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...
"Be careful, you are too young and inexperienced to handle the baby yet!" Aaji cautioned Surangi. "This soft spot over the baby's head is called the fontanelle where the bones have yet to fuse!" She added. "But why are there soft spots on his head?" The curious girl asked. "So that their flexibility can assist the baby's birth!" Aaji responded. It would be a long time before Surangi grew familiar with the mystery of human birth. Perplexed but unsure she let the matter go for the moment.
"Exposing the baby to the early morning sun will make his bones grow stronger!" The grandmother flopped the infant on his belly with his back to the sun. "Gajanan, look at me, I am your aunt!" Surangi tried to talk to the infant and was quite excited to see him respond to her voice. "He is acknowledging me!" She exclaimed happily. "It will be some time before he recognises you, but babies react to sounds even before they are born. Abhimanyu apparently learnt the secret of warfare while still in his mother Subhadra's womb." Aaji gave the girl a brief narration of the Mahabharata legend of Arjun and Subhadra's son.
"Run along now, and see if Yashoda and Sharayu need any assistance for getting the breakfast ready." She sent the girl indoors and Surangi ran toward Yashoda who was busy making a dish called panagi, a rice flatbread that was wrapped in a banana leaf before being baked on the hot griddle. Surangi loved the sweet version into which mashed banana or grated cucumber and jaggery could be added. "May I try my hand at the panagi?" She asked Yashoda who smiled at her enthusiasm. "Go ahead!" Yashoda encouraged her to spread the dough evenly before showing her how to wrap and bake it over the hot flame.
"You can enjoy your handiwork for breakfast!" Sharayu told Surangi indulgently. "But I want to serve it to my husband!" She declared, making sure to serve Madhav her first ever panagi. "So Madhav, how is the panagi?" Sharayu asked Madhav who was busy dipping the bread in green chutney. "Your cooking is always perfect, Kaku! May I have another?" Madhav said generously. Sharayu was about to tell him who had made his panagi when Surangi asked her not to, she was unsure about how he may react if he knew she had made it. "Don't you want the validation you deserve?" Sharayu asked her, smiling at the girl's flushed face.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
"It will take me years to learn how to cook like you!" Surangi said, happy that her effort had found Madhav's approval. After breakfast the children gathered around the baby who had become their favourite indulgence. When it was not raining and if the sun was not scorching hot Madhav would take him out for a walk, with Surangi and Waman falling in step behind him like trusted deputies. He would not let them handle the infant outside the home, and little Gajanan began to enjoy the little excursions, safely ensconced in his maternal uncle's arms. "Gaju, when you grow up you can enjoy the sweet juicy mangoes from this hapus tree!" Madhav addressed the little boy who simply blinked at him.
The children's help was enlisted to clean the plantain blossoms before cooking it because preparing the flowers for the pot involved a lot of work. Surangi and Waman competed with each other in peeling open the reddish bracts, grabbing the inflorescence and discarding the inedible pistil and translucent calyx before dropping the yellow tipped florets in a bowl of salted water. Later the florets would be chopped and cooked with black peas, spices and a generous amount of freshly grated coconut. This dish was one of Surangi's favourite, along with another one made using tender jackfruit. When she mentioned this to Chandri she promptly pointed out that it was easy to like tender jackfruit because it tasted a bit like meat. Surangi refrained from commenting, meat was alien territory to the Chitpawan Brahmins.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
The last Tuesday of Shravan was set aside for Surangi's first Mangala Gauri puja, on Vidya's insistence. The baby was over six weeks old and mother and infant had already spent their confinement away from company. The Mangala Gauri celebration is obligatory for a new bride and some brides may continue the ritual for five years after being married. Hosting a Mangala Gauri for a daughter-in-law was a mark of her acceptance in the marital family, a way of showering affection on her. Had Surangi's mother been alive she would have surely called her daughter home for Shravan, and Vidya did not want Surangi to miss out on the pampering after the passing of the girl's mother.
Surangi was over the moon trying to visualise the fun activities the ladies would indulge in that evening. All the married women in the neighbourhood were invited formally. Surangi could not recall attending a Mangala Gauri puja before. In reality it was a hen party. The men retreated within the house to let the women sing songs and play their favourite games into the night and feast on festive foods. Surangi donned a traditional saree gifted by her in-laws and put on her bridal jewellery. Vidya dressed her hair in an elaborate bun, topping it with gold flowers. After Surangi was dressed Vidya applied a dot of kohl behind her ear. "Drishta nako laagayla kunachi!" She declared, hoping to ward off the evil eye, as the new child bride looked really pretty.
"Madhava, come here!" Vidya called Madhav into the room on the pretext of handing over the charge of baby Gajanan to him. Madhav entered, tailed by a curious Waman. "Here, manage him yourselves, call me in only if he needs feeding. I deserve a break too, brothers! And Madhava, how does your wife look today?" Vidya asked him slyly and Madhav turned to admire his eight year old bride. "Aga majhi natmogri vahini!" Waman remarked spontaneously, paying an informal compliment to the elegantly dressed Surangi, who stole a glance at her husband and blushed furiously to find him staring at her. "We are leaving, you girls have a good time!" Madhav mumbled, leading Waman out of the room, with baby Gajanan in his arms.
The image of Gauri was draped in silk and embellished with Saubhagyalankar such bangles, mangalsutra and flowers. Surangi made offerings and worshipped both Shiva and his wife Gauri, asking for a happy wedded life. After the other ladies paid obeisance to the beautifully decorated Gauri, they were greeted with haldi-kumkum and fragrant flower strands. Piety notwithstanding, the event was a platform for the women in the neighbourhood to bond socially and enjoy themselves while playing games like jhimma and phugadi. Vidya asked the ladies to gather around for Surangi to recite an Ukhana, which was her husband's name woven in a rhyme.
"Naav ghya ho vahini bai!" Vidya urged. Surangi felt a little self-conscious on becoming the focus of attention in the gathering. She began reciting slowly.
Janma dila maatene, paalan kele pityane
Sasarchyaani haus puravali, Mangala Gauri mi pujili
(Difficult to translate verse but let me try- My mother gave me life while my father nurtured me. My in-laws granted my wish to worship the Mangala Gauri. I greet you respectfully after having donned the garment of good fortune and utter Madhav's name as his wedded wife!)
The women fussed over Surangi for some time and then the games began. Surangi was pulled inside the circle where even the senior most ladies vied with each other to participate in the energetic variants of the basic phugadi. "Come on little girl, let your husband see how feisty his bride can be on the floor!" Someone called out to Surangi. "But the men are not present, so how can he see me?" The girl responded innocently and there were peals of laughter around her. "Aago, how naive you are! All men are curious about our games. You can be sure that Madhav will find a way to sneak a peek without our knowledge, after all it is his wife's first Mangala Gaur!" Surangi wondered if she could spot Madhav trying to peep into the ladies get-together. She found herself wishing that he actually did.
