Bheela’s Blog -015
27 February 2021
Episode 14 Recap
Oshin is very happy in the two strange men’s company as this is a new life for her. The younger of them, Shunsaku, teaches the meaning of her name Oshin. The older man Matsuji is worried and feels that Oshin might report about them once she goes to the village. But slowly, pleased to see her curiosity, Matsuji, too, begins to open up and shares his life events with Oshin.
The agent Gensuke visits Oshin’s village and informs the mother that Oshin is missing for 20 days. He got scolded by lumber mill owners as Oshin did not complete her tenure. The mother is severely anxious since Oshin hasn’t returned home.
Episode 15
FLASHBACK CONTINUES
Gensuke, the employment agent, comes to Oshin’s house. He informs Fuji that Oshin is missing for 20 days. He also needs to settle the dues for Oshin’s wages of incomplete tenure. Gensuke and his men enter the room where the sack of rice against Oshin’s wages is kept. Oshin’s father, Sakuzo, tries to resist, but the men overpower him. Fuji stops her husband telling him that his life is more important than the sack of rice. The men throw Sakuzo aside. He somehow gets up, sitting on the ground sees the whole barrel of rice being taken away. He is distraught with Oshin for leaving without completing her term. He tells his wife that Oshin humiliated us and won’t let her in the house when she returns.
Oshin’s mom, Fuji, is more reasonable. She argues that if the owner treated her well, and still Oshin left the job, she deserved to be punished. She is terrified since Oshin hasn’t returned for the past 20 days. She is worried due to the harsh weather; sitting next to her husband on the snow-covered ground, she starts crying. Grandma consoles her, saying that so far, there has not been any bad omen.
(Some Indian families also believe in bad omen. For example, a crow will start shouting in the morning if someone close dies in another city. Grandma also believes that since she hasn’t seen any omen, Oshin must be alive and safe.)
Oshin’s mom is not convinced. In the cold wind, she fears that Oshin must have been buried in the snow. She continues to cry. Grandma still tries her best so that Fuji remains strong. Fuji pleads to her husband to look for Oshin. Sakuzo tells her not to be a fool since there is no way to look for Oshin in the middle of a blizzard. As there are piles of snow all around, it is next to impossible to search for any person. Fuji is not convinced; she decides to go alone to look for Oshin and start moving out. She continues to cry for Oshin and believes that Oshin is screaming for her help.
Sakuzo, Oshin’s Dad, manages to stop her. He reminds her that Oshin is not her only child. She has a new-born baby who depends on her. There are other small kids too. The baby will starve without her.
The new-born baby starts crying, and Fuji comes back to her senses. Dad continues to speak about their difficult situation. He and Oshin’s brother Shouji will be making charcoal the next day. Fuji has to remain at home looking after small children and cook for everyone. The work on the mountain also needs to start from the next day. He just walks off.
Fuji is full of regrets. She tells grandma that Oshin went working for the family. The family must look for her or else she will be lost. Grandma, though, is very confident of Oshin being alive since she believes that Oshin is unique, she is different from others. Grandma says that if Oshin ran away, she must have a good reason. Oshin is a strong-minded child and won’t do anything silly. Fuji is still crying for Oshin since she is just 7 years old child. Mom worries that she won’t be able to find her way home in this snow blizzard. Grandma tells her that as a mother, she should not lose hope. She should trust Oshin that she will definitely come home. Somehow Fuji takes control of herself and gets up.
Suddenly a worker appears from the lumber mill and returns the coin wrapped in paper. When they came to collect the rice, he says, that they forgot to give the coin belonging to Oshin. Fuji is puzzled as she had no idea about the coin. The worker goes away. Fuji opens the paper wrapping and is extremely surprised to find a coin of 50-cents. Grandma is also surprised; she had given the coin to Oshin, but she is now puzzled why Oshin left the coin behind. Now both Mom and Grandma are in deep worry mixed with sorrow.
Meanwhile, Oshin is at the hut with the two strange men. She has begun to do some household work. She is mending a shirt of Shunsaku. She calls him Anchan (short form of Onichan, Older brother) and shows him her needlework. Shunsaku does not like to take help from anyone, and he tells Oshin the same. Oshin says that she used to mend her younger sibling’s clothes, so she enjoys doing this. Shunsaku replies to Oshin sternly that he can do it himself. Oshin wants to contribute as he has let her stay in the hut. She wants to do everything she can. Shunsaku gets annoyed; he snatches the shirt from Oshin and throws it in a corner. Oshin is confused by his rude behavior.
Matsuji and Shunsaku talk to each other often. Matsuji asks Shunsaku for his sulkiness. Shunsaku replies that he cannot receive help from others. Matsuji warns Shunsaku that they are getting attached to Oshin slowly. It is the same as getting attached to a puppy, and such attachments bring trouble. Also, they need to often move places, and they should always travel light. He says in his wisdom that although Shunsaku is a kind person, he should not get attached to the kid. He says that they should not let Oshin trouble them too much. Their life is at risk if they fall into the trap of emotions. They would need to move as soon as spring arrives. Once Oshin reaches her village, this place will not be safe for them anymore. Matsuji is scared that Oshin might report about them. Shunsaku also gets thoughtful.
Shunsaku gets ups and goes into the forest with his gun. He chases animals and hunts them with his rifle. The whole forest is submerged into the snow, and orange fire coming out of his rifle creates a striking scene against the white backdrop. He gets tired, sits in the snow, and starts playing harmonica. Oshin is working inside the hut. She listens to the music attentively and walks towards the sound. She comes close to Shunsaku and asks him about the musical instrument. Shunsaku does not answer, so Oshin continues to praise the tune. She liked the music. Shunsaku does not respond and walks away into the forest. She is puzzled since sometimes, Shunsaku has an angry, harsh look that makes her uneasy. She understands that she is a burden here too. Once again, she feels depressed as she is unable to go home soon.
She comes into the hut, puts the pan full of water on the fire, and starts cutting Daikon vegetables. All of a sudden, Shunsaku enters the place and collapses on the straw bed. ‘Brother! Brother!!’ she shouts to him, and he does not respond. She touches his forehead, which is hot, and she understands that he has a high fever. She runs out of the hut to call Matsuji, she continuously shouts that something is wrong with Brother. As Matsuji comes out of his place, he inquires about the condition of Shunsaku. Oshin replies that he collapsed and did not move. Both of them rush to the hut, where they find Shunsaku lying like a dead log.
Matsuji hurriedly starts removing Shunsaku’s clothes. Oshin wants to help, so Matsuji asks her to get a wet cloth to cool Shunsaku’s temperature down. As Matsuji uncovers Shunsaku’s shirt, Oshin is shocked to see a deep wound. Matsuji is nervous, and he tells Oshin that this wound gives him fever all the time. A bullet is still inside his chest area. Oshin is curious to know how the shell got into Shunsaku’s body? Matsuji blames the war of Hill 203; he says war destroys the human body. He asks Oshin to warm some water, and he will prepare medicine using herbs. He asks Oshin to get a lot of snow which can be made into ice water to cool the body of Shunsaku.
Oshin goes out, it is snowing very severely, but she does not care. She takes a wooden pale and, with her tiny hands, starts collecting snow. She keeps a wet cloth on the forehead of Shunsaku. She keeps changing the fabric as it turns warm soon.
(I was quite surprised to see this type of home remedy used in Japan so many years ago. In our Indian homes, too, it is very common to put a wet cloth on a patient’s forehead. We have to keep changing the damp fabric as long as the fever subsides. The damp cloth absorbs heat from the body. Oshin does the same to Shunsaku. I realized the similarities between India and Japan, especially on various social practices!)
Oshin does not sleep the whole night; she continues collecting snow, melts it to convert into cold water, and puts the wet cloth alternatively. Matsuji dozes off, and when he wakes up, he watches Oshin serving tirelessly to cure Shunsaku. He touches the Shunsaku’s forehead and declares that fever is gone! Oshin is very happy to hear this.
Shunsaku opens his eyes. Matsuji tells him that the little girl helped cure him, and she was awake through the night. She cooled him with icy water without taking a single moment’s rest. He plans to wash Shunsaku and change his clothes since fever creates perspiration as it leaves the body. He saved some rice for these emergency situations, and he intends to prepare porridge. Oshin returns with the dry clothes of Shunsaku and tells Matsuji that she can prepare porridge. She also takes the wet clothe of Shunsaku to wash them to ensure there is a clean set available when Shunsaku needs the following change.
Matsuji is surprised to see a seven-year-old girl working so hard. He tells Shunsaku that Oshin is a strong-spirited girl, and no one can guess she is just seven. Oshin washes the clothes in a streamlet close to the hut next to mounds of snow. When she returns to the place, she finds Shunsaku sitting on the bed. Just like an elderly person, she commands Shunsaku to lie down. She looks at the boiling pot where Matsuji has prepared bean soup. She is delighted to see and comments that Matsuji can prepare any dish. She asks Shunsaku if he wants to put on dry clothes. As the weather has improved, she kept the washed clothes for drying outside. She also warms those clothes on the fire to dry them perfectly.
Finally, Shunsaku speaks up and sincerely thanks Oshin for taking such good care of him. She was scared that Shunsaku might die. She did not want that to happen in an unknown land. Shunsaku asks Oshin that she wanted to learn how to read and write? He promises her that when he gets better, he will teach her.
Oshin could not believe her ears, and she reaches cloud nine again! The prospect of learning fills her young heart with joy. This Shunsaku, who would look so stern at times, has agreed to teach her! His words made her so happy that she is speechless.
There is light at the end of the tunnel. Oshin is very happy to be able to learn. Education is her only hope to remove poverty, and she knows this at such young age.
What will happen next? Will she be able to learn? What about these strange men? Why are they hiding?
We will know in the next episodes.
Episode 16 is coming soon.