“Uthamankutty, please can you come this way?”
Some days she would call out to me when I used to step out of the house. She would be waiting by their fence.
“What is it Meenakshiamma?”
“Mon, I am sorry to bother you, but do you mind getting me some betel leaves and areca nut on the way back? Here is the money.”
She would hand over a wrinkled ten rupee note over the fence.
“Don’t worry if you forget about it in the evening, mon. I do hope you don’t mind Meenakshiamma’s requests. Shekharan left early today, and I forgot to ask him. I am so forgetful these days. I haven’t had a good bath with oil for two weeks now. I keep forgetting to ask Shekharan to get the oil.”
“Should I get the oil as well? I can, it’s not a problem.”
“Oh no, mon. I only need the betel leaf now. I will get Shekharan to buy the oil later. He wouldn’t be pleased if he knows that I ask you to buy things for me.” She said with a smile.
As I walked away, I felt disturbed. Old age is so lonely. So dependent. How that proud lady was reduced to asking help from neighbours furtively. I remembered her former days of splendour. Her home was one of the biggest in our village, with vast stretches of land and fields and servants. Their yard overflowed with mountains of harvested paddy and coconuts. She, as the venerable mistress of the house, supervised a busy and prosperous household.
The premature death of her husband pushed the family into a slow decline. Life alone as a young widow with three little children was not a pleasant situation. Very soon, she had to sell the lands and the farms and was left with only the house and the property around it.
Her eldest son was Gangadharan. Following him, she had lost four babies at birth. Then came Shekharan. And the youngest was a girl, Vijayamma.
Meenakshiamma breathed a sigh of relief when Gangadharan joined the army. She expected her burdens to ease. Gangadharan was a good son, tall and well-built. But as fate would have it, he was killed in the Indo-China war. It was too much for poor Meenakshiamma to take. The whole village remembers her haunting wails when his body and belongings were brought home by the army. It took a long time for her to get over that terrible loss.
The untimely martyrdom of Gangadharan pushed Shekharan to be the man of the family at a young age. He was my friend, but the huge responsibilities made him appear grumpy and terse.
The youngest, Vijayamma, was a real beauty. She was the village belle. All the young men dreamt about her. Shekharan got into quite a few fights on her account.
Right behind their house lived Georgekutty and his impoverished Christian family. He was an artist, a painter, who made a living out of painting boards and signs. Soon, a rumour started that Vijayamma was in love with Georgekutty. Shekharan was livid. He questioned Vijayamma and even beat her to dissuade her from continuing the relationship. But she was too much in love to listen to reason. When they continued to meet, Shekharan confronted Georgekutty and tried to warn him off. Vijayamma was put under house arrest. She was not allowed to go out. And Shekharan tried to find a good groom for her as quickly as possible.
Fortunately, they soon found a suitable alliance, from a good family. The boy was handsome and had a well-paid job. The date for the marriage was fixed. Shekharan was running around without rest, inviting guests and supervising all the arrangements. Meenakshiamma looked energised and happy, busy with all the preparations. They had put up the pandal, and the house was buzzing with the festivities. But on the day preceding the wedding, Vijayamma sneaked out of the house in the dead of the night and eloped with Georgekutty, taking with her all the ornaments Shekharan had bought for her marriage.
Oh, the blow! The celebrations turned to mourning. Shekharan was a broken man. Meenakshiamma was bedridden with shock and grief. Nobody knew where Vijayamma and Georgekutty were. Had Shekharan managed to lay his hands on the couple then, he would definitely have killed them!
It took a long time before Shekharan and Meenakshiamma started interacting with others again. Once, when she was talking to me, Meenakshiamma said with heartfelt anger, “She is cursed! Wherever she is, nothing good will ever come to her.” I was surprised by the intensity of pain and hatred on her usually gentle face.
Two years later, Vijayamma and Georgekutty came unexpectedly to the house, carrying with them their child. Only Meenakshiamma was at home, and though she looked furious, the sight of the baby seemed to choke her harsh words.
“Amma, please forgive me. I know what I did was wrong. But I didn’t have a choice. I loved Georgekutty. I couldn’t have become another person’s wife.”
Meenakshiamma stayed quiet for a long time. And then slowly extended her hands towards the baby. Just as Vijayamma was about to hand over the baby, there was a roar from behind, “No! Not that!”
It was Shekharan. He had heard about Vijayamma being in the village and had rushed home.
“What do you want?” His voice was as hard as rock.
“Brother…. I…” Vijayamma stuttered.
“What brother? I don’t have a sister. Get out of here!”
He turned to Meenakshiamma in fury. “How easily you forgot! But I am not ready to forget or forgive. How dare this cursed woman comes back here?”
Georgekutty looked angry but didn’t utter a word. Shekharan now confronted him. “You cheat. You were our neighbor. And you betrayed us like a traitor. You played the hero, stealing her away from us in the middle of the night. Why are you back now? Get out, and go back to wherever you came from!”
Meenakshiamma went inside, crying. Vijayamma, now very scared, moved towards her husband. He looked furious. “Are you happy now? I told you so many times to forget them and not to come back here. Let’s go!” He strode away. Vijayamma followed with the baby. At the gate, she turned to look all around the house and yard. She wanted to have a last glimpse of her mother. And Meenakshiamma stood to the side of the house, looking at her, crying bitterly.
Shekharan walked to the well, drew some water, washed and strode back to the house. The onlookers went away muttering about his hard-heartedness. But how could he not be bitter? His only sister had brought such dishonour to the family. He was at the receiving end of so much gossip and derision. How some ill-meaning people had rejoiced at the downfall of the famous Theroth family.
Shekharan used to share his sorrows with me at times. “Uthaman, why did she have to take that extreme step of eloping? If she was so sure she couldn’t live without him, why didn’t she say that to us openly? I am her brother. True. I would have been angry. I would have tried every way to separate them. Who would like their sister to marry a poor man from another religion? But if I had known that she was so obstinate in her decision, I would have finally agreed to it. Why did she wait till the last minute? Why did she let me go through the shame of inviting all the people and arranging the marriage? I had even sold some land to finance her wedding. Look at Amma’s condition now. I worry about her. First Gangadharettan and now this! I fear she is losing her mind. How can I forgive her for all this?”
He was right. Vijayamma was not wrong, though. What could I say to help him? I was always his sympathetic listener. A small solace for his unsolvable problems.
Following that incident, Meenakshiamma seemed to suffer even more. For a moment, she must have thought things would turn out all right now that Vijayamma was back, and with a beautiful baby. The mother in her must have rejoiced at getting back her children. That is only natural. No mother can stay angry with her children for long. But Shekharan’s outburst had proved to her that reality was much too harsh. That she would never see her two children happily together again. That she will never have the fortune to cuddle her first grandchild. To top it all, the cruel gossip of the village destroyed her. She turned quieter. A pale ghost wandering in her house and yard.
Once things settled down somewhat, Shekharan got married to Malathy. She was a sweet and simple girl. His marriage brought back some of the lost happiness to that home. Meenakshi
amma, too, was happy with the presence of a young girl in the family. She was always ready to help Malathy with the household chores. But their financial troubles continued. Shekharan had to sell some more land to meet the expenses of his marriage. And when Malathy got pregnant, he didn’t want to cut corners and did everything the traditional way and had to sell even more land. With the arrival of the baby in the family, everyone hoped that his family would now heal and be happy once again.
But no, it was not to be so. Fate had still more in stock for him.
Meenakshiamma lost her mind completely. The suddenness of this change in her shook up that little family. Though they were worried about her for sometime, this total insanity was not at all expected.
One night, she knocked on Shekharan’s door after everyone had gone to bed. Shekharan was disturbed by her appearance— wild-eyed with her hair flying loose.
“What is it Amma? Do you want something?” Shekharan asked.
“Shekharan, I heard Gangadharan’s voice from your room. Why did he not come to see me?”
Shekharan was shocked.
“Amma, what are you saying? Gangadharettan is not here. Please go to sleep.”
“It is okay, mon. I must have imagined it. But then, who is sleeping there?” She looked into the room where Malathy and the baby were sleeping.
“Amma, that is Malathy and the baby.”
“Oh, why is she here? Didn’t she elope with that Christian boy? Why did you let her in the house again?”
Shekharan couldn’t believe his ears. He knew that his mother was hallucinating. He tried to pacify her and took her back to her room and put her to bed.
Malathy too woke up by then, and they were both worried. When they were sure she had gone back to sleep, they fell into an uneasy sleep.
Later, Shekharan woke up in the middle of the night and checked on Meenakshiamma. She was not in her bed! Shekharan panicked and ran outside, only to see his mother pacing in the courtyard.
“Amma, what are you doing?” A strangled cry rose from him.
“Oh, Shekharan, look, it is such a bright day. I thought I will spread the paddy to dry so that it will not spoil.”
“Oh, my God!” Shekharan cried helplessly.
With Malathy’s help, he somehow coaxed his mother back into her bed and then locked the room from the outside.
“What if she bolts it from the inside, Shekharetta?” Malathy was terrified.
“Don’t worry about it now. We will go down the roof if needed. Try to get some sleep now. Tomorrow we will get help. Malathy, what if we are forced to put her in chains?” Shekharan was sobbing.
“Oh no God!”
“What else can we do? What if she runs away from home?”
That night, neither of them could sleep.
The next day, Shekharan called me over to their home and filled me in on the details.
“Uthaman, what should I do now? I have no idea.”
“Uthametta, please help us find a solution,” Malathy said with pain trembling in her voice. “Shekharettan is going to pieces with worry. He is worried Amma would hurt the baby and is forcing me to go to my home to be safe. But I don’t want to leave him alone.”
“Do your parents know?”
“Yes, they are also asking me to come. Achen even said that he will come over to take us home. But I said no. How can I leave Shekharettan alone in this condition?”
“But the baby... Shekharan is right. Meenakshiamma is not responsible for her actions now. She can hurt others.”
“But she is locked up. How can she hurt the baby?” Malathy was being stubborn.
“True. But I am worried.”
“Uthaman, what about getting the advice of a good astrologer?” Shekharan asked quietly.
“That is a good idea, Shekharan.” I agreed. “There is no point waiting like this—we have to do something. We will seek out the best. What about Krishnapanikkar? I will come with you. We will get his advice and start the treatment and corrective measures without delay.”
“Uthametta, what would you like to drink?” Malathy seemed relieved that there was an action plan, instead of blank despair.
“Nothing, Malathy. I am fine.”
“No, please wait. I will get buttermilk. Shekharettan too hasn’t had any proper food.” She left the baby on the floor and went inside. The baby laughed toothlessly and was babbling happily. I felt sorry for that lovely child born into this strife-filled home. What fate!
“Here.” Malathy was back with the buttermilk. It tasted cool and delicious in the heat. I noticed that Shekharan’s hand holding the glass was trembling slightly.
“Shekharan, don’t worry. We will start the treatment, and she will be better soon. Where is Meenakshiamma?” I queried.
“I had got some tablets from Dr Usman. She took them and went to sleep.”
“Oh, good. What did Dr Usman say?”
“He is of the opinion that we better get a psychiatry consultation, and maybe even have her admitted in the hospital.”
“Okay. Let’s first try the astrologer and his Ayurvedic medicines. If needed, we can get her the stronger drugs later.”
Shekharan looked calmer when I left him.
We left early the next morning. The astrologer lived a long way off. We reached his place only by the afternoon.
He checked Meenakshiamma’s horoscope in detail and listened to our account carefully. After elaborate calculations, he meditated for a bit, and then said, “Your mother is passing through very bad times. There have been unnatural deaths in your family. You might not know about them, because they might have taken place a few generations back. But they did happen. And the curse is still with the family. There is a lack of grace from God too. It can lead to another unnatural death in the family soon.”
Shekharan looked terrified. I patted him on the back to calm him down.
The astrologer looked grim.
“Someone in the family has killed!”
“No. I have never heard of any such things in my family.” Shekharan said with conviction.
“It must have been many, many years ago then,” the astrologer said.
Shekharan looked thoughtful. “Oh, Amma has told us about the cruelty of her grandmother. She used to kill all the puppies of her pet dog by throwing them in an empty well.”
“Yes! There you are. Animals or man, murder is murder. The heirs will have to face the consequences.”
He continued with the calculations.
“How many children does your mother have?”
“Only two now—myself and my younger sister. We had an elder brother in the army who died during the war. Mother also had four girl babies who died at birth.”
“Ho! I knew it. She is haunted by bad fortune, the curses from the past. But don’t worry. I will prescribe the solution. Make sure you do everything just the way I ask you to. And get a good priest to do the puja. Let us hope that it will help the coming generations at least. Do you know Subramanian priest from Chandroth family? He is the best. Try to get his services.”
“Sure, I will.” Shekharan agreed.
It was almost evening by the time we got to the town. We had lunch and then bought all the ingredients and medicines prescribed by the astrologer before returning home.
Malathy was waiting for us on the verandah. Shekharan told her in detail all that was said by the astrologer. She was worried, but both of them felt slightly relieved, now that there was a solution to their problems. I left them with the promise to come back the next day to accompany Shekharan to the priest’s house.
The priest agreed to come on the third day, and we returned feeling happy. But when we got home, there was a crowd outside. Malathy came running.
“Shekharetta, there was an accident. I had given Amma her tea and then gone to the kitchen to fetch her food when I heard a thud. Amma had run out of the room and jumped into the well. It was so fortunate that there were some workers nearby, and they came running, hearing my screams and resc
ued her. I am so sorry! I can’t believe this happened.” She was still in shock.
Shekharan collapsed on the verandah.
Gradually the crowd dispersed. The ones meant to suffer were left alone. Malathy was still reeling under guilt. She should have locked the room when she went back to the kitchen, but how was she to know that Meenakshiamma would take advantage of that tiny mistake to get out?
What a terrible situation to be in! What could I say to help them?
“Be very careful Shekharan and Malathy, till the medicines take effect and the priest is here.” I left shortly after.
The priest arrived, as agreed, on the third day. It was an elaborate puja, lasting three days. Shekharan and Malathy took pains to see that everything was done according to instructions. On the last day, near dusk, the priest asked Shekharan to bring Meenakshiamma out to the courtyard where the puja was being conducted. She resisted violently. But Shekharan and Malathy somehow managed to bring her there and seated her in front of the priest.
She looked terrified. Her eyes rolled in her sockets, and she tried to escape. When strong hands pushed her back on the ground, she asked plaintively, “Why am I here? Let me go.”
“Stay there, and be quiet!” The priest said sternly.
The prayers and chants reached a crescendo. The lamp with five wicks burnt brightly. The flames around the puja ground flickered in the wind. There was a sense of unease.
Suddenly, Meenakshiamma leaned forward with a guttural voice and pushed the lamp over. The priest quickly threw some holy ash on her and commanded her to stay still. But in the light of the flames, her normally gentle face looked demonic. The onlookers shivered.
“Pray hard. Pray for the exorcism of this evil spirit which is possessing your mother’s body.” The priest said urgently.
All of us closed our eyes and prayed sincerely for the evil spirit to leave Meenakshiamma. Gradually, our prayers were answered. She calmed down and seemed to fall into a stupor.
The Soul of Truth Page 20