In the week before their school was due to start the rain God Varun decided to offer the villagers relief from the fiery heat of the summer. The clouds showered their blessings on the parched earth one evening and the children rushed out to welcome the first rains of the season. As soon as the thirsty soil absorbed the raindrops the air was filled with Mridgandh, the earthy fragrance that augurs the advent of the wet season. The children, unheading the warning of the grown-ups soaked themselves as they sang the traditional rhyme to welcome the monsoon.
येरे येरे पावसा, तुला देतो पैसा
पैसा झाला खोटा, पाऊस आला मोठा
ये ग ये ग सरी, माझे मडके भरी
सर आली धाउन,
मडके गेले वाहुन!
Rain, rain, come here, I'll give you a coin , the coin turned out fake and the (angry) rain poured heavily, Come Oh rain shower and fill my pots, as the shower came in rushing the water pot was washed away
After filling the ponds, streams and wells partially the rain decided to take a break. The ground had soaked enough moisture for determined little seeds that lay beneath a coverlet of the soil to bravely push out their green plumules towards sunlight and the plants and trees looked fresh and verdant green with the dust washed away. Bullfrogs began their croaking song making their intentions clear to the neighbourhood females. Farm folk gratefully gathered for their cooking pot, the little fish and crustaceans that the overflowing streams had washed in. Soon it would be time to gather the mud crabs that were flushed out by the rains.
Surangi was not aware of it but Yashoda told her that she shared her birthday with Madhav, going by the Shalivahana calendar followed in Maharashtra, though their birth dates in the Gregorian calendar were different. Madhav would be 12 and Surangi 8. Surangi was unsure of how to react to this piece of information, although Madhav wore a poker face when he found out. On that day Surangi rose at dawn, had her purifying neem bath and rushed with her basket to gather bakul (Mimusops elengi) flowers lying strewn like a carpet under the tree, perfuming the air with their heady scent. The rush was aimed at making bakul garlands with the snow white flowers before they began to discolour and turn a dull brown.
As soon as she gathered enough of them she used coconut palm fibre to string them briskly. This was an easy job because the strand was firm enough to pass effortlessly through the centre of the star shaped flowers. Sharayu then asked Waman and Surangi to pluck some ripe ratamba fruit (Kokum/ Garcinia indica) from the trees in the garden so they could soak the rind with sugar and a bit of salt to make a bright red sherbet later in the day. Surangi loved this job because the children could scoop out the sweet-sour white pulp for eating, leaving behind the sour rinds. The waxy seeds were collected for making skin-healing lumps of Kokum butter.
Yashoda asked Surangi to put on a new parkar (skirt) with a brocade polka (blouse). Even Madhav was dressed in new clothes and the couple offered puja to the Gods at home before taking blessings from the elders. The family then sat down to a shira-puri (puri with sooji halwa) breakfast. As a token of affection for the newest member of their family Madhav's parents presented Surangi with a beautiful necklace called the Kolhapuri Saaz, an uncommon piece for Kokanastha Brahmins but made popular during the Peshwai reign in the 18th century. Yashoda explained to Surangi that it was an auspicious ornament for married Marathi women, worn along with the obligatory Mangalsutra.
The Saaz was made up of gold beads (Jav Mani) and different designs of leaves (panadi) with carvings. Small pendants having different designs were strung with a ruby studded main pendant. There were 21 motif pendants of which 10 represented the Dashavatara of Lord Vishnu and 8 represented Ashtamangal. These included Matsya (fish), Kamal (lotus), Karley, (bitter gourd), Chandra (moon), Bel Paan (Bel leaf), Shankha (conch), Kasav (Tortoise) and Bhunga (bumble bee), Kirti Mukh and Taviz (amulet or good luck charm) strung opposite each other.
Surangi and Madhav were seated on wooden seats called paat and treated to tilak and aukshan/aarti done with a lit silver lamp on a silver salver called tamhan. Yashoda offered Surangi an Oti of coconut, rice grains, sari-choli and flowers. Madhav then put the Saaz necklace around Surangi's neck as it was custom for a husband to gift it to his wife as a token of their marital bond. His parents presented Madhav with a men's single earring amusingly called the Bhik Bali (Bhik means alms). His earlobes had been pierced during infancy as expected for all Hindus. The upper right ear had been pierced when he was older, and a piece of tulsi stem was used to prevent it from closing.
Surangi thought it was an apt gift for the genius Madhav as the Bhik Bali symbolised knowledge and intelligence, given as a reward to a scholar for his academic excellence. It is worn in the right ear, only by men. It had two lustrous pearls and gemstones strung on gold wire. In the past poor Brahmin scholars used to earn their living by seeking Bhikshas (alms) from the families in the towns where they studied. After completing their education the scholars found employment and prosperity, the Bhik Bali becoming a symbol of their transition from needy to wealthy. Yashoda also gifted a set of new clothes to little Waman so that he did not feel left out of the celebration.
The men and the children then visited the important temples in the village where Surangi-Madhav showed obeisance and made offerings as it was their special day. The priests returned part of the coconut and fruit offering to them to carry home as prasad. They came home to be greeted by neighbourhood children who were sipping Kokum sarbat as they awaited the lunch for which they had been called over. Yashoda and Sharayu served everyone a sumptuous feast of varan-bhaat-batata bhaji, vaangi bhaat (spicy pulao with brinjals and cashewnut), bharli keli (stuffed plantains), pumpkin bharit, khamang kakdi (cucumber peanut relish) and shrikhand puri. The marigold and mango leaf toran, the rangoli and the fragrance of burning incense sticks added to the ambience.
After lunch the children dispersed and the grown-ups took a short nap. Surangi- Madhav changed into their regular clothes and chose to do some reading while Waman played with his wooden top. Around evening it began raining and the children rushed to bring in the laundry from the clothes line. Yashoda and Sharayu busied themselves making a traditional steamed cucumber cake called tavsali/ dhondas. Both Madhav and Waman loved it immensely. Surangi observed how it was being made combining broken rice, jaggery, grated cucumber and coconut, cashew nuts and ghee. After it was ready they cut it into diamonds and the family enjoyed it while it was still warm.
As the day ended Surangi contemplated on how this had been her best birthday so far, although her mother had always made kheer for her, Surangi's father would be away in the taluka town because of his job. She missed her parents, especially her mother who would never come back. But Madhav's family had welcomed her with open arms and treated her like their own. What few reservations she had about married life were gone, replaced by hope and an enthusiasm. She looked forward to going to school next week and even the news of Madhav's Aaji coming back by then could not dampen her exuberant spirit.