MY LIPS ARE SEALED

The time is 5 am. A bus stopped near the bus stop. A young lad aged 20 jumped out of the bus with full excitement. He had been long away for a greater task and now has returned to fulfill something evenly important. There was none to welcome him in the lonely bus stop. He had to travel some miles into the one lane unmetalled road to reach his village. He started his journey and by the speed he was walking we can believe he will reach the village in an hour.

Back in the village at the same time some days back…

The women of the village where quarreling among themselves in front of the hand pump. It is the daily miserable business of women of the village – to snatch a bucket of water. Water is the most essential commodity and the necessity is wildly felt by the villagers who spend most of their year in drought. Rangamma is one of the suspicious characters among the crowd. She used to compose gossips with interesting clues for easier identification. The villagers mostly fear her. Getting into her wrong books could land them in trouble. They try to stay cautious handling her for she can bring disgrace to them easily. Today Rangamma had composed a beautiful gossip about an affair between two persons who she had encountered multiple times in the recent past. The gossip is all about Thilaga, a young widow. She had a miserable life in her past. Her husband was a liquor addict and used to abuse her often. She resided alone in the ancestral house of her husband. Thilaga is in her 30's and was a victim of child marriage. She makes a earning by stitching clothes. All were good until postmaster Raghu arrived to the village. Thilaga used to receive letters often and thus had frequent encounters with Raghu. Being an illiterate, she needed the help of Raghu to find out the details in the letter. Raghu hails from a city far from the village and is a broad minded person. He is unmarried. He is a passionate comrade with certain ethical values to be practiced. He lives in a rented house owned by the Rangamma. The frequent encounters between Thilaga and Raghu did not fail to receive the attention of Rangamma and the result is the web of gossip spitted by her.

The young lad had reached the village. His name is Paari. After refreshing himself in his house he set out to the village to meet his friends. The mood in the gang was astonishing. He was greeted with dump faces. He was curious to know the reason and the reason shook him hard. The recent gossip about Thilaga and Raghu appears to have reached the youth of the villages as well. Paari was taken aback on hearing the same. He was in a different difficult state among his peers for the first time. He knew the gossip was all false but had no evidence to prove it. He left the place without uttering a second word.

With the mixed bag of emotions he reached Thilaga’s house. He could not defend Thilaga but trusted her. He could not enquire about the issue to her who was preparing the breakfast in the kitchen. After all Thilaga is Paari’s mother. The breakfast was ready and Thilaga had them on a bamboo plate to her son. Paari was unable to even touch the food. Enraged paari left the house without laying his hand on the food. He reached the banyan tree where his friends still stood. He held the guy who informed him about the gossip and enquired him about his source. He made his mind to reach the prime source and creator of the gossip. He knew it might be Rangamma who could be the originator of this nasty uncivilized act. But he wished to teach the entire village a lesson.

Each and every one he encountered raised their hand in all the cardinal directions. None has accepted being an eye witness to the crime - affair between Thilaga and Raghu. In the end, Paari reached Rangamma. She admitted to bore eye witness to the crime. Rangamma was keen to protect her legacy in gossiping.

The local panchayat gathered. Rangamma began to build a castle of lies to ensure she was not found guilty. She twisted and turned every ordinary situations encountered by Thilaga and Raghu with her sea of imagination. Thilaga on her turn had no words to speak. She was broken by the complaint itself. She was also afraid how her young son who lives far away will take it. She was crystal clear like water. But humans tend to pollute all for their selfish motives. Similarly Thilaga is been made a victim to Rangamma’s wrath. Raghu with a heavy heart stayed silent too. He considered himself guilty for creating a nuisance around the life of Thilaga. The silence created by Thilaga and Raghu was shattered by Paari. He announced his intentions for the marriage of Raghu and Thilaga. The crowd including Thilaga and Rangamma were shell shocked. He continued saying that the thought of the marriage was long in his thoughts and had conveyed them through multiple letters to his mother. He knew the nature and kind of Raghu through his return letter. Fortunately or unfortunately Raghu usually ignores such parts of the letter from reading to the poor illiterate Thilaga. Raghu had great respect for Paari who wishes for the remarriage of his mother but felt awkward to read it himself to Thilaga.

The panchayat was struck without any proper conclusion. Paari had a word with Rangamma. He said to her that though she mad a gossip about an affair between his mother Thilaga and Raghu, the gossip will surely come true through the marital affair that is to be created between them. He felt the need to identify the source to hunt down the gossip. Paari and Raghu convinced Thilaga for remarriage. Rangamma on the other hand started publicizing herself saying her gossips are always true and the case is a standing testimony to the say. Paari snatched Rangamma by hand and whispered in her ears. Do you want to know what it is all about? It is an age old gossip about Rangamma. No I won’t reveal them for my lips are sealed!!