Lady Karunakaram

Lady Karunakaram
-Chaso
Karunakaram went to his mother-in-law’s town for the festival. Keeping his suitcase on the head of a coolie, he entered the street where his mother-in-law lived. The mischievous teenagers walking before him, started speaking disparagingly looking at his mother-in-law’s house.
“Look! This landlord is getting the pials plastered with cement!”
“What does he lack. He has a daughter like an ace of trump card.
By the time she goes to live with her husband, he would construct the walls in gold.”
“These days one who has four daughters is fortunate.”
“Catering to the people…”
Karunakaram’s face flushed with anger. Probably they started this foul language against his father-in-law and his wife after seeing him. There was no point arguing with them. He doubted whether there was a grain of truth in what they had said.
The coolie was about to put down the suitcase on the pial.
“No. Don’t put it there. The cement hasn’t yet dried up,” looking through the window, his mother-in-law opened the door and said.
“ Come dear. We heard a crow crowing this day and we thought you’d come. Sit in the veranda. Its time your father-in-law arrived.”
She enquired after her son-in-law’s welfare and went in to the house.
“Look boys!” she cried at the boys playing in the backyard,” your brother-in-law has come.”
His wife’s brothers and sisters came out saying hesitantly, ”How are you?”
The arrival of their brother-in-law was a festival for them. His visit was an occasion for fun, frolic and different type of love.
His mother-in-law shot a volley of questions at him and went in saying, “ I’ll be back again, the rice will be overcooked.”
Again she came back to chat with him. She related to him at a stretch about the sore eyes of the children, her backache, the hail they had recently, the collapse of the calf-shed, his wife’s reluctance to do even common chores. At the same time she finished cooking food.

Karunakaram didn’t have the glimpse of his wife. But he was excited when he heard her bangles jingling from the veranda in the backyard.
Just then someone shouted from the backyard, “ Sundari!” That was his wife’s voice. His wife’s sister, Sundari went in, brought coffee in a cup and offered it to him.
His father-in-law arrived and spoke to him affectionately. Karunakaram was studying FA in Chennapatnam. His father-in-law sent him thirty rupees a month.
The affection, his wife’s sisters and brothers shown towards him, his father-in-law’s generosity, his mother-in-law’s plight, the coffee prepared and sent by his wife – all these didn’t give him any scope to entertain any doubts over his wife’s faithfulness.
He lay down soon after dinner being tired. But he couldnot sleep well. The clock in the neighbour’s house struck a half-hour--- it might be eleven thirty or twelve thirty. Then a knock on the main door was heard.
“Haven’t you sent word not to come today?” His father-in-law asked his wife in a hushed tone.
“There was no one to go,” his mother-in-law replied.
They spoke in hushed voices but Karunakaram heard them clearly in the noises of crickets. His father-in-law opened the main door. Karunakaram peeped through a hole in the door.
His mother- in-law was sitting on the cot. Rubbing her eyes his wife was seen going in to the next room. A paramour followed her. He looked like a debauchee to the core. Besides he was not unfamiliar to him, Naidu of the next street.
Karunakaram tried to open the door in fury but it was bolted from inside. He wildly kicked it. At last his father-in-law opened it. His wife was lying in the bed pretending to sleep.
“Your elder sister-in-law has bolted it from inside – playing silly pranks,” his mother-in-law said.
“Yes. I know. Where is that rogue?” Karunakaram asked.
“Who?”
“That bastard… Naidu.”
Both his mother in-law and father-in-law were astonished.

“No body is here. Perhaps it’s only a dream,” said his mother-in-law.
“He might have gone very far. It’s alright,” he said.
He knocked on the door with a thought of killing them all. But when he came out, he lost his heart. Unable to decide what to do, he took his suitcase and started out.
“Where are you leaving for? His mother-in-law asked.
“You gave your daughter in marriage to me and made her sleep with Naidu. Now you can send her to Choudhary to be his wife,” he said while moving out.
His father-in-law stopped him.
“First you listen to us. Yes we have done a wrong thing, Though we deceived you, we did it keeping your welfare in our view. I have been sending you money for your studies. Where could I, a family man with children get so much amount? Hoping that you would study well and come up in life and become a support to all of us, we did so. She is innocent. Don’t spoil her life. You say any thing against us. We’ll bear it,” he held him back.
"You shabby rascals. This year you have plastered the floor with cement. Next year you build a two storeyed mansion for your self. Leave me,” he abused his father-in-law.
“They have ruined my life… they said they are helping me…” Sarada came sobbing.” They have made me cut my throat with my own hands." She fell on Karunakaram’s feet, weeping, and she appeared innocent. Her eyes were like bees, filled with tears, as she sobbed- he couldnot bear it.
“Follow me. I’ll take you away from here,” he said.
“Let’s go,” she said.
He dragged her by shoulder in to the street.
“The next day is the festival. People talk ill of us. Stay till tomorrow and then leave as you wish,” said his mother in law.
“I don’t care whether four or forty people talk about you,” he took away his wife.
His father-in-law remained silent. Sarada went along with her husband as she was.


Karunakaram gave up his studies and settled as a clerk in Chennapatnam. He spent his domestic life happily without any trouble. Six or seven months passed by. One day Karunakaram saw Naidu passing by in the street. He had a suspicion. He could not
avoid going to the office the next day. But he managed to finish off everything by 3’O clock and waited outside in the street. Naidu was going away from his house by 4’O clock. His heart throbbed. He went into his house. His wife was lying on the bed, eyes closed, with a cover of fragrance. Her plait of hair –enough to hang any man to death- hung loosely over her breast.
Hearing his footsteps, she opened her eyes. She looked at him with her large eyes and suddenly leaned on him.
“You are a bitch. You can play any sort of trick. Go away. You dirty whore!” he pushed her away.
“Why do you flare up in anger?” she asked.
“When did you renew this affair again?”
“Which affair?”
“You whore! Hasn’t Naidu been visiting you?”
“Have you seen it?”
“Yes. That’s why all this.”
“It’s your fault to see that.”
“Isn’t it your fault to have relation with him? It’s my fault to see that…O my god.”
“Speak properly! He comes daily. He’s come all the way to Madras following me. So your doubt is cleared. Any way what wrong have I done to you?”
“Whom did you wrong then?”
“You have studied on Naidu’s money. Only because of it you are at least doing this filthy job. Your food and clothes are his charity. I havenot deceived you. I am robbing him and feeding you, as you are the man who tied the sacred knots of my tali. If I wanted to be unfaithful, I would have eloped with him. He would lavish wealth on me,” she continued. “You are doing that mean job which has no fame or name. I thought of revealing it to you. Meanwhile you have found it yourself.”

She sermonized, went in, took out a box, opened it with the key fastened to her tali chain and showed it to him.
There were ten-rupee notes bundle upon bundle countless in the box. Reflected in the mirror of the lid of the box, they appeared twice as many.
“Every time he visits me, he gives me two or three notes. Though I have demeaned myself, I am able to feed ourselves. I was defiled long back,” she continued. “ When I was useful then, I would be so now.”
“One should not see your face…go away,” he said.
“O… you seem to be very clever, you go away. What do you think of yourself? You have reached this position because of me. You get out of this house. You don’t need to feed me,” she said.
Hearing these words he shivered like one in fever. What should he do: Yield to her or leave the readily served food and his beautiful wife.
“It’s all over. Will you behave at least from now onwards.”
“You silly… “ She tweaked his cheek.
“Enough of these dallying acts. I have been deceived only by them.”
“What disaster has happened? Don’t be old-fashioned. How could a person offering so much of money be turned away. You give up this wretched job you have been doing. You can continue your studies as you wish. Then there would be no paucity for any thing,” she
advised him, took out a handful of currency notes from the box, and said,” Take these.”
He was at a loss what to do.
He hadn’t touched even four ten rupee notes at a time in all his life. There were bundles of currency notes full of the box delighting his eyes.
He wept involuntarily.
“Don’t get so emotional. Those who have no money are of no use. Here it is! All this is yours. I am yours too. Has your anger subsided? Join a college. Give up your job,” she comforted and convinced him.



Karunakaram was clever. He started studying studiously without interfering in unnecessary affairs. He passed MA and stood first among the meritorious students. He specialized in economics. He got a top-ranking job in a bank immediately after passing the examination.
Despite being mother of children, Sarada went wild in Chennapatnam. Hers was the victory march of Sri Krishnadevaraya.
She could experience the luxuries of diamond ornaments, silk clothes, fruit juices, intoxicants and silk mattresses.
Lavishing wealth on her, adoring her slender beauty, many debauchees approached her like foreign dogs.
Karunakaram was sharp. With in short a period he further advanced in his career and became a top-ranking officer in a foreign bank. There was no limit for her joy. She took him out and bought him a ford car as a gift. What else did Karunaaram require?
Sarada now presided over the competition among the school children and distributed books to them. Her photograph now was published in the papers as Mrs. Karunakaram. What else did she require?
The children crawled up to him saying, “father…father!”
Was he father to all of them? The eldest was Naidu’s son, the second daughter resembled the lawyer and next… Jayanthudu was a replica of Sarada.
Kunthidevi, who gave birth to six children for different gods, was considered chaste and virtuous wife. The elders who knew Dharma said that there was nothing wrong if the husband himself gave permission. Without anyone’s permission, Kunthi, the virgin gave birth to Karna to try the efficacy of the boon given to her. And she was about to commit infanticide. If Kunthi was a virtuous and chaste wife, so was Sarada. Dharmaraju and others were called Pandavas. If they were called the children of the king, Pandu, here they would be certainly the children of Karunakaram.
Those who had no children would adopt others children, Karunakaram reconciled. Life would be smooth for all only when they compromise in many matters. Karunakaram brought up the children borne by his wife and made them his own.

On his reaching home in a ford car from the office, the children ran up to him, Karunakaram went straight to his wife.
“Because of you I have achieved all this. You are Sarada, the goddess of learning, as you have bestowed education on me. Sarada can choose many. There is no harm in it. Even if it is objected to by Lord Brahma, it won’t be valid,” he started eulogizing his wife.
“What’s the matter?’ said Sarada.
“Are you free now?”
“Why?”
“ A small matter… after all your activities, I am the last…”he handed her a cover.
He received some information privately. Any way it would appear in the papers by evening. The next day it would be spread through out the country. Sarada was unable to control her excitement after reading it.
“Sir title! Knighthood! After so many years, I feel accomplished. I am the wife of the knight. From tomorrow onwards, I would attend dinner along with the Governor’s wife. I am Lady Karunakaram. What do you say?” She asked him.
“Yes, my darling,” he said.
Sarada was a great woman of chastity!
---------------------------
-Translated from Telugu by T.Sreenivasa Reddy