Seasons of Splendour by Madhur Jaffrey

Author:Madhur Jaffrey
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780141966410
Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
Published: 2016-05-14T04:00:00+00:00

The Girl Who had Seven Brothers

Long, long ago there was a large house in which lived seven brothers and their seven wives. The brothers had a young sister who shared their lodging and upon whom they doted. She was fifteen, and had long, black wavy hair, soft doe-like eyes, a small rosebud mouth and an infectious, lilting laugh. The brothers knew that it was time they arranged a marriage for their sister as she was now of age, but they hated the thought of parting with her, so whenever their wives began a discussion about her age and marital prospects, they successfully changed the subject.

When she was sixteen, the brothers, pushed and nagged by their wives, reluctantly agreed to arrange the marriage of their sister. They knew of a rich landowner who lived two hundred miles to the East and who was reputed to be young and handsome. So they sent their sister’s horoscope to him, agreed a match, and one brisk winter day, married their sister to this handsome youth.

As the days went by, the brothers began to miss their sister very much. Whenever they got too depressed, they would console themselves by telling each other that she was, after all, very much in love with her husband and that the match had worked out better than their own marriages and that her happiness was all that should matter.

Ten months passed without the brothers seeing their sister. Even though she wrote to them regularly, they missed her laughter and her gaiety. So they sent her an invitation to come with her husband and celebrate Karvachauth with them.

The big house was cleaned and decorated for the festival. The ladies started their fast and cooked the fritters, and the brothers stood near the front door waiting for their sister to arrive.

Their sister and her husband arrived around noon, on the day of Karvachauth. Although she still laughed and joked as she used to, the brothers were quick to notice that her face had an unusual pallor and that there were dark circles under her eyes. When they asked her about this she answered, ‘Oh, it was such a long journey. We had intended to spend the night in a village along the way, but were so afraid of not being here in time, that we kept riding through the night. We have not slept, that’s all. Besides, I’m fasting, as you know.’ It was the truth but the overanxious brothers kept worrying. ‘Perhaps you should eat,’ they said, ‘you look really ill.’ ‘Don’t be silly,’ she answered, ‘this is my first Karvachauth and I intend to keep the fast.’ She looked so lovingly at her husband as she said this, that the brothers were forced to be quiet.

As the day wore on, the sister grew weaker. The brothers again suggested that she should eat and again she smiled and tossed her head saying, ‘Certainly not.’

Night fell. The brothers scanned the skies for the moon but it was nowhere in sight. They

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