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Devadasi
Chapter Listing
Chapter X
Meena's challenge to the authority of the temple and Udayar's dramatic
appearance to rescue her became the talk of the town. Opinion was equally
divided regarding the rights and wrongs of the issue. The educated and
the well-to-do in general felt that the trustees were wrong, since Meena
had expressed her regret in no uncertain terms. Many of them were opposed
to dancers being attached to temples, and found in the behavior of the
trustees, a further reason for the total abolition of the institution of
deva daasies. On the other hand, a number of people felt that the rights
of a temple dancer were insignificant when compared to the authority of
the trustees, and that a deva daasi's first duty was implicit obedience.
At the same time, Udayar was a popular man in the small town and known
for his generosity and kind heartedness. But everyone was agreed that
the trustees had been made to look foolish when Udayar took Meena away
from them singlehanded.
The trustees, in anger and humiliation, had excommunicated Meena,
forbidden other deva daasies to have anything to do with her and banned
her from entering the temple. In practice, all this did not mean very much
since she did not consort with other temple dancers in any case, and she
was not dependent on the stipend from the temple which by now had naturally
been withdrawn. Only two things worried her. One was that she could not
enter the temple and offer reparations for failing to dance there. The
second was that her mother might have nothing to do with her.
For the first week or two, there was a lull while the trustees considered
what to do. Could Udayar be prosecuted for abducting a minor girl ? No doubt
Muthu could be persuaded to sign a complaint, but when once a girl was
officially installed as a temple dancer, the question of minority would
not be sustainable. They considered a social boycott of Udayar, but he
was a popular figure and if they didn't succeed, they would look more
foolish than ever. They wondered whether they should take Meena away by
force, but gave it up when they found that Ganapathy was always there and
it would be impossible to accomplish without a fight. So, after banning
her from the temple, they were left considering whether any legal steps
would be possible.
Meanwhile Udayar was not idle. One who had all along insisted that
Meena should give up dancing altogether now became a champion of her rights.
Meena was a temple dancer officially dedicated to the temple and the
trustees had no right to prevent her from entering the temple or even from
dancing. He consulted his own lawyer on what the legal position was. The
lawyer explained that while British courts did not generally like to
interfere in religious matters, the recent proclamation of Queen Victoria
had assured freedom of worship for all and the action of the trustees can
be construed as depriving an individual of that freedom. Meena was also
entitled to a stipend for life and the trustees had deprived her of her
livelihood without just cause. ' You have a good case against the trustees,
Mr. Udayar,' the lawyer told him.
It was at this stage that Mr. Chettiar, Udayar's friend and adviser decided
to intervene in an effort to settle the dispute. He was a friend of Udayar,
but he was well known and respected by everyone in the town, including the
trustees; So, when Udayar came to see him one day, he spoke to him.
' How is your dispute with the trustees coming along ?; he asked.
' I think I am going to court,' answered Udayar.
' Our religion is supposed to be pure and exclusive' said Mr. Chettiar.
' And yet, we go to a British court to settle matters of religious tradition.'
' How can I help it ? '
' You don't want Meena to dance, do you ? '
' No.'
' Then why go to court about it ? '
' Because it is her right to dance at the temple'
' Yes, I know. You will spend years as well as a few thousand rupees in
order to establish that right and then you will insist that she should
give up dancing. The only people to benefit from this will be the lawyers.'
' But the trustees have insulted her. And if it wasn't for my being
there, they would have hit her also.'
' They say you have insulted them by taking Meena away before the
inquiry was complete.'
' All right, I agree. But what is the alternative ? '
' It seems to me, the question is not whether Meena should dance at
the temple or not. The problem is one of prestige your prestige versus
that of the trustees.'
' I suppose that is what it really amounts to,' agreed Udayar.
Mr. Chettiar spoke in a similar vein to the trustees also, pointed out that
Meena should not have been banned from entering the temple when once she
had apologized for her one mistake, and that long drawn out litigation
would serious deplete the funds of the temple which were in none too
good a state.
After prolonged negotiations, Mr. Chettiar was able to get both parties
to agree to the following terms.
(I) The ban imposed on Meena as well as excomrnunication would be revoked
and she would be permitted to use the temple just like anyone else.
(2) At a special ceremony, Meena would present a silver statue of a dancer
to the temple as a reparation for her giving up dancing.
(3) Meena would also dance on that occasion as a farewell gesture.
Though Udayar had achieved almost all his demands, he grumbled at the cost
of a silver statue.
' You are really exchanging with God a silver statue for a live one, which isn't a
bad bargain.' Mr. Chettiar smiled. ' Further, the size of the silver statue
has not been specified in the agreement. You can make it as big or as small
as you like.'
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