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Russian Dolls

Short story by Srivaishnavi Rao, US

It was day 3 of Navaratri. The entire apartment looked very festive. It was bustling with women and children visiting their neighbor’s houses to view the beautiful dolls displayed. Young kids would often be requested to recite a song or two in front of the Kolu. “Navratri”, as the name suggests is a festival of nine nights dedicated to Devis/Shakti(Goddesses). Hence this was an occasion for the women and young girls to flaunt their gorgeous and colorful  “Kancheevarams”, Mysore silks, tussars or whatever  was in vogue. Whereas the men folk would be waiting at home to sample taste and relish the assorted prasadham platter of sundals and sweets the women would bring back from their Kolu hopping.


Vasundhra got back from visiting a few  houses for Kolu. She had only invited a very few folks this year.  Shivaram was surprised to see her back this soon, and asked her,” You are back this early !! Is everything ok?. She replied.”Yeah I’m just a little tired. So I skipped a few houses”. He watched as she was recuperating on the couch. He smiled as he caught her glancing at the clock every few minutes. The flight wasn’t due for at least a couple more hours. She slowly stood up and kept pacing around the living room. Shivaram understood that she was emotionally drained than physically tired.

Vasundhra was always an energetic and outgoing person. She was a great cook, painter and a trained classical Carnatic singer. She took  pride in her culture and wouldn’t compromise her traditions and customs for anything. Shivaram has always admired her zeal for life. But the last few years have been so different. She wasn’t socializing or singing as before. It felt like her bubble was just popped by someone close. She was trying to process the vacuum created by their only son Adharsh. In addition to everything else she was, Vasundhra was also a loving and doting mother. Adharsh was the apple of their eyes who they both adored and loved.


Vasundhra’s first pregnancy unfortunately ended in a stillbirth. Vasundhra and Shivaram were heartbroken and kept hoping for a blessing .Their prayers were soon answered when Adharsh was born a few years later. Vasundhra loved him with all his life.Both mom and son were so close that Shivaram would sometimes tease them that he is envious of their relationship. She was also his Carnatic music teacher. She had taught him all the chores like cooking, singing and even rangoli. Just like his mom, Adharsh was also interested in celebrating all the traditions like Diwali ,Navratri etc. In fact Navratri used to be a very grand occasion in their house hold. And was almost celebrated like a wedding. Days before the Navratri, Vasundhra would have their domestic help get down boxes of dolls from the loft that she had been cherishing for years.


Nataraj and Adharsh were in charge of setting up the Kolu stand, and decorating with colorful string lights.   Everyday of Navratri would be feature special traditional delicacies. Vasundhra would prepare different types of Sundals and her signature sweets like     burfis, milk pedas, rava laddus etc .She would meticulously hand pick and pack return gifts for all the ladies who would visit the Kolu everyday. Vasundhra had some special sarees that is usually draped on the shelves on which the dolls would be placed. Everything had to be just perfect.

Vasundhra would trust no one with her dolls. She would personally wipe down each of them while reminiscing the story of each of the dolls. Some of her favorites was a wedding procession set, a Dasvataram set, a mayabazaar set, Carnatic concert sets and Russian doll set. Each was unique and special in its own way. Most of the dolls were handed down from her mother, grandmother and even her mother-in-law. The Russian doll set was gifted by her grandmother . It was very special for her. It was a bright blue and fuchsia with intricate gold carved in it.

When she was a kid, her grandfather had got those for her from his official trip to Russia. He had explained that Russian dolls were also known as “Matryoshka” or nesting dolls. Usually a set of Russian dolls consist of a mother doll or matron, with similar smaller dolls nested within. It is believed that it signifies the unity of body, soul, mind, heart and spirit. Vasundhra loved it and named the smallest of the doll Mohana, after her favorite raga. Mohana raga was believed to be a happy raga and was known to invite calmness and serenity.


In fact, she had planned on naming her daughter Mohana too. Adharsh excelled both academically and culturally. He completed his bachelors degree and went abroad to pursue his higher studies. Vasundhra missed him terribly. But she had to go through it for his best. He soon got placed in a reputed firm. She was slowly coping her way back from “empty nester syndrome”, and started planning to look for wedding proposals for him.  She meticulously skimmed through proposals and cross matched with his horoscope. She narrowed  it down to two perspective brides whom she thought would be perfect for him.

She was certain that Adharsh would pick either of them. Just as she was about to discuss it with him, Adharsh conveyed  his desire to marry his girlfriend Anya, whom he met at work. While Shivaram was trying to process  the situation, Vasundhra unfortunately couldn’t digest the news.  She had always thought that she knew her son too well, and had always wanted best for him. She had been more a friend than a mother. Now it felt like he was a complete stranger.

Adharsh tried his best to convince his mom but at the same time, stood his ground and was keen on marrying Anya. Shivaram tried his best to bridge the barrier between the mom and son. The fact that Anya belonged to different nationality and a divorcée made it very difficult. A year later, Adharsh and Anya finally got married. Vasundhra had dreamt of having their wedding in their hometown in a traditional and grand manner . But Adharsh and Anya preferred to keep it low key and chose to have a simple ceremony at the city hall. They did not even want to leave the country . Despite his repeated pleas, Vasundhra and Shivaram did not attend the wedding in person. 


Eventually Vasundhra’s anger and ego slowly started to subside. She occasionally spoke to Adharsh on the phone. But she had refused his invitation to go visit him. After several failed attempts, they came to know that Anya couldn't conceive kids. As she was older than Adharsh, they did not want to wait any longer and decided to adopt a baby. Being old school and orthodox, Vasundhra couldn’t quite grasp the concept but nevertheless was happy for him. 

Shivaram and Vasundhra could feel their age taking its toll. Especially, Vasundhra’s blood pressure was not looking good lately . But she was longing to meet him. Just when they were contemplating a trip to go meet him, Adharsh had called to say that they finally found a match for adoption. Her name was Mia and she was around 2 years old. Once a couple of formalities were completed, he planned to visit them during Navratri for a few days along with Anya and Mia.

Vasundhra was both excited and nervous since then. She had marked the calendar and kept counting the days. She usually looked forward for Navratri every year but this time was extra special. Finally the day has arrived and they would be  home soon. She still had thousands of questions in her mind. How was she going to catch up with her son, build a rapport with her daughter in law and most importantly the new baby. How will she fit in? What will she cook? Will they like her food? She was so lost in her thoughts that she did not even hear the doorbell . Shivaram opened the door.

There he was, her loving son with his wife and his daughter. Adharsh walked in, followed by Anya pushing little Mia in the stroller. Vasundhra  had tears of joy as she welcomed him and Anya in with a big tight hug. As they were talking, Mia  woke up. She yawned and stretched herself, as Anya gently picked her up from her stroller.


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