"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.
"Who are Catholics and Protestants?" Waman asked. He had heard those terms but was unsure about what they represented.
"I am not sure myself but Mrs Shaw once told me that the English king Henry VIII formed his own Church after the Catholic Church refused to annul his marriage with Catherine of Aragon. The man married as many as six women in succession, had two of his wives executed and had his marriages with two annulled." Madhav grinned recalling how scandalous British royal history actually was.
"How can a man do that?" Surangi gasped. She could not imagine a man having his wives killed.
"Not only that, the tyrant had thousands of his subjects executed too. He also had mistresses and children by them. The British don't include such sordid details in the history books they teach us from." Madhav's grin widened as he popped another piece of cake in his mouth, sorely tempting the other two.
"Who is a mistress?" Surangi trilled. She had some idea but needed to know more.
"Oh never mind that, who wants to try this cake now?" Madhav didn't know why he felt the need to deflect Surangi's question. Maybe it had become second nature for him to protect her from anxiety.
"Vahini, a mistress is someone whom a married man treats like his wife although people do not approve of their relationship." It was Waman's turn to look smug, having responded to a query before his clever cousin.
"But does that not upset the wife?" Surangi was indignant, the deal seemed rather unfair to her. She glared at Madhav as if he was harbouring the idea in his head.
"As an example, Dada is married to you but if he sets himself up with Rohini too without marrying her it will be a similar arrangement!" Waman said casually, not realising the impact of his words on Surangi.
As she absorbed the message Surangi's eyes filled with tears. Madhav aimed a kick at Waman's rear end but he ducked expertly.
"Look, now you made her cry! Why are you two being such babies? Don't eat the cake if you don't have the courage to let go of your ignorance. And Surangi, you need to be more sensible and learn not to react to such nonsense. For the last time, there is nothing between Rohini and me. Satisfied now?" Madhav looked annoyed at their childishness.
Without a word Surangi grabbed a slice of the cake and stuffed it in her mouth, even though she was a little emotional. To her surprise it was not like anything she had tasted before. Her senses exploded to discover the overwhelming sweet taste and flavours of caramel, spices and brandy. Waman was quick to imitate her. He was no longer afraid of losing his caste. If Madhav and Surangi were bold enough to try out the exotic food he was not going to left behind in the race.
"It is quite nice!" Waman commented.
"It is, is it not?" Madhav smirked. He did not want to burst their happy bubble by telling them that the cake ingredients included eggs and alcohol which were traditional taboo to Brahmins. Mrs Shaw had made it a point to inform him thus but his curious mind had ignored her warning. He was glad he had done it, the silent defiance made him feel all grown up.
"Just don't let the family find out, they would not be able to stomach it. They will have us dip into the Ganga to seek redemption. And Aaji will refuse to acknowledge us for life." Madhav grinned once more to think of the irony of how a person's mind could be imprisoned by orthodoxy and conformity.
The next morning as they walked home from school Madhav trailed behind; letting Waman walk ahead. He wanted to make sure Surangi had recovered from her bout of tearfulness over the mention of Rohini.
"Are you feeling fine now?" He asked her softly, uneasy about exhibiting his soft side.
"Why should I not feel fine?" Surangi was foxed by his question. It took her some moments to recall the previous day's cake incident.
"Oh that, that was nothing! I just cried on impulse!" She admitted.
"You don't have to feel insecure about Rohini or anyone else! Waman can be an ass, don't fall for his words." Madhav sounded eager to have the doubts dispelled.
"Actually I was more afraid that I would lose caste if I ate the cake. People used to say that the Firangis converted Hindus by forcing them to eat leavened bread and meat and made them drink alcohol!" She worded out her apprehension.
"Spreading their faith was a part of the colonizing agenda of the Europeans. They just used people's irrational fear to achieve this goal. They did not realise that Hinduism is more a regional culture than a faith. A person born in this land is technically a Hindu no matter which faith he adheres to. Colonizers destroyed many ancient civilisations during their conquests but they were unable to move us because we have the power to absorb and adapt without letting them superimpose their agenda on us." Madhav was merely narrating what Mrs Shaw had secretly told him. To his amazement she told him that Atheists and Agnostics were quite knowledgeable about the various faiths, even more than Believers. Being better informed helped them adopt a more rational approach.
"Let me share a secret too. I decided to try the cake when I realised why Laxmibai had followed in the path of her husband. A Hindu wife pledges her life to her spouse. Maybe after staying away from him for many years she realised that she always wanted to be by his side, no matter what. I think I feel the same about you!" She avoided looking at him, blushing at her own confession.
As her words sunk in Madhav felt a glow of pride to know that his child bride had pledged her loyalty to him without knowing much about the marital bond. It was probably the same attachment rather than a call of faith that had convinced Laxmibai to join her husband in his effort to become a Christian missionary. Letting a preacher take a spouse was a smart move that gave the Protestants an edge over the Catholics. At least that is what Mrs Shaw had told him!
Their conversation veered toward other controversial issues such as the Indian struggle for Independence from British rule. Growing up in a small town in Konkan gave them little insight into the political turmoil that was accelerating elsewhere in India. They began talking about the other Tilak, Bal Gangadhar, who had been banished to Mandalay for six years after being charged with sedition.
Husband and wife seemed to come to a consensus that though Tilak was a fierce nationalist his conservative social views left much to be desired, especially the issue of women's empowerment and education. Madhav idolised Vishnushastri Chiplunkar and Dhondo Keshav Karve. Both were Chitpawans like him and advocates of women's literacy. Madhav had made up his mind about furthering the cause of Surangi's schooling. Their town did not offer many opportunities for higher education and Madhav began to mull over how to overcome the odds.