Vedavathi’s elder sister Gayathri came to her parents in her seventh month of pregnancy. Vedavathi was doing her Intermediate then. Badarayana Sharma, Gayathri’s husband held Vedavathi’s hand one day. When she complained to her sister about it, her sister laughed it away. She said that brothers-in-law have that much right over their sisters-in-law. “He might have held your hand for fun. Should we penalise him for that?” said Gayathri. Her mother also said the same. Father too. Later what should not happen happened.

Vedavathi’s mother Gangayamma did not take the affair seriously until washer women chakali Rajamma noticed that her daughter missed her periods. Having been delivered of her baby, Gayathri left to her place after three months. By then Vedavathi’s vomiting commenced. Gangayamma got scared. “Why didn’t you tell me?” thundered Gangayamma and thrashed her daughter with a broom. “When I told you no one of you bothered,” cried Vedavathi. “When I informed sister she held my feet and prayed not to reveal it and break up her family life”, she added, all tears.

Gangayamma contacted the washer woman chakali Rajamma and barber woman who acted as midwife at deliveries. She felt assured that she acted quickly and wisely taking all precautions. Shankara Sharma who was studying the degree class lived four houses away from Gangayamma’s house. He was married. He was attracted by Vedavathi. Before a year passed Gangayamma needed Rajamma’s help again. Gangayamma could not but reveal the fact to her husband Dattatreya Sharma.

Dattatreya Sharma flew into a rage. Gangayamma cautioned him to be quiet and reminded him of the Telugu saying that if one shouted, the respect one commanded would be lost. Dattatreya Sharma calmed down with that. He had spent half his earnings for the marriage of his first daughter. By the time he celebrates Vedavathi’s marriage he might be left only with a begging bowl. Perhaps a love marriage would solve the problem.

“Find out and tell me who that fellow is. Take the help of Rajamma in encouraging our daughter to elope with that fellow. Give some money to Rajamma,” instructed Dattatreya Sharma.

“That fellow is no stranger. He is your nephew Shankar. He was married two years ago. That fellow did this purposefully. I don’t understand how our daughter surrendered to him.” Gangayamma hit her head with her hands in despair.

Dattatreya Sharma raved and ranted cursing his nephew that he would suffer in hell for the sin.

“I have tried that also through Rajamma by asking him. Do you know what your nephew said, that you frequent his aunty, that his wife Savithri was born to you and that he would tom tom the news all over.' Rajamma had to return quietly,” said Gangayamma with tears.

Dattatreya Sharma was held in great esteem in the society. On hearing his wife, he started sweating all over. What will happen to his prestige if people came to know of it? He cursed his daughter who had brought about so much worry and disgrace to him without concentrating on her studies like a good girl.

“Drive her out of our house. I will take it that she is not our daughter,” he shouted.

“Where can I drive her away. It’s all my fate,” said Gangayamma sobbing.

The second problem also was solved somehow. The property of Sharma got evaporated like camphor within five years. There was no earning member at home. Agricultural income also got dwindled. As he was selling some land every year, even that got reduced. What little was left had to be sold for the education of the eldest boy Sadasiva who was studying in the city.

Vedavathi’s marriage was a problem. Dowry rates got sky-rocketed. The matches from the town were not to be thought of for known reasons. Matches from distant places were not within their financial reach. One evening Vedavathi said she would go to a movie. On a fine day she ran away with Thippakara Rao who was the son of chakali Rajamma. Thippakar was following his mother in household work. Vedavathi collected all the jewels and ornaments of her mother in a bag and eloped. The news spread like wild fire all over the town.

Dattatreya Sharma could not bear the humiliatation and left for Bombay along with Gangayamma. He spent life there performing poojas to photographs of gods, almost begging like a Gurkha. In course time he grew in the esteem of the people there and his earnings also increased.

Vedavathi used to treat Thippakara Rao with contempt when she was young. She used to call him ‘are Tippa’. He used to stand before her with folded arms. She would send him on silly errands taking advantage of his innocence.

Thippakar Rao’s original name was Thippayya. He was named after his father.

After she married Thippakara Rao, Vedavathi began to feel that by treating him with contempt she too would be treated like that by others. So she started calling him Thippakara Rao instead of Thippayya. Others also started calling him Thipparaka Rao. He got his name legally changed and gave paper announcement. Now Vedavathi talked of him as ‘my husband’. If she had to tell someone his name she would say ‘Thippakara Rao garu’, stressing on the last word, a term of respect.

They got a telephone. She would not say 'Vedavathi speaking' ‘but say’ ‘Mrs. Thippakara Rao speaking’. It gave great joy to Thippakara Rao to hear his name being stressed in the manner his wife introduced his name to others.

The guru of Vedavathi in this regard was her four year old daughter Aranyaka. Aranyaka had attended the birth day of her classmate Medha and asked her mother in the night, “mummy, why do you call daddy by his name? My classmates' moms never call their husbands by their names. To day you shouted daddy’s name calling him Thippakar. My friend Sweety asked me, “Why does your mummy call your daddy by name?” So, saying she pulled a long face. Vedavathi caressed and kissed Aranyaka.

“Then, how does Sweety’s mother call her daddy?” asked Vedavathi imitating child-like talk.

Aranyaka imitated Sweeth’s mother and said “please dear, will you come once to me!” If he is far away she would ask Sweety to go and get daddy. You never entrust me with any such work. Even if daddy is far away you shout “Thippakar!”. Do you know how insulted I feel?” said Aranyaka as if she were a grown up person.

Vedavathi was surprised and wondered whether children observe the adults so keenly. She embraced her daughter and showered kisses on her. She realised that the contempt she had for Thippakara Rao in some corner of her brain was peeping out in her behaviour.

Why did she entertain a contemptuous feeling towards Thippakar while living with him? Was it because he was of a low caste? Was it because he was younger than her? Was it because he was cooking for her like a woman? Was it because he was less educated than herself? Or was it because he was an innocent person? Vedavathi fell into thinking.

Even before a week passed Vedavathi had a taste of a bitter experience which she would never forget in her life. At the marriage of her colleague’s daughter, Srilakshmi asked Vedavathi to call her husband once.

Vedavathi called her husband in a respectful manner, saying ‘emandi’. Thippakar kept talking with someone thinking that he was not addressed. Vedavathi used the respectful term two or three times and finally called, “Thippakar!” He came running to her.

“Thippakar! Will you get me six sweet pans? Also a goldflake packet for my husband,” said Srilakshmi pretending great affection for him, placing money in his hand. Before Vedavathi could realise what happened, Thippakar took the money and left.

Vedavathi’s eyes filled with tears at the humiliation. How do these people feel about Thippakar? Srilakshmi could have asked her husband to get pan for her. If she asked Srilakshmi’s husband to do a similar errand how does Srilakshmi feel and react? ‘How dare she humiliate me by asking me to call my husband and then send him to do her bidding? Where was the mistake?’ thought Vedavathi. When her friends went to her house to play carrams or cards it was Thippakar who made tea and handed them refreshments. Was this the reason why they thought low of him?

Vedavathi decided to stop playing those games in her house and not to ask Thippakar to do this and that before others.

Aranyaka kissed her mother when she observed her mother treating her father with respect. Vedavathi arranged for a rickshaw for her daughter and asked her husband not to take Aranyaka to school until he secured a job. This development made Aranyaka love her mother more and she grew into a pampered child.

Vedavathi wanted her husband to find a job whatever the expenditure. She forced him to take the external exam and sent him to the city for tuition. Aranyaka grew more stubborn as time passed. Vedavathi did not know how to control her daughter.

“Let daddy come. He will take you to task then. I’ll tell him how many things were broken by you,” Aranyaka threatened her mother. The threat worked well on Vedavathi.

One night Vedavathi’s brother-in-law Badarayana Sharma went to her house when Thippakar was not at home. Vedavathi did not know what to do. She was crest-fallen at the turns her life was taking. She was also getting wild. Aranyaka started crying seeing her mother struggling to get free from Sharma. Vedavathi could manage to knock him down and kick him hard. Sharma fell wriggling with pain.

She lifted the phone and rang up Sri Lakshmi, “Hello! Sri Lakshmi. Some stranger has entered my house and is threatening me. Come quickly with your husband on the scooter.” She picked up a ruler stick and hit hard Sharma until he bled from mouth and the ruler broke.

Hearing the scooter being parked, Sharma ran out escaping from Vedavathi.

“I opened the door on hearing a knock. He pounced on me suddenly,” she told Sri Lakshmi.

After three days her father Dattatreya Sharma went to her house. “Have you arrived to destroy my family? You poisoned my mind against my husband and now have you come to enjoy the fruits by depending on me after our separation? Get out! My father passed away long ago. Every year, in the mornings on our marriage day I perform his obsequies and then only celebrate our marriage anniversary in the evenings,” shouted Vedavathi, looking like the goddess of terror.

When her father tried to say something she cried “I don’t want to hear anything from you,” took up the broom stick and attacked him. Her father went away in haste. Next day she applied leave and went to Tippakar Rao who was in the city.

“What a surprise? Devi has manifested herself so suddenly?” Tippakar Rao tried to joke pleasantly.

“Shall we go to some place for our honey moon?” asked Vedavathi with a mischievous smile.

“After so many years of marriage? What a naughty desire!”, smiled Tippakara Rao.

“Rukku! Do you want a brother or a sister?” asked Vedavathi addressing Aranyaka.

“Good! Good! I want a brother! When will he come, mummy?” Aranyaka clapped in joy.

“You don’t have the intelligence Aranyaka has” said Vedavathi looking at her husband and smiled. Immediately she felt bad thinking she belittled her husband with her words and cursed herself. Tippakar did not observe the expression on the face of his wife.

“What about my studies?” asked Tippakar looking affectionately at Vedavathi.

“It’s no problem, Tippakar!  I know your talents. You grasp things at one hearing. Anyway during the honeymoon you will get plenty of time to study. I will also help you.”

Vedavathi applied leave for two months, got herself transferred to another place and settled with her family.

Five years passed. Aranyaka was in the fifth class. Her brother Malavya was in the first class. Tippakar modified slightly the name of his father Mallayya into Malavya and gave the name to his son. Tippakar completed his degree and was doing his P.G. course by then. He was working in the R.T.C. and started a private chit fund unit and was busy. Vedavathi was happy that like all other wives she was leading a life that did not depend on her earnings. To her, her past was a bad dream.

She never tried to recollect her past. When she met her friends or relatives she started behaving haughtily with indifference. They felt hurt and did not talk to her another time. Vedavathi wanted it that way. Their coming and goings resulted in unnecessary situations.

If Malvya misbehaved or for any mistake he was warned with the words “I will tell daddy.” Malavya started to see a devil in his daddy. He who was playing would go into his shell on his father arriving home. Tippakar felt pained when his son went into a corner on his arrival.

“Malavya! Come to me!” he would say pleasantly. The boy would go to him hesitantly.

“Why are you hesitating to come to me?”

“Daddy, mummy says you would beat me. You won’t beat me. Am I correct, daddy?”

Thippakar Rao embraced the boy and kissed him lovingly.

“You go on pampering him like that. Later I will have to face the music,” Vedavathi complained, twisting her lips.

“What is it, Veda! Why do you paint me as a demon before them? Why don’t you allow them to play with me?”

“You are always away. These two kill me asking for this and that. If I don’t say that I would report it to you, whom do they fear?”

“Do you want to make a dragon of me and play with them yourself? Why don’t you allow them to play with me?” Vedavathi laughed heartily.

“Mummy is bad, Aranyaka clapped her hands.

“You should not say so, Aranya! Mummy is good like a deity that is seen!” said Tippakar cajoling his daughter.

“Then, daddy is a god that is seen. Mummy is Parvathi and you are Lord Siva. Mummy is Lakshmi. You are Vishnu.”

“No, No. Don’t say so. They are gods and are great.”

“But they are never seen. So you are gods that are seen….”

Tippakar Rao drew his daughter to him and kissed her heartily.

“I got you and won victory in my life,” exclaimed Vedavathi feeling joyous and happy.

“I won the victory in my life because of you. I won over you and became victor in life” replied Rao.

Original Telugu published in Andhra Bhoomi (Telugu daily) 9 May, 1999