Bhumi - Anjar village.

Bhumi got up and peeked at the moon through the window. She thought it was time to get up and needed to do her morning rituals before sunrise.

Bhumi picked the pitcher filled with water and tiptoed out of her house quietly as she did not want to make noise and wake up her husband and sons.

The moon illuminates the way Bhumi walks towards the field. She could observe a few more women from other households were joining her. They yawned and sleepily greeted each other.

A girl about the age of thirteen also joined the group of women and greeted Bhumi.

"Hi, Aunty."

Bhumi felt the girl not only appeared older than her actual age but also acted mature for her age.

Bhumi wondered about her responsible attitude related to personal circumstances. Mala's mother died in childbirth which forced the little girl to perform all the chores in her household by the age of eight.

"Mala, you look good today. How is your father?" Bhumi praised the girl, it was not a false statement. The girl was tall for her age and curvy. Many men of Anjar were already eyeing her.

"Heh, without me he cannot do anything. He even forgot to eat the other day and made strangely shaped pots all day." Mala boasted, which was not a boast, and everyone in Anjar knows about her father's fixation on strange shapes and Mala's bossy attitude.

"Haha, our Mala has grown up into a fine woman. When are you going to get married?" One of the women in the group asked Mala.

"Heh, I cannot marry, without me, my father is not capable of living alone," Mala said.

As every person knows, Mala's father's penchant for absorbing into work and not caring about even basic things like bathing and eating. Women of Anjar pitied the girl and wanted to scold her father for his cavalier attitude, but they did not voice their opinion publicly because they knew Mala would vociferously support her father.

"Haha, don't worry, you can marry Aabha and take him to your home. I don't mind it" Bhumi snickered and other women laughed as Mala became shy.

"He is too young for me" Maya shouted in embarrassment which garnered more laughs from the women.

The ladies of Anjar merged in darkness to continue their duties. Then all the chatter stopped, only sounds of chirping birds and the barking of dogs could be heard occasionally.

***

Bhumi believed her younger son's behaviour changed after the illness. She genuinely feared that at that moment her son would be taken from her forever. It was a close call for a while, but Aacha pulled through miraculously because of Goddess Ula's grace.

This was the reason Kari and Bhumi overlooked the weird behaviour of their youngest child. As long as he was healthy and happy, they were content, or that is what they thought so, but even they could not completely disregard it.

"Aacha, What are you doing?" Bhumi asked her youngest son. She noted her eldest trailing behind the younger boy.

She looked at them curiously because she was cooking, and they barged into her cooking area and interrupted her work.

The boys ignored her and observed the smoke intently emitted from the stove.

"There," Aacha pointed to his elder brother. Aabha whispered something into the younger boy's ear who nodded energetically.

When Bhumi thought of booting out her sons so that she could continue her work in peace. The boys erupted into a frenzy of activity.

Aabha placed the pot on the floor and climbed on it. Aacha followed his elder brother, climbed on his shoulder, took charcoal and marked the particular place of the mud wall.

"Father" the boys shouted and a middle-aged man entered the house with a tool similar to a spear in his hand.

He also ignored the lady of the house and approached the boys. They whispered something to the man and pointed a charcoal mark on the wall.

The man nodded and started to make the hole in the mud wall where the charcoal mark was placed.

"Hey, Kari, why are you destroying the wall?" Bhumi shouted at her husband who ignored her.

"Father knows what he is doing, trust him, mother," Aabha tried to reassure his mother before leaving the house hurriedly with his younger brother.

The boys came back shortly with mud, and the man had already created the hole which was in an irregular shape with the help of mud, he patched it into a neat round shape hole.

The man and two boys did some finishing touches and turned to the lady with smug faces, but Bhumi was livid and could not understand their preposterous behaviour.

"Haha, Bhumi, see what we did for you? You no longer need to suffer from smoke during cooking." Kari boasted about his work, then only Bhumi comprehended the reason for their strange behaviour.

She might have been pleased if they had not interrupted her work or spilt the debris from the mud wall into the food she was cooking.

"Why do you guys look pleased with yourself? See what you have done?" Bhumi pointed to a kanji floating with mud. The boys and man’s faces morphed from a smug look to panic in a fraction of a second. Their spider senses tingled with danger. They knew they needed to leave this place as soon as possible, or a bloodbath might take place.

While Bhumi pointed to the cooking pot filled with debris and tried to glare at them and realised that her husband and her sons were running away.

"Hey, where are you running?" Bhumi shouted, but they did not stop but doubled down and ran like life depended upon leaving this place.

"Hmph" Bhumi placed her hands on her hips and speculated where they could run after all they needed to return home sooner or later. She noticed the smoke from the cooking stove left the house through the hole. She thought at least they got one thing right.

***

"Mother" her youngest son called her.

"What?"

"Can I look at the stove?" Aachman requested his mother.

"What for?" Bhumi enquired.

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"Stoves are interesting," Aachman stated as a matter of fact.

If anyone said the old stoves were interesting, Bhumi might not believe it, but this is her quirky youngest son.

"Okay, but be careful, it might still be hot because I used it a short while ago" Bhumi grudgingly allowed.

"Don't worry, mother. I will be very careful,” Aachman promised his mother.

Bhumi felt drowsy, so she closed her eyes to take a nap for some time.

"Bang"

"Bang"

Bhumi jolted to wake up because of the sound. Who was breaking into her house? When she observed the perpetrator, that person was none other than her son. He was using a stick and pounding the crap out of the stove.

Bhumi's first reaction was a shock, and the second opinion that followed was how to save the stove from her stupid son. She noticed it was battered, but it was not yet completely broken.

"Aiyo, What are you doing?" Bhumi screeched at the top of her lungs. She narrowed her distance in record time and wrestled the stick from her son and threw it away. The boy had the gall to look confused.

Bhumi pulled her youngest son's ear as punishment.

"Haaaaaa"

"Tell me now what in the name of God made you do this? How will I cook dinner?"

"Mother, I did it for your sake" the boy tried to convince.

"Boy, I made up my mind that today is the day I am going to discipline you" Bhumi shouted.

"Mother, I am telling the truth. Aabha, where are you? AABHA"

The said boy reluctantly entered the house.

"Aabha, where were you? You should be here when I start breaking the stove", the younger boy accused the elder boy.

"Your suffering was very interesting to watch, I forgot to come" the elder boy shrugged as a matter of fact.

"YOU! Are you speaking like a responsible elder brother? How can you do this to me?" Aachman was teary-eyed, and his ear was still pulled by his mother.

Bhumi was enraged, she started shouting but realised that her eldest son was holding something.

"What is going on? What are you holding in your hands?" Bhumi demanded answers from her sons.

"This is the new stove. Even though it looks weird..." Aabha started to explain.

"STOP. Amateurs like you don't have business in explaining anything." Aacha interrupted his elder brother because it was such a lousy sales pitch he had heard in his both lives.

"Mother!" The younger boy squirmed but failed to escape from Bhumi, who was still pulling his ear. The boy gave up and started to explain.

"This is the smokeless stove. It uses 50% less wood and generates more heat because of regular oxygen flow.

Produce 80% less smoke. It won't affect your eyes or lungs. This weird part that sticks out is called the chimney which lets the smoke out." Aachman puffed up his chest as if he was pleased with his creation.

Bhumi and her eldest son looked blankly as if they did not even understand a word spoken by the younger boy.

"As I was saying, it works better than the old stove even though it looks weird.” Aabha continued his explanation as if there was no interruption to her mother who nodded as if she understood what her eldest son was saying.

Aachman went into depression because no one understood what he said even though he listed out all the cool specs of the stove.

***

Bhumi was starting a fire on her new stove, and she loved it. As it was way better than the previous one. It was easy to cook, and it took far less time.

"Ma" the young boy called his mother.

"What now?" Bhumi sighed and asked suspiciously.

"I am not giving this stove back to you." She tried to hug her new stove.

"It is not about the stove, mother," Aacha said innocently.

"Really" Bhumi did not believe her son. He was hiding something behind with his hands, probably another stick. She blew the air to fan the flames, but it was difficult, the fire was not catching the wood.

"Mother, try this" Aachman handed over the clay pipe he made.

Bhumi took the pipe, looked around and did not know what to do with it.

"Mother, please blow the air through the pipe, it is more convenient," Aachman suggested.

Bhumi blew through the pipe and the flame roared instantly.

"Aacha, you made a convenient tool for me." Bhumi was pleased. It makes her life so simple.

"Ma, this is also for you" Aacha took the fan-made of coconut leaves from his other hand.

"What is this?" Bhumi was already sold out from his son's nonstop cool new things.

"Haha, mother, when you cook, the place becomes hot, so I made this fan to cool you down." Aachman mimicked the way to use the fan.

"It is so cool. Thanks, Aacha. Where do you get these ideas?" Bhumi moved to tears because of the concern showered by her youngest son.

"Mother, when I see your struggle. I need to do something." Aachman said righteously.

"Aww, my dear boy" Bhumi became so emotional she hugged Aacha and suffocated him with her huge bosom.

***

"Bhumi, I am home" Kari announced his return from the village to his wife.

"Do you want buttermilk?" Bhumi asked her husband.

"No, come here. I have brought a gift for you." Kari declared his intentions to his wife.

"Where is my gift?" Bhumi thought that these days everyone was giving her gifts. She hoped it was as good as her son's gift.

"Here," Kari showed his hand where a jasmine garland was wrapped around his wrist. He took an exaggerated sniff and leered at her in a perverted manner.

"Flower!" Bhumi was disappointed, which she inadvertently expressed in her voice.

"What are you not happy about?" Kari questioned and took another exaggerated sniff from the jasmine garland.

"Stop sniffing," Bhumi said with a red face.

"Then come here,” Kari used his hand to gesture to her to come to him.

Bhumi came towards her husband slowly and with her gaze on the ground. A strong pair of hairy hands suddenly turned her harshly.

"Aaah" Bhumi shouted in surprise.

Kari unwrapped the garland and placed it on Bhumi's head. Afterwards, he hugged her from behind.

"Hey, Kari, what are you doing?" Bhumi asked her husband in a whisper, and her face was steaming.

Kari did not answer, instead sniffed at her.

"Stop sniffing," Bhumi said in a shy manner.

"When the fragrance of you and a flower mixed, it is divine," Kari said in a husky voice.

"Ah, I know you are a perverted old man." Bhumi struggled to get out of her husband's embrace. It only made Kari happier.

Knock

Knock

Kari ignored and tried to continue the romance with his wife.

Knock

"Someone is knocking on our door," Bhumi said to her husband.

Knock

"Go look at the door," Bhumi suggested to her husband again. Kari looked as if he did not want to go, but incessant knocking made him separate from his wife, albeit, reluctantly. He sighed and left to look at who cock blocked him this time.

Kari opened the door, it was Mala and her father, Sudalai

"Did we disturb you? If you are busy we can come another time." Sudalai said to Kari.

Mala did not take a hint from her father. "Hi, uncle. Aunty was praising her new stove. So we thought we might take a look today"

Kari glanced at his sheepish wife and intensely looked back at the father and daughter pair for a few seconds. The silence was grating, and the atmosphere was fast becoming awkward.

"You are not disturbing anyone, come inside and take a look at our new stove," Kari said grudgingly.

"Mala, come here" Bhumi was practically hugging her stove and eager to show off to the younger girl.

Kari glared at her, but she ignored him.

"Hi, Aunty, its appearance is very different" Mala voiced her opinion.

"Really, I forgot the appearance of my old stove. It is easy to cook and takes very little time and practically no smoke."

Father and daughter duo took a closer look at the stove.

"So this pipe sticking at the side would let the smoke out" Sudalai, who had rich experience in making things, guessed the purpose of the chimney.

"As expected from Sudalai," Kari praised.

"Hey, can I copy these new stove designs? I think it would be helpful to Mala" Sudalai requested.

"Dad, you will do this for me" Mala was happy.

"Yeah, no problem. When are you going to think about Mala's marriage?" Bhumi asked Mala's father.

"Aunty, I already told you!" Mala objected to Bhumi.

"Yeah, I want her to get married, but she rejects everybody," Sudalai complained.

"Hey, how about my son? He is younger than Mala, but in three years he will be ready for marriage. Mala is a good girl, I like her to be my daughter in law." Kari said to his friend.

Bhumi chimed "Mala, we know about your conditions for the bridegroom, and you can take Aabha to your house. We don't mind. After all, we have Aacha as a spare" Bhumi winked at the young girl. Mala became beet red.

"Are you sure? Then I will accept" Sudalai easily accepted Kari and Bhumi's persuasion and Mala did not object to them.

Kari closed the door after sending off the father-daughter duo.

"Where did we leave off?" Kari playfully asked his wife and hugged her.

"Heh, Kari, you still want to continue" Bhumi was surprised by her husband's dedication.

Knock

Knock

"Hey, who closed the door in the daytime?" Bhumi heard the voice of her youngest son from the other side of the door.

"What are mother and father doing behind the closed door?" Bhumi heard her eldest son expressing his doubts.

"Snake dance"

Bhumi thought who taught them to be cheeky. They need to be disciplined.

"So should we come afterwards?" Aabha asked.

"Certainly not, there are some toads who lust after swan flesh. We should protect our mother" Aachman said with conviction.

"Yeah, we should protect our mother" Aabha echoed his younger brother's thoughts.

Bhumi moved to tears because her children displayed filial piety.

Meanwhile, Kari plotted ways to dispose of his youngest son too. He was irritated that the Mala girl did not have a sister. After all, his eldest son got a fiancee now without his knowledge.