THE NAVAL CAPTAIN
(A
Story)
One
day, in the middle years of the war, I boarded the train to
There
was just one passenger in the coupe, a white man. From the coat and cap hanging
from the hooks I could see that he was a Naval Officer–in fact, a Captain.
He was taking his tea and had several food packets spread out on either side of him and plates on the table in front. A bottle of liquor and one of soda, both open, were also standing on the table.
As
I stepped in on a sudden he looked up and seemed a little confused. After a moment’s hesitation he pulled the things to his left closer
to himself and said, ‘I am sorry, Sir, I hope you don’t mind my taking up so
much space.’
‘Not
at all, Captain,’ I said. ‘This space will do for me.’ With that I sat at one
end of the seat.
I
had matters of my own to think about, and sat looking out of the window. The
train had started, and was now going at a fair pace.
Though
I was looking away from my fellow-passenger, I was aware that he looked at me
twice or thrice with interest. Englishmen, and this Captain seemed to be one,
would in the past have resented an Indian travelling with them in the same
compartment. This Captain’s looks were not those of resentment. They seemed quite
friendly.
The
war had made this change, in any case, in the ways of our masters, I thought to
myself. I was, however, not inclined to make any advances towards acquaintance.
After
some few minutes the Captain opened his bottle of liquor–I saw it was
whisky–and poured a small quantity of it into his glass and added some soda to
it. While doing this he said to me, ‘I hope you don’t mind my drinking a
little, Sir. You see, I am having high tea.’
‘Please
feel easy, Captain,’ I said. ‘I do not mind anything you do.’
‘How good of you, Sir! You seem to
know that we of the fighting forces should be allowed to enjoy a little comfort
when we can get it.’
“Yes,
I know that.’
‘Pardon
me, Sir. You called me Captain straightaway. That means you are familiar with
our signs of rank.’
‘Yes,
I know them’, I said. ‘I am in Military Audit, and know the articles in the
stores.
‘And
I know a thing or two about your country and your people, Sir. I have liked
Indians from the very first and have great respect for your abilities.’
‘I
am glad to hear that, Captain.’
‘Oh,
yes, Sir. For example, I can say from what I know that your own people are as
clever as any men God ever made.’ With that the Captain collected the food
packets together and put them into a crate and, pouring another small measure
of whisky and soda, put those bottles also in, and sat back into his corner of
the seat.
‘My
people, Captain? Whom do you mean?’
‘I
mean, Sir, the Patwardhans and their like.’
‘You
can make out Patwardhans? You think I am a Patwardhan?’
‘Or
next door, Sir. Your caste-mark and pagari put it
beyond any doubt.’
‘Well,
you are right. I am not a Patwardhan but next door as
you said. This mark and this pagari, however, are
used by practically all well-to-do men in
But
you are not merely a well-to-do
‘Yes,
but how do you know?’
‘Oh,
I know, Sir. I know.’
The
Captain had been sipping his whisky all the time at intervals. Now he turned to
me and said:
‘Excuse
me, Sir, but do you mind my smoking?’
‘Not at all, Captain. Pray, do
smoke.’
‘Thank
you, Sir. It is very good of you not to mind it when you are yourself a
non-smoker.’
‘I
do not see that it is any goodness. We people could not object to what our
masters did. We are quite used to these things now. Why, some of us do these
things ourselves.’
‘The
more is the pity, Sir, for when all is said and done there is no higher way of
life than the “Gandhi”
way.’
‘You
think so, Captain? But I suppose you can see that I am not a Gandhi man.’
‘Oh,
no, Sir, you are co-operating with Government. But what I meant by the “Gandhi”
way is the highest Indian way. I believe that way has not been
beaten anywhere.’
‘You
would make me conceited, Captain, If I did not
remember that you are a friendly
‘No,
Sir, I am English.’
‘Yes,
I thought as much from the way you spoke, but some of your people have really
shown a capacity to understand
‘You
are right, Sir. I am one such. The more I have seen of
‘A
Naval Captain cannot see much of the better side of our people?’
‘Can
he not, Sir? Now, I had under me in my ship ten of the finest young fellows
your country ever produced. From what I know of them I can say that no country
ever produced ten young men better than those ten.’
‘Your
experience has been very happy. May I know what ship this is?’
‘The
ship is no longer there, Sir, and I hope that all my boys have reached shore as
I did. My ship was the…..The Japs blew it to pieces
a week ago. You must have read the news in the papers.’
‘Oh,
Yes!’ I said. ‘You are the Captain of that ship? It was really a Training Ship,
was it not? We were shocked to read that it was bombed, and the paper said it
was feared that all on board were dead.’
‘So
we nearly were, Sir. Only, I have come back from death, and I am also hoping
that quite a number among the others have done so too’.
‘I
congratulate you, Captain! I am glad you are safe.’
‘I
cannot be glad, Sir, till I have news about my youngsters. I left word in the
offices at ‘V’ that they should give me the news every time any of my
youngsters or men came ashore. I should have stayed at ‘V’ myself to have the
news as soon as it came, but I have been away from shore for over two years,
and wish to see my wife.’
‘Mrs.
Captain is in poona?’
‘Yes,
Sir. The families of a large number of us are now living in one or other of
these Cantonments. My wife has been in the poona
Cantonment these four years.’
‘I
am glad that the lady will be seeing you at least after two years.’
‘Oh,
yes, Sir. There will be great joy when we meet.’
‘I
am sure of that.’
‘My
wife is a very loving and a very good woman, Sir. Many and many are the times that
I have lain in bed in my cabin and thought of nothing but her.’
‘I
can easily believe that.’
‘Surely,
Sir. You are a wise man, and know life.’
‘And
a wife left alone similarly thinks of the husband. Not many and many a time
only. I should say always.’
‘That
must be so, Sir. But then it is different for a woman from what it is for a
man, isn’t it, Sir?’
‘How
do you mean different?’
‘The
difference in bodies must make a difference in the ability to control oneself,
I think, Sir. It is very difficult for a man.’
‘Of
course it is. Our sacred lore is full of stories of ascetics who were beaten by
desire. But it must be equally difficult for a woman too–in a way men do not
understand.’
‘That
is what I call your wisdom, Sir. Now you have said it and I can see that it
must be so. Yet I cannot believe that a woman’s desire can overpower her as
man’s overpowers him, as my desire over-powered me. I don’t mind confessing to
you, Sir, that on several occasions I had to get relief, and I got it.’
‘I
shall not ask you how….How did the Japanese come to bomb a Training Ship? And
could you not give it fight?’
‘My
ship, Sir, was a Training Ship, but was put to guard the coast. That is
training too. And we went up and down the waters some few miles away from the
coast feeling mighty important. One day when we woke up in the morning we saw a
huge Japanese Dreadnought in the open sea. There was no more any question of
our guarding the coast. My little ship had no more chance against that huge
hulk than a little baby before Blue Beard. I was wondering what we were going
to do when the Jap Captain signalled, “Surrender
immediately or we shell you.” I did not know what to do. If these ten
youngsters had not been with me I would probably have decided to go down under
a shell, but these young lives were committed to my charge, and I owed it to
their motherland to send them back alive to her.’
‘That
is how you felt about it?’
‘Yes,
Sir. And I had to think about it, and I replied, “Give me time to tell you.”
The enemy agreed. And I and my youngsters held council.’
‘Yes?
And you decided to get shelled?’
‘Quite
so, Sir. “This is our very first fight,” said every mother’s son of them, “and
we shan’t yield. “ I told them it was certain death, but they said it was
better than becoming slaves and wearing disgrace on their faces for the rest of
their lives. So when the Jap signalled
again, we said, “We
don’t yield. You can do your worst.”
‘And
they shelled you?’
‘Yes,
Sir. They asked us to think again as it meant our ship being splintered. And
then we said we did not care and signalled a report
to Headquarters. A little later, after another warning, the enemy fired the
shell. They could not have used their biggest; there was no need. The one they
did fire was more than our ship needed. We had in the meanwhile disposed of
ourselves to be as safe as we could when thrown into the water. When the thing
was over, I found myself near a spar of wood, and took hold of it, and looked
round to see what had happened to the others.’
‘You
have life belts for use on such occasions?’
‘Not
always, Sir, and only rarely as many as there are men. In particular my ship
was rather neglected in many of these respects.’
‘But
these ships are certified as fully equipped before they are sent out to guard the
coast.’
‘They
are, Sir, but unless the Captain is somebody the Headquarters care for, or
unless somebody on board is an important person, the equipment
will be less than the requirement. In some cases, the count will be right, not
the quality.’
‘You
mean that Headquarters do not care in particular for you?’
‘I’d
rather not say any thing on that matter, Sir.’
‘But
they made you Captain!’
‘Oh,
Yes! I have risen, Sir. There was some one who cared for me when I became
Captain. In fact, I was chosen to train Indian cadets, because I knew how to
get on with them and could do my job. But then there was a change of men, and I
became an orphan.’
‘And
they did not care what happened to you?’
‘I
would not say that, Sir, but it was not very kind of them to send my little
ship to guard the coast knowing that the Japs were so
deadly.’
‘So
you found yourself in the water, and your young trainees dead or alive floating
like yourself.’
‘Yes,
Sir, I was dazed, but perhaps not so much as the others. I
began moving towards the shore, and, pulling out my handkerchief, raised my
hand and signalled to such as could see me to move in
the same direction if they could. The sun grew hotter, and it was all I
could do to float on and not doze and slip and go under.’
‘And
when did you reach shore?’
‘Two
days later, Sir. A sailor is used to these things. I came ashore two miles
south of V. I asked some one whom I met where I was, and they
told me and gave me something to eat and a potful of
water to drink. I rested for sometime and then came to V and reported myself !’
‘They
must have been very happy to see you alive.’
‘They
must have been, Sir, but nobody looked it or said it. They asked me to make a
report. And when I gave it in, and said I want to go to poona
to meet my wife, they made out the papers and sent me along.’
‘I
see. That is good so far as it goes! And now I suppose you will be able to stay
in poona for some time and rest.’
‘I
hope so, Sir. But one can never be sure. I had been on the sea
for two years continuously before I came ashore last time, but hardly had I
been here a week before they put me on the next billet. “Exigencies of war,”
they say, when you grumble. And unless you have somebody to
support you, you had better knuckle in.’
‘I
thought your people dealt more fairly amongst themselves than this,
Captain!’
‘You
are wise, Sir, and I need not tell you. You think we are one
people, and we think you are one people. But there is many a group in our
people as there is in your people. And fairness, if at all, only within each
group.’
‘Let
us hope that they with not hustle you off in a week this time. You need rest
and quiet.’
‘And
the joy of being with my wife, Sir. There will be great joy in my life
tomorrow.’
‘But
you reach Poona tonight, Captain!’
‘I
don’t wish to drop in on my wife tonight, Sir.’
‘The
lady knows you are coming?’
‘No,
Sir. That would have set her a-flutter and made intolerable the hours that she
would have to wait. I will reach the Cantonment tonight and send word tomorrow
morning that I have come and go up after a short interval. To have given her
news that I was coming and to have made her wait for two days would have been
cruel.’
‘Yes,
I can see that too. And now that you have confided so many things to me and
become a friend, may I hope that you will meet me while in Poona?’
‘With
pleasure, Sir.’
‘And,
as I should like to give you something you care for to eat and drink, I hope
you will come to our Club the day after tomorrow at six in the evening and meet
others like me.’
‘Certainly,
Sir.’
Then
I gave the Captain my address and a description of the location of the Club.
We
reached Poona some time after midnight and parted at the railway station.
‘Don’t
fail to meet me, Captain,’ I said finally, and he said:
‘I
will not, Sir.’
‘Will
you then be coming to our Club the day after tomorrow? At six o’clock?..Any day, in fact.’
‘Yes,
Sir.’
Two
days later I was there, but the Captain did not come. Wishing to give this
seafaring man a good time when he was ashore, I had asked the butler in our
Club to keep ready for the Captain the nicest things he could think of, and I
waited long that evening. As my guest did not turn up, I had to ask the butler
to use the food as he best could, after paying him the charges.
Another
day passed, and still another day, and the Captain did not turn up. I wondered
what could have happened. Had he been sent out again the same day or the next?
Or had his wife changed station so that he had to follow her? He could have
dropped me a card telling me why he could not come.
Whatever
the reason, it was no use wondering. So I left off thinking about him.
On
the fourth day, as I was returning from my office in the evening, I saw
half-way between the office and my house a person who from the distance looked
like the Captain. In a few seconds I could see definitely that it was he. I
stopped the car, and got down and walked up to him.
‘Good
evening, Captain.’
The
Captain looked up. He did not seem to recollect my face immediately. That,
however was only for a fraction of a second.
He
then said, ‘It’s you, Sir? Good evening.’
‘Yes
it is me. I was feeling worried why you did not come to see me as promised.
I hope all is well.’
This
last sentence came to my lips because of the sadness that I saw written clearly
in the Captain’s look.
‘No,
Sir, not too well. That is why I did not come.’
‘The
lady is well, is she not? I don’t want you to tell me more.’
‘The
fact is, Sir, I did not wish to make you unhappy on my Account. So I kept away.
But after two days’ thinking it seemed to me that I should leave
it to chance to decide whether we meet and came this way. And we have met. As
you evince so much interest in me I feel I ought to tell you all about it. Can
you spare a little time?’
‘Certainly.
Shall we go to the Club?’
‘Yes.’
We
went to the Club and I got two chairs put under a tree in the grounds and
ordered for some fruit crush for myself and whisky and soda for the Captain.
Sipping
his whisky, the Captain said: ‘You remember my saying to you, Sir, that you are
wise and know life. That is how you struck me when we travelled together, and I
saw how truly wise you were only the next day.’
‘Yes?’
‘I
stayed in the guest house the rest of that night, Sir, and got ready in the
morning, and sent word to my wife. She was not at the address I had with me,
but in hospital.’
‘I
am sorry to hear that! Was she seriously ill?’
‘Yes,
Sir. I did not tell you that she was in the maternity hospital.’
‘Really?’
The
Captain was forcing himself to speak. The talk of the maternity hospital gave
me a shock, but I did not wish to reveal my uneasiness.
‘You
said, Sir, that it is as difficult for a woman to live alone, in her own way,
as for a man.’
‘It
certainly could be.’
‘And
with men around her who are feeling lonely themselves, she is in even greater
danger than the husband in his ship on the sea.’
‘I
can believe that.’
‘Then
I did not know, Sir, but now I understand that two or three
of our officers here were responsible for pushing me back to duty without any interval,
the last time I came on leave. It was a conspiracy, Sir, and my
poor wife came to harm from one of them.’
‘I
am very sorry for you–and for her, Captain.’
‘Sir,
you are very good.’ With that the Captain lapsed into silence for a while. And
I said, ‘Would, you rather not speak? We could talk of something else!’
‘Thank
you, Sir, but no. I’d rather finish what there is to tell. That would take it
off my chest.’
‘As
you like. But do not speak if it hurts.’
‘Oh,
but that is over, Sir! The poor woman was feeling terrified for her future, and
when she received the news of my ship being bombed she got a shock, and was
brought to bed prematurely. It was a mercy she survived. The child died within
an hour of its birth.’
‘The
lady is out of danger now?’
‘I
believe so, Sir. But she is doubting whether we can still go on together.’
‘Is
she?’
‘She
implored, and I went to her, and I stood by her bed. “Harry,” she said, “I have
been untrue to you. Forgive me.” I said nothing. She continued, “I know it must
be difficult for you to believe me, but I tell you I have always loved only
you. It is, however, no use saying it now. I am not asking you to take me back.
Seek a divorce, and marry a more worthy woman.” And she wept. And so did I. I
was very sorry for her, Sir. I did not know what to say. She said: “Kiss me
just once, Harry, for old times’ sake, and then good-bye between us!” The
Captain was silent for another moment and continued–‘I was too hurt to know how
to behave, Sir, I did not feel like kissing her. I felt a great pity for her
and a great tenderness welling in my heart. But overpowering these was a sense
of resentment that I had counted for so little. I pretended that I did not
catch her, and said, “Get well first. We’ll meet again,” and came away.’
‘Yes,
I can see you have been very unhappy, Captain. I don’t wish to talk empty
consolation or say that you must bear up.’
‘I
am bearing up, Sir. I have been wandering about for three days, trying to make
up my mind, and I realised only this evening that I
ought to have gone to you straight from the hospital and asked for your
advice.’
‘Then
you are glad you have met me?’
‘Sure,
Sir, I came seeking you. There is no doubt on that score.’
‘Then
tell me how I can help you.’
‘What
do you think I should do, Sir?’
‘No.
First, rather tell me what you feel like doing, and then we can consider what
is best to be done.’
‘My
resentment still has the upper hand, Sir, but something within me says that I
should not let my resentment decide the action. That is why I wanted to take
the advice of an elder who can judge things calmly and wisely.’
‘It
is no great bother, Captain, to be calm and wise when others are in
trouble! I am not sure that I would have been as calm as you if what occurred
to you occurred to me. I can tell you, praise our people as you like, we are
harsher in these matters in this country than you over there of the west.’
‘I
suppose so, Sir.’
‘I
agree with you that you should not yield to resentment. Your pity and your
tenderness show how good a man you are. Not merely that. They also show what a
good wife Mrs. Captain has been to you for years.’
‘You
are right, Sir. She was a good woman.’
‘If
a man could judge as not just a male but as a human being, a woman’s mistake is
no worse than a man’s. I am not a Christian, but I always admired what Christ
said when they brought an erring woman to his presence.’
I
thought that I saw a sudden easing of the tension in the Captain’s face.
‘Yes,
Sir. You think, therefore, that…..’
‘Yes,
I do.’
‘Very
well, Sir. I am going to the hospital tomorrow morning, and I want to tell my
wife that everything must be as it was before I left her two years ago.’
‘Do,
Captain, and continue to be the noble man you have always been. You are your
noblest on this occasion.’
‘Thank
you, Sir…..Thank you.’
About
four weeks later I got a letter from Bombay. The Captain wrote that his wife
had joined him there. He promised to meet me the next time
he came to poona. However, we never met again.