Kashibai, Basavanthi and Sarojini were born to the Landlord (of yester years) Hanumanthagouda at a taluka in Southern India. Hanumanthagouda was among the best agriculturists in the world. He owned acres and acres of fields where he grew coconuts, wheat, jowar, rice, bananas, sugarcane, and top it all - the king of all fruits - MANGOES! His poultry farm had the best hens and the dairy farms were adorned by beautiful cows and (not so beautiful ;)) healthy buffaloes. He once participated in Denmark's "The best cattle raiser" competition and won the first prize! His wife and he were blessed with a son and three lovely girls. Nothing to your amazement, the children were raised in a family no less than the royal family of Mysore or the Nizam of Hyderabad. Each of the daughters lived the life of a princess.
Kashibai was the youngest among the sisters and the fondest. She was gifted a horse by her father. She wore her cowboy shoes and her hair was neatly braided into two knots by her maid; her horse was groomed and dressed by the boy at the stable who then brought it out for Her Highness. Kashibai majestically mounted onto the horse back and sped away into the fields. I think she only missed carrying a rifle!
Basavanthi, the second daughter was the neat sorts; she always needed things in place. She has been a master mind with dates - she can remember dates of events as old as 15 (or more) years!
Sarojini, the eldest among the sisters was a responsible young lady. (as per everybody's expectations) She rode a bicycle to school while her younger sisters drove the horse driven cart with other girls. At lunch, she rode home and brought lunch for her sisters on days when the maid was away. Are you wondering why the three didn't carry their own lunch while they left to school every morning - well, if they did so the food would not be hot and the milk would be stale due to the heat! Yeah guys, I'm getting there - lunch was delivered to them every afternoon, a maid carried a basket containing tiffins with chapatis, a variety of sabzi, rice, sambhar, curd and dessert! Lunch would have been incomplete had they not had their full cream milk. (and now, we crib about Vitamin D and stick to 2% reduced fat or skimmed milk or god knows what!!!) It was the time of the 60s and we're talking ROYALTY here, probably difficult to relate to now in the world of Facebook where we play Farmville to get a feel for agriculture :P
Sarojini and Basavanthi got married on the same day. The preparations began 6 months before the wedding. There would be a function for every event – Ring Ceremony, Bangles ceremony, Handargamba, various pooja(s), Surgi, Walagin akkikalu and many more! Trays and trays of sweets were in preparation, every bit was home-made. There were more than a hundred people involved in the preparation. The ceremony was more than just a wedding, the newly-wed bride(s) and groom(s) sat on a royal seat and were taken on a procession through the taluka. Everyone knew of them; their father made the marriage ceremony a month long event. It must’ve been a sight! Only wish that we could witness something of that scale today!
Once her sisters were married, they went away to live with their husbands. Kashibai was by herself at home. There was still time before she would be married. While she went to college, she effectively groomed herself into a multi-faceted woman she has turned into today. The cooks in the kitchen welcomed her to learn cooking, she learned the authentic dishes of the south, she served her father lunch and dinner; she also went to stitching classes. Soon, she had knit her first sweater that she gifted her mom. Her parents were proud of her. She had completed a year in college when her father decided that she had to get married. She was married to a radiologist from a town nearby. Co-incidentally, her husband turned out to be Sarojini’s classmate. Now … that’s occasional!
With time, the three sisters got busy with their children and personal lives and ended up in different countries. They spoke to each other less frequently and probably met once or twice a year. The distance did not change the closeness they shared. I think this is miraculous among the three sisters. When they met, they spoke for long hours about how life had changed, their children, the schools they went to, their daily routine and stuff. By this time, Kashibai had turned Smita, Basavanthi had turned Vasanti and Sarojini stayed Sarojini ;) I don’t know why the nomenclature had changed but, it just had! Smita had a school of her own called “Happy Hours” where she taught children between the age groups of six to twelve. Her youngest daughter was the oldest child in her school. She was ranked the best teacher by parents. Her way of teaching was exclusive – it involved grammar, math, music, craft, science, rhymes with actions and parties!!! She was every student’s favorite. She had much more within – her cakes were amazing, the way in which she customized them were out of this world! There was no birthday party on campus without her cakes.
The three sisters have always been extremely simple and down to earth. Never have they flaunted the luxurious life their parents had gifted them. I would quote them as “Symbol of Excellence”. They have always been there for each other through thick and thin. One thing that they have not learned is “saying No”. Even in the toughest of times, they willingly come forward to help. The world is blessed by very few people who are a blend of love, sincerity and punctuality; the three sisters belong to this sparse group!
The story I just told you is very close to my heart. I’m specially attached to the fondest of the three – Smita whom I call PERFECTION! More often, I simply call her mom!
Yeah … this was a story of my pretty mom and her sweet sisters whom I call dodamma. (Mom's elder sis)
Kashibai was the youngest among the sisters and the fondest. She was gifted a horse by her father. She wore her cowboy shoes and her hair was neatly braided into two knots by her maid; her horse was groomed and dressed by the boy at the stable who then brought it out for Her Highness. Kashibai majestically mounted onto the horse back and sped away into the fields. I think she only missed carrying a rifle!
Basavanthi, the second daughter was the neat sorts; she always needed things in place. She has been a master mind with dates - she can remember dates of events as old as 15 (or more) years!
Sarojini, the eldest among the sisters was a responsible young lady. (as per everybody's expectations) She rode a bicycle to school while her younger sisters drove the horse driven cart with other girls. At lunch, she rode home and brought lunch for her sisters on days when the maid was away. Are you wondering why the three didn't carry their own lunch while they left to school every morning - well, if they did so the food would not be hot and the milk would be stale due to the heat! Yeah guys, I'm getting there - lunch was delivered to them every afternoon, a maid carried a basket containing tiffins with chapatis, a variety of sabzi, rice, sambhar, curd and dessert! Lunch would have been incomplete had they not had their full cream milk. (and now, we crib about Vitamin D and stick to 2% reduced fat or skimmed milk or god knows what!!!) It was the time of the 60s and we're talking ROYALTY here, probably difficult to relate to now in the world of Facebook where we play Farmville to get a feel for agriculture :P
Sarojini and Basavanthi got married on the same day. The preparations began 6 months before the wedding. There would be a function for every event – Ring Ceremony, Bangles ceremony, Handargamba, various pooja(s), Surgi, Walagin akkikalu and many more! Trays and trays of sweets were in preparation, every bit was home-made. There were more than a hundred people involved in the preparation. The ceremony was more than just a wedding, the newly-wed bride(s) and groom(s) sat on a royal seat and were taken on a procession through the taluka. Everyone knew of them; their father made the marriage ceremony a month long event. It must’ve been a sight! Only wish that we could witness something of that scale today!
Once her sisters were married, they went away to live with their husbands. Kashibai was by herself at home. There was still time before she would be married. While she went to college, she effectively groomed herself into a multi-faceted woman she has turned into today. The cooks in the kitchen welcomed her to learn cooking, she learned the authentic dishes of the south, she served her father lunch and dinner; she also went to stitching classes. Soon, she had knit her first sweater that she gifted her mom. Her parents were proud of her. She had completed a year in college when her father decided that she had to get married. She was married to a radiologist from a town nearby. Co-incidentally, her husband turned out to be Sarojini’s classmate. Now … that’s occasional!
With time, the three sisters got busy with their children and personal lives and ended up in different countries. They spoke to each other less frequently and probably met once or twice a year. The distance did not change the closeness they shared. I think this is miraculous among the three sisters. When they met, they spoke for long hours about how life had changed, their children, the schools they went to, their daily routine and stuff. By this time, Kashibai had turned Smita, Basavanthi had turned Vasanti and Sarojini stayed Sarojini ;) I don’t know why the nomenclature had changed but, it just had! Smita had a school of her own called “Happy Hours” where she taught children between the age groups of six to twelve. Her youngest daughter was the oldest child in her school. She was ranked the best teacher by parents. Her way of teaching was exclusive – it involved grammar, math, music, craft, science, rhymes with actions and parties!!! She was every student’s favorite. She had much more within – her cakes were amazing, the way in which she customized them were out of this world! There was no birthday party on campus without her cakes.
The three sisters have always been extremely simple and down to earth. Never have they flaunted the luxurious life their parents had gifted them. I would quote them as “Symbol of Excellence”. They have always been there for each other through thick and thin. One thing that they have not learned is “saying No”. Even in the toughest of times, they willingly come forward to help. The world is blessed by very few people who are a blend of love, sincerity and punctuality; the three sisters belong to this sparse group!
The story I just told you is very close to my heart. I’m specially attached to the fondest of the three – Smita whom I call PERFECTION! More often, I simply call her mom!
Yeah … this was a story of my pretty mom and her sweet sisters whom I call dodamma. (Mom's elder sis)
