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AUSPICIOUS COCONUT


AUSPICIOUS COCONUT



We have a very tall coconut tree in our house and to pluck them is a big issue. You have to get an ‘adivasi’ who has his own ‘nakhras’. Many of them are now dry and fall off once in a while when winds pick up. The other day I found two of my pots under the tree shattered due to the impact. I looked up to see and visualise what would have happened to my nut had one fallen on mine. I picked up two which had rolled far from the tree to the other end of the lawn.

This reminded me of my ‘Baraat’, which had gone all the way from Kapurthala to Jodhpur consisting of six people. Being the ‘Jamai-sa’ of that princely state is a privilege and a pain. Privileges I won’t talk about as all sons in laws of Jodhpur get a bad stomach due to over feeding of love and affection besides the ‘Bajre ki Roti’ and ‘Dal ka Seera’ floating in desi ghee but of a pain of a different kind which I would like to share with you.

The wedding got over with grandeur & we reached the tent pitched for the ‘Bidai’ ceremony. This was the first wedding in both our families. So besides the “adosi-padosi” it was a long queue of “rishtedaars” who had come from far and wide. All came and said something in my ear like “ye hamari beti hai, iska khayal rakhna”, as if I was going to starve her. Then they would put a ‘Marigold ki mala” around my neck, in addition gave me a kerchief and a rupee coin along with the traditional auspicious ‘Nariyal’. Soon time came for the seven of us to depart, wife now being the seventh.

I wanted to ask them that besides love and fresh air, I and my wife are we supposed to live on a coconut diet or what. I was thoroughly confused as people came up the stage. My wife kept introducing them, ye meri phupa ki mami, ye mausa ke jawai ki saas. I kept nodding and wiping lipstick marks with the kerchiefs given to me and collecting coconuts. At the end of the day my younger brother & best man went missing. Later on we found that he had gone carton hunting, as two tubs of the tent house were overflowing with coconuts.

I could see a truck load of items of ‘Dahej’ laid out on the side of the stage. I requested my in laws to keep everything with them and just took my beautiful wife along with her suitcase. They reluctantly agreed but laid a condition that the coconuts we need to carry as a token of remembrance to which I didn’t make much fuss. Finally, we accepted to carry 40 of the 100 odd coconuts. That also became a controversy as one “bua” got annoyed as her nariyal was left out. I asked her, how she knew that which one is hers, so she said see the one with an orange ‘bindi’ that’s mine. I increased the number to 41 coconuts.

With lot of fan fare, blessings and tears in gallons we proceeded to board our train. Till late after dinner we all sat together, hulla-gulla and dissection of the wedding rituals went on. Dad and I opened a bottle and had a tot and finally we retired to our respective berths in the wee hours of the morning. Someone shook me up “Dilli aa gaya” as we had to run from Old Delhi to New Delhi to catch Shan-e-Punjab.

We got hold of every piece of luggage but the carton of coconuts had broken lose. In those days the bottom of the berths used to be free for all in an III Tier Sleeper, so from the place where we were sitting to the first berth on both sides of the compartment our rolly-polly things had scattered. We picked up as many as we could and tied them up in a bed sheet. In jest, my friend said let’s sit down outside the station and sell them off to “mukao the siapa” (end the apain). I saw my wife’s eyes brows curl and we hurried to the next station.

For days on end we ate coconuts, as the vella fauji on annual leave used to be given a screw driver and a knife to peel one every day. The only privilege I used to have was exclusive rights to enjoy coconut water. It’s been ages now since I stopped accepting those auspicious coconuts but the love and affection of the folks at Jodhpur has been steadily increasing for me. It’s now more of a privilege and actually was never a pain. How do I explain it? I wonder!!!!!!!!!!

JAI HIND
© Noel Ellis


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