ABSTRACT
How deeply I was committed to politics, my family did not then know. The things they did know, that is, my activities in connection with the Prabuddha Samity and the Krishna Chandra Institute, were considered more suitable outlets for juvenile surplus energies than trying to be tough—for instance kicking a football about, to use their expression, or surreptitious smoking, card-playing, fighting or being generally wild. But the general tolerance of my activities was tacit, expressed only in my being less often admonished and rebuked than the other junior members of the family. When I began to read the newspapers seriously, my uncles merely remarked that I was being rather precocious, and ought to be concentrating on my school lessons instead. Indeed, whenever I did anything in their opinion wrong, such as my habit of coming home late, of not keeping regular meal hours, of reading late at night books other than schoolbooks, or even walking in the rain or along dark, muddy roads at night, or swimming too long—I knew what was coming, and had my answer pat before they had time to ask; yes, my homework was done. The stereotype question and answer sometimes raised a smile, and the gathering clouds dispersed, but not always.
