The Proposal
11.
The Proposal
• Anton Chekov
Characters
STEPAN STEPANOVITCH CHUBUKOV :
A landowner
NATALYA STEPANOVNA :
his daughter, twenty-five years old
IVAN VASSILEVITCH LOMOV :
a neighbour of Chubukov, a large and hearty, but very suspicious, landowner
A drawing-room in Chubukov's house.
Lomov enters, wearing a dress-jacket
and white gloves. Chubukov rises to meet him.
चरित्र
स्टीपन स्टीपेनोविच चुबुकोव :
जमींदार
नतालिया स्टीपेनोवना :
उसकी पुत्री, पच्चीस वर्षीय
इवान वेस्सीलेविच लोमोव :
चुबुकोव का एक पड़ोसी, एक विशाल और दिलवाला, परन्तु बहुत शक्की, जमींदार
चुबुकोव के घर में एक बैठक- कक्ष
लोमोव एक पोशाक जैकेट और सफेद दस्ताने पहने
हुए प्रवेश करता है ।, चुबुकोव उससे मिलने के लिए उठता है।
CHUBUKOV :
My dear fellow, whom do I see! Ivan Vassilevitch! I am extremely glad! [Squeezes his hand] Now this is a surprise, my darling.... How are you?
LOMOV :
Thank you. And how may you be getting on?
CHUBUKOV :
We just get along somehow, my angel, thanks to your prayers, and so on. Sit down please do.... Now, you know, you shouldn't forget all about your neighbours, my darling. My dear fellow, why are you so formal in your get-up! Evening dress, gloves, and so on. Can you be going anywhere, my treasure?
LOMOV :
No. I've come only to see you, honoured Stepan Stepanovitch.
चुबुकोव :
मेरे प्रिय साथी , मैं किसे देखता हूँ । ईवान वैसिलेविच ! मैं बहुत प्रसन्न हूँ । ( उसके हाथ को भींचता है । ) अब यह एक आश्चर्य है, मेरे प्रिय............तुम कैसे हो ?
लोमोव :
आपका धन्यवाद । और आप किस प्रकार चल रहे हैं ?
चुबुकोव :
बस , हम किसी तरह से चल रहे हैं , मेरे एंजल : आपकी प्रार्थनाओं , का धन्यवाद है , कृपया बैठें । आप जानते हैं , आपको अपने पड़ोसी के बारे में नहीं भूलना चाहिए , मेरे प्रिय साथी , आप दिखने में इतने औपचारिक क्यों हैं ? शाम की ड्रेस , दस्ताने आदि । क्या आप कहीं जा रहे है , मेरे प्रिय ?
लोमोव :
नहीं , मैं बस आपसे ही मिलने आया हूँ : सम्मानीय स्टीपन स्टीपेनोविच ।
CHUBUKOV :
Then why are you in evening dress, my precious? As if you're paying a New Year's Eve visit!
LOMOV :
Well, you see, it's like this. [Takes his arm] I've come to you, nonoured Stepan Stepanovitch, to trouble you with a request. Not once or twice have I already had the privilege of applying to you tor help, and you have always, so to spead..... I must ask your pardon, I am getting excited. I shalll drind some water, honoured Stepan Stepanovitch. [Drinks.]
CHUBUKOV :
[aside] He's come to borrow money. Shan't give him any! [aloud] What is it, my beauty?
LOMOV :
You see, Honoured Stepanitch.... I beg pardon Stepan Honouritch.... I mean, I'm awfully excited, as you will please notice.... In short, you alone can help me, though I don't deserve it, of course... and round it, darling! any right to count no your assistance...
CHUBUKOV :
Oh, don't go round and round it, darling!Spit it out! Well?
LOMOV :
One moment... this very minute. The fact is I've come to ask the hand of your daughter, Natalya Stepanovna, in marriage.
चुबुकोव :
तब आप शाम की ड्रेस में क्यों हैं , मेरे मूल्यवान ? मानो आप नव वर्ष की मुबारकवाद देने आए हों ।
लोमोव :
अच्छा , आप देख रहे हैं , यह इसी तरह है ( उसकी बाजू पकड़ता है ) मैं आपके पास आया हूँ सम्माननीय स्टीपन स्टीपेनोविच आपको एक प्रार्थना के साथ एक तकलीफ देने के लिए । यद्यपि पहले एक या दो बार मैंने आपसे सहायता मांगने का विशेषाधिकार का प्रयोग किया है , और आपने सदैव कहना होगा .......। मैं आपसे क्षमा चाहता हूँ कि मैं उत्तेजित हो रहा हूँ । मैं थोड़ा पानी पीऊंगा , सम्माननीय स्टीपन स्टीपेनोविच ।
चुबुकोव :
( एक तरफ होते हुए ) वह मुझसे पैसे उधार लेने आया है । क्या मैं उसे दूंगा । ( जोर से ) क्या है , मेरे प्रिय ?
लोमोव :
आप देखते हैं , सम्माननीय स्टीपेनोविच ...... मैं माफी चाहता हूँ स्टीपन हौनरिच मेरा मतलब है , मैं बेहद रोमांचित हूँ जैसे आप कृपया देखोगे....... संक्षिप्त में आप ही मेरी सहायता कर सकते हैं , यद्यपि मैं इसके लायक नहीं हूँ । अवश्य ही ………… और न ही मेरे पास आपसे सहायता मांगने का अधिकार है ।
चुबुकोव :
ओह , इसके चारों और मत घूमो , मेरे प्रिय ! जल्दी से उगल दो ! ठीक है ?
लोमोव :
एक क्षण इसी मिनट । तथ्य यह है कि मैं आपकी बेटी नतालिया स्टीपेनोवना का शादी के लिए हाथ माँगने आया हूँ ।
CHOBUKOV :
[joyfully By love! Ivan Vassilevitch! Say it again-I didn't hear it all!
LOMOV :
I have the honour to ask....
CHOBUKOV :
[interrupting] My dear fellow... I'm so glad, and so on.... Yes, indeed, and all that sort of thing. [Embraces and kisse Lomov] I've been hoping for it for a long time. It's been my continual desire. [Sheds a tear] And I've always loved you, were my own son.May God give you both- His help and His love and so on, and so much hope..... What am I behaving in this idiotic way for? I'm off my balance with joy,absolutely off my balance! Oh, with all my soul... I'll go and call Natasha, and all that.
LOMOV :
[greatly moved] Honoured Stepan Stepanovitch, do you think I may count on her consent?
CHOBUKOV :
Why, of course, my darling, and..... as if she won't consent!She's in love;
egad, she's like a lovesick cat, and so on.
Shan't be long!
[Exit.]
चुबुकोव :
( खुशी से ) : जोव की कसम ! यह फिर से कहो मैंने सुना नहीं !
लोमोव :
मेरा सम्मान है यह पूछते हुए ...........
चुबुकोव :
( बीच में टोकते हुए ) मेरे प्रिय साथी .......... मैं इतना खुश हूँ । और आदि , आदि । हाँ , वास्तव में , और ये सब बातें । ( लोमोव को गले लगाता है और चूमता है ) । मैं तो लम्बे समय से इसकी आशा कर रहा हूँ । यह मेरी निरन्तर इच्छा रही थी ।। ( एक आँसू बहाता है ) और मैंने हमेशा तुम्हें प्यार किया है , मेरे एंजल मानो तुम मेरे स्वयं के बेटे हो । परमात्मा तुम्हें दोनों दे उसकी सहायता और उसका प्यार और आदि , आदि और इतनी अधिक आशा ......... मैं मूर्खों की भांति व्यवहार किस लिये कर रहा हूँ ? मैं खुशी से असन्तुलित हो गया हूँ , पूर्ण रूप से असन्तुलित । ओह , मेरी आत्मा के साथ ............ मैं जाऊंगा और नताशा को बुलाऊँगा , और वह सब ।
लोमोव :
( प्रभावित होकर ) सम्मानीय स्टीपन स्टीपेनोविच , क्या आप सोचते हैं कि मैं उसकी सहमति पर विश्वास करूं ?
चुबुकोव :
क्यों नहीं , जरूर मेरे प्रिय मानो वह सहमत नहीं होगी । वह प्यार में है , वह प्यार में बीमार बिल्ली की तरह है । वह लम्बे समय तक नहीं रहेगी । ( प्रस्थान )।
LOMOV :
It's cold.... I'm trembling all over, just as if I'd got an examination before me. The great thing is, I must have my mind made up. If I give myself time to think, to hesitate, to talk a lot, to look for an ideal, or for real love, then I 'll never get married. Brr.... It's cold! Natalya Stepanovna is an excellent housekeeper, not bad-liiking, well-iducated. Waht more do I want? But I'm getting a noise in my ears from excitemetn.[Drinks] And it's impossible for me not to marry. In the first place, I'm already 35-a critical age, so to speak. In the second place, I ought to lead a quiet and regular life. I suffer from palpitations, I'm excitable and always getting awfully upset; at this very moment my lips are trembling, and there's a twitch in my right eyebrow. But the vrey worst of all is the way I sleep. I no sooner get into bed and begin to go off, when suddenly something in my left side gives a pull, and I can feel it in my shoulder and head... I jump up like a lunatic, walk about a bit and lie down again, but as soon as I begin to get off to sleep there's another pull! And this may happen thwenty times...[Natalya Stepanovna comes in.]
लोमोव :
ठण्ड है ....... मैं पूरा कॉप रहा हूँ , जैसे मेरे सामने कोई परीक्षा आ गई है । बड़ी बात यह है , मुझे मेरा बनाना पड़ेगा । यदि मैं खुद को सोचने का , संकोच करने का , बात करने का , एक आदर्श दूंढने का और वास्तविक प्यार का समय देता हूँ , तो मेरी शादी कभी नहीं होगी बर्रर ठण्ड है । नतालिया स्टीपेनोवना एक बहुत अच्छी गृहणी है ,बुरी नहीं दिखती , अच्छी पढ़ी लिखी है । मुझे और क्या चाहिए ? परंतु मेरे कानों में रोमांच से आवाज आ रही है । ( पीता है ) और मेरे लिए शादी न करना असंभव है । पहली बात तो यह है कि मैं पहले ही 35 वर्ष का हो चुका हूँ कहने के लिए एक संकट वाली उम्र , दूसरी बात यह है , मुझे एक शांत और नियमानुसार जीवन जीना है मैं कंपकंपी से पीड़ित हूँ । ( अर्थात कंपकंपी आती है ) मैं उत्तेजित रहता हूँ और हमेशा विचलित होता हूँ ; इस समय भी मेरे होंठ कांप रहे हैं , और मेरी दायी भौंह सिकुड़ती है , जब अचानक मेरे बायी तरफ कुछ मुझे धकेलता है और मैं इसे कंधे में और सिर में महसूस करता हूँ ..... मैं एक विक्षिप्त आदमी की तरह उछलता हूँ , थोड़ा टहलता हूँ और फिर से लेट जाता हूँ , परंतु ज्योहि मैं सोने लगता हूँ यह और धक्का लगता है और यह बिसियों बार होता है ………… ( नतालिया स्टीपेनोवना अंदर आती है )
NATALYA :
Well, there! It's you, and papa said, "Go; there's a merchant come for his goods."How do you do, Ivan Vassilevitch?
LOMOV :
How do you do, honored Natalya Stepanovna?
NATALYA :
You must excuse my apron and neglige. We're shelling peas for drying. Why haven't you been here for such a long time? Sit down... [They seat themselves.] Won't you have some lunch?
LOMOV :
No, thank you, I've had some already.
NATALYA :
Then smoke. Here are the matches The weather is splendid now, but yesterday it was so wet that the workmen didn't do anything all day. How much hay have you stacked? Just think, I felt greedy and had a whole field cut, and now I'm not at all pleased about it because I'm afraid my hay may rot. I ought to have waited a bit. But waht's this? Why, you're in evening dress! Well, I never! Are you going to a ball or what? Though I must say you look better... Telll me, why are you got up like that?
LOMOV :
[excited] You see, honoured Natalya Stepanovna... the fact is, I've made up my mind to ask you to hear me out.... Of course you'll be surprised and perhaps even angry, but a.... [aside] It's awfully cold!
नतालिया :
अच्छा , यह तुम हो , और पापा ने कहा , " जाओ एक व्यापारी अपना सामान लेने आया है । " आप कैसे हैं ईवान वेसिलेविच ?
लोमोव :
आप कैसी है , सम्मानीय नतालिया स्टीपेनोवना ?
नतालिया :
आपको मेरे एप्रन और गाऊन इग्नोर ( अनदेखा ) करना चाहिए हम सुखाने के लिए मटर छील रहे हैं । तुम यहाँ इतने समय से क्यों नहीं आये ? बैठ जाइए ( वे बैठ जाते हैं ) क्या तुम लंच नहीं करोगे ?
लोमोव :
नहीं , धन्यवाद । मैंने पहले ही थोड़ा कर लिया है ।
नतालिया :
तब आप धूम्रपान कर लें । यहाँ माचिस है । आज मौसम बड़ा शानदार है परंतु कल इतना गीला था कि मजदूरों ने पूरे दिन काम नहीं किया आपने कितनी घास इकट्ठी की है ? जरा सोचो , मैंने लालच किया और पूरा खेत ही कटवा डाला और अब मैं इसके लिए खुश नहीं हूँ क्योंकि मुझे डर है कि मेरी सूखी घास सड़ सकती है । मुझे थोड़ी देर इन्तजार करना चाहिए था। परन्तु यह क्या ? आप इवनिंग ड्रैस में क्यों हैं ? अच्छा , मैं ऐसा कभी नहीं करती । क्या आप एक पार्टी में जा रहे हो या क्या है ? यद्यपि मुझे यह कहना चाहिए कि आप अच्छे दिख रहे हो ……… मुझे बताओ , आप इस तरह तैयार क्यों हुए हो ?
लोमोव :
( उत्तेजित ) तुम देख रही हो सम्माननीय नतालिया स्टीपेनोवना ………… सच्चाई यह है , मैं तुम्हें अपनी बात सुनाने का मन बना चुका हूँ ……… अवश्य ही तुम हैरान हो जाओगी और शायद गुस्सा भी , परंतु .... ( एक तरफ ) बड़ी ठंड है ।
NATALYA :
What's the matter? [pause] Well?
LOMOV :
I shall try be brief. You must know, honoured Natalya Stepanovna, that I have long, since my childhood, in fact, had the privilege of knowing your family. My late aunt greatest respect for your had the most friendly, and I might almost say the most affectionate, regard for each other. And, as you know. my land is a near neighbour of yours. You will remember that my Oxen Meadows touch your birchwoods.
NATALYA :
Excuse my interrupting you. You say, "my Oxen Meadows" . But are they yours?
LOMOV :
Yes, mine.
NATALYA :
What are you Thinking about? Oxen Meadows are ours, not yours!
LOMOV :
No, mine honoured Natalya Stepanovna.
NATALYA :
Well, I never knew that before. How do you make that out?
LOMOV :
How? I'm speaking of those Oxen Meadows which are wedged in between your birchwoods and the Burnt Marsh.
नतालिया :
क्या बात है ( चुप होती है ) ठीक है।
लोमोव :
मैं संक्षिप्त में करने की कोशिश करूंगा । तुम जानती हो , सम्मानीय नतालिया कि मेरे पास बचपन से ही तुम्हारे परिवार को जानने का विशेषाधिकार रहा है । मेरी स्वर्गीय चाची तथा उसके पति जिनसे , जैसा तुम जानती हो , मुझे जमीन विरासत में मिली है , हमेशा आपके पिता और आपकी स्वर्गीय माँ की बड़ी इज्जत किया करते थे और लोमोव्स और चुबुकोव्स का सबसे अधिक मित्रवत् और मुझे कहना चाहिए सबसे अधिक स्नेह और इज्जत एक - दूसरे लिये रही है जैसे कि आप जानती हो कि जमीन आपके पड़ोस में है । आपको याद होगा कि मेरा ऑक्सन घास का मैदान आपके बवुड के पेड़ों को छूता है ।
नतालिया :
क्षमा करना मैं बीच में टोक रही हूँ । आपने कहा , " मेरे घास के मैदान , " लेकिन क्या वो आपके हैं ?
लोमोव :
हाँ , वे मेरे हैं ।
नतालिया :
आप क्या बातें कर रहे हैं ? ऑक्सन घास के मैदान हमारे हैं न कि आपके ।
लोमोव :
नहीं , मेरे सम्माननीय नतालिया स्टीपेनोवना ।
नतालिया :
अच्छा मैं यह पहले कभी नहीं जानती थी । आपको कैसे पता ।
लोमोव :
कैसे ? मैं उन ऑक्सन घास के मैदानों के बारे में बता रहा हूँ जो तुम्हारे बर्चवुड और वर्ट मार्श के बीच में फंसे हैं ।
NATALYA :
Yes, yes... they're ours..
LOMOV :
No, you're mistaken, honoured Natalya Stepanovna, they're mine.
NATALYA :
Just think, Ivan Vassilevitch! How long have they been yours?
LOMOV :
How long? As long as I can remember.
NATALYA :
Really, you won't get me to believe that!
LOMOV :
But you can see from the documents, honoured Natalya Stepanovna. Oxen Meadows, It's true, were once the subject of dispute, but now everybody knows that they are mine. There's nothing to argue about. You see my aunt's grandmother gave the free us of these Meadows in perpetuity to the peasants of your father's grandfather, in return for which they were to make bricks for her. The peasants belonging to your father's grandfather had the free use of the Meadows for forty years, and had got into the habit of regarding them as their own, when it happened that....
NATALYA :
No, it isn't at all like taht! Both grandfather and greatgrandfather reckoned that their land exteded to Burnt Marsh- which means that Oxen Meadows were ours. I don't see what there is to argue about. It's simply silly!
नतालिया :
हां हां, ………… वे हमारे हैं।
लोमोव :
नहीं आप गलत कह रही हैं सम्माननीय नाटालिया स्तिपेनोवा , वे मेरे हैं।
नतालिया :
जरा सोचिए ईवान वेसोलोविच कितने समय से तुम्हारे रहे हैं?
लोमोव :
कितने समय से? जब से मुझे याद है
नतालिया :
वास्तव में, तुम मुझे या विश्वास नहीं दिला सकते।
लोमोव :
परंतु तुम कागजों में देख सकती हो सम्माननीय नटालिया ऑक्शन घास के मैदान, यह सच है कि किसी समय यह एक विवाद का विषय था, परंतु अब प्रत्येक यह जानता है की ये मेरे ही हैं। इस विषय में तर्क करने के लिए कुछ भी नहीं है। आप जानती हैं कि मेरी चाची की दादी मां इन मेडोज को मुफ्त में लगातार प्रयोग करने के लिए आपके पिता के दादा के किसानों को दी थी, उसके बदले में उन्हें उनके लिए ईंटे बनानी थी । आपकी पिता के दादा के किसान मीडोज का मुफ्त प्रयोग 40 वर्ष तक करते रहे और उनका इसे अपना कहने की आदत पड़ गई जब यह हुआ कि ………
नतालिया :
नहीं, ऐसा बिल्कुल भी नहीं है मेरे दादा और परदादा दोनों यह मानते हैं कि उनकी जमीन वर्न्ट मार्श तक फैली हुई थी । जिसका अर्थ है कि ऑक्सन मीडोज हमारे थे मुझे इस बारे में किसी तर्क की आवश्यकता नजर नहीं आती। ऐसा करना केवल एक मूर्खता है।
LOMOV :
I'll show you the documents, Natalya Stepanovna!
मैं तुम्हें कागजात दिखा दूंगा नतालिया स्टेपेनोवाना।
NATALYA :
No, you're simply joking, or making fun of me. What a surprise! We've had
the land for nearly three hundred years, and themn we're suddenly told that
it isn't ours! Ivan Vallilevitch, I cna hardly believe my own ears. These
Meadows aren't worth much to me. They only come to five dessiatins, and are
worth perhaps 300 roubles, but I can't stand unfairness. Say what you will,
I can't stand untairness.
नहीं तुम केवल मजाक कर रहे हो या मेरा मजाक उड़ा रहे हो। क्या अजीब बात है। यह जमीन हमारे पास पिछले 300 सालों से है। और तब हमें अचानक बताया जाता है कि वह हमारी नहीं है। ईवान वेसिलेविच, मुझे अपने कानों पर शायद ही भरोसा हो। यह मैडोज मेरे लिए अधिक महत्व नहीं रखते वे 5 सिक्के के भी नहीं है और शायद इसकी कीमत 300 रूबल है, परंतु मैं बेईमानी सहन नहीं कर सकती। कहो क्या करोगे। मैं बेईमानी सहन नहीं कर सकती।
LOMOV :
Hear me out, I implore you! The peasants of your father's grandfather, as I
have already had the honour of explaining to you, used to bake bricks for my
aunt's grandmother. Now my aunt's grandmother, wishingto make them a
pleasant.....
मेरी बात सुनो, मेरा आपके आग्रह है। आपके पिता के दादा के किसानों जैसा की मैं आप को पहले समझा चुका हूं, मेरी चाची की दादी के लिए ईंट पकाया करते थे। अब अब मेरी चचाी की दादी उनको सुखद बनाने की इच्छा करते हुए ………
NATALYA :
I can't make head or tail of all this about aunts and grandfather and grandmothers. The Meadows are ours, that's all. मैं इन सब चाचियों और दादीओ के बारे में कुछ भी नहीं समझ सकती। मीडोज हमारे हैं, बस।
LOMOV :
Mine.
मेरे है।
NATALYA :
Ours! You can go on proving it for two days on end, you can go and put on
fifteen dress jackets, but I tell you they're ours, ours, ours!I don't want
anything of yours and I don't wnat to give anything of mine. So there!
हमारे हैं। तुम यदि 2 दिन तक इस को साबित करने में लगे रह सकते हो और 15 ड्रेस जैकेट पहन सकते हो परंतु मैं कह रही हूं कि वे हमारे हैं, वे हमारे हैं, मैं तुम्हारा कुछ नहीं लेना चाहती और अपना कुछ भी तुम्हें नहीं दे सकती । ऐसा है!
LOMOV :
Natalya Stepanovna, I don't want the Meadows, but I am acting on principle.
If you like, I'll make you a present of them.
नतालिया स्टेपेनोवन, मैं मिडोज नहीं चाहता, लेकिन मैं सिद्धांत की बात कर रहा हूं। यदि तुम चाहो तो मैं तुम्हें भेंट में दे सकता हूं।
NATALYA :
I can make you a present of them myself, because they're mine! Your
behaviour, Ivan Vassilevitch, is strange, to say the least! Up to this we
have always thought of you as a good neighbour, a friend; last year we lent
you our threshing-machine, although on that account we had to put off our
own threshing till November, but you behave to us as if we were gypsies.
Giving me my own land, indeed! No, really , that's not at all neighbourly!
In my opinion, it's even impudent, if you want to know.
मैं स्वयं उन्हें तुम्हें उपहार में दे सकती हूँ , क्योंकि वे मेरे हैं । ईवान , बेस्सीलेविच , तुम्हारा व्यवहार अजीब है ये मैं थोड़े कहता हूँ । अब तक हम तुम्हें एक अच्छा पड़ोसी समझते थे , एक दोस्त , पिछले साल ही हमने तुम्हें अनाज निकालने की मशीन उधार दी थी , यद्यपि उसके कारण हमने अपना अनाज निकालना नवम्बर तक टाले रखा था , लेकिन तुम तो इस तरह का व्यवहार कर रहे हो जैसे हम बंजारे हैं । मुझे मेरी खुद की जमीन दे रहे हो । नहीं , वास्तव में यह अच्छे पड़ोसी की तरह नहीं है। मेरे विचार से , यह डिठाई है यदि तुम जानना चाहते हो ।
LOMOV :
Then you make out that I'm a landgrabber? Madam, never in my life have I
grabbed any body else's and and I shan't allow anybody to accuse me of
having done so. [Quickly steps to the carafe and drinks more water] Oxen
Meadows are mine!
तुम समझती हो कि मैं भूमि हड़पने वाला हूँ ? मैडम मैंने अपने जीवन में कभी किसी की भूमि नहीं हड़पी और न ही किसी को यह आरोप लगाने दूंगा । ( जल्दी से टेबल पर रखे जग की तरफ जाता है और पानी पीता है । ) ऑक्सन मिडोज मेरे हैं ।
NATALYA :
It's not true, they're ours!
यह सच नहीं है , वे हमारे हैं ।
LOMOV :
Mine! ( मेरे हैं ।)
NATALYA :
It's not true! I'll prove it! I'll send my moweers out to the Meadows this
very day!
यह सच नहीं है। मैं यह साबित दूंगी । मैं आज ही अपने घास खोजने वालों को मीडोज मे भेजूँगी।
LOMOV :
What? (क्या)
NATALYA :
My mowers will be there this very day!
मेरे घास काटने वाले आज ही वहां होंगे।
LOMOV :
I'll give it to them in the neck!
मैं इसके लिए उन्हें दंडित करूंगा।
NATALYA :
You dare!
तुम ऐसा करके देखना।
LOMOV :
[Clutches at his heart] Oxen Meadows are mine! You understand? Mine!
(अपने दिल पर हाथ रखता है।) आक्सन मिडोज मेरे है। तुम समझी ? मेरे !
NATALYA :
Please don't shout! You cna shout yourself hoarse in your own house but here
I must ask you to festrain yourself!
कृपया चिल्लाओ मत तुम अपने घर में इतनी जोर से चिल्ला सकते हो। लेकिन यहां मैं यही कहूंगी चिल्लाना बंद करो।
LOMOV :
If it wasn't, madam, for this awful, excruciating palpitation, if my whole
inside wasn't upset, I'd talk to you in a different way! [Yells] Oxen
Meadows are mine!
मैडम यदि मैं इस कंपकंपी से पीड़ित नहीं होता, और आंतरिक रूप से विचलित नहीं होता तो मैं आपसे अलग तरह से बात करता (चिल्लाता है) ऑक्शन मिडोज मेरे है।
NATALYA :
Ours! (हमारे)
LOMOV :
Mine! (मेरे)
NATALYA :
Ours! (हमारे)
LOMOV :
Mine! (मेरे)
[Enter Chubukov]
[चुबुकोव प्रवेश करता है]
CHUBUKOV :
What's the matter? What are you shouting for?
क्या बात है तुम किस लिए चिल्ला रहे हो?
NATALYA :
Papa, please tell this gentleman who owns Oxen Meadows, we or he?
पापा कृपया इस भद्रपुरुष को बता दीजिए कि ऑक्शन मिडोज का मालिक कौन है, यह या हम ?
CHUBUKOV :
[to Lomov] Darling, the Meadows are ours!
(लोमोव से) : प्रिय, मिडोज हमारे हैं !
LOMOV :
But, please, Stepan Stepanobitch, how can they be yours? Do bea reasonable
man! my aunt's grandmother gave the Meadows for the temporary adn free use
of your grandfather's peasants. The peasants used the land for forty years
and got accustomed to it as if it was their own, when it happened that....
परन्तु कृपया स्टीपन स्टीपेनोविच , वे आपके कैसे हो सकते हैं एक तर्कसंगत व्यक्ति बनिए । मेरी चाची की दादी ने आपके दादा के किसानों को थोड़े दिनों के लिए मिडोज का प्रयोग करने के लिए दिए थे । उन किसानों ने इस भूमि का 40 वर्ष तक प्रयोग किया था और वे इसके आदि हो गए मानो यह जमीन उनकी हो जब यह हुआ कि……… ।
CHUBUKOV :
Excuse me, my precious. You forget just this, that the peasants didn't pay
your granmother and all that, because the Meadows were in dispute, and so
on. And now everybody knows that they're ours. It means that you haven't
seen the plan.
माफ करना , मेरे प्रिय । तुम बस यही भूल रहे हो कि किसानों ने तुम्हारी दादी को कीमत नहीं दी और बस , क्योंकि मिडोज पर विवाद चल रहा था और अब हर कोई जानता कि वे मेरे हैं । इसका मतलब यह है कि तुमने प्लान नहीं देखा है ।
LOMOV :
I'll prove to you that they're mine!
मैं आपको सिद्ध कर दूंगा कि वे मेरे हैं ।
CHUBUKOV :
You won't prove it, my darling-
इसे तुम साबित नहीं कर सकोगे , मेरे प्रिय
LOMOV :
I Shall (मैं करूंगा ।)
CHUBUKOV :
Dear one, why yell like that? You won't prove anything just by yelling. I
don't want anything of yours, and don't intend to give up what I have. Why
should I? And you know, my beloved, that if you propose to go on arguing
about it, I'd much sooner give up the Meadows to the peasants than to you.
There!
प्रिय तुम इस तरह क्यों चिल्लाते हो ? तुम चिल्लाकर कुछ भी साबित नहीं कर सकते । मुझे तुम्हारा कुछ भी नहीं चाहिए । और मेरे पास जो भी है उसे छोड़ने का इरादा भी नहीं है । मुझे क्यों त्यागना चाहिए ? और आप जानते हैं , कि मेरे प्यारे यदि तुम इसके बारे में तर्क - वितर्क करते रहे हो । मैं बहुत जल्द ही मिडोज को तुम्हारे बजाय किसानों को सौंप दूंगा । ठीक है ।
LOMOV :
I don't understand! How have you the right to give away somebody else's property?
CHUBUKOV :
You may take it that I know whether I have the right or not. Because, young man, I'm not used to being spoken to in that tone of voice, and so on. I, young man, am twice your age, and ask you to speak to me without agitating yourself, and all that.
LOMOV :
No, you juat think I'm a fool and want to have me on! You call my land yours, and then you want me to talk to you calmly and politely! Good neighbours don't behave like that, Stepan Stepanovitch! You're not a neighbour, you're a grabber!
CHUBUKOV :
What's that? What did you say?
NATALYA :
Papa, send the mowers out to the Meadows at once!
CHUBUKOV :
What did you say, sir?
NATALYA :
Oxen Meadows are ours, and I shan't give them up, shan't give them up, shan't give them up!
LOMOV :
We'll see! I'll have the matter taken to court, and then I'll show you!
CHUBUKOV :
To court? YOu can take it to court, and all that! You can! I know you; you're just on the look-out for a chance to go to court, and all that. You pettifogger! All your people were like that! All of them!
LOMOV :
Never mind about my people! The lomovs have all been honourable people, and not one has ever been tried for embezzlement, like your grandfather!
CHUBUKOV :
You Lomovs have had lunacy in your family, all of you!
NATALYA :
All, all, all!
CHUBUKOV :
Your grandfather was a drunkard, and your younger aunt, Nastasya Mihailovna, ran away with an architect, and so on....
LOMOV :
And your mother was hump-backed. [Clutches at his heart] Something pulling in my side...... My head.... Help! Water!
CHUBUKOV :
Your father was a guzzling gambler!
NATALYA :
And there haven't been many backbiters to equal your aunt!
CHUBUKOV :
My left foot has gone to sleep..... You're an intriguer.... Oh, my heart! And it's an open secret that before the last election you bri.... I can see stars.... Where's my hat?
NATALYA :
it's low! It's dishonest! It's mean!
CHUBUKOV :
And you're just a malicious, doublefaced intriguer! Yes!
LOMOV :
Here's my hat. My heart! Which way? Where's the door? Oh I think I'm dying!
My foot's quite numb.....
[Goes to the door.]
CHUBUKOV :
[following him] And don't set foot in my house again!
NATALYA :
Take it to court! We'll see!
[Lomov staggers out.]
CHUBUKOV :
Devil take him!
[Walks about in excitement.]
NATALYA :
What a rascal! What trust can one have in one's neighbours after that!
CHUBUKOV :
The villain! The scarecrow!
NATALYA :
The monster! First he takes our land and then he has the impudence to abuse us.
CHUBUKOV :
And that blind hen, yes, that turnip-ghost has the confounded cheek to make a proposal, and so on! What? A proposal!
NATALYA :
What proposal?
CHUBUKOV :
Why, he came here to propose to you?
NATALYA :
To propose? To me? Why didn't you tell me so before?
CHUBUKOV :
So he dresses up in evening clothes. The stuffed sausage! The wizen- faced frump!
NATALYA :
To propose to me? Ah! [Falls into an easy-chair and wails] Bring him back! Back! Ah! Bring him here.
CHUBUKOV :
Bring whom here?
NATALYA :
Quick, quick! I'm ill! Fetch him!
[Hysterics.]
CHUBUKOV :
What's that? What's the matter with you? [Clutches at his head] Oh, unhappy man that I am! I'll shoot myself! I'll hang myself! We've done for her!
NATALYA :
I'm dying! Fetch him!
CHUBUKOV :
Tfoo! At once. Don't yell!
[Runs out. A pause.]
NATALYA :
[Natalya Stepanovna wails.] What have they done to me? Fetch him back! him! [Apause. Chubukov runs in.]
CHUBUKOV :
He's coming, and so on, devil take him! Ouf! Talk to him yourself; I don't want to.....
NATALYA :
[wails] Fetch him!
CHUBUKOV :
[Yells] He's coming, I tell you. Oh, what a burden, Lord, to be the father of a grown-up daughter! I'll cut my throat I will, indeed! We curaws him, abused him, drove him out; and it's all you..... you!
NATALYA :
No, it was you!
CHUBUKOV :
I tell you it's not my fault. [Lomov apppears at the door] Now you talk to him yourself. [Exit.]
LOMOV :
[Lomov enters, exhausted.] My heart's palpitating awfully. My foot's gone to sleep. There's something that keeps pulling in my side.....
NATALYA :
Forgive us, Ivan Vassilevitch, we were all a little heated. I remember now : Oxen Meadows.....really are yours.
LOMOV :
My heart's beating awfully. My Meadows... My eyevrows are both twitching....
NATALYA :
The Meadows are yours, yes yours. Do sit down. [They sit] We were wrong.
LOMOV :
I did it on principle. My land is worth little to me, but the principle...
NATALYA :
Yes, the principle, just so. Now let's talk of something else.
LOMOV :
The more so as I have evidence. My aunt's grandmother gave the land to your father's grandfather's peasants....
NATALYA :
Yes, yes, let that pass. [aside] I wish I knew how to get him started. [aloud] Are you going to start shooting soon?
LOMOV :
I'm thinking of having a go at the blackcock, hounoured Natalya Stepanovna, after the harvest. Oh, have you heard? Just think, What a misfortune I've had! My dog Guess, who you know, has gone lame.
NATALYA :
What a pity! Why?
LOMOV :
I don't know. Must have got his leg twisted of bitten by some other dog. [sighs] My very best dog, to say nothing of the expense. I gave Mironov 125 roubles for him.
NATALYA :
It was too much, Ivan Vassilevitch.
LOMOV :
I Think it was very cheap. He's a first- rate dog.
NATALYA :
Papa gave 85 roubles for his Squeezer, and Squeezer is heaps better than Guess!
LOMOV :
Squeezer better than Guess? What an idea! [laughs] Squeezer better than Guess!
NATALYA :
Of course he's better! Of course Squeezer is young, he may develop a bit, but on points and pedigree he's better than anything that even Volchanetsky has got.
LOMOV :
Excuse me. Natalya Stepanovna, but you forget that he is overshot, and an overshort always means the dog is a bad hunter!
NATALYA :
Overshot, is he? Tha first time I hear it!
LOMOV :
I assure you that his lower jaw is shouter than the upper.
NATALYA :
Have you measured?
LOMOV :
Yes. He's all right at following, of course, but if you want to get hold of anything....
NATALYA :
In the first place, our Squeezer is a thoroughbred animal, the son of Hamess and Chisels while there's no getting at the pedigree of your dog at all. He's old and as ugly as a worn-out cab-house.
LOMOV :
He is old, but I wouldn't take five Squeezers for him. Why, how can you? Guess is a dog; as for Squeezer, well, it's too funny to argue. Anybody you like has a dog as good as Squeezer..... you may find them under every bush almost. Twenty-five roubles would be a handsome price to pay for him.
NATALYA :
There's some demon of contradition in you today, Ivan Vassilevitch. First you pretend that the Meadows are yours; now , that Guess is better than Squeezer. I don't like pepople who don't say what they mean, because you know perfectly well that Squeezer is a hundred times better than your silly Guess. Why do you want to say he isn't?
LOMOV :
I see, Natalya Stepanovna, that you consider me either blind or a fool. You must realise that Squeezer is overshot!
NATALYA :
It's not true.
LOMOV :
He is!
NATALYA :
It's not true!
LOMOV :
Why shout madam?
NATALYA :
Why talk rot? It's awful! It's time your Guess was shot, and you compare him with Squeezer!
LOMOV :
Excuse me, I cannot continue this discussion, my heart is palpitating.
NATALYA :
I've noticed that those hunters argue most who know least.
LOMOV :
Madam, please be silent. My heart is going to pieces. [shouts] Shut up!
NATALYA :
I shan't shut up until you acknowledge that Squeezer is a hundred times better than your Guess!
LOMOV :
A hundred times worse! Be hanged to your Squeezer! His head..... eyes.... shoulder
NATALYA :
There's no need to hang tour silly Guess; he's half- dead already!
LOMOV :
[weeps] Shut up! My heart's bursting!
NATALYA :
I shan't shut up.
(Enter Chubukov)
CHUBUKOV :
What's the matter now?
NATALYA :
Papa, tell us truly, which is the better dog, our Squeezer of his Guess.
LOMOV :
Stepan Stepanovitch, I implore you to tell me just one thing: is your Squeezer overshot or not? Yes or no?
CHUBUKOV :
And suppose he is? What does it matter? He's the best dog in the district for all that. and so on.
LOMOV :
But isn't my Guess better? Realy, now?
CHUBUKOV :
Don't excite yourself, my precious one. Allow me. Your Guess certainly has his good points. He's purebred, firm on his feet, has well-sprung ribs, and all that. But, my dear man. if you want to know the truth. that dog has two detects. he's old and he's short in the muzzle.
LOMOV :
Excuse me, my heart... Let's take the facts. You will remember that on the Marusinsky hunt my Guess ran neck-and-neck with the Count's dog, while your Squeezer was left a whole verst behind.
CHUBUKOV :
He got left behind because the Count's whipper-in hit him with his whip.
LOMOV :
And with good reason. The dogs are running after a fox, when Sqreezer goes and starts worrying a sheep!
CHUBUKOV :
It's not true! My dear fellow, I'm vrey liable to lose my temper, and so , juat because of that, let's stop arguing. You started because everybody is always jealous of everybody else's dogs. Yes, we're all like that! You too, sir, aren't blameless! You no sooner begin with this, that and the other, and all that.... I remember everything!
LOMOV :
I remember too!
CHUBUKOV :
[teasing him] I remember, too! What do you remember?
LOMOV :
My heart.... my foot's gone to sleep. I can't....
NATALYA :
[teasing] My heart! What sort of a hunter are you? You ought to go and lie on the kitchen oven and catch black beetles, not go after foxes! My heart!
CHUBUKOV :
yes really, what sort of a hunter are you, anyway? You ought to sit at home with your palpitations, and not go tracking animals. You could go hunting, but you only go to argue in case with people and interfere with their dogs and so on. Let's change the subject in case I lose my temper. You're not a hunter at all, anyway!
LOMOV :
And are you a hunter? You only go hunting to get in with the Count and to intrigue. Oh, my heart! You're an intriguer!
CHUBUKOV :
What? I am an intriguer? [shouts] Shut up!
LOMOV :
Intriguer!
CHUBUKOV :
Boy! Pup!
LOMOV :
Old rat! Jesuit!
CHUBUKOV :
Shut up or I'll shoot you like a partridge! You fool!
LOMOV :
Everybody knows that- oh, my heart!- your late wife used to beat you.... My feet.... temples... sparks... I fall, I fall!
CHUBUKOV :
And you're under the slipper of your house- keeper!
LOMOV :
There, there there.... my heart's burst! My shoulders come off! Where is my shoulder? I die. [Falls into an armchair] A doctor!
CHUBUKOV :
Boy! Milksop! Fool! I'm sick! [Drinks water] Sick!
NATALYA :
What sort of a hunter are you? You can't even sit on a house! [To her father] Papa, what's the matter with him? Papa! Look, Papa! [screams] Ivan Vasssilevitch! He's dead!
CHUBUKOV :
I'm sick! I can't breathe! Air!
NATALYA :
He's dead. [Pulls Lomov's sleeve] Ivan Vassilevitch! Ivan Vassilevitch! What
have you done to me? He's dead. [Falls into an armchair] A doctor, a
doctor!
[Hysterics.]
CHUBUKOV :
Oh! What is it? What's the matter?
NATALYA :
[wails] He's dead.... dead!
CHUBUKOV :
Who's dead? [Looks at Lomov] So he is! My word! Water! A doctor! [Lifs a tumbler to Lomov's mouth] Drink this! No, he doesn't drink. It means he's dead, and all that. I'm the most unhappy of men! Why don't I put a bullect into my brain? Why haven't I cut my throat yet? What am I waiting for? Give me a knife! Give me a pistol! [Lomov moves] He seems to be coming round. Drink some water! That's right.
LOMOV :
I see stars... mist... where am I?
CHUBUKOV :
Hurry up and get married and- well, to the devil with you! She's willing! [He puts Lomov's hand into his daughter's] She's willing and all that. I give you my blessing and so on. Only leave me in peace!
LOMOV :
[getting up] Eh? What? To whom?
CHUBUKOV :
She's willing! Well? Kiss and be damned to you!
NATALYA :
[wails] He's alive... Yes, yes, I'm willing.
CHUBUKOV :
Kiss each other!
LOMOV :
Eh? Kiss whom? [They kiss] Very nice, too. Excuse me, what's it all about? Oh, now I understand.... my heart ..... stars.... I'm happy. Natalya Stepanovna... [Kisses her hand] My foot's gone to sleep.
NOTALYA :
I..... I'm happy too....
CHUBUKOV :
Whata a weight off my shoulders, ouf!
NOTALYA :
But, still you will admit now that Guess is worse than Squeezer.
LOMOV :
Better!
NATALYA :
Worse!
CHUBUKOV :
well, that's a way to start your family bliss! Have some champagne!
LOMOV :
He's better!
NATALYA :
Worse! Worse! Worse!
CHUBUKOV :
[trying to shout her down] Champagne! Champagne!