Bheela’s Blog -051
06 November 2021
Episode 50 Recap
Ms. Taka, the owner of the hairdresser shop, decides to give Oshin a chance despite a warning from a senior worker. The other workers choose to ignore Oshin.
Oshin learns that young worker Oritsu, a sharecropper’s daughter, might lose her job if Oshin is hired. Oshin then tells Ms. Taka that she wants to quit.
Ms. Taka laughs off and asks Oshin to continue with her job and do not bother.
Please click the link to read the full Episode:
https://bheela-wadehra.medium.com/bheelas-blog-050-ea4a2569f7d4
Episode 51
FLASHBACK CONTINUES
Oshin gets involved in the daily activities of the hairdressing salon. She pours tea into cups for waiting customers. Oritsu comes to the kitchen with a bowl of hot water for refilling; Oshin helps drain the used water. Oritsu is happy, and she thanks Oshin.
‘There is no need to thank me. I will handle the kitchen, and you will do the shop area. I have poured the tea, so serve the customers. Give me the dirty towels to wash, too.’ Oshin tells Oritsu in a friendly way. She also refills the hot water into the bowl and hands the pot to Oritsu carefully.
The saloon is busy as usual this time of the day. Oritsu picks up dirty towels. It is a sunny day. Oshin, meanwhile, spreads all the mattresses in the sun to dry in the backyard with ample sunlight.
Oshin tries to work behind the scene to make Oritsu seem more valuable.
She figured that would be the proper thing to do. Everyone seems to appreciate Oshin’s efforts. Oshin picks up all the dried mattresses and keeps them aside. She has a smile on her face as she enjoys her daily work. She starts washing the soiled towels.
Oritsu comes out with a shopping bag, and she tells Oshin, ‘I will go shop for dinner.’
‘You stay in the shop; I will do the shopping.’ Oshin is keen to help Oritsu in all her tasks.
‘Are you sure? I don’t really know what to buy anyway. The owner gets one fish, and we workers get stewed daikon or some greens. I am told to spend only 30 sen per day.’ Oritsu says as she feels relieved with Oshin’s help on shopping.
(100 sen = 1 yen = 0.66 Rupees = 0.0088 dollars as per current exchange rates; in the 1920s, 1 yen could buy 8 eggs or 2 kg rice, or 4 servings of noodles or vegetables enough for making soup for 10 people. Source: Quora)
‘You have to do all that?’ Oshin is sympathetic towards Oritsu.
‘It is so busy inside. There isn’t any time for shopping. That is why we have had just potatoes.’ Young Oritsu starts sharing everything with Oshin now.
‘I will figure it all out for you.’ Oshin assures her.
‘Thanks a lot!’ Oritsu smiles with happiness.
‘I have 30 sen to work with every day?’ Oshin asks.
‘You can get credit at all the shops around here.’ Oritsu informs Oshin with all her wisdom!
***
Two of the senior workers are back from doing hair at the client’s homes. Taka arranges to send her workers to some clients’ houses to earn extra money.
Both the workers sit in front of Taka. One of them comes forward and gives cash to Taka, saying, ‘This is the payment we received.’
‘You must be tired, go and eat!’ Taka is pleased with the hard work done by her workers, and she does not fail to appreciate them.
In her spare time, Taka paints on a sheet of paper using oil colors. A worker comes with her meals and lays the dishes on the side table.
‘Oritsu didn’t shop today, did she?’ She inquires, looking at the dishes.
‘Oshin is handling all the kitchen matters now.’ The worker reports.
‘I want to see her; please send Oshin here now.’ Taka instructs.
Oshin arrives in no time, sits in front of Taka, and says, ‘Did you send for me?’
‘Is everybody eating these dishes for dinner?’ Taka demands to know, looking at the dishes.
‘Yes.’ Oshin affirms.
‘Do you know how much is allowed for dinner?’ Taka is careful about spending also as she runs the business.
‘Yes, 30 sen,’ Oshin replies.
‘Then, you must keep it within budget! I hate to sound like a miser, but it is part of your training to learn how to budget. How much did all this cost?’ Taka asks.
‘It cost 29 sen,’ Oshin says.
Taka cannot believe it. She gets curious and says, ‘I see fried bean curd here. That alone is expensive. Do you think I don’t know how much these things cost?’
‘They were damaged, so I got them cheap! All tofu shops have damaged goods, but they are all still fresh. I asked them, and they brought it out and gave it to me at a cheaper rate. I asked them to save all damaged ones for us.’ Oshin replies truthfully.
Taka understands and is taken aback by Oshin’s skill of bargaining. She sees a lot of potential in Oshin. Taka says a prayer folding her hands, and starts eating. She is happy with the taste, and of course, the saving Oshin brought! She is also pleased with her decision to give Oshin a chance.
‘If you have any preferences of food, please tell me.’ Oshin wants to do even more.
Taka doesn’t reply and eats with satisfaction.
***
It is late evening; the workers return to their room. Oshin has already spread all the mattresses. One of them observes that the bedding smells so fresh! Oshin tells them that she hung them in the backyard as the sun was out. One of the girls says that the mattress is still warm and fluffy. The girls are happy with Oshin’s help, as they never get time to hang them out. They realize that Oritsu alone as a maid was overloaded, and Oshin’s addition has helped everyone. They thank Oshin.
Oshin tells them, ‘I can do it because you all mind the shop.’
‘Oritsu is lucky to have you here,’ one of the workers makes a comment.
The girls sit around before going to bed and share their small talk. They include Oshin in their group now. ‘When you are just 12 or 13, it is hard to do everything,’ the senior girl sympathizes with Oritsu. She asks Oshin her age. Oshin tells them that she is 16. Oshin also blows air using a hand fan, much to the comfort of all the girls. One of them says, ‘You are the same age as me. No wonder you are a better worker than Oritsu, but it is tough to begin your training at 16. One usually begins at 12 or 13.’
‘I am prepared to learn.’ Oshin replies, but she realizes the long road ahead.
‘Did you come knowing what it was going to be like? My advice is to give it up now. If you are 16, you will be 19 before you even get to touch the hair. That is just washing and combing hair. That goes on for years, too! We all get chapped hands from the hot water. It hurts when hair gets into the broken skin. A hairdresser’s hands are always chapped.’ The senior-most girl advises and discourages Oshin from pursuing this training.
‘You are pretty, so you could work at an easier job. Maybe as a waitress in a cafe.’ Another girl adds in her own point of view.
‘Hairdressers work all day long, and on holidays, you have work even more! You only work with women, so don’t get to meet any men. You are trapped inside all day long.’ Another girl shares, full of disappointment to have chosen this work!
‘But Onatsu and Osono were out all day today.’ Oshin observes that some girls are sent out to client’s homes, so she remains optimistic.
‘We had to make house calls today.’ Onatsu replies. Osono says, ‘We went to clients’ homes to do their hair-styling.’
‘Oh, I forgot, I have some sweets I got for a tip. I saved it for all of you.’ Onatsu takes out a packet and opens it, sharing the sweets with the girls. She says, ‘Sweets are the only things we can keep. All monetary tips have to be turned in.’ Onatsu tells them.
‘It can’t be helped. The owner keeps all the tips separately and gives them back to us twice each year on holidays.’ The senior-most girl informs; they are all grateful to Taka.
‘You two are the professionals! Do you get paid for the home service?’ Oshin is curious to know.
‘Of course not! We are still working our time off,’ Onatsu replies.
‘After you are all done?’ Oshin is worried when she can be on her own.
‘Then we are on our own,’ the senior one replies and continues, ‘It is tough to go into business for yourself. And, I am already too late for marriage. I have worked 10 years to get this far. And for what?’ the senior worker seems to be hopeless by the choice she made!
‘We have lost out in terms of happiness. Happiness for a woman is in marriage! Our owner is a spinster, too. Why miss out? Find a good man and have children.’ Another girl advises Oshin wisely!
‘That is the best!’ The girls say together and laugh.
Oshin is quiet, and she listens to all of them as she also laboriously fans to give some air to all the girls.
They realize that Oshin has just joined in, and it wasn’t good to discourage her.
‘We are just warning you.’ Says the senior girl.
‘I am not planning to get married. My family is poor. We are sharecroppers.
When the weather is terrible, we have no harvest. I have seen my mom suffer. I want to learn a trade by which a woman can make it through life on her own. I don’t want to have to rely on a man like my mother. When I start earning money, I can give my mother a better life. I don’t know when that will be, but even it takes 10 years, that is what I want.’ Oshin finally speaks up and tells them about her goal. She smiles as she speaks, full of hope.
All of them listen to her intently; finally, one of the girls says, ‘Then I have nothing more to say. But you will miss out on a woman’s happiness. We are all like Oshin; we came from poor families. We had nowhere else to go, and we all wanted to make it on our own as women! We can’t urge her to quit! I will say, Oshin, go for it. I guess we can all help each other.’
‘I haven’t been officially hired, but I will do my best so that I can stay.’ Oshin is unsure of her employment still.
‘Oshin sure can cook well; our dinner was delicious today!’ the girl says.
***
Oshin kept working hard for a month. She had nowhere else to go, and she wanted to realize her late sister, Haru’s dreams. She cleans, cooks, and takes good care of the people around her with her kindness. She was doing it for her unfortunate sister.
As she cleans the mirrors, a maid comes with a folded Kimono in her hand. She asks Oshin to send the dress out for cleaning.
‘Does it have to be taken apart and sewn back together again?’ Oshin asks as she knows that cleaning a kimono needs restitching.
‘There is a tailor shop we always use.’ The maid replies.
‘I can do this myself.’ Oshin says, examining the cloth after opening the wrapping paper.
‘It is a fancy Kimono with special stitching.’ The maid is taken aback, and she warns Oshin.
‘I can tailor and sew all fabrics.’ Oshin replies confidently.
‘Never mind, just sent this out.’ The maid is insistent; she does not want to take a risk.
‘But it will cost money! I would like to do my part to earn my keep,’ Oshin says.
‘What if you make a mistake? Don’t do extra work for yourself!’ As the maid speaks, Taka enters the room.
‘Can you really do it?’ Taka has heard their conversation partly, so she asks Oshin.
‘I didn’t mean to be pushy. But it would be such a waste!’ Oshin says apologetically.
‘Then, I will let you do it.’ Taka has developed some confidence in Oshin by this time, and she wants to try.
‘This is an expensive Kimono!’ The maid shouts, alerting Taka.
‘She says she can do it.’ Taka then turns to Oshin and says, ‘find what you need in the shed. You can use my sewing kit kept in the shed, and we have other sewing material as well.’
‘Yes!’ Says Oshin, delighted.
‘Don’t take too long!’ Taka goes out saying.
The maid is hurt by this; she tells Oshin, ‘Don’t blame me if the kimono gets ruined.’ She warns Oshin again.
Oshin smiles and picks up the material carefully.
***
Oshin starts working on the Kimono as she gets some spare time. Oritsu comes with a hot water bowl to refill. She sees Oshin working, so she tries to do it herself. Oshin quickly gets up, leaving the dress aside. Oshin tells Oritsu, ‘I want to be able to do my assigned chores.’ She helps Oritsu with the hot water refill and asks her to check on tea for the customers.
Oshin’s eyes are blurred with steam coming out of the hot water pot. She hands over the bowl to Oritsu and sits again to continue stitching. She wipes her eyes with the apron.
***
It is late in the night; all the girls have gone to bed. Oshin, still awake, sits in the shed with the Kimono and continues stitching.
The following morning, she stretches the Kimono material in the backyard and gives it a wash using a washing stone.
The senior worker comes to the backyard. Oshin greets her and says, ‘Breakfast is ready.’
‘Everybody is still asleep. I was worried about you.’ The senior worker is impressed by Oshin, and she continues to say, ‘You are sure an excellent worker.’ She examines the Kimono material getting stretched.
‘A kimono stretching is no chore at all,’ Oshin remains humble.
‘Where did you learn to do this? Nobody ever taught me this when I was a maid.’ The senior worker is curious.
Oshin smiles and carries on with polishing the cloth.
***
It is night again; Oshin is still working on the dress. It has been a while since Oshin took up a needle. She remembers Kuni and her life back in Sakata. If it hadn’t been for Kota and Kayo’s incident, Oshin’s life would have been different. Oshin has no regrets. But she thinks back with fondness about her life in Sakata. She thinks of Kota and wonders if she would ever see him again.
What will happen next? Will she get to stay at the hairdresser and learn?
We will find more of her life in Tokyo in the next episode no. 52, coming soon.