Satya Narayan Sardar
Gopal, together with his friend Pradeep, went to a teashop. Though it was hilly region they felt a rise in temperature, possibly because of global warming. It was midafternoon and both the friends had been there for some snacks as it was lunch break.
“Maiya Did! ” Gopal tried to draw the attention of the lady shopkeeper. “Yes, Sir; what can I do for you? she asked.
“As usual–some beaten rice, graham, pickle, and a boiled egg with two cups of milk tea.” Gopal gave the order. Maiya was much younger but the familiar persons addressed her as Didi. In the beginning, she felt uncomfortable but later, she got habituated.
Pradeep looked anxiously at Gopal and said, “Gopal, it’s so hot and you want tea?”
“My friend, diamond cuts diamond,” Gopal added.
After a few minutes, they were served with the items they had ordered. They were sitting by the window facing the street. As they were having their lunch, they noticed two women carrying some thin slabs in a doko. Meanwhile, Maiya Didi came with a jug of water and two glasses. Gopal asked, Maiya Didi, “See those women, in this extreme hot day; they are struggling with their doko.” Maiya Didi didn’t say anything. She kept quiet for a while.
“Maiya Didi, do you know anything about them?” Gopal inquired. “Yes, Sir; I know them very well. They are from my village,” she added. But as she said that they were from her village, her face had paled.
“Is anything wrong, Maiya Didi?” Gopal asked.
“Sir, you need a free time to listen to the story of their struggle,” Maiya Didi clarified.
Pradeep looked curious. He looked at Gopal with a sign of approval of listening to the anecdote.
There were fewer customers at the moment. Having served all of them, Maiya Didi returned to Gopal and Pradeep to share her feelings about the women. She sat on a chair and began.
The woman in the lead is Dhanamaya and another, Deepika. Deepika is from the village neighboring mine. Her family is very poor and she got married to Dhanbire. He is an uneducated man and makes money fits and starts by working here and there. Both Dhanbire and Deepika struggle to run their lives with three children.
Dhanamaya has a different story.
She is from a remote village. As you know there is a market day once a week here. She used to come to the market with other girls and women from her village. She met Gokul, a brother from my neighborhood. Both of them met in the market. Dhanamaya didn’t pay attention towards him. Gokul was fascinated with her beauty and began to approach to her. She ignored in the beginning. He kept following. Eventually, they started the conversation. They began to spend time together and ultimately they expressed their love.
Dhanamaya passionately kept waiting for the market day. Even Gokul was also had had same status. She had to come from a long way but yet she managed and whenever she reached to the market, she instantly visited the defined place for both of them. As they saw each other, they felt eased and comfortable.
She was always worried about only one fact that she was from upper caste and he was from a lower caste. Her family would not allow her to get married with Gokul. He told her that the caste does not matter. Girl and boy have to live their lives together and to run the life together; the caste should not be obstacle for them. Dhanamaya knew her father very well. He was an orthodox and would not agree for her marriage with Gokul at any rate. Gokul convinced her that he would go to her house with proposal. She warned him not to do so because the father including the villagers would not allow him even to go inside the compound. But he determined to go there.
In spite of knowing the fact that he would be insulted in the name of caste, he visited Dhanamaya’s village. He went to her house and studied the circumstances. He didn’t reveal his caste in front of her father. He lived there for few days and returned. He didn’t dare ask her hand with her father.
The following market day, Dhanamaya came to the market and when she met her, she questioned why he didn’t propose in front her father. He said that he didn’t want to insult her nor get insulted. But Dhanamaya told him that she talked about him to her father and also revealed about his caste. Her father was very furious and told her not to go the market. Gokul was worried. She asked about the final decision either he marry her or forget her. He expressed that he was ready to get married.
That evening, Dhanamaya didn’t return to her father’s house. She eloped with Gokul and began to live with him and his family.
Her father became so angry that he just came searching her and as he found her, he just said that he was not there to get her back rather to tell her that she was dead for him including the entire family. He returned.
After that Dhanamaya started her new life with new perspective and expectations.
Gokul began to earn and run the family. For some years, they had had happy life. The unexpected death of his father changed his life core. He started drinking with his friends. In the beginning, he drank occasionally but later he got habituated and kept intoxicated the whole day. Till then, they had had three children. Dhanamaya had never gone to her father’s house. She had compromised with her fate. But from time to time, her village mates kept exchanging the message with her mother. That also was discontinued as her village friends got married and left the village.
In spite of various efforts to correct Gokul, she failed. She began to seek any manual work to run the family smoothly. He her illiteracy stood as an obstacle to get any comfortable job. Eventually, with Deepika, she began to work in stone mine and earn for family survival. Her life is running with the same destiny till date.
Gopal and Pradeep had noticed Dhanamaya and Deepika in the same condition, carrying stone slabs in their dokos daily forgetting if the day was cold or sunny. They were saddened to know her fate.
One afternoon, Gopal and Pradeep were having lunch at the same teashop. They noticed both Dhanamaya and Deepika moving downwards in same condition. Suddenly, Gopal noticed something red falling behind her.
Gopal shouted, “Dhanamaya Didi, look behind you. There’s something.” She was surprised. She asked how he knew her name. Gopal said, “It doesn’t matter how I know your name. But look on the ground.”
She looked and realized that she had miscarried the baby. Maiya Didi also came there. She caught Dhanamaya by her hand took inside the shop. She gave her some water and comforted. Dhanamaya asked Gopal how he knew her name. He told her that she had her story from Maiya Didi and so he knew her name. Tears rolled down her eyes. She was helpless. She could do nothing at that moment. Gopal and Pradeep consoled her. They told Maiya Didi to provide whatever was available there. She did. After some time, Dhanamaya cleaned the blood in the street with water and departed with the doko full of the stone slabs. She was accompanied by Deepika all the way.
For a few days, Dhanamaya did not appear in the street. Gopal and Pradeep noticed Deepika only with her daily routine. They asked about Dhanamaya and she told them that due to the miscarriage, she was feeling weak. She would continue from next week. Gopal asked why she didn’t take rest for some more days. Deepika said that Gokul had turned to be a heavy drunkard and had fallen fragile. He could not work any longer. She had to work to run her family. Last week was challenging for her because she could not work. So, Gokul was rude to her. He even beat her very badly. He always asked money for his drink and she provided.
Gopal asked Deepika why she didn’t go to her father’s house for some time. Deepika told him that as she had married Gokul, her family members had abandoned. She had tried to go there but she was not allowed to enter their compound as she had married a guy from the lower class. Since then, Dhanamaya abandoned the idea of going to her father’s house. She was sole person for the family responsibility.
Several weeks passed. On those days, Gopal and Pradeep had noticed both Dhanamaya and Deepika regularly. Dhanamaya looked very weak. After some time, she stopped to be seen in the street. Only Deepika with her new friend could be seen in the street. As they inquired about Dhanamaya, Deepika said that she had been very sick and she didn’t have enough money to go to hospital. Though she had taken some medicine from the local health post but that didn’t improve her health condition.
One day, Gopal had to go in a field visit. As he walked down the hill, he noticed some people gathered near the churchyard. He approached near. He was shocked to see Deepika there. He went to her and asked who had died. Deepika, in tears, said that Dhanamaya had passed away the previous night. Unknowingly tears rolled down from Gopal’s eyes. He controlled himself and asked where Gokul was. She looked around and noticed Gokul in the corner, drunk. She nudged him to look at Gokul.
Gopal, without waiting there long, departed thinking that she was a handsome woman.
[Sardar, a post-graduate in English and Anthropology, is a prolific writer and researcher. He teaches English at St. Xavier’s College, Kathmandu. ]