There was confusion in the eyes of the seven year old Surangi as they dipped mango leaves into the sandal-turmeric paste to anoint her. She did not know what marriage meant, she was just told that she would move into a new home in a village far away...
It had been a week since the children started regular school. Their breakfast was usually pohe/rice flakes with warm milk, which could be consumed quickly before they stepped out with their school things. Surangi and Chandri attended the Kanyashala or girl's school next door to the boy's school which Madhav and Waman were enrolled in. Madhav was now in the seventh grade while Waman and Chandri were in fifth grade and Surangi in the third. Madhav being the tallest of them led the troupe with his long paces, closely followed by Waman and Chandri who could keep up because they were accustomed to his pace. Poor Surangi would lag behind and had to call out to the others to draw their attention lest they lost track of her. "Bhaoji, wait for me!" She would call out to Waman, rather than to Madhav and in response he would slow down letting her catch up.
After lessons were over Surangi waited for Madhav and Waman to appear near her school entrance even if Chandri left earlier with other girls. Madhav had given strict instructions to Surangi to await him which was just as well because after her first day at school he had thrashed a couple of boys whom he caught trying to bully Surangi. Thereafter for a few days the children would point at Surangi and refer to her as Madhav Bhataachi baiyko (the Brahmin Madhav's wife) among themselves. Nobody made trouble for her again to avoid invoking the wrath of Madhav who was a head taller than most of the school bullies and was a known vigilante whom the tots depended on for their defence.
Though Madhav was strong enough to beat up mischief mongers he often resorted to his wit to control the unruly boys around him. He was very observant, noticing minute details in the behaviour of people. This habit often armed him with the ammunition he needed to aim at them. If someone tried to bother a weaker child Madhav would appear out of nowhere and issue warnings which ranged from threats like telling on someone who secretly smoked bidis (cheap hand rolled cigarettes) or stole money. He once frightened the living daylights out of the local Marwadi trader's son by threatening to disclose his habit of peeping through the window of a prostitute's home while trying to practise his handiwork upon his groin. As a result most toughies were wary of Madhav.
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If it rained heavily the children would seek shelter and resume their journey once the heavy shower had passed. When it wasn't raining Surangi would ask Madhav and Waman to help her gather some ripe carambola or starfruit because Vidya relished their sweet-sour taste. Vidya's pregnancy had altered life in the Oak home, Aaji (grandmother) made sure that she vetted everything that was cooked for the family and offered to Vidya. Salt consumption was reduced purposefully, so was spicy or fried food. Along with Vidya the children also enjoyed healthy snacks such as dried apricots, figs, raisins, cashews, almonds, walnuts and roasted chickpeas. Raw papaya was banned altogether for the fear of setting off premature labour.
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