Another tale
“This is ker-sangri?” little Sneha asked, licking her fingers.
“Do you like it?” Savita Kaki nodded and asked with a smile.
“Yes, it tastes so good with these puris,” Sneha said eating another bite.
“What about you, Jai?” Lata asked her son as she bit into a piece of raw onion.
“It’s very tasty,” Jai said drinking some buttermilk from his kulhad. Savita Dadi, can we eat ker-sangri with chapattis also?”
Savita Dadi nodded once again as she paused eating to answer his question. “You can eat it with dal bati churma as well as with bajre ki roti and makke ki roti. I think I’ll tell Shambhu Maharaj to prepare dal bati churma tomorrow.”
“What’s dal bati churma?” queried Sneha.
“Lata? What’s this? You’ve never given these children our traditional delicacy?” Savita Kaki asked incredulously.
“Kaki, where was the time for all these things? I, myself haven’t eaten dal bati since I went from here. And, this ker- sangri, I feel that I’m eating it after ages,” Lata said raising a bite to her mouth. “If I can be honest, I would say that I had almost forgotten how our home food tastes like here.”
“No problem. Then, tomorrow we must definitely have dal bati with churma…”
“… drenched with lots of ghee,” Lata added, lost in memories. “It was Sneha’s father’s favourite meal.”
“Yes, I remember!” Savita Kaki said.
“Amma, Papa used to climb the trees in our courtyard?” queried Jai.
“Yes, dear. Your Chacha Ji and he used to break all the tamarind and raw mangoes from the trees. Then Savita Kaki and myself, we both used to deseed the tamarind and store them in sacks. You remember, Kaki?”
“Yes… Yes… and the raw mangoes we used to wash and cut and boil before preparing sweet and also sour pickle for an entire year,” Savita Kaki reminisced happily. “They were such good days.”
“Very true, Kaki. I wonder who’ll help us with the raw mangoes and the tamarind this year?” Lata wondered aloud, taking a sip of buttermilk from her kulhad.
“We can ask Jeetu and Deenu to help with this work tomorrow. We’ve almost finished cleaning and setting up the house. It took longer than I had expected,” Savita Kaki said, biting off the end of a green chilli.
“Yes, Kaki. It’s been a week already. I think we’ll need one more day. We’ll also be able to finish painting those designs on the walls tomorrow. But won’t Sarpanch Kaka need them both at the godown?” Lata queried.
“I don’t think so. And, for once Deenu is behaving himself so I don’t mind having him around here. No weird stories… no long faces. In fact, he looks quite cheerful these days. I’ll speak to your Kaka tonight after supper,” Savita Kaki said. “You don’t worry.”
Both the children looked at each other and suppressed smiles. They were well aware why Deenu Kaka looked cheerful.
~ ~ ~ ~
“Deenu Kaka… Deenu Kaka…” called the children, rushing out after the meal.
“Ahaa… there you are. I was waiting for the both of you,” Deenu welcomed them excitedly.
“Who’s story you’re going to tell us today?” chirped little Sneha, kicking off her blue and white rubber chappals.
Both the children sat down cross-legged on the chabutara near the well under the neem tree.
“Story?” Deenu looked offended.
“Deenu Kaka, don’t pay attention to that. Tell us about your next adventure or an interesting encounter,” Jai urged him enthusiastically.
“You two are sure interested in these stories Deenu keeps telling,” Jeetu said, rinsing his mouth after the mid-day meal at the well.
“What stories? I don’t tell any stories,” Deenu said with a huff.
“Of course!” muttered Jeetu, wiping his hands to the gamcha around his neck. “Anyway, I’m off to take a short nap. You people carry on.”
“Deenu Kaka…” Jai called, trying to get his attention. “Hurry up, it will be time for you to help Amma and Dadi then.”
“Yes… yes…” Deenu said, importantly. “Let me see… Let me see… Ahh… Who shall I tell you about today?”
He scratched his head, deep in thought.
Jai looked at his sister and then said glibly, “Why don’t you tell us about Bholu?”
“Bholu… Hmm… I did have an encounter or two with him. A real badmash he is, I tell you. Very well! I’ll tell you about him. I only hope he’s not around otherwise he’s bound to make some mischief,” Deenu said looking around, peering into the branches of the tree.
“Can you see him, Deenu Kaka?” questioned Sneha, looking around too. “Have you ever seen him, I mean?”
“No, bitiya. I’ve never seen him.”
“What’s he like, Deenu Kaka? What kind of mischief does he make?” Jai asked.
“Bholu is like a disobedient child. He does what he wants. If you tell him not to do something, he’ll do exactly that. I remember this one time; Millie was taking her goats and buffaloes to graze in the forest nearby. She thought she’ll walk them to the river and bathe the buffaloes when they go in for a dip. It was a hot day and she had set out pretty early after her father, Govardhan, the local milkman had milked them. I know about this episode because I had gone to bathe in the river early that morning, I was to go to the big city by bus. You know those b-ii-gg-g vehicles that carry so many people. There’s always a rush in them. One day I decided to sit on the roof because there wasn’t any place inside. At the beginning everything was fine but then when we neared…”
“…Deenu Kaka…” interrupted Jai. “What did Bholu do to the buffaloes?”
“Ahh… yes… yes. I got carried away.”
“What happened to Millie and her animals, Kaka?” asked Sneha impatiently.
The children were habitual by now of listening to Deenu’s meandering tales and they had to interrupt him often.
“Yes… Yes… I’m telling you. Both of you are such good children. Well, Millie got out from her home, there was no school for the children that day so this would be a day out for her, like a picnic. Her mother packed her lunch and tied it in a clean cloth…”
“…What did her mother give her for lunch?” asked Sneha, who didn’t want to miss any details.
“In the village here, usually its rotis with some mango pickle or red chilli pickle…” Deenu supplied.
“See… her mother could’ve also given her some chach but one can always drink the fresh, sweet water from the river. You know you can cup your hands like this, scoop the refreshingly cool water…”
Deenu cupped his hands to demonstrate.
“Deenu Kaka…” Jai interrupted him again.
“Ahh… my apologies. I got carried away,” Deenu mumbled, swallowing comically. “So… Millie got out of home…”
“Yes… yes… with her goats and buffaloes and her lunch…” Jai said impatiently. “And then…?”
“Ah yes. And, as she walked along the green path amongst the trees and bushes, she heard some sound…”
“Some sound? Like what?” queried Sneha. “Footsteps?”
“Arreyy… Na… Na…” Deenu clicked his tongue and shook his head. “Not footsteps.”
“Then?”
“Rustling sounds.”
“Rustling sounds?”
“Yes, rustling sounds from the trees above her. Millie looked up into the canopy above her but couldn’t see anything. So, she just carried walking on, herding her animals towards the river where the sweet grass and herbs grow. These greens have great nutritional value. They’re very good for milch animals. If you drink the milk of animals which feed on those herbs, you’ll become strong and healthy with rosy cheeks and big muscles, just like me,” Deenu grinned, flexing his skeletal arms.
Jai rolled his eyes and Sneha giggled.
“What happened then?” urged Jai.
“Yes...! At first, she didn’t take it seriously. She kept walking with her herd. Then a green plum came flying and knocked her on the back of her head. Wham! She looked around, there was no one to be seen. She shrugged, picked it up, wiped it on her skirt and bit into its juicy flesh. Her animals continued to walk ahead of her, their bells tinkling merrily as they munched the grass and leaves from the bushes here and there. The forest was quiet, except for the occasional song of the koel hiding somewhere and the chattering parrots feasting on the ber,” Deenu said in a voice lowered for effect.
“Oh… so it must’ve been the parrots who dropped the plum,” observed Sneha.
“Eh? What? No… No… It was Bholu!” Deenu Kaka said abruptly, forgetting to be mysterious.
“Bholu? How do you know?” challenged Jai.