Hey! Silly

Part 1

"Radha, hey Radha, listen! Let's get you married. Tell me, what do you say?" Suddenly, I heard a lisping voice reply, "Yes, I'll get married, marry me off!"

I went outside to see who it was and found a girl about sixteen or seventeen years old, with skin as fair as the sun, incredibly beautiful. If the women weren't teasing her and she didn't speak, no one could tell that she was considered crazy. She had thick shell bangles on her wrists, nail polish on her hands, and henna on her feet. Overall, Radha had the vibrant appearance of a blooming young woman, but who knew her by that name? Everyone just called her 'Pagli' (crazy). I stood there silently, observing the scene unfold. The women had resumed teasing her. An old woman mocked her again, "Hey, why was your father beating you yesterday?" She clapped her hands and laughed, saying, "Oh, yesterday I didn't make *loti* (roti/chapati) for papa, so he hit me. Papa is bad, he hits me." Then the old woman said, "Why shouldn't he hit you? Should he worship you instead? Why don't you make rotis/chapatis for your father? The poor man comes home tired, he needs food to eat." Radha responded, "I won't make any. Papa is bad, he hits me." This was my first introduction to Radha, as I was new here. Just then, another woman with rolling eyes said, "Hey, how many days has it been since you bathed? You stink!" Radha replied, "No, Aunty! I bathed yesterday." The woman then turned to me and said, "She doesn't bathe for ten days and claims she bathed yesterday. Just look at her clothes." I glanced at her clothes and noticed that they were indeed filthy. At that moment, a man on a bike passed by. According to the women, Radha was afraid of him. One of them taunted, "Shall we marry you off to him?" Radha hid her face in her scarf and ran behind one of the women, saying, "No, no, I'd rather die." One of the women explained to me that Radha's father had tricked her into marriage. He showed the groom's family a photo of her and finalized the marriage without disclosing that she had mental issues. After seeing her behavior, the groom's family beat her up and sent her back to her father's house just ten days after the wedding. Since then, the women have been teasing her about marriage. One of the women, trying to shoo her away, said, "Go, your father is calling you." Another chimed in, "Before you go, tell us why you've applied such a long *maang* (vermillion) and a big *tikula* (bindi) on your forehead?" Radha replied, "Papa says if I go to the market, I have to wear a filled *maang* and a bindi, so I did." Then the woman teased, "Why? So no one will harass you?" Radha blushed and ran away, while I stood there, lost in thought. What else could a helpless father do? He had an incredibly beautiful, yet mentally challenged daughter, and he was trying to protect her from the predators lying in wait to take advantage of her. He was forced to adorn his daughter's forehead with the vermillion of a husband she never had, as the only way to safeguard her honor. It was the strongest lock he could think of to protect her dignity.