Between the Lines Chapter 11

Guno's first birthday was a huge event. We invited everyone from the neighborhood. Baba called everyone from his office, and Shubho's parents called all their relatives. Our relatives came too. It was almost like a wedding. We dressed Guno in a bright red stitched sari dress. She hated it, so I had to change her into a comfortable cotton dress. But apart from her dress, everything else went smoothly. In the morning we went to the temple to pray to God.

The temple community in our neighborhood had requested us to arrange a show, where they would enact a Hindu mythological story on Lord Krishna. We agreed to host the show on Guno's birthday. So we hired a tent company to set up a tent on a vacant plot of land opposite the Pandey's house in the lane opposite ours. Guests would first enjoy the dance drama performed by the temple artists followed by dinner, which was also served in the tent in a buffet arrangement. Finally, we had a photo session in which we took pictures of Guno with everyone.

Krishna is a teenager and he wants to play with his girl friends in the garden. But mother Yashoda, wants him to come back home, and help her with the chores at home. Krishna is the adopted son of Yashoda, he being the royal prince, whom his parents had to denounce when he was born, a sacrifice they made to keep him safe and away from the cruel king Kamsa who had usurped his throne. The sutra Dhar(storyteller) of the drama sang, " Who is deeper than the ocean, who is heavier than earth, who is more destructive than fire, who is darker than kohl". Krishna, who is still in the gardens chatting with his friends begins to sing, "Knowledge is deeper than the ocean, Sin is heavier than earth, anger is more destructive than fire and disgrace is darker than kohl". His lady friends dancing with him clap as he sings, his girlfriend Radha stands beside him in a pose holding his flute, and the drama ends. 

Guno was thrilled to see the loud singing and dancing and the colorful costumes of the dancers. All the guests enjoyed the drama and the food, and Guno got a ton of presents. We all went home that night tired and exhausted, and a bit sad remembering the fact that we would soon become busy with our own lives once again, and I for one would miss our slow paced social life in Ranchi, my parents, Budhan and our beautiful countryside walks, my neighbors and home food.

Freemont was wonderful, it was lovely to be back with my husband, but the first few weeks went past in an absolute mayhem, getting myself back into the routine of looking after Guno twenty-four by seven and cleaning up, cooking and shopping, the list of tasks seemed to be never ending. In a months time, I had more or less settled into my hectic new life, but unfortunately, I had no time for friends, let alone relaxing. In my one year of stay in Freemont, before Guno's birth, I had made a few friends, and they all were eager to see Guno. We invited them home once for dinner, but that was it. After that, some of them called to keep in touch, but I had no time to call them back. I was still the new mum, getting adjusted to my motherly duties. Sometimes, it was overwhelming, and I cried. Guno walked to me, and wiped my tears, and said like a grown up girl, "I miss granny", and smiled at me. She was almost one and a half now, and spoke clearly, sometimes in small sentences, but mostly still in words. 

Shubho worked hard in office. He had taught me to drive, and I drove with Guno everywhere. We went to grocery shops, playgrounds, shopping arcades, and even museums. By the time Guno was two I put her in a playgroup with some other mums that I had met in a parents workshop at her pediatrician's place. I formed a lasting friendship with one of the mums who was also Indian, Leena. Leena was pretty, and when I say that, it is an underestimation. She was beautiful and sophisticated. She was also very stylish. Until I met her I was mostly clad in ill-fitted trousers and shirts. She took me on shopping sprees. I learned about makeup, branded dresses, shoes, handbags and a host of other things including table decoration and home design. Shubho started noticing the gradual transformation in me, and he often joked, that I was trying to become a babe. When I sent pictures home of my new avataar, Ma was overjoyed. 

Shubho used tocome back from office pretty late, as he worked in San Francisco. By the time he was home, it was already time for Guno to go to sleep. On rare occasions that he got to spend time with her in the weekdays, he was out of place. One day, I asked him to read a book to Guno, while I prepared dinner. After a few minutes, Guno came and sat in my lap, as I chopped vegetables on the dining table. "Read me, Mummy. Daddy not knows", she said. I requested Shubho to put in more effort, but he shrugged his shoulders, and said, "She just won't allow me to read the way I like". Guno burst out crying at his statement, and said, "Daddy naughty". I started cajoling her, and Shubho found an easy escape. He went back to his television. I put aside the knife, and read the book to Guno at her pace, the way she liked it. Men have an advantage over women, in terms of physical strength, laws of the world, and they love to use it. Women, on the other hand, are disadvantaged as daughters, mothers, wives, you name it. Unfortunately when it comes to Indian households(I would not know about other households), not all but most, the word considerate is nonexistant. I cannot remember the Bengali word for considerate, I don't think it exists. The language undoubtedly must have been formed by a man.

By the time Guno was three, she was a chirpy entertainer. We put her into a nursery school, and she excelled there. She was not only smart. she was sensible, and often helped the kids, who found themselves out of place in the class. If was a child was friendless, Guno was her friend if a child was sad, Guno was her entertainer, if there was a fight Guno was the mediator. Dress up days were the most fun, more for me than her. We went to the craziest shops, to find the right outfit. We brought wigs, crazy hairclips, nd bows, and all of them would go into Guno's Dressup box for our small skits at home. "Mommy, today you become the princess, and I will play the giant", she would say. I would put her small, crown on my hair, and carry her tiara, while she put on my huge sack dress, that I had cut out from a large rice sack. "I will eat you princess", she shouted. And I cried, "No, pls. dont. Look I am so pretty, how can you eat me." "Mommy you are so fat, you are not pretty. You need to excercise to be pretty", she replied jokingly. Gosh, I woke up to my senses. I did have a lot of flab from my pregnancy, and I still carried it with aplomb. I decided to start my diet and excercise routine the very next day!