Goodbye to Gooseberry?

All She Needs is Love    Part-VI

Goodbye to Gooseberry?

  The twin boys grew up well nourished. Mariamma and her younger sisters had to be satisfied with lesser allotment of milk for their coffee. And the hens’ eggs, after the sales made to needy neighbours and to Thomas chettan’s tea shop in the junction, were exclusively kept for the twins. Mariamma’s sisters hated the hens because of this and angrily ward of the hens whenever they tried to come anywhere near them. They liked only the big red cock. They fed him well with the expectation of a good feast, next Christmas.

Mariamma didn’t bother much about such mundane things like her sisters. She sincerely served her mother. From early morning to late night she was hard up with unending household chores and rearing the cow, two goats and a kid, and more than a dozen of hens.  She enjoyed bathing the naughty twins and putting talcum powder on their body and dressing them up. She carried them on both the hips to the neighbours’ houses and played along with other children till her mother yelled them to return.

Every night, before she slept, she took her slate and scribbled several lines and then rubbed of everything. Many nights she dreamed
about being in School and a few times became the teacher in the same school along with Lukose Sir.

Years passed. Twins grew up and started going to school very unwillingly. Mariamma motivated them to go to school every morning promising them that she would collect and keep very sweet mangoes and red gooseberries from the garden by the time they reach back from the school. Still they skipped the school many times and Mariamma’s appachan used to be very angry at this. He wanted to make them government officials. He was very proud that his elder son joined the Army.

Mariamma turned fourteen that day. None remembered her birthday. She went to the kurisupalli(Road side mini church) to pray on that day. There was nothing specific to pray. She recited ‘Our Father in Heaven’, ten times  ‘Hail Mary’ and put  a quarter ana given by her mother’s brother on his last visit, in the large offering box.

On her return, she found her mother shouting at her for being late. She said, ‘Put on a clean chatta from the box and get ready. Some people are coming to see you from far away.’

Meanwhile, Mariamma’s dad brought rusk and avalosunda(a sweet made of rice powder) from Thomas Chettan’s shop. Mariamma was not puzzled. She knew, people from the far away town ‘Ponkunnam’ are coming to see her. She had heard it from her aunt the other day.

Mariamma cried, ‘I  don’t want to get married. She could not imagine leaving the twins, cow, goats, the beautiful garden, stream and the children in the neighbourhood.

 ‘Keep Quiet!’.Mariamma’s dad shouted. ‘You should be privileged to have someone coming from Aruvithara family to our house. Get ready and behave like a well brought up aristocratic lady!’ Mariamma was silenced instantly.