Ilaa's wings to life

Close to the city of Paithan, in a small village called Sauviragram, which lay along the banks of the great river Godavari, lived a woman named Ilaa. Being cotton farmers, her family was well to do, but not among the richest in their area. It was the harvest season, and cotton had to be picked from the plants. The wholesalers and traders from Paithan would be arriving in just a few weeks, carrying gold and goods for barter. They would exchange what they carried for the cotton that the farmers grew. The bales of cotton had to be ready in time! Work was at its peak!

But Ilaa was not to be found in the fields. She wasn't working. Instead, she was sitting by the banks of the great river Godavari.

'I am sick of this!' she grunted loudly. Rudra who was her neighbour was standing at a distance tuned his head after hearing the noises. He saw Ilaa arguing with 2 men about the comments they passed on her. She is a very self-esteemed young lady with strong built, oval face and long hair and head covered with white dupatta (cloth), eyes so deep and wild that take you to two worlds in one go.  She stared at them with anger and her body posture expressed retaliation. Rudra came running and interrupted the clash with the men asking them to go. One man amongst them pushed Rudra back but he was stubborn, he was a tall man with broad shoulders and very well spoken. Rudra was wearing a white dhoti and his big cheat was covered with a muffler made from cotton. He had small sparkling eyes with dimpled chin. Rudra knows the use of words and arms so stayed quiet and requested Shankar Chavan, the son of Zamidar who pushed him to go away. Shankar Chavan who was known for his bad behavior and ruthless comments on women, he warned Rudra for his interference and went away.

The temple priest who was coming back from the stairs of river Godavari was wearing dhoti with janeu (thread) that runs from left shoulder to waist and was holding a thali (plate) with aarti samagri and flowers which he had just offered to river Godavari. He had a small moustache and was big bodied. The temple priest was staring at Ilaa with shame. ‘All village women should avoid arguments with men, they are superior to you, look at his young woman who thinks she can argue with Shankar Chavan’, said the priest loudly.  Before Ilaa could respond Rudra went towards the priest and diverted the topic. ‘Pandit ji, can you tell me about Ashwamedha Yagna said, Rudra softly. The temple priest was very happy to tell Rudra about the Yagna which is to please Lord Shiva through Horse Sacrifice and could only be conducted by a king. The priest then again gave a stare to Ilaa and went away towards the temple which was situated near the banks of river Godavari. The temple was old and small in structure; two walls were earthen rampart faced with stone on both sides. The front of the temple was carved from a big stone and it had beautiful carvings of Lord Shiva and Virabhadra at the entrance.

Rudra noticed the dimming light due to setting sun but turned to see Ilaa sitting on the banks and was looking straight at the sun as if she is talking to the Surya Devta (Lord of Sun). The Sun was playing hide and seek with the white clouds but Ilaa was staring without a blink as if she was fearless tigress. Rudra was her neighbour but had a secret feeling for Ilaa. He stayed near her in-laws house and also had cotton farms but wished to join Shivaji’s army. Rudra followed her every evening when she came to the banks to sit quietly near the gushing waters of river Godavari. She was seen sitting quietly introspecting her own self.

It started to get dark and Rudra was able to point towards the setting sun to indicate that it’s getting dark. She stood up taking a deep breath and walked towards the village which was barely 10 minutes away but she always took a longer route through the ruins of an old house which was evacuated due to a curse of bad spirits and a silent walk through the ruins could give you goosebumps but Rudra followed her daily and she knew it but never responded in any manner, good or bad. Rudra followed her daily till the ruins where the bushes end and only a farm was left to be crossed. Rudra always stopped behind the last wall of the ruins near the bushes but today he wanted to see her more so he slightly turned his head to look at her for the last time, last time on this day. As she crossed the farm Rudra looked at her, the sun was on his back and the farm’s sunflowers faced the sun, it was a beautiful scene as if the sunflowers were all looking at him and smiling as they sensed the love Rudra had for this young widow.

Paithan has seen many ups and downs in its long conquered history but it was also a great commercial center and trading hub for many towns and western world. The quality of cotton and silk was so fine in Paithan that it attracted the traders from all around the world.

As Ilaa reached near her hut her father-in-law, Madhavrao was waiting for her outside the hut, seeing him standing there she pulled the white dupatta which was part of her saree (the white dress she wore) more covering her whole face till her chin.

She walked straight to the hut which was big in size but old in structure, it was made up of small baked bricks and had a wooden main door, the roof was built of bamboo fastened with rattan and thatched. The entrance was small and let only one person go in-out at the same time, the front wall outside had some swastika designs which served as protection against evil spirits.

‘Where the hell were you, I told you to help us with the cotton picking from the farm’, said Juha Bai. Juha Bai was a short heighted fat woman who always wore colourful sari’s made of Himroo fabric (blend of both cotton and silk) her big eyes always carried smudged kajal which gave her a terribly bold look. Juha Bai was dominating and she hated her daughter in law as for her Ilaa is the reason for the death of her elder son, Ilaa was cursed and she could bring their house and business down. Ilaa lay bound with fetters of Juha Bai’s words.

‘She is cursed and should be killed right away, she has eaten my son,’ shouted Juha Bai but her husband was quiet and he loved her daughter-in-law as a daughter and he was the only reason that she could breathe today else all the villagers along with Juha Bai wanted her to die with her dead husband Raju Rao who died due to long illness after 4 years of their marriage. Sati takes the form of imprisoning women in the double bind of self-expression, mental illness and social rejection.

But Ilaa never had guts to counter attack Juha Bai and ran straight to her room crying. ‘Why you wanted her to be unhappy she is not the reason for our son’s death,’ said Madhavrao softly but it made no impact on Juha Bai. Like other days Ilaa slept without food but that night Juha Bai demanded Ilaa to go outside and sleep in the gaushala (cattle house) where they had cattle on one side and cotton picked from the farms were also stored on another. Ilaa shifted all her belongings there, as per Juha Bai it was a bad omen for Ilaa to sleep with them as she can be unlucky to Rama Rao who is Juha Bai’s younger son and got married just 1 week back and Juha Bhai didn’t wanted her bad eyes to fall on this couple.

Madhavrao was standing at the back helplessly as he had all the sympathy for this young woman as neither her parents nor her in laws are willing to accept her. Ilaa collected all her belongings in a potli and took a corner of the gaushala near to window which was made of old wooden sticks and mud. The ceiling of the gaushala was made of dried bamboo and walls were made of dried mud. It had no proper door to keep her safe from wild animals.

As night moved, the moon was bright and the moonlight was falling from the gaps of the bamboo roof directly on the face of Ilaa but she was awake and looking straight up thinking. It was October end and the temperature was around 20 degree Celsius. She was deep in her thoughts but a sound from the front entrance made her get up. As she moved towards the door but the growing dark shadow made her stop. She was shocked to see Rudra standing there.

‘What are you doing here at this hour, go away,’ said Ilaa with shaking voice. Rudra who has first time heard Ilaa speak with him was staring at her and after she spoke he stepped back. ‘I am not here to hurt you, I can never hurt you, said Rudra. ‘Just go away else I will shout’, said Ilaa loudly. ‘You will hurt your own self if you shout, they will blame you and not me, you know what the villagers do to woman who cheat their family members,’ said Rudra sharply. After hearing this Ilaa was quiet and went back to the corner of the room. Rudra knew that she was kicked out of the house and was made to stay here so he brought some roti and sabje in a leaf plate for her to eat. But Rudra has just hurted her further more making her realize that she is a women and can never have a voice in this society. He was staring her continuously but Ilaa sat quietly looking at the floor. Rudra realized his mistake, kept food near to her and went away. Rudra had a bad night he knew he had hurt the one he loved the most and was also aware that he can never have her. He was immature and younger to Ilaa but she was elder to him, mature and a widow.

This continued for several day, Rudra continued to give food to Ilaa which she never had and the food was always fed to the cows. Finally the day arrived when the harvest season was over, traders and wholesalers arrived at the market to purchase cotton from farmers. Madhavrao had good cultivation and the cotton crop was ready for sale, thanks to Shivaji as standing crop was destructed by invading armies but the life under his rule was in peace.

Chhartrapati Shivaji halted at Paithan with his army men while proceeding to Jalna. During his stay he wanted to appoint Kawale – a leading priest of Paithan – as a royal priest. This arrangement made by Shivaji for a local priest to perform the family rituals Paithan was regarded as a pilgrimage centre.

Shivaji applied liberal policy to the women of his state, he advocated in giving full respect to woman, irrespective of their religion. No woman was molestated under Maratha’s. He also stopped killings and raping civilians, destroying places of religious and soldiers indulge in wine and women, which had become the norm following Muslim invasions. Muslim invaders, who overran the city and whose culture left its imprint upon the life and manners of the people of Paithan resulted in the mix of culture and practices had an impact on the Marathas. Shivaji was fighting with invaders and was taking people back to Humanity and tolerance. As his army entered the market area which was blooming with trade at that month, wholesalers and retailers had their shops adjoining with each other and people were moving on horses to get the best deal which from all corners of the market. 

Traders and farmers were happy to see their maharaja and all shouted, “Chhartrapati Shivaji ke Jai” people started gathering in the market so Shivaji asked his army to move directly towards the temple but in this short span he noticed a women was wearing all white clothes sitting on the road side asking for food. Young girls can be seen married to old man, a zamindar could be seen with 3 wives. He was moved as Indian women faced several problems since the ages. Among them child marriage, female infanticide, illiteracy, restrictions on widow remarriage, polygamy, concubine, sati and restriction on divorce were more severe. He noticed the condition of women that was equal to shudras and both were treated badly. Backwardness of society upset him.

He wanted people to follow his ways of life, Ilaa with his family was in market dressed in white clothes and head covered till chin covered with dupatta, Shivaji noticed the woman from a distance and asked his soldiers to call her so that he can talk to her family members.

After receiving the message Madhavrao was shocked and as mentioned he took his whole family along but Ilaa was made to stand outside the temple where Shivaji was talking to the priest, Shivaji was angry with the family who forced Ilaa to live a colorless life and ordered this soldiers to escort Ilaa inside the temple. After seeing Ilaa, Shivaji was sorry that his society had forced her into this meaningless life but he had one offer for her that was marrying his Moropant Trimbak Pingle (Prime Minister) of the Maratha Empire. From temple priest to the Madhavrao all were in shock and alarmed, there was dead silence in the temple which was full of his army men, priest and people who have come meet Shivaji. Everyone was puzzled why Shivaji had asked a window to re-marry, she can bring bad luck to anyone but after hearing Shivaji’s wish Rudra who was standing in the crowd went straight up to Shivaji and will his bended knee and folded hands he asked for Ilaa’s hand with a promise that he will give her all the respect and love. On seeing the love for Ilaa in the eyes of Rudra, Shivaji ordered the priests of the temple to marry them right away in his presence, many were in shock but women were happy as their souls were celebrating for Ilaa and so was Madhavrao. After seeing sandoor in Ilaa’s mang, Madhavrao was so happy that he dropped his bag full of cotton harvest and the colours of haldi, sandur and ghee with fragrance of the flowers made the white cotton balls colourful and sparkle with life.