It was Sunday morning and Manohar had the day off from work. He volunteered to make breakfast with Madhav's help. The ingredients, which included bread bought from the neighbourhood Irani bakery, were surreptitiously smuggled into the home by Manohar, The children were sworn to secrecy to prevent them from spilling the beans.
To her horror Vidya, who had just had her cleansing bath, discovered that Manohar and Madhav were pottering about her pristine kitchen trying to boil eggs in a saucepan and grill bread on her cast iron griddle. Manohar instructed Madhav to spread the contents from the tin of Polson butter on the warm toast while he strained cups of French style filter coffee for everyone.
"No, never! No matter how nourishing it may be, this alien food shall not pass beyond my lips!" Vidya protested, staring at the European style breakfast set before her. The children snickered in response watching the banter between husband and wife as Vidya proclaimed her protest loudly about Manohar having defiled her kitchen with such unorthodox fare.
While Madhav eagerly bit into his piece of toast Vidya stared at the dark smear on hers. A strip of toast was even left standing up into an opened soft-boiled egg.
"What is this dark smear upon the piece of bread? Tell me the truth, did you bring that abomination made from the meat of cows into our home? What shall I do now! Parmeshwara, my husband has been tricked into converting to the faith of those Englishmen!" Vidya sounded distressed.
"Tai, will you relax? This is not what you think. It says Marmite on this jar. What you are suspecting it to be is another English product, a beef essence called Bovril. Marmite is meat-free and is suitable for vegetarians!" Madhav explained, having verified this with Manohar earlier.
"Is that so? Maybe it is, but why should we eat these English foods when our own meals are so wholesome?" Vidya persisted. She was not going to be convinced so easily.
"Our foods may be wholesome but your own diet has been grossly neglected ever since you returned from your parents' home. The doctor says you need to take more protein and iron to deal with your fatigue, aches and pains. He says you must incorporate eggs and fresh milk in your diet. Don't forget, Indians have eaten eggs long before the foreigners arrived to rule over us!" Manohar tried to reason with her.
"But eggs are a source of life, baby chicks hatch from them. How can we be so cruel and consume them? And why this bread? Our people have never eaten bread raised with yeast, that is the European way. And what does this black smear do? Is it meant to improve the taste like molasses does?" Vidya eyed the food suspiciously.
Manohar did not know how to explain things to Vidya. Among their people from the Konkan prejudice against leavened bread was strong. Either the Portuguese colonists or Jesuit priests introduced leavened bread known as pao to Goa and ever since it became associated with Christianity. The fear inspired by the Portuguese Inquisition was so tangible that even common commodities associated with Europeans such as bread and vinegar were viewed suspiciously by the common people of the Konkan.
"Poultry farm eggs are rarely fertilised and so cannot produce chicks. And Marmite is not sweet, rather it is salty and a bit unpleasant to taste. That's why it must be spread thinly over buttered bread to make it more palatable. But it is an ideal tonic to help you convalesce. The Parsi doctor told me that an English scientist called Lucy Wills has recently done research among poor malnourished women in Bombay and used Marmite to treat them successfully. I think you should eat the toast and eggs in the interest of science without worrying about karma. You can sip this sweet coffee alongside so you don't have to worry about the strange taste and smell! In fact we have all agreed to be part of this practical experiment!" Manohar declared, biting into an egg and encouraging Madhav and Surangi to do the same.
Madhav had successfully swayed Surangi's will by convincing her that she would be participating in medical research that was important for his future career as a doctor. And Chandri was no stranger to eggs and meat, her only concern was that the food before her was absolutely bland.
"Our parents and Aaji will never forgive us if they find out!" Vidya sounded worried. Madhav knew how much their grandmother detested any English influence ever since her brother abandoned his roots to settle down with an English wife. Saraswati kaku would indeed raise hell if she got wind of Madhav and Manohar's culinary experiments. She'd probably even ask them to atone for their sins through a purification ritual.
"Then we make sure they don't find out. If all of us keep the secret they will never know!" Madhav glared at Surangi, almost insinuating that she would be the first to tell on them.
"As if I ever do that, snitch on anyone!" Surangi flared her nostrils indignantly.
"It is settled then! Come on Tai, we are waiting for you to begin! Do it for Anandi Joshi's sake! If only she had let go of her strict vegetarian food habits she would have had a successful medical practice by now!" Madhav knew he had nailed it. Anandi Gopal Joshi was the first woman of Indian origin to have trained as a physician in the United States of America. Encouraged by her husband and having firmly resisted the offer to convert to Christianity in return for assistance to pursue medical studies, she had unfortunately succumbed to ill health before the age of twenty two.
After some more cajoling Madhav and Manohar successfully convinced Vidya to give up her sacrosanct beliefs as a tribute to Anandi Joshi.
"Don't expect me to like this stuff. It smells and tastes repulsive. And it looks as though it has been swept off some factory floor." Vidya forced herself to consume her share, taking large gulps of the sweetened filter coffee to wash down the egg and Marmite on toast.
"Wah Tai, you are now the proud recipient of the Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi bravery award for being the first Brahmin woman of our village to defy convention in the interest of medical science! Gaju will be proud of you!" Madhav grinned at his sister. It was not easy to convince women to do something and it gave him added satisfaction of having motivated not one, but two- including his wife Surangi, to shed their preconceived notions.
"Have you forgotten that I participated in the experiment too?" Surangi immediately reminded him.
"And so did Chandri!" Madhav declared.
"But Chandri has eaten eggs all her life!" Surangi insisted.
"Yes, but she was brave enough to try Marmite, even though it is an acquired taste!" Madhav laughed, seeing the girl's expression.
"Bhau, the smell reminds me of stale palm wine from my father's jug!" Chandri grimaced.
Manohar smiled. He knew what Chandri said was probably true. The Parsi doctor who had recommended it had clearly told him that Marmite was made from brewer's yeast collected during the making of beer. Yeast was also responsible for fermenting palm sap to form palm wine. But of course he was not about to admit that to Vidya or Surangi. They had already been given more information than they could process in a day, without being scandalised! He wished his people could be a little more flexible and adventurous like the Parsis, who, even after having adopted a European lifestyle, had managed to hold on to their faith and their cultural identity. They had also become more prosperous through their flourishing investments in business. Manohar was an ambitious man too, little wonder then, that he admired the Parsis for these qualities. Most of the top law firms in the city were owned by the Parsis.
"Vahini, you better watch out! Your husband is turning out to be an Anglophile like my husband! You had better make sure that he does not get swept into these eddies of European habits!" Vidya issued a warning to Surangi.
"Vansa, what do you mean?" Surangi was suddenly filled with apprehension.
"It means you either choose to transform with him or he may just disapprove of your old-fashioned ways and go after the more emancipated English or Parsi women!" Vidya meant it light-heartedly but Madhav was quick to react.
"Tai, don't says such things or else she may have a nightmare tonight! She will believe anything she hears, without giving it a thought!" Madhav clarified.
"Madhava, you know how it broke another Anandi's heart when our Aaji's brother left her behind and take an English wife! Did he not get swept off his feet by the Englishman's ways?" Vidya's tone was severe.
"Of course I know! But Tai, I have a wife already, on the other hand he was not married to Aaji's friend Anandi to owe her a commitment!" Madhav was being logical, yet he could see Surangi's forehead wrinkle up at his choice of words.
"You made a solemn promise to my Baba that you will always be a faithful husband to me!" Surangi whispered.
"As did you to my parents! You should show some faith in your husband and his intentions!" Madhav had managed to swing the ball into her court with that line. Surangi just walked away without another word to help Vidya and Chandri tidy up after breakfast.