P.V. Narasimha Rao - The Insider

THEY NAMED HIM ANAND, ON THE ELEVENTH DAY AFTER HIS birth, according to custom.

Soon after he was born, the first thing he became aware of was an object whose soft tip was thrust into his mouth whenever he cried. He began sucking his mothers breast, right away as if he had learnt that skill while still in the womb. As the days passed, he began to respond to his environment. He learnt to recognize his mothers voice, he liked the touch of her soft lips on his cheek. All this was very agreeable. But when others crowded around himwith their prickly stubbled chins and bad breathhe protested, his loud wails drowning out the sounds of their endearments.

Little sharp teeth emerged from his gums when he was a few months old. The first use he made of the teeth was to bite his mothers breasts hard whenever he was being fed. Mother cried out in pain and he would burst into laughter. Biting was fun; then it became a habit. Something needed to be doneand was done. One day, the breast tasted terribly bitter in his mouth. He pulled his mouth away, tried in vain to spit the bitterness out and screamed at the top of his voice. Now it was Mothers turn to laugh. Some women from the neighbourhood who happened to be present also giggled at his discomfiture. They had all used the same recipe to wean their children from the breast. The recipe was simple. Apply a paste of neem leaves around the nipples and the baby wouldnt look at the breast ever again.

He enjoyed the massage and the hot bath Mother gave him every morning. She would sit on the floor, fold her sari up to the thighs and stretch her bare legs out in front of her. She would place him across her thighs, now on his face, now on his back, and rub sesamum oil all over his body; she would also put a few drops in his ears, eyes, a bit in the nostrils. She would then bathe him in water that was heated just right. He would feel like a rubber doll in her hands, while blood raced through his supple body. He liked all this, but loathed the oil when it entered his eyes and gave him a burning sensation. Then all hell would break loose. He would howl and kick Mothers belly and breasts viciously.

After the bath, Mother Would put him into his cradle and expose him briefly to fragrantsambrani smoke. Amazingly, he would slide into an untroubled sleep at once.