A woman, exceptionally beautiful, starts experiencing some strange things. Why was she so different from others? Did she have a purpose? Who was she really? What would happen when the characters from the stories she had heard from her childhood woul...
"Pappa, what is this?" a seven years old Mahamaya asked Mahesh as she looked at the weird leaf wrapping in front of her. However, it was not weird. She had seen many people chew on it and spit out red juice, littering walls. Her Pappa however wouldn't indulge in alcohol, cigarettes, gutkha (Indian product containing tobacco) or any such thing. It was weird for her to see him bring this.
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Mahesh smiled. He liked how she called him Pappa and her mother Aai like they were supposed to be called in Marathi. Today's children think that it is cool to disobey their parents and disrespect their culture but he had brought his Princess up with all the right knowledge such that she would never hate her culture. The couple were like the closest friends of their daughter. He taught her that asking questions was alright as long as she didn't keep the questions to herself and make an incorrect opinion.
Mahesh explained gently, "Maya, don't get confused my dear. This is called as paan. Paan means a leaf. This is wrapped in a betel leaf, that's why it called as paan. The ones which you see, they contain tobacco. However, these ones which I have brought today, they don't contain tobacco. This is not the spitting paan, this is one which you chew and swallow. We even offer it to our family Goddess, Goddess Bijasni. All Goddesses love this paan."
Just then, his wife came from behind him and quickly put one in her mouth, making Mahesh say, "Goddess Indrayani loves this paan too," making the woman blush and the young girl giggle.
Mahesh guided her, "Take it and put it whole in your mouth. If you can't fit it in, you can use two bites too but make sure that you don't drop the fillings. Also, if you feel like you will choke, better to eat it in two bites," he explained, taking a bite off, showing her that he had kept the paan upright such that the fillings wouldn't fall.
Little Mahamaya took the paan and bit into it, moaning as she felt a cold sensation in her mouth. She could feel the mint, the rose water and every other cooling ingredient in there as she swallowed it, a wide smile on her face.
Her parents' eyes however widened when they saw that her throat had become red because of the paan. They looked at each other, shocked. Mahesh remembered that the only time he had heard this happen to was, when Mastani, second wife of the famous minister Bajirao Peshwa used to swallow her paan, her throat would turn red because of how pale she was. Mahamaya however wasn't pale. She was fair yet there was a glow on her face which couldn't be explained. Their daughter was indeed gifted with beauty but from which side? From his or Indrayani's?
Mahesh had a brown skin tone. He was fair from Indian standard but not that fair. People would say that he had wheatish skin. His wife Indrayani was very fair. She had the skin tone like sandal wood but she too was no match to her daughter. The couple had brown eyes and hair which was common in the Indian subcontinent. Mahesh used to keep a clean shave as his wife used to say that it made him look young. They both were Marathi, born in the state of Maharashtra, India.
