Glory at Twilight
The snare of benediction
Explain why Satyajit gives up his house and pond rather than tell the truth.
Satyajit plans to give one hundred and one rupees as his gift, saving fifty to buy a pram for his baby son.
Then Srinath reveals what he expects: the cash dowry, two thousand and one rupees. Satyajit is shocked: he does not have it.
But he cannot confess that he is ruined. His pride will not let him. He says he had no time to go to the bank, and suggests raising a loan in the village.
Harish, the moneylender, will lend the money only against the house and the pond. In a dead voice, Satyajit agrees.
The wedding music plays. Alone under a fig tree, Satyajit lights his last cigarette with a shaking hand, and asks himself once again: 'What now?'
His pride has cost him the last thing he owned.
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