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Although Dangor is deprived of the endearment of her husband, oblivious to the tumult of his mind; she is adept at every little thing.
The mother-in-law has been so captivated by Dangor’s skills that she names her as ‘Lakhimi’. Why wouldn’t she? After all, Dangor is candidly skilled and tidy in whatever she does. She knows the practices and the virtuous customs admirably.
Dangor thoroughly knows how to cook in the ceremonial kitchens, what one should wear and how many times one should bathe to cook in that. She knows the recipes that can only be cooked in an ordinary kitchen but not in the ceremonial one whatsoever and practices these customs with no mistake.
She even knows what cleanses the utensils of bronze and brass unsoiled. Her cooking lightens up everyone’s mood, although she has seen no gleam on her husband’s face ever. Dangor however doesn’t feel any agitation regarding that.
Does she ever get time to feed the turmoil of her own feelings?
The whole of the day she engages herself with the chores of the household. She forgets what makes her unrest in no time while doing them. At night, when she gets to meet her husband finally, he is generally to be fallen asleep. However, she can also relieve her fatigue of the day whenever he does fall asleep before she reaches unlike the days when he shoves her off and the circumstance turns to be otherwise. She tends to stay calm even when it happens. Dangor knows her responsibilities, her obligations very well. She knows that the duty that should be given the utmost priority is this, her duty towards her husband. She forgets all her fatigue and does no discrepancy to be with him. It, anyway, is nothing other than that of lying like a living wood keeping her eyes and ears closed and to wait for that moment to end when she is finally free and can doze off.
Dangor wakes up at the dawn. The foreyard, the utensils, floors, the barandah, the loom and what not as if keeps on waiting for her. She weaves throughout the year whenever finds a moment of leisure. Her face is unfeigned and steady like the statue of the three monkeys hanging on their roof. How rarely she smiles! But whenever she sits to weave, treads upon the treadles of the loom, the ‘nasoni-joree’s start to sway.
Aah! How grippingly ‘nasoni-joree’ spins and bobs up and down as the coquette of Horubopa. Does she ever stand still for a moment? Doesn’t she keep on whirling here and there all the time?
The mother-in-law, that is why, has named her as ‘the coquette’.
Does anybody in the house adore her? No.
Does she know anything about the virtuous customs? No.
She once laid the ceremonial cloths of their mother-in-law away from outside which had been hanged there to dry because it was raining.
The mother-in-law rebuked her for touching them, said “So what if it was raining, cloths were wet, why did you touch them rather than doing the chores of your share?’’
She was seen to be soaking in the rain for a while after the incident that day.
Horupona got extremely tensed seeing his beloved getting drenched all over. Will she fall in sick or get cold? Alas! Why Aai would rebuke her. What does she know?
Horubopa even fought with their mother that day.
“Phew! Did Aai scold me? I didn’t hear only. Do you know how nice it feels to get wet in the rain? We shall get drenched together one day, shan’t us?” Horubopa laughed listening to the innocence of his beloved, also forgot his anger for his mother in no time. He fell more in love with his coquette that day.
How lucky are the women to be so loved and adored by their other halves? Who else’s affection does a woman need when one’s other half go head over heels for her? Dangor ponders. That is why horupona’s wife always twirls and swirls in happiness, like that of the ‘nasoni-joree’.
One day, the coquette came flying to Dangor and said- “Sister, you cleanse everywhere but keep yourself soiled all the time. Come, let me untangle your hair and make a beautiful braid.”
It was an afternoon, a ton of chores was there to wind up, Dangor had little time to sit for decking herself up. But the younger one was unwavering. She almost dragged Dangor. Both sister-in-laws sat in Peera and the younger started to untangle dangor’s hair. It was an afternoon of Phagun precisely; there was an array of flower blooming everywhere in the surrounding.
“Sister, which flower do you like the most?’’-
All flowers are alike, all flowers are adorable. Has dangor ever looked at the flowers thoroughly? Flowers bloom on own and dangor keeps herself busy far away from them on her own. No one takes anyone’s notice.
A bunch of flowers dazzled dangor’s hairdo that day. Xoru even chaged her dull Sador and put some essence on her.
“Sister,why don’t you bring a cup of tea for your man?’’ said Xoru while handling Dangor the cup of tea.
Dangor went.
It was evening, an evening of Phagun. Dangor’s husband had returned home tired. He used to go his workplace riding his bicycle. It used to take the half of a day. He was really in need of a cup of tea at that moment. But, did he notice the cup at all? How could he? Dangor’s hair was shining more red than that of the tea after all.
“Why have you come at this time, are you tired?” he blushingly asked.
Dangor was blushing more; she almost got reddened.
Dangor’s husband fell in love with the red and she became a butterfly since that day as if wherever she goes, whatever she holds, all that bloomed like flowers. The room seemed to bloom, likewise the foreyard-the way-the gate and of course the utensils and the bed.
Bunch of marigold flowers blooms on her loom these days. Xeuji-Maloti-togor-Bunduli shines everywhere.
The reed of the loom has become her beloved friend these days. She pulls it towards her again and again. A smile twinkles whenever the tolotha spins. She even plays her heart out with the shuttle.
Dangor, who now-a-days, works by playing, is named as the coquette.
However, dangor has started to play even with her name-
“A coquette/ so innocent
Take the embrace/ doll of golden”
Hurrah! How cheery is Dangor’s mind, how jolly is her encircling.
****
Meaning of the vernacular words used -
Lakhimi- A woman with excellent qualities who brings good fortune to her family.
Nasoni- Joree- A kind of rope used in hndlooms in Assam.
Aai- A word used to address mother.
Peera- A kind of low stool.
Tolotha- One of the beams of a native loom.
Xeuji-Maloti-Togor-Bunduli- Names of flowers in Assamese.
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