Nihal Singh

Thereafter it rained every day. The Jamna rose and the flood swept away the boat-bridge. This was lucky for us as the rebels used to get most of their men and supplies from across the river. There was not too much fighting during the rains—an occasional skirmish in Qudsia Garden or the guns barking at each other.

The rain stopped as suddenly as it had started. More goras joined our camp. They brought big guns and gunpowder sticks. Two Sahibs, Nicholson and Taylor who were said to be great fighters, came to lead the attack on Dilli. Banias who came to sell us provisions told us that in the city the price of ‘red pepper’ was going up and the price of ‘black pepper’ going down day by bay. That one-eyed Rajab Ali started coming every day and doing a lot of whispering in Hodson Sahib’s ear. One evening as I was massaging the Sahib’s feet I asked him: ‘Sahib, what does this one-eyed man phus phus in your ear?’ At first Hodson Sahib looked very gussa and said, ‘So you try to listen?’ I replied, ‘No Sahib. If I listened in I would not be asking you.’ Then Hodson Sahib told me: ‘The old badshah says if we spare his life and give him his pension he will throw open the gates of Dilli.’

‘And what do you say?’ I asked.

‘I say, first throw open the gate, then we will talk.’

Hearing this kind of talk I thought the hamla would begin any day. But nothing happened. More than two thousand goras were in hospital; every day a few died vomiting or shitting blood. Other goras complained of not getting enough rum and made pictures on the walls of Hindu Rao’s mansion showing officers drinking and fucking. How could such people go into battle! Wilson Sahib Bahadur kept saying ‘Tomorrow . . . tomorrow.’ And that fellow Bakht Khan, subedar or General or whatever he was, kept attacking our camp, killing our men and our horses.

Whatever else you may say of the goras, when it comes to fighting they fight like no other race on earth. Nicholson Sahib, for example, is as big as the demon Ravan with a beard as long as our Gurus’ (some fools called themselves Nikalsainis, even said he was one of our Gurus reborn). He is so strong that with one blow he could fell on ox. Our own Hodson Sahib, who though he has no hair on his head or chin nor is as big as Nicholson, is as brave as a lion. Nicholson and Hodson Sahib become very restless. ‘What kind of Jangi Lat is this Wilson Sahib Bahadur when all he can says is “Tomorrow, tomorrow”?’ they ask. The two of them go to Wilson Sahib and say, ‘We must start the battle now.’ Just at the time the one-eyed Rajab Ali brings information that Bakht Khan is taking a large army to Najafgarh and Rohtak to attack gora paltans coming from the Punjab. So Wilson Sahib Bahadur says to Nicholson, ‘If you are so anxious to fight, go to Najafgarh.’ To Hodson Sahib he says: ‘If you are also eager to fight, you go to Rohtak.’