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...
"Khavoon ghya lavkar, nighalya ushir hoyil!" Sharayu told the children to hurry up with their breakfast. They sat down to a meal of ghavan (rice pancakes) with coconut chutney and ras shirwale/shevaya (homemade rice noodles) which were meant to be dipped in sweetened coconut milk. In the Konkan rice and coconut are integral ingredients in all meals, used in savoury as well as sweet dishes. While Sharayu served them, Yashoda was busy pressing out fresh noodles. After breakfast the children piled into the waiting oxcart which began trundling on its way to market.
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The ride was a little bumpy on the country roads, but it made no difference to the exuberant Surangi. Her young eyes tried to absorb everything they fell on, the passing houses with mud plastered walls and thatched roofs, troupes of monkeys cavorting in the tall trees above, people carrying loads of produce in baskets balanced on their heads, a granite Shiva temple whose bells pealed every now and then and even wandering cattle who preferred languishing in the middle of the road, obstructing traffic. Soon they were arrived in the marketplace.
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To Surangi this market seemed more interesting than the one in her own village. It was huge and filled with a large variety of goods spread across a wide area. The oxcart halted outside the trader's shop whose men helped offload the pile of betelnuts, coconuts and cashewnuts. After weighing them the trader handed over the amount due to Raghav who used a part of it to purchase pulses, peanut oil, sesame oil, salt, sugar, jaggery, dried red chillies and other spices, and some medicinal herbs to carry home. Surangi reminded him to buy dried shikakai pods that are used as a traditional shampoo for cleansing hair.
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