This is a story from rural
Bengal. It paints a very realistic picture of the simple village people of Bengal and how they live. Agriculture is their mainstay. They grow their own paddy, and fish and coconuts are much loved delicacies. In Bengal, as in other parts of India, a wedding is a very special event. But day-to-day family life ranks above everything else. And cattle are considered part of the family, since they are such a help to the farmer.
In a village in Bengal there lived an old couple known as Kaka Moshai and Kaki Ma. They owned some land and a small house. They also owned two cows and a bullock. The bullock they had named Nitai.
Kaka was tall and walked very straight, in spite of his age. He was a man of few words. Kaki, on the other hand, was short and chubby and gregarious. When she talked too much, Kaka simply went off to work in the fields. Kaka and Kaki had no children but they loved each other. For forty years they had lived together happily in their little thatched house at one end of the village.
But one day Kaka Moshai and Kaki Ma had a terrible fight. It happened like this. Kaka went to the stream near their house for a bath. He had a bath there every morning but on that particular day he had a rare stroke of luck. He floated his gamchha (towel) in the water and a fish swam straight into the folds. Kaka was overjoyed. He loved fish curry. Grabbing the fish with his hands, `gamchha` and all he ran back home. Kaki was sweeping the veranda in front of the house. Kaka boomed. She has never seen Kaka bring such a fresh `katla` (a kind of fish) before. She said that she will cook a special curry with it with lots of coconut and green chillies.
Kaki put away her broom. She cleaned the fish, ground the spices, scraped the coconut, slit the green chillies and heated the oil. The curry was soon bubbling on the fire. A delicious aroma filled the air. It even reached Kaka Moshai as he worked in the fields and filled him with happiness. Kaka was right, Kaki was a wonderful cook. But that day her heart was not in the cooking. She had just received a postcard to say that her brother`s son was to be married shortly. Not only that. He was to be married to a girl from Kolkata. Kaki was most excited about it as the wedding would be a grand affair. The bride would be wearing the most gorgeous clothes and ornaments. So would the other women. But she was worried about her dresses.
Kaki kept thinking of her sari when she should have been thinking of the fish. Meantime the curry boiled away merrily on the fire. Slowly the water dried up and the pieces of fish began to burn. Once again the smell reached Kaka as he tilled his fields and he came charging back like a bull in a temper. One look at the pan on the fire and he started shouting at Kaki. Kaki too lost her temper and they both started fighting.
They fought and fought till Kaka was out of breath. He simply wasn`t used to talking so much. So he turned on his heel and made for the fields again. But Kaki wasn`t finished yet. She glared at his back and announced grimly that she will not speak to him till the day Nitai`s (their cow) horn turns blue. Kaki went around the kitchen, banging pots and pans till she had cooled down a bit. Then she threw out the charred fish and put some potatoes on to boil for the midday meal.
Kaka did not utter a word as he ate. Neither did Kaki. When Kaka had eaten, he went and lay down under the jackfruit tree behind the house, Kaki cleaned the vessels and swept the kitchen. Then she lay down in the courtyard, with her feet in the sun. And tired as she was, Kaki soon fell asleep.
When Kaki woke up, the sun had just gone behind the tops of the coconut trees. It was late afternoon. It was time for tea. She opened her mouth to call out to Kaka. But suddenly she remembered her words. She could not go back on her words. Kaki realized that she had made a terrible mistake. Here she was, dying to talk to Kaka but that was not possible after what she has told him. Moreover Nitai`s horns would remain as grey as ever.
One more day went by without Kaka and Kaki saying a word to one another. And then Kaki knew she could not stand the silence any longer. She was so used to chatting with Kaka, telling him little things that happened around the house, asking for his opinion, waiting for a word of praise when she cooked something for him. She simply could not bear the thought of not being on speaking terms with Kaka. Kaki made up her mind. Since Nitai`s horns would not turn blue on their own, she would have to colour them. She had a small bag of washerman`s blue which she used on Kaka`s white clothes. Now she decided to use this on Nitai`s horns.
Kaki could not dream of doing the job in the daytime. Kaka made several trips to the cowshed every day, to make sure all was well with his precious cattle. If he saw Kaki painting Nitai`s horns, he would never stop making fun of her. No, the job would have to be done at night.
Kaki waited till the night was far gone. In the other bed Kaka was fast asleep. He was even snoring. Kaki rolled out of the bed, tiptoed to the back door, opened it ever so softly and stepped out into the dark. It was like stepping into a well. Kaki could hardly see where she was going. There was no moon and the sky was covered with clouds, so even the stars were blocked out. A wind had sprung up. It shook the trees and made them look like ghosts. Kaki was terrified. But she said her prayers, wrapped her sari tight around herself and kept going. She had something important to do and that gave her courage.
The cowshed stood behind the house. Kaki reached it and opened the door. She took out the bag of blue and emptied the contents into an earthen platter. Feeling her way about, she cupped her hands and took a little water from a pail that stood in one comer. Making a paste of blue and water, Kaki spread it thickly on Nitai`s horns.
Completely satisfied with herself, Kaki turned to go. But as she neared the door she suddenly saw a human form blocking the way. Kaki threw up her hands and screamed and screamed till Nitai and the two cows joined in the uproar. And there was such a racket in the cowshed that it almost drowned Kaka`s voice.
At the very sound of Kaka`s voice Kaki was her old self again. She asked him what he was doing there at night. Kaka said that he was looking for a bag of blue and Kaka burst out laughing. Kaki began to laugh too. Leaving Nitai and the cows to figure out what had happened, Kaka and Kaki walked back to the house. And both were chatting as hard as they could.
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