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  THREE

  Before the reorganization of the states in 1956, the districts of Dharwad, Karwar, Belgaum and Bijapur were part of the Bombay Presidency. As a result, these districts bear a greater similarity to the culture of Maharashtra than to the traditions of the erstwhile Mysore State in the south. When they were all unified to form the state of Karnataka, these four districts were referred to as North Karnataka. Even though Kannada is the common language of the state, the language of Dharwad and the other three districts has its own accent, intonation and even vocabulary.

  Bijapur, home of the famous Gol Gumbaz, one of the largest domes in the world, is known for its salubrious climate, fertile land and tasty produce. There is a Kannada proverb that says, ‘Once the Doni halla is full of water, the streets of Bijapur are full of jowar.’ Then for the next four to five years, people didn’t have to worry about the crops.

  Karwar is on the west coast and rich in natural resources. The Sahyadri mountains tower over the region.

  Belgaum, situated on the border of Maharashtra and Karnataka, has a lot of Maharashtrian influence and is extremely cultured.

  But Dharwad stands apart. It is a city of hills, education and music. Great exponents of the Kirana gharana belong to this town, it is home to some of the oldest educational institutions, and is known for its peace-loving, literate people. There was a time when people in Karnataka said, ‘If you throw a stone in Dharwad, it will hit either a musician or a writer.’

  Though Hubli is only twenty-two kilometres away, it does not possess the serenity of Dharwad. It is more of a bustling commercial centre for cotton and red chilli trade, among other things.

  In the olden days, some families from this region had helped the Peshwas of Maharashtra. As a token of appreciation they were given some lands in the area. Having hereditary ownership, these lands were passed from one generation to the next. As a result, the landlords had different titles and over a period of time, the titles became the surnames of those families, like, Deshpande, Jahagirdar, Inamdar, Desai.

  Until a few decades back, these landlords, including the Deshpandes, used to own vast lands which were tilled by the landless labour they employed. Most of the time the landlords did not even visit their fields. And yet, the people who had worked for them for years could never hope to own even a tiny piece of the land. Since they considered themselves aristocrats, the landowners did not believe in working. They spent their time indulging themselves in all sorts of bad habits. It was a purely patriarchal society where the head of the family decided everything—be it arranging a marriage, making a donation to a temple or an ordinary household matter. The women were always in the background, suppressed, and subservient, irrespective of their age.

  After India got independence and land reforms were introduced, most of these landowners lost much of their property. Suddenly they found their incomes drastically reduced, and their existence, that of the lower middle class. They had not cultivated; neither did they know any skills nor were they used to hard work. But their family pride, arrogance and ego remained as before. They were like a torn Banaras saree.

  Though Shrimati and Shrikant had such a common cultural background, their temperaments were very different. Once upon a time their families had everything, but today they had nothing more than a huge ancestral house and a few pieces of land. They found it hard to maintain the old house, but they couldn’t abandon it and live elsewhere. It was an issue of family prestige.

  Though they were neighbours, their forefathers always fought like cats and dogs, at the slightest provocation. Actually it was their mountain-like egos that was responsible for the continued enmity.

  Another bone of contention was that the two families belonged to different sects—one family worshipped Shiva and was called Smartha, the other was a Vishnu devotee and hence, Vaishnava. While this was not an issue for the men, it was a major factor for the women to fight. The end result was that there was no communication at all between the two families.

  Shrimati’s grandmother Rindakka should have been born in a kshatriya, or warrior family, for she was extremely aggressive. She was ready to fight with anybody, anytime, anywhere! She did not even require a reason, because she disagreed with everything. People used to say that her poor husband Bindappa could not put up with his wife and so had died at an early age.

  But the truth was that Bindappa had died because he was old and had been a slave of many vices. Although he was rich, he was arrogant, uneducated and chauvinistic. Rindakka was his third wife. They had only one son, Shrikant. Rindakka had become a widow at a very young age and probably that had made her frustrated and irritable. Though she was uneducated, she was an intelligent lady.

  Shrikant grew up like his father but with an education. He was not very bright, and extremely lazy. It took him several years to complete his degree course, and when he did, no one would give him a job. He was not too keen to find one either. So, he stayed in Hubli though he was jobless! His daily routine was to wake up anytime after 10 a.m., play cards, get home and relax. Never in his life had he earned a single paisa. Rindakka had hoped that marriage would make him responsible.

  As is customary in North Karnataka, a marriage alliance would not go beyond the four districts. It is very unlikely that one marries across the Tungabhadra. Hence, from the neighbouring city of Dharwad the educated Kamala was chosen.

  By the time Kamala came to her husband’s house, all the lands had disappeared due to the Tenancy Act. Though the economic situation became very delicate the pride and arrogance of the family remained intact. Sensitive Kamala gauged the situation quickly and took up a teaching job at a local school. She was the sole breadwinner for the family now. But still, Rindakka would show her authority as a mother-in-law and utter pungent words that would hurt her. Kamala, an introvert, never said anything. She neither looked down upon her husband nor defied her mother-in-law.

  After many years of Shrikant and Kamala’s marriage, Shrimati was born and indeed, she brought a change in their lives. Though Shrikantrao Deshpande paid no attention to his wife, he would always be concerned about his daughter.

  Shrimati grew up with a jobless father, a domineering grandmother and a timid, loving mother. Kamala took utmost care to bring Shrimati up with strong values and a good education. Shrimati inherited her love for literature from her mother and even as a child spoke pure Kannada. But she would argue with her grandmother and also question her father. She grew up a bright, extremely accommodating but introverted young girl.

  Her neighbour Shrikant Deshpande had a different story.

  Shrikant’s family were Smarthas. His father Raghanna Deshpande was a shade better than his neighbour Shrikant Deshpande. But he died when his son was still in middle school. He had been a clerk at the post office. Gangakka, his wife, was a cunning, manipulative, fierce and an extremely practical lady. Raghanna had left behind two children. The elder child, Rama, was an average-looking girl and not at all a good student, whereas the younger one, Shrikant, was good-looking and very intelligent. He was the apple of his mother’s eye! She had pinned all her dreams on him.

  Normally, quarrels would arise between Rindakka and Gangakka, the difference in age being no barrier. Gangakka was actually Kamala’s age but because of her reticent nature, Kamala didn’t fight with anybody.

  Gangakka had an older brother, Sheenappa. He was a sweet-talker but a very shrewd man. He was the only one who had stood by Gangakka when her husband passed away. No one but himself had known the reason then. He had four ugly daughters and he had an eye on Shrikant, hoping that at some point in time, he would be able to get Shrikant to marry one of his daughters. Otherwise, he was not a man to help a single person without a vested interest.

  Rama took longer than usual to complete her degree. As she was not good-looking, it was a little difficult to find a groom for her. With great difficulty, Sheenappa finally found one and soon, Rama was happily married. When she gave birth to a son, it was treated like quite an achievement.