All the beautiful daughters of Mara by Ashok Aatreya (books to read for 12 year olds .TXT) 📕

When Anand’s mother was alive, Manorama would come and stay with them for almost for more than half of the year.
Strangely the character of his sister remained evergreen .Perhaps she was a real follower of Charvak, who believed in materialistic pleasures and professed the philosophy of ‘YAVAT JEEVATE SUKHAM JEEVATE, RINAM KRITVA GHRITAM PEEVAT.’Enjoy the life even if you live a parasitic mode of life.
Afflicted Mars, affecting her seventh house, must have occupied her twelfth house of horoscope. She had the Eagle’s eye and mind of a Jackal. No doubt, her body was attractive too. A woman with a heart and soul, the Aunt would never want herself to hole up here and there and let her body and soul wither. It was never her history. She always believed in dreaming un-natural and designing wicked. Certainly, Anand’s father was plagued with his downfall and unhappy time and that time her only sister exploited him sentimentally and forced him to feed her, her husband and children as a responsible brother. Vishwa kept everything open for her and her children and never discouraged her to enjoy liberty and for her extravaganza, On the other hand she never bothered to figure out whether her brother had enough money to support her. She even exploited Anand, her own nephew, and used him to gratify her sexual needs.
Anand was a shy boy in his adolescence but always liked the company of girls and in his childhood whenever they played any game, he took side and support of girls... He took bath with her aunt and both of them enjoyed the game of water she often called this game water Polo. In that game both of them opened their clothes under the shower and in a big tub rubbed each other. His aunt often became a horse in imagination and allowed him to take a ride on her as a polo player... In the same game, she would tell him to take balls from her nude body and keeping them in ‘secret treasures’ that meant playing with her bosoms by his hands and then putting his small fingers to her private part. Those fantasies Anand enjoyed in his childhood and never knew the meaning of this type of Water Polo but later understood that his aunt sought satisfaction out of this game and liberated her sexual urge, getting him to masturbate her. He didn’t realise how and when these games came to a finish!
Aunt Manorama lived with them for weeks together and enjoyed the company of even their neighbour’s playing cards, Ludo, Business, Snake and Ladder with them. Her children encroached Anand’s childhood by misusing his toys, bicycle and even his clothes… he never appreciated that. However, when Anand’s mother lived, she too sought pleasure in helping them out and out by clothes and money. Whenever his aunt came with his husband and children very special care was taken and importance of his aunt was felt by all of them… more the care, their demands became many folded. The only thing which Anand did not like of his aunt after her mother’s death was excess show of love for him… she left no chance to keep him close to her...and by that show she wanted to prove that because he is motherless she loved him more than her own children. This sort of favour he did not like. She was also in the habit of using his mother’s clothes. After his father brought a Radio set from Calcutta, one pole connection reached their house, she spent most of his time in listening of filmy songs, ‘Binaca Geetmala’ through Radio Ceylon. Perhaps Manorama had a notion that she looked like Madhubala, who was then the most beautiful lady of the silver screen.
Paradoxically her husband was a man of many complexes. He was a chain smoker and would smoke his Bidis till their fag-ends. He normally remained out of home and whenever he came to their house, he would fight with Manorama, and left the house in protest. His exile would last a day or two and then he came back. In earlier days His father Vishwa liked his uncle’s company. He was a born gossip master and kept everyone laughing when in good mood.
It came as a sudden outburst when one fine morning , Vishwa felt too frustrated with Manorama’s undue interference and told her frankly that he could not support her any longer given to his own financially condition.
To his surprise his sister argued, “How long you will sit without money doing nothing? She asked him about her property rights also although she had lost one case. ‘Mano you have no right to talk to me that. All this while, I have been looking after you and your children, I am not bound to do so. Yet, after loosing the case, you went to the court again,’ Vishwa sounded furious. He clearly didn’t want to bear Mannorama’s burden. He never approved of her ways; moreover the fact that she took their family matter to court and was responsible for demeaning their family’s reputation annoyed him even more.


‘I am the same Manorama…what did I lose? And you want to know about your family reputation…don’t live under an illusions. All said and done our fore fathers were nothing but mere beggars who sought thriving on others. You want to live in a fallacy? But I am a woman. I can face the truth. And I may not have kept Anand in my womb for nine months but I cannot see him in trouble. That is why I came to live with you.’ She made an aggressively funny remark.
‘Anand in trouble! He thought. What she wanted from him now, he was perplexed.
“You can’t hide anything from me”, she said. For last one week, you and Anand are not eating with us knowingly and going to your in-laws place avoiding us .That way you insulted my family and me. I cannot tolerate all this.
‘And to my suggestions, to anything I say, you give deaf ear. I am again telling you …sell this haveli…you wont take it with you. I have a buyer who is ready to give you good money…’ ‘Give me my share. Think about it…I can negotiate to get us a good deal’… It seemed she wanted to take advantage of her brother’s poor financial condition and make money out of it.
Anand’s father was silent. Manorama left him.
Just after that, Anand entered the room.
‘From where are you coming, Have you had something to eat? His father asked him.
‘I dodn’t know where to have lunch. Nani is not well .She has not cooked. I went to Aunt Uma (Manorama’s son and daughter) but she refused to give me anything to eat. Anand started complaining.
‘Why did you go there at all? If you go again I will break your legs. Vishwa was angry with Anand for no fault of his. Anand left home without any meal or assurance of his next meal.

…… ……… ………

This episode made Vishwa very serious and concerned. He was hopeless to support even his lonely child. Every valuable or invaluable thing was sold…But still he had one thing in mind…he was in confusion and spent sleepless nights with that idea… two days back he had sold his most valuable ‘Ganesh ji’ to one unknown antique dealer for mere hundred rupees. The dealer showed his reluctance first in buying but when one prostitute sitting in the shop shown her interest in buying that beautiful dancing Ganesh statue made of eight metals, shopkeeper gave him money. He touched Ganesh on her fore- head and immediately kept it in showcase. The God looked grand in reflected light.
Vishwa brought floor. Sugar, tea and kerosene oil for his in-laws home that evening from market and came back without meals. The condition of Anand’s Nani was still not well.
On his way to home two odd things happened one after the other. His cycle tyres were punctured. Tulsiram Pancharwala was two steps away. He thought how many punctures it could be? May be more than two, for that he had no money. He tried to avoid Tulsiram but in that effort his cycle slipped from his hand and he broke the straps of his Chappal…Cycle in right hand and chappal in left with difficult grip of handle, Vishwa reached his haveli. His both pockets were empty.
He kept himself on tea whole day. At noontime, it was very hot. It was Saturday and he found ‘Shani Mahara Just before him when he opened the door and slid out of room. Shani Maharaj used to come every Saturday in his own mannerism and collected oil or metal coins from his patrons. His mere coming and standing was enough as he had a framed colourful litho-print of ‘demi god shani’ covering the oil pot as lid and that ‘posture’ was complete in itself for motivating his ‘client’ to put money into his bowl. Vishwa had no coin for him. Even If he has to search his entire house, he was sure he would not find a single coin that day. He closed his doorin clumsy way, disgusted and sad.
But now he had a plan…he thought about that again and again…This night he will do it…Nothing bad about it…after all it’s ‘their’ own temple…now deserted…nobody goes for worship there…at least for last fifty years nobody attended the temple …He was the witness…that statue of Blackstone (Kasouti) will fetch him good money. The four feet statue of goddess Laxmi was dancing before his eyes…He will dig out it tonight only and take it to Jaipur for sale. For digging he had already brought the axe …He will dig that out tonight definitely…!
In last few days two agents had already contacted him for the deal…sixty thousand rupees is not a bad amount…he will give some money to Manorama and close her mouth for some time after some time everything will be all right. He will also deposite some money in the bank for Anand’s further studies…He had the idea of starting some business too. Everything will be easy once the deal comes through.
In the backyard of the house, there was a Laxmi temple…It is his or her own ancestral property and he was the undisputed owner of that temple…
He thought about that statue of goddess Laxmi again…if possible and necessary he will replace that statue with another Laxmi…It will not make difference…After all that new statue will also be of the same material, stone….and when nobody is worshiping there, the statue is valueless…Vishwa’s mind was busy in his own logic and counter logic…still he could not make his mind final. He was in to be or no to be state. The stream of negative ideas were still operating…It should not be deep rooted since it was installed at his home temple, He thought.…It was not at a public place…he had all right to dig it out for any purpose…That is absolutely his private affairs-‘ Bubhikshitam Kim na karauiti papam…and Aapatti kale maryada nasti’…such ‘Neeti’ scriptures appeared in his mind and he felt relaxed for that moment.
…. ….. …. …..
Vishwa was restless. He had sent Anand to his Nani’s house to look after her as she was ill. Fortunately Manorama was also out of station and that was the right time to dig the statue.Two years back when he sold old illustrated manuscripts to the same agents he had the similar feeling. But, Manorama helped him in that deal. Actually, it was her idea because he was in financial crises and her sister had the readymade solutions. She was a