Then shyly I began to eat. Very cheerfully the Mother began to take her meal. She now and then asked what I wanted.
Mother: Well, dear, is there no place of pilgrimage in your part of the country (Dacca, Bangladesh)?
Disciple: No, Mother, I don't know of any holy place worth the name. But people take a holy dip on a certain day. It is called the Brahmaputra bath.
Mother: Yes, I have heard of it. All right, you take me there this time. I shall see your native place and make a pilgrimage too.
Disciple: Mother, will East Bengal (now Bangladesh) have this good fortune?
Mother: Why not? There are many devotees of the Master there. Naren went there, Sarat went there, and many others also. Why should I not go to a place where people adore the Master?
The Prasada contained pulse soup, two varieties of mixed curry and a sour soup. Now the Mother said, "Serve them fish."
Disciple: No, Mother, I am satisfied with the Prasada itself; I won't take fish.
Mother: How is that, dear? You are a woman whose husband is living, and you won't take fish!
1 Why haven't you painted your soles with lac-dye?
Disciple: In our part of the country painting of the soles with lac-dye is not in vogue. Conch-bangles on the hand and mark of vermillion on the forehead indicate that a woman's husband is living.
Mother: It may be, but in this part of the country women wear conch-bangles and vermillion as a fancy. Here iron wristlets and lac-dye are the signs of a woman whose husband is alive.
The Mother was served with milk, a mango and a sweet. She mixed them, ate a little and said, "I am leaving the remaining portion for your son." When the meal was over, I was about to remove the leaf-plate when Lakshmi- Didi hurriedly came and caught hold of it. I was not willing to part with the plate, but neither would Lakshmi-Didi leave it. At last the Mother stood up and said, "Allow Lakshmi to carry it. Among them you are
—————
1 According to the Hindu tradition in Bengal a widow is prohibited from taking fish or meat, but women in the married state are allowed to take them.