Bheela’s Blog -041
28 August 2021
Episode 40 Recap
Oshin is unable to stop herself. She lies to Kuni and goes to meet the stranger, Mr. Yasuda. Initially, she refuses the help asks by Yasuda. She agrees to help him once she knows that he is involved in the revolutionary work of giving the sharecroppers their rightful earnings.
Yasuda indicates his fondness for Oshin, and Oshin is puzzled about her own feelings.
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Episode 41
BACK TO THE PRESENT TIME
At Sakata, Oshin and her grandson Kei are staying in a hotel. Oshin recalls all the events at Sakata as she grew up and shares those with Kei. Kei and Oshin are enjoying drinks as the country music is playing in the background. Kei is somewhat drunk, and he is amazed that his grandma could drink! Oshin tells him that she was always busy with work and did not have any spare time to drink leisurely! Kei suggests that they should drink every night. Oshin disagrees and tells him that if she drinks, she will end up telling old stories again. Kei insists, and he wants to listen to all the experiences his grandma went through as a young woman. He is already impressed that his grandma endured so much!
Oshin laughs, and she tells Kei that she doesn’t really want to remember it all. She fell for a man she hardly knew. Kei can easily relate to this as he is young and intelligent. He tells his grandma that it happens to us all, and it could be the real thing! ‘It is pure,’ he says wisely, ‘youthful love!’ Oshin admits to Kei that the stranger seemed so grand to her. He was risking his life to better the lot of the sharecropper farmers. With excitement in her voice, she shares with Kei, ‘As the kids today say, I was turned on!’ Both of them have a hearty laugh on this. Oshin continues, ‘I couldn’t believe that there could be such a wonderful man! I was head over heels in love!
Kei looks at his grandma with affection and respect in his eyes. He asks her if she regrets it? Oshin denies it, and she says she was seriously in love. It was her first time loving a man; he was her one and only! She looks far, and her mind returns to the past.
FLASHBACK RETURNS
Otama, the younger maid, is mopping the floor. Oshin too joins her to clean, but she halts her hands and starts thinking. Otama comments that there seems to be something wrong with Oshin. She tells Oshin, ‘You have been daydreaming; it is so unlike you!’ Oshin quickly comes to her senses and resumes mopping with speed and force! As she completes her task, she looks at Kayo, who just arrives. Oshin welcomes her home. Instead of returning her greeting, Kayo asks Oshin sternly to come to her room. Oshin gets worried.
As soon as Oshin reaches Kayo’s room, Kayo charges her that she heard that Oshin visited Mr. Yasuda, and she went to his room alone. Kayo looks hurt; she tells Oshin that Yasuda has left the town, so she checked with the innkeeper. The innkeeper informed Kayo that Oshin had been up to see him in his room. Kayo is upset, and she questions Oshin why did Oshin not tell her. Kayo, still angry, says that she checked the description of the woman from the innkeeper and then only she concluded that it was Oshin. Oshin replies calmly to Kayo and says that she did some favors to him, and that is all. She apologizes to Kayo and tells her that Mr. Yasuda asked her not to tell anyone about it. That is why she could not even tell Kayo about this.
Kayo is curious now; she asks, ‘What did he ask you to do?’
‘I am sorry, I promised him that I wouldn’t tell anyone,’ Oshin replies
‘You can’t even tell me about it?’ Kayo is shocked and angry again! She says with a lost pride, ‘I guess you know a lot about him then.’
‘I just ran an errand for him’ Oshin tries to calm Kayo down.
‘Where did he go?’ Kayo is now hurt so much that she breaks down.
‘Why would I know? He did not tell me anything important.’ Oshin still tries her best to soothe Kayo.
‘I thought you are my ally? Kayo cries out.
‘I really don’t know,’ Oshin replies again, trying to convince Kayo.
‘You can’t tell me what you two talked about?’ Kayo now starts crying loudly.
Looking at Kayo, Oshin is unable to hold back. She reveals that Yasuda asked her to receive the money order from his family at the Kaga-ya address. Oshin continues that he did not even want his parents to know where he was staying. ‘That is all,’ Oshin concludes.
‘I see,’ Kayo says and takes a deep breath, and composes herself. She is somewhat sad and surprised to learn that Yasuda did not ask her for help.
Oshin tells Kayo, consoling her that he did not want Kayo to get into any trouble. By now, Kayo has controlled herself, and she says, ‘I guess he was being considerate.’ She is pleased with the explanation Oshin gave her. But she is still worried and shares her feelings with Oshin. She asks Oshin if she will ever get a chance to see him again. She assures herself, saying that Yasuda will contact her. Kayo believes that Yasuda is aware of her feelings towards him. She instructs Oshin to let her know if Yasuda ever gets in touch with Oshin and asks for favors. She wants Oshin to promise to share any conversation Yasuda has with her. Oshin nods in affirmation.
***
Oshin is helping Kuni with the accounts and working on the abacus. The postman comes and announces, ‘Mail!’ The front office worker collects all the letters and gives them to Kuni. Kuni starts looking at the mail, and suddenly, she sees a letter addressed to Oshin. She is quite surprised, she tells Oshin that it is very unusual that she received a mail. She observes that there is no sender’s return address. Oshin looks at the cover and comments, ‘I’m sure he forgot!’ She keeps the letter inside the flap of her kimono. Kuni asks if she knew who sent the letter. Oshin quickly makes up a story saying that it is from her relative, an elderly uncle. Kuni gets a little suspicious; she looks at Oshin. Oshin lowers her eyes and asks her if she should close the accounts. As Oshin resumes her work, Kuni observes her keenly. She doesn’t say anything and starts looking at other letters.
Suddenly, the second son of Mr. & Mrs. Sakuragi arrives, with whom the marriage proposal for Oshin has begun. The man, wearing an expensive suit and a cap, smiles and greets, saying, ‘Isn’t it a nice day!’ Kuni is pleasantly surprised to see him. She welcomes him. Oshin bows to him too. He comes forwards and gives a packet to Oshin, saying, ‘I have brought you a gift. Kuni replies, conveying thanks to him for being so considerate. He looks at Oshin with glee in his eyes and says, ‘Oshin seems to be working as hard as ever.’
‘I will make some tea!’ Oshin, lowering her eyes, replies and gets up. She goes to the kitchen and asks Otama to take some tea to the front office for the guest. Oshin runs to the backyard and takes the letter out. She looks around to ensure no one is seeing her. She starts reading the letter with bated breath!!
I hope all is well with you. I am visiting villages around the Mogami River now. I am trying to talk to the young farmers before they are too busy with planting. I will be coming to Sakata in about 10 days. I would be happy if you could see me then. I will be waiting for you at 3:00 pm on April 12. At the sand dunes where we met before. If I don’t see you there, I’ll just be on my way! Please don’t feel that you have to come. Take good care of yourself. I’ll write again … Kota.
As she reads the letter, she is delighted; her cheeks get colored, and she has a pleasant smile on her face. We learn the actual name of Mr. Yasuda; it is ‘Kota.’ Oshin holds the paper close to her heart and waits.
***
A calendar flips, and we see the date; April 12 has arrived! Otama and the older maid have started preparation for dinner in the kitchen. Oshin enters and tells them to carry on with the work. She tells them she will do the rest when she gets back. She also tells them to inform Madame that she went shopping. Then she runs out of the house from the backyard. Both maids come out and watch Oshin hurrying to go. They look at each other, puzzled by Oshin’s odd gestures.
***
Oshin had tried to ask herself if she should or shouldn’t go to meet Kota. When the time came, she just went to the appointed place as if she is drawn there by a thread of fate. She looks at the vast ocean, the Sea of Japan, the same place where she accidentally had met Kota. Some construction material is lying about with fencing around it on the beach. She looks around, and there is no sign of anyone there. The entire beach is devoid of any human being. She lowers her eyes, disappointed, and thinks. Kota comes out from behind the fence and walks towards Oshin. Hearing footsteps, Oshin looks up, and she contains her happiness with a short smile. She bows traditionally to Kota. Kota is holding a bag, and he comes running towards Oshin and stops. ‘I am glad you came!’ he says. ‘Thank you for your letter,’ Oshin bows again. They both walk towards the sea, Oshin slightly behind him.
As he walks ahead, he starts speaking whatever he had to say to Oshin in one go, ‘I had planned on forgetting you if you didn’t show up. I know I can’t have a family as long as I am in this farm reform movement. But you are the only one who understands me. Being with you makes me feel less lonely. I had longed for a person with warmth. I knew that the person was you, when we first met.’
‘I am not one to be put on a pedestal,’ Oshin speaks in a low voice, remaining humble, although she is on cloud nine now with him.
He continues, ‘At our house, there was a maid from Yamagata. You remind me of her. But my mother sent her away when she learned that I have feelings for her. The maid went home and died of tuberculosis. It was she who got me started in my farm reform movement. I went to see her at her house. And I saw the poverty in which she lived.’
He stops walking for a while, and with resolve, he turns to Oshin and tells her, ‘I would like to see you whenever I am in Sakata. We can just talk. You can give me the strength to fight the loneliness. One day, I will come for you. We can be together then. Just thinking about this, I can conquer anything. That is the kind of person you are!’ He keeps his bag on the sand and takes Oshin’s both hands into his palms. Oshin is speechless with happiness.
‘You are going away for a long time?’ She inquires. He nods, affirming, and says, ‘But I will be back. And I will take you away from all this. But you have your own life. I won’t tie you down. I do not have the right. I just wanted to tell you how I feel about you. I don’t want to lose you. I want you to give me a dream. A dream that you are waiting for me.’
Oshin is overwhelmed with such admission of Kota. She has tears in her eyes of joy and hope. She turns her face away and tries her best to controls the sobs. She gathers herself and tells him, ‘I don’t deserve your love for me.’ With so many sorrows accumulated in her life, she cannot handle the excess happiness that came upon her suddenly.
He then holds her shoulders, turns her face back towards him, and says, ‘I will return for you. And I will take you away from this town.’
***
Oshin returns running and enters the kitchen straight away. Both maids welcome her back. Otama says that she is glad to see her back well in time. She offers water to Oshin. As Oshin gulps down the water, the older maid tells her that everyone was looking for her.
Otama tells her that her mother has come to Kaga-ya. She is waiting in the living room with the senior madam. Oshin is shocked. She couldn’t believe her mother to have traveled to Sakata. She finishes drinking the water, thanks Otama, and runs towards the front room.
Indeed Fuji, her mom, is sitting in front of Ms. Kuni. Oshin enters and apologizes for being late; she tells them she was out shopping. Fuji tells her that madam here was worried about Oshin. Kuni laughs and says that Oshin works very hard; she deserves some time of her own. Fuji is somewhat embarrassed; she asks Oshin never to be so ungrateful. Oshin asks her mom what brings her here at Sakata; she is worried if something happened back home! Kuni smiles and replies that she asked Fuji to come. Fuji says that they received a letter about Oshin’s marriage getting fixed, that is why she rushed over.
Fuji is happy to hear about the marriage proposal from Mr. Sakuragi. She says, ‘what a superb offer! I couldn’t believe it,’ Kuni tells Oshin that her mom is very happy for her. Mom says that Oshin is such a lucky girl!! Oshin bows to Ms. Kuni with gratitude. But she is thoughtful.
After coming back from meeting Kota, all this was chilling news to Oshin. The marriage offer had gone this far. Oshin looks at her mom, who bows to Ms. Kuni, and Kuni is all smiles with happiness.
Oshin felt herself going pale and is in deep thought.
How will Oshin handle this? Will the engagement with Mr. Sakuragi take place too soon? What will she say to Kota?
We will find more in Episode 42, coming soon.