THEIR SIN?

Nanditha sat on the banks of the Ganga staring blankly at the orange waters .All around there was a silence, as if the woods themselves were savoring the beautiful landscape. The reddish hue of the setting sun had brought a glow to her face, but it was devoid of joy, instead, pain was curdled in her eyes. Nanditha was a young woman in her twenties. But fate had played such havoc in her life that the experience she has had was sufficient for a lifetime. The river was gurgling happily as the setting sun gave her a warm kiss before disappearing into the horizon. All of a sudden the woods became silent and the world in the small hamlet had slipped into a sleep-inducing numbness. Though located about a hundred kms from the big, bad city Nanditha’s village was not corrupted by the artificiality of the city. The villagers were hardworking farmers who worshipped Nature and depended upon the rains for a good harvest. They began their day before sunrise and went to sleep along with the sun.
Nanditha came from a poor family and was married off to a man fifteen years elder to her. Such things are quite common in India. After her wedding, the bewildered Nanditha waited for the stranger who had tied the knot, to come to her bridal bed. But, what happened at the nuptials will put any young woman to shame. He pounced on her and even before the pain in her had subsided he was snoring beside her. It was the same, night after night. The young woman was afraid of the darkness and the bitterness that it brought. But she was helpless like the other young women in her village. He was her husband and it was her sacred duty to obey him. Her husband hardly spoke to her. He was employed in the distant Delhi and had come here to get married. Nanditha’s people felt that she was very lucky because her husband came from a city and was earning well. ‘What else does a woman require?’, they said. After a fortnight of excruciating pain-physical and emotional, Nanditha heaved a sigh of relief when her husband had to go back to Delhi for work.
Those fifteen days had brought the expected result and young Nanditha was soon in the family way. Her mother was beside herself with joy that she would very soon become a grandma. Her brothers were also happy.
Poor Nanditha was still in a state of bewilderment when her body was getting ready for a role for which she was not psychologically prepared. But who will bother about a woman’s feelings anyway? They were poor villagers who still thought that a woman’s sacred duty was to her husband. Nanditha became a mother .The little bundle wrapped in warm clothes howled hungrily and demanded all her attention. There is a magic in motherhood and the little one becomes a woman’s whole world. Nanditha was very happy in the joys of her newfound status as a mother. Her husband came for the naming ceremony. He was still a stranger to her. And then he rushed back to Delhi citing work pressure as a reason. That was the last that she saw of him. One of the villagers who had gone to Delhi brought news of her husband. He said,” I met him at the market. There was a woman and two teenaged boys with him. He introduced them as his wife and children.’ Years rolled by, her mother succumbed to grief and shock that her daughter’s life had come to a standstill with a scary future staring at her. The villagers pitied her and soon life settled down to a routine. Her son was the only bright spot in Nanditha’s sad life. Her days were spent lovingly on that little human who made his mother’s life worth living. When he saw other children of his age riding on the shoulders of their fathers little Hemanth would come to Nanditha asking about his father. She would lie to him that he was so busy that he did not have time to come to them, but he would definitely come some day and bring him toys, sweets and new clothes.Nanditha’s brothers got married and did not care for her.
It was the old woman in the neighborhood who looked after Nanditha and her son. She was a sad woman whose son and daughter-in-law had died in a tragic accident and her grandson came back to the village to look after her. He was a young man, had studied in a city college and was interested in bringing about social reforms. Little Hemanth developed an instant liking for Srikanth, the young man. He would go with him to the village shandy; buy sweets; go piggy riding on Srikanth’s strong shoulders; listen to tales of princes and demons and would spend most of his waking hours with Srikanth.The child found the love of a father in Srikanth.Nanditha found Srikanth attractive. More than anything else he had a civility which she had not seen in her husband .Soon, the inevitable happened between the two young people-they fell in love.Srikanth wanted to give her all that she head missed in her young life and Nanditha found in him all that she had not found in her husband. The village tongues wagged. People who had been indifferent to Nanditha’s problems till now became conscious of illegitimacy in her relationship with Srikanth.More than anything else, it was their castes and the fact that a married woman was having a licentious relationship that roused the anger of the villagers. Her brothers were furious; they accused her of adultery and wanted her to end this relationship with Srikanth. She refused.’Srikanth has given me all that a young woman wants-love and understanding. My child has found a father in him.’ She went with him to a nearby temple to secretly get married.
The whole village was agog. They felt that she had put them to shame and had made their village a laughing stock.Moreover, a married woman does not have the right to get married again. They tried reasoning it out with them. The village pradhan sent for them. The old woman, her grandson Srikanth and Nanditha went to meet him. The man was seated in the shade of the peepul tree. He was sitting there with other village elders. The pradhan looked at them contemptuously; “do you know what you have done? People of the other villages are making fun of us. Our girls will find it difficult to get married, if they come to know that such adultery has been committed in the village. You must stop meeting each other,” he ordered. Nanditha lifted her head and looking straight into his eyes she said,” did anyone question my people when I was married off to a man much older? Did any one punish him when you came to know that he was already married before he married me? Was it not a sin? Now Srikanth has given me and my child happiness and you accuse him of sin. I do not agree with you.” She bent her head immediately, as she was filled with fear.Srikanth refused to give her up. The pradhan dismissed them immediately.
That evening when Srikanth was strolling in his fields, hooligans attacked him and set him on fire. His shrieks rented the air and the whole countryside was dipped in the red of the setting sun as if painted in Srikanth’s blood.

{Based on a real incident]