Sun-god was blazing . Doubt overwhelmed me. I remembered the conversation with Shuk back in Mumbai. \u201cHave you gone mad? Do you know that you have to distribute gallons and gallons of lassi ? How on earth are you going to manage it ? You have not actually promised, have you?\u201d \u201cWell, I have,\u201d was my shaky reply. \u201cCan you not return the money?\u201d \u201cNope.\u201d Now Shuk turned all practical \u2013 \u201cTell me, if someone caught you on the parikrama path and offered you lassi, would you accept it?\u201d I was shocked. \u201cOf course not, I don\u2019t want to die of food-poisoning!!\u201d \u201cThen child, how can you expect others to drink lassi from your hands? In these days, when people are dying like fleas, especially in Dham, out of chicken-buniya and what-not, do you really expect people to be so ignorant as to drink road-side lassi, offered by Kishori-alone-knows-who-Madhumati ?\u201d Shuk was being awfully patient with me. \u201cSorry raja, I did not ask for it. \u2018Donor\u2019 das inflicted it on me. ” (Since, in this case the brother who has donated for thsi noble cause is extremely good Vaishnav, he will be be hurt if i drop the slightest hint of his name, it is best we honor him as ‘Donor’ das. )<\/p>\n
“We are now in Kurukshetra, and we cannot return. Better blow your Panchajanya and get started.\u201d The most dignified reply I could muster, except that my voice did not sound dignified at all, rather it came across as a squeak, vast contrast with Panchajanya.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Here I was sitting at the baniya\u2019s.<\/p>\n
\u201cRatu bhaiyaa, I want glasses. Lots and lots of them\u201d, I croaked.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy didi, any Vaishnav-bhojan in your kutir?\u201d he looked surprised. He seemed to ask, \u201cAnd why am I not invited?\u201d<\/p>\n
I shook my head. \u201cI am supposed to distribute gallons and gallons of lassi, especially to children.\u201d My voice sounded mournful.<\/p>\n
\u201cEe baat kaa?\u201d He was full of enthu. Suddenly an idea struck me. Why not ask him with whom I should place an order for such huge quantity of lassi ? He was aghast. \u201cDidi, aap lassi order kaahe doge? Aap khud lassi banaao naa.\u201d I struck my head. No way ! He insisted, \u201cDidi, is se badhiyaa lassi banegee, saaf-suthraa rahega, aur Thakurji ko bhog bhee lagaa sakoge. Dil me tasalli rahegi, ki aapne bhakton ko achchee aur shuddh cheez pilaayee.\u201d He added gently. Both Shuk and I were overjoyed when we heard this.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo how do we go about this \u2013 please \u00a0guide us.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSimple. You place an order for good quality dahi. You can always taste it to see whether or not it is fresh. Add sugar, a pinch of salt. Then buy enough ice. Crush it and add it to the curds, then stir the curds using a hand-mixer. Do you have one?\u2019 I nodded vigorously and urged him to go on.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat else?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNothing else. You are done. \u201dHe replied with a broad smile. \u201cI will reach everything to your house. Oh yes, you will need at least half-a-dozen rickshaws. So you better book them in advance. Send one of them here to collect the dahi, \u00a0glasses, sugar, salt and ice.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut..but\u2026how much sugar and ice in how much dahi?\u201d I was still unconvinced.<\/p>\n
Immediately he rattled off precise amounts like a robot. \u00a0\u00a0\u201cNow shoo off you both ! \u201c He said laughing.<\/p>\n
\u201cRadhe Radhe Ratubhai!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRadhe Radhe didi\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
While walking towards the rickshaw-puller\u2019s house, I had another brainwave. Why not tell Khemu to gather five more of his biradari-waale ? There is no need for us to walk around in this hot sun, you now ! As soon as Khemu heard our plan, he leaped up to venture on our Lassi-abhiyaan (Mission Lassi). He started\u00a0 hollering \u2013 \u201cAy Jiddu ! ay Guddu ! Lachhmi jeejee, \u00a0zara Lakhaa ko bulaai de!\u201d In no time six rickshaw-pullers had surrounded us. I unfolded our plan to them. \u201cWe have to distribute lassi on the Giriraj Parikrama path, especially to the children. I think there will be more crowd in Govardhan. The market place is the best. What do you say? After all we have lots and lots of lassi. How much will you charge and for how long? Since we do not know how long it will take for all lassi to get over? People may want it or may not want it. We may have to wait the entire day for all the lassi to get over – \u00a0it is\u00a0 a huge quantity, you see?\u201d I was very open with them. They started laughing.<\/p>\n
\u201cDidi, do you have some great penchant for Govardhan, or is it part of your manauti ?\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked quizzically at them. An old Ricksha-walla Chacha spoke \u2013<\/p>\n
\u201cI mean, you will meet the same Parikrama yatri in Govardhan and at Radhakund. The yatri who will be at Govardhan, will surely come to Radhakund also. Without doing Radhakund Parikrama, how can she or he complete a parikrama? Therefore there is no need for us to go all the way to Govardhan. \u00a0The closer you are to your home, the more relaxed you will feel, yes, Lalli ?\u201d Shuk and I nodded vigorously.<\/p>\n
\u201cAchchaa then, when do we start ? Early morning? You see, we have lots and lots of lassi \u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo\u201d, came the firm answer. \u201cWe shall start only at 4 in the afternoon, not before that.\u201d<\/p>\n
A wail escaped from my lips \u2013 \u201cdon\u2019t you understand ? We have lots and lots\u2026\u2026..it will take all day and night\u2026\u2026..\u201d<\/p>\n
But they had raised their hands. Enough ! The verdict had been proclaimed. We were to meet at 4 PM that very afternoon. Janmashtami was the the day of vrat, the biggest and the best day in Braj. The happiest day. The right day for Mission Lassi.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
My spirits that had shown some small sign of life some minutes earlier, once again sank in the bowels of doubt. I asked Shuk, \u201cWould you drink lassi from an unknown person on the roadside, on a Day of Vrat ?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo way !!!\u201d<\/p>\n
Sri Radhe ! Again I had goofed up. But where were we going to find all those rickshaw-pullers? I had already paid them in advance. Oh never mind ! When they arrive, we will simply notify that we had postponed Mission Lassi by one day. And Ratubhai was not going to send the ingredients for lassi unless and until we dispatch a rickshwalla to his shop. Thus elated, we entered the house, only to be greeted by a radiant Rambaksh, Ratubhai\u2019s son. \u00a0\u201cBapu is so excited that dear Didi and Jeejaji are going to distribute lassi, and that too on the paavan-avasar of Janmashtami, that when he saw Chiddu\u2019s big Maruti van pass by, he stopped him , \u00a0piled all the items in it, and bundled me off !\u201d He said grinning ear to ear.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
I knew when I was doomed.<\/p>\n
It was hardly 3 O\u2019clock, when all the rickshaw-pullers had lined up outside the gate. Shuk called the men inside, and all of them got busy. Huge blocks of ice were rolled in gunny bags, and beaten with hammers and all sorts of carpenter\u2019s tools to crush it. Mega-size dekchis containing dahi were brought in. We women started churning it with Boss hand-mixer\/grinder. In between Rambaksh unloaded bags of sugar and pushed in fistfuls of salt. \u201cEkadashi salt\u201d, he grinned. And then he gingerly pushed a large-size fancy looking colorful box at me. \u201cWhat is it?\u201d I raised my eyebrow suspiciously. In a semi-whisper, conspiratorial tone, he offered, \u201cgulaab and Kewra-jal \u2013 something Bapu had forgotten, but I thought of it at the last minute.\u201d Of course ! ROYAL LASSI ! Wait till I tell this to \u2018donor\u2019 das !<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Sun-god was blazing . Doubt overwhelmed me. I remembered the conversation with Shuk back in Mumbai. \u201cHave you gone mad? Do you know that you have to distribute gallons and gallons of lassi ? How on earth are you going … Continue reading