Jurmana - Premchand

By King Meera -
Characters:
1. Munshi Khairat Ali Khan (Inspector of Sanitation)
Goodhearted, well thought of, not the kind to cut pay, scold or fine the hundreds of sweeper women who depends on him
2. Alarakkhi (sweeper woman)
Worked hard (was not a shirker, not slovenly or saucy, didn't look bad either) just had bad luck - the Inspector rode by precisely when she'd just sat down or stopped to eat
3. Alarakkhi's sick, unweaned daughter
4. Alarakkhi's helpful husband Huseni

Plot:
Alarakkhi is thinking about her pay and guessing how much would be deducted this time  considering, due to her daughter's illness, she'd been missed sleep and come in late several times the past month. Her daughter, whom she had brought with her to work, was wailing and she was threatening to hit her with the broom if she didn't stay quiet because the Inspector would be there soon. The inspector arrived on his bicycle instead of his ekka just as she was cursing him. He asks her why she dragged the kid along and she replies that she's sick with no one at home to leave her with. Upon being asked, she explains that the baby has a fever and she cannot carry her and work at the same time so she has left her on the ground and that she must work for the family to have something to live on. The inspector asks her to leave and to tell Huseni to finish sweeping when he returns. Just as she is leaving with the baby, the inspector asks her why she was abusing him. She denies it. In the evening, Alarakkhi and Huseni go to collect the pay. She assumes that she will either be fired or receive no pay and her suspicions seem to have been confirmed since her named is skipped but her name is called out in the end and she receives full pay to her complete shock. She still regrets abusing the inspector perhaps because she now concludes that he is a good man after all.

Side-note:
A closer look at Huseni reveals that he is perhaps helping her out not simply out of a desire to fulfill husbandly duties but to make amends for his drinking (Toddy?) habit.
W.r.t. Alarakkhi's remorse, it seems she is accustomed to punishment, and has accepted that she deserves it, therefore since she's being paid her whole salary in spite of her many slips the past month, she feels guilty for having abused the inspector who was doing her this kindness.

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