Kepala Kantor Pos

Kepala kantor pos itu pertama kali menjalankan tugasnya di desa Ulapur. Meskipun desa itu kecil, ada sebuah pabrik nila di dekatnya, dan pemiliknya, seorang pria Inggris, telah berhasil mendirikan sebuah kantor pos.

The postmaster first took up his duties in the village of Ulapur. Though the village was a small one, there was an indigo factory near by, and the proprietor, an Englishman, had managed to get a post office established.

Kepala kantor pos kami berasal dari Kalkuta. Dia merasa canggung dan terasing di desa terpencil ini. Kantor sekaligus ruang duduknya berada di sebuah pondok beratap jerami yang gelap, tidak jauh dari kolam berlendir hijau yang di sekelilingnya ditumbuhi tanaman lebat.

Our postmaster belonged to Calcutta. He felt like a fish out of water in this remote village. His office and living-room were in a dark thatched shed, not far from a green, slimy pond, surrounded on all sides by a dense growth.

Para pria yang bekerja di pabrik nila tidak memiliki waktu luang; lagipula, mereka bukanlah teman yang pantas bagi orang baik-baik. Seorang pemuda Kalkuta juga tidak mahir dalam bergaul dengan orang lain. Di antara orang asing, dia terlihat sombong atau serbasalah.

The men employed in the indigo factory had no leisure; moreover, they were hardly desirable companions for decent folk. Nor is a Calcutta boy an adept in the art of associating with others. Among strangers he appears either proud or ill at ease.

Bagaimanapun juga, kepala kantor pos itu memiliki sedikit sekali teman; dia juga tidak punya banyak pekerjaan.

At any rate, the postmaster had but little company; nor had he much to do.

Kadang-kadang dia mencoba menulis satu atau dua bait puisi. Bahwa gerak-gerik dedaunan dan awan di langit sudah cukup untuk mengisi hidup dengan kegembiraan—perasaan-perasaan itulah yang berusaha dia ungkapkan.

At times he tried his hand at writing a verse or two. That the movement of the leaves and the clouds of the sky were enough to fill life with joy—such were the sentiments to which he sought to give expression.

Tetapi Tuhan tahu bahwa pria malang itu akan merasa seolah diberi kehidupan baru, andai sesosok jin dari Seribu Satu Malam dalam satu malam menyapu bersih pepohonan, berikut daun-daun dan segalanya, lalu menggantinya dengan jalan berbatu, menyembunyikan awan dari pandangan dengan deretan rumah-rumah tinggi.

But God knows that the poor fellow would have felt it as the gift of a new life, if some genie of the Arabian Nights had in one night swept away the trees, leaves and all, and replaced them with a macadamised road, hiding the clouds from view with rows of tall houses.

Gaji kepala kantor pos itu kecil. Dia harus memasak makanannya sendiri, yang biasa dia santap bersama Ratan, seorang gadis yatim piatu di desa itu yang melakukan pekerjaan serabutan untuknya.

The postmaster’s salary was small. He had to cook his own meals, which he used to share with Ratan, an orphan girl of the village, who did odd jobs for him.

Ketika pada sore hari asap mulai membubung dari kandang sapi desa, dan jangkrik berderik di setiap semak; ketika para fakir dari sekte Baül menyanyikan lagu-lagu melengking mereka di tempat pertemuan harian mereka, ketika penyair mana pun, yang mencoba mengamati gerakan dedaunan di rumpun bambu yang lebat, akan merasa hawa dingin seperti hantu merambati punggungnya, kepala kantor pos itu akan menyalakan lentera kecilnya, dan memanggil “Ratan.”

When in the evening the smoke began to curl up from the village cow-sheds, and the cicalas chirped in every bush; when the faquirs of the Baül sect sang their shrill songs in their daily meeting-place, when any poet, who had attempted to watch the movement of the leaves in the dense bamboo thickets, would have felt a ghostly shiver run down his back, the postmaster would light his little lamp, and call out ‘Ratan.’

Ratan biasanya duduk di luar menunggu panggilan ini, dan, bukannya langsung masuk, dia akan menjawab: “Apakah Bapak memanggil saya?”

Ratan would sit outside waiting for this call, and, instead of coming in at once, would reply: ‘Did you call me, sir?’

“Apa yang sedang kamu lakukan?” kepala kantor pos itu akan bertanya.

‘What are you doing?’ the postmaster would ask.

“Saya harus pergi menyalakan api dapur,” jawabnya.

‘I must be going to light the kitchen fire,’ would be the answer.

Dan kepala kantor pos itu akan berkata: “Oh, biarkan saja api dapur itu sebentar; nyalakan pipaku dulu.”

And the postmaster would say: ‘Oh, let the kitchen fire be for awhile; light me my pipe first.’

Akhirnya Ratan akan masuk, dengan pipi menggembung, meniup kencang bara api untuk menyalakan tembakau. Hal ini memberi kesempatan kepada kepala kantor pos itu untuk mengobrol.

At last Ratan would enter, with puffed-out cheeks, vigorously blowing into a flame a live coal to light the tobacco. This would give the postmaster an opportunity of conversing.

“Nah, Ratan,” mungkin dia akan memulai, “apakah kamu ingat sesuatu tentang ibumu?” Itu adalah topik yang hangat. Ratan ingat sebagian, dan sebagian lagi tidak. Ayahnya lebih menyayanginya daripada ibunya; tentang ayahnya dia mengingatnya dengan lebih jelas.

‘Well, Ratan,’ perhaps he would begin, ‘do you remember anything of your mother?’ That was a fertile subject. Ratan partly remembered, and partly didn’t. Her father had been fonder of her than her mother; him she recollected more vividly.