Surangi, The Child Bride

Part 49

                          "तीर्थस्वरूप माधव दादा यास साष्टांग नमस्कार विनंती विशेष!"

Madhav smiled to see the neat, almost stencilled schoolboy handwriting of his cousin Waman. The letter began with the customary salutation offering symbolic prostration, reflective of the Indian form of worship. Madhav could easily visualise his cousin with his tuft of hair in the back of his shaven head, the vibhuti mark on his forehead, the snow white dhoti draped around his waist and the sacred thread over his left shoulder, his upper body swaying back and forth as he recited verses from the Hindu scriptures during prayer time, a typical ritual in Brahmin households. 

Waman had written about how the reciting of the Gayatri Mantra and regular Pranayam was helping him focus on his studies. Madhav recalled how the practice of meditation and the ancient breathing technique of Pranayam had helped improve his own concentration and also kept him stress free, a major reason why his grades at school were excellent.

"Surangi Vahini is sitting right besides me. You know how particular she is about grammar and calligraphy ever since you drilled it into her! She wants me to tell you that she has some more doubts about her lessons and that she shall mention them at the end of this letter."

Madhav grinned widely. He knew why Surangi had sat down beside Waman as he penned the letter, she would not miss a single opportunity to connect with her distant husband. He missed her presence too, after all they had spent an entire year together. She was only a child but already had the makings of a feisty companion. As she was too young physically and emotionally he could not reveal unto her how he felt about her for years to come. Because of their tender age they were obliged to remain celibate until they were old enough to consummate the marriage. 

Waman went on to elaborate how everyone at home was keeping good health, and how the heifer had been mated and they could now expect another calf to arrive wintertime, and how his baby brother Madhu was growing as rapidly as a beanstalk during the monsoon.

"Dada, my little sibling is already crawling. Wish you were here to witness his antics, he tries to bite anything he gets his hands on. And I think he cannot really tell who his mother is, because Surangi Vahini spends more time looking after him than my Aai does! In fact he is always tucked on her hip from the moment she is back from school. And he enjoys being carrying around by her so much that he starts to howl the moment she puts him down. I think Vahini is training hard to raise her own babies!" 

The mention of the new baby and Surangi's attachment to him stirred unknown feelings in Madhav's heart. He would try hard not to think of his life back home, for him the only way was the way forward. But whenever there was a letter from home he invariably felt homesick. He knew he missed everyone- his parents, his grandmother, his uncle and aunt, his cousin and last but not the least his child bride Surangi.

He missed the clean and pure air of the countryside, the small of the woods around the village, the temples, the festivals and the taste of meals cooked painstakingly on firewood! No doubt he was staying with his sister and she looked after him well but the emotional connection with his home and family was still quite strong. Madhav pushed aside his thoughts and began to pen a reply to Waman.

"Could not resist replying to you immediately. It was heartening to receive a letter written so sincerely. I miss all of you very much. I could not have a better guardian than Vidya Tai and Gaju is very adorable but I cannot tell you how much I miss life back home, including our mindless banter when we walked to school and back. 

Tell your Vahini I have enclosed a note on her doubts at the end of this letter. I am happy to know that both of you are doing well at school. 

Do you remember I had written about how Bhaoji's boss had asked me to coach his children in Math? Well, I accepted his offer. He insists on paying for my services by the hour even when I offered to coach the children for free. Vidya Tai was a bit apprehensive, she doesn't want anything affecting my school work but Bhaoji managed to assure her that my grades would do better than what she expected. 

A driver comes along with a car pick to me up in the afternoon thrice a week and I spend a couple of hours tutoring the boy Jehangir and the girl Roxana,  who are aged ten and twelve respectively. They are a Parsi family and their bungalow could well be mistaken for an Englishman's home. Most of the furniture is imported from Europe. Crystal chandeliers hang from their ceiling and the entire home is decorated with Persian rugs and marble statues.

Jehangir and Roxana are responding well to my coaching. On the other hand my English is steadily improving with Roxana's help, the children barely speak any other tongue besides the King's language and their own native Parsi Gujarati. Just before our lessons are done a butler serves us tea from a porcelain tea set along with snacks which include sandwiches, cakes and biscuits. I am particularly fond of Peak Frean's salty Golden Puff biscuits and the sweet and spicy gingersnaps. When I come home for summer I shall get you some of these biscuits, I am sure you would enjoy them too! Now that I am getting paid weekly I can put aside enough money to buy presents for everyone. Let me know what I can get for your Vahini and you."

Surangi literally snatched the letter from Waman's hand and reread the contents several times. So her husband was tutoring a twelve year old girl! So what, she scolded herself! No sooner had Madhav flown out of reach of the pestilential Rohini he was already dangerously veering toward another girl who was closer to his own age. Should I worry? Surangi asked herself! 

She wished she could remind her husband that girls like Rohini were like the Madhumalati flower that changes its colour from a virginal white to a shade of blush pink the next day, and then assumes a shade of red as it ages, bending low from its original upright position in order to attract a variety of pollinators! 

Without knowing the true reason for it the child bride was restless with envy and anxiety. She turned to Madhu for relief and in his presence for a few fleeting happy moments she forgot to fixate over whether or not her Madhav was being true to her.