One Part Woman by Murugan Perumal

Author:Murugan, Perumal [Murugan, Perumal]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, azw3, epub
ISBN: 9789351185857
Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
Published: 2015-03-11T18:30:00+00:00

EIGHTEEN

Then came the year when Muthu came in person to invite them for the chariot festival. He was determined to somehow convince his sister and Kali to go. He came on the eve of the procession of the big chariot and spoke to his sister first. Her face was clouded in sadness. She wanted to visit her home, but how could she go without Kali’s permission?

‘I will speak to Kali,’ he said to her. ‘You should be ready to leave with me in the morning. Let Kali come a few days from now.’

Muthu and Kali had known each other since childhood. Sometimes Muthu came here and stayed for a few days. Even Kali’s mother thought he would listen to whatever Muthu said.

‘Ponna, please go to the fourteenth day of the festival this year,’ said her mother-in-law to her happily. ‘Your brother will take care of everything. How long can we keep looking at each other’s faces in this house? Don’t we want a child to bounce around in this place? We have a lovely home. Don’t we need a child to crawl around all this space? Everything will go well. Be ready to leave tomorrow.’

Ponna, however, felt certain that Kali wouldn’t say yes. Even if he relented and agreed to send her to her village, he would definitely not say yes to her going to the fourteenth day of the festival. He was still smarting at what she had said a year ago. Why would he change his mind now? Muthu left for the barn, asking Ponna to bring dinner there.

Fencing it around with dried, thorny twigs, Kali had kept his barnyard very well. The fence, which sagged nowhere, was strewn with creepers here and there. The thatched roof was stitched close and tight. A bullock cart could easily go in and come out. And then, of course, there was the portia tree. It had spread, arresting time in its branches. In its shade were tethered two bulls and a cow. There was a calf bull with a bite-guard in its mouth; its legs were tied. All of them somehow fit under the shade of the tree. When it started drizzling, Kali would take the calf alone inside the shed. Under the dense foliage of the tree, the rain sprinkled in gentle droplets. There was a large rectangular waste pit in one corner.

On the other side of the portia tree was the enclosure for goats. There weren’t too many of them, however. Just two nanny-goats; one of them had four kids. And looking at them, you could say how full of milk the goat was. The other goat was pregnant, its tummy bulging. There were also two sheep wandering about untethered. The little hut inside the enclosure was meant to keep the goats from the rain. Next to the enclosure were stacks of harvested groundnuts and corn. The latter in particular looked abundant and robust. It would last for a year even if the rains failed. There was not a speck of dirt on the cemented thrash floor.

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