A pinch of salt n a very dark ... well .... "Bibba"

Me and my school chums were chain mailing and one thing led to another and before we new it we were riding the nostalgia train which took us to a 6th or 7th standard Marathi lesson.

Assembled in the above picture, the story takes place in a rural environ where the village headman (Patil) is parading his magnificent bulls when suddenly one of his coveted beasts goes down in a heap. The Patil tries to coax and cajole it but the bull refuses to budge. His wife, the "Patlin" of course, gets a pinch of no, no .... gets "chimut bhar meeth ani kala kala bibba" ... to ward off the evil that may have possessed the beast but still the bull stays rooted to the ground. By standers declare that the animal has been possessed by evil spirits, "Bail Zapatla" is the conclusion of all and sundry. But then someone has the good sense of calling the vet. The vet nonchalantly walks up to the supposedly possessed animal, lifts his hoof removes the nail stuck in it. The bovine immediately springs to its feet!

Well getting off the train now, n I am wondering how this story is so crystal clear in my memory .... ummmm ... yes I remember now ... there was this class mate of my kid brother's, he was so dark all the kids in school called him Bibba .... kids can be so mean at times ... I for example called a class mate "Kali Kaluti Kalkattey wali" ... but it was all in good fun ... I really miss those days!