THE EXAMINATION PAPER

This is a very old story, which is from earlier India (British Era). This story is as follows

The thing happened at the Calcutta Medical College.

There was a student who had come from Dacca, the Provincial Capital of

Eastern Bengal. Let us call him Jogesh.

Jogesh was a handsome young fellow of about 24. He was a married man and his

wife's photograph stood in a frame on his table in the hostel. She was a girl

hardly 15 years old and Jogesh was evidently very fond of her. Jogesh used to

say a lot of things about his wife's attainments which we (I mean the other

students of his class) believed, and a lot more which we did not believe. For

instance we believed that she could cook a very good dinner, but that is an

ordinary accomplishment of the average Bengali girl of her age.

Jogesh also said that she knew some mystic arts by means of which she could

hold communion with him every night. Every morning when he came out of his

room he used to say that his wife had been to him during the night and told him

—this—that—and the other. This, of course, we did not believe, but as Jogesh

was so sensitive we never betrayed our scepticism in his presence. But one

significant fact happened one day which rather roused our curiosity.

One morning Jogesh came out with a sad expression and told us that his father

was ill at home. His wife had informed him at night, he said; at that time we

treated the matter with indifference but at about 10 o'clock came a telegram,

(which we of course intercepted) intimating that his father was really ill.

The next morning Jogesh charged us with having intercepted his telegram; but

we thought that he must have heard about the telegram from one of the students,

as there were about half a dozen of us present when the telegram had arrived.

Jogesh's father came round and the matter was forgotten.

Then came the annual University examination.

Jogesh's weak subject was Materia Medica and everybody knew it.

So we suggested that Jogesh should ask his wife what questions would be set,

during one of her nightly visits.

After great hesitation Jogesh consented to ask his wife on the night before the

examination.

The eventful night came and went. In the morning Jogesh came out and we

anxiously inquired what his wife had said.

"She told me the questions" said Jogesh sadly "but she said she would never visit

me again here."

The questions were of greater importance and so we wanted to have a look at

them. Jogesh had noted these down on the back of a theatre programme (or hand

bill—I really forget which) and showed the questions to us. There were eleven of

them—all likely questions such as Major —— might ask. To take the questions

down and to learn the answers was the work of an hour, and in spite of our

scepticism we did it. And we were glad that we did it.

When the paper was distributed, we found that the questions were identically

those which we had seen that very morning and the answers to which we had

prepared with so much labour only a few hours before.

The matter came to the notice of the authorities who were all European

gentlemen. The eleven answer papers were examined and re-examined, and

finally Jogesh was sent for by Col. —— the Principal to state how much truth

was there in what had been reported, but Jogesh prudently refused to answer the

question; and finally the Colonel said that it was all nonsense and that the eleven

students knew their Materia Medica very well and that was all. In fact it was the

Colonel himself who had taught the subject to his students, and he assured all the

eleven students that he was really proud of them. The ten students were however

proud of Jogesh and his mystic wife. It was decided that a subscription should be

raised and a gold necklace should be presented to Jogesh's wife as a humble

token of respect and gratitude of some thankful friends, and this plan was duly

executed.

Jogesh is now a full-fledged doctor and so are all the other ten who had got hold

of the Materia Medica paper.

After the incident of that night Jogesh's wife had an attack of brain fever and for

some time her life was despaired of, and we were all so sorry. But, thank God,

she came round after a long and protracted illness, and then we sent her the

necklace.

Jogesh told us subsequently that his wife had given him an Indian charm-case

with instructions to put it on with a chain round the neck whenever he required

her. Immediately he put on the chain, to which this charm-case was attached,

round his neck, he felt as if he was in a trance and then his wife came. Whether

she came in the flesh or only in spirit Jogesh could not say as he never had the

opportunity of touching her so long as she was there, for he could not get up

from the bed or the chair or wherever he happened to be. On the last occasion

she had entreated him not to press her to tell the questions. He had, however,

insisted and so she had dictated to him the examination paper as if from memory.

The theatre programme was the only thing within his reach and he had taken

down all the questions on that, as he thought he could not rely upon his own

memory. Then she had gone away; but before going she had walked up to him,

unbuttoned his kurta (native shirt) at the chin, and removed the charm-case from

the chain to which it was attached. Then she had vanished and the charm case

had vanished too. The chain had, of course, remained on Jogesh's neck. Since

that eventful night Jogesh had had no mystic communion with his wife during

his stay in Calcutta.

She refused to discuss the subject when Jogesh afterwards met her at Dacca. So

the mystery remains unsolved.