Lakshmi

Chapter 10 I know he is mine

Early evening  was pretty hot. However Karuppiah had  preferred a walking towards the market. He wished the escort to be with him as a guide to go with him to the  market.  He wanted to get a gift to Lakshmi, and also some presentations to his his mother and his sister Saroja. Perhaps a gift to Sarasu as well. 

He quickly had a shower.  Selected a nice dhoti and a half hand shirt. He put on the leather shoe of his grandfather.  He then walked towards the stable. The masons informed him about the inability of the escort to meeting him in the afternoon. They promised him that the room, along with the full furnished thatched roof would be available to him in a few days. Karuppiah profusely thanked them by shaking hands of the chief mason and others.

He gave plenty of feed to the horses with adequate water. He told the horses to patiently wait for him until he returns. He informed about his market work at the fort managers and requested a help of a soldier to attend to the horses,  until he would return from the market, and visiting friends. He was not aware that already two soldiers were on the duty of spying him.

 Karuppiah then proceeded on his own towards the market. He first went to the gate of the Perumal temple. Stood for few seconds in a short prayer. He passed through the two rows of oleander flowers from the temple of Perumal upto the great garden.  Then he met the weaver community and spent a  few minutes with the elders. He walked then towards the  Shiva temple. 

He arrived at the gate of the Shiva temple for a few seconds of prayer. He closed his eyes;  prayed for his family  that included Lakshmi. On completion of his prayer, he turned towards the east gate. And walked briskly to meet the gate guards. There were three  of them. All of them bowed at him in reverence. 

He spent few minutes talking with them about their family and health, and then proceeded towards the thatched sheeted big pandal of the key market area. Under the pandal were the silver-diamond-gold shops, and the coin  exchange shops. There were also other stores that were selling silk products, and sarees. 

From out of the seven gold coins he had, he  exchanged four, and entered a gold shop. He selected three sets of ear rings of the same size. A Konark gold ear ring for his mother, a swinger one for his sister, and a betel leaf ear ring for Sarasu. 

He bought  a pearl beaded pendant, with a long slim gold chain for Lakshmi. He smiled that the cost of the three golden ear rings were of equal cost to that of the pendant with the gold chain. He infact laughed at the cost of the intimacy with a girl.

He went into the flower shop. To his amazement he saw Lakshmi and her mother at one of the flower shops. He neared them. And said his wishes to them. Being amused in his presence, in some kind of embarrassment, Lakshmi chuckled and blushed. Her mother, he came to know her name as Devi, greeted him in a warmth of affection. Devi had realized the love developing  between Karuppiah and Lakshmi.

She was proud to see a talented handsome youngman. Her apprehension or perception of any untoward things had  vanished away from her heart. As a keen mother she was watching every move of Lakshmi from the day the grandfather was in discussions with Lakshmi. She knew the dignified character of her daughter. She also knew that Lakshmi was not an ordinary girl. She smiled at Karuppiah.

Karuppiah told them that he came to purchase sarees for his mother and sister, who had come to a friend's house at the Thirumayam. Devi and Lakshmi instantly wanted to meet them. The three of them were back into a saree shop. They selected three fine sarees of equal rates. Lakshmi was curious to know as to whom the third saree was going to go. Karuppiah showed the ear rings he had purchased for his mother and sister. "But why one more ear ring?" pondered Lakshmi.

In fact Devi and Lakshmi were planning to go to the house of Krishna Achari. Lakshmi was wanting to purchase a nice painting as a gift to Karuppiah. When Karuppiah shared  that he was also on his way to the house of Krishna Achari, Devi and Lakshmi got amazed. On their way of walking towards the house of Krishna Achari, with Devi in the middle, Karuppiah described his friendship with Krishna Achari, explaining his hamlet, Ayyanar and the lotus pond. He purposefully avoided the Oracle area, and the news about the goddess Lakshmi in the bunyan grove.

Krishna Achari was living in a rather spacious house of artistic style. At the portico, facing the east, there stood  a wooden caravan cart. Its bullocks were in the act of feeding for their journey  if there was any. The cart driver was pouring water in the water buckets. 

Krishna Achari's house was square in size. On  the three sides of the inner square courtyard, at the north, at the west and at the south, were there rectangular rooms.Each rectangular room's doors had steps to stepping down into the courtyard. At the entry side, there was an elongated rectangular platform. As one had entered his house, they would  encounter the rectangular platform on both sides, north or south. Step down stones into the courtyard  from the entry platform was beautifully carved artistically.

There were few chairs at the  courtyard floor for the elders to chat. And there were indoor games kept at the courtyard for the children to play at. The entrance platform was so organized for any larger family events. All the walls had  carried paintings from Krishna Achari. Larger paintings.

The painting  canvases  were made from cow skin. Or from the dried fat of the goat. Krishna Achari had used vegetable colors for all his paintings. Paintings from nature, of birds, of temples, of statues, of lovers, of young and old women, of bulls, of goats, of hens and of the dancing god Shiva and the beauty of the goddess Lakshmi sitting on a lotus, being surrounded by four elephants. The paintings had adorned the entire house. Green plants in small vases and mud pots further added additional enchanting style. 

The open courtyard was fitted with an iron meshed false ceiling, allowing the whole sun rays pass in to the house through out the day making the interior warm and airy. The side rectangular rooms were spacious enough to make many people to stay.

 Krishna Achari had made available one big room exclusively for Karuppiah's mother and sister. In another one, his family with two of his tiny girls his daughters were living. The third room was kept free for emergency.

The entrance hall had a large decorated carpet to seat more than fifty people most comfortably. On all the corners of the carpet were sitting four life sized lions made of brass. On the northern side of the carpet adjacent to the rectangular house, was a big wooden row of books, sitting in between two lions. While a large brass cot was placed on the south side between the two lions. Hanging flame lights in the entrance hall gave further art to the house. Krishna Achari, around forty,  was one of the artists of the kingdom.

As Karuppiah, Devi and Lakshmi were at the portico, both the mother and sister of Karuppiah rushed towards him and embraced him with tears of joy. Sundari and her girl children welcomed them, and ushered them into the entrance platform inside of this artistic styled house. 

While all of them were sitting on the carpet, Sundari and her children brought water and butter milk to all the guests. They were chatting for a long time until the sun died down on the west.

Karuppiah's mother wanted a private chat with Karuppiah, with him and with his sister. She invited Lakshmi inside their room. Lakshmi felt the invitation irresistible. She followed Karuppiah with the cloth bags containing the sarees. To the surprise of Karuppiah, he found Sarasu was  inside of the room, in tears. Her eyes were pouring sadness indescribable. Moment she saw Lakshmi, her sadness got doubled, and it  poured out as a deep sorrowful weeping.  Lakshmi understood the context behind it. 

Her hands firmly held the hands of Sarasu, despite Sarasu was trying to wriggle her hands out  from the clutching  hands of Lakshmi. Karuppiah's mother hugged Lakshmi on her bosom and kissed Lakshmi, and she smiled at Karuppiah. A mother was the one who understands her son. Now  Karuppiah saw Devi approaching the mother of Karuppiah. Both of them hugged each other. Non verbal communications was well operating in the room. Lakshmi opened the bag and gave away the sarees. Karuppiah took out the three ear rings, and gave them to Lakshmi. Lakshmi smiled.

Karuppiah's mother invited Devi and Lakshmi to their hamlet after the Thirumayam festivity was over. Sarasu gathered  the hands of Lakshmi for sometime. Then suddenly to the surprise of all in the room, she  embrazed Lakshmi and kissed on the lips of Lakshmi. 

" You should come to our hamlet. Because , there lives me", said Sarasu in tears to Lakshmi.

 Lakshmi's eyes went in search of Karuppiah. Karuppiah nodded his head. 

" What will you give me", asked Lakshmi to  Sarasu. 

Sarasu replied," What I should have, you already have, but yet I give you beautiful lotus buds. Forget me not ". 

Lakshmi saw herself in moving tears. In fact Karuppiah had become her property. She had taken him out from the hands of Sarasu. Did she really had taken him? Or Sarasu still holds Karuppiah in her heart. Kitten was listening from the meshed roof of the courtyard.

By that time of their departure, after substantial night food, Krishna Achari made his caravan cart available to take the guests back to the fort. The street lamps fed with oil flared bright lights, in addition to the half moon all along their way back. Karuppiah ensured both Devi and Lakshmi get into the caravan safely. He helped Lakshmi by slightly pushing her into the caravan, so that the mother and daughter would not fall off from the caravan in case the caravan wheels would  run over on deep pits on the road. Devi appreciated the gesture of Karuppiah, while Lakshmi was in unheard chuckling.

While Karuppiah was sitting with the cart driver, both Devi and Lakshmi were chatting about the stylistic house of Krishna Achari, and his paints. The caravan was heading to the fort.

While they were in journey on the caravan, Lakshmi opened up the painting that she had bought from Krishna Achari, and asked Karuppiah, saying," Do you like this?", showing the painting towards Karuppiah. The painting carried the image of goddess Lakshmi sitting on a rock, near a water front, adorned  in a red saree, being surrounded by lotus flowers, with marigold and jasmine. 

Karuppiah replied smilingly," Beautiful. Mesmerizing. It pulls my heart". Lakshmi replied," I know". Devi had been watching these subtle dialogue in small smiles. She knew the way of the young.

The Caravan entered the east gate. The guards told Karuppiah the arrival of the king by midnight or tomorrow. After bidding farewell with Devi and Lakshmi, Karuppiah walked briskly and fast towards the stable. The night fire torch was burning as usual on the stable wall. The horses blinked at him, and invited him to touch them. Karuppiah patted his horses in a joy, and started to  describe the brief caravan journey to the horses, sharing the story in vivid style like a lotus opening up its closed bud at the dawn.

Karuppiah decided to move his small belongings into his finished room  in two days time. He wanted to do it, before  the king had visited the room and bless it. He looked forward to his meeting with the king and the escort. He wished the presence of Lakshmi at the visit of the king at his room. Not the goddess but his Lakshmi.

He took a blissful sleep with the horses, spreading for himself another hay mat, yet he smelled their ammonia urine. He advised the horses to be clean and hygienic in life. Horses did not understand him. Yet they knew that  their care taker was on their side. 

Karuppiah heard the jingling of the temple bell on the dawn. He wound up himself from the bed. And started to clean the stable with care, and gave the horses excellent bath and body massage. He decided to invite the farrer for a fresh horse shoes to both Ron and Seeta.

While he was in his duty, his eyes wandered around the temple area. He wanted a marigold and jasmine fragrance. Lakshmi on the other hand was wriggling on her bed, chewing upon the entire events of yesterday, specifically the caravan journey, and the possibility of traveling with Karuppiah to Lakshmipuram, alone.

She wanted to meet his friends also at the hamlet. Her eyes recalled the image of Sarasu. She said to herself," Yes Sarasu, I have taken what you should have. I know he is mine, so I am of him. Perumal and Lakshmi have decided so. We know in our heart, there is a deep mission and there exists a divinely ordered commission. We are called to fulfill it, at our life. I realize it since the day I was talking with his grandfather. It was his grandfather described of him. Not only for loving him, but to carry out certain objectives. We are destined to be one, Sarasu. I know I had a promise done to his grandfather. I would not reveal it to any other, even to him, even while we were destined to spend our time alone."

Devi, on the other hand, was plotting more opportunities for Karuppiah and Lakshmi to meet. She knew that her daughter had a plan, which was not revealed to her. 

She mused, "Lakshmi was shutting her mouth every time, when queries were posed at her. She often was sitting at the potio. She was in deep thoughts. Sometimes she forgets her food. She was in dreams perhaps".

Devi however knew that Lakshmi would be in good hands in Karuppiah, a gentleman she had ever encountered. 

Our kitten was also observing Lakshmi. She knew the good things coming towards good people like Lakshmi. She danced to the tune of a Carnatic song. But no one could see it.