Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay

“ March fast, comrades, march fast. Those who reach the summit first win the battle. So sing Bande Mataram and march fast up the hill, Children, up the hill!'
The hills and the forests resounded with the shouts of Bande Mataram. Slowly the Children began the ascent. But soon they were dismayed to see Mahendra rushing down the hill frantically blowing a trumpet. In an instant the crest of the hill was covered with cannons, and the artillerymen of the British army stood clear against the blue sky.
The Children sang:
Mother, hail! ”

“ Thou as strength in arms of men,
Thou as faith in hearts dost reign.
But the fierce roar of the British cannons drowned this great song of the Children. Hundreds of them began to fall, dead or wounded, on the hillside. The British steadily kept up the cannonading with volleys like thunder. Like sheaves of rice before the farmers at harvest time the Children fell, cut to pieces. Both Jiban and Mahendra tried their best to stem the tide of battle but in vain. The Children began to retreat like falling stones from a hilltop. ”

“ The British soldiers shouted triumphantly and pursued the retreating patriots down the hill. With bayonets fixed, they fell upon the Children in waves. In the melee, Jiban met Mahendra for a moment and said: 'Everything is finished today! Let us both die here, fighting for our country's independence.'
'If we could win this battle by our death,' said Mahendra, 'then certainly I would die cheerfully but a hero should never die in vain.'
'Well, let me die in vain. I must die on the battlefield,' Jiban said. ”