by BS Murthy
'Know that I wouid stay put in my bed tiii you join me tomorrow,' said Sandhya, reiuctantiy setting her free.
'Don't worry,' said Roopa as though attuning her mind to Raja Rao's prociivities, 'if you don't show up in time, he wouid drag you aii the way to the aitar.'
'Isn't he the one?' thought Roopa, closing her eyes as if to hold him in her mind's eye. She felt as though the man she vaguely craved all along came in his form.
As though infatuation itself was enamored to feel the pulse of their love in tandem, it induced Raja Rao into reverie to review his feelings.
'Oh, what a face and the figure to match it, as well!' he thought excitedly, 'a woman with a woman's body, as Dostoyevsky put it, is she not? And what about that bewitching smile, well, what a fascinating woman she is!'
'It's as though he came straight out of my heart to delight my eyes,' Roopa thought in amazement. 'New, yet so familiar, unknown, but doesn't it feel as if he is my own! Oh, how it tickles, as though his gaze gauges me nude! Yet, I felt protected in his presence! Well, he's the Raja of my heart and soul, there's no mistaking that.'
'It feels as though we're born for each other,' he felt hopeful. 'It's clear that she's attracted. Oh, don't her eyes carry the poetry of her passion for me? Anyway to get infatuated, or to love even, is one thing, and an affair could be altogether different. But mercifully, I wouldn't be losing track of Roopa, unlike that Ganga-Kaveri girl. What an incredible fortune to meet this one so soon after losing that one! There could be a chance to make her my own some day, who knows?'
'Wasn't my hand languid in his clasp as if to feel the pulse of his love,' she sighed as she recalled the sensation of that incredible moment. 'Didn't his touch, touch the woman in me? And when he pressed my hand with passion, wasn't I possessed for his possession. If only I weren't married and he hadn't been betrothed, oh, what should've come in the way of our wedding? But well, I have to suppress my love, if not for fidelity, at least for friendship.'
'Even if I can't live with her,' he felt peaceful in the end, 'I would be able to love her still. If I weren't destined to have her, well, my passion in time could transform into a sublime affection for her. Being privy to our mutual affection, won't we nurse a fond feeling for each other? But then, would my distraction for Roopa affect my attraction for Sandhya? Oh, don't I know that my love for Sandhya springs from the depths of my soul. Surely, Roopa seems to rein in my heart, but won't Sandhya remain the soul of my love?
Thank God,' she consoled herself. 'We would have enough opportunities to meet. Won't 1 see him and be seen by him? Oh, 1 would be able to adore him while he admires me. All said and done Isn't he mine, being Sandhya's man? Won't 1 get a feel of him while 1 make love to her?'
As day broke that 7th June, the chain of leading ceremonies for the momentous wedding commenced In right earnest while Sandhya clung to Roopa all the while.
'I'm too excited to be on my own,' Sandhya repeated all along.
'To me, your marriage gives,' said Roopa heartily, 'an Idea of the mythical wedding of RathI and Manmath.'
'You look no less than an angel,' said Sandhya.
'Of an enamored kind,' said Roopa alluringly as Sandhya laced her endearingly.
By dusk at the kalyana mandapam It was all din. Clad In a white cotton dhothi. Raja Rao like a robot obeyed the unceasing commands of the purohit via unending vedic mantras. As his hands were at exercising the rituals to the purohit's rhythmic renditions, his angavastram had a tough time balancing by Itself on his bare shoulders. When Sandhya was brought seated In a bamboo basket by two of her uncles, all the way from the anteroom, to the decorated dais and well before the pretty load could be unloaded opposite the eager groom, a makeshift curtain was raised between them to preclude the ogling of the betrothed before the sumuhurtham.
When Kamalakar's watch, set to the AIR time. Indicated 08.26, the auspicious time chosen as the sumuhurtham from the Pedda Purnalah's almanac. Raja Rao was given the green signal by the purohit. Governed by his destiny and guided by the purohit. Raja Rao's hand, carrying the sacred paste, prepared for the occasion as per the religious prescription, reached out to Sandhya, from underneath the curtain. Goaded by Roopa, the bride bowed her head to enable the groom to affix that mass on her scalp to Initiate their union and In turn, Sandhya was directed to follow suit, as though to cement their marital bondage. Then doing away with the curtain, the purohit ordained the just married to stay put In that posture as though to allow them time to grasp the Import of the moment to their eventual life.
Amateur photographers, from among the relatives, vied for vantage positions with the professional ones engaged for the occasion, and In their eagerness to capture the moment for the family albums, they tended to block the view of the vintage event to the curious audience. When the couple was allowed to free their hands, they raised their heads to espy each other as man and wife. After having been satiated with Sandhya's demeanor, when Raja Rao's eyes met Roopa's stare, they seemed to acquire a longing look and sensing his ardor for her In her enamored state, Roopa felt as though the moment belonged to her as well.
M eanwhile, the mangalasutrams, symbolizing the nuptial knot, were taken around by the chota purohit to enable the married women to bless them. In time, as the junior brought the blessed things back to his senior. Raja Rao was ready to usher Sandhya Into the dream of her life. While Roopa maneuvered the flowered plait of the bride. Raja Rao stood up to tie the mangalasutrams round Sandhya's shapely nape, and before he proceeded, Roopa heard him whisper to Sandhya, 'With your permission.' As Roopa looked at him In admiration for his Ingenuity, he raised his head and gazed at her In fascination. Puzzled by his manner, as Roopa wondered whether he had her too In mind when he sought that 'permission', Sandhya bent her head even more, as though to salute him for his thoughtful gesture.
The rituals lasted a little longer, fuelling the longing of the just married for each other. When Raja Rao and Sandhya were given the green signal to shower the talambraalu over each other's heads, the respective camp followers egged them on for one-upmanship. Finding Roopa helping Sandhya to let her gain the upper hand. Raja Rao cried foul. 'Didn't I tell you that she's my other half,' said Sandhya, increasing the tempo unmindful of his protests. With Roopa lending gusto, the euphoria that followed amused the gathering no end. When a fistful of the sacred rice let loose from his hand landed on her head as well, Roopa wondered whether it was all merely accidental! Reflexively looking for Sathyam, she found him engrossed in a conversation with someone in the gathering.
When it was time for the gathered to greet the just weds, Roopa joined her husband.
'This is Sathyam,' Sandhya introduced joyously to Raja Rao, 'Roopa's husband and my raakhi brother.'
'Thanks for coming,' said Raja Rao, while he shook hands with Sathyam, and as Roopa scrutinized his demeanor to discern the nuances, he added, 'It's a pleasure meeting you two.'
'Didn't it sound like 'meeting you too'?' thought Roopa staring at Raja Rao, 'It's as if he won't miss an opportunity for a double entendre! Oh, how he's at it ever since we met. Maybe, that could be part of his charm.' In the end, she thought Raja Rao's eyes were smiling as though to confirm that she got it right.
'We wish you spend some time with us on your way to Delhi,' invited Sathyam, as Roopa's face lighted up.
'Thanks, we'll try, but,' said Raja Rao
'Why don't you recommend,' said Roopa to Sandhya imploringly as Raja Rao read the disappointment written all over Roopa's face.
'I'd love nothing more,' said Sandhya entreatingly to her husband, 'than going to their place.'
'As you please,' Raja Rao seemed to address Roopa's ears.
'That is sisterly affection,' said Sathyam warmly.
'We'll be waiting,' Roopa said camouflaging her longing.
'Can I detain Roopa for tonight?' said Sandhya to Sathyam.
'Do you need my permission for that,' said Sathyam. 'And I don't come in her way either.'
'Is there any alternat
ive path of salvation for a married man,' Raja Rao was hearty in his comment and said to Roopa, 'You take care of her till I take her over.'
Around midnight that night, the physically fatigued bride fell into the arms of her mentally exhausted mate.
'Lovey,' said Sandhya resting her head on Roopa's ample breasts, 'it's all like a dream come true.'
'Anyway, it's all real now,' said Roopa pressing Sandhya's head deep into her valley.
'Tell me,' Sandhya asked thoughtfully, 'how it would be like with a man.'
'As mating itself is so exciting,' said Roopa in all contemplation, 'lovemaking must be a lot more fulfilling.'
Til be In your arms anyway,' said Sandhya mystically, 'narrating what It was like In Raja's embrace.'
'Promise me then,' said Roopa.
'Promise what,' said Sandhya with a smile, 'to land up in your arms in Hyderabad, or to kiss and tell about our honeymoon.'
'Of course both,' said Roopa taking Sandhya into her embrace. 'You know how I miss male sexual romance. Thanks to your man, now I can experience that by proxy, won't I?'
'Oh how sweet,' said Sandhya, in all eagerness, 'But it all depends on how you make me want to come to you.'
'Come,' said Roopa pressing closer to Sandhya, 'I'll make you feel doubly wanting by the time your man comes mounting.'
Soon, Sandhya realized to her gratification that Roopa's love meant business.
The next day, after seeing off the newlyweds on their honeymoon trail, Roopa set out on the homeward stretch with Sathyam towards the evening.
'While Sandhya's love would find fulfillment in Raja's passion, am I not left to pine for his possession,' she felt as she struggled to find solace in sleep in that sleeper coach of the Godavari Express.
Chapter 15
Naughty Nuptials
As the chauffeur-driven Ambassador crossed Kakinada, greenery greeted the honeymooners. 'I never knew that we're so close to nature,' exclaimed Sandhya leaning on her man.
'Once we're in Konaseema,' said Raja Rao feeling refreshed, 'you won't have eyes for me even.'
'How I wish,' said Sandhya, lost in her excitement, 'that Roopa were with us,'
'I'm beginning to get envious of your Roopa,' he said in jest, taking her hand,
'Why so,' she said lovingly, 'she only complements my love for you.'
'What's so special about her?' he tried to appear casual.
'Oh, she's unique,' she said emotively, 'though it feels nice being your wife, separation from her hurts me as well. We've grown up dreaming living as neighbors,'
'Why,' he said tentatively, 'it's still possible.'
'Can we move over to Hyderabad!' she said excitedly.
'I love that place like no other place,' he said as he made up his mind by then to try to win Roopa's favor. 'Let's see how soon we can make it.'
'But meanwhile,' she said, looking into his eyes, 'be prepared for my nagging on that score.'
'Won't I love that,' he said kissing her hand.
'Roopa would be thrilled to hear about that,' she said excitedly.
'Don't tell her,' he cautioned her, 'till we come closer to that.'
'How I wish,' she said, closing her eyes as if in prayer, 'it were now.'
'Oh,' he said, 'we have reached Draksharamal'
let's have Bhemeswara Swami's blessings,' she suggested,
'I think it's really prognostic of good tidings.'
'I too have,' he said smiling, 'a lot to thank Him about and pray for as well.'
Seeing her in reverence before the deity, he could discern the serenity of her beauty and thanked Him for the blessedness that life had bestowed upon him.
'What have you sought from Him?' he asked her as they got back into the car.
'I think, you can guess,' she said dreamily. 'What about your prayer?'
'Let it be my secret,' he said smiling.
'Then keep it under lock and key,' she feigned anger.
'It's all about love,' he said effulgently.
'I love you,' she jibed with him joyously.
Soon they reached the shores of Kotipally to cross the Godavari. Sandhya's fear of water shored up by his assurances en route, sunk her heart as she saw the mighty river in its lean summer course. While the prospect of boating across it shocked her water phobic psyche, Rao's coaxing of her, which bordered on pecking, amused the travelers and the boatmen alike. Caught between the onshore embarrassment and the offshore predicament, as Sandhya stepped into the boat as though she were slipping into the river itself. Raja Rao, having jumped into it earlier like a habitual, tended his perplexed bride tenderly into it, and once in, she reached for a cross plank seemingly considering the center of gravity of that which was afloat. Seeing her predicament then, those who sat on it moved away to enable the newly weds ensconced in the middle. In time, having adjusted herself in trepidation, Sandhya clasped Raja Rao as though he were the mast of the boat itself.
When he ventured during the voyage to toy with the waters, she pulled him in fear and reprimanded him for his daring. Whenever the boat was rocked in motion, she laced him in confusion, inducing him to cuddle her for her comfort. As her primordial beauty pixilated by panic evoked pity in him, he was empathic in addressing her apprehensions. Having got over her fears in his protective embrace at last, Sandhya felt she grasped the meaning of marriage. Seeing her at ease thus, he realized the power of love over the fear of the unknown.
After turning her attention to the horizon, lined with coconut trees, and watching it for long in fascination, she interested herself in the vastness of the Godavari, and felt that the wavy currents of its bluish green waters synchronized with the romantic beats of her expectant heart. Then looking lovingly at her man, she experienced rare warmth in her soul, which made her feel that the sheen of their love matched the glint of the river.
After voyaging for well over an hour, they reached the banks of M ukteswaram, the gateway of Konaseema, where, courtesy Kamalakar's clout, an Ambassador awaited them. Looking back at the river they just crossed, she felt relaxed and thought, 'Haven't my fears got dissolved mid-course making way for hopes!' At that, as she got into the Ambassador, it crossed her mind that by the next day around, she would be on the other bank of her virginal canal. Amused, she looked at her man in amorous anticipation.
Soon, entering the hinterland, they found the roadside canal on course, seemingly guiding the visitors to their respective destinations. While the unending rows of coconut trees resembled sentries on duty for the visiting dignitaries, the lush green carpets of paddy seedlings went into ripples, as though stirred by their welcoming instinct. Lending
variety to the landscape was many a mango grove apart from the fully-grown banana gardens and
as if to avoid the monotony of the greenery, habitats abounded all along with cattle sheds as annexes.
'It looks like life is closer to nature in these tiled houses and thatched huts, with cattle for company!' Sandhya wondered aloud.
'It's an irony that we fail to fuse the new technology with the old environs in fashioning our modern way of living,' he said ruefully. 'It's sad we've to choose between nature's bounty in the villages and the make-believe of our cities.'
As if to demonstrate the difference, the driver brought them to Amalapuram, the commercial hub of Konaseema. After some snacks and coffee in a bustling hotel, they resumed their journey to their destination that was far from Hardy's madding crowds and as they saw the back of Amalapuram, they came to face nature all again.
By the time they approached Bhatnavalli, the sun began to set, and the villagers were seen resting in their courtyards. While some men were seen rolling their cigars with lanka pogaku, others were puffing away at theirs. Women there were found gossiping with their neighbors across the fences as if they were mending fences over past quarrels. As the landlords rode home in their bullock carts, farmhands too started trekking back from the fields with their head loads. Giving a picture of the carefree life to the visitors, the youths w
ere engaged in kabaddi and the children were lost in their marbles. As though symbolizing the surging spirit of the fair sex, village belles vied with each other to come up trumps in competitive hops in those eight square courts that were marked in the courtyards. However, the hen in helter-skelter disturbed them in between, making them cautious not to step on them.
'This is the famed pilgrimage of Balayogi,' said Raja Rao as they reached M ummidivaram, 'the saint who's said to have been holed up in penance round the year. He was wont to come out of his hibernation only on maha sivarathri for his devotees to have his darshan. It's believed that he had the power to survive without food or water and lived long for all that.'
'Is it possible!' she asked in surprise.
'Well it's a matter of faith, and his devotees believe in his miraculous powers,' he said. 'However, for every devotee there could be ten to deride the god-men.'
As it was dusk by the time they reached Kothalanka, the Ambassador had a herd of cattle on the homeward stretch to accompany. It seemed the dust raised by the vehicle on the kachcha road matched with the mood of the setting sun. While children ceased playing, watching the spectacle of the four-wheeler in motion, the elders craned their necks to second-guess the destination of the visitors.
When their journey ended at his uncle's courtyard, said Raja Rao to Sandhya, 'There's Thimmaiahgaru for you.'
As they stepped out of the car, the old man came out of the courtyard to receive them, all along blaming the transplantation time for his failure to attend their wedding.
'Oh, the farmhands have become a big nuisance these days,' grumbled Thimmaiah unceasingly. 'You've to be behind them always or else they would give the slip at every turn. Any way. I'm glad you've come with your wife to your native. I've got your house spruced up; let's see how your wife likes it.'
As he continued to engage them at the gate itself, Narasamma came out of the house, and reprimanded her old man, 'Why, do you want to send them back from the gate itself?'
