But things got progressively worse until it reached a head. Raman and Revathi were arguing in the kitchen because Revathi refused to give the brass cooking vessels for him to sell. In a fit of rage, he picked up the tongs, heated it on the fire and branded her on her shoulder. Sitting outside in the thinnai, Muthu Mami could smell the stench of smoldering, burning flesh. She closed her ears to shut out Revathi’s screams of pain. She knew Raman was uncontainable and crazy, and Revathi’s life was in danger. She had no one to confide in and beg for help without compromising their family honor. Only Revathi’s parents could help her now. Revathi urgently needed to talk once again with her parents, asking them to intervene.
When Revathi showed her mother the burn on her shoulder, she was horrified; still her parents were reluctant to intervene. Revathi’s maternal uncle, Vaithee, who was also present, witnessed the events with growing discomfort. In some families, it was common for a girl to marry her maternal uncle, her Mama, and Vaithee always thought that Revathi would marry him. When things turned out differently, he was a little disappointed. Nevertheless, his feelings for Revathi never really waned. Now seeing her burned shoulder, he was appalled and it was his vehemence that finally persuaded Revathi’s father to talk to Raman. The meeting was a complete disaster. Raman, consumed by alcohol literally threw his father-in-law out of the house.
Vaithee continued to meet Revathi every week in secret, just to make sure she was all right and the two of them developed a bond dangerously bordering on love. For Revathi, Vaithee was the ray of sunshine breaking through the dark clouds that symbolized her life. She met him whenever she could in the mango grove, not far from where she lived. He waited there for her every Thursday morning, in the hope that she would make the rendezvous. It was not easy to escape from the house and she would have to wait until her mother-in-law was asleep to sneak out. She never used the front entrance but instead, would sneak out using the back door, knowing that no one except the parayans used this entrance. The two would sit and talk under a special mango tree.
One day, after she left, Vaithee carved a heart on the trunk, with both their initials R and V on it. Revathi was horrified when she saw it, frightened that someone might see it and get her into trouble but Vaithee calmed her down, saying that the symbol on the tree would mean nothing to others, but that it was special to Vaithee. Their meetings were brief and most of the time Revathi talked about the week’s ordeal. Two months ago Vaithee declared his love to her. She was aghast at first. It was sacrilege for a married woman to even think of another man, let alone love him. All this time, she only thought of him as a friend or a relative but now their relationship had changed.
That morning, Raman had entered the kitchen and pulled her thaali off her neck. It was her only piece of jewelry left. He had sold all the rest, along with her silver vessels. She begged him to spare her thaali, pleading that only widows remove it. Raman threw his head back and laughed at her cruelly, declaring, “Nee sumangali illai, nee thevdiya - you are not a married woman you prostitute. Be ready tomorrow night. You have to come with me. I lost money to this Mirazdar and he is willing to forego it if he can spend a night with you. So get ready to become my prostitute.” Raman left the kitchen swinging the gold thaali in his hand, while Revathi looked at him incredulously.
Revathi could not believe what she was hearing. Marriage was a holy sacrament, where the husband was supposed to protect his wife from danger. Instead, this man was ready to pimp for her and degrade her into a common whore. She had reached the breaking point and she rushed at him with a brass pot but he twisted it out of her hands and hit her repeatedly in the face until her eye split open. She fell to the floor, where he continued kicking her until she stopped moving.
“Whore! Piece of dirt! How dare you cross me? Next time I will kill you.” Raman walked out of the kitchen with her thaali triumphantly held high, a trophy to celebrate her subjugation. This time she knew he meant it. Raman would not rest till she was dead.
Revathi could not move for a long time. Slowly, she got up and crawled outside to wash her wounds. Her mother-in-law had stopped coming in to check on her. The beatings became so frequent that apathy had set in. Moreover, watching mutely as her household crumbled in front of her eyes and being completely helpless and incapable of salvaging the situation, made her ill. Muthu suffered from severe headaches, especially when Raman was around and she would lie down in a dark room for hours.
It was Thursday, and Revathi knew Vaithee was waiting for her. Without thinking, she covered her head and ran down the main street, which was when Rajam saw her. Revathi was so intent on reaching the mango groves she could not remember what had passed between them. Vaithee was there, waiting for her and she hurled herself into his open arms, crying uncontrollably. Vaithee held her quivering body for several minutes and then as she calmed down, she told him what happened.
“I can’t live here anymore. You have to do something.”
“Oh Revathi, my heart is bleeding but we can’t run away just yet. I have to make some arrangements.”
“But what will I do now? He is going to take me tomorrow evening to his friends. How will I endure the torment of strangers touching me, of…raping me?”
“Oh God, Revathi don’t use those words, I can’t bear it. Try to be brave for a few days more. He probably won’t take you there looking like this. Your eye is swollen and he certainly will not want his friends to see you this way. I need a day to arrange for a vilvandi from another village. I can’t take you anywhere if I use one from this village. On Saturday, the village will be empty and by then I would have made all arrangements. Make some excuse not to go to the chandhai on Saturday and meet me here at noon. We will take the vilvandi to the junction and then a train to Madras. He will never be able to find us once we reach Madras. You will be safe and both of us can be together always.”
“I can’t wait two more days.”
“You have to, Revathi. If we go today, we will not have enough time to escape and then if you are caught and have to go back, things will be worse for you. It’s only two more days. I promise, after that you and I will be together always. Now go home and use the back roads. I will see you on Saturday.” Unwilling to leave the refuge of Vaithee’s arms, Revathi despondently made her way back to her house. Just as she arrived, she heard a knock on the door.
“Yaaru? Who is it?”
“It’s me Rajam.”
‘Oh no!’ Thought Revathi not knowing what to do. “I can’t come out. Can you come by later?” But Rajam was single-minded and determined to talk to Revathi.
“Revathi, please let me come in. I know you are in trouble and I want to help you.” Rajam waited for a response but was greeted with a steely silence.
“Please let me help you. My father is a Police Inspector and he can arrest your husband. At least let me come in and talk.” Finally giving in to Rajam’s persistence, Revathi opened the door, putting her finger against her lips, indicating to Rajam that she needed to be quiet.
“We can talk at the back. That way there will be some warning if my husband returns.”
Rajam ran to the gate and told Partha to wait for her at the back entrance.
“What?” said Partha indignantly. “Only parayans use that road.”
“Please, you can bathe when we go home. I need to talk to her.” The two women walked to the back of the house and sat in the empty cowshed.
“Why?” said Revathi. “Why did you want to help me? You barely know me.”
“I don’t know. When I saw that bruise on your face, I knew something was wrong. I just can’t bear to see you suffering. I know I can help you if you only tell me what is happening.”
Like undigested food, Revathi regurgitated the story of her life. Rajam sat silently listening to the horror unfold. When she told her about Raman’s plans to use her to pay his debts, Rajam closed her ears. She could not believe any man would stoop to this level of debauchery.
“You can’t stay here anymore. You
have to file an official police complaint.”
“No, I can’t do that.”
“Why?”
“The shame. Everyone will know what is happening in this household and I can’t deal with that.”
“Living with gossip is better than living with this sadistic man. Think about it. I will talk to my father on Saturday and he can come here and take you away.”
“And where will I go? Who will take me in? My parents certainly won’t. Shall I stay with you? Do you think your people would take me in?”
Rajam knew she could not make any offer because the decision was not hers to make. She would have to consult the family and she was not sure that Nagamma would be happy with this situation and cooperate. No one would be willing to give her refuge because then they would have to get involved with the problem, the police and maybe a court case. Rajam knew she had no answer and searched for the right response to give Revathi.
“I didn’t think so,” said Revathi, knowing that this was not a battle Rajam could help fight.
“No one can help me from this village. That is why I have made other plans.” At this point, she told Rajam about Vaithee and her plans for fleeing with him on the day of the fair. She was careful not to allude to the romantic connection between them, mentioning only that he was her uncle.
Rajam felt terribly helpless. She knew Revathi had few choices. Even though Rajam was eager to help her, she knew there was very little that she could do. Running away with her uncle was her safest recourse.
“Okay, I will wait till Monday. Please, if anything else happens in the meantime, find some way of letting me know. My husband, Partha, is twice the size of Raman and can easily beat him to a pulp. Just say the word.”
“No Rajam, the whole town will buzz with loose talk. My only option is to run away. Once I am gone, then Raman can deal with the scandal.”
“If I don’t see you at the temple on Monday morning, I will assume that you have left.”
“Rajam, you have to remember you cannot tell anyone what you heard from me just now. If anything gets back to Raman, that will be it for me. He won’t leave me alive. This is my only chance to escape. Promise me you will keep this secret.”
“Revathi, not a word about you will escape my lips. I will be seeing my father on Saturday at the chandhai. Should I talk to him about you?”
“No, Rajam, there’s no need for him to know anything. Even if he knew, he would not be able to help me. It’s better this way.”
Their conversation was interrupted by Muthu shouting “Revathi, where are you?”
“You’d better go. I don’t want anyone to see you here.” She led Rajam towards the back door and Rajam paused to hug Revathi.
“Thank you, Rajam. Just talking to you has made me feel strong. Now go quickly before anyone sees you.” She pushed Rajam out the back door, where an impatient Partha was waiting for her.
“About time,” he said angrily.
“Yenna, how can you talk like that? If you had only listened to the most horrific story of torture and abuse that I heard just now, you wouldn’t be as concerned about something as trivial as your time?”
“What are you talking about?”
“I can’t tell you anything more right now. Let’s get back before your mother gets annoyed.”
CHAPTER 26 –RAJAM
VIZHUPURAM
The chandhai was to start on Saturday morning and continue all day. In every household, women were struggling to finish their tasks so they would be free to spend a relaxing day outdoors. As usual, the morning chores had to be completed and everyone needed to eat before they left. Although plenty of food was available at the fair, sometimes it was not very fresh and could lead to weeks of indigestion and diarrhea. Eating out was totally forbidden for Brahmins unless it was in the home of another Brahmin family. Allowing Partha to participate in the idli eating competition was Nagamma’s rare moment of indulgence. The rules however, were different for the rest of the family.
Nagamma would not even think of eating outside the house and definitely not at the fair, so all the women were busy packing a picnic lunch in two big tiffin carriers. Idlis and dosai smothered with oil and molahapodi. Those were food items that could be enjoyed cold. Tamarind rice and fried vadaams, thayir shaadham withdelicious mango pickle and of course fresh fruit and water.
Rajam’s mood was mixed. She was really excited about going to the fair but at the same time, was worried about Revathi. She wasn’t sure if she should broach the subject with her father or not. Thankfully, Partha had not questioned her any more about Revathi. She had given her word that she would not tell anyone about it and was very successful at keeping it a secret so far, in spite of Sushila’s probing.
Siva brought an extra vilvandi from town so that all of them could travel comfortably. At about ten in the morning, the family piled into the bullock carts and set off towards the maidanam outside town, where the fair was held. Rajam stuck her head out of the cart, hoping to catch a glimpse of Revathi to wish her the best of luck but she couldn’t see anyone outside or in the thinnai. Perhaps Revathi was busy sending the family off. Nagamma was intent on ensuring all the food items were brought and Sushila patiently answered all of her queries. In a short while, they reached the maidanam. Rajam got down, eager to reach the fairgrounds, excited about meeting her father once again.
Even though it was early, the fairground was filled with people. Vendors from nearby villages had set up stalls to sell their wares. Some had traveled from far off towns like Thanjavur and Chidambaram to participate in the fair. This is what many artisans did for most of the year, traveling from village to village trying to sell what they had spent the rest of the year producing. All kinds of vendors were selling food, pots and pans, sweets, saris and a host of other things. As Rajam entered the fairgrounds, she saw food vendors on the right. A huge variety of fresh delicacies were for sale, like fruit with chilly powder and colored drinks. In one corner vendors were selling hot idlis and vadais. A few had set up makeshift stoves and were making hot dosas, serving them with sambar and molahapodi. A powerful aroma wafted from the sweet stalls stocked with every variety of delicious sweetmeats. Already, flies were gravitating towards this area and shopkeepers had young boys shooing them away with hand fans. Large groups of hungry revelers spontaneously crowded around the vendors, devouring the delicious food.
On the left, vegetable vendors had spread jute mats on the bare ground with neatly piled fresh produce. Symmetrical pyramids of purple brinjals, bright red tomatoes, potatoes of all kinds and leafy spinach tied in green and red bundles. All kinds of fruit were on display: apples, pears, pomegranates, guavas, melons, papayas and different varieties of bananas. All the vendors had metal weighing scales. Some had real weights but most of them used stones of different sizes to weigh the vegetables. It wasn’t exactly accurate but nobody seemed to mind. The noise level was incredible, with all the shopkeepers shouting out to attract buyers.
“Inge Vango maa, tomato rombo malivu. Come here madam, I have cheap tomatoes.”
“Amma, look at these rosy apples. Where are you going? Come here, Amma.”
“Melons, just for you, I will give good price.”
“Come maa, I haven’t made my first sale. Boni, I will give you good price ma.”
It was hard to decide where to go first. Everyone was trying to pull them in different directions. Rajam just stood, looking around wondering what to do next, when Partha walked up to her. “Want to eat some chilly guava?”
“Where is your mother? I don’t mind as long as she doesn’t see me.” Nagamma would never approve of anyone eating at the fair, not when such elaborate meal plans had been made.
“She has gone to the other side. Come along before the flies attack the food.”
They walked over to the guava vendor and bought two yellow guavas, neatly sliced and covered in salt and chilly powder. “Oww,” said Rajam, hopping up and down after taking the first bite. “That is really spicy.”
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“Is it too hot? I’ll get you some soda.” Partha walked over to the soda vendor, who had stacks of colored drinks in uniform glass bottles, each sealed with a marble stopper. Rajam took one sip of the fluorescent yellow drink and gave it back to Partha.
“I don’t want to drink too much. Men can go anywhere but women have to wait and hold it till the evening.” The two of them walked past the food area, chomping merrily on the guava. Rajam was scanning the crowd to see if her father had arrived, when suddenly her head was jerked back, as someone yanked her pigtails.
“Ahh!” she screamed as she turned around and was shocked to see her brother Mani. Squealing in delight, she hugged him tight. “Is Amma also here?” Mani pointed to the potter’s corner but then was distracted by the small Ferris wheel and ran off towards it, waiting in line again for his turn. He had already been on it five times but that was not enough.
Rajam ran towards the potters. She could see her mother bending over and examining the kalchattis, special stone vessels for cooking. Rajam ran up to her mother and covered her eyes from behind.
“Yaaru?” Mangalam asked, tentatively touching Rajam’s hands. “Who is that?”
“Rajama? Is it Rajam?”
Then mother and daughter hugged and chattered away. Mangalam had not seen Rajam for a while now. As she held Rajam’s hands in hers she noticed her hands, rough with calluses. “Looks like you have gotten used to the housework. Apply coconut oil at night before you sleep; it will keep them soft.”
The whole atmosphere was very festive, with all the women dressed in their best saris and the girls in beautiful pavadais with brightly colored bangles and ribbons to match. In between visiting the various stalls, they greeted all their friends and relatives. Rajam searched all the time for Raman, Revathi’s husband, but she had not seen him so far, although she spotted Muthu Mami buying saris earlier. She said a quick prayer to herself, hoping by now that Revathi had managed to escape. Suddenly, she noticed her father at the far end of the fairgrounds, where the cattle sales took place and she ran to meet him. Swaminathan was busy talking to his fellow constables when he saw Rajam rushing towards him. “Hello my chella kutti. You look beautiful as usual.”
When the Lotus Blooms Page 20