CHAPTER 15 Vanathi’s Playacting
We saw Kundavai Devi and the Kodumbalur princess go to Kudandhai in their chariot, didn't we? We must now find out what the girls in the boat talked about, what they did.
“Hey Tharakai! How lucky this Kodumbalur girl is! Why is our Ilaya Piratti so fond of her?” asked one.
“It has nothing to do with being fond of her, Varini. That girl seems to have been mentally unwell these past four months. She faints from time to time. Ilaya Piratti is worried — she's in charge of her and the girl has no parents. She took her to the josier to find out what’s wrong with her. Could it be the work of evil spirits? If it is, they’ll have to be exorcised, won’t they?”
“Evil spirits? Why would an evil spirit enter her? She can drive a hundred spirits away herself!” said Varini.
“She just pretends to faint. She thinks she can ensnare the younger prince by doing so,” said another.
“Niravathi is right. And then the day the Prince left did she not let the camphor plate slip from her hand? She did that deliberately, to attract his attention. How can a plate you’re holding in both hands slip and fall? Our Prince is not a tiger or a bear, for her to be afraid of!” commented Varini.
“And then, she pretended to faint. How clever of her!”
“What’s amusing is that Kundavai and the Prince have been taken in by all this.”
“These are good times for pretenders and cheats,” said Mandakini.
“What more did she need? The Prince had left for the battlefield, but he came back to see her. How successful Vanathi's playacting was!” said Varini.
“That’s not true. The Prince is a great man. Why would he come back just to ask about a girl who fainted? Don’t read between the lines,” said Tharakai.
“What you said about the Prince is true. Where in all the fourteen worlds can you find a man as good as him? Even in history and epic? But I’m talking of something else. You know... this Vanathi... her fainting spells — do you know what kind they are? You don’t need to consult an astrologer to find out. I can tell you what they are,” said Varini.
“What is that? Tell us please!” said Senthiru. Varini whispered in her ear.
“What kind is it? Tell us also!” Said Niravathi.
“It’s no ordinary swoon, it’s a love swoon,” said Senthiru. Everybody laughed. Even the birds fluttered their wings when they heard the girls laugh, and flew away.
“When our Prince returns from Lanka, Vanathi will try to cast a magic spell over him again. We must make sure that does not happen,” said Niravathi.
“If by the time the Prince returns, she hasn’t turned completely mad, I’ll change my name from Tharakai to Thatakai!”
Mandakini checked them. “Enough now. We have to carry out the Ilaya Piratti’s instructions before she comes back, don’t we?”
Two of the women removed a loose plank from the bottom of the boat. Underneath lay a dead crocodile stuffed with cotton and coconut fibre. They rowed on until they came to a big tree that stood near the banks, its roots touching the water.
They let the crocodile float with half its body under the water, among the roots, and half above. It looked as fearsome as a real crocodile. They tied its legs to the roots to make sure it was not washed away, taking care to keep the rope under water, out of sight.
“Tell me Mandakini. Why did the Ilaya Piratti want us to tie up this stuffed crocodile like this?”
“Don’t you know? Vanathi is a big coward, so Ilaya Piratti wants to rid her of her fear and make her brave,” said Mandakini.
“All this seems to suggest that Kundavai Devi has decided to get the Prince married to Vanathi,” said Niravathi.
“If you say things like that, I’ll poison Vanathi myself and kill her,” said the jealous Varini.
“You don’t have to get so irritated. The Rastrakutas and the kings of Vengi and Kanauj from the far north are all ready to offer their daughters. Who's going to bother with Kodumbalur Vanathi?” asked Mandakini.
“All those kings may be laying their plans as you say. But it’s what the Prince wants that counts, isn’t that so? Don't you know he's said that if he ever marries, he’ll marry only a girl from Tamilnadu: Don't you know that?” asked Senthiru.
“Good! Then each one of us must show what we’re capable of. What Vanathi can do, we can do as well. Don’t we too have enough tricks up our sleeves?”
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