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Devadasi
Chapter Listing
Chapter II
Next morning, Udayar was driven to Meenakshi's- house in his bullock cart.
In addition to his uppercloth, he wore a turban that morning. It added
dignity to the occasion and made him look older.
Muthu received him and invited him to be seated on a carpet which had
obviously seen better days. A cushion was placed for his comfort.
There was no other furniture of any sort in the room. The house had
not been white-washed for a long time and everywhere there was evidence
of poverty and neglect. Muthuherself stood, out of politeness for her guest,
leaning against one of the pillars.
' We are honoured by your visit, sir,' she said.
' I suppose you know who I am ? ' Udayar asked.
' Who does not know you ? ' she asked in return. ' Every one is talking
about your riding in the races
yesterday.'
' Oh, that,' he waved it aside. ' That is nothing. Everyone will talk about it
today and forget it tomorrow. What I mean is, do you know who I am, where I
ome from and, most important, what I am worth ? '
' Well sir...' she hesitated.
' I want to see your daughter.'
' Meena,' Muthu called. Meena emerged from the back room and stood shyly
behind her mother.
' If you don't know, you had better make enquiries,' he said. ' I am fairly
well off.'
' That is not surprising,' she said, ' I can tell from your appearance
that you are a person of status.'
' Come forward and pay your respect to the gentleman,' Muthu instructed.
Meena joined her hands in greeting and bowed low before her honoured guest.
She was dressed in a simple cotton sari and tight fitting blouse. Devoid of
make-up and the gaudy costume and the tinsel jewellery of the previous night,
the delicate features of her face and the outlines of her beautiful figure
showed to better advantage. There was innocence as well as dignity in her
expression which her obvious poverty did nothing to hide. Udayar eyed her
with keen and critical appreciation, in the same way he was used to
appraising a thorough-bred Arab horse.
' Go and bring some refreshments ', Muthu told her daughter who went inside
and returned with a tray of spiced nuts and bete1 leaves for chewing. But
they remained untouched.
' She is very young, sir, ' Muthu went on. ' Until yesterday she had not seen
a man, except in the street,from a distance. And when her dance teacher was
here, I was always present. Her young life so far has been one of dedication
to her art and to God.'
To be dedicated to the temple, a dancer had to be a virgin. It was the one
thing to which devadaasies attached great importance and young men in
search of mistresses attached equal importance. Muthu delicately hinted at
it in case Udayar was doubtful or did not know the customs.
' Look, I am not used to sophisticated conversation,' Udayar interrupted.
' I will be plain. I like your daughter. She is not only attractive, but
seems a nice girl too. I want her to be my mistress, not for a month or two,
but for ever.'
Muthu was shocked at the blunt and crude way he spoke. She herself would have
approached the subject through subtle hints and oblique references after
another half an hour of verbal sparring, with a lot of politeness and
courtcsy and a few shafts of malicious wit. ' He is not very experienced,'
she told herself, ' but he may give a lot of trouble.' It was a challenge
she faced with relish. To outwit him and take some money off him in the
process would be fun.
' Well sir, Meena has just started her career as a dancer,' she answered.
' With her good looks and her talent, she will go far in her profession.
And she has been dedicated to the temple for life.'
' I know all about this dedication business ', Udayar cut her short.
' You too were dedicated when you were young, I suppose. You also must
have had good looks and talent when you started your career, and must have
had offers from wealthy patrons. You must have accepted them, or you would
not have had a daughter. And yet, where has it got you ? How much money
have you saved in your old age ? I bet you are in debt to half the tradesmen
in the town. Now, you have to start peddling your daughter's good looks in
order to make a living. And if you are not careful, she will end up like
you, prematurely old and with no security for her later life. What I am
offering is comfort and security, even respectability. In return, I
expect love, affection and loyalty;... and she must give up her dancing.'
Give up her dancing indeed ! Who did he think he was ? A Maharaja ?
Muthu was terribly annoyed at the way he spoke, all the more so because
what he said was all too true. But she could not afford to send him away.
' Your offer is most kind ', she said. Her attitude alternated between
flattery of her guest and an assumption of great future success for her
daughter. ' But she has her career to think of. I am also told that
some wealthy zamindars are interested in her.'
' I am sure they are ', Udayar replied. ' They might keep her for a month,
perhaps two months. Then there will be another dancer in another town or in
a different temple who might take their fancy and they will get rid of
your daughter. And you will have to start looking for a new patron. And
gradually, she will end up with the temple priests. I am trying to save
her from all that.'
' I have been looking forward to my daughter dancing in the courts of
princes,' Muthu spoke, half to herself. ' I have dreamt that she will be
the greatest dancer in all India and that future generations will
speak of her art. It is a great sacrifice you are asking us to make.'
Muthu had not the slightest intention of letting Meena make any such
sacrifice, but letting it to be implied would be an advantage.
' Tell me, have you ever heard of a dancer who led a comfortable retired
life ? ' Udayar asked. He had reached the point of concluding the deal.
' Here is fifty rupees for any immediate expenses you may have.'
He counted out five ten-rupee notes and handed them to her. The sight of
money was tempting and Muthu could not refuse it.
' You had better make a list of people to whom you owe money,' he continued.
' I will settle with them all tomorrow so that you will be free of their
worrying. From now on, you should not borrow money on any account. If you
need anything, you ask me.'
' Yes, sir,' she muttered.
' I am a Kshatria and I do not like to break my caste rules', he said.
' I shall not eat anything cooked by you
or your daughter. I shall send a brahmin cook who will do all my food in a
separate kitchen.'
' Very well, sir.'
' I shall return in the evening,' and he went out.
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