Daughter Of Midnight - The Child Bride of Gandhi. Arun Gandhi

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СКАЧАТЬ prestige of the bridal couple’s parents. No excuses. Families wishing to protect their social, financial and religious position had to celebrate a wedding in a suitable and expected manner. They often went deeply into debt to do so.

      The idea of letting three bridal families share the burden of these huge outlays of cash must have been vastly appealing to a man like Karamchand, as noted for his thoughtfulness as for his common sense.

      But there were other considerations as well. Karamchand was now past 60, an advanced age for Indians at that time, and travel was becoming difficult for him. In those days before railroads came to the Kathiawar peninsula, it took five days by ox-cart to cover the 125 miles between Rajkot and Porbandar.

      His brother Tulsidas was only two years younger, and both men wanted all the young Gandhis in their charge to be married while they could still take their rightful places in the ceremonies and celebrations. Besides, at such a big wedding they themselves could no doubt have the last huge celebration of their lives.

      Karamchand did not disclose the wedding plans to his sons until all arrangements had been made. Sixteen-year-old Karsandas took an immediate interest in the prospect, wondering aloud what his bride-to-be, a girl named Ganga, would be like. But young Mohandas reacted with indifference. A first-year student at the local Rajkot high school now, he was still shy and self-absorbed. Though vaguely aware that he was betrothed he had given little thought to marriage, and, unlike Kastur, he had received no instruction about the subject whatsoever. But once Mohandas grew accustomed to the idea — to a 13-year-old, getting married meant acquiring a new friend, a sort of permanent playmate — he too became intrigued. Karamchand arranged for the boys to miss school, and the whole family made plans to travel to Porbandar together for several days of wedding festivities.

      For Kastur and the other prospective brides in Porbandar — Ganga, who was to marry Karsandas, and Harkunwar, betrothed to Motilal Gandhi — the activities had begun months earlier. Though no one had told Kastur what all the secret messages and whispered conversations were about, she sensed that something momentous was taking place.

      Weddings usually took place at the bride’s home, but this time since three couples were to be wed, a hall had to be hired. Menus for the wedding feast had to be drawn up, decorations, flowers, cooking utensils and serving pieces acquired. Extra servants would be needed; drummers, flautists, singers must be engaged. Carriages must be rented and mares for the bridegrooms to ride had to be found. Trousseaus had to be bought, new clothes for the families must be made, and a hundred other things attended to.

      Before inviting a single guest Gokaldas Kapadia wrote out an invitation in red ink and, with his wife Vrajkunwerba, went to the temple and laid it at the feet of their family god. Only after the Lord was invited were friends and relatives given their invitations. In ancient India invitations had to be personally delivered, not mailed.

      Kastur was excited. It was the event for which she had been preparing for so long. But now that the time had come, it was confusing and overwhelming. She was happy but keenly aware that she would soon be leaving her parents, her brothers, the familiar surroundings of Porbandar and her childhood behind. For a 13-year-old girl, it was more than a bit scary.

      Such doubts were fleeting — her confidence in the future was strong. In her room in Porbandar, ready for the long trip to Rajkot, was her ornate cedar wood chest filled with new clothes. Another carved teakwood box held her wedding jewellery: gold bracelets, necklaces, bangles; gold rings and studs for her ears and her nose.

      In Rajkot, as the wedding date approached, plans had changed. Karamchand Gandhi was delayed by urgent official duties. The Thakore of Rajkot, the local prince whom he served as prime minister, considered him indispensable. To make sure the rest of the family arrived in time for the festivities, Karamchand sent them off on the five-day ox-cart journey; he would follow soon. The prince had offered Karamchand the use of his own fast horses, the royal buggy, and an experienced driver. Karamchand promised Putliba and his sons he would be there for the ceremony on time.

      For the entire week preceding the wedding the Kapadia house was filled with relatives, friends, neighbours, helping cook sumptuous delicacies for the wedding feast. As they worked they sang wedding songs for Kastur. Some were humorous to tease or amuse the bride and help relieve her nervousness; others were instructive to convey advice and information for newlyweds.

      The day before the wedding, Kastur was given a special beauty treatment with pithi, a fragrant mixture of turmeric, almond and sandalwood mixed in fresh cream. This was a ritual performed for all prospective Hindu brides. Kastur’s mother, aunts, female cousins and friends took turns daubing this ointment on her young body. A similar ritual was performed for each of the young bridegrooms by their male relatives.

      On the day of the wedding, Kastur’s married female friends and relatives gave her a ceremonial bath with water made fragrant by herbs and perfumes. She was groomed and then, using a paste made from henna leaves, the women painted intricate designs on Kastur’s hands and feet. She was then ready to be dressed in her beautiful new sari.

      Smiling now, Vrajkunwerba touched her daughter’s forehead lightly with her finger, placing there a dot of red powder on wax, the familiar vermillion kumkum mark, a sign of being blessed. Finally, the traditional red sari, a cobweb of filmy silk, was arranged over her head and shoulders as the wedding veil. Kastur was ready.

      But mixed with joy there was consternation at the Gandhi home. Karamchand had not yet arrived from Rajkot. It would be sad if the children he loved had to be married without him. Postponement was unthinkable; the exact moment of the wedding is chosen with great care. To ensure the union takes place at a propitious moment a blade of grass is placed between their palms, to be withdrawn at the exact instant when the position of the stars and planets is right.

      At last Karamchand’s buggy arrived, much to the relief of the family. But Karamchand was bandaged and bruised and limping, and had much to explain.

      To arrive on time the horses sped over the rough, dirt roads, he said, and the light buggy bounced and bumped so that every bone in his body was shaken. Early this morning, fearing he was going to miss the weddings, he began egging the driver on.

      “Can’t you get the horses to move faster?” Karamchand groused.

      “We’re going as fast as we can, sir,” the poor man would reply.

      Then it happened. The right wheels of the buggy hit a loose boulder on the road. The buggy tilted crazily to the left and then overturned. Karamchand and the driver were both badly shaken. Then he realized that he also had cuts and bruises all over his body.

      With the help of some farmers, they set the buggy on its wheels. It seemed to be intact. While they rested the horses, Karamchand tore up a white dhoti, or loincloth and used it to bandage his wounds. They had resumed the journey and somehow got to Porbandar — in time. The ceremonies, Karamchand announced triumphantly, could take place exactly as planned.

      He brushed aside the concern of the family; he maintained he was not seriously hurt As soon as he cleaned up, he would be as good as new.

      The three brides, hidden inside curtained carriages, their faces veiled, were brought by their parents to the wedding hall. Inside, three canopies had been set up where the actual ceremonies would take place. Decorative poles, festooned with flowers, marked the four corners of each canopy, and at each corner were piled brass pots in the form of a pyramid. The brides waited.

      Meanwhile, a stately procession led by a band of musicians was making its way through the lanes of Porbandar. The grooms, in all their finery, mounted the rented mares (also decorated and garlanded with flowers) and began their journey to the hall. On foot were their mothers and other female relatives, СКАЧАТЬ