The Scandal

Shanta, the spinster, was sitting on the edge of the well. Her saree and skirt were drawn up to her knees, and she was showing Shibu her varicose veins. Has this woman no shame? thought Roshni. And the way her son was staring at that woman's legs was equally shameless. Shibu had just come home from work for lunch. He had his bag on his back, his muscles straining the shoulder straps. Probably not going back after lunch then.

"Ha. Roshni aunty. Come look at this," Shanta called out when she saw her coming. "The veins have moved up to my thighs."

Roshni looked at the spinster's thighs and made a concerned face, at the same time digging her elbow into her son's ribs. Shibu looked down at his mother, suddenly understanding, and started admiring the flowers of their neighbor's kanikonna tree.

"It's getting really bad," Roshni commented like she cared. "Anyway, now that Shibu is here, I think he can deliver the lunch to Mr. Pavithran." She couldn't bear the thought of this woman showing her bare legs to her husband.

"Let Shanta do it, amma. I don't want to go. I'm going to take a nap," said her son, like a petulant school child.

Roshni kept a cold face, saving her reproach for later. Shanta took the bag from her with her usual vivacious spirit. The vivaciousness was to account for the charm and beauty that she lacked. Many would define her as manly, with her strong arms and rounded shoulders. Always tying her hair into a bun didn't help either. "Don't worry, aunty. I'll deliver it for you." She looked inside the bag. "Did you pack something for me? Hmmm. Smells nice."

"I did. Get it to my husband fast. It's almost his lunchtime."

Shanta smiled and waved at them before getting on her bicycle. Roshni watched as she cycled off, her powerful legs carrying her like the wind on the dusty, empty road.

"Why couldn't you deliver that for your father?" Roshni cuffed her son on the head.

He looked at her irritated. "Why should I do that? You saw how eager she was to do it for me."

"That's what I'm worried about. And why are you taking another half day off?"

"I have to sleep, amma. Sleep is necessary for muscle development. Besides, I get really lonely at the rice mill."

Roshni didn't scold him further. Shibu walked to their house, his head low, his movements slow. A gentle giant. It's been more than eight years now since his wife left him. And just when she thinks that he's getting over it, he sinks into a new level of depression and self-loathing. The gods are not kind to him.

xxx

Her brother-in-law, Das, was in a foul mood. He did not even smile when Shanta opened the door for him. Her sister, Asha, brought him a cup of tea, but he did not take it, instead went straight to the sofa and slumped into it, mumbling something to himself. His shirt was missing some buttons and it was stained with grime in the shape of a hand.

The sisters did not bother him with questions. When he was in a bad mood, Das had a propensity to hurl objects at the people who asked him 'uncomfortable' questions. Asha sat on a chair opposite the sofa, and Shanta sat by Das' feet, massaging his toes. He relaxed under her touch. That might have been viewed as inappropriate, but not in Das' house. Asha sympathized with her sister's situation and did not mind when she bestowed some of her love on her husband.

Das did not mind it either. Once, a long time back, he even went as far as sleeping all night with her when Asha was pregnant and cranky. Nothing happened, of course. That was the day he found out Shanta's limits. But they spooned, and after Shanta had drifted off to sleep, he rubbed his crotch on her huge behind and came hard. Elephant Shanta, they called her, because of her buttocks. Das had convinced her that it was because of her strength they called her that.

The women waited for him to spill the beans, and finally, he opened his mouth. "That bastard Thoma," he said, gritting his teeth.

"What happened? What did he do, darling?" asked Asha.

"It's what I'll do to him. I'll kill that bastard."

xxx

It was another normal evening at the toddy shop. Men drank, cursed, cracked lewd jokes, and slammed their mugs on the table. They were in a carefree world. Their responsibilities and nagging wives forgotten. Thoma entered the shop at around half past six. He looked around before he took a seat. When his drink was brought to him he enquired about Shanta. She sometimes cooked and served there.

Shanta did all sorts of jobs in the small town of Chattakood. But she particularly loved working at the toddy shop. She was always the only woman there and she enjoyed the attention.

Das told Thoma that his sister-in-law was not serving that evening. He took the news with a frown. "Whose ass will I jerk off to?" he said, in a mockingly sincere way. Das returned the frown.

"Put two coconuts on the table, Das. Let him jerk off to that," someone said.

"Not big enough," came Thoma's instant reply. Everyone laughed and Das hoped that was the end of it. But he knew better.

Thoma had a reputation for being the most evil man in Chattakood. His black skin shone like granite, with muscles that stretched his skin tight. He was not a bulky individual and was small in stature, but he would pick fights with people twice his size without an iota of fear.

A few drinks later, Thoma brought up Shanta again. "Hey Das," he said. "Is it true that Shanta is like your second wife?" Das was taken aback by the question, and the room went quiet. "Do you get to have a go at her?"

"Mind your words, Thoma," he said, his voice trembling. He had to speak up for his sister-in-law, otherwise, the others would think he was a wimp. At the same time, he was dreadfully aware of who he was talking to. It doesn't take much for Thoma to start a fight.

"I'm just curious, Das. I miss her very much you know." Thoma took another gulp from his mug and did not talk for a while. The people around him relaxed visibly. But then he continued. "An unmarried desperate woman living under your roof. I don't think I'll be able to resist."

"Don't you have a mother or a sister, villain?" Das was fuming now. He expected Thoma to lunge at him, but he was smiling, his unnaturally white teeth twinkling.

"It's hard a cashier's life. Don't you think there's a business opportunity with Shanta? That way she gets to have fun and you can make some extra cash."

That was how the brawl started. They shouted, spat, cursed, slapped, and punched. Das watched as the only punch he could manage to throw rolled off the ruffian's shoulders as he ducked. Thoma landed two solid blows on Das' chest. It knocked the wind out of him.

The theatre owner, Pavithran, came between them and tried to stop the fight before it got any worse -- Das was thankful for that. He was a big man, only slightly smaller than his body-builder son Shibu. The old man threw Thoma out of the shop and told him never to set foot inside it again. Thoma wanted to finish Pavithran right there, but he had heard stories that the man carried a pistol in his underwear. It was not worth his life. He would have his revenge soon.

When it all ended, Das had lost a few buttons and he was in his boxers (his lungi had fallen off at some point in the scuffle), but otherwise, he was all right. The shop however was a different story. Thoma had managed to break a bench, three bottles, and many more mugs and plates.

Shanta learned the complete story only the next day. Her brother-in-law was reluctant in the details. He completely omitted Shanta from his retelling of the brawl at the toddy shop. Luckily, Shanta knew where to get the full scoop. She had a habit of going to gossip at different houses. She would gather any news she could from the places where she did her odd jobs, add a little spice to it, and then share it with the aunties and grandmas in Chattakood. It had become so bad that the ears of these women itched whenever they saw the manly woman gliding past their houses on her fast bicycle.

It was Roshni Aunty who helped her piece together the entire story. "He is an evil man, Shanta. He thinks women exist only for his pleasure."

How brave her brother-in-law was to defend her before that monster. And Mr. Pavithran too. Shanta became all coy and womanly when she thought about it. That she had people to defend her virtue. She thought about making Das some of those unniappams he loved.

xxx

People called him The Grudge for a reason. Thoma was known for nursing grudges. He let them grow inside him, tiny little devils of anger and vengeance, eating away at him, always reminding him that they existed. When these devils became big enough, they would fuel him with an unnatural drive to hurt the ones who thought they could challenge him.

His primary target was Pavithran, the theatre owner. Shanta played no part in this, but without involving her, he would not be able to shame Pavithran the way he wanted.

People in Chattakood waited for Thoma's revenge. When it did not come, some said that perhaps there was no revenge. But those who really knew Thoma understood that that was how he worked. The quiet before the storm. In Thoma's words, the tiger will lay in wait for the right moment before he lunges at his prey.

It was two weeks after the brawl that the posters first appeared. There were rates on the poster corresponding to different hours and a heart drawn, which, the more one looked, the more it looked like a woman bending down. At the bottom of the poster was written: The Venue - Pavithran's Cinema. Next, the contact details were given.

The posters appeared at random locations all over Chattakood. At night, goons in bikes would swing by Das' house where they sang lewd songs and whistled. The words, 'theatre', 'Pavithran', and 'prostitute' could be made out. No one stepped out of their homes, but they watched through windows. The sisters had a hard time stopping Das from opening the door. Das on the other hand was praying to the gods that they would leave so he could sleep in peace. He didn't know how much longer he could go on with the 'tough guy' act.

Even though the people knew that this was only in retaliation to the brawl at the toddy shop, they couldn't stop themselves from asking: "Is there any truth to it?" It was true that Shanta was a flirt, they said. Most people took that as her being desperate for some action. It was also true that she spent a lot of time at Pavithran's Cinema. Then there was the fact that she showed her warts and varicose veins to any man who would look. Pretty soon, people forgot about Thoma's role in this, and rumors became truth.

xxx

Shanta knew how to be happy even when there was no reason to be -- especially when there was no reason. That was how she survived and this was not her first scandal. So she held her head high and went for her usual rounds on her bicycle.

A week had passed now after the posters. But it was far from over. Thoma's gang became more creative, blasting lewd songs about her on speakers mounted on a jeep that traveled the length and breadth of their town, graffiti on church walls of her on her knees 'servicing' an old man's private area and touting new nicknames like 'Pavithran's prostitute', and 'manly mistress'. She didn't care about the names. She cared about the friends she had lost.

Roshni Aunty had told her to stay away from her and her family. Shanta now took a longer route to the church so that she could stay clear of Pavithran's Cinema. The women at the houses where she usually went to gossip closed their doors on her. Nuns at the convent complained to the priest that an 'unchaste' woman should not be allowed to wash his clothes.

Her days were filled with rejection now. And no matter how much she tried to stay positive, the darkness would still seep in sometimes. Retreating from the world, she would find a place where she could be alone and she would sob until she could become positive again. She would curse Thoma and his goons, Roshni aunty, and her old friends, and the forces that kept the world turning.

She would be forced to relive her old days. She would be forced to remember Peter, the quiet city guy who seduced an unmarried fisherwoman and took away her chastity. They were caught in the act, and her father thrashed Peter until his fair skin was mottled black and blue. Shanta lost the only decent marriage proposal she ever got because of Peter. Because nobody wanted to marry a 'slut'.

Shanta had parked her cycle outside the gates of an abandoned house. It was believed to be haunted by the ghosts of a family who were murdered there. It was almost dark then. Shanta thought she could find some piece of mind there. She was sitting on the bulging roots of a huge banyan tree when she heard the crackle of leaves behind her. She was relieved to find Shibu towering over her rather than a banshee.

"You scared me, idiot."

"Sorry. I saw your cycle outside. Thought I'll give you some company," Shibu fiddled with his thumbs. He looked sad. Shanta wondered if it was for her sake.

They had always been good friends. Shanta had known him since he was a boy, playing cricket in the spot where his father's theatre now stood. He was a scrawny kid then. His craze for bodybuilding developed after his first love failure. The girl who rejected him told him that he looked like a coconut tree in trousers. The next day he signed up at Thankappan chettan's gym.

Shibu lived in perpetual fear that he would lose his muscles and size one day. It was inevitable, he thought. One day he would sneeze hard and his body would just deflate like a balloon. He carried this insecurity with him, and it gradually developed into a total lack of confidence.

"Didn't your mother tell you to stay away from me?"

"She did. But what she doesn't know won't hurt her." A smile came to his bloated, but still square, face. Shanta thought that a beard would suit him now. The clean-shaven look only works when you have sharp jaws.

"You don't believe any of this, do you?"

"Of course I don't. But everyone else does." He hesitated to say something.

"What is it?"

"Thoma was at the gym yesterday. He said some dirty things about you. Does your father share her with you, he asked me."

"You should have punched him. Or at least given him an earful. Did you?" Shanta shouldn't have asked. She already knew the answer to that. Shibu's muscles were for show alone. He would never lift a finger to hurt anyone. He would never get into a fight. Not even to save his mother. People called him 'Steroid Gandhi'. But that was not an accurate name, because Shibu would never stand up for something he believed in or wanted to protect.

"I didn't. No. But I wanted to." Shibu said. Shanta sighed and wiped away the remnants of her tears from her cheeks. "You'll be alright, Shanta. You've lived through worse. Scandals are not new for you."

"I don't remember it being worse. Feel as bad now as I did then. I was such a naive girl. He seduced me so easily. I thought he would take me away to live in his castle, and then all the other girls would look at me with jealousy. I was an idiot. I didn't think about what would happen if someone found out. Now here I am. A thirty-nine-year-old spinster."

"I wanted to marry you," said Shibu. "Back then. After the incident. But my mother wouldn't let me. She said you were a dirty girl. Bad for me. But what does she know? The wife she sought out for me ran away with a plumber."

Shanta wondered whether he wanted to marry her because he loved her or because he pitied her situation. Whatever the case, she only saw Shibu as a friend. And she didn't want to marry someone who couldn't defend her. She was all alone in this life. It was about time she accepted that truth. Rather than taking everything in silence like she had done all her life, she should fight back.

xxx

Thoma saw his campaign against Pavithran and Shanta as an utter failure. He expected the old hag Roshni to leave her husband, but, as far as he knew they were still one tight loving family. Only this morning he saw their dumb son by their theatre, delivering lunch to his old man. Even Shanta had shown no signs of depression. Thoma had expected the spinster to commit suicide by now, but she was still roaming around the town on her bicycle with a huge smile on her face. Maybe she was liking the attention the scandal had created for her.

He needed to hit them where it hurts. That's the only way. In Pavithran's case, it was easy. All he had to do was burn his theatre. That would teach him. But what could he do about Shanta and Das? The solution eluded him. When he couldn't think of anything else, he decided to burn the toddy shop. That will deprive Das' family of an income for a while.

That was what he was quietly planning in the gym with his goon friends. The toddy shop burns first, then the theatre. He would make them pay. The entire town would learn not to mess with Thoma. A sly smile appeared on his face as he thought about the reactions of his victims. He thought about bursting some crackers when the shop burned.

All the grunting had stopped and every head in the gym turned to Shanta. Thankappan chettan's gym was another place in Chattakood that was for men alone. In fact, Shanta was the first woman to ever step inside the gym. She saw Shibu there with some dumbbells frozen mid-curl. Thoma was back at the squat rack, completing a rep as their eyes met.

"Look who it is," said Thoma, stepping out of the squat rack. "Who requested your services here?" he looked at his cronies and laughed, and they joined him immediately.

"I came here for you," her voice was like venom. Shibu shuddered. He had never heard her take that tone before. He could see that Thoma noticed it too.

"Here to service me?" His cronies laughed. "Just wait till I finish my workout."

"You have to put a stop to this. Defaming me and Mr. Pavithran."

Thoma was happy to hear that his campaign had affected her. He showed his phosphorescent white teeth in a grin. "What if I don't?"

"Then I will end you."

Thoma snorted. "Right. Get out, woman. I don't have time for this." He turned his back to her. "Hey! What the fuck do you think you're doing?" he asked one of his cronies who was loading an extra plate onto the barbell.

"I'm... I thought I'll squat 130 today," said the crony nervously, expecting a slap in his face.

"I squat 100. And I expect those around me to do the same. Don't try to surpass me you nitwit. Take those 15 kgs off or I'll beat you to death with it."

They hurried to remove the plates. "Just a minute," said Shanta. "I'd like to give it a try."

"Give what a try?" asked Thoma, irritably.

"I'll squat 130." Without waiting for a response, Shanta got into the squatting rack. The other goons moved out of the way. Shanta had seen Shibu do the squat at an exhibition in the market many years back when he had won some bodybuilding competition. Shibu had taught her the technique and even let her try it at low weights.

The cronies laughed, but Thoma could only chuckle nervously. "Get out of there, woman. Even I can't squat a 130."

Shanta got her rounded shoulders under the barbell and hoisted herself up. Her legs began shaking dangerously, and Thoma thought her kneecaps would fall off. But she held it and took a few steps back. She squatted deep, and the cronies behind her got a good view of her dump truck ass. Shanta exhaled as she reached the bottom, then inhaled hard and stood up in one smooth motion. She did two more deep reps and then placed the barbell back. She wiped her forehead with the ends of her saree and blew out air. The men in the gym stood stunned, Thoma in particular.