One Part Woman
Authors: Perumal Murugan
Translated from the Tamil by Aniruddhan Vasudevan
GAPPAA.ORG
G A P P A A .ORG
GAPPAA.ORGThe portia tree was dense with foliage. If you looked closely, you could see the yellow trumpet-like flowers with their flared mouths, and the drooping, fading red ones with their inviting smiles. Portia flowers always grow more beautiful as they fade. Kali leapt up and plucked one. He never could resist the desire to possess what attracted him. The leaves came ripped, but the flower was intact. Settling down on the cot, he smelled the flower. It had a mild fragrance, that too when held close to the nose. He felt he should have left it on the tree. The sight of the flower on the tree was more beautiful than its scent.
He ran his eyes over the tree. It was he who had planted it there, in the front yard of his father-in-law’s home. Before that, whenever he had visited this house, the sight of the bare front yard had hurt his eyes relentlessly. This forced him to remain indoors until the sun went down, and because of his presence, the womenfolk could not carry on their private chatter. So he spoke to his brother-in-law about it.
‘Wouldn’t it be good to have a tree here?’
‘They refuse to have one. They say they need the sun to dry groundnuts and corn. Why don’t you try talking to my father?’
Kali didn’t do anything at the time. However, on his next visit, he brought along a stalk. On the way, he only smiled when Ponnayi said, ‘Why are you lugging this along, maama?’ She gave him an affectionate punch on his cheek and said, ‘You hardly say anything. All I get is that bewitching smile!’
It had been just three months into their marriage, and they refused to stay away from each other even for a little while. They couldn’t even resist constantly looking at each other’s faces. But that day, when he visited his father-in-law’s place, he didn’t enter the house. He grabbed a rake and a spade and got started on his work immediately. He found a place to plant the stalk, a spot where it could grow without hindrances and be able to spread its branches in all directions. Even when it was just a stalk, Kali’s mind could see the tree it would grow into one day. He could see how it would look ten, twenty years later.
He had got this stalk from the portia tree in his cattle enclosure back home. No one knew when that other tree had been planted. The gigantic spread of that tree was etched in his mind, and he hoped this one too would grow the same way. He imagined how the front yard would look when the tree spread its branches over it. Even while planting it, he focused on the pleasure of being able to lie in its cool shade some day. No one objected to the new son-in-law’s fancies.
Even before the cow-dung bandage at the end of the stalk dried, shoots started sprouting. There was now an obligation to protect the tree that the son-in-law had planted. Afraid that she would forget to water the tree amidst all her chores, his mother-in-law started washing dishes right under the tree. She also kept a big pot of water there for people to wash their hands and feet when they came back from somewhere. So the space under the tree was always wet. And whenever Kali visited, that was the first spot he went to, making note of the tree’s growth.
‘Your son-in-law comes here only to make sure we’re taking good care of his dowry!’
His father-in-law’s teasing became a regular feature. The tree was called ‘the son-in-law’s dowry’. Just as he was never called by his name, neither was his tree. In just one year, it grew so tall that one could stand to full height under the new branches. After all, it had come from another tree that had withstood the vagaries of time. The next year, there were flowers. And then fruits.
Twelve years went by in a flash; the tree kept growing and spreading every year. Now ten cots could lie in its shade. It didn’t shed much, but when it did, his mother-in-law would complain, ‘This is an endless task—this sweeping, cleaning and taking care of my son-in-law’s dowry!’ His father-in-law delighted at the sight of the compost pits getting filled with the tree’s leaves. The tree gave as much manure as a cow did, and it was definitely enough for one enclosure. What the son-in-law had given them was certainly a gift!
In the past two years or so, when Kali did not visit, the arms of the tree stretched towards the sky. Only when a tree is small can you notice its growth. When it is bigger, it continues to grow, but imperceptibly. Kali, however, could always size up a tree. For instance, he could now see that they had trimmed a branch that had outgrown the yard and started reaching into the house. It looked like a deformed body part. They must have done it to get some sun to dry something. But he stood looking at the tree’s wound for a while.
Since he had not visited for two years, Ponnayi had not either. But this year, her brother, Muthu, had especially come to invite them. He arrived on the very first day of the festival in Tiruchengode, the day when the flag was hoisted and the festivities began. He was adamant that they should come this year. Kali could not refuse. So he sent Ponnayi on the day the chariot was taken out in procession. But his plan was to go on the last day—the day the deities went back to the hill—so that he could stay one more day, feast on the meat and return home with Ponnayi. After all, how long could he lie under the tree and stare at its canopy, even though he was the one to have planted it?
His brother-in-law, Muthu, was his friend from childhood. In fact, they were so close that at some point he felt comfortable enough to freely say, ‘I want to marry your sister.’ But they had drifted apart once they became brothers-in-law. The gulf between them seemed to have become permanent over the years, but nothing much could be done about it. If
he stayed here and worked the fields, people would openly ridicule him. They would say, ‘See! He is his father-in-law’s slave!’ Also, he’d have to abandon everything back home to come here. His mother might be able to take care of the cow, the calves and the goats for a few days. But after that, she’d definitely start hurling abuses at him.
‘Does he think the cows here would somehow feed themselves if he sits on his haunches in his father-in-law’s house and eats away? Shouldn’t a Vellala be concerned about these poor creatures? It is only as long as this Marayi is alive that you can drop everything and run off like this. I could die any day. What would you do then?’
He knew when her tirade of abuses was likely to begin. If he delayed even a day or two, angry words were sure to pour forth from her rotten mouth. His father’s face would appear before his eyes, like a mirage in the afternoon sun. That was all he recollected of his father. It was his mother who had raised him. And she made sure no one had the chance to say that a child raised by a widow would amount to nothing. She was adamant that they be treated equal to everyone else. She knew everything from ploughing the land to drawing water for the fields. ‘We should not depend on anyone,’ she would say.
One year, she could not find anyone to sow seeds. They said, ‘Nothing would grow when sown by a woman in white,’ clearly referring to her widow’s attire. She tried calling a few people, but to no avail. Then she said, ‘Let whatever grows grow. Or maybe nothing will. Then that’s fine too. I don’t
care.’ And she sowed the seeds herself. Nothing untoward happened; her yield was as good as anyone else’s.
The day Kali grew strong enough to carry the basket, she handed it to him. She was there to help him until he learned the skill of sowing evenly, but after that it became his responsibility. However, wherever he roamed, Kali was under his mother’s control. Before his marriage, he was a free spirit. It was hard to get hold of him on days when there was no work. If someone asked Marayi, she said, ‘Where can that dog go? It must have dug up a spot in the shade somewhere and must be lying in it. Or else, it must be roaming around, getting tired. Wherever it is, it will come back at night to eat.’ He never betrayed her trust, and he gave his best in the field. Even now, he would tend to his field and keep to himself. Having moved away from the minions of his youth, he would not go anywhere to idle around with anyone. This fenced enclosure was his lot. That’s just the way things were.