RadhaKrishna
With that, she walked into the rain and didn’t look back. That was the last time anyone ever saw her.
The wet tiled porch is decorated with various white kolam done by the family’s greatest Picasso, Letchu Mami, the grandmother of the Raja family. The house is filled with little children running around and Iyengar mamis gossiping about how Radha, the eldest daughter of the Raja’s family, is finally getting married at the age of 30.
“Did you not know, the only reason she agreed to this marriage is because her boyfriend ran away ditching her,” says Pattu mami.
“No, no… I heard her father killed that boyfriend of hers and now this marriage is to cover up the whole ruckus,” another mami continues.
As the women were discussing the conspiracy theories behind such a sudden marriage, the brother of the Raja family announces the arrival of the groom. Everyone got into their places, waiting to welcome the groom.
Upstairs, Radha’s room was in complete disarray. One girl passed a box of gold jewellery while another passed garlands of flowers. The entire room looks like those backstages in a Next Top Model show where everyone is enthusiastic except the models.
“Hurry, ladies. The mappillai is here. We have to welcome him,” Meena, Radha’s mother, calls everyone out.
The ladies got excited at the landing of the groom and left the room to get a peek at his charmingness.
Radha was finally left alone. She reflects on the long mirror that stood in front of her. Her petite body is draped in a red Kanchipuram saree, her brown wavy hair put in a long braid decorated with Jasmine flowers. She looks closely into the mirror, seeing her almond-shaped eyes with a dark black winged liner and her cheeks covered in rose pink blush, matching her red bindi.
The sounds of people convincing and cheering caught her attention. Looking out of the window, she sees her appa doing the Kashi Yatra ceremony with her so-called fiance in the rain. He was also charmingly dressed in a white silk veshti. Even so, her mind is unable to digest the fact that she is getting married today. Her body is in this room, but her heart is elsewhere. It was still in a place where it was going to be hard to come back.
“Kanna, here you go. An auspicious day like this should start with something sweet,” says Letchu Mami as she feeds Radha a spoon of yoghurt.
But not even the sugar-filled yoghurt could excite poor Radha. She breaks down, falling onto her grandmother’s lap, crying her heart out.
“I can’t do this ammama… I can’t,” Radha’s eyes started tearing up, her lips part finding a word to express herself. “How can I surrender my body to him while my heart is still beating for someone else,” Radha snivels.
“Look here Kanna, love is many things I understand. But never will it end happily. Even the Great Krishna Bhagavan never married Goddess Radha, the one he truly loved. He chose to marry someone else, right? So you too have to move on Kanna,” convinces Letchu Mami as she fixes Radha’s smirked liner.
“Krishna may have moved on and married someone else, but I’m Radha, ammama. Neither did she get married to another man, nor did she stop loving Krishna,” Radha says, unfixing the liner her grandmother fixed.
“But Radha got married to Ayan eventually,” a sudden voice echoes through the room. It was Meena, Radha’s mother.
“Wipe those tears off, Radha. This is not a funeral. And stop sympathising with her, Amma. She always knew we would never accept that boy,” says Meena in a frustrated voice.
Radha’s ears couldn’t take in such resentments from her mother anymore.
“Maybe you could have accepted him, Amma. All you had to do was to put all your pride and ego to the side and accept him. But you and Appa didn’t. You all chose your feelings over mine,” Radha bawls in anger. Her voice overtakes the sound waves of the downpour that was smashing the glass windows.
Radha’s rage shocks Letchu Mami and Meena. This is the angriest form that anyone has seen in Radha. She has always been that quiet little girl in the house, agreeing to every decision that her parents made for her. But today, that girl has finally strengthened into someone else.
Radha stomps out of her room and heads to the garden where the wedding ceremony was happening. Meena and Letchu mami chased her down, but Radha made her way to the altar. The garden is decorated with fairy lights and gold embellishments, making her garden look like a scene from a Bollywood song.
“Radha, the ceremony has not started yet. Go back to your room,” says Radha’s father.
“Appa, I am not here to get married. I am here to inform everyone of something important. So I would appreciate it if I am given a minute to speak,” Radha consoles her father in a hushed tone.
“No, Radha, this is not the time. Go back to your room now.” Radha’s father drags her away.
But Radha did not give in. She could hear the iyer chanting mantras. “It is now or never,” Radha says to herself, pushing her father to the side and walks into the altar.
She picks up a microphone that was left by the iyer and switches it on. Radha’s father furiously goes up to her, but Meena stops him.
“Vanakam everyone,” Radha starts.
Radha could hear her relatives whispering among each other. However, that did not bother Radha’s determined mind. She knew that this was the right thing to do.
“I would like to apologize for this inconvenience, but there shall be no wedding today,” she continues.
“The reason behind such a decision can be unethically made by those busy mamis that are gossiping there,” Radha points to a group of ladies in their bright madisar at the corner.
“And Amma… Goddess Radha never married Ayan, only her shadow did. But this Radha will not make the same mistake. These people don’t even deserve my shadow,” Radha says, throwing the microphone down.
With that, she walked into the rain and didn’t look back. That was the last time anyone ever saw her.
