As the sisters were confabulating without, Ramaiah had a tough time with his bitter half within.

“What went wrong with her brought-up?” Janaki said puzzled. “Nothing like this ever happened to anyone, even remotely related to us!”

“You know, women of the upper castes were insulated from men of the lower classes earlier,” he tried to explain to her. “Social intercourse between caste groups was limited to the persons of the same sex. Well, all that has changed now. The society is truly open to both sexes from all sections. The pull of man woman attraction being what it is, love has long since crossed the caste barrier causing marital trespasses. However, don’t get worried. For all that, her passion could be a passing phase, that can’t get past the first hurdle.”

Janaki prayed fervently for her daughter’s deliverance from that wretched affair. When Roopa showed the silver lining, just the same, Ramaiah remained unenthusiastic. “Inter-caste marriages would only lead to divorce as the couples tend to wind up the show at the first hitch,” he said. “Even otherwise, the inferior union would be ruinous in the end as they would be ostracized by the society for sure.”

‘Though high caste men would have no qualms having a fling with low caste women, they seek to shield their women from men of that very stock,’ thought Chandrika, but said. “I’m prepared for all that.”

“After all, it’s her life,” said Raju, who was particularly fond of Chandrika and Roopa. “Why not let her decide for herself?”

“Don’t oversimplify matters,” retorted Ramaiah. “What are the parents for if not to prevent children’s follies?”

“When you say everything in life is ordained by karma,” interjected Roopa. “Why not take this as her destiny?”

Ramaiah didn’t respond but remained unrelenting.

The sisters pressed the issue, and went on a hunger strike. The mother’s heart melted soon enough, and the father’s resolve dissolved, in due course. It was thus Ramaiah wanted to have ‘a look at the fellow’ and see for himself, ‘What he’s worth?’

Soon word went round that Ramaiah was on the lookout for a suitable boy for Roopa.




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