Hullo! A happy weekend to you all after a month. I am here with a video on the end of chapter four of ‘Ripples Roping Memories’.
Aunt Maya’s house has a front courtyard which is a cemented floor. Rani feels warmer when she enters the rooms. There are bedrooms, drawing room and study rooms. The kitchen is small cozy and warm. The backyard is also cemented and has bathroom and washroom. Manish, one of aunt Maya’s kids, sits on a wooden toy horse. He sings a Hindi song, ‘Mere mehaboob tujhe, meri mohobbat ki kasam…..’ Aunt serves hot sabji and roti and Rani relishes it because it thaws her. Next morning, aunt’s daughter, Chitra takes Rani to her school. Fair and straight nosed, she has a shrill voice. Rani attends the Central School assembly’ Everyone speaks Hindi. After the school, Chitra and Rani go to a place where tandoori rotis are made. Thick rotis are baked on coal fire in a deep pit. Chitra purchases some baked and packed rotis from the rotiwala.
Rani attends her uncle’s wedding. She sees that her uncle is restless before marriage. She overhears her uncle saying that he mistook his would be sister in law as the bride and tickled her. He is worried, tensed and thinks that the bride may misunderstand him. Bride Savithri looks like one of the heroines in the Hindi films. She is attractive. Wedding goes on well with flowers, food, Vedic chants, colourful draperies, music and people all around. The jubilation is over. Dad returns to Sagarpur with his children. There are no street lights on L.N. road Vanavli. Dad walks away with the luggage. Rani’s brothers and sisters run behind him. Rani cannot trace them in the dark. She has worn a white frock. It is late midnight and she is left all alone on L.N. road Vanavli. Dad does not look behind. He is not aware that one of his children is left behind. Rani has a feeling of numbness in her heart. She is shivering with fear. She wants to cry but she cannot cry. Dogs bark. She speeds up her walking. Anxiety makes her move fast. She reaches home at around 2 a.m. It is an indelible night of fear alone in the dark. At home, she takes a long breath and relaxes. Her father, brothers and sisters are at home.
Mom has gone thin. She has recouped from typhoid. Rani resumes going to school. Dad does some household work to relieve mom. Castor oil mixed in hot black tea is given to children in order to lubricate and clean their stomach and intestines. Problem of acidity is also cowed down. Castor oil is administered only during change of seasons. No food is given till purgation or loose motion stops. It is a bathless day for children. Cumin pepper soup, rice and buttermilk are given after the purgation stops. Supper constitutes the same. Next day refreshing oil massage and bath is given to each of the kids. Sumptuous meal is provided to kids.
Karnesh becomes a leader during play. He narrates stories from the Ramayana and tells how Lord Rama fights against the ten headed Ravana. Karnesh even acts as Hanuman, a devotee of Lord Rama. Karnesh seems to be inspired by Lord Rama. He is amused by Revathi and Uma. He laughs at them. Karnesh wants to sing a traditional Marathi song, ‘Ratrakali, Ghagarakali……’ When he begins to sing, Revathi and Uma scream deliberately to prevent him from singing. Karnesh puts his hands on his ears.
Hari plucks mangoes from masterji’s compound. Hari asks his friends to keep a watch on masterji and his house people. Hari climbs the tree. Boys, on seeing masterji run away leaving Hari behind. Hari is caught. Parents are embarrassed and punish Hari by restricting his movements. Hari plays cricket with boys outside. Boys quarrel frequently. Batsman thinks he is not out and gets angry. He quits the game. More than play the boys create a din. Girls from households are not sent to school. They do household work like stitching , knitting and so on.
Rani resents her family background and says that she does not like the house. Her father advises her not to look at the negative aspect of life. Rani is sorry to see her mother slogging. She helps her by collecting cow dung found on streets. Her mother mixes it with charcoal bits and shapes it into balls and dries it in the balcony. It is used as fuel and little kerosene is required to light it. A mud stove is used for the purpose. It is made out of scrap metal bucket. Phulkas and tasty sabji are cooked. Mom uses sliced brinjals lengthwise with grounded masala and a bit of jaggery to make sabji. Rani takes the responsibility of cleaning the mud stove.
This is all in chapter four. Next time we begin with the next chapter. Till then, goodbye!
( video can be viewed on You tube by typing, ‘Ripples Roping Memories’)
