Woven

Where It All Begins...

                                                      "Every new beginning comes from

                                                        Some other beginning's end"

                                                                                          -Seneca

     The bright rays of the morning sun sped in through the tiny window of the small mud plastered house.Seetha turned over and grumbled in her sleep.

Last night was indeed hard for her.Her mother who has been bedridden for the last 5 years had suddenly fallen ill.The unavailability of medical facilities to the likes of her could have made it a lot worse.However Mr. Baton was quick to send help as soon as she briefed him about the situation.

The night before had been the most terrifying night of Seetha's life.Mr. Baton had called for the best doctor in his town,on being informed of the situation.However it was a gruelling 3- hour journey from Mr. Baton's town to Viravati in daylight.Travelling through the forest that connected the village to the outer world took the doctor a good 4 hours in the pitch darkness of night,and till then all Seetha could do was dab wet clothed over her temple to calm the fever.Ranjan and the villagers were right there beside her,but there wasn't much they could do.The village women were rigorously chanting mantras of their kali maa while the men stood at the forest border with chimneys awaiting the doctor.Seetha was the darling of the villagers, and they would do anything for her.She had made a lot of sacrifice for her village,and now it was the villagers' turn to do the same.

The villagers only left at around 3 in the morning after the doctor had left and assured them that everything was alright.Ranjan insisted on staying but Seetha politely refused.

Seetha reluctantly rose from her bed-a faded straw mat.She quickly folded it and rushed to her mother's room ,a frown masking her tired face.She sighed upon seeing her mother.She looked so at peace in her sleep,with no trace ,whatsoever of yesterday's happenings. Seetha gently placed her palm on her mother's forehead.A wave of relief washed over Seetha when she noticed her temperature was back to normal.Seetha felt like her mother was all she had left ,and wondered if she would ever be able to recover from the pain of loosing her.

A knock at the door,brought Seetha out of her thoughts. Seetha rushed towards the entrance.

"Good morning Seetha,how's she now" Parvathi chirped as she made her way into the hut.

Parvathi was Seetha's aunt,a woman with a special talent to stay cheerful,always.She was Seetha's motivator and supporter.Parvathi had lost her husband at a young age,and has been living alone since then.The villagers were initially against this,as it is customary for a woman to renounce all worldy pleasures and accept 'sanyasa' after the death of her husband.But Parvathi held her own and fought against the entire village for her rights.The villagers ultimately had to give in,and let Parvathi stay in the village as long as she is restrained from entering the temple or taking part in any religious functions.

This deeply pained Seetha,Parvathi was still very young and Seetha wanted her to leave the village and start her life anew somewhere else.Parvathi however,was satisfied with what she had.She spent her days collecting forest produces and selling it in neighbouring villages,though half of the villagers refused to talk with her,she found solace in singing folklores while braiding garlands of wild forest flowers,no one bothers to collect and narrating her daily happenings to lonely squirrels and pigeons,who would often observe her with utmost curiosity.