DURBIN SOREN
An excerpt from “The Stone Quarry”
Cumki was baffled into silence. But, after some time, she reasoned within herself: Yes, what uncle says is right. Girls much younger than me work in the stone quarry, girls like Bahasuri, Thakran, Hopon-mai and Sanjli. If they can do such heavy work, then so can I. And with the money earned, I can pay my brothers’ school fees; also buy food, clothes, books, oil, soap and other things we need. If I don’t work, then who will? How will my brothers study? So Cumki made up her mind to start work at the stone quarry from the next day.
Pacami Dhiri Garh. The roaring sound of trucks and stone-crusher machines reverberated in the air like thunder. Cumki arrived for work at the quarry early next morning, along with other boys and girls from her village. All through the day, they carried large pieces of stone upon their heads to the stone-crusher machines. They kept their heads covered with cloth rags to avoid breathing the dusty air. But, despite all their efforts, the finely crushed stone-dust entered their eyelids, nostrils and mouths. heir bodies became spectral white as they were coated with a thick layer of dust from head to toe.
In the beginning, Cumki found the work very difficult. But, like the other boys and girls, she soon got used to it and after some time, it ceased to be a burden. The owner of the quarry kept a close watch on his workers, so Cumki got into the rhythm and learnt to work all day long. As they chatted and laughed among themselves, their spirits grew lighter and the days went by in a haze of camaraderie. At the end of each day, they were taken back to the outskirts of their village in a truck and left there for the night….
Translated from the Santali original by Ivy Hansdak
