When Akarsha was nine, her father died of a stroke. He was running a tailoring shop. After his death, her mother brought her up. Her mother started tailoring women’s blouses and accessories for sarees. Akarsha helped her mother in homemaking and tailoring. After her father’s death, she stopped school, and she and her mother moved to a two-room house with a front verandah. Mother started tailoring in their new rented home. The front verandah was used for tailoring. 

 When Akarsha was eighteen, her mother was bedridden and unable to move. She was the primary breadwinner, though Akarsha helped her. Akarsha learned from her mother how to stitch girls’  dresses, women’s blouses, and other requirements for sarees. 

Akarsha was 5 ft 4 inches tall, with a round face, small lips, sharp nose, bright, attractive eyes, curly hair with right-side parting, loosely left until the neck then braided, a healthy and beautifully structured body, and long legs. Her smile had a magnetic attraction.  

*

Dhyananands came from a remote village. Divyendu was the only son of Dhyananands. He was raised with care, intense love, and affection. He studied in the village school until fifth grade and then moved to a nearby town for further education. His parents also moved to the town for his education.

One evening, he and his friend played throw and catch with a small ball at his house. When his friend threw the ball, he could not catch it, and it fell in the neighbour’s compound. Divyendu tried to climb the compound wall but lost his balance and fell. A teenage girl going that way saw him fall. The girl derisively laughed at him. He felt like an insult to injury. He developed revenge on girls.

He was unable to stand and was admitted to the hospital. They took an X-ray and found a fracture of the tibia of the left leg. He was bedridden for about a month and discharged. Yet, Divyendu limped slightly, which could be noticed on keen observation.

The girl’s mocking laugh lingered in his ears, and he could not forget.

*

Divyendu stayed in a hostel attached to the college during his studies. During his third year of study, one morning, when Divyendu was wearing a shirt, he found the shirt pocket’s stitches torn and could not hold anything. He searched for a tailor. One of the hostel mates suggested  Akarsha near the college. He went to her and asked her to stitch the packet.

Akarsha said, “I do not take up stitching men’s clothes, but this one is a repair; I can do it. You can collect it tomorrow evening.”

Divyendu left the shirt with her. The next evening, he collected the shirt and paid the amount. He inquired about her details, understood her poor socioeconomic dependency, and started a friendship. He met her frequently. He thought she was the right girl for his inner revenge against girls.

One evening, when Divyendu met her, she wept beside her mother. He touched her mother. Her body was cold, and there was no movement. He called a nearby doctor, who declared her dead.

Akarsha wept. She had no relatives to help in this grave situation. He helped her complete the funeral formalities of her mother. 

 After all the funeral rites, Divyendu asked Akarsha to move to a small rented house so that they could live together. She continued with her tailoring. He completed his BA degree and was posted as a junior assistant in a government department.

*

Divyendu got chicken biryani while coming from the office. That night, Akarsha and Divyendu enjoyed feeding and caressing each other. They also enjoyed Sundays, eating in hotels, and visiting holy places and parks in the city.

Divyendu’s father, Dhyananand, was worried because he had no information about his whereabouts. Divyendu’s mother died of a heart attack when Divyendu was in his tenth class.   

Dhyananand enquired through known contacts and found that Divyendu lived with a girl. This information made him feel that Divyendu was getting out of control and that he must arrange his marriage urgently.

Dhyananad discussed the issue with his brother-in-law, Kodandapani, who told his wife about it. They arranged for a visit to the known family girl. 

Divyendu, with his revenging thoughts about girls, got another chance. If he said no, his father and relatives would doubt and inquire. So, Divyendu decided to go ahead with the marriage. He thought he could decide on Akarsha and his wife, as the circumstances changed with time.

* 

Kodandapani, his wife, and Divyendu went to see the girl. Divyendu was happy to see the girl. The girl, Dhavala Sree, was whitish, eighteen, and had a beautiful body structure. Her long braided hair on her back was an added attraction. She looked innocent and shy. She studied up to the seventh class and discontinued. For Divyendu, Dhavala Sree, coming from a village, her innocence, her education up to seventh grade, and her ignorance of city life best suited him for continuing his earlier relationship.

He said it was OK to marry her. The girl’s mother discussed with her husband and the girl and told the groom’s party they were also OK. Dhyananand was informed of the same.

Divyendu’s marriage took place during summer vacation. The bride’s parents conducted the marriage in their native village.

After the marriage, the groom’s party, the bride, and a close accomplice returned to the groom’s village. It was a practice to send a close accomplice with the bride on her first visit to her in-laws’ house. 

After three days of getting acquainted with family members and relatives in the groom’s village, Dhavala Sree and her close accomplice moved to her parents’ village. Dhyananand moved to town, and Divyendu to the city.

* 

Sending the bride for family life immediately after marriage was not the practice in those days. Being in her teens, her mother trained Dhavala Sree in all aspects of family life. After about six months, Dhavala Sree’s parents came to the city and set up her home in all aspects so that she could lead her family life happily with her husband in the city.    

*

Divyendu continued his relationships with Akarsha and Dhavala Sree.

Once Dhavala Sree shifted to the city, Divyendu had difficulty meeting Akarsha. He met her in the evenings, mornings after or before office hours, or Sundays.

Being a village girl, Dhavala Sree started doubting Divyendu. One Sunday, she asked him, “Where are you going?”

Divyendu said, “He was going to meet a friend for office work.”

Dhavala Sree said, “It has been a long time since I came to the city, and you have not taken me to any places to visit. Why don’t we go out today?”

Divyendu thought Dhavala Sree was suspicious about his movements, so he postponed his visit to Akarsha and took Dhavala Sree to visit the city.

Akarsha waited for Divyendu that Sunday and became suspicious of his movements. She wondered if his recent skipping of visits indicated a change.

When he came the following day, she asked him the same.

Divyendu took time to answer, and Akarsha’s suspicion increased. Uncontrollable by her feelings of likely desertion, she hugged Divyendu and started weeping.

Akarsha said, “I believed in you, and you are my soulmate forever. But recently, there has been a change in you. What is my fate if you desert me? Where should I go? I am dependent on you, and I offered my life to you. You are my hero. Please don’t leave me.”

Divyendu consoled her, saying, “He was busy with office work and not attending to her. She should not worry. He will be regular to her hereafter.”

*

Dhavala Sree became pregnant and went to her parents for the delivery. They had a baby boy. Three months after the delivery, Dhavala Sree returned to Dhyananand’s house and stayed under the care of a maid so that Divyendu could come on weekends.

When Dhavala Sree was with her parents, Divyendu entertained Akarsha. He could manage both for a year. Once Dhavala Sree returned to the city, he had problems as both doubted his movements.

 Unable to continue his relationship with Akarsha, his wedded wife, and his office, he got transferred to his father's town. He shifted along with Dhavala Sree and his son. He stopped going to the city and Akarsha. As time passed, Akarsha understood that Divyendu deceived her.

*

Akarsha knew from a trusted source that Divyendu was married about two years ago and had a son. She cursed herself for her ignorance, blind belief in Divyendu, and lack of understanding of his deception. She believed Divyendu would marry her, but he shattered her belief. 

She did not understand why Divyendu had lost interest in her. She thought of two reasons: her poor financial position and lack of social support. Akarsha could not help, as she was born into these situations. She thought people would gather around her if she improved her financial status. She was determined to face life and continue the journey with courage and tailoring skills.

*

It went on for two years. One day, Divyendu was asked to meet his boss in the city for official work. The boss was a young person directly selected for the job. As he was meeting his new boss for the first time, Divyendu thought of meeting at home to congratulate the boss. He went with a sweet box to his house.

The house was in a posh locality. It was a two-storey building. The ground floor had a tailoring shop with several men and women sewing on machines and two masters for men’s and women’s dresses. When asked about the boss, he was directed upstairs. He went and rang the bell. A servant maid opened the door and asked him to be seated on a sofa in the hall. He handed the sweet box to the maid and asked her to hand it inside. The maid gave the sweet box to the boss’s wife, stating that the junior assistant from the town gave it.

 The boss’s wife came to the hall to thank him. She was tall, dressed in a pure silk saree, with her bobbed hair looking like an angel. Divyendu stood from his seat as a mark of respect to his boss’s wife and greeted her. As he saw her, both were surprised and could not speak. She was Akarsha. She smiled sarcastically at him. He felt her smile was insulting. She asked him to be seated and told him that her husband was getting ready and would be there within five minutes. Then she left inside.

Divyendu was dumbfounded and left that place.

*

 After Divyendu deserted her, the determined Akarsha developed her tailoring skills for men and children and employed tailors. She met the boss, helped him prepare for competitive exams, and married him.

***

PRABHAKAR MUSIPATLA