Kashibai Peshwe

Part 17- In defence of empowerment

"We understand that Swami is upset, but we did not expect a weapon to be wielded for such a petty offence!" Kashi had walked in on her husband unannounced. She could not be faulted for being irreverent when she surprised the Peshwa while he was cleaning his dagger and she tiptoed into their bedchamber. It was her room too, so what if he was the Prime Minister of the Maratha Empire!

Being a warrior to the core set his senses tingling. The Peshwa instinctively swiped the dagger in the direction of the movement as she walked in. Instinct had taught him to expect the unexpected. He stopped himself just in time before he could hurt her and quickly sheathed the dagger. He surveyed his young wife with a piercing glance, irritation writ large on his face. Kashi simply stood still. Her head was lowered but she had an unmistakable twinkle in her eyes. She had done something to provoke him. However for the two days since the Peshwa had returned from his mission she was confined to the menstrual chamber and there had been no interaction between them. 

Early that morning she took a purifying bath. Her maid helped rub the soap nut gel over her long tresses and her willowy body. After the bath, and on Radhabai's instructions, Kashi dressed to the hilt, looking every bit the Peshwa's wife from top to toe. After all, Rau had spent the summer and the early weeks of the monsoon in the service of the empire. Naturally the man would expect to enjoy his wife's companionship. But Kashi was forewarned about the Peshwa's disapproval over the girls' recent trip.

Five months had passed since the demise of the erstwhile Peshwa. After being away from home for as long Rau returned to Saswad just in time for the Ganesh festival. It was obligatory for the family to worship the family God even when there was a death in the family. However, in keeping with decorum, this year the celebration was to be rather subdued.

"We trust that you have physically recovered from the exertion of your ill-advised holiday!" Rau wanted to sound sterner but restrained himself.

"We thank Swami for his concern and assure him that we are only suffering from a little head cold. We are taking ginger and tulsi tea as well as warm turmeric milk to feel better. We shall recover in no time, Swami need not worry! And we trust that Swami's own health is well!" Kashi sneezed. When she opened her eyes she noticed her husband's restlessness.

"Even Bhiu and Anu have been sniffling since we arrived. Do you realise that you girls could have fallen seriously ill after getting soaked in the rain and catching a cold? Or worse still, the caravan could have been waylaid by brigands who could harm you terribly? Do you know what happens to girls and women who dare to step outside the safety of their homes without armed guards to protect them? They may have their honour taken by vile men who then sell them as slaves in markets as far flung as Malwa and Oudh! Don't you dare undertake another such indiscretion and imperil the most vulnerable charges of the Peshwa's household!" Rau could imagine a hundred possibilities of doom befalling the young girls- there were wild animals on prowl and the extreme possibility of encountering unrestrained Mughal soldiers for whom the Peshwa family women represented easy prey as well as a prize catch.

Kashi said nothing but she was itching with indignation to say something in defence of all womanhood. What Rau had warned about was quite possible but it also meant that women were to live as virtual prisoners in their natal or marital homes, ruled by the society's patriarchal framework. Did they not even have the liberty to worship at a shrine some distance from their place of residence? What was the meaning of Hindavi Swarajya if even the Prime Minister's female relatives lived in perpetual fear? Why did women have to depend on men for everything while the latter could travel virtually anywhere and even sleep in open fields beneath a starlit sky? 

"Swami spends months away from home during which he is so occupied with professional obligations that he forgets we have little else to do but manage the home and wait for him patiently." The glass bangles on Kashi's wrists tinkled, compensating for her mild tone.