2. Paan
Seven years later
"Pappa, what is this?" a seven years old Mahamaya asked Mahesh as she looked at the weird leaf wrapping in front of her. However, it was not weird. She had seen many people chew on it and spit out red juice, littering walls. Her Pappa however wouldn't indulge in alcohol, cigarettes, gutkha (Indian product containing tobacco) or any such thing. It was weird for her to see him bring this.
Mahesh smiled. He liked how she called him Pappa and her mother Aai like they were supposed to be called in Marathi. Today's children think that it is cool to disobey their parents and disrespect their culture but he had brought his Princess up with all the right knowledge such that she would never hate her culture. The couple were like the closest friends of their daughter. He taught her that asking questions was alright as long as she didn't keep the questions to herself and make an incorrect opinion.
Mahesh explained gently, "Maya, don't get confused my dear. This is called as paan. Paan means a leaf. This is wrapped in a betel leaf, that's why it called as paan. The ones which you see, they contain tobacco. However, these ones which I have brought today, they don't contain tobacco. This is not the spitting paan, this is one which you chew and swallow. We even offer it to our family Goddess, Goddess Bijasni. All Goddesses love this paan."
Just then, his wife came from behind him and quickly put one in her mouth, making Mahesh say, "Goddess Indrayani loves this paan too," making the woman blush and the young girl giggle.
Mahesh guided her, "Take it and put it whole in your mouth. If you can't fit it in, you can use two bites too but make sure that you don't drop the fillings. Also, if you feel like you will choke, better to eat it in two bites," he explained, taking a bite off, showing her that he had kept the paan upright such that the fillings wouldn't fall.
Little Mahamaya took the paan and bit into it, moaning as she felt a cold sensation in her mouth. She could feel the mint, the rose water and every other cooling ingredient in there as she swallowed it, a wide smile on her face.
Her parents' eyes however widened when they saw that her throat had become red because of the paan. They looked at each other, shocked. Mahesh remembered that the only time he had heard this happen to was, when Mastani, second wife of the famous minister Bajirao Peshwa used to swallow her paan, her throat would turn red because of how pale she was. Mahamaya however wasn't pale. She was fair yet there was a glow on her face which couldn't be explained. Their daughter was indeed gifted with beauty but from which side? From his or Indrayani's?
Mahesh had a brown skin tone. He was fair from Indian standard but not that fair. People would say that he had wheatish skin. His wife Indrayani was very fair. She had the skin tone like sandal wood but she too was no match to her daughter. The couple had brown eyes and hair which was common in the Indian subcontinent. Mahesh used to keep a clean shave as his wife used to say that it made him look young. They both were Marathi, born in the state of Maharashtra, India.
They were indeed blessed with a beautiful daughter and he vowed to nurture and protect her. Smiling, he asked her, "Did you like it?"
She nodded eagerly with a wide grin, her pink lips and her throat now appearing red. He grinned and patted her head, blessing her, "May you always be this happy, my child."
The paan was their dessert after their dinner. Little Mahamaya yawned, making them come out of their daze and giggle.
"Come, let's sleep," Mahesh said, holding her hand. She shook her head with a pout and said in a whiney voice, "Nuuuu, I have a room and I'm big enough to sleep in my room."
Mahesh grew worried. She would always sleep with them. He tried to make excuses, "There is no bed there, dear."
She pouted and said, "Then I'll sleep on the floor."
Mahesh sighed. She was his little Princess and he didn't want her to sleep alone. Indrayani offered, "No you don't have to sleep on the floor, dear. We have a mattress. It will be soft for you. I will go and lay it for you."
Indrayani got up and went to lay the mattress. Mahesh's ears perked up and he tiptoed to the kitchen, Mahamaya tailing behind him as her silver anklets tinkled with her steps.
He turned on the tap as he heard her wife, "Don't you dare wash the dishes! You go to sleep. You have to get up and work tomorrow."
Mahesh bit his lips and mumbled, "But it will help you."
Indrayani said nothing. She knew it was no use. She was a house wife while he used to work outside and earn money for them but he would come home and tidy their two bedroom apartment, making her mad.
She wanted to serve her husband and be a good wife but he used to spoil her and their daughter rotten. Finally, she was done laying the mattress and walked out quickly, mumbling, "Now, let me continue."
The tap turned off as he said cheekily, "It's done." She sighed, making Mahamaya giggle at the couple. Mahesh held her little hand and led her to her room, his wife following behind him. Turning on a little light and the ceiling fan, he said in a concerned tone, "If you feel scared even for a second, our room door will be open. You can come in any time you want."
Indrayani giggled at her husband's antics and teased, "Sometimes it feels like you are the mother."
Mahesh said defensively, "What? Can only a mother love her daughter? A father can love his daughter too?"
Indrayani smiled, saying nothing. She never had to worry much about her daughter because her husband was always there to take care of her. From having to sing lullaby, telling bed time stories or feeding her, he was there with her on every step. Maybe it was because she was too young when she had given birth to her.
She was seventeen years old when she was married. It was an arranged marriage. Mahesh had recently gotten a job in the Mumbai suburbs. He didn't have much property but her father agreed for the proposal because of how good natured the guy was. He was the first guy who had come to see her for marriage. Nobody even asked her about this proposal.
However, she felt that it was good that nobody asked her. Her sister and cousins would tease her, saying that he and his family didn't have much land and property, only a meagre two and half acres land on which his elder brother used to work. She would have definitely rejected this gem of a man because of her teenage mind.
Her family owned more than hundred acres of the land as the village consisted of people who used to work on the farms. However, the rains were very uneven, making the profit coming from the produce fluctuate a lot. The entire village depended on the money earned from the produce.
After one month of her marriage, she had turned eighteen, the legal age of her marriage when they had gotten the marriage certificate. He was twenty five. He was mature and took great care of her but they were poor and lived in an one room apartment. When she was nineteen, she realized that she was pregnant but it could cost her life. She didn't tell him about the complications because she wanted to give birth to the baby but she wanted to visit mother Ganga to pray for her child's safety and health. Like a blessing, her daughter was born on the banks of the holy river and she was safe too.
The girl was very beautiful. Because of that, she got gold chains, earrings and gold biscuits from her relatives far and wide. Indrayani took the time to calculate and sold the gold along with Mahesh's gold chain, while saving some for future uses. From the money, they bought a two bedroom apartment which was closer to his office.
That saved the travel charges that he would have to use back and forth daily and they wouldn't worry about space much like they had to. Mahesh was in awe of his wife's maturity at such a young age but after all, she was a farmer's daughter. She was used to hardships all her life, knew the value of savings, investments and she believed in finding solutions rather than living with the weight of the problems on their backs. Indeed, she was perfect for him.
She came out of her daze when Mahesh held her hand and pulled her, making her gasp as he took her to the bedroom, pecking her forehead as he said lovingly, "I know how difficult it is to handle the apartment. You do all the work yourself because you don't want to waste money on the maids. I appreciate that but let me help when I can."
She blushed and nodded, closing her eyes as she slept in her husband's embrace.
That night, Mahesh checked on Mahamaya thrice.
*****
A/N:
I felt the same way when my father had brought the paan at home but I liked it because it left a cool sensation in the mouth and it helps digestion. However, people fill it with tobacco which can lead to oral cancer. I added this because this is a unique thing about this culture, you will find great refreshments after dinner here. Normally, what we use is roasted fennel seeds which is very nutritious. Royal families or during festivals, we eat paan after dinners and I'm in love with them. I didn't know how important they are, till I saw that they are offered to various forms of Goddesses in India. Another thing is, we like papadums for crunchiness with our meals. They are made of grains and/or lentils and they can be deep fried but most of the times, they are baked.
Mastani, second wife of Peshwar (Minister) Bajirao-I ^^
And most importantly, like my Dad says, never eat the paan which you need to spit out but never miss the occasion of eating the paan which you swallow.
I found the mention in the Devi Geeta or Geeta of Goddess that Goddess was eating betel. Now, due to translation, I don't know if it was betel leaf, betel nut or something else but I thought of mentioning it. We also have betel nut in our praying place, symbolic as the Goddess.
When I was six years old, I remember whining to my father that I wanted to sleep alone. He had done all these things. Mahesh is like personification of my father while Indrayani is like my mother.
https://youtu.be/3N6uMDtF9-8
There are many stories but a popular story is, he drank poison to save the universe. To prevent the poison from entering his whole body, Shakti or Goddess Parvati took the form of Goddess Tara and held the poison in his throat. Because of that, he is karpuragauram, as fair as camphor but he has a blue throat, neelakantha.
Published now because I'm busy on Saturday.
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