by Sudha Murty
Ratnamma sat on the ground for lunch. Lakshmi had made ragi balls and vegetable sambar. There was majjige huli in another bowl. Ratnamma got irritated. She thought, ‘It is such a waste if Lakshmi makes food like this every day. It is expensive and this kind of food puts a person to sleep. Usually, the women customers come in the afternoons to take loans because the men are away and won’t know about it. If I sleep, it affects my business.’
She was about to scold Lakshmi, but saw her grandson, Anil, sleeping on the floor. So she changed her mind. Cleverly, she asked her daughter, ‘What do you make for lunch every day in your house?’
Lakshmi was a chip off the old block. She understood what was going through her mother’s head. She said, ‘My husband always says—what’s the purpose of earning money if we don’t eat properly and take care of our health? So, I cook two vegetables, sambar, rasam and a dessert every day.’
Ratnamma started eating and did not answer her. ‘If Lakshmi spends all her husband’s salary in cooking, then she can never save money for a rainy day,’ she thought. ‘Shankar is greedy and may have his eye on my property. Maybe that’s why they spend all their money. I also want to enjoy life and eat good food but I control myself and save every penny.’
She was worried that after she was gone, Lakshmi would inherit a part of her hard-earned money and Shankar would enjoy it and spend it all. The idea of someone else enjoying her money made her uncomfortable. Then she saw Lakshmi’s sari. Though it was not silk, it was not cheap either. She couldn’t help thinking, ‘Why does Lakshmi wear such good saris at home? After all, she is only a homemaker. An ordinary sari is enough. She could have used the same money for something else. But Lakshmi behaves as if she is very rich. I have not bought a new sari for ages.’
A few years ago, Lakshmi had celebrated Anil’s first birthday and insisted that her mother come for it. Under a lot of pressure, Ratnamma had closed the shop for a day and gone to Mysore. But she was unable to eat lunch looking at the grandeur of the party. She was shocked at how much money they had wasted on a baby’s birthday. The food was expensive and they had bought boutique clothes for the boy. Ratnamma had repeatedly told her daughter not to gift her a sari. Money would have been better. But Lakshmi had not listened and had given her mother a sari. Ratnamma had told Lakshmi to buy the boy a gold chain instead of having such a grand party but her advice had fallen on deaf ears. So, she had wished the child a long life and had not given him any gifts. According to her, wishes and blessings from elders were more precious than any gifts.
Lord Narasimha’s wife, Goddess Lakshmi, was very popular. In the Narasimha temple, many people gifted her a sari. The goddess usually wore the sari only for a day. Sometimes, the goddess’s sari got stained with turmeric or vermilion. Such saris were given away as prasad to people. Once that sari was washed, it was as good as new. If it was a silk sari, then the head priest’s wife kept it for herself. Otherwise, Ratnamma usually got one or two non-silk saris every year. She felt fortunate that the sari was the goddess’s prasad and she could enjoy it without spending any money. Her wardrobe was full of such saris.
Ratnamma finished her lunch. Just then, she heard the sound of digging in the backyard and went to check what was happening. The backyard was huge. In one corner, there was a honge tree planted by her late husband. As an Ayurvedic practitioner, he had told Ratnamma about its many uses. When he was alive, he had grown herbal plants. Now, Ratnamma preferred to grow pumpkin creepers. She thought that growing herbs like coriander was a waste of money because coriander seeds were expensive to grow, and their only use was that they gave out an aroma during cooking. But growing a pumpkin had more advantages. She could throw pumpkin seeds anywhere and not worry about them. A creeper usually started growing without much care. Pumpkins didn’t decay either. So she could keep them for many months in the house. When there were no vegetables in the summer, the pumpkins became expensive. That was a great way for her to make some money.
Ratnamma came back to the house, washed her hands and lay down on a charpoy. She thought, ‘What’s the use of the honge tree? All the unemployed and young boys sit below the tree and chat to kill time. Sometimes, they even steal pumpkins. Then I have to spend more money on fencing.’
For a minute, she was upset with her dead husband. ‘Had he planted half a dozen champak trees instead of the honge tree, we would have earned money by selling flowers to the women who worship Gowri. I wish I could cut down the honge tree. I can get wood from it. But I’m sure that Lakshmi will oppose my decision. She calls the tree “Appa’s tree” and is sentimental about it. She doesn’t understand my difficulties. The best time to cut the tree is when she is not around.’
Then she thought of her son. Would he also oppose her decision? For a minute, she was worried. It was more difficult to face a son than a married daughter. Then she remembered that her son had fallen in love with a lovely girl. He may not remember T. Narasipura, much less the honge tree.
A little later, there was a dull noise from the site being dug. Mada had hit the rocks. Ratnamma noticed that Lakshmi had come to lie down next to her.
When she was in Mysore for a visit, Ratnamma had seen Shankar bring five rupees worth of champak flowers for his wife every day. She had calculated how much it must cost him per year—more than eighteen hundred rupees! What a waste of money on flowers that wouldn’t last for more than twenty-four hours. It was too much for her to take. She knew that Shankar was a loudmouth and his relatives avoided him for this reason. But still, for the welfare of her daughter, she had said, ‘Shankar, you should save that money and invest it somewhere, maybe in a fixed deposit.’
Shankar had replied harshly, ‘Mother-in-law, we will be able to save even more if we just stop breathing!’
Ratnamma had thought sadly, ‘He does not respect my age or my position.’
That was the last time Ratnamma ever spoke to Shankar about money matters. She had also made up her mind never to help this couple financially. She knew that their life was a bottomless bucket. If she ever gave them money, it would be spent very quickly.
She was brought back to the present when Lakshmi broke the silence: ‘Amma, you aren’t saying anything about Sanjay’s marriage. Are you hurt?’
‘No, he has to get married some day.’ Then she thought, ‘Lakshmi has changed a lot under Shankar’s influence. She is not really worried about Sanjay’s wedding. It doesn’t matter to her whether he marries a rich or a poor girl. But she wants the status that will come if her brother marries a girl from a rich family.’
Ratnamma didn’t care about status. Though she had some gold jewellery, she kept it in a bank locker and never wore it. She didn’t plan to give it to her daughter or daughter-in-law. Gold wasn’t just jewellery to her. It was an asset and an investment. If things went badly, she could mortgage or sell it. What was the use of spending money on silk saris? Once they were washed, they were worthless and couldn’t be sold.
Her mind jumped to Mridula. ‘The girl is from Dharwad district and people there always buy pure gold. It is good that they don’t add copper and make intricate designs. If the gold is pure, it melts easily and there is no wastage. Usually, the girl and her parents take care of the wedding expenses. The boy’s side hardly spends any money. Mridula’s father is a landlord. He can give whatever he wants to his daughter. I don’t want to be a part of it. Anyway, the girl is not going to give me gold for the moneylending business. If her family wants to give me a sari, then I will tell them that I want cash and not a sari. I will also let Sanjay know. But whatever he wants to give Lakshmi will be between the brother and the sister. I don’t want to interfere. I want to make it very clear that I will give Mridula only a mangalsutra, my old earrings and toe rings. I don’t want to spend much. It is also a good omen for a daughter-in-law to get her mother-in-law’s ornaments. The greatest gift that I can give the married couple is my blessings. I’m not going to talk about any wedding preparation or have marriage-related discussions. All the neg
otiations will be left to Lakshmi, Shankar and Sanjay.’
Meanwhile, Lakshmi turned on her side and thought, ‘If I had stayed with my mother, then her influence on me would have been more. But I got married at a young age and stayed with my husband in a bigger city. My husband has been transferred to many places because of his job and I have seen a lot because of that. I can’t understand why my mother keeps thinking about money. I have one brother and I want him to have a big wedding. Had this been an arranged marriage, I would have negotiated well but now my words will probably fall on deaf ears. If the girl was from Bangalore or Mysore, we would have rented a huge wedding hall. I would have been able to make my sisters-in-law jealous. But Sanjay has really disappointed me. He himself has proposed marriage to Mridula, so naturally the girl’s parents and relatives will not respect our words.’
Lakshmi was upset with Mridula even though she had never met her. She knew that Amma wouldn’t spend any money on Sanjay’s wedding. Amma never gave Lakshmi any gifts when she came to visit her either. On the contrary, she would say, ‘Giving saris is such a waste. I’ll get you a necklace instead.’
Lakshmi had heard this for years but she was yet to see a necklace. All her sisters-in-law made fun of her. They purposely told her, ‘Oh, see the new sari my mother has given me this time.’
Both parties knew that the sari had been bought from the husband’s money without his knowledge; Lakshmi was no exception. She took money from Shankar without telling him and bought saris in Mysore. She later told her sisters-in-law that her mother had given her the sari. Sometimes, Sanjay would send Lakshmi money for the Gowri festival and even send her a sari. But Shankar always suspected that that sari too was bought with his money.
Lakshmi was angry with Sanjay for putting her in such a situation. ‘Amma may keep quiet about Sanjay’s wedding but I will talk. I’ll demand a sari from Sanjay and his in-laws. Whom should we invite to the wedding? Amma has many acquaintances because of her business. But none of them are true friends who will genuinely enjoy Sanjay’s wedding. Amma has a different principle in life. She says, “If you are running a business, then don’t become too friendly with anyone because, inevitably, they’ll ask you for a loan. Once people become friends, it is difficult to ask them to return the money. You’ll lose the money and the friendship.”’
So, her mother did not have many friends.
Lakshmi turned back and saw her mother sleeping soundly. Maybe the majjige huli had put her to sleep.
8
The Strings of Love
Shankar and Lakshmi decided to go and talk to Bheemanna about the marriage arrangements. It was Lakshmi’s idea. Sanjay felt that it was appropriate since Lakshmi was older than him and was his only sister. So he told Bheemanna about his sister’s forthcoming visit.
After a few days, Shankar and Lakshmi went to Arsikere and boarded the Kittur Express at night. The next day, they reached Hubli at dawn. They planned to return by bus the same night. Krishna was waiting for them at the Hubli railway station. He would drive them to Aladahalli as planned—it was only an hour away.
But when Lakshmi and Shankar got off the train, Shankar changed the plan. He did not like the idea of going directly to Aladahalli. He said, ‘First, we’ll go to Ajanta Hotel and have a bath and eat breakfast. Then we’ll leave for Aladahalli.’
Krishna found this impromptu change of plans a little strange but kept quiet and nodded his head. At the hotel, Shankar pretended to offer to pay the bill but did not refuse when Krishna insisted on paying.
Due to this delay, Krishna, Shankar and Lakshmi reached Aladahalli only at 11 a.m. Rukuma and Bheemanna welcomed them wholeheartedly. They were genuinely happy. Soon, Mridula also joined them. She was wearing a simple white sari with a green blouse and looked absolutely radiant and beautiful even without lipstick or make-up. She reminded Lakshmi of a fragrant white-jasmine creeper. Lakshmi was immediately envious of her natural beauty. She started measuring Mridula’s family’s financial status by the gold that they were wearing; she was disappointed. Mridula was wearing minimal jewellery—a gold chain, gold earrings and four gold bangles. Her mother was also wearing similar jewellery in addition to her mangalsutra. Lakshmi did not understand why these women were not showing off their jewellery.
She recalled her engagement day. She had gone to her neighbour Subbaiah Shetty’s house to get some gold-plated ornaments even though Ratnamma was dead against it. Lakshmi had adorned herself with the ornaments from top to bottom to impress her in-laws. She had been wrong. Shankar’s sister Vimla was clever enough to realize that the ornaments were fake. She had sarcastically remarked, ‘Oh, these ornaments are available in Chickpet for a hundred and fifty rupees. My daughter Usha bought them for her college dance programme.’
Lakshmi heard Bheemanna’s voice asking them to follow him outside the house. Bheemanna took Shankar and Lakshmi for a walk around the village. They were uncomfortable with his local Kannada. They had never heard such a version of Kannada before. Bheemanna, however, talked to them easily and kept the conversation going. Whenever Bheemanna met someone during their walk, he would say, ‘This is Mr Shankar Rao. His brother-in-law is a doctor in Bombay. They have come here for marriage negotiations.’
Shankar found his openness very insensitive. He gathered that Bheemanna was an important man in the village. He had enough money in the bank and owned a lot of land. But Shankar did not understand why Bheemanna was giving away his beautiful daughter to a handicapped man. He became jealous. In his marriage, Shankar had only got a beautiful wife, but Sanjay was lucky enough to have found a good girl and a rich father-in-law. However, Shankar was disappointed when he saw Bheemanna’s ill-equipped house. He thought of his house in Belur that had all the modern appliances—though most of them were bought on instalments. Almost 70 per cent of Shankar’s salary was spent in repaying these loans. By the time one was paid off, Lakshmi thought of something else to buy. Her demands were never-ending. She was always competing with the members of her ladies’ club. These days, she was insisting that he take a new loan and buy a second-hand car. Shankar thought, ‘If I had money like Bheemanna, I would have bought a Mercedes-Benz and a three-storey building in Hubli.’
He pitied Bheemanna for not enjoying life’s luxuries. But one thing was apparent—Sanjay had made quite a catch.
Rukuma went inside the kitchen to finish the preparations for lunch. Mridula started talking to Lakshmi: ‘Can I call you “Sister”? You are older than me.’
Lakshmi found it strange and foolish. Even after many years of marriage, she didn’t consider herself to be a part of her husband’s family. She had never called her sisters-in-law ‘Sister’. She saw them as competitors. Her mother had never advised her on what to expect from her in-laws or how to behave with them. She had suffered humiliation, encountered jealousy and shrewdness in the joint family. She had learnt how to survive through her own experiences.
Lakshmi pitied Mridula because she had never seen the real world where you rarely come across genuine love and affection. She smartly said, ‘Sure, Mridula, you can call me Akka.’
Then, she asked her, ‘Mridula, where did you meet Sanjay for the first time?’
As expected, Mridula did not hide anything and told her the whole story in detail.
By then, it was time for lunch. There were around fifty guests and hardly anyone was related to Bheemanna’s family. The only relatives were Rukuma’s brother Satyabodha, his wife and their two children. Sarla was still unemployed and Satish was a lecturer at Hubli College after having completed his master’s in mathematics. The four young cousins were around the same age and very close. Lakshmi found it most unusual that there was no competition among the cousins.
By the time lunch ended, the shrewd couple realized that they would be given whatever they asked for. When they sat down to talk after lunch, there was no negotiation at all. Shankar was very clever in putting across his demands; Sanjay had already requested them not to talk about money. So he said, �
��We don’t need money, nor are we interested in it. But we want a grand wedding. You can give Sanjay whatever is usually given to the groom.’
Bheemanna did not understand the words ‘whatever is usually given to the groom’. So he said, ‘Please explain. I don’t understand.’
‘Oh! It is our custom that the boy gets suits, silver vessels for the entire kitchen, a silver puja set, saris for all the women and shirts and trousers for all the men, a gold chain, a watch, a ring …’ Shankar’s voice trailed off.
Bheemanna quietly said, ‘That’s not a problem.’
Rukuma wanted to ask, ‘And what will you give Mridula, your daughter-in-law?’ But she was scared to ask this question in front of Bheemanna.
Shankar added, ‘We would all like to come for the wedding in a luxury bus and you must take care of it.’
‘We don’t know how to arrange this. That is left to you. You can hire the bus and we will pay for it.’
Bheemanna ended the conversation. That same night, Lakshmi and Shankar left Aladahalli happily.
The people of Aladahalli were quite disappointed with Mridula’s informal engagement to a doctor from Bombay. Each function in the village gathered at least three hundred people and a lot of importance was given to the menu to make the guests happy. In contrast, Mridula’s in-laws were very unusual. Only two of them had come and they had not even taken a second serving.
Sarla and Satish had stayed back because they had a holiday the next day. Satish and Mridula were friendly. They had grown up together and during his childhood, Satish had spent all his vacations in the village. Satish teased Mridula, ‘You were already a half veterinary doctor and with your first-aid training, you are now a half lady doctor. By marrying an intelligent doctor like Sanjay, you are on your way to becoming a full-fledged doctor.’
Mridula blushed and smiled.