Saamya
Ramya happily married to her husband lived in the village. She loved him very much. He treated her with respect and never raised his voice on her. The only thing that worried her was when he went drinking at an impromptu bar in the village every evening. The men at the bar would ask about his smart wife and tease him for not keeping her in check. He used to argue that his wife is smart, cooks delicious meals and keeps the house in good order and he could not find a better mate. She also assisted other women in managing their domestic affair well. The old widower at the bar would narrate stories about the thirty-six nakras (guiles) of women and would ask him to beware. Every time he came back from the bar he would demand his wife to show him her nakras. The young man, however, never raised his hands at her.
Soon the rains began and the work in the fields increased. The men were so tired from the day’s work that all the drinking party ceased. The young woman enjoyed peace as there were no quarrels and no arguments about nakras. Every day her husband would leave for work on hill slopes and she would clean the house and cook a delicious meal for him. She would carry the hot meal with a water pot in a basket to her husband and they would happily have a meal together.
One day while walking to the hills with the basket on her head, she saw fishes thrashing around in a stream nearby. Seeing them gave her an idea. She put the basket down and caught the fish using her saree. She then quickly walked to the hill with the fishes in the water pot in her basket.
When she reached the fields she saw his husband plowing around to make furrows. Without him noticing she emptied the water pot in a furrow he had just plowed. “Look here, look here” she shouted to her husband. “Are you so preoccupied that you did not notice the thrashing fishes in the burrow? Even a blind fool would have noticed them.” He looked confused but then asked her to catch them and cook the fish as they were tired of eating the greens every day. He promised to bring home a bottle of liquor to celebrate together. Ramya quickly went home with the fish thinking the part one of her plan had succeeded.
She cooked the fish and hid the dish below the eaves of the house. Her husband came home with the bottle of liquor as promised. He poured two drinks and asked her to join. He started drinking as she came and sat next to him. After a couple of drinks, he asked her to get the fish she had cooked. Ramya stared at him in confusion “What fish?” she said. He got angry at the response and yelled “Liar! You caught the fish while I was plowing. You were the one who noticed them. You must have kept it for your secret lover. I should have listened to the old widower and kept you in check.” Ramya had never seen her husband so angry. For the first time, he raised his hand at her. She ran out to the courtyard screaming. He ran after her and kept beating her. Part two of the plot had been executed with perfection, she thought to herself.
Hearing her cries, men from the village ran to the courtyard. They asked him to stop beating her and explain the reason for his actions. He told them about the fish and how she denied having caught the fish. “She must have kept it for her secret lover”, he added. The villagers were confused.
“Please, please!” the young women cried out. “I am ready for any punishment if I am at fault. But first, ask him where he says we found the fish”. The villagers looked at him for an answer. “At a burrow in the slopes,” he replied. “Where?” the villagers asked him again, incredulously. He repeated himself in anger. “You are mad. There cannot be any fish on the hill slopes” said the villagers. “Give him a sound thrashing for beating his wife for no reason.” they said. He took the beating in silence. Part three of the plot had been executed.
After the villagers left, Ramya took him inside. She sat beside him and kept the dish with cooked fish in front of him. She felt a mixture of emotions. She was sad because her husband was beaten but happy that she taught him a lesson. “My dear husband, you have always wanted to see my thirty-six guiles,” she said plucking up her courage. He took the fish without any reaction. Then she continued with a little more confidence, “You just experienced the first nakra. When do you want to see the remaining thirty-five?”
