7

‘THE LEADER OF THE BANDITS walked to her, unhurriedly. We could smell camphor as he came closer. He stood in front of her and stared at her hennaed feet. Then he drove the sword into the ground and went down on one knee, his palms cupping the hilt, his eyes shut in concentration. After a few minutes he rose to his feet, took two steps back, still meditating with closed eyes, and whispered in a clogged sob, “Adiye, Bomma!”

‘One of the bandits, dressed with a chain around his waist instead of a cross belt, came forward. He moved his spear to his left hand, hid it behind his back and closed his mouth with his right palm as he stood, bent low to his leader’s left.

‘“Go with them to the edge of the forest,” ordered the leader. “See that they are safe before you return.”

‘The crowd parted to make way for us. Bomma hugged the spear to his chest and pointed us to our seats in the palanquin.

‘Chennadevi got in regally and sat next to me. When the door was shut, we resumed our journey. She looked at my scared face with a smile and asked, “Cheli, were you frightened?”

‘It was much later that we learnt that the leader was the most famous brigand, Mallaya. We were shocked.’

‘One cannot list the number of murders and thefts he has committed,’ said Govindappa. ‘The only reason he did not kill you or take away your jewels is because of Chennadevi’s divine beauty: a beauty to be worshipped.’

Mallaya was, indeed an outlaw; but was also a man of deep faith. He revered women as mother-goddesses. Perhaps he visualized Chennadevi’s beauty to be equal to the beauty of his own goddess, Chandika Devi.

‘No woman this beautiful can ever live in peace,’ commented Mangaiathaar Ammal. ‘As famed as her beauty was, they gave her an equal share of sorrow. The pain was not just for her or her family, but for the entire community.’ She stayed quiet for a while and then continued.

‘Like the first batch of Muslim gem traders, another set of merchants came to Chennadevi’s house, claiming to have rubies for sale. They did have plenty of gems. Chenna’s father was an expert at judging the quality of a ruby. He did it himself, with the help of a goldsmith.

‘The merchants said that they had a ready-made ruby necklace for sale. My Periyyappa, Chenna’s father, saw it and was astonished. “This is not for human wear,” he gasped. “This should be in a temple. Why don’t we buy it and gift it to Alamelumanga in Tirupathi?” Of course he was half jesting.

‘But the necklace was too costly. What they expected to pay was nowhere close to what the traders demanded. It was Chenna’s grandmother who expressed the wish that even though we couldn’t afford to buy it, we could at least admire it on Chenna for some time. Of course, my uncle did try to stop them for he believed it was not fair to wear the necklace, if we could not buy it. But desire is not that easy to quell. My uncle continued to dissuade his mother. “After all, we are going to make another ruby necklace, aren’t we?” he asked.