Free Mahashweta by Sudha Murty Page B

village, Anupama gave her new address to Papanna, and requested him to redirect her letters promptly. Even though she had realized otherwise, she still hoped that Anand would come for her one day. Since Shamanna was new to the village, no one had approached him for private tuitions yet. Life had become a struggle, and Sabakka vented all her frustrations and anger on Anupama. ‘Your in-laws are rich. Why can’t they send some money every month for your maintenance? It would have been better if you had stayed with them instead of coming here and adding to our burdens.’
    But Anupama could not bring herself to add to her humiliation by asking her in-laws for money. Sabakka firmly believed that whatever they spent on Anupama was a sheer waste; she refused to acknowledge the fact that Anupama helped with the household chores all day long.
    Anupama had wanted to take up a job as a teacher, but for that she needed a B.Ed. degree. So she resolved to go to the city—there she would start giving tuitions, and earn enough to study further.
    If only she had contracted the skin ailment while she was at college, then Anand would not have married her and she would not have lost everything. She could have continued her education and taken up a job, casting aside all thoughts of marriage, instead of being a burden on her family.
    A small white patch had ruined her career as well as her marriage.
    As a student, she had always acted in plays that had a happy ending. She would tell Sumithra, ‘I do not want to play the tragic heroine, Sumi. I want to show the audience the joy, the happiness, the magic transformation that love and beauty can bring. I believe in happy endings!’
    But real life had proved to be different—she was learning the hard way that life is not always a fountain of happiness, but rather a mix of pain and sorrow. The drama of her life had only just begun, and she had no choice but to see it through to the end.

    Sumithra had moved to Bombay after her marriage. She knew about Anupama’s problem and in one of her letters, she wrote,
Dear
Anu,
    I
know
you
are
extremely
unhappy
there
and
I
want
you
to
come
and
stay
with
us
in
Bombay
for
some
time. Instead
of
sitting
at
home
and
brooding
over
your
fate
in
that
village,
come
to
this
mega
city.
I
am
sure
you
will
get
a
job;
even
I
got
one!
I
have
discussed
this
with
Hari;
so
you
need
not
worry.
Have
courage
and
do
not
lose
your
patience.
    Love,
Sumi.
    Do
not
lose
your
patience,
Sumi had written, but how could Anupama not lose her patience when everyone around her treated her with such contempt? The only thing that was keeping her despair from overwhelming her was the determination to overcome all her misfortunes without ever giving in.
    Savantri, the school ayah, would leave the school keys every day in Shamanna’s house. One evening, she took Anupama aside and said, ‘Can I suggest something to you?’
    ‘What?’
    ‘Our village goddess is very powerful. She never rejects a sincere devotee’s prayer. If you worship her with white flowers every morning for twenty-one days your disease will disappear.’
    ‘Savantri, I have prayed to many gods and goddesses in various temples. I have gone to dargahs and churches, but nothing has helped me.’
    Savantri persevered, ‘This is a different goddess. Why can’t you try?’
    Anupama kept quiet. Despite the cures that people suggested for her condition every now and then, it was spreading quietly and inexorably.
    Shamanna and Sabakka were discussing Nanda’s future. ‘If you carry on doing nothing about it, my daughters will die unmarried. Why aren’t you trying to find husbands for them?’ Sabakka urged her husband.
    ‘Who says I am not trying? I have met Vishwanath’s family four times already. They said they would let us know within a few days whether they are interested in pursuing the alliance, but I have still to hear from them.’
    ‘What about Kulkarni’s family?’
    ‘They are even worse than Vishwanath. They