Of scripts and scribbles

 'They look nothing like the Jogini Pahar' Suborna sounded both annoyed and frustrated. 'Their slopes are covered with forest and it's so green that they will sooth you in a moment' her eyes lit up as she visualized those wonderful hills far, far, away. 'I don't mean to hurt your feelings, but you are not a good painter at all' she said rather crossly to the cartographer. The cartographer gave the king a bemused look, the king maintained his usual calm, and the advisor and the Senapoti (Chief Commander) suppressed a chuckle. 'Oh queen' the advisor spoke after a few moments 'We are not trying to draw just the Jogini Pahar, we are trying to draw the entire Jongol Mohol on this parchment; so, we have to make some adjustments'. 'Here', he unrolled a map of his own land, 'does this look anything like our land?' Suborna looked appalled. 'What's the use of such an abomination' he looked at the cartographer with accusing eyes, the poor man started to sweat even on this balmy winter morning. Now the senapoti spoke 'Isn't it helpful to know the lay of the entire land, specially for those who haven't been there?' 'True', Suborna grudgingly agreed. So, after an hour, and the occasional nudging to keep Suborna on track, the map was finished. The cartographer was actually good at his job, though the parchment wasn't bigger than twice the length of his arms, he managed to make it surprisingly detailed. 'What are these' Suborna pointed to the random scribbles. 'The names of the places' the cartographer replied. 'Oh' Suborna said in a small voice.

'Would you teach me to read and write' Suborna whispered to Labonno. It was afternoon and the duo was soaking up the warmth of the last rays in the courtyard. 'Yay, both of us will learn from guruji (tutor) and it won't be so boring after all' Labonno was jubilant. 'No' Suborna flashed, then she said in a soft voice 'I will only do it if you teach me'. 'Sure thing, rani-ma, I will do anything for you.' Labonno was feeling rather pleased with herself. A few days later the governess was searching for Suborna and Labonno in the back garden. The pair have developed a habit of disappearing around the afternoon. It wasn't very concerning, they are inseparable and they looked after each other. But she liked to keep a tag on them occasionally. She caught their voices coming from one of the far corners and she started to follow it. As she got close, she noticed something odd; Suborna's voice was halting and Labonno's voice seemed to be guiding her. She listened for a while, then carefully moved away.

'Please, don't be mad; although I have crossed a line' the king said. Suborna looked puzzled. 'I have noticed that you are learning to read and write' the king elaborated. She hid her face in her palms and sat motionless. 'Please, let me help you' the king pleaded. 'I can't do it, it will be so embarrassing' she said after a while. The king smiled, 'I have seen so many people live and die without the embarrassment of not knowing to read and write.' After a pause, he added, 'Wanting to learn is not embarrassing, it's something to be proud of.' He felt that she has softened a bit, so he pushed on, 'Imagine writing to your dadima, or writing to Labonno when you return to Jongol Mohol'. A faint smile flickered on her face, 'Dadima can't read either' she said sadly, 'But there are a few people who can, our scripts are a bit different from yours though' she said in a low voice. The king realized that her defiance is faltering and he made his final move, 'You two can have your lessons in the privacy of my study, what do you say'. She thought for a while, and then she smiled, 'Thank you' she said softly. The lessons were lots of fun for Suborna and Labonno, but not so much for the tutor. Though both of his students were eager to learn, it was difficult for them to concentrate for long and after a while, they would end up writing or painting on each other's faces and palms. But they did keep progressing.

Although she found the lessons tedious, Suborna was fascinated with the study which was actually the scroll-room. Scrolls and scripts it had in abundance; small scrolls neatly tied with threads, large parchments carefully wrapped in cloths, voluminous manuscripts tidily stacked in wooden boxes, leather & cloth documents protected with bamboo mats, and many other varieties. Whenever she was at the king's office she always saw some scripts and scrolls scattered in front of him. She always wondered what knowledge and wonders they contained. She and Labonno would occasionally pester and plead with their tutor to read some of the scripts. The tutor too found it as a useful tool to make his students focus on their studies. Most of the scripts he read were about past events and different regions of the country. But there were scripts from neighboring and even some far-off lands too. One day he read a script about a southern seafaring nation, and his students were at sea grasping the facts. 'So the sea is larger than Matonggini, right?' Suborna asked. Her teacher laughed. 'You can cross the Matonggini in just one day, these guys traveled day and night for a whole month to reach the shore.' 'And those big fishes, are they as big as the crocodiles, Guruji?' Labonno asked. 'Look at this ship' the teacher pointed to the drawing in the script, 'it's much larger than our ships; so, if those fishes are about a third of this ship, I would say they can swallow the crocodiles whole.'

'It's a pity that we don't have any scripts about Jongol Mohol, either from your scriptwriters or by ours' he said sadly one day. 'We only have a handful of people who can scribe' Suborna said with embarrassment. Guruji gestured dismissively, 'No country has many, most people have to be engaged in growing food or trading goods, or protecting the people.' 'But you certainly have some scripts, right?' he added. 'Oh yes' Suborna lightened up, 'Every winter, all the chieftains gather and they update dadima about their respective bosoti and all that is recorded. But we use hides and often the writings get blurred.' 'Well, the commander from Nokhottro is an educated man, I'm sure he will record everything he will experience' the teacher assured. She thought for a while and then hesitantly asked 'Can't you write a script? I can give you the information you need.' The teacher suppressed the swell of joy he felt and talked with a pretence of uncertainty, 'I don't know, the king won't be happy if your lessons are affected.' 'We will study really, really, hard' his students said in unison.