Vegetable Fields

Mother gave Lalita a bag and one rupee to get a few vegetables from the nearby fields. This was her favourite task and she jumped over the sofa and came running to her mother, took the bag and the coin from her. Without sincerely listening to the details that her mother gave about the vegetables, Lalita’s mind started wandering in the green meadows and golden free time of her own out of the house. While she was wearing her slippers, Mother sent a strict warning, “Lalita, come back home before noon as I have to prepare the fresh vegetables for lunch. No roaming around or chatting with friends or shopkeepers.” Lalita was much more engrossed in taking out her oldest pair of chappals which she was sure to take out in the fields and walk barefoot as she always did.

Lalita started her walk from the house with a big smile and dreamy sparkling eyes, just as a bird has been set out in the open sky after a long time of captivity. As she crossed a sweet shop, the shopkeeper called to her. “Hey Lalita, want some curd? It’s been two days that you have not come to the shop. Have you been punished again for your mischiefs and locked in the house?” Saying this he burst with a sarcastic laughter. Lalita paid no heed to his useless irritating remark and thought of not spoiling her walk by answering him.

She walked straight and then took a left towards the temple road. The grocery shop near the left turn opened its shutters. Lalita tried hard to escape from the sight of Raju, the shopkeeper and started taking bigger leaps to run pass the shop but as she was a regular customer and chatterbox of the colony, she was immediately sighted by him. Lalita closed her eyes and started murmuring a prayer when Raju asked her in a loud and fun tone. “Oh Lalita, how come you are crossing from here without coming to the shop and buying chocolates for yourself? Your mother is not having a headache this time and hasn’t given you 50 paisa to get medicines for her? It was really brave of you to take chocolates instead! Where is that super girl today?”

At this Lalita realized her mistake of not taking the right turn and walk the longer route. She couldn’t take the embarrassment of being laughed at by those stupid people especially when she has got the chance to go to the fields after a series of punishments. She could not forget the beating from her mother with the broom on getting chocolates instead of medicines which she enquired from Raju. But the thing which made her more angry was that she had made a deal with Raju of not letting anyone know about it otherwise she would tell his customers that he has a small magnet under his beam balance. Lalita stopped a few meters ahead of Raju’s shop, opened her eyes and turned back. Raju was having a blast on his successful humour. Lalita came near him and her voice was full of anger and fists tight, ready to hit him on his face. Raju got scared at this unexpected move. He immediately ran a sheepish smile and said, “I was just asking if you want to buy something from here…”  

Lalita shouted at him, “Now you see, Mr. Raju, how many people come to your shop today and pray that no one in khakee costume comes to your shop!” Saying this she started her walk again.

As she crossed the temple she heard the bells and saw the prasad getting distributed. With that aroma of halwa enticing her, she was tempted to remove her slippers and enter the temple. Inside the temple she joined her hands, closed her eyes and wished that Raju should be taken away from earth by God. She then bowed in front of the beautifully decorated statues of Sita, Ram and Laxman and got up with a smile from one ear to another as if she had accomplished a major task. She took the halwa from Panditji and as she was sitting and eating at the stairs of the temple she heard the postmaster uncle, Jignesh saying, “Lalita, it’s the second week of the month and you have not come to the post office with your grandmother’s passbook for her pension. I was not expecting a delay from you on this, your grandmother must be sad waiting for her pension.” Lalita just then remembered that last week her grandmother had asked her if she could go to the post office for getting the pension as she had put her signature on the passbook as usual but Lalita was busy on mastering a plan to scare her neighbourhood friend who did not allow her to try her new shoes.

Lalita said, “Masterji, I will surely come today before 3 to get the pension. Hope you will be available till then?” Jignesh patted on her head and said, “Yes darling, I’ll be delighted to help you.” Lalita joined her hands and told him that she was getting late to get vegetables for her mother and took leave. Now she was feeling very light as she was sure that Raju will no longer be able to remain in the vicinity to tease her. She touched her pocket to check if the rupee coin was intact and not dropped while bowing in the temple. After getting the feel of the coin she started racing towards the fields which was just a kilometre away.

She could see the wired boundary of the fields which were laid to prevent the entry of stray animals. After reaching near the entry gate of the fields she shouted to one of the ladies tilling the land. “Hey Amma, please unlock the gate. I am here to take some fresh vegetables.” The lady turned and smiled to her fellow worker and asked her to open the door and let Lalita in. As soon as the gate was unlocked Lalita took off her slippers. The lady shouted, “Don’t open your slippers girl, you will spoil your feet and might get hurt by the pebbles and thorns inside.” On this Lalita said with soothing gesture, “Oh Amma, you people are bare feet too, why you alone want to take the feel of this amazing soil yourself? I will not get hurt; instead it would heal my feet.”

She entered the field and felt the soothing cool earth under her feet. She walked carefully on the mud walls built around the square vegetable garden so that she doesn’t step inside on any of the growth and spoil it. When she reached near one of the oldest workers, she asked, “What all can you give me in one rupee?” Amma gave a smile which showed her countable teeth and said, “What vegetables do you like?” Lalita said she likes all green vegetables which have the fragrance of this soil. Amma took out her chisel and started cutting a few leafy vegetables in bunches and kept them in Lalita’s basket. Next, she uprooted a few radishes and cabbages from the garden. After filling the basket with vegetables she took the one rupee coin from Lalita and asked, “Is this enough or you want some more?” Lalita while smelling the basket said, “This is more than enough. Even if I chew some of them raw on my way back there will be sufficient for my mother to cook.” Hearing this all fellow workers in the field burst into laughter. One of them showed an earthen pot to Lalita and said, “Would you like to have some fresh buttermilk?” Lalita said, “I would love to have a glass of it but I have with no money left to pay for that.” The lady came forward and handed her a glass of buttermilk and patted on Lalita’s head saying she need not to pay for that as it was just like water to them and they don’t charge for water.

Lalita sat under a peepal tree on the side of the field and relished the drink. She was thanking her mother from her heart to have given her this opportunity to be with such beautiful people. As her brain thought of her mother she opened her eyes and looked over her head to the sky, the sun was to reach the top of her head, she remembered her mother’s broom and started running towards her slippers near the gate. During her sprint towards the field gate her foot got hurt by a thorn and blood started oozing out but the thought of a beating from Mother was more scary and painful than the pain of the thorn so she continued her race towards her home with the vegetable basket. As she reached the main door of the house after good 15 minutes’ run she was panting and sweating terribly. Hearing the doorbell Lalita’s mother came shouting from inside. “Look at this heroine of our house who is not bothered of anyone’s time! When ill I cook and when people will eat?” She annoyingly opened the door and was about to shout at Lalita but instead she hugged her and said, “Oh dear, why is your foot bleeding? What happened to it? Poor little girl, how rude of me for shouting on you without knowing the cause of your delay.”

It took two minutes for Lalita to understand the transformation in her mother and then she had a secret smile as she thanked the thorn which saved her from the real pain.