Whispers between Beads & Decoding the Silences
MK Binodini Devi's a String of Beads (Charik Pareng)
- Part 2 -

Dr Elangbam Hemanta Singh / Rashmi Elangbam *

Photo Credit :: MK Binodini Collections

The description of the Colonel's appearance, where he is likened to the "Pied Piper of Hamelin," indicates his deliberate effort to blend in with the local aesthetic and customs of the region. The protagonist's reaction to the Colonel's unusual dress and mannerisms further highlights the ambivalence of the colonial relationship.

She is both intrigued and skeptical of the Colonel's attempts to assimilate, as seen in this exchange: "Brother, why do you out on a violet shirt so very often ? Do you like this colour so much ?"

He lost his temper all of a sudden and replied: 'No, I don't like the colour. Why do you put this question to me ? But can we throw away everything we dislike ? Sister, you are still quite young. Listen, even though I am not fond of this colour, I have to use this shirt. I dyed the shirt in this colour which I made from the bark of trees. There is no question of my likes or dislikes. But I have to take a lot of trouble in making this particular dye. You might like to know the reason why I use this colour. Well, this reflects the colour of my life."

The Colonel's defensive reaction and his explanation for wearing the unusual coloured shirt suggest a desire to fully integrate into the local culture, even if it means adopting customs and practices that he does not personally favour. This mimicry, however, is met with a mixture of amusement and skepticism from the indigenous characters, highlighting the ambivalence of the colonial relationship.

Moreover, the Colonel's request for a small plot of land for his burial, expressed in eloquent and literary language, can be seen as a further attempt to become part of the local community he has come to govern.

His desire for a "decent burial" and his acknowledgment that the land does not truly belong to the authorities, but rather the "custodians," reflects a deep understanding and internalization of the local culture and its values. By engaging in these acts of mimicry, the Colonel inadvertently exposes the constructed nature of colonial power and its dependence on the subjugated culture for validation.

His efforts to assimilate into the local community destabilize the colonial authority he represents, revealing the fragility of the colonizer's position. In the essay, "Can the Subaltern Speak?" (1988), Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak's concept of the sub-altern addresses the silenced voices of the colonized, whose experiences and perspectives are often marginalized in dominant historical narratives.

In "A String of Beads," the narrator's personal account of her interactions with Colonel J Thomas can be interpreted through the lens of Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak's concept of the sub-altern, where the marginalized voices of the colonized are given a platform to challenge dominant historical narratives.

The narrator, a young woman from Manipur, emerges as a subaltern figure, offering an intimate perspective on the colonial experience that is often absent from official histories.

Her memories of the Colonel, a mysterious and enigmatic character, provide a personal and emotional dimension to the colonial encounter, as seen in this passage: "I do not understand to this day why I said those words... Who knows the news about such a long-forgotten incident would become an introduction to another significant development ? Who would take me seriously if I claimed that I know the man ?"

The narrator's self-reflection and uncertainty about her own role in the Colonel's story highlights the marginalization of her perspective, even within her own recollection of events. Her voice and experiences are often overshadowed by the dominant colonial narratives. However, the act of remembering and recounting her personal interactions with the Colonel becomes a form of resistance against this erasure.

The narrator reclaims agency by asserting the significance of her story, as evidenced in this passage: "Well, let the unknown, unpublished story of a man's life remain buried in the hills of Manipur. But, he called me once his little sister."

The beads that the Colonel entrusts to the narrator serve as a mnemonic device, symbolizing the enduring impact of colonial encounters on individual lives and cultural identity. The narrator's possession of the beads, and her determination to keep them, represents her refusal to let the Colonel's story be forgotten, as well as her own desire to preserve her connection to him and the larger colonial history.

Through the narrator's personal narrative, Spivak's concept of the subaltern is embodied, as the marginalized voice challenges the dominant colonial discourse and asserts the significance of indigenous experiences and perspectives. The narrator's recollections become a means of reclaiming agency and resisting the erasure of her own story within the broader historical context.

The beads, as the title suggests, are the story's central symbol. Their understated beauty and mysterious origin encapsulate the Colonel's own narrative—a blend of East and West, spirituality and sorrow, personal intimacy and cosmic detachment.

On the one hand, according to Hindu Philosophy, in Harish Johari's Chakras: Energy Centers of Transformation (2000), he explicitly states that Anahata, the heart chakra, is represented by the colour "green" and governs emotions such as love, compassion, and devotion.

On the other hand, green, often associated with renewal and growth, becomes paradoxical here; the beads connected to a deceased lover and passed on as a surrogate gesture of unfulfilled affection, carry a burden of mourning rather than joy.

The narrator's lament at the end—her inability to find the beads, the Colonel's letter never delivered due to her anonymity—emphasizes the tragedy of lost identities, missed connections, and unacknowledged legacies.

Her sudden, almost desperate realization that the Colonel never knew her name speaks volumes about the limitations of human relationships in a world governed by transience and silence. The narrator's relationship with the Colonel evolves with a quiet depth. Initially hesitant and bewildered by his eccentricity, she gradually grows to appreciate his intellect and solitude.

Her identity as a young woman from the valley visiting her uncle a school teacher in the hills places her in a liminal position—as insider and outsider—which perhaps explains her receptivity to the Colonel's spiritual estrangement. The hills, rendered with atmospheric beauty, provide a landscape of reflection and transformation, contrasting with the superficiality of urban or social life.

The narrator's admission that she still does not understand the Colonel's deeper meanings—"My world was enveloped in a rainbow"—suggests her youth and innocence but also the chasm between lived experience and philosophical insight. Yet, the Colonel's act of addressing her as "sister" gives her a singular place in his otherwise opaque world.

The final gift of "a string of green beads" with a Ganesh pendant is more than a keepsake—it is a transmission of memory, a quiet act of trust and spiritual kinship. According to Hindu philosophy, in Robert L Brown's Ganesh: Studies of an Asian God (1991), Ganesh represents the intelligence that guides prana (life force) through the physical and subtle body, ensuring harmony between mind and spirit.

In conclusion, the story showcases Binodini Devi's exceptional ability to blend the personal with the philosophical, the real with the metaphoric. Her narrative voice is imbued with both empathy and detachment, allowing for a complex portrayal of memory that is neither overly sentimental nor emotionally sterile.

The shifting perspectives—from present to past, from narrator to Colonel, from anecdote to introspection—create a fluid temporal structure that mirrors the workings of human consciousness. It is this fluidity that enables "A String of Beads" to transcend its immediate setting and speak to universal questions about memory, identity, and the search for meaning.

Concluded ...