Close to the city of Paithan, in a small village called Sauviragram, which lay along the banks of the great river Godavari, lived a woman named Ilaa. Being cotton farmers, her family was well to do, but not among the richest in their area. It was the harvest season, and cotton had to be picked from the plants. The wholesalers and traders from Paithan would be arriving in just a few weeks, carrying gold and goods for barter. They would exchange what they carried for the cotton that the farmers grew. The bales of cotton had to be ready in time! Work was at its peak!
But Ilaa was not to be found in the fields. She wasn't working. Instead, she was sitting by the banks of the great river Godavari.
'I am sick of this!' she grunted loudly. As if to give force to her words, she took up a stone and threw it with full force in the flowing waters. As soon as the stone landed in the water with a plonk, Ilaa’s musings were interrupted by someone calling out to her. It was Marya.
At this Ilaa was even more irritated. “Of all people, it had to be Marya”, she griped. “I can’t bear the sight of her now!” For a brief moment she contemplated hiding behind some boulders on the river bank, but gave up the fruitless enterprise, since Marya was already running towards her vantage point.
“Hey Ilaa! You are sitting here!” Marya panted. “I’ve been asked to search for you by Pravan Shett.”
With great effort Ilaa disguised her displeasure at the sight of her only female friend. “Why, what happened?”
“They just got news that the traders would arrive the day after tomorrow. And since the cotton-picking is still not completed, they are desperate to finish it by today and get the cotton packed into bales by tomorrow. In fact, Pravan Shett was furious when he found that you had shirked work again and was wreaking havoc in the village trying to find your whereabouts. He nearly strangled Gopi. Poor boy!” At this point Marya, who had come running from the village, plopped down beside Ilaa and panted heavily in an effort to get her breath back.
But by then Ilaa had got up and became restless.
“Come on, let’s go!” she said.
“Wait! Give me some time to regain my breath!”
“I can’t wait! Has he hurt Gopi very much?” Illa’s concern was showing in her panicked voice.
“The poor boy is only scared out of his wits. Nice price he is paying for being your confidante!”
Ilaa ignored this dig at her and Gopi’s friendship and set off running, tripping over the boulders, making her way to the village as fast as she could.
Seeing this, Marya too got up. “Wait for me!” she cried. But Ilaa was already well ahead and showed no signs of stopping.
***********
Ilaa woke up to find herself lying on a rug in a dark corner of the veranda. Her tears had dried up by then. She wanted to fall back asleep, but sleep did not come, or rather, could not come. With her empty stomach growling every now and then, it was hard to fall asleep. Pravan Shett had ordered her to go without food and no one dared disobey the master in his own house. Her back was still stinging from the lashings received at his hands. But she was not sorry. She still held hope that someday she would escape from all the sorrow and live a life of dignity.
In times like these Ilaa missed her parents a lot, especially her father. She was the daughter of the local priest of Nayagaon, Pandit Tukaram. He was a very learned and kind-hearted man. His wife, Ahilyabai, Ilaa’s mother, was a simple and devout lady. She was not educated in the strict sense, but her husband had trained her well. They were separated by about thirty years in age and this helped Ahilyabai to be more of a student than a wife to her husband.
Ahilya was only six years old when she was married off to Tukaram, who was already a young scholar by then. In their first meeting, he sensed a spark in the spirit of Ahilya and decided to nurture it after marriage. He began to teach her the scriptures and other sacred books. Ahilya proved to be a bright and willing student and excelled in her studies. This did not go down well with the other villagers, since women had long been deprived of education through the centuries and no girl in their village knew how to read and write, let alone study the Vedas. But no one had the courage to openly mock him, since Pandit Tukaram enjoyed the favours of the Sultan of Ahmadnagar.
Ilaa was born nearly thirteen years after her parents’ marriage. Even though Tukaram had secretly wished for a boy, yet he accepted his daughter as God’s way of encouraging his endeavours to impart education to women. He named her Ilaa, after the daughter of Manu, the progenitor of humanity. Ilaa was the apple of her parents’ eyes. But their joy was short-lived. Her mother died of cholera when Ilaa was only three years old.
Ilaa’s father became a heart-broken man after that. Resisting all counsels to remarry, he decided to put all his energies to educating Ilaa. He had noticed quite early that Ilaa had inherited not only her mother’s good looks but her unquenchable thirst for knowledge as well. So, from then onwards Tukaram slowly began to coach Ilaa. He taught her about the epics, scriptures and ancient texts. Little Ilaa’s parchment-like mind absorbed everything that her beloved father taught her. Sometimes while playing, when she met other girls her age, she would often feel sad for their sorry plight, as all her friends were trained to cook, keep home and married off at tender ages. No one cared for their education.
But six years later, tragedy struck again. They were engulfed by a devastating famine in their region. People were dying of starvation. People usually remember God when in full stomachs. But during the famine, God was soon driven away from their minds and ways of acquiring the next meal became preeminent for them. Even the wealthy people failed to turn up at the temple. As a result, the village priest had little to eat. Tukaram put up a brave front for quite a long time and used to give Ilaa his own share of food till their severely limited food stock lasted. At last Tukaram’s age finally caught up with him after weeks of near fasting: his health broke down and soon he was dying.
By then, the Sultan of Ahmednagar had lost his seat of power to the Mughals, so Tukaram could not hope for any reprieve from that end. In his death-bed, Pandit Tukaram remembered his childhood friend Pravan Shett and sent for him. He entrusted Shett with the welfare of his precious daughter and died in peace.
The fifty-year-old Pravan Shett had promised the dying Tukaram that he would take care of Ilaa as a father. But with his death, the promise also died a premature death. Instead Pravan Shett took the nine-year-old Ilaa with himself to Sauviragram, where he owned a house and some farmland. There he married her, but could not endure the taunts and jibes of his jealous first wife, Kasturibai. So, he kept Ilaa as a bonded labourer. She was given food to eat and a dark corner to sleep, in return of which Ilaa had to work hard every day in her new husband’s cotton fields.
The less said about Kasturibai, the better. She was a jealous old hag, whose sole mission in life was to get Ilaa punished at the hands of the husband they shared, Pravan Shett. She could not stand the sight of Ilaa, since deep down she knew however hard she tried, she could not break down the young girl’s spirit, something she envied about her greatly.
Ilaa’s spirit was indomitable. She worked in the fields all day, and in the evenings, she secretly tutored a band of little boys. She also played with them and was a very dear older sister to them. Of all those boys, Gopi was her favourite. They took care of each other and covered up for each other whenever one of them decided to play truant. This continued for six long years. Ilaa had by then grown up to be a beautiful young woman.
Ilaa’s reverie was interrupted by a shuffling sound. “Who is it?” she cried.
“Shhh Tai! It’s me, Gopi!”
“What are you doing here so late at night?”
“Get up! I have got something for you to eat. You must be very hungry.”
Ilaa did not need any further persuasion. She attacked the hard chapattis and cold milk with a vengeance. She knew that Gopi had saved those from his own share and so was thankful to him from the core of her heart. She was so hungry that the food disappeared in no time.
Then she wiped her mouth and said, “You know, Gopi. I miss my life in Nayagaon. I miss reading the epics and the Vedas. The knowledge in those texts was so stimulating. Here I feel like I am slowly losing my mind doing the same repetitive tasks day in and day out. I need to make some change happen soon or else I fear becoming just another farm labourer.” She became silent, pondering over the day’s events. Then she continued, “I wish I could escape to a big city like Paithan! I want to start a new life there.”
They both were silent for quite some time. Then suddenly Ilaa got an idea.
“Gopi! The traders from Paithan will be coming on the day after tomorrow, won’t they?”
“Yes Tai, but….”
“Can you bring me some of your older brother’s clothes tomorrow? See that no one comes to know about it!”
“Alright Tai. Now I must go home. If anyone finds me here, then I will be beaten up black and blue.”
“Oh, I forgot! I am really sorry for having kept you back for so long. You go home now. But don’t forget the clothes tomorrow!”
“Bye…”
With this Gopi ran outside into the dark night.
***********
Ilaa worked in the fields for the whole day. When the last of the bales of cotton were tied up, she went to her favourite place on the banks of the river Godavari.
From her position, she could see Gopi inching towards her with a sack on his back. From time to time he kept looking back to make sure no one was following him.
When he reached Ilaa, she had already extended her arms for the sack. So, he shifted his burden onto her and sat beside her. He did not ask her anything, since he knew that Ilaa would surely confide in him when the time arises.
Sensing his curiosity, Ilaa told him, “Don’t ask me anything, Gopi. If you know nothing, then no one will bother you when I am gone.”
Gopi was dejected to hear this. He started to protest, but Ilaa ruffled his hair and started making her way home with the sack on her back. She had an extra bounce on her steps!
Gopi watched her go with a heavy heart. He had seen how she suffered at the hands of the vile Pravan Shett. If she wanted to escape that hell, he would not stand in her way. He owed her that much after all she had done for her. It was true that he would sorely miss her cheerful presence, but she would be happier than her present state. And Ilaa was right. If he knew about her whereabouts then they would surely beat the information out of him in no time and prevent Ilaa’s escape.
**********
Ilaa had managed to stay hidden for the whole day. The traders had arrived from Paithan in the early morning. After a lot of bargaining with the landowners of the village, they came to an agreement. The barter took place.
By the time the traders loaded their carts with cotton and left for Paithan, dusk had set in. On the way, Ilaa, dressed as a young man, met them and offered to work for them. One of the traders was a wizened old man named Kishen Patil. He took an instant liking to the young man.
“Son, you are so young. What work will you do for us?”
“Anything sir. I am ready to do any job.”
The old man thought for a while and then asked, “Do you know how to read and write?”
“Yes sir.”
“Then you can come with us. I will take you to my house and teach you how to keep the accounts. I am growing old and weak and all these fools I work with are only interested in wine and women in their idle time. No one wants to keep the accounts, in spite of this being an important part of our trade.”
“Don’t worry Baba! I am willing to learn from you and help you.”
“Good! Then come on and sit inside the cart. We have to reach Paithan by tomorrow.”
Hearing this, Ilaa’s heart leapt in joy. She jumped into the cart.
***********
Ilaa stayed with Kishen Patil for four long years. She helped him in every way and took care of him as a daughter would, and in return he kept her secret safe.
He had come to know the truth about Ilaa one day after she had been staying with him for a few months. He was shocked to know her actual identity, and even contemplated sending her back to her in-laws. But better sense prevailed when he heard her story. So, he took her under his loving protection.
His fatherly affection for the smart and intelligent woman, made him fiercely defensive of her. He knew that those being tumultuous times, it was very difficult for a lone woman, who had run away from her husband, to stay safe. Thus, he worried for her future constantly. He was getting old and feared for Ilaa.
As fate would have it, their village was suddenly caught in the middle of a war. On one hand were the southern princes; on the other were the Mughal forces. The Marathas were also trying to advance their interests in the region under an able commander. Amongst them all, the Marathas were the most kind to the natives; so, after much contemplation, Kishen Patil decided to approach the Maratha chief’s mother with Ilaa’s case and ask for her help. She was known for her strong will and generosity.
So, when the Maratha chief was camping nearby with his soldiers, Kishen Patil took Ilaa and paid Mataji a visit. She was very considerate and granted them a durbar. After hearing the whole story, she praised Ilaa for her guts. “My dear, you have shown great courage, but what about your husband?” she asked.
“Mataji, I cannot accept a man as my husband, who had forcibly wed me and then treated me like a slave. My father had taught me that women and men are equal. In the Vedic age, women were treated with respect; they were educated and took part in all decisions. There were women rishis back then as well!”
“But that was then, my dear. Won’t it be foolish to forget the times we are in?”
“I beg to differ, Mataji. To change the times, we have to make the move. If we sit back and curse our plight, it will do us no good.”
Mataji was impressed. She offered Ilaa to stay with her and tutor her young daughter-in-law. She could foresee that her son would soon become king, and accordingly, the queen should be competent enough to guide him if the situation so demands.
Thus, Ilaa found a place and position of respect at last. Soon she found herself advising the chief in the matters of the court. All the courtiers loved and respected her. She sometimes wondered about her past life – how did her friends Marya and Gopi fare. She felt sorry for them, for having to continue to live in Sauviragram. Perhaps they too had a chance at a better life by escaping from the clutches of their fate. There was no way to know for sure, since she had no intentions of ever going back to that place again.
She had to travel frequently with the Marathas and saw new places and sights, but whenever she passed by the river Godavari, she still remembered the day many years ago, when she had shirked work to sit on the river bank. It had set the ball of her changing fortune into motion.
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