SHURPANAKHA

SURPANAKHA

It was eleven o'clock in the morning.There were loud cries in the house.Someone screeched at the top of the voice outside, "Meenakshi has just set herself ablaze." The doors of her house were being banged as the doors were bolted inside.The doors at the back of the house were locked.The front doors were made of black murdah.They did not open though the efforts were on to break them.Large iron bars were fixed on the doors inside.Agitated women were pouring water inside the house through the windows as the doors were too stubborn to open.The room in the house was filled with the stench of kerosene.The fire engulfed Meenakshi entirely.The water that was thrown at her did not save her previous life.All earnest efforts to protect her proved to be an exercise in futility.The photo of Meenakshi's grandmother, hanging on the wall with a garland was weeping in desperate dumbness over the fate of the grand daughter.
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"Grandma,what was Shurpanakha?" said the ten-year-old Meenakshi with her eyes widened out of curiosity.She put the question to her grandma eagerly, stepping into the house after school.The grandma said to Meenakshi " Why do you seek such Information now? " She answered, " They have selected me for the role of Shurpanakha in drama competition to be held in our school." Meenakshi's classmate,Rama Rao accompanied Meenakshi to her house.He was desirous of hearing the story of Shurpanakha from Meenskshi's grandmother whose daily stories were heard by the children with rapt attention. "Don't you tell us her story now?" said Meenakshi to her grandma with her strikingly sulky face.The grandma had no other option to exercise but to start the story instantaneously for the pleasure of the children.She said, " Shurpanakha was the daughter of Lord Brahma's grandson and the sister of Ravana Brahma.She fell in love with Rama at the first sight.She was jealous of Sita in many respects.Consequently she tasted humiliation at the hands of Lakshmana." Thus she narrated the brief story of Shurpanakha. Meenakshi asked her curiously, " Was the woman good or bad?" "We were exposed to the stories about her humiliation resulting from her indecent behaviour more than her goodness." She continued after gulping some water."Though her brother killed her husband;Rama spurned her proposal despite her loyal love and Laxmana wounded her pride and body she bore all with rare patience.Her intense intention of wreaking vengeance on her foes turned Meenakshi into Shurpanakha.She interfered with the astounding affinity of Lord Rama and Sita,grew gigantically jealous of the consummate comeliness of Sita and turned foul-mouthed at Sita's prospect.All these traits jeopardised her ginormously.A woman is a bitter foe of other woman.The bewitching beauty of Shurpanakha (Meenakshi) waned,deforming her dreadfully.She was not a fanatically frantic fugitive." She ended the story abruptly. " Grandma,tell us her further story in detail."These endearing words of Meenakshi enthused her grandma further. " Her parents named her Meenakshi after her birth.That was her real name.Isn't it your name?" said the grandma.Meenakshi's eyes shone in splendour as she chuckled over and over.She went out of the house along with Rama Rao for play
In the grandma's story Shurpanakha's loveliness was the only attribute that fascinated Meenakshi most.In the night she slipped into sleep thinking over the role of Shurpanakha she would play in the drama to be enacted at school.Shurpanakha appeared to her as a perfectly pretty princess in her delightful dream. It was the day of drama competition at school.The play,"Shurpanakha", started with a song,depicting the events of Shurpanakha's life from childhood to youth.The curtain was raised for the performance of the scene at Panchavati where Shurpanakha met Rama and opened her heart to him guilelessly. Meenakshi enlivened her role endearingly living up to the expectations of the audience.When Laxmana cut the nose and the ears of Shurpanakha she excelled others with her rendition of role leading to the arousal of pity among the audience who responded to her emotions with tears.Meenakshi won all applauses and prizes for her role of Shurpanakha. After her birth her name was confirmed as Meenakshi by her grandmother for she had the eyes of elegance like those of fish. Meenakshi was very sharp and intelligent.Her parents, Shankaraiah and Gangamma,were the servants of Ranga Rao.Rama Rao was the only son of Ranga Rao and Hanumayamma.He used to eat food in a plate of gold.Meenakshi was brought up in a hut.Both Rama Rao and Meenakshi grew as friends from their childhood.They competed with each other in studies.Times changed in consonance with age.They completed their education.They differed in caste though they were similar in thinking.Their friends believed that their marriage would take place after the completion of their education. Destiny plays havoc in our lives.Rama Rao's parents objected to their marriage vehemently .Caste and status created obstacles for their marital togetherness.They did not oppose their lives in union as fellow studentsThe adolescents were not prepared to meet such eventuality.Rama Rao attempted to convince his parents but in vain.Ranga Rao was not hard-hearted but Hanumayamma was absolutely adamant.Information about great alliances was accessible to them.Rama Rao did not care for such alliances as his mind was fixed with the image of Meenakshi.His mother was agitated over this.She did not like to see Meenakshi as her daughter-in-law in her house. Hanumayamma handed over a cup of tea to her husband and said," What misfortune has befallen us in the form of Shurpanakha? She is Meenakshi.She has entrapped our Rama Rao with her beguiling beauty." Ranga Rao struggled for words frantically.He went on reading the newspaper. She continued her obstinacy,"You can't speak a single word when I speak words in distress.Can you call her father,Shankaraiah and speak to him things over the matter,can't you ?" Ranga Rao drank tea,placed the cup on the teapoy and took the paper waving his head with affirmation. Rama Rao meanwhile came there.He was seated on the sofa in front of his father and took newspapers lying on the teapoy.Ranga Rao's wife gesticulated her husband to speak to her son.Ranga Rao said to himself,"My life is like an arecanut in its cracker.My son never heeds my advice and my wife never hears my words."He broke his silence with the following words as he was incapable of resisting her sharp and pointed looks." Oh,Rama Rao,you have got the alliance from Nellibanda" he continued courageously," She is the only daughter,owning fifty acres of land and groves.They are commensurate with our status.If you say "Yes" I will send them a message tomorrow." He placed the photo of the girl before him for his approval. Rama Rao remained unmoved and kept on reading the newspaper. His mother was infuriated by his unseemly behaviour.She snatched the newspaper from his hands vexatiously.The newspaper was torn from head to bottom like their affinity.She put a pertinent question to him," Resolve the crisis of marriage now itself.Do you approve of the present alliance we have proposed,don't you?" Her anxiety was beyond bounds.Rama Rao reacted to her proposal with absolutely unyielding negativity."I am attached to Meenakshi with entirely eternal love.If I wish to marry a lady I will marry her unquestionably." Thus he outpoured his emotions unendingly.He was driven out hastily by her looks of rancour. Hanumayamma showed her impatience to her husband who slipped out of the house slowly.She called for Meenskshi's parents with ultimate obduracy.
Meenskshi's parents came there at the call of their landlady,who narrated the course of events without a bit of secrecy.She said convincing words," Shankaraiah,you have been rendering remarkable service to us with tremendous trust for a long time. I have treated your daughter as my own daughter.She has made my son abominally unyielding.He says he can't marry any other lady except Meenakshi.Can you keep your daughter under your control,can't you?" said Hanumayamma agitatedly.They took leave of her saying that they would convince their daughter to the extent possible. After getting home Shankaraiah said to Meenakshi, " Daughter,we should not covet things beyond our means.We should not count the rafters of the house where we eat food.We should be trustworthy when we eat the salt of our landlord Ranga Rao." Thus he succeeded in changing the mind of his daughter entirely with his words of conciliation. Rama Rao argued with his stubborn mother several times but in vain.He felt defeated ultimately.He yieded to all the pressure under compelling circumstances.His marriage was performed pompously with Rama who was inferior to Meenakshi in beauty.All villagers attended the marriage ceremony in a well-to-do family except Meenakshi. The marriage was not celebrated with the consent of Rama Rao.He thought that he had nothing to do with Rama.The society valued their marriage chiefly.Rama Rao's parents desperately hoped that he would change considerably with the passage of time.Rama's parents felt worried because their daughter was not leading a blissful life though they spent lakhs of money for her happy marriage.They quarrelled with Rama Rao's parents over the matter.Such things did not fascinate Rama Rao's mind.His parents grew impatient day by day.All of a sudden Hanumayamma called for Shankaraiah,found an inappropriate alliance for Meenakshi and got her married forcibly. As they were incompetent to untie a tangled knot they went on executing erroneous work and grew incorrigible finally.The conflict assumed alarming dimensions.Meenakshi's life turned turtle when she was married to an absolutely undeserving man whose addiction to vices was the chief cause of his untimely death.Meenakshi returned to her parental home within two years of her hasty marriage. The elders,who did not understand the minds of their adolescent children,turned the lives of their four children miserable by performing ultimately unworthy marriages willingly.Their unbecomingly obdurate obstinacy grew in enormity as the time passed unusually.The yearnings of their children increased beyond imagination.Rama Rao used to meet Meenakshi in perfect privacy.They were unusually unstoppable.Solitude does not siege secrecy in silence. Time can not hide the affluent affinity of loyal lovers for a long time. The news of their passionate love spread like wild fire.It was accessible to the ears of Rama,who felt angry with her husband for his inane immorality. She dared to ask him pointedly about his illegal relationship with Meenakshi.Rama Rao slapped her,swaying all over with emotion.She sent a swift message to her parents asking them to visit her urgently.Rama Rao did not fit into the course of things at home.So he went to his sister's house seeking moments of solace during his stay in Hyderabad.
Rama's parents were informed of the immorality of their son-in-law.They rushed to Rama Rao's house furiously.They hatched a cruel conspiracy against Meenakshi in the absence of Rama Rao.They sent a man to Meenakshi with the false Information that her father wanted her presence immediately.They confined her in a room with compulsion. Hanumayamma was sinisterly spiteful towards Meenakshi.She thought that Meenakshi's beauty was the only reason for Rama Rao's neglect of Rama.She displayed her demonic
disposition to Meenakshi in dreadful degrees.She thrashed her indiscriminately.She kicked her delicate parts like an insane woman.Meenakshi lay on the floor in a state of unconsciousness.They took her to her house stealthily and poured kerosene on her when she was unconscious.They bolted the front doors inside and locked the back door."Die,Shurpanakha."saying these words Hanumayma threw a burning match at Meenakshi through the window.The fire that engulfed Meenakshi brought her to the state of consciousness.Before Meenakshi could utter cries of alarm aloud Ranga Rao screeched at the top of his voice, " Meenakshi has set herself ablaze.Save her life." The fire swallowed the beauty of Meenakshi.The inner faces of those persons reflected their ugliness.Her beauty and goodness were burnt in the fire beyond recognition. Meenakshi symbolised reprehensible repulsiveness ultimately. Meenakshi stood as Shurpanakha in the eyes of Hanumayamma.Time caught the real Shurpanakha alive.Hanumayamma was put behind bars.Rama Rao was informed of the tragic end of Meenaksh's life.He realised the bitter truth. He abandoned Rama in the human forest and rushed to the world of Meenakshi.

Written By Sheelam Bhadraiah Translated into English
by Dr.Manthena Damodara Chary
Retd.Regional Inspection Officer
Introduction of the Author