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Devadasi
Chapter Listing
Chapter III
During the day, Udayar was generally off on some work or other. He was engaged
in a civil dispute with his uncle on the partition of the ancestral property
regarding which he had to consult lawyers. He lent money to various people
and he often went round to collect interest. Horses always interested him
and if he heard of a good one that was for sale, he went off to look at it.
Bullocks for farm work had to be bought; his crop of tobacco or cotton had to
be sold or the purchase of a farm had to be negotiated and one or other of
these always kept him busy during the day.
In the evening, he returned to Meena's house, had his bath, the brahmin cook
served his supper while Meena supervised in the background. At night, they
made love. Meena, in spite of her inexperience, was adept in the art of
pleasing men, thanks to the training and advice she had received from her
mother. Day by day, they grew fond of each other. Meena found that love was
very different from what her mother had taught her to believe. Udayar was
tender and affectionate in private though often blunt in public, and hardly
noticed her during the day. In the privacy of their room, he spoke to her
about their future. ' I am fond of you Meena girl ', he said. Addressing her
as ' Meena girl ' was his way of expressing his tenderness, of saying she was
something special, and so he had to have a special name for her. ' I am fond
of you, but I cannot be fond of a professional dancer. A dancer's life is
degrading and I want you to have self-respect as well as the respect of others.
If you cannot achieve that, then our relationship cannot be permanent. You want
to be mine for ever, don't you ? '
' Yes, of course,' she answered demurely.
' Then, don't listen to your mother. She belongs to a different tradition and
a different age.'
Meena listened to him with growing interest and affection. From him,she learned
about honour, loyalty and fairness - values that had not been a part of her
mother's tuition and were, in fact, contrary to her mother's ideas. They made
a big impression on her young tender mind. ' You should be able to hold your
head high under any circumstances,' he told her and it seemed an attractive
prospect. Physically, they were well matched. In private she was tantalising
and provocative, with all the art and guile her profession had taught her,
except that now it was not pretence. Her love for him was genuine. When he went
away in the morning, she looked at him longingly, but dropped her eyes in true
modesty in the presence of others. And she waited impatiently till the evening
for his return.
The household dues were all settled. Meena admired the way he dealt with the
creditors. They all knew him and respected him. Used as she was to her mother's
ways of cringing and pleading, this was a revelation to her.
' She owes you two hundred rupees, does she ? How do you make that out ? Oh,
I see, it includes the interest also, does it ? Did you give all this money
in cash or in goods ? Have you kept an account ? Have you a promissory note ?
You haven't ? Then how can I verify your statement ? All right, I will pay
you one hundred rupees in full settlement, or would you prefer to wait ?
You will take the money, will you ? Good, then give me a receipt.'
On the first day, Udayar's servant went to the market and brought back a
cart-load of provisions such as rice, lentils, spices and so on, to last for
a few months. Udayar himself gave some money to Muthu for daily expenses -
adequate, but not over generous. She gr-umbled about all this, but not to his
face. She resented this brash young man who had sounceremoniously taken over
the management of her household and treated her like a glorified servant.
For the first time in Meena's young life, there was no anxiety about money,
no fear of creditors and no apprehension about the future. Meena knew for the
first time what security meant. How often had she seen her mother argue with
a man over money and then take him into the back room and after a little
while, he would go away satisfied. Meena remembered only too well the vulgar
jokes of some men who came to her mother. ' We can't give you any money on the
strength of your good looks; we will wait for your daughter to come of age.'
Yes, Meena began to realise what happiness and contentment was. Udayar was a
generous lover who might desert her any day, her mother kept telling her.
' They all swear eternal love until they get tired of you,' she said. But
Meena did not like to think of that day. She had no thought for anything or
anyone else, except for the happy contemplation of her love. She did not even
think of her dancing.
After he had been there for about a month Udayar spoke to Meena one morning.
' Look here, Meena girl,' he said. ' I have to go back to my village. While
I am gone, don't let your rnother get you into any mischief.'
' But I don't want you to go ' Meena cried. ' You promised you will never leave
me ! '
' I am not leaving you,' he said. ' I will never leave you unless you or your
mother make me do so. But you must realise that I have work to do. Achipatti
is only twelve miles from here and I can come back if you really want me. I
have to attend to my farms, collect rent from the tenants and so on. As you
grow older, you will understand these things.'
But to Meena, who had never travelled beyond the outskirts of the town, Achipatti
might have been at the other end of the world.
' Mother says, when once you go, you will not come back,' she wailed. ' She
says all men are the same.'
' Your mother is a fool.'
' How can I be without you ? ' she shed tears. ' What will I do all day long ? '
' What do wives do when their husbands are away ? ' he shouted. ' You will do
the same.'
' But I am not your wife ! ' she shouted back.
' Look, Meena girl,' he spoke to her tenderly, almost like a father. ' You
know I cannot marry you. According to the Hindu tradition which we both accept,
you are married to God, and I cannot marry anyone outside my caste. But the
Hindu tradition permits a man to have a mistress. However, the very fact
that we cannot get married imposes a greater responsibility on both of us. You
are perhaps still too young to understand, but I shall make sure that our
children will not have to take to your profession and will be respectably
married. So, you must trust me and be patient.'
Meena's answer was more tears.
' You must not mix with the other dancers because they will tempt you to follow
their ways,' he continued. ' You cannot blame them because that is their
tradition. But I want to take you away from it all. And to make sure of it, I am
leaving Ganapathi behind. He will look after you, take you to the temple if you
want to go there for worship and will buy any household things you want.'
' You don't trust me after all my promises,' she said.
' I trust you, but I don't trust your mother.'
They bid each other an affectionate farewell. But his goodbye to Muthu was
short and perfunctory. His small cloth bag was packed, his horse was saddled
and he rode away.
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