CHAPTER 9

RATHI’S SMILE

Sivakami walked back towards her home, her mind dwelling particularly on two or three lines in the letter she had received from Maamallar. Extraordinary happiness filled her heart as she recalled the last paragraph of the epistle—the lines in which Narasimhar had expressed an earnest desire to be Aayanar’s student, and not the Crown Prince of the Pallava Empire.

The sentiment gave her tremendous satisfaction. Ah…the heir to one of the three greatest Empires in Bharatha country was willing to renounce his throne—all for the sake of the love of a poor sculptor’s daughter, whose family had to subsist on grants given by the government! He was willing to sacrifice an entire kingdom, to ensure her love and affection…oh, did anyone ever hear of such things happening anywhere except in poems and stories?

“Rathi,” Sivakami stopped and held the deer by its head lovingly. “There’s no one in this huge, wide, world, who is more fortunate than your friend Sivakami—did you know that?” Rathi looked back at her enquiringly.

“Well, Rathi, you’re quite fortunate too,” She continued, walking along the path again. “I made a terrible mistake eight months ago, when I spoke in such a slighting manner, of Maamallar—I believe I complained to you about his high-handedness in ordering me not to stay at Kamali’s cottage, and I said that if he wouldn’t allow me a night’s stay in a friend’s home, he probably wouldn’t allow me to bring you into the Palace, when we were married—so it wouldn’t be a good idea to pursue this ill-fated relationship.” She fondled Rathi’s ears. “Well, all that is a mistake and I’ve quite realised my error, because he says now that he doesn’t want this kingdom, and would be content all his life if we merely had each other. And oh, Rathi…that is true, isn’t it? Wouldn’t it be more than enough if we could simply live our lives together? Why must one bother about kingdoms, Empires, wars, battles and massacres?”

Sivakami dropped a kiss on the little deer’s forehead, and sighed with contentment. “You’re going to live a life of extra-ordinary happiness, my little one. You’ll have your hands full when I and Maamallar are married, because we’re going to build a little hut in the middle of a forest, with no human habitation for miles around—and I shall drive out that miserable parrot when we do. You’ll be the only one left with me, and you’ll have to carry quite a lot of messages between the two of us!”

Rathi seemed to mock her with it’s smile, as if to say ‘Oh, do stop this nonsensical raving!’, and leapt out of Sivakami’s hands to graze on a piece of particularly luscious grass. The young lady herself turned towards her home as she heard someone call for her.

“Sivakami, my dear…!” Aayanar stood to one side of the clearing, and Sivakami walked towards him, wondering for a moment if he had perhaps, overheard her conversation with Rathi. The thought caused her considerable embarrassment, with a touch of fear—and she blushed at its possible consequences.

Aayanar’s next words, however, dispelled her apprehension. “My dear child, I was wondering who you could possibly be talking to, in the middle of the forest—but it was only Rathi, after all. Poor girl…you haven’t a single companion here, who would help you spend your hours. You probably find life here terribly boring and dull—whereas, in Kanchi, you would be able to meet Kamali…”

Sivakami embraced her father as he approached her, speaking thus. “Oh, appa, do you know the latest? Kamali…Kamali is…”

“Yes? What about Kamali?” Aayanar looked at her in sudden consternation. “There isn’t anything wrong with Kamali’s health, is there?”

Sivakami broke into a peal of laughter. “Oh appa, I’m afraid Kamali’s health is very badly affected indeed!”

Aayanar decided that nothing could be very wrong with Kamali’s health, after all, if it could produce such merriment in his daughter. “Well, what is it then? Has she perhaps sent you a message that she’s coming to visit us?”

“No, my dear father,” Sivakami smiled. “Kamali is…well, she’s got little Kannan inside her, at the moment,” she whispered into Aayanar’s ear.

Aayanar collected his thoughts in a few moments, and understood Sivakami’s announcement. He approached her with greater affection than ever, as he folded her in an embrace. “This is happy news indeed, my dear. But I said as much when I blessed Sivakami at her wedding…”

Sivakami chuckled. “Appa, when did your dear daughter get married?”

Aayanar understood his mistake, and smiled rather sheepishly. “Oh—I mixed up your names and said ‘Sivakami’, instead of ‘Kamali’, I suppose—a slip of the tongue. But, my dear, you'll get married too, some day, won’t you? I believe what I wanted to say was that I blessed Kamali about producing an heir after her marriage—and it has come true. I also told her that she should send the boy to me as my student, when he comes of age…”

Aayanar stopped rather suddenly, and lapsed into silence-for his mind now became preoccupied with thoughts of Sivakami’s own nuptials. He had once dreamt of marrying her to Paranjyothi…but the latter was now the commander of Kanchi, a great warrior, and in a position considerably above what he was, eight months ago. Would he stoop to marry Sivakami, a simple sculptor’s daughter—one, moreover, who possessed no wealth and consequence?

Sivakami noticed his preoccupation. “Appa…is anything the matter? What’re you thinking about?”

“Nothing of importance, my dear. But where did you vanish to, while I was talking with Paranjyothi? The Emperor has sent us a message—I wanted to ask your opinion about it, but you were nowhere to be seen. Let’s go in, now—your aunt must be wondering if we’ve been swallowed up by the earth.”

They turned back, walking towards their residence. Aayanar’s thoughts were centred wholly on Sivakami’s future, and what life and destiny had in store for her…while Sivakami’s thoughts were buzzing around Narasimhar’s letters in the magizha tree—much like a bee drawn irresistibly towards a honey-pot.