – while none could anticipate whose home was going to be attacked and when.
Gadadhar and his team entered the mansion crossing the high wall. Another group attacked the guards at the same time, snatched their arms and tied them up – and made their way free of resistance. After entering the courtyard, they lighted their torches and started breaking the doors and windows. Their violent uproar terrified the villagers staying nearby while they started looting.
Annada devi, the strong built lady, was sleeping in the inner part of the palace. The wild noise awoke her as well. But she was a lady of courage. She ordered the other ladies in the home to move to rooftop and throw bricks towards the dacoits from there.*
Womenfolk and maid servants assembled on the rooftop and started showering bricks at the looters downstairs; the torches lit by dacoits actually helped them to precisely hit their targets. The sudden attack puzzled one group of dacoits looting one side of the home. On the other hand, Annada devi made a different plan sitting inside.
She untied her long hair that fell down to her knees, painted her face and body dark with burnt ash* and placed a big dot with vermilion powder* on the forehead. She also tightened the saree* at the knee length, held the Khanda* in one hand and stood motionless with her tongue out, posing the Goddess Kali at one corner of her room.
The group of looters lead by Gadadhar continued looting the rooms one after another till they reached the room where Annada was standing. All on a sudden, the fearsome sight of the great Goddess Kali was terrifying enough for them to stop at once. Gadadhar could not move anymore; did throw his sword on the floor and started reciting a chant for Kali
- “Hail the Goddess Kali\ Let’s everyone chant for her\Hail mother kali…” his voice was being chocked as he kept on repeating the chant. His body was engulfed by an eerie feeling. He felt the Goddess was angry with him for the crime he had committed; all the lady companions* of Kali was rushing to him with their wide open mouths. He stood trembling with fear, called his companions and told them to stop, “Mother Kali is angry with us today, we should not loot here; we should leave everything we have looted here. It was only Dakinis and Joginis throwing stones at us. Let’s bow down before the mother; let’s pray to for our protection.”
- “Hail the Goddess Kali\ Let’s everyone chant for her\Hail mother kali…” his voice was being chocked as he kept on repeating the chant. His body was engulfed by an eerie feeling. He felt the Goddess was angry with him for the crime he had committed; all the lady companions* of Kali was rushing to him with their wide open mouths. He stood trembling with fear, called his companions and told them to stop, “Mother Kali is angry with us today, we should not loot here; we should leave everything we have looted here. It was only Dakinis and Joginis throwing stones at us. Let’s bow down before the mother; let’s pray to for our protection.”
The entire gang sat on their knees and bowed their heads down addressing the Goddess. They brought everything what was looted before her before rushing back to their canoes.
Annada’s body became heavy as she stood motionless for a long time in the same posture. She fell senseless due to exhaustion after the dacoits left.
Baikunthanath came back next morning as he received the news of the event from villagers. He was surprised to find every piece of valuable left intact by the dacoits. He realised that nothing but the power of the goddess could make that kind of miracle happen - it was the goddess's power that had possessed the body of his younger cousin’s wife to express herself. He thanked her with all his devotion.
This was an incident in the Bengali year 1294*. We find the report in newspapers published at that time. The lady became an instance of courage and presence of mind of fearless Bengali women. Even the British Govt rewarded her.
(original in Bengali by Jogendranath Gupta, the forgotten author)
*first new moon night was considered to be auspicious to burgle houses by dacoits in old Bengal
*throwing bricks and stones to hit attackers from rooftop was regular way of self protection for women staying in brick built houses in Bengal. They tried to protect their property from dacoits and themselves from foreign invaders and communal rioters using the same method. Owners of large houses used to build an arsenal with stones and bricks on the rooftop!
*wood and charcoal were cooking fuel in rural Bengal which used to produce good amount of ash, mostly thrown inside a small pit outside kitchen. This ash, mixed with oil made a dark paint which was sometimes used for the purpose of mud wall painting as well.
* vermillion powder – a red powder. Traditionally considered to be sacred, this was used by Bengali married women on their forehead and also by the priests performing KaliPuja. Kali, being the most prominent folk Goddess in Bengal has a special association with vermillion powder.
*saree- a 10 yard cloth, colored or white was the dress of Bengali women.
*Khanda\Kora\Kharga - type of sword used to practice animal a sacrifices. This also has a sacred association with Bengal Goddesses, especially Kali. Some families in Old Bengal used to hang it on the wall as a sacred symbol to ward off dangers.
*kali – was the most prominent Goddess of Bengal. Bengali mainstream population worshiped her seeking protection from the evil. But the dacoits and robbers, irrespective of their religion and caste, considered her to be Goddess of their clan. There are of course, different forms of Kali worshiped by different castes and clans, but above all, Kali was the Goddess obeyed by all Shakti-worshipers there. 