It was the crisp and brilliant month of November. There was a nip in the air and the rays of the sun filtered through the branches of the trees, throwing a golden gray tinge on the Burra Bungalow lawn. The chrysanthemums added to the beauty of the lawn. The sweet-peas were making their way up on the hand-made latticed bamboo supports. The French brocades were in full bloom adding a pop of bright gold.
The fragrance from the garden was gently drifting through with the breeze into the verandah of the Chang bungalow creating an array of heady floral scents, where stood “Bada mem-sahib” instructing the Maali (gardener). That’s when the Manager of the estate, “Bada sahib” drove into the porch in his Gypsy and saw the company driver polishing the company vehicles, fully dressed in his peak-cap and uniform. The manager was a bit surprised as he had no information regarding any visitors from the UK or the head-office. That is when he learnt from the driver that since it had been a long time, the company vehicles required polishing and a run of the engine. That’s when the Bada mem-sahib came down, announcing that she would need a vehicle to go and see the new bride. Though the formal introduction had been done a few months back, she wanted to see and interact personally with the new bride to see if she was settling down well.
As luck would have it, the Bada mem-sahib got the company vehicle for her social call. As the vehicle drove up the driveway of the chhota bungalow, the Bada-memsahib witnessed a strange sight from the corner of her eye. The new bride (a mere 21 years of age) on seeing the vehicle dived into one of the Camellia bushes trying to hide. The Bada-memsahib was amused and a bit concerned with this awkward behaviour. She got down from the car and asked the chhota-memsahib if all was well.
The new bride coyly stood up from behind the shrubs with leaves strewn on her hair and a gardening tool in hand. She explained that she thought that the UK visitors had arrived and she was not ready to receive them in her gardening attire. She admitted that she had been intimidated by all the formal dress-ups and gatherings with the guests. So she impulsively jumped behind the shrubs in a futile attempt to hide from their view. To this day, both the ladies laugh at that incident and share a great rapport and friendship!