The Great Banyan Tree: A Collection of Short Stories from India

By Vimala Vasudeva Rao

The Great Banyan Tree is a collection of short stories from India. It captures the social milieu of life in the country in the early years after its independence from colonial rule as well as in the modern day. It also chronicles the emotions of Indians who decide to return to India after living abroad for many years in the Western world. It conveys the hopes, dreams, and aspirations of present-day Indians.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Feb 29, 2016
• ISBN: 9781514469927

Vimala Vasudeva Rao

Ms. Vimala Vasudeva Rao is a freelance writer based in Chennai, India. She has written extensively in the Tamil language as well as in English and has received critical acclaim for her articles. One of her strengths is her unique ability to convey the gamut of human emotions through her writings and create a feeling for the reader of being physically present at the scenes in which her stories are set.

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Copyright © 2016 by Vimala Vasudeva Rao.

Library of Congress Control Number:   2016903087

ISBN:      Hardcover      978-1-5144-6994-1

      Softcover      978-1-5144-6993-4

      eBook         978-1-5144-6992-7

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Rev. date: 02/29/2016

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CONTENTS

The Great Banyan Tree

Love Knows No Boundaries

Love Has No Line Of Control

Homecoming

The Great Search: A Day In An Indian Household

India: Rediscovered

The Gift

I

dedicate this book to my husband Vasu who has supported me and encouraged me to pursue my literary activities, and my son Narendar, who assisted me with the editing of this book.

Without their active and sincere participation, this book would not have become a reality.

THE GREAT BANYAN TREE

T he Indian joint family, even four decades ago, was like a big banyan tree. The banyan tree comes out of a very small seed. But once it grows into a tree, it stands straight, boldly facing all vagaries of nature like storms, floods, the scorching sun, and drought. Virtually nothing can shake this tree. It is said in a Tamil proverb that the banyan tree can give shelter to a king and his army against the heat of the sun or rain. The Indian joint family was like a banyan tree. Under the roof of this household headed by grandparents lived the parents, the sons and daughters-in-law, the grandsons and their wives, the great-grandchildren, the relatives who have become destitute, many servants and their families. If one member of the family had a problem, there was always others to help them to come out of it. If one member of the family had some good news, the whole family celebrated.

Such a family always had a grand old man as its head. His wife, an equally old woman, would have lived with him for about sixty years. In those days, they were married very early in their life. The grand old man would usually be a strict disciplinarian and would insist that others abide by his will. He and his wife would delegate the authority to run the family and look after the finances to their sons and daughters-in-law. They in turn got the work done through their sons. Usually, there were sisters of the grandsire in the household too. Having lost their husband and with no financial backup, they lived with their brothers. Their children were also taken good care of by the family. Such arrangements were of great help to the family. They helped the younger generation in cooking, managing the servants, looking after small kids, feeding them, etc. Each member of the household had a role to play. All were very happy.

One such family was that of Krishna Rao. Rao is the surname given to a community of people in India speaking a language known as Marathi. This community has its origins in the state of Maharashtra in Western India, particularly in the city of Pune. But the family of Krishna Rao shifted many years ago to the southern part of India to a town called Thanjavur.

Krishna Rao had retired from government service as a deputy collector. He and his wife were managing the household with the income he got from his pension and from his property in his native village. They had fields producing rice, coconut groves, and mango gardens. The products were used by the family, and the surplus was sold in the market. This money was enough for Krishna Rao to meet his family's expenditures. The family lived in a palatial house built during the early twentieth century.

The house was built before the invention of electricity. The roof of the house was high so that the house was cool during the hot summer months. Clay was used for binding the bricks, while lime and mortar were used for plastering them. Such houses were built to accommodate fifty or a hundred guests sitting on the floor and having lunch during special occasions. In fact, about thirty people had their food in this manner every day as it was a big joint family.

Krishna Rao had a big gray mustache and wore a white dhoti and white shirt. He wore slippers even at home. He had a majestic personality in tune with his high position as deputy collector. His wife, Radha Bai, was of short stature with gray hair and a big red bindi on her forehead. She always had a cheerful face. She was married when she was just ten years old and Krishna Rao was eighteen. She had undergone so much of adjustments in the family. These experiences had molded her into a perfect Indian wife dedicated to the welfare of the family. She enjoyed the love and affection of her husband's parents and that of her husband, her children, her grandchildren, and even her servants. She was like Lakshmi, the goddess of prosperity, and her very presence gave brightness to the family. Even when Radha Bai was old, her mother-in-law, Sita Bai, was still alive. She was in her eighties with clear eyesight and good physical and mental health. Though she was old, she was consulted in every decision made in the household, from planning the lunch menu to fixing a girl for marriage of her grandson. Krishna Rao's father was ninety years old and was respected by everyone in the community for his sagacity.

There were certain customary practices in most households from time immemorial. The grandmother, Sita Bai, was very keen on the members of the family following these practices. One such practice was the weekly oil bath for men and women in the household. In traditional South Indian households, the ladies in the family have oil bath every Friday. They apply sesame oil on their head and all over their body. Then they take a hot water bath and apply shikakai (herbal) powder to remove the oil. Shikakai is a plant found