Making a sincere attempt to bring an unimagined and unexplored treasure trove of modern Sinhala literature to the English reading community, Montage is bringing Mahinda Prasad Masimbula’s award winning novel Senkottan translated by Malinda Seneviratne, veteran journalist, writer and poet. Senkottan (The Indelible), a remarkable creation of literature by Mahinda Prasad Masimbula was his debut effort in his literary career for which he won the State Literary Award in 2013 and short-listed in Swarna Pusthaka Literary Awards and many other Literary Award Festivals in the same year. The book has been published by Santhawa Publishers and ‘Senkottan’ has blazed the trail in the self-publishing industry as one of the best-selling books in Sinhala literature.
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CHAPTER 4, PART 4
Podina was cleaning weli kos eta for dinner when Rambari was on her way to the kitchen. Since Heen Ridee had gone out to respond to a call of nature, Podina quickly described the events of the past few days related to her sister. Rambari instantly understood. Her task was to find out if Babanis had done Heen Ridee any wrong during their trysts. She accepted this responsibility with all her heart. Podina trusted her to find out the truth because Rambari was known to be good with words.
‘This tiny little girl…?’
She had placed a hand on her cheek in consternation when she uttered her first response, but later observed that one need not be surprised.
‘It’s that age, you know? Such things were not uncommon when we were young either. But this kind of nonsense just a week after attaining age was unheard of! After all, isn’t this the girl who stank of piss just a few days ago? She hardly has a chest to speak of. On the other hand, there’s nothing extraordinary in this Podino. There was a girl called Sinindi in Kalalella, Bungiriya. Our clan. She got friendly with a lad from the badahela lot. She would have been the same age as our Heen Ridee. Pretty. Anyway, the entire village got to know about their comings and goings in and out of this bush and that. Maybe she was smart. She never got pregnant. Can you imagine what happened?’
She paused for a while and then continued.
‘This wench all of a sudden ran away with the boy’s uncle! She had explained that the first lover had stopped uttering loving words. The uncle, on the other hand, had lots of endearing terms for her…sudaa, kekiri-gaete, pun-panda, mal-pokura…that’s what had caused a change of heart, apparently. So it was for something like this that she had rejected her lover and run off with this man. Just imagine! There’s no medicine in this universe for the heat of such women!’
‘Loku Amme…lower your voice. She went towards the kitchen. She must be on her way back. Anyway, find out what needs to be found out, as I said. I will be ever grateful. If this matter can’t be sorted before Amma and Thaththa get back, all their efforts to gather merit would have been in vain.’
‘Podino! Are you trying to teach me such things? I know lots of things, one for each hair on my head. Even in your case, didn’t I say that horoscopes notwithstanding there was something more than that in the story? I said it then and I say it now.’
Podina was agitated that in the rush to uncover the truth about her sister’s affair, her own secrets were coming out. Her Loku Amma had a formidable tongue, she knew well.
‘I am no clairvoyant, Podino. I can read what’s in your eyes. You were always pretty but you were crafty too, from the time you were a little girl. This I always knew. I knew very well that it will not be easy for anyone to seduce you, especially not someone like your Nambu Henaya. Just look at him…if you were to blow hard at him, he would fall. Would such an innocent weakling ever be able to drag someone like you into the bushes? There’s a story here, Podino….’
‘Alright Loku Amme…these are but old stories…’
‘Just listen. I am just pointing out the ways of various kinds of affairs.’
She didn’t look like she would stop. That was how she was. Although she had always loved to listen to her stories from the time she was a child, the moment and the tale that had been chosen were certainly inauspicious.
‘I once went with a piruvata to a govigama wedding in Yayinna. The moment I saw the white cloth the following day I knew that it was not that kind of stain, that some other soiling method had been devised. Her eyes told me instantly that the bride was a crafty woman. The groom was like your Nambu Henaya…it was as though some bones in his spinal column had somehow taken residence in his mouth. To be honest, it was for him that I felt pity. She had obviously been taken by some other man. My eyes cannot be deceived. And yet, I took her side in the matter and do you know why? I simply thought about that weak man. His stupid mother accepted her with a lot of joy. Let’s say it all ended well. Recently I saw the woman in a thirikkale near the Yayinna junction. She was going somewhere in the cart with an infant in her arms. She saw me and nonchalantly turned her eyes away. It’s not as though she hadn’t recognised me. She was being uppish. The gumption of that wench! But then again, I decided it was all good, telling myself she was not in want and was bringing up some children. This is why, Podino, I will not let even a single whisper escape regarding you. But remember, the contradictions of these stories keep playing in my mind…’
It was as though the rain had ceased. Podina, knowing well that Rambari would not harm her in any way, sought to erase the long narrative.
‘My dear Loku Amme, all I want is to know the truth and nothing but the truth. If something has indeed happened, then we’ll give her to the man. If not, I think it would be best if I let you take care of her.’
‘She won’t be able to do any of these things with me, Podino! I will break a kahambiliya branch and rub it on her…so she can scratch and scratch and scratch. Don’t worry. I will get her to reveal everything tonight.’
Rambari started chewing a wad of betel. She had the instincts of a cat. She was the only one who had suspected something was amiss in her own situation. If her sister had been wronged in some way, she would know for sure the following morning. The options would have to be considered only after that. She would have to face it somehow. Everything needed to be settled and normalcy restored before her parents return, Podina decided.
Heen Ridee had an early dinner and stretched out on her mat. About an hour after having dinner, Rambari popped into the room, a coconut shell in her hand for the betel spittle.
‘Are you asleep, sweetheart?’
‘Hmmm…’ Heen Ridee murmured in half-sleep.
‘Move a little…’ Rambari lay down at the edge of Heen Ridee’s mat. ‘Shall I make some tea for you darling?’
‘Hmmm…’
She was lost between wakefulness and dream. Rambari ran her fingers through Heen Ridee’s hair, in the manner of picking lice, and spoke endearingly.
‘What’s this I hear, little one? I don’t understand. It was later that I heard that your sister had beaten you. You know, had I been there, I would have grabbed the ilapatha and used it on her. I mean, it’s not as though you’ve done something that the very earth cannot suffer? To tell you the truth, I was even younger than you when I first had feelings for a boy. It’s a lovely thing, isn’t it? And just like you, I didn’t listen to anyone. I just did what I wanted. You were beaten by a bundle of ekels…I was hit until the polpiththa came apart. And could they stop me? No! No one could stop me meeting that boy. I was quite pretty then, fairer than your mother. All the boys were after me. I think I was quite friendly with ten or twelve boys before I met your late uncle. I’m telling you all this just to comfort you. I want you to know that there’s nothing in these things to be upset about.’
Heen Ridee did not respond. Rambari had thought that Heen Ridee would pour her heart out just like water released from the wakkada.
‘Heen Kelle…are you asleep?’
‘Hmmm…’
‘I had a grandmother called Vansa Ridee in Magallawatte. She could say the dirtiest things in the sweetest way. During one of my affairs, she sat by me, just like I sit by you, telling me all kinds of things to comfort me. I still remember something she told me. She said it’s perfectly alright to do whatever I wanted with whoever I like, but that men are a strange species. They just can’t keep their hands to themselves. They don’t want to keep their whatnots idle. And so, she told me, that I should not let anyone use my two conch shells and the pancha-bella as playthings. Now isn’t that a lovely way of saying things? It tells us that a girl must think twice before getting involved with a man. It’s not just a story. It’s pure gold. That’s what I feel.’
Heen Ridee didn’t understand at first, but then she had to stifle a laugh. It was a great incentive for Rambari.
‘My darling, I am just asking to satisfy my curiosity. This boy who is said to have visited you…it can’t be that he came just to chit-chat with you, right? Tell me what happened…I’m dying to know! What was he like? He couldn’t keep his hands to himself, just like our Vansa Ridee Kiriamma said, am I right? That’s how they are. As for us, we say ‘stop…stop’ and slap away their hands, but that’s exactly what we desire. So give me the details, sweetheart. What was he like? What did he do to you? Tell me from the beginning…’
Heen Ridee said nothing. She suddenly covered herself, head included, with the cloth, turned over and slept.
‘Damn it, wench!’