Hullo! This is the tenth video on an Indian story, ‘Ripples Roping Memories’
During one of her trips to Sompur, Rani gets the experience of playing alone on a mound of sand. She takes two white stones and strikes them together. After rubbing the stones, she is delighted to find sparks of fire coming out of it. Masked dances are performed during Dashera, the tenth day which marks the end of Navaratri festival. Artists put on masks of various characters. The characters are from the great Hindu epics, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. Plays are enacted in Hindi. Rani does not understand them but she is delighted to see the masked faces.
Adjacent to grandma’s house, there lives a North Indian family. A dupatta flies from their place into grandma’s house compound. Rani’s aunt asks her to pick it. Rani picks it up thinking that she will have to return it to the neighbour. When Rani goes near her aunt, she puts her hand on Rani’s mouth and asks her to keep quiet. Aunt keeps the dupatta for herself. Rani feels it is wrong . She knows, she cannot go against her aunt.
Rani has a chance to visit a photo studio in Meenanagar, Sompur with her aunt. The photographer presses a toy which whistles. Rani erupts into loud peals of laughter. She presses her lips to control herself. A photograph is taken with Rani standing between her aunts and her pet brother sitting on the top seat.
The Kale family lives in Mogra chawl. Mr. Kale is fair, tall, lanky and brown eyed. His wife gives birth to a premature baby boy. Doctor discharges mother and the baby when he finds that the mother and baby are doing well. A heart rending wail is heard after midnight. The nascent babe dies during midnight. People gather around to see the dead babe. Mr. Kale is all panic and is not ready to bury the corpse. No one is ready to help the man because they believe that the death of a nascent babe is inauspicious. Rani’s dad has his foot forward. He buries the corpse in the darkness of the night. Mom, however, does not like it.
Months pass. Rani’s mom conceives again. She gives birth to a baby boy. Grandmother comes from Sompur to Vanavli to take care of the mother and the new born babe. A note of happiness spreads through the chawl. Rani is asked to distribute sweets to all the residents of the chawl.
This episode ends on a positive note. I will come again with the next episode. Till then goodbye.
( The tenth video can be viewed on You tube by typing, ‘Ripples Roping Memories’)
