Varalakshmi was not ambitious by nature. She was happy with whatever she got. She was born after three boys and her parents accepted her as a gift from the gods. So they named her Varalakshmi. As soon as she was born her father’s sister, Bhoolakshmi claimed her as her daughter-in-law.

“Annayya (brother)! you should give this daughter of yours to my son in marriage. Unless you give me your word, I’ll not attend her tonsuring ceremony,” said Bhoolakshmi.

Varalakshmi loved her parental house dearly. Her three elder brothers managed a shop each and were leading a decent life. Bhoolakshmi’s husband used to go to Bombay and Bhivandi and work there in the textile mills. Though her brothers gave up their caste profession of weaving, they maintained the traditions of the family like their father and so Bhoolakshmi treated them with respect.

Bhoolakshmi pestered for the marriage of her son with Varalakshmi even before Varalakshmi had any knowledge of what a marriage was. She believed that the girl would be with her like her daughter and help her in the household chores. So, nine-year-old Varalakshmi was given in marriage to fourteen-year-old Anjaneyulu. The marriage was celebrated on a grand scale. When Varalakshmi was fifteen years old her nuptial ceremony with Anjaneyulu was again celebrated on an equally grand scale as if it were a marriage.

Anjaneyulu did not pursue his studies after the eighth class. He was put in a kirana shop on monthly wages. He left the job within two years. He was inspired by his uncles and wanted to run a kirana shop himself. He asked his mother for the money he got as dowry. Lakshminarayana helped his son-in-law in settling down as he would help his own sons making no difference between them.

In course of time Anjaneyulu started a tea shop and also a pan shop as an annexure to his provisions store. He was a sharp and a keen observer. He mixed easily with people. His business prospered. He sold provisions against grain also. He sold the grain thus accumulated. He found this method very profitable and wondered why he should not do business in selling grain. The moment he got this idea he met his uncles and the brothers of his father. Accosting them affectionately he requested them to give him their grain. He offered them the price that prevailed in the market, offered to take one of them with him to the town and made them agree to share the transport expenses. Thus he acted as a beneficiary to his place and the people and won their good will. In the second year he asked them for commission for having taken so much risk in the transaction. They happily agreed as he was the boy that grew up before their very eyes, one who was friendly with them. The demand grew and along with the rise in prices, the margin of profit for Anjaneyulu also grew.

As soon as he accumulated enough money to buy the grain from the field itself, he bought the grain, stored it for some time and sold it when there was a rise in the price. He made profits to a considerable extent. As he had to keep moving about constantly, the provision shop with the annexures was taken care of by his father who gave up going to Bhivandi.

Anjaneyulu became emancipated by moving from place to place on his cycle for procuring the grain. He who had grown from poverty did not care for hunger and tiredness. Once he knew the trick of making money he did not bother about other inconveniences. Finally he began to ignore his wife also.

Anjaneyulu decided to buy a Suzuki vehicle with the money he had saved during many years foregoing food and rest. He calculated that he would be able to move between villages and towns comfortably on his Suzuki and also make greater profits. If he told his parents about the vehicle, he knew they would object and protest saying he could as well build a house with that money. So he bought the vehicle and parked it in front of his house all of a sudden. He told his parents that it belonged to a friend and that it was not his. He could not but reveal the truth on the fourth day and the parents raised a hue and cry. But they were happy on seeing the red Suzuki glowing brightly in the shade and thought their prestige had grown because of it. They pretended anger thinking that their praise would get into his head and that he would go in for other luxuries.

One day Anjaneyulu took his wife Varalakshmi on a ride to the town. People who saw her on the Suzuki said Varalakshmi was fortunate. They said that the time she set foot into her in-law’s house was an auspicious time. Varalakshmi felt great joy hearing their comments.

Next day her friends asked her thousand and one questions. Anjaneyulu’s was the third motor cycle in the village. Among the three owners they knew only the Anjaneyulus.

“When the motor bike ran on stones and pits shaking you up, weren’t you afraid?” asked Parvathi, her neighbour.

“Yes” said Varalakshmi smiling.

“You put your arms around his waist as the heroines do in movies. Didn’t you?”

Varalakshmi smiled again recollecting her rainbow ride.

“Did he buy jasmines for you?” Aruna wanted to know.

“See, he bought flowers worth two rupees”. She showed the faded flowers.

“I didn’t remove them from my hair last night. So, they are very withered”, she continued.

Five or six of her friends, kept laughing for a while. She did not know why they laughed. After a while she too joined them in the laughter.

“How did you feel when you sat on the Suzuki?”

“It was soft and comfortable.”

“As in the bus?”

“How soft? As soft as this?” Sita asked pinching Varalakshmi’s thigh. They all laughed again.

“You both sat in the cinema hall, holding your hands. Didn’t you?” Sita asked recollecting a scene in one of the movies she had seen.

Varalakshmi recollected her husband tickling her every now and then but nodded her head in the negative.

“You will bear a child in no time,” Sita said passing her hand on Varalakshmis belly and kissed her.

With the arrival of the Suzuki in that street, the prestige of the family grew. Everyone started requesting Anjaneyulu to bring them sundry things from the town, ten kilometres away. People made it a point to talk to Bhoolakshmi with respect. Anjaneyulu who was humble by nature felt happy to help them. He brought from the town whatever they wanted and handed them at their residences. They too felt highly grateful to him.

The Suzuki brought more friends for Varalakshmi. Young girls who felt shy to tell Anjaneyulu what they wanted got them by placing their indents through Varalakshmi.

A year passed. The Suzuki had grown old. Anjaneyulu prospered so much that he thought of buying the second Suzuki.

The parents of Anjaneyulu were very happy. As he was not getting fatigued by riding the mo-bike, as he earned well he ate good food and looked improved in his physic and appearance. The in-laws and her parents were a little unhappy that Varalakshmi had not yet conceived. Some more months passed.

Anjaneyulu took his wife to her parents for the Deevali festival. He did not take her back even after ten days. Her father felt a little uneasy for the first time for the delay. It would not take more than ten minutes to cover the distance between the two villages. His son-in-law did not visit them even once during those ten days.

Yellamma, Varalakshmi’s mother asked her “Did you, by any chance, quarrel with him before you came here?”

“No”, replied Varalakshmi

“Why didn’t your husband come even once during these ten days?” the mother asked repeatedly.

Varalakshmi got scared at the questions asked by her mother. She started crying and said she did not know the reason. Yellamma suspected some evil, as her right eyelid flapped. She was disturbed. Lakshminarayana felt hurt that his sister also did not visit them.

Husband and wife, between themselves, argued that the other should go to the son-in-law’s house. Going to the house of their son-in-law to find the reason was a blow to their prestige and self-respect. Yellamma questioned her husband why he should fight shy to go to his sister’s house while Lakshminarayana asked her the same question.

Finally Yellamma made the visit. She stayed there the entire day. They hosted her with toddy, mutton, puris and extended all other formalities. They made her stay there for the night also. In the morning she had tea before she started home. No one raised the topic about Varalakshmi. At last, collecting her wits Yellamma opened the topic.

Anjaneyulu’s parents looked at each other. “What do we know? Ask your son-in-law,” they suggested. Yellamma waited till Anjaneyulu returned from the shop and asked him the reason.

“I have absolutely no time, mother-in-law. The number of customers at the shop has increased greatly. I’ll somehow find time and go there in a day or two,” he replied. Yellamma could detect in his words a lack of interest and worry. She had treated him all this while as her own son. But now he started talking like a son-in-law. Tears ebbed in her eyes.

“Why tears, sister-in-law – what happened” asked Bhoolakshmi going to her in all anxiety. She wiped the tears of Yellamma and herself shed tears too. Yellamma left with no words of farewell being spoken.

Sankranthi festival came and went. Her son-in-law did not turn up. Varalakshmi did not go to her in-laws. In the meanwhile Varalakshmi’s two brothers met Anjaneyulu and returned. They got the same reply from Anjaneyulu that he would visit them when he found time. 

A rumour floated in the air. Someone asked Lakshminarayana whether it was true. He was flabbergasted.

“It appears Anjaneyulu wants to divorce Varalakshmi. Is that true? What happened? Why did they quarrel? Why was it allowed to reach the stage of giving a divorce?” Many other questions also cropped up.

Questions which were never thought of in life. Questions that had no answers. Was there a quarrel at all? Why divorce? Lakshminarayana was in a confused state of mind. He experienced chest pain that night for the first time. Yellamma was sobbing all the time. The sons and daughters-in-law did not detect that their father suffered a mild heart attack. The father did not tell them. For one hour there was severe pain. The old couple consoled each other. The pain subsided gradually. The daughters-in-law observed silence. The sons assured and consoled the old parents that they would go the next day and find out what the matter was.

No one gave thought to the sorrow of Varalakshmi in their cries. Varalakshmi was in the habit of suppressing her agony, whatever the pain or the difficulties. She never cried. Such a girl was not found in the house. Everyone was agitated. Varalakshmi had crouched in the dark storeroom among the old earthen pots and cried her heart out.

They searched for Varalakshmi at many places and heaved a sigh of relief when they came to know she was in the house. They were afraid she might have jumped into a well or in a tank. Her brothers consoled her giving her courage.

“Are you crying for such a small thing? Do you believe if someone starts a rumour which has no base? We will go tomorrow and bring him back,” said her brothers. Though they said so they suspected some evil might befall.

Anjaneyulu gave them no clear assurance. His parents said they had no idea about his thoughts. Lakshminarayana and Yellamma went together and returned dejected.

After a few days an elderly person of their caste belonging to Anjaneyulu’s place brought news at which the parents of Varalakshmi and all her people were shocked.

“Next Sunday a Panchayati of our caste is being held. Anjaneyulu made it clear that he is not willing to live with Varalakshmi. He has applied for a divorce. The decision is left to the elders. He is prepared to pay back the money spent on the marriage and other expenses. Come to our place along with five elders in the morning on Sunday next.”

The village elder left. Lakshminarayana and others forgot to offer him hospitality with tea. Why is the life of their daughter taking this tragic turn though they had prayed to unseen gods? “What sin have I committed to face this injustice, oh, god?” cried Lakshminarayana. The neighbours collected around them in large numbers. The daughters-in-law and other women were keeping guard over Varalakshmi to prevent her from taking to drastic action.

The Panchayati was continuing. That was the third sitting. The same elders. The same questions. The same answers. The issue remained the same for two months.

“Why do you want to opt for a divorce?”

“I don’t like to live with her.”

“Did you have a quarrel?”

“No”.

“Did you observe or hear any bad reports about her?”

“She is my wife – If anyone else had asked this question I would have slashed his tongue.”

“But then doesn’t she love you?”

“She loves me.”

“Then why do you say you don’t want to live with her? Is it because you have no children?”

“No.”

“Then why?”

“I don’t want to live with her.”

“What is this stupidity? Without giving reason for disliking how can you be permitted to divorce her? She is your wife, not your mistress. This is not a game children play.”

The discussion and questioning went on without producing any result in spite of everyone being patient.

“Why don’t you like her?”

“She is deaf. I have to shout at the pitch of my voice if I want to tell her anything.”

“Didn’t you know that she was deaf at the time of your marriage?”

“I knew”

“You married her having known about her defect.”

“At that time I had no knowledge of things. My father and mother brought about this marriage.”

“You married her then without knowledge of things. Now that you have knowledge of things you want to divorce her. Suppose your sister is deaf and your brother-in-law wants to divorce her, how do you feel? Don’t you feel anxious about your sister’s life?”

Silence.

“She is closely related to you! The moment she was born it was decided that she should be your wife. She too had nothing in her mind except you. You know everything in such a close alliance. How can you say ‘no’ to her now? You do have responsibility as your father-in-law has given you a status by this marriage. As the husband and as the maternal uncle of the girl you have your responsibility in the matter,” argued another elder remembering with tears how his sister’s life ended in a tragedy.

Anjaneyulu was not moved by this narration.

“How untrustworthy you are! You have no feeling of gratitude also. A dog leads a better life. You have eaten their food and have grown up with their help. Yet you say you want to divorce her. You will suffer for this sin. You will die a miserable death”, cursed an elderly person.

The elders sat again after the panchayathi was postponed for a month. The same old questions, the same old answers and discussion. A few new suggestions to find a way out were made.

“If you want, marry another woman. Let Varalakshmi enjoy the status of the first wife. You would have won the credit of having given her a good life. She is not someone come from a different and unknown family. She was brought up as your wife from her birth. We the elders will say that you married again as your first wife did not bear children. If both your wives bear children we will be happy. She will live her life and will not be a burden on you. Your uncle will provide everything for her.” The elders made the suggestion.

“I don’t like your suggestion. I will marry after I divorce her.”

Discussions started again. The elders who were tired of the proceedings began to calculate the expenses involved for the divorce.

“I don’t want a single pie. I haven’t given him money for investment to take it back. I treated him as one of my sons. As for my daughter, things will take shape as ordained. I’ll think that my son behaved and acted in this manner. I will not take a single pie from him. She is my sister and he my brother-in-law,” said Lakshminarayana as he cried inconsolably.

The atmosphere all-round the place where the panchayati was held turned into one of grave sadness. The elders were surprised at a divorce without demanding wedding expenses and other expenditure. They also objected to it. The divorce documents were readied and signatures were taken.

Anjaneyulu married a beautiful girl and received dowry to the tune of a lakh of rupees. He became a father within two years. He built a big bungalow. He bought a big shop in the busy market area and shifted his shop into it. He was negotiating to buy a lorry.

Lakshminarayana got tired going round to find a husband for Varalakshmi. Generally it was difficult to find a groom for a girl. One can imagine how problematic it was to find a match for a girl who was deaf and was a divorcee.

The marriage of Varalakshmi with a weaver who worked on daily wages and one who had nothing to call his own, was quietly celebrated in his house by Lakshminarayana. The marriage was celebrated but running the house was difficult for the couple. Lakshminarayana realised soon that he had to take care of the newlyweds.

The sons, whose families were growing, started to complain that their father was bestowing all his wealth on their sister. The daughters-in-law remained silent out of respect for the elderly man. But he was hurt at the reaction of his sons.

“She is your own sister and born to me. You are not able to tolerate when I spend on her what I earned. What help will you give her after we are gone? If she had been a son like you, she would have shared the property like you. If she had been your daughter, would you treat her as you feel now?” Yellamma scolded her sons with tears in her eyes. Her sons felt deep sympathy for their sister at her words.

Varalakshmi had children. She took care of her husband like one of her children. She would not mind if he did not go to work. She would not question if he borrowed money for his drink. They wanted to buy a house next to theirs when it was offered to be sold. The owners built a bungalow in the town and wanted to sell it to known persons. They did not charge for the house but sold the site for its value. The son-in-law appreciated the love his in-laws had for him. He started to work for a living.

Yellamma was worried at the deteriorating health of her son-in-law who was growing thin and weak. Her sons did not bother. They asked her to stop him from drinking. Beyond that they did nothing. Yellamma took her son-in-law to the town. All tests were made including X-ray examination. The doctor said that it was T.B. in an advanced stage.

They returned, buying all medicines. Lakshminarayana was stunned to hear the medical report. “Mother! You said I was very fortunate. Is this what is meant by fortune?” asked Varalakshmi sobbing.

“You are a fortunate girl by all means. But others are snatching it away from you,” replied Yellamma as tears rolled down her check.

His darling daughter filled every house with fortune. It was only after she was born their small house got converted into a big house. They had now three other bungalows. Whatever she touched turned into gold.

The whole night Lakshminarayana cried wondering why Varalakshmi’s life was running into grave problems. No one knew when he got the second stroke. By morning he had stiffened into a corpse on his cot. There was wailing in the house. Friends and relatives were informed. Preparation for the obsequies commenced. Anjaneyulu, who was treated as their own son, did not turn up. He had no love for his father-in-law when he was alive. Why show it after his death, asked some. The body was taken away to the cremation ground. Yellamma and Varalakshmi cried as if their hearts would break.

A generation ended and a system came to an end. Within six months the three sons distributed their properties among themselves and lived separately as three families. The three of them occupied a bungalow each and settled down. Their mother decided to live her own life as she did not want to take shelter with any one of them. The model socialist joint family ended with the death of the father. Varalakshmi got lost as a poor woman among the poor.

Original in Telugu, published in Prajashakti Telugu Daily, 20 June 1999.

Critical Review of the above story by Dr. Kolahalam Ram Kishore

B.S. Ramulu's story "Varalakshmi" is a painful, tragic tale that depicts a delicate yet harsh social reality. Going beyond mere narration of events, the author highlights deep themes such as the narrow-minded view towards women's lives, moral betrayal in the name of family bonds, and injustice perpetuated in the guise of tradition.

Character Portrayal and Tragedy
The protagonist, Varalakshmi, is a simple-hearted young woman who is hearing-impaired. Her entire life progresses according to the decisions of others...particularly men. Her child marriage at the age of nine, demanded by her aunt Bhoolakshmi without any consideration for the girl's will or understanding of what marriage entails, takes place under the veil of rural family tradition.

Her husband, Anjaneyulu, after becoming economically prosperous and acquiring vehicles like a Scooter and building bungalows, seeks divorce with the foolish, baseless argument, "I don't like living with her." This exposes male ego and ingratitude. The lack of respect for Varalakshmi, viewing her as an "object," is clearly evident here.

Attack on the Social System:
Through this story, the author B.S. Ramulu launches a severe attack on many decayed systems in rural social life. He strongly criticizes traditions like child marriage, marriage without the woman's consent, and the unilateral male ego that seeks divorce despite no fault in the wife's conduct, simply because "he doesn't like it."

The Panchayati System in the Village:
The "Panchayat" discussions regarding the divorce between the husband and wife are largely futile. Although the elders try to advise morally, Anjaneyulu remains stubbornly firm on his decision. The fact that the Panchayat ultimately has to yield to his decision. 

Dowry and Materialistic Priorities:
Anjaneyulu starts his business with money from his first marriage and receives a lakh of rupees in dowry in his second marriage. This shows a picture of a society that views marriages as financial transactions.

Woman's Life Became a 'Game':
Every turn in Varalakshmi's life is the result of decisions taken by others on her behalf. No one pays attention to whether she has her own dreams or opinions. Her final disappearance "as the poorest woman among the poor" tells us how easily our society can disregard individual humanity.

Disintegration of Family Values:
Although Lakshminarayana tries to support his daughter, after his death, his sons split over property. This indicates the breakdown of the joint family system and the inhumane shift in responsibility.

Literary Craft and Impact:
The writing style, while simple, has the power to melt even a stony heart. The final sentence of the story, "Varalakshmi disappeared as the poorest woman among the poor," is a sentence filled with anguish that crushes the heart of humanity...a conclusion where the life of an innocent girl who committed no sin is suddenly drowned in tragedy. This is not just Varalakshmi's personal sorrow; it is a symbol for the lives of many Varalakshmis in society who disappear silently.

Conclusion:
"Varalakshmi" is not just a tale of tears; it is a strong protest against gender inequality, moral chaos, and the decline of human values in society. By fearlessly exposing the psychological and social violence against women, author B.S. Ramulu makes readers think with gentle words. Nowhere is there male rhetoric. The sentiment of compassion (Karuna Rasa) flows. For today's society, which disregards human responsibilities and bonds for the sake of personal development and material wealth, this story is a wonderful mirror. After the story ends, it creates an anguish and anxiety...what if such injustice happens to our own daughter at home? B.S. Ramulu's style is unique. Once a reader enters the story, they revolve around the characters and become immersed in it. The raw material for the story is the very ordinary, daily life incidents and scenes we see every day. His narrative style is exceptional.