Behind the T eakwood 
 indow 
 
 Al Tale of India Womankood 
 
 By 
 
 ETHEL CODY HIGGIN BOTTOM 
 
 The Woman’s Board of Foreign Missions of the 
 Presbyterian Church in the U. S. A. 
 
 156 Fifth Avenue, New York 
 
Behind the Teakwood ^X^indow 
 
 A Tale of India Womankood 
 
 By 
 
 ETHEL CODY HIGGINBOTTOM 
 
 J^AKSHMI CHATERJI looked through the 
 
 carved teakwood window down into the 
 street. Lakshmi’s husband had been away at 
 college several weeks, and Lakshmi was wishing : 
 ''Oh, if only he would come home, or I could go 
 for a ride on that elephant!” She watched the 
 men sitting on the beast’s huge back as it quickly 
 passed her window, its big bell tolling, telling 
 people to get out of its way. ''Why must Indian 
 girls live shut in?” 
 
 She thought of her cousin, and rebellion sprang 
 into her heart. Her cousin Phulwa’s father was 
 progressive. He believed in the education of 
 women. He even said he hoped the time would 
 come when the purdah system would be abol- 
 
 3 
 
ished. With a little groan Lakshmi cried out: 
 “Why can’t the purdah system be abolished and 
 we Indian girls go out the way white women do? ’’ 
 
 Just then a horse and carriage stopped below 
 her window, and a white lady was heard talking 
 to the brass merchant who had come from the 
 shop across the street in answer to the driver’s 
 call. She handed him a brass kettle, and some 
 conversation went on between them which 
 Lakshmi could not hear, but suddenly the lady 
 raised her voice saying : “All right. I’ll call on' 
 Saturday for it. I’m the Padre Memsahiba who 
 lives by the river.’’ It was the wife of the mis- 
 sionary. 
 
 Lakshmi was suddenly bold. Maybe this was 
 the Padre Memsahiba who had been teaching 
 Phulwa to read. She raised her voice and 
 shouted: “Memsahiba.’’ The driver pulled in 
 his horse, and the Memsahiba leaned out. 
 
 Lakshmi grew shy again, but the Memsahiba 
 had heard the voice from behind the carved 
 teakwood window, and she called : ’ Salaam 
 bibi. Kya hae? ” (Greetings madam. What 
 is it?) 
 
 4 
 
Lakshmi’s courage came back, and tbe great 
 longing of ber beart went out in ber voice : “Ob, 
 Memsabiba, please come and talk to me.” 
 
 Like a flash tbe lady was out of ber carriage 
 and on tbe front veranda of Laksbmi’s fatber- 
 m-law’s bouse. Laksbmi ran to tbe stairs, but 
 just as sbe started down sbe remembered sbe 
 bad been forbidden to come down those stairs 
 today. Sbe burst into tears as ber fatber-in-law 
 opened tbe door at tbe foot, saying : “Daughter, 
 there is a lady down here who says you have 
 called ber. But you can’t come through this 
 room where your brotber-in-law lies sick, you 
 know.” 
 
 There was anguish in Laksbmi’s voice. “Ob, 
 father, I want to read, to learn to read like 
 Pbulwa.” 
 
 He never bad seen Laksbmi like this. She 
 always bad been a proper Indian girl, shy and 
 retiring before ber fatber-in-law. He remem- 
 bered that Pbulwa’s father bad told him bow 
 much happier bis household bad been since tbe 
 women folks bad learned to read, but be shook 
 bis bead: “You can’t come down today. Maybe 
 
 5 
 
she will come some day when my son is well.” 
 As he turned away he was almost overcome by 
 Lakshmi’s sobs. 
 
 Sundar was in her husband’s room below. 
 She heard it all ; she too had wanted to learn 
 to read. Quickly she ran to her husband’s side. 
 She was well enough behaved to remember that 
 she must not speak to her husband until he 
 addressed her, but the eagerness in her face 
 spoke volumes. 
 
 Her husband raised his head, hot with fever. 
 He read the eager face, then looked toward the 
 door which had just closed after his father and 
 said : “Call her. I’ll cover my face. Tell my 
 father I ordered it. You read, too.” He fell 
 bach on his pillow, pulling the sheet over his face. 
 
 Sundar’s voice shook with emotion. “Lakshmi ! 
 Come quick! ” 
 
 The old father had shown the inherent cul- 
 ture of a true Indian gentleman of high caste 
 in explaining the situation to the missionary, but 
 she had seen through his polite, gentle manner 
 and words, his fear of the missionary lest she 
 spoil the girl’s faith in their Hindu gods. He 
 
 6 
 
feared to let women folks learn, because bis 
 vedas said: "'Women are no better than cows, 
 and must not learn,” He had, indeed, heard 
 many Hindus advocate : "‘Let us educate the 
 
 women if we wish to make India take its place 
 among the nations.” But most of the Hindus 
 who argued thus had been educated m mission 
 schools and colleges and were almost Christians. 
 
 The missionary was saying : ""I’m very sorry 
 your son is so ill. Can I do anything for him? 
 If not. I’ll accept your kind invitation and call 
 again on your daughter-in-law. ” 
 
 The door burst open, and the two girls stood 
 on the threshold of the men’s sitting-room, a 
 place they seldom entered. Lakshmi was smil- 
 ing through her tears, too eager to be shy, and 
 Sundar stood severe and defiant. 
 
 ""Daughters! ” The old fathers’ voice was full 
 of anger. 
 
 He had addressed them, so Sundar dare speak : 
 ""Father, your son commanded me to call her. 
 He covered his face while she passed. He says 
 to tell you to please come to him. His fever is 
 high. ” The father’s face softened. He was 
 
 7 
 
man 
 
 anxious about bis eldest son. Tbe young 
 bad bad many days of malaria recently. Tbe 
 father burned past tbe girls to bis son’s bedside. 
 
 Tbe young man was breathing bard, between 
 fever and excitement. “Father,” be gasped, “I 
 am very sick. I may die. I beg of you, let tbe 
 girls read.” He too was a mission college grad- 
 uate. 
 
 Tbe two young women were left alone with tbe 
 missionary. 
 
 The father bad not answered bis son, but sum- 
 moning a servant, be ordered cold water. He 
 sponged bis son as tbe doctor bad ordered. 
 Filled with terror at bis son’s depressing sugges- 
 tion that be might not be long with them, be 
 calmed bis wrath. 
 
 Tbe missionary thought of tbe girls in another 
 bouse who were eagerly waiting for her to come 
 and give them tbeir lesson. But one more look 
 at those two eager faces and bearing tbeir 
 voices pleading, “Memsabiba, please teach us to 
 read English so we can know and read as our 
 husbands do,” decided her. She remembered 
 tbe day she and her husband bad landed in India 
 
 8 
 
after his first furlough to America. He knew 
 Hindustani, while she did not. She recalled how 
 she had wailed in her heart: "'Oh, he knows so 
 much more than I do!” She had worked hard 
 at the language, hoping to catch up with him and 
 she knew what these little wives felt. 
 
 The lessons began that minute. But the fam- 
 ily was sworn to secrecy. 
 
 When the second son Pervase, came home for 
 vacation he talked constantly to Lakshmi about 
 the mission college and the wonderful American 
 professor. He told her about the Bible, often 
 repeating: "Tf only the teachings of Jesus could 
 be carried out in India!” And then longingly he 
 would add : "And if only you could go to mission 
 school!” He wondered why that made her shyly 
 smile. 
 
 Pervase had been at home only a few days 
 when he came suddenly upon his wife. She sat 
 on a low stool before her carved teakwood win- 
 dow. In her lap lay his English Bible, open 
 where she had dropped it when he had sur- 
 
 9 
 
prised her. With a great longing he said: “Oh, 
 Lahshmi ! ” 
 
 Never had he called her that before. It is 
 contrary to Hindu custom for a man to call his 
 wife by her first name. She looked frightened 
 and he laughed in embarrassment, then said : 
 “Lakshmi, I heard my dearly beloved professor 
 call his wife by her first name, and so I’m going 
 to call you by yours. I wish I could eat with you, 
 as they eat together but I know father would 
 never let us.” 
 
 Her eyes opened in surprise : “Do they eat 
 together? Is she not afraid she may send an 
 evil spirit into his food? ” 
 
 He laughed at her innocence. “No, Lakshmi, 
 they are not afraid all the time. They are not 
 superstitious as we are with regard to evil 
 spirits. They trust in Jesus, who can command 
 evil spirits and they obey him. Oh, how I wish 
 you could read that book.” He nodded to the 
 Bible in her lap. 
 
 She picked it up, looking hard at the page and 
 read slowly: “ ’And Jesus said unto them: I 
 
 10 
 
am the bread of life. He that cometh to me 
 shall never hunger, and he that believeth on me 
 shall never thirst.’ ’’ 
 
 “Lakshmi!” her husband cried. ’’Where did 
 you learn that verse? ” 
 
 ”I did not learn it. I am reading it. ” 
 
 He had spoken in Hindustani, but she had 
 answered in English. He was too amazed to 
 speak. Lakshmi read on : ” ’All that the Father 
 giveth me shall come to me ; and him that com- 
 eth to me I will in no wise cast out.” ” 
 
 Tears of joy stood in his eyes when she stopped 
 reading. Then she told him about the morning 
 on which she had called to the missionary. She 
 told too, of his brother pleading. Her husband 
 interrupted her to say: ’’Brother too, is a secret 
 believer. There are many in India, Lakshmi. I 
 want to tell you, I am secretly a Christian ! I 
 dare not break my father’s heart by open confes- 
 sion but some day you and I will be Christians. 
 Shall we not?” 
 
 She nodded her head, saying softly : ”I want 
 
 11 
 
it.” They knelt together while Pervase voiced 
 his hrst verbal prayer. 
 
 A few days later the father said to his oldest 
 son : “There is something queer about Pervase’s 
 happiness. Can you explain it?” 
 
 Sorrowfully the elder son looked at his father 
 in silence. Then he answered: “Pervase has 
 enjoyed his year at college very much. Father, 
 we wish you too, had been educated in a mis- 
 sion college.” (The Continent, Se'^t. 8, 1921.) 
 
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