It was 4 am.  A hand reached towards the betel nut case and opened the worn brass lid. The nut cracked with a sound that disturbed the early morning reverie of Parvathi amma.  ' That new vetinary doctor is useless, he hardly looks older than our appu' .  Kalyani amma sighed back in agreement. Parvathi amma went on ' I think I will walk Nandini to Nandu later'. Nandini was the new cow and Nandu was the compounder at the government animal hospital. He was more respected and powerfull than any of the doctors there. He ran a lucrative business dealing out medicines and advice from his place on the verandah outside the doctors examining shed. A string of doctors had come and gone, each trying their best to dethrone Nandu but no one had succeeded yet. The farmers in this area respected Nandu's mix of experience and stinginess and old country medicine to the new fangled ways of the doctors who didnt even know how to  milk a cow, leave alone cure them.

Parvathi amma gazed at Kalyani amma expectantly. Kalyani amma was the only graduate in the family, her word was valued more than most men's around here. She taught mathematics in the Higher secondary school 10 miles away and ran the household with a iron hand, never disguising her disgust for most people around her. She admired brains and she admired hard work even more. Every penny of her salary went into a savings account. No money was spent on buying anything except kerosene, clothes, medicine, soap, salt and a few spices. The only other expense was her bus charge and maybe a few sweets and cakes when an important relative or a higher up from her school came calling. That too never came from her salary but from the sale of milk from their 3 cows. The money from the coconuts, betelnut, paddy,  pepper and eggs went to another account in a bank near her school. The worst quality unsellable of these produce was kept for the houses consumption. The paddy husk was burnt slowly to be used as tooth powder and even the fallen branches, coconut husks and leaves were stored to be used as firewood.  Sometimes even these were sold to the nearby houses for a few coins during the rainy seasons.

Kalyani amma nodded assent, she always took pleasure in these early morning chats with her sister. It was the only breather before they tackled the rest of their backbreaking day. Her sister had always been dependable, a rock who stood by her even when her weak husband left without a word. Her sister's only visited her a few times a month when he was free from attending all the temple festivals around the country. His pleasure came from watching the ballets and midnight kathakali performances earning his meals, drink, passage and sometimes few pennies here and there using his melodious voice to regale anybody willing to listen. He was instantly liked by everybody with his booming voice and an aptitude for listening. He gave in to his sister in laws judgement and was more than happy to let the responsibilities be taken care of. Kalyani amma tolerated him as his visits were short and he usually entertained everybody and brought small presents that were useless but pleased everyone.

There was a rustle in the bushes surrounding the house, this was the only concession to something with no monetary or practical use. A row of beautiful thetchi bushes that circled the house. During spring when Onam was just round the corner and in the beginning of summer it looked like a ruby necklace adorning the plain, whitewashed structure on the hill. Beyond this on the slopes were lush coconut and mango trees divided by a single path, wide enough for two bulls. There was no space for anything running on wheels to come. Kalyani amma used to say that the treck cooled angry heads and tired the gossip mongers before they entered  the house.

A few more household details were exchanged and gossip shared before the horizon lightened. Parvathi amma got down from the bench and coaxed her creaking bones into the kitchen. The water in the kettle kept on the coals when they had woken up had boiled, she added some tea dust and two spoons of sugar and poured the muddy brown liquid into two glasses and replaced the water in the black, dented kettle. They sipped the tea as the sun rose and the quite was broken by the crows, sparrows and the two cocks with their retinue of hens waiting impatiently to be let out. Both the old women knew this was their cue to start the day's work. Kalyani amma went to open the chicken coop hatch and parvathi amma to the cow shed to milk the cows and feed the bulls.