Bheela’s Blog -035
17 July 2021
Episode 34 Recap
Oshin gets a new hairdo on the occasion of the New Year. She visits the temple with Kayo and Oume, where she spots her mom with a man. Oshin’s mom comes to Kaga-ya, hiding herself to meet Oshin. Kuni gives more lessons to Oshin about women working for others.
Kayo demands a new western dress. Kuni refuses. Kuni asks Oshin to prepare the Daikon gruel.
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Episode 35
FLASHBACK CONTINUES
Oshin is in the kitchen arranging the ingredients like Daikon Turnip for preparing the Daikon gruel, as instructed by senior madam. Oume is talking to Okiku and wonders why the senior madam has asked Oshin to make daikon gruel. She asks Okiku if she ever tasted the gruel. Okiku replies that their family was from a fishermen community, so they used to have rice and barley. Oume also has never had a daikon gruel as she is from a merchant family. Oshin starts cutting the Turnip into small pieces. Oume asks her if daikon gruel tastes good.
***
Kayo is sitting alone in a room and is cross with everyone. Senior madam Kuni and her son are in the front area of the Kaga-ya store, busy discussing the trade. Her son (his name is Seitaro) asks that another rice dealer Kanda-ya in Osaka, wants 40 Koku of rice. (one Koku is approximately 130 kgs). Senior madam replies to him to give them at today’s rate. Seitaro comes close to Kuni and tells her that he wants to speak about Kayo. ‘Can’t we get her the western clothes to wear to school?’ he asks his mother. Kuni refuses firmly. He then tries to justify that he has heard that western clothes are nice. Kuni tells her son that it is not correct for Kayo that she always has her way!
‘But she is so stubborn, she really won’t go to school,’ the dad says.
‘Who raised her like that?’ Kuni humorously tells his son.
‘Doesn’t she get her stubbornness from you?’, dad replies instantly, smiling at his mother.
Kuni chooses not to respond and gets busy on her abacus.
***
Oume calls Kayo for dinner. Kayo says that she doesn’t want any dinner. She asks Oume to tell her parents that she won’t eat until they buy her a dress!
Kuni and Kayo’s parents are sitting for dinner. Kuni says that Kayo doesn’t have to eat if she doesn’t want to! Kuni continues that she will get hungry soon enough! No need to force her. Kayo, sitting alone in her room, starts feeling hungry.
It is past dinner time. Oshin is practicing Kanji script, sitting in front of Kuni. Kayo hasn’t joined them yet for studies. Oshin writes with a brush and looks for Kayo; she asks Kuni whereabouts of Miss Kayo. Kuni tells her not to be bothered by Kayo’s absence. Oshin is hesitant; she somehow gathers courage and asks Kuni what to do with the daikon gruel she cooked. Kuni sternly asks her to focus on her studies.
***
Kayo’s parents are discussing the same topic after dinner. Mino prepares tea and tells her husband that both Kayo and her grandma are so stubborn. Mino is worried about Kayo; she thinks that Kayo will fall sick without eating her dinner on time. Seitaro agrees with her, saying that both bother him always.
Suddenly Kayo enters the room with a gush; she charges her parents if they want her to starve! She shouts and says if they did not care if she dies! Kuni listens to Kayo’s voice and tells Oshin, ‘See? She is yelling because she is hungry’, Kuni has a hearty laugh. She instructs Oshin to get daikon gruel for Kayo and Kuni asks Oshin to join Kayo in eating the gruel.
As Oshin is filling bowls with daikon gruel in the kitchen, Mino enters. Mino is surprised to find Oshin taking daikon gruel for Kayo. Oshin tells her that senior madam gave this order. Mino decides that she will make something else for Kayo. Kuni enters the kitchen and asks Oshin to carry the bowls to Kayo. Mino tries to stop, but Kuni asks her not to meddle.
Oshin serves daikon bowl to Kayo and takes one bowl for herself. Kuni asks Kayo to start eating. Kayo is enthusiastic; she asks grandma if she will let her buy the western outfit if she eats. Without waiting for the answer, she takes the chopstick, fills her mouth with daikon gruel. It tastes so awful that she spits the first morsel. She asks her grandma what the dish she fed her is. Kuni informs her that this dish is called daikon turnip gruel. Kayo is surprised why grandma insists her to eat this dish. Oshin tells Kayo that she made the dish; she asks Kayo if she didn’t like it. Oshin starts gulping the gruel from her bowl. Kayo looks at Oshin. Oshin tells her that it is so good; it brings back so many memories! Kayo is in disbelief; how can Oshin eat relishing the dish. She declares that she does not want to eat; she asks Oshin to bring white rice.
Kuni watches this, and then she speaks to Kayo, telling her that Oshin grew up eating the gruel before she joined Kaga-ya. Oshin never complained about food. Kuni continues that there are people who only get to eat gruel in this world! Kayo calms down and says that she had heard about this dish, daikon gruel, but she did not know it tasted awful. Kuni says that everybody wants white rice, but not everyone can afford it. Kayo must consider this fact, Kuni tells her.
Meanwhile, Oshin has finished her portion happily, and Kayo asks her if she really grew up eating this. Oshin tells her that this is all they had to eat! She says wisely to Kayo that it tastes good when one is hungry! But as a child, Oshin and her family did not have enough gruel either; her dream was to eat her fill of daikon gruel!!
Kuni turns to Kayo and tells her that after knowing what Oshin has gone through, how can Kayo complain about clothes and food? Kuni asks Kayo to think about this carefully. Kayo thinks for a while; she picks up her bowl of gruel and eats it completely. She smiles and tells Oshin that it still tastes terrible! Then she looks at her grandma and says that she does not need a dress or shoes.
Kayo repeats what Kuni had once told her, ‘clothes do not make a person!’ Kayo continues that she feels sad that Oshin had to eat this dish growing up. She once again tells grandma that she likes white rice more! All of them laugh; Kuni has a pleasing smile on her face; she successfully imparted the lesson!
BACK TO THE PRESENT TIME
Oshin and her grandson Kei are staying in a hotel at Sakata. Oshin remembers many incidences of her growing-up period at Kaga-ya, and she shares those with Kei. Oshin and Kei are eating their meals and discussing daikon gruel!
Kei asks Oshin if the daikon gruel is that bad? Oshin replies that people today have no idea what it is like! She tells Kei that Miss Kayo did not know its taste until she ate it for the first time. Oshin isn’t resentful that she grew up eating it. It actually gave her the courage to face all adversities that she faced!
It also taught her to appreciate little things in life. Kei comments that the senior madam sounds very smart! She could teach essential lessons to Kayo. She used Oshin’s example to make her point. Oshin replies that madam Kuni was very capable. Because of her, Kayo and Oshin became inseparable. Oshin continues that she does not know if this was good for Kayo or not! She shares her feelings with Kei, saying that it is funny that we all think that we grew up all on our own, but we owe a lot to other people.
She pours a cup of tea for herself and says that if Kayo and she had never met, they might both have lived totally different lives. She sighs and takes a long sip of tea from her cup. She starts remembering again; she tells Kei that back then, life at Kaga-ya was so fulfilling! She often wondered if that was what real happiness was! She starts looking at distance and remembers her life at Kaga-ya.
FLASHBACK RETURNS
Kaga-ya is celebrating ‘Girls’ Day.’ Oshin had never experienced the girls’ day celebration before. Mino is arranging dolls in a room, placing the dolls on decorated steps. Kayo helps her. Kuni is there to guide them. Oshin asks Kayo if these are ‘Obina’ dolls.
(Japanese celebrate Girls’ day every year. Details about this celebration are available at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hinamatsuri . Obina dolls, which are decorated on this day, also have historical references. Information about these dolls can be found on the website at https://www.japanese-wiki-corpus.org/culture/Hinamatsuri%20(Dolls%20Festival).html . Several Indian families celebrate such festivals in a somewhat similar pattern in different regions of India. We call these decorations ‘Jhanki’)
Kayo asks Oshin if she has never seen such dolls before. Oshin says that she had heard of them but seeing them for the first time. Kayo is surprised; she asks Oshin if their home did not have Obina dolls. Oshin replies that they couldn’t afford the dolls, and they never had any room to display them either. Oshin is mesmerized to see the beauty of the dolls. Kayo tells her that one section of the decoration has dolls that belong to her. That section has dolls from Kayo’s first Girls’ day.
Mino shows the other section, which has baby Sayo’s dolls! It is Sayo’s first Girls’ day celebration! Kuni tells Oshin that these dolls have been in the Kaga-ya family for generations. These dates back to the days of Tokugawa Shoguns!
(Tokugawa period, also called Edo period, (1603–1867), the final period of traditional Japan, a time of internal peace, political stability, and economic growth under the shogunate (military dictatorship) founded by Tokugawa Ieyasu.)
Kayo adds that these are hundreds of years old! Kayos explains to Oshin that the top row has the princess, then there are three attendants, followed by five musicians in the third row. She shows the furnishings of the princess in a box. Mino is delighted, she says, that this year they are celebrating for all three girls, Kayo, Sayo, and Oshin! They plan to have a big feast today. Kayo is excited; she tells Oshin that they will get to drink sweet ‘Shirosake’ too.
(Shiro Sake is a very sugary white sake that is very low in alcohol. It is made from sweet sake, distilled spirits, rice malt, and steamed glutinous rice. Shiro Sake used to be served at the Doll Festival holiday to girls and women. This was traditional since what is called in Japan the Muromachi Period (1336 to 1573 AD). It is not served much anymore to children, though.)
***
Oume and Okiku are preparing dishes to celebrate the festival. As Oshin and Kayo play with toys, Mino comments that Oshin has been with them for six months already; she came during the winter, and now the snow is melting. She tells Oshin that she did very well in these six months, and two years will be up in no time! These words make Oshin think about her family and wonder if her mother is back from her work by now. No matter how happy her life was at Kaga-ya, she missed her mom and her family.
The Kaga-ya family sits for their meals. Kayo asks Oshin to try the Shirosake. Oshin exclaims, ‘It is delicious!’ Mino warns them not to get drunk.
The employment agent Oriki (the one who referred Oshin to the family) has come to Kaga-ya. She is sitting next to Kuni as Oshin and Kayo have their feast. Oriki is happy to see Oshin; she tells Kuni that it is so kind of them to let Oshin celebrate. She informs them that back in the village, no one celebrates Girls’ Day. Oshin is lucky to take part in these celebrations, she remarks. Oshin is happy, and she chirps that it is her first time eating ‘Gomoku rice teel!!
(Gomoku Gohan, i.e., Japanese Mixed Rice is a rice dish cooked in seasoned stock with 5 vegetables. The rice is cooked in vegetables are pre-cooked, so the cooked rice gets a good flavor from the vegetables. You can almost eat the rice by itself without any other dishes!)
Oriki is pleased and comments that Oshin indeed couldn’t have found a better job. Oriki also shares what she heard; she says that Oshin gets to study with senior madam too! Kayo too is happy to join the conversation, and she exclaims that she does just as well as Oshin! All of them have a hearty laugh.
Kuni asks Oriki about the situation at Oshin’s home. Oriki informs that Oshin’s mom has recently returned home. Oshin shouts with joy upon hearing this. Oriki reconfirms and tells her that mom has started working in the fields. Oshin asks how grandma is. Oriki hesitates but soon composes herself saying that grandma is waiting for Oshin to return home. As Oshin starts thinking, Oriki consoles her and says that she will tell Oshin’s family how good she is. Oshin murmurs; she wishes that she could share her food with grandma. Oriki repeats that grandma will be happy to hear that Oshin is being treated very well.
As Oriki is about to return, she bows to Kuni. Kuni gives her a packet and tells her to take this to Oshin’s grandmother. Kuni knows very well that Oshin constantly worries about her grandma. Oriki thanks Kuni and, with tears in her eyes, says that she is sure that grandma will rest in peace now; she tells Kuni that grandma is on death bed.
***
The teacher has arrived to teach playing Koto, the string instrument, to Kayo. Oshin and Mino join to listen. Oshin tells Mino that Miss Kayo is learning very well, and she started playing so nicely. Kayo asks Oshin to play harmonica. Oshin says that she is no match for Kayo.
Suddenly Kuni enters the room and asks Oshin to get ready to go home with Oriki for a visit. Kayo is alarmed, and she urges Kuni why is she sending Oshin away? Kuni clarifies that she is just letting Oshin go home for a visit. As Oshin’s mother is home now, Oshin would want to see her mother. Kuni tactfully avoids sharing grandma’s condition. Kayo is anxious, and she wants to know if Oshin will be back soon. ‘Yes,’ Kuni replies, ‘after she spends some time with her family.’ Kuni asks Oshin to hurry and get ready as Oriki is waiting for her. Kuni instructs Mino to give some rice to Oshin to take as a gift. Kuni tells Oshin to make some good white rice for her grandma.
Oshin starts thinking, why is she being sent home? Oshin couldn’t believe it. Instead of being happy, she became worried.
What will Oshin witness once she reaches home?
We will find it in Episode 36, coming soon.