JOB Charnock had been in India since 1659, and knew Bengal like no other Englishman. He had run a factory up in Patna for twenty years; he spoke and dressed like an Indian, and had married a local girl.* It was Job who chose Sutanuti over Hooghly, and commerce over sabre-rattling as the way to Aurangzeb’s good opinion.
In just six months, Job’s warehouse had blossomed into a bustling river port named Calcutta. Aurangzeb awarded it an imperial charter on February 10th, 1691, and a year later Charnock’s operations were granted independence by Company headquarters in Madras. Records repeatedly show that the Company rated him their best agent.
Yet when he died on January 10th, 1692, he had amassed no personal fortune in over thirty years of service, and his blunt opinions and unflinching integrity had made him few friends. Job kept his respect for the people and customs of India, and coveted only Calcutta’s prosperity. And in that sense, he died a wealthy man.*
Sir Edward Littleton, the Company’s President in Bengal, wrote that she was a poor woman of low caste, and that Job and the Company had endured a great deal of trouble on her account, both at Patna and at Cossimbazar. The rumour that she was a runaway bride who had stolen her husband’s jewellery, and that Job had been run out of Patna after buying off the Nawab, was circulated by William Hedges, a rival at Hooghly whose underlings ripped off local traders. The rumour that she was a fifteen-year-old Brahmin princess rescued from her husband’s funeral pyre was started by Alexander Hamilton, a veteran teller of tall tales.
In 2003, the High Court in Kolkata officially stripped Job of his role as city Founder, on the grounds that Sutanuti, Govindpur and Kalikat were already inhabited. A sovereign nation may of course do as she pleases, but on that logic David did not found Jerusalem (formerly a city of the Jebusites), Emperor Constantine did not found Constantinople (formerly Byzantium) and Tsar Peter the Great did not found St Petersburg (formerly Nyenskans, a century-old Swedish colony).
Précis
Job’s settlement on the Hooghly grew rapidly from a single warehouse to a bustling river port he called Calcutta, and was officially recognised by Aurangzeb in 1691. Unlike many of his contemporaries, the scrupulous Job made little personal profit, and he was consequently not especially popular, but he left a legacy to Bengal beyond price. (55 / 60 words)
Job’s settlement on the Hooghly grew rapidly from a single warehouse to a bustling river port he called Calcutta, and was officially recognised by Aurangzeb in 1691. Unlike many of his contemporaries, the scrupulous Job made little personal profit, and he was consequently not especially popular, but he left a legacy to Bengal beyond price.
Variations: 1.increase the length of this precis to exactly 60 words. 2.reduce the length of this precis to exactly 50 words. 3.introduce one of the following words into the precis: about, despite, just, may, otherwise, since, until, who.
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Word Games
Jigsaws Based on this passage
Express the ideas below in a single sentence, using different words as much as possible. Do not be satisfied with the first answer you think of; think of several, and choose the best.
Spinners Find in Think and Speak
For each group of words, compose a sentence that uses all three. You can use any form of the word: for example, cat → cats, go → went, or quick → quickly, though neigh → neighbour is stretching it a bit.
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
1 Base. Respect. Service.
2 Covet. Its. Tax.
3 Burdensome. Child. Opinion.
Variations: 1. include direct and indirect speech 2. include one or more of these words: although, because, despite, either/or, if, unless, until, when, whether, which, who 3. use negatives (not, isn’t, neither/nor, never, nobody etc.)
Confusables Find in Think and Speak
In each group below, you will find words that are similar to one another, but not exactly the same. Compose your own sentences to bring out the similarities and differences between them, whether in meaning, grammar or use.
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
High Tiles Find in Think and Speak
Make words (three letters or more) from the seven letters showing below, using any letter once only. Each letter carries a score. What is the highest-scoring word you can make?
Your Words ()
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