for them.”
Kavita remembers the first farewell she shared with her mother—standing outside the temple after she was married, her body draped in layers of silk, flower garlands, and jewelry, her face heavy with bridal makeup that made her look more like a woman than the girl she still was. She wept that day as she went off to her new husband’s home, feeling as if she were saying good-bye for the last time. Yet she went back home each time she was expecting, and again after Vijaywas born, relying on her mother’s care so she could learn to be a mother herself.
Now, her mother lifts Kavita’s head up out of her lap and holds her face, hot with tears, in her cool hands. “I am glad it is you who is going,” her mother whispers.
Kavita looks up at her with shock.
“I won’t worry about you, Kavita. You have strength. Fortitude. Shakti . Bombay will bring you hardship. But you, beti, have the strength to endure it.”
And through her mother’s words and her hands, Kavita feels it— shakti, the sacred feminine force that flows from the Divine Mother to all those who have come after her.
I T IS A COOL S EPTEMBER EVENING WHEN K AVITA AND J ASU gather together with their families and friends to say good-bye. The first sparkling stars are just beginning to show themselves in a deepening blue sky, like the glimpse of a diamond earring beneath a lock of dark hair. Kavita has worn one of her best saris for the occasion, a vibrant blue chiffon with the tiniest of sequins sewn onto the edges with silver thread. As the sky darkens, Kavita’s cousins, with whom she has grown up as sisters, carry out large vessels of food. They spoon it onto several large banana leaves, laid out in a large circle on the ground. Each person—each family member, each childhood friend, each lifelong neighbor—takes a seat in front of a leaf. As always, the men gather around Jasu on one side, and the women flock together with Kavita on the other.
Jasu’s booming laughter erupts from the men’s side. Kavita turns in time to see Jasu throw back his head, and one of his brothers slap him on the back. A shy smile spreads across her face. He has been full of life these last few weeks as they have prepared for their move, and this has brought her happiness too. Her parents’ blessing and theirreassurance that her rightful place is alongside her husband have helped her see things differently. She has begun to envision a new life with more comfort, less work, and a home away from her stifling in-laws.
“What kind of work will Jasu bhai do, Kavita?” one of the women asks.
“First, he will work as a messenger or tiffin carrier, a dhaba-wallah, ” Kavita says. “There is plenty of that work, and they pay every day in cash. Then once we are settled, he’ll do some less strenuous work in a shop or office.”
Rupa nods agreement. “And they already know so many people in Bombay. Just last night, Jasu bhai was telling us. It is exciting, bena, ” Rupa says, squeezing Kavita’s arm.
Kavita forces away the ache that rises in her heart at the thought of being so far away from her sister. “ Hahn . Jasu says we will have a big flat to ourselves, with a bathroom inside and a big kitchen. And Vijay will have his own room to study and sleep.” She looks over to where Vijay and his cousins are chasing one another, each trying to grab the hem of the others’ shirts. Whenever one falls accidentally, he sends up a new cloud of dust and prompts gales of laughter from the rest. “I worry about him most. He will miss his cousins,” Kavita says. “God willing, we will make our riches in Bombay and come back here quickly, futta-fut .”
By the time the adults finish eating, Vijay and the other boys have returned, dirt ground into their clothes. Jasu comes over to Kavita, broaching the male-female divide that has separated them all night. “ Challo, it is getting late, I think we better say good-bye.” And with those words, Jasu breaks the
Kavita remembers the first farewell she shared with her mother—standing outside the temple after she was married, her body draped in layers of silk, flower garlands, and jewelry, her face heavy with bridal makeup that made her look more like a woman than the girl she still was. She wept that day as she went off to her new husband’s home, feeling as if she were saying good-bye for the last time. Yet she went back home each time she was expecting, and again after Vijaywas born, relying on her mother’s care so she could learn to be a mother herself.
Now, her mother lifts Kavita’s head up out of her lap and holds her face, hot with tears, in her cool hands. “I am glad it is you who is going,” her mother whispers.
Kavita looks up at her with shock.
“I won’t worry about you, Kavita. You have strength. Fortitude. Shakti . Bombay will bring you hardship. But you, beti, have the strength to endure it.”
And through her mother’s words and her hands, Kavita feels it— shakti, the sacred feminine force that flows from the Divine Mother to all those who have come after her.
I T IS A COOL S EPTEMBER EVENING WHEN K AVITA AND J ASU gather together with their families and friends to say good-bye. The first sparkling stars are just beginning to show themselves in a deepening blue sky, like the glimpse of a diamond earring beneath a lock of dark hair. Kavita has worn one of her best saris for the occasion, a vibrant blue chiffon with the tiniest of sequins sewn onto the edges with silver thread. As the sky darkens, Kavita’s cousins, with whom she has grown up as sisters, carry out large vessels of food. They spoon it onto several large banana leaves, laid out in a large circle on the ground. Each person—each family member, each childhood friend, each lifelong neighbor—takes a seat in front of a leaf. As always, the men gather around Jasu on one side, and the women flock together with Kavita on the other.
Jasu’s booming laughter erupts from the men’s side. Kavita turns in time to see Jasu throw back his head, and one of his brothers slap him on the back. A shy smile spreads across her face. He has been full of life these last few weeks as they have prepared for their move, and this has brought her happiness too. Her parents’ blessing and theirreassurance that her rightful place is alongside her husband have helped her see things differently. She has begun to envision a new life with more comfort, less work, and a home away from her stifling in-laws.
“What kind of work will Jasu bhai do, Kavita?” one of the women asks.
“First, he will work as a messenger or tiffin carrier, a dhaba-wallah, ” Kavita says. “There is plenty of that work, and they pay every day in cash. Then once we are settled, he’ll do some less strenuous work in a shop or office.”
Rupa nods agreement. “And they already know so many people in Bombay. Just last night, Jasu bhai was telling us. It is exciting, bena, ” Rupa says, squeezing Kavita’s arm.
Kavita forces away the ache that rises in her heart at the thought of being so far away from her sister. “ Hahn . Jasu says we will have a big flat to ourselves, with a bathroom inside and a big kitchen. And Vijay will have his own room to study and sleep.” She looks over to where Vijay and his cousins are chasing one another, each trying to grab the hem of the others’ shirts. Whenever one falls accidentally, he sends up a new cloud of dust and prompts gales of laughter from the rest. “I worry about him most. He will miss his cousins,” Kavita says. “God willing, we will make our riches in Bombay and come back here quickly, futta-fut .”
By the time the adults finish eating, Vijay and the other boys have returned, dirt ground into their clothes. Jasu comes over to Kavita, broaching the male-female divide that has separated them all night. “ Challo, it is getting late, I think we better say good-bye.” And with those words, Jasu breaks the
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