Companions for Life

By Shashikant Patel

I was born and raised in Gujarat India. I graduated from Gujarat University in 1969, with chemistry major. I also proceeded to teach sciences and math at a local school shortly after graduating and continued to teach for fifteen years. In addition to teaching I began studying the life of the people where I was residing, their beliefs and their culture, and that is how I created my story. Previously, I had published my story in a Gujarati magazine and I got many phone calls and emails requesting me to change the ending of my story from sad to happy. With this story, I wanted to educate the readers about the cultures and feelings of the people who are living in the remote areas of India and how their lives are immensely different than the life we have in America. It shows the struggle of poverty, yet demonstrates that happiness has no limitations. Although over the recent years times have changed and Gujarat has modernized immensely, there are still several areas where there is no electricity and running water, and where farming, and living in huts is the way of life.

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: Aug 19, 2011
• ISBN: 9781462027545

Shashikant Patel

I was born and raised in Gujarat India. I graduated from Gujarat University in 1969, with chemistry major. I also proceeded to teach sciences and math at a local school shortly after graduating and continued to teach for fifteen years. In addition to teaching I began studying the life of the people where I was residing, their beliefs and their culture, and that is how I created my story. Previously, I had published my story in a Gujarati magazine and I got many phone calls and emails requesting me to change the ending of my story from sad to happy. With this story, I wanted to educate the readers about the cultures and feelings of the people who are living in the remote areas of India and how their lives are immensely different than the life we have in America. It shows the struggle of poverty, yet demonstrates that happiness has no limitations. Although over the recent years times have changed and Gujarat has modernized immensely, there are still several areas where there is no electricity and running water, and where farming, and living in huts is the way of life.

Book preview

Chapter 1

R upa! Wake up, honey, and look at the beautiful morning! Reva shouted from the back side of the hut. She was feeding the buffaloes before milking them, rubbing her palm gently on their backs. Rupa didn’t listen to her and turned over in her bed on the cot, which was made up with wild wood and knitted with jute.

After few minutes Reva came into the bedroom, angry. She rushed to Rupa and pulled the blanket and shouted, You idiot lazy pig, how many times do I have to shout to wake you up?

Mother, please let me sleep; I still feel tired, Rupa requested.

No, look at the eastern horizon; the light is pink—you will be late. I have to feed and milk the buffaloes. We do not have enough hay. Go and bring the hay from the field.

Rupa didn’t want to get out from bed, but she had no choice. She folded her cotton bed and put it inside the hut. Then she washed her face with cold water, put a small piece of acacia tree branch in her mouth, and chewed to clean her teeth. She put the long piece of cotton cloth on her shoulder, took the sickle, and went to cut green hay. She walked along the crooked path, watching the dance of blossoming flowers. It was the end of monsoon season, and the morning was beautiful. It seemed that nature was waiting to welcome the sun like a beautiful newlywed woman waiting for her husband.

She dressed with a green sari of grass embroidered with blossoming flowers and twinkling pearls of dew drops. The dark, thick clouds in the east were like her hair; the big hills covered with green trees seemed like her lofty breasts.

Each element was ready to welcome the sun, playing sweet music—the roosters, the crows, the sparrows, other birds, and the wind passing through the trees. Throughout the village some women were milling the millet, or corn, using a hand mill made up of stones. The farmers walked on the dirt road murmuring prayers, and the bulls trundled along, causing the bells on their necks to ring.

Most of the crops were ready for harvest, and the farmers, birds, and animals were happy. It seemed that everyone was thanking God for a good harvest. Some of the crops were not ready yet and needed some more time. Some farmers were watering their fields by using bulls to pull a leather vessel filled with water from the wells.

Rupa was the only child of Vajesinh and Reva. She was a fifteen-year-old blossoming woman. She dressed with a red rough cotton skirt that covered her knees and a blouse that covered her shoulders to her lower abdomen. The pink color from the eastern horizon made her look more beautiful. As a single child she got more attention and love from her parents.

As soon as she reached her field, she found that a bull was eating the crops. The crop was the fruit of her parents’ four-month labor and was ready for harvest. This bull was kept free in the name of Mother Rannade. Rupa knew that in Hindu mythology, Mother Rannade was the wife of the Sun; with her blessings a couple could get a child—and with her anger, they would lose their happiness. The villagers did not dare to drive the bull away from their fields, even when it grazed on their crops.

At first Rupa was worried about Mother’s disapproval, and her heart was tearing with each bunch of the crop the bull ate. She started to make loud sounds to drive it out, but the bull didn’t move. Then she started to throw dirt clods at him, but to no effect. It annoyed Rupa, and her face became red with anger.

Rupa slowly went on the back side of bull and hit it very hard, using her sickle. The top point of the sickle made a deep, bloody wound on its back, which was enough to make him angry. It turned toward her and breathed deeply and prepared to attack. Now Rupa realized the danger and ran to save herself.

The bull rushed toward Rupa to punish her. It was so close to her that she felt the bull would surely kill her. But before it caught her, she dived to one side, and it rushed by her. Now the bull started to prepare again for an attack, and it moved back a little, keeping its face toward her and scraping the dirt with its front right leg. This was so scary for Rupa that she started to shout for help. Although she was able to move out of the way a second time, her blouse stuck in a branch and was torn. She fell down on the ground, exhausted—there were no chances this time.

The bull was ready to charge again, and she started to pray to different gods—Lord Rama, Krishna, Lord Shiva, and whoever else she could remember. She closed her eyes in fear. She didn’t have any chance of survival and just prayed again and shouted for help.

God heard her prayer, and a heavy blow of solid bamboo struck it’s the bull’s back. The bull stopped and didn’t know what to do. It turned toward the person who hit him.

Rupa got a chance to move; she rushed to the bullock cart and pulled out a heavy piece of firewood. Then she hit the bull again, harder than before. Now he had two enemies. If he turned to Rupa, the other person hit him; if he turned to that person, Rupa hit him. This was repeated again and again. Thus the bull faced two enemies and found that it was not able to protect itself. It ran away.

Rupa saw the person who saved her life: a boy named Abhesinh. He was eighteen years old. She had seen him many times before, but today she looked at him with a new perspective.

Abhesinh had watched Rupa so many times from the window of his hut. He had never dared to face her, but today he got the chance to see her up close. Both of them were watching each other. Suddenly he looked at her torn blouse and saw what he shouldn’t. Rupa realized that and felt shy; she covered the tear with another cloth and ran away.

This incident started the trickling of a beautiful brook of love in their hearts. Abhesinh went back to his hut feeling that he had lost his heart; Rupa had the same feelings.

Abhesinh lied down in his cot and started to think. Rupa’s image came to his mind again and again. Suddenly he thought of Rupa’s torn blouse, and he started to feel guilty. He wondered about what she felt about him. Maybe he could meet her again.

Rupa started to mechanically cut the grass for the buffaloes; she was not able to concentrate on her work. Her brain was thinking about the incident and Abhesinh. She thanked him a thousand times in her head and started dreaming of the handsome boy.

She finished the work and went back home. She thought about what could have happened if Abhesinh hadn’t come to save her. It was scary for her, and the whole night she couldn’t sleep. Just before dawn she had sweet dreams about Abhesinh and the scary bull.

Chapter 2

Abhesinh was the unluckiest person in the village of Nada. When he was born, he lost his mother during delivery. His father, Rupsinh, didn’t marry again, even though he was only twenty-five years old. Rupsinh thought that if he married again, it would be trouble for his son because he wouldn’t trust his stepmother. Due to his wealth, big house, and fertile land, many fathers would have liked to accept Rupsinh as their son-in-law. All of his friends suggested he marry again, but he always refused.

When little Abhesinh was three or four years old, he started to play with friends of his age. He found that all of his friends had a father and mother except him. His wondered about his mother but never asked his father. He was missing his mother and feeling lonely.

There was a small pond close to the village. Women went there to wash clothes and kitchen pots. There was a huge banyan tree on the edge of that pond, and the small children often played under it. Some people made swings by using long jute ropes.

One day Abhesinh was swinging with the other children, and one kid was pushing the swing for another. Suddenly he pushed so hard the swinging kid fell down and started to cry. His mother was washing the pots, but when she heard his crying, she stopped her work and rushed over to hug him. She put her arms around his back and kissed him. The boy soon stopped crying.

Abhesinh watched these events. He never had experienced care like that and had many questions about his mother. He finally decided to ask to his father. His face became sad, and his mood for playing was gone.

He reached home earlier than usual. His father was cooking food, blowing in the fire with a piece of pipe. The smoke was going into his eyes, and so he didn’t notice Abhesinh come into the room and sit on a small table without making any noise.

When his father finally saw him, he was surprised and asked, What happened? Why did you come back so early? Abhesinh didn’t say anything initially, but then he burst into an explanation of the events. Then he asked why he didn’t have a mother. This question shocked Rupsinh, and the tears that he had held for a long time suddenly came out from his eyes; he started to cry.

Abhesinh could not understand what was wrong, and he felt guilty. He thought he shouldn’t have asked questions that made his father sad. Rupsinh told him that he was his father and mother both. Mothers cooked the same way he cooked. This answer did not satisfy Abhesinh, but he decided not to ask any more questions. He said, Don’t cry, Father, I do not want anything more.

Rupsinh said, God took your mother away from you because he needed her more than you. This answer didn’t satisfy Abhesinh either, but he kept silent and went back to play, and Rupsinh started to cook again.

When Rupsinh finished cooking, he called Abhesinh in to eat. Abhesinh started to eat, and Rupsinh asked, How is the food? Do you like it? Abhesinh kept silent but nodded in agreement. Rupsinh knew that Abhesinh was missing his mother, that Rupsinh was unable to satisfy him. Both of them finished lunch, and after cleaning pots, they went to the field.

Abhesinh asked, Father, can I go to play?

Rupsinh replied, All right, but be careful.

There was a small brook next to the field with little water in it, but on the bank there was a lot of sand. Abhesinh went to play in the sand. Rupsinh cut down one of the dead trees and started to chop it for firewood.

Abhesinh was making a house from the sand. He put his foot in the moist sand and covered the sand around it. Then he slowly removed his foot from the sand, creating the entrance of his house. He made a fence using small pieces of wood chips. Then he went to the fence of the field and collected the leaves of a plant that had two thorns and put them near his dream house; these were his buffaloes. He created a kitchen outside of the house with shades of grass; in the village people cooked outside of their houses to reduce smoke inside.

Rupsinh was still busy cutting the wood. The wood was so dry that he had to hit it hard. Suddenly he missed the place where he had aimed, and the wood bounced. The axe turned and hit on his right leg, which created a small wound. The wound was small but was bleeding heavily, so he removed the long cloth from his turban and tied it around the wound, cleaning it with his own urine. After that he applied a milky latex of plant and covered it with fine soil. The bleeding stopped.

Abhesinh was busy in playing and did not know about his father’s injury. After finishing the work, Rupsinh called him for breakfast. When Abhesinh came to eat, he saw the blood on the turban cloth and asked about it, but Rupsinh simply told him it was a very small injury. Abhesinh had seen this many times; usually people from the village did not go to the doctors for small injuries—and there were not enough doctors around these villages anyway. To get to the doctor, people had to walk miles.

The soil contained lots of bacteria that created infections or tetanus. The villagers were never aware of that; their immune system was so good that very few of them got infections. Rupsinh made two bundles of wood; the bigger one was for him, and the smaller one was for Abhesinh. They put the bunches on their heads and started to walk home.

Abhesinh was an innocent boy, and as a small kid he liked to know many things happening around him. He always asked many questions. His father was a dropout from school, like most villagers. Major students could not finish their high school education. Most of the students got married around the age of fourteen or fifteen. Instead of studying, they engaged in their social and personal activities. But by talking with elderly people, they had good knowledge of religion and had faith in God.

Rupsinh and Abhesinh were walking on the dirty road, balancing the bunches of firewood and talking about different topics. Abhesinh was asking the questions, and Rupsinh was trying to give satisfactory answers. Abhesinh asked, Father, why do we bleed when we’re hurt?

Because we have a lot of blood in our body, replied Rupsinh.

Why do we have lot of blood?

To live, Rupsinh replied shortly.

They walked a little farther, and Abhesinh had another question. Where did the blood come from?

Our body makes it.

How?

We eat food and drink water, which our body converts into blood.

What happens if we don’t have blood?

We would die, Rupsinh told him.

So my mother did not have enough blood, right?

This question made Rupsinh sad. He told Abhesinh to put down the bundle and rest. Then he said, Listen, with blood our body needs so many things, which you can’t understand at your age. Just know that God is living in our body and keeps our body alive. And when God leaves the body, we die.

This answer created new questions. Why does God leave the body?

When our body becomes old, we don’t have the ability to walk, see, or think. God wants a new body, so he leaves the body to get a new one. The soul is supreme or pure; the soul is God.

Abhesinh understood but was unable to understand why God had left his mother’s body even though she was young and healthy. He decided not to ask about his mother because it troubled his father.

They put their bundles on their heads and went to their home without talking about anything else. But the question was hammering Abhesinh’s head on the way home.

They reached home, and Abhesinh went to his friend’s house. Rupsinh went to rest because the wound was giving him pain, and he didn’t have a pain killer. He applied turmeric and covered the wound with cotton, which gave him relief.

Chapter 3

After a few days Rupsinh’s wound healed, and he was able to work as usual. As a professional farmer he worked hard and had good technical knowledge. He had grown chickpeas and pigeon peas in his field, and on the fence he cultivated white kidney beans. Due to hard work and good care, the crop was very good.

Once a year Rupsinh arranged a special occasion called an undhiya party. This party was a special kind of picnic, and people gathered on his farm. Some women went to get water from the well, and some of them were busy trying to prepare the chutney of coriander, green pepper, and ginger. Some of the men collected firewood; some collected chickpeas, fresh kidney beans, and other green vegetables. A few villagers went to the farmer shop to buy potatoes, edible roots, and sweet potatoes. Rupsinh’s cousin, Amarsinh, went to the potter to buy some earthen pots.

The villagers brought all the food together in the pots and covered them with castor leaves. They covered all the pots with hay and then put firewood over them. After that they lit the fire to bake the contents of the pots.

The men were busy baking, sitting around the fire, joking with each other, and putting on more hay or firewood when needed. The women finished bringing water and preparing the chutney. They started a folk dance call the garba; they stood in a circle and started to dance while clapping their hands. Most of those songs were created by the people for joking with their in-laws, because some of the songs told jokes.

After an hour Rupsinh wanted to check on the food. He removed the fire from the top and took a piece of a plant called kharsani, which had a milky juice. He put a drop of that juice on each earthen pot. When the milky juice evaporated immediately, it meant the food was baked inside the pots. He reduced the heat for another half hour and then cooled it down so that it would be ready to eat.

Meanwhile, Rupsinh joined the garba, and when other friends saw him, they also joined. There was a joyful atmosphere, and they danced until they got tired.

After relaxing for a few minutes, everybody wanted to eat. Rupsinh and Amarsinh removed the fire and ashes from the tops of the pots. Vajesinh spread the cotton sheet on the ground to collect the food. Rupsinh took the cotton cloth, wrapped it around his hands, and lifted the pots one by one to dump the food onto the cloth.

Little Abhesinh and the other children wanted to eat roasted ripe green wheat. Amarsinh and his wife, Mangla, went to their field, brought enough fresh wheat, and roasted it in the leftover fire. To improve the taste, Reva brought some homemade yogurt and added some milk and water to make buttermilk.

Everything was ready to eat, and the villagers gathered around the food. Mangla and Reva brought the dishes, which were made up with certain kinds of tree leaves. They served the dishes and bowls to everyone.

Everybody prayed to God for giving them food, and then they began to eat, joking with each other. The women were poking fun at Rupsinh because of his good nature. Everyone knew that he was not going to marry again, but still they asked him, When are you going to marry? We want to enjoy your marriage. But Rupsinh didn’t reply and just smiled. Many unmarried women wanted to marry him because he was handsome, healthy, and had good moral character, but there was no chance for anyone.

All the people finished eating; women took all the utensils to the well to wash them. The men took naps under the shade of mango trees, and the children played on the open ground.

Suddenly Rupsinh got the hiccups; his son Abhesinh heard the sound and rushed to him and asked, What happened, Father? Are you all right? But there was no reply. He rushed toward the earthen pot of water and brought the water and gave him a drink. He drank the water, but it didn’t stop, and he got more hiccups. Then he had convulsions.

The women who were joking with Rupsinh thought that he had taken them seriously, and they felt guilty and told him they were just joking. They thought that he had hysteria. They brought an onion and crushed it and then brought it close to his nose, but it was no use. Little Abhesinh saw that and worried; his eyes were filled with tears. His father was his life—he felt somebody was robbing his life.

There were two educated people who always joined these parties: Mr. Shah and Mr. Sharma, the teachers at the high school of the neighboring village, Padardi. They saw this and checked him, finding it was something serious, and they told everybody to take him to the doctor. Vajesinh rushed toward his bullocks and tied to them to his cart. Some other people brought hay covered with a cotton sheet to create a comfortable bed. Then Amarsinh and Vajesinh lifted him carefully and laid him down on the bed. After that they rushed him to the doctor’s office.

There was only one doctor’s office nearby—at the village of Vaghjipur. It was about seven kilometers from Abhesinh’s village of Nada. It took about two hours to reach it, and on the way Rupsinh was feeling very uncomfortable. His friends were unable to help him; they just patted his head and gave him massages.

As soon as they reached the doctor’s office, the doctor checked him and found that he had tetanus. The tetanus bacteria, which had entered through his wound, became active. He had trouble breathing. The doctor gave him an injection and oxygen to breathe. He suggested taking him to the hospital. There was no ambulance; only the doctor’s Jeep was available. There was not enough room in the Jeep, so the doctor could allow only one person with him to hold the patient and the oxygen cylinder.

The doctor drove the Jeep as fast as possible to reach the hospital. The doctors at the hospital tried their best to save Rupsinh, but it was too late. With the treatment he became able to speak. Slowly he told the nurse to call his cousin Amarsinh, and the nurse left the room to find the cousin. Amarsinh had no brother, and Rupsinh was his only cousin.

He said with tears, Look, Amar, I think I will die soon. I am worried about Abhesinh; he is only five. How can he live without me? Who will take care of him?

Rupsinh’s news gave Amarsinh a shock; he felt as if somebody pushed him into a deep ocean of sorrow. His eyes covered with tears, and he said, Why are you saying this? You will live longer than me.

Rupsinh smiled and said, It is okay, you do not have to give me false hope. I know that my time is over. Before I die, please promise me that you will take care of my son. You do not have to worry about expenses because you can use my fertile land, which will give you more than you can spend. Please bring my son—I want to see him last time.

Amarsinh went out to bring in Abhesinh, who was sitting in the waiting room. Vajesinh was holding Abhesinh, and Abhesinh worried that there was something seriously wrong with his father. He was praying to God to make his father well. Amarsinh came out and told him that his father wanted to see him. Abhesinh followed him to his father’s room and saw him lying on the bed with a sad face. When Rupsinh saw him, he told Abhesinh to come closer him. Abhesinh didn’t know what to do, but he did what his father asked.

Rupsinh put his hand on his Abhesinh’s head and said, My dear son, you are only the person for whom I was living. But God does not want me to live anymore with you. Please forgive me; I could not take care of you. Until now Abhesinh was praying, but after hearing this from his father, he became angry at God. His father said, "Don’t get angry with God—he is doing right. He