Part 32

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"Absolutely quiet, you two, and not a word about this to anyone, do you understand?" Madhav had a mild look of irritation on his face as he tried to get Surangi and Waman to contain their excitement. The children were cleverly hidden behind a cluster of bamboo trees on the edge of the Oak family estate. Madhav had summoned the others to share a secret that the elders in the family were not meant to be privy to.

"But what is the fun thing you said you will let us have?" Waman persisted. 

"First promise me that you will not scream or do anything stupid and draw the attention of the grown-ups." Madhav told them with a stern expression while trying to unwrap a rectangular package wrapped in white muslin.

Surangi's eyes widened to see the thick cut rich brown slices of a dark fruit cake nestled in the contrasting white fabric. She realised it was food but had never seen cake before.

"'What is this strange looking edible?" Her natural curiosity aroused. She saw that the slices were heavily interspersed with nuts and dried fruit. Whatever it was it looked quite tempting and she wondered if Madhav would offer a taste of the mysterious confection!

"This is called cake. The British official's wife from whom I borrow printed English books gave it to me. It is their tradition to make cake for Natal, the holiday which celebrates the birth of Yeshu Christ." Madhav explained. Both Surangi and Waman suddenly looked uncomfortable.

"But Dada, this is Christian food. If we eat this we will surely become outcastes. We can no longer call ourselves Hindu Brahmins and will have to join the Church just like Vishnu Mama did after he went to England." Waman could almost anticipate the reaction of their grandmother who resented anything to do with English culture after her brother abandoned his family of birth and settled in England with a British girl. To Aaji there could be no worse candidate of treason to one's cultural identity that her own sibling.

"There is no such thing as Christian food or Muslim food, or even Hindu food. Cuisine is a reflection of a region and it usually common to its people even if they belong to different faiths. Mrs Shaw took pains to clarify this before she handed me the cake. She explained that Yeshu Christ himself probably never ate this cake as the recipe originated with the Romans and evolved in Europe to its present form."

"Yeshu was born a Jew among one of the Israelite tribes and the food he grew up with was similar to what the Arabs and Jews from that place consume even today. So no, you cannot become a Christian by eating cake as much as you won't become a Muslim by eating meat saalan at Mamdoo's home. These are just myths proposed to misguide people!" Madhav picked up a slice and popped it in his mouth, savouring the rich sweetness as the other two gaped at him with horror.

Surangi looked stressed. She had heard about how Laxmibai Tilak, a Chitpawan Brahmin by birth, had converted to Christianity following in the footsteps of her Christian poet husband Narayan Waman Tilak. Narayan Tilak, who came under the influence of a Protestant missionary called Ernest Ward, had shunned Brahmin orthodoxy and became a Christian missionary after being baptised in Bombay in 1895. Forced to live separately from him his wife Laxmibai decided to reunite with him after four years.

"Do I have to follow you like Laxmibai followed Narayan Tilak?" The thought of having to abandon her Hindu identity made her feel miserable. Waman stared at her wondering what she was talking about. Madhav burst out laughing. Unlike Waman he knew what his wife was thinking about.

"Silly girl, I have no intention to convert to Christianity or to any other faith. If you think Mrs Shaw is trying to influence me to do so you could not be more mistaken. She has shared with me that she is secretly agnostic. That means she neither believes nor disbelieves in God or religious doctrine. Her mother was an Irish Catholic while her father is Anglican like most of the English. She hinted at a history of discrimination against Catholics and Jews in Britain. It seems the British monarch can be crowned only if he or she is a Protestant and belongs to the Church of England." Madhav looked smug, proud of the knowledge he had gained from his banter with the Englishwoman. 

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