‘Ah, Bijjala, come in.’ His father’s voice was calm. Bijjala hated it when his father talked like that. He knew trouble was coming. He decided to go on the offensive.
‘Father—’ Bijjala began.
‘Your Majesty—address us as Your Majesty, Bijjala. We are sitting on our throne and not in our bedroom,’ the king said.
This was not going right at all. Bijjala gritted his teeth and said, ‘Your Majesty, someone ordered that Devadasi Street be closed—’
‘We ordered it,’ the king said, leaning back on his throne and running his fingers through his beard.
‘Father…I mean, Your Majesty, you ordered it?’ Bijjala was confused. ‘I thought this basta—I mean this…I mean this Skandadasa—’
‘The Honourable Mahapradhana Skandadasa—address him so. He is your prime minister, not your personal slave to address without an honorific. This is the sabha of Mahishmathi, Prince, and not a house of pleasure or a tavern. Decorum has to be maintained, and respect has to be given as well as taken. Talking about respect, did you hit the veteran Mayan?’
‘Veteran who? This old beggar?’
‘Yes, Prince. This “old beggar”, if you care to know, saved the life of the maharaja of Mahishmathi not once or twice, but thrice. If you look at the old beggar’s left ear—ah, the one you hit—he lost half of it when he came between us and the sword that was meant to cut off our head. If you see the scar on his left cheek, the one you slapped, he got it while saving us by crawling under a chariot that had splintered in the battlefield. The third time he saved our life it was in much more difficult circumstances, but we will not bother you with that. You have something to say?’
‘He tried to stop me,’ Bijjala cried.
‘From going to a house of pleasure on your name day, if we are right?’
‘I am twenty-one, I can go where I please,’ Bijjala said.
‘You act as if you are twelve. Now you will apologize to him by touching his feet.’
Bijjala was shocked. Mayan folded his hands and cried, ‘Your Majesty, no, no, it will be a sin. I am a mere soldier. The Honourable Mahapradhana insisted that I should come with him to see Your Majesty. I am sorry. I am sorry. Please…He is the scion of Mahishmathi. Please…’
‘Mayan,’ Maharaja Somadeva’s voice was soft and respectful, ‘we are disappointed in you. We thought you considered your king as just. We thought you considered your maharaja as a human with emotions like gratitude, respect and love. The words you spoke hurt our pride, for that proves we are a tyrant who cares nothing for our people. Are we such a ruler, dear Mayan? Or do you wish we should be known as such a king for posterity?’
Mayan looked down at his toes. Bijjala stood fuming. He looked pleadingly at his mother. The maharani intervened, ‘Your Majesty, it is wrong to make the prince of Mahishmathi touch a lowly soldier’s feet. I belong to a great family, we trace our lineage to Suryavamsha and if my son—’
‘Brihannala,’ the maharaja called out, cutting his wife off in middle. ‘The maharani is suffering from a headache. Kindly accompany her to the Antapura.’
The maharani stood up. Her face was flushed red with anger and shame. ‘I know the way, Your Majesty. But you have lost yours.’ She bowed stiffly and stormed out of the sabha.
Maharaja stared at Bijjala and gestured for him to do his bidding. The entire sabha was watching him. Bijjala burnt with shame. The news would spread. He looked at Skandadasa. There was a smile of victory on that black face. He had come to get Skandadasa dismissed, and instead he was being forced to touch the feet of a lowly soldier. He gritted his teeth.
‘Prince, we do not have the whole year. We have better things to do,’ the maharaja said.
Trying to control his tears of anger and frustration, Bijjala stiffly bowed to touch the feet of Mayan who stood sobbing. Then Bijjala turned on his heel and walked away from the sabha. The maharaja continued his business as if nothing extraordinary had happened.
When Bijjala walked out of the durbar, darkness was spreading in Mahismathi. Keki, who was waiting outside, stood up.
‘That was shameful,’ Keki said. Bijjala clenched his fist.
Keki placed her hand on Bijjala’s shoulder and said, ‘All the doings of that low-caste mahapradhana. Worry not, when Bhoomipathi Pattaraya is your friend. We have a plan.’
THIRTY-TWO
Sivagami
Sivagami threw a pebble at Gundu Ramu through the bars of the kitchen window. Gundu Ramu was sitting on the floor, cutting vegetables with a curved knife. The pebble missed him and hit a copper vessel instead. The noise attracted the cook’s attention and he hit Gundu Ramu on his head with his ladle. The boy gave a yelp and the cook shouted at him, ‘Swine, playing when you are supposed to work? Next time you try such tricks, I will pour boiling sambhar on your head.’
Gundu Ramu crouched like a chastised dog, trying to shrink his huge body as much as possible, and resumed his work. The cook went back to blowing the fire in the stove. Gundu Ramu was wiping his eyes with the back of his handwhen the next pebble hit the mark. He looked at the window in surprise and immediately suppressed a yelp. He shook his head when Sivagami asked him to come out. He looked fearfully at the cook. Sivagami gesticulated wildly, indicating it was urgent.
Gundu Ramu stood up and the cook shouted at him. The boy raised his little finger, indicating he had to use the toilet.
‘Don’t take the whole day. Go,’ the cook said, without looking back. Gundu Ramu ran out and met Sivagami. She grabbed his handand they ran behind the kitchen, where taro plants grew as tall as Sivagami’s chin. It covered Ramu entirely. Kamakshi was waiting for them there.
I have thought about it thoroughly,’ Sivagami said. ‘The only day it will be possible for us to enter the palace premises is on Mahamakam. Everyone in the city will be invited into the palace grounds, and we will get no better opportunity to sneak into Skandadasa’s home.’
‘I heard he is the mahapradhana now. Won’t he have changed his home? He always stays in the office,’ Kamakshi said.
‘I heard he has not and I hope he has not. We will break in, get the book and escape,’ Sivagami said. She felt a pang of worry, but hid it well. Kamakshi was not in favour of breaking in—she was afraid Sivagami would be caught. But nothing was going to stop Sivagami. After her last conversation with Skandadasa, she could not just leave it there. She had been racking her brain, trying to devise a plan to recover it. After she was called to Skandadasa’s office, Revamma had made sure that Sivagami was kept away from her friends. That morning she had gone out somewhere, and Sivagami had seized the chance to meet them.
‘Even if you get the book, how will you leave with it?’ Kamakshi asked. ‘They check everyone coming in and going out.’
‘For that we have Gundu Ramu,’ Sivagami said.
‘I am getting scared,’ Gundu Ramu said.
‘Nothing to be scared of, Gundu,’ Sivagami ruffled his hair. ‘You will not even be going inside the fort.’
‘Not go inside the fort? I will miss all the performances and concerts,’ Gundu Ramu said.
‘Won’t you do even this much for your akka?’ Sivagami asked. She felt bad about manipulating the boy, but she had no other choice. She pressed on, ‘The road for untouchables and slaves goes by the river, along the west fort wall. Skandadasa’s home is near that wall. I will grab the book and give a signal. Then I will throw the book over the fort wall. You pick it up and run back to the orphanage. You can then come back and enter the fort to see all the dances you want.’
Gundu Ramu nodded reluctantly, and Sivagami gave him a confident smile though she knew it was going to be tough. She did not want to mention that the road would not have any light, and that he might have to wait alone for quite a long time.
Kamakshi said, ‘I don’t like this plan at all, Sivagami. Please, let us not do this.’
‘Either you are with me or you are against me,’ Sivagami snapped. ‘I don’t want anything from you, Kamakshi. You are not tak
ing any risk. You just have to watch whether Revamma is looking the other way when I sneak away. I will be back before you know it. And you have to manage any curious souls who are interested in my whereabouts while I am gone.’
‘No, Sivagami. Do you think the mahapradhana’s home will be left open for you to walk into? There will be guards,’ Kamakshi said.
‘Of course there will be guards. Don’t worry. I will not knock on the front door and say I have come to steal something from the mahapradhana’s home, please let me in. For god’s sake, I am going to break in.’ Sivagami felt her anger rising.
‘You are stealing,’ Kamakshi said.
‘Taking back my father’s book is not stealing. He stole the book from me. I am recovering it. Will you please stop being so irritating, Kamakshi? If you do not want to help, just stay away. Don’t dampen everything and scare the boy too.’
Kamakshi’s eyes brimmed with tears and she walked away. There was no point talking to Sivagami when she was angry. In any case, she had a huge pile of clothes to wash. She hurried to take the bundle of clothes and ran to the river with it. Sivagami was not the only one Kamakshi was worried about. She had not heard from Shivappa for a while, and was getting anxious.
It was midday by the time she finished washing the clothes. She bundled them together and lifted it on her back, staggering under the weight. She had begun climbing the steps of the ghat when a mad man jumped in front of her. She screamed and the bundle fell down. It was Bhairava, the crazy man who roamed around the riverbank. A few boys who were coming to bathe laughed at Kamakshi’s predicament as the madman danced around her. After a few moments the boys lost interest and went away. The madman left, singing and dancing. Kamakshi sat down on the steps to pick up the soiled clothes. She was startled when she heard a whisper near her ears. Bhairava had come back.
He put his index finger on her lips and said, ‘Silence. Listen.’ Kamakshi looked fearfully towards the boys who were swimming in the river. Bhairava turned her chin towards him and said, ‘On Mahamakam day, he will come for you. Wait for him. He will come after finishing his job and will take you away to the cottage by the sea as you had dreamed. This is Shiva’s message. Told by Bhairava.’
Her heart was pounding in her ribcage. She gathered courage and asked, ‘Where will he come?’
‘Where the king rules, where kings are born, where kings die.’
‘In the palace grounds?’
Without answering, the madman went away. She grabbed the clothes and hurriedly tied them into a bundle. She was in no mood to wash them again. Revamma would scream, but that did not matter. Shivappa was coming. Oh Amma Gauri, you have heard my prayers, she thought as she ran, wiping away her tears of joy. She threw the bundle into a corner and rushed to Sivagami. Sivagami looked at her and walked away.
Kamakshi ran up to her and hugged her. ‘I will come with you on Mahamakam to the palace grounds,’ she said.
Sivagami looked at her in surprise. Then her lips curved in a derisive smile. ‘Why the sudden change of mind? Is he coming?’ Kamakshi looked away and Sivagami quickly continued, ‘It doesn’t matter. And never mind what you said. I will be with you.’
Kamakshi started crying. ‘I…I was scared for you. It was not that I was being selfish.’
Sivagami said, ‘I know you, Kama,’ and hugged her. ‘Everything will be all right. You will have a wonderful life together. See how you blush,’ Sivagami teased her as Kamakshi’s lovely face turned red.
‘See how spoilt you are for choices. You are lucky, Prince,’ a voice came from behind them, and Kamakshi and Sivagami stepped apart. They were shocked to see that it was Keki. And behind Keki was Prince Bijjala.
‘This one is a virgin,’ Keki said, pointing to Kamakshi. ‘I am not sure of this boy-girl,’ she said, indicating Sivagami.
Sivagami moved Kamakshi behind her back and glared at the duo, ‘Who allowed you here?’
‘Aha, aha, this is the crown prince, girl. And he rules this country. Besides, he has paid Revamma. Now be good girls and go with him. You will not regret it. But don’t forget this poor eunuch,’ Keki simpered.
Sivagami looked at the prince and said, ‘I was brought up by Thimma, and he checks here every week. If he finds I am missing, he will know whom to complain to. When he visited last, I told him about the business this eunuch and Revamma are carrying on. He will go to the maharaja.’
‘Prince, she is bluffing—’ Keki started, and then as the prince turned away said, ‘Hey, hey, where are you going, wait, wait!’ But Bijjala was on his way out, and Keki ran behind him.
Sivagami turned to a sobbing Kamakshi and said, ‘Never show you are afraid. Nothing will happen to you. It is only a few days till Mahamakam. They will not dare to touch you or me before that. I know how to take care of myself, and you will join him soon, and then—’ she started teasing Kamakshi again, and the girl laughed shyly.
Despite her own brave words, Sivagami had a nagging sense that something dreadful was going to happen. No, I should not have such silly thoughts, she chided herself, but the feeling refused to go.
THIRTY-THREE
Ally
Ally aimed her arrow at Jeemotha. His back was turned to her. She was tempted to let it fly. She imagined him falling face down into the river, and his blood spreading like red ink on the water. One day she was sure she would do it—but today was not that day. She was yet to extract anything worthwhile from him. She had given herself to him many times, but had barely anything to show for her efforts.
She watched as the pirate held the slave like one would a dog. Ally had grown fond of Kattappa. It had been a few days since they had rescued him from the river. She thought he would die, but the slave had recovered quickly. Despite her objections, Jeemotha had tied the slave with hemp ropes when he was weak and at the brink of death. It was quite unnecessary, Kattappa had said—it was an ancient code of his tribe to be the slave of the people who saved one’s life. Until the master freed the slave, the slave would continue to serve the master. Jeemotha had laughed when he heard this. Despite Ally’s best efforts, he refused to believe Kattappa’s words. Everyone judges others by their own standard, thought Ally. Jeemotha would never understand the meaning of the word honour, just like Kattappa would never know what slyness was.
Ally often wondered whether she should let the slave go. She had only to utter the words, ‘Slave, you are free as the wind’, three times and he would be a free man as per the ancient rule. She knew that Jeemotha feared she would do this, which was why he had tied the slave and was making him work like a dog. But even if she freed Kattappa, there was no place he could go. They were trapped on this island. She had to wait for the right moment, but she felt miserable seeing the way Jeemotha was treating him.
Kattappa dove into the water at Jeemotha’s urging. Ally stood up, her brows furrowed. The pirate was making the slave do a dangerous job. He had discovered that the river abounded with fresh water pearls and he was making the slave dive into the water to fish for them. While he held one end of the rope and stood in the shallow part of the river, the other end was tied to the slave’s neck. It was not meant for Kattappa’s safety. It was meant to give Jeemotha leverage. If the slave tried to escape, he just had to give a tug and choke him to death.
‘He will die one of these days,’ Ally cried out.
‘The pearls are more valuable than he is,’ Jeemotha answered. In her anger, she let loose the arrow. He ducked at the last moment and it fell harmlessly near him. The pirate laughed, ‘Better luck next time, whore.’
Ally’s face flushed with shame and anger. He called her ‘whore’ or ‘slut’ or many other unspeakable words. Not even once did he call her by her name. Not that she cared. She was doing her job. Yet, when she thought that he was utilizing her whenever he fancied, she felt anger and frustration corroding her from within. He shamelessly used her many times even when the slave was looking. Not that the slave looked at them when they made love. He pretended to be asleep. When s
he protested once, Jeemotha asked if they would have cared if animals and birds saw them when they were having sex. The slave was no better than an animal, he said. Every time Jeemotha said that, she felt like wringing his neck and killing him. Jeemotha knew the effect his words were having on her and would sometimes say things just to rile her.
‘Next time I will not miss,’ she said, notching another arrow in the string and drawing it. Jeemotha laughed, irritating her further. At that moment, Kattappa burst out of the water, his palm full of fresh water pearls. He wheezed for breath as he handed the pearls to Jeemotha. Ally’s eyes brimmed with tears.
‘Don’t gawk, slave. Jump in again,’ Jeemotha said, pushing Kattappa into the water, and the slave vanished. Ally lost her temper. She ran towards Jeemotha, ready to fight him. Jeemotha laughed aloud. She screamed at him as she ran up, and was about to punch him, when a horn blared loudly, shocking both of them.
Ships, hundreds of them, their sails fluttering in the wind. They were coming towards them at great speed.
‘Run,’ Jeemotha screamed as he pulled the rope.
Ally started running towards the ships, waving her hands wildly. She stood at the edge of the river. The ships were travelling through the deep blue part of it. She howled and screamed, jumping up and down, ‘Help us, help us.’
Jeemotha ran towards her, grabbed her, and tried to shut her mouth. ‘Bitch, bitch, you will get us killed,’ he screamed, but she ignored him and continued to wave and scream at the ships. Finally, one of the ships turned towards them. Jeemotha grabbed her hand and started to run.
‘Leave me, leave me. Help, help,’ she cried. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Kattappa trying to crawl onto the shore.
The ship anchored and coracles were lowered. Soon six coracles were travelling towards them. Jeemotha pulled her again and she shoved him. She put her leg between his and tripped him. He fell on his back in the shallow water. She ran towards the coracles. Fierce-looking warriors with body paint were jumping into the water now. They ran towards her and she knew something was wrong from the way they were approaching her. Her mouth gaped open. Before she knew it, they had surrounded her. She kicked down the first man who reached her. She could hear Jeemotha splashing towards them, cursing and shouting. Men were descending from the other coracles and heading towards them.
The Rise of Sivagami : Book 1 of Baahubali - Before the Beginning Page 30