Let's Stay Together

Chapter 2

A great tragedy had befallen the ancestral house of the Varma's. The patriarch of the family had passed away the previous evening. The man had come out and sat on the cane chair right after the afternoon feast and was scolding the workers who were working on his property grounds when he suddenly collapsed clutching his chest.

His family had sent for the royal healer but even he could not eliminate what fate had in store for the Varma household. Devaraja Varma had been proclaimed dead within minutes of the arrival of the Healer. His wives had started wailing and beating their chests in despair. The distant relatives were notified and his sons were also informed so that they could return quickly from neighbouring provinces to perform his final rites.

His eldest son, Indrajith Varma, had arrived at the dawn of the day, galloping on his white horse, along with his half brother Balarama Varma. Indrajith was a handsome and serene looking man with a physique that made women swoon over him. His brother was no less. Both looked distraught as they had dismounted their rides but most of their distress was rooted in seeing their mothers and sisters crying. They were not particularly fond of their father who was unjust and cruel and treated not only his employees and subjects but also his family members with great cruelty. He had hurt their mothers deeply by being an utterly shameless womaniser and by taking even the lowly housemaids to his bed insulting the vows he had made to their mothers during their marriage.

Indrajith's mother, Lakshmi, was Devaraja Varma's first wife but when she could not beget him a son after getting pregnant thrice, giving birth to his three sisters, he had decided to get himself a new wife, while Lakshmi wept. But as fate would have it Lakshmi got pregnant again and gave birth to Indrajith to the immense pleasure of Devaraja Varma. Soon after his second wife, Parvati also became pregnant and soon gave birth to Indrajith's brother Balarama Varma. And thus, Indrajith and Balarama became the sole heirs to Devaraja Varma's wealth and titles.

The funeral was a sombre affair with relations from all over India who had arrived to pay respects. Everyone waited around the house to pay their condolences personally to Indrajith and his brother, who were now considered the new patriarchs of the Varma Household.

People started leaving as soon as they had fulfilled their social responsibilities leaving only a few relatives left around to help them get their affairs in order. At that point, Indrajith notices an elderly man approaching the large gate of their house with a few men around him who like his aides. He looked like

Indrajith motions for his brother to come to him and asks, "Do you know that man? Is he someone father knew?" Balarama shrugs his shoulder and repeats Indrajith's question to their father's faithful assistant, Keshav.

Keshav looked at the elderly man who had now crossed the gate of the house and whispered into Indrajith's ear with a grave expression, "As you are aware, Lord Devaraja had decided to get married once more to a young girl. That man is her father."

Indrajith raised his eyebrows in incomprehension. His father had not given up his womanising behaviour till the end of his life. He had heard the gossip among the workers and relatives, that his father had fallen head over heels at the sight of some moneylender's daughter at the nearby temple festival and he had immediately gone to her father and asked for her hand in marriage, to which her father had readily agreed. Today was supposed to be the day of the wedding. Instead, they had to conduct his father's funeral.

He and his brother left town as they could not stand the thought of welcoming and summoning a girl younger than them as their mother but now that they are back and since their positions and titles have changed to equal the head of the family, they had to remain welcoming and be wonderful hosts to whoever comes to their house.

Indrajith and Balarama stood up to greet the guests.

"Greetings, I am so sorry for your loss. Please accept my condolences. My name is Bhaskara Pillai. I believe, we have not had the pleasure of meeting each other before.", The newcomer said folding his hands respectfully towards Indrajith.

"Thank You for taking the trouble of coming all the way here. Even though we have not yet met each other, I know all about the marriage that was supposed to happen today.", Indrajith said politely but people who knew him well could understand the underlying tone of snarkiness in his voice.

But Bhaskara Pillai not sensing his irritability continued, " Alas! Bad times have fallen on us. My poor Devyani. I have also come here to talk to you regarding that matter. I know it is a little too early considering your Father's death, but what about my daughter. She was supposed to enter this house as a bride, today, but she is still at my house, locked up in her bedroom. People have started shunning her and treating her like a widow even though she never got married to your father and moreover, now no one will ever want to marry her as everyone is considering her as a bad omen due to what happened to your father, right before their wedding."

Bhaskara Pillai's eyes were filled with tears thinking about his daughter's plight. Both the brothers were uncomfortable looking at the anguished man.

"So sire, what do you expect us to do?", Balarama asked intrepidly.

But the reply to his question did not come from Bhaskara Pillai, instead one of the men who had accompanied him piped up, "We want one of you to marry her."