Chapter 2 - Tricks of the Trade

“Mother don’t worry. Sambhu Asan taught us today that the sacred text says a husband must not harm his sick and hungry wife. He must wait for her fever to go away before she may be punished. You go to the room and lie down. I will tell father you are ill. In a few days from now he will forget” consoled Kanchi. Kalyani was pleasantly surprised by her daughter’s quick thinking. 

Sambhu Asan’s training was indeed doing her a world of good, she herself wouldn’t have known to come up with an excuse like that.

Sambu Asan was the revered advisor of Madera. It was alleged that since he was half man and woman, he possessed twice the strength, intelligence and fury than everyone else. Even so, Sambhu Asan perhaps was the only person that showed some concern for the women folk in Madera. They could meet him with his woes and he would lend his ears with empathy, offering guidance and solace as he deemed fit. He was the mediator that had saved many a woman from the cruel punishments of the men in Madera.

However, it wasn’t always the case, as his decisions could be overruled by the committee if the woman was proved to be barren, immoral or a traitress. The men of Madera formed a strong brotherhood and their unsaid rules of kinship included standing up against any woman who threatened their authority. If a woman’s character needed to be proven as depraved all that was required was for another to vouch for having entered into clandestine relations with her. While Sambhu Asan often insisted that there be equal punishment for both culprits, the village committee would counter it with the rules laid down in the sacred text of Madera, Kalpavastha Charitrayey, which specified punishment solely for the women, and hence Sambu Asan would find himself helpless as it was the same sacred text that gave power and significance to the half man and woman. The sacred text was placed at the temple altar for everyone to read and a similar copy would also be found on Sambu Asan’s person all the time. Most had very little knowledge of the sacred text’s teachings unless it pertained to marriage, adultery or warfare except for Sambhu Asan. The ignorance of others was mostly driven by their laziness, lassitude and illiteracy; there was a total lack of interest in the affairs of the village. Perhaps his knowledge and his enigma created a fear in the minds of the men just as it served as a strength to the helpless women folk of Madera.

Sambhu Asan had a trustful aide in Makara, a tribal man he had found on his journey through the forests. A few years back, Makara had been seriously injured and Sambha Asan had tended to him, thereby saving his life. Makara had vouched to be Sambhu Asan’s protector from that day forth. Makara was an expert in tribal warfare and martial arts, and upon Sambhu Assan’s instructions was secretly training a few of the girls to fend off attacks from their enemies, which also meant every other man in the Madera. Sambhu Asan had seen more than a few of the women folk succumb to the brutality subjected by their husbands and sons, and felt it was high time the women learnt to defend themselves.

Sambhu Asan also had taken a special liking to KanchiLakshmi, for he felt he saw a spark that was uncommon, and his instincts told him this girl was different, she had the gait and heart of a Goddess, she among many would bring about the wave of change he had a premonition about. He covertly trained her and few other chosen on stratagems of combat, diplomacy, trickery and stealth – the building blocks to eventually usurp power by overthrowing the enemy. Rules can be manipulated for convenience, if it’s for the ultimate good, he had often hint to them.

Unbeknownst to the people and lords of Madera, Sambhu Asan was working towards establishing a new world order, it was time for change, it was time for new rules, a new sacred text. To the spectator it may have seemed that he was training the girls on the same sacred text placed at the altar of the village temple but the one he carried on his person was anything but from far from it. It was filled with pages that were in fact blank - waiting to be imprinted….

(Image Courtesy - Getty Images & https://www.artstation.com/artwork/RJOPD)