The Gypsy Dance

Both friends came out from the inner chambers. A voice
from inside called out, "Kandamara! Kandamara!"
"My mother is calling me. Wait right here. I'll be back
instantly," said Kandamaran as he went inside once again.
The voices of several women talking all at once, the sound
of questions being asked one upon the other and
Kandamaran answering them with some confusion could
be heard. He also heard the women inside laughing gaily.
The thought that they were perhaps laughing at him caused
some shame and anger in Vandiya Devan. When
Kandamaran came out, he took hold of his friend's hand
and dragged him onwards saying, "Come let us look
around our palace."
He showed him all the beautiful moonlit terraces, music
rooms, dance halls, storage rooms, well furnished
chambers, living quarters, audience halls, turrets, towers,
stables and other places. After a while Vandiya Devan
asked, "Kandamara, you made me wait outside your
mother's chambers and went in again. At that time what
was so special to provoke the laughter and joy inside?
Were the women so happy to see me, your friend?"
"They were all very happy to meet you. In fact my mother
and others liked you a lot. But they were not laughing
about you ..."
"Then why the laughter?"
"You know the Lord of Pazluvoor? At this age, after all
these years he has recently married a very young girl. He
has brought her here in a covered palanquin. Apparently he
has kept her locked up in his own chambers without
sending her to the inner apartments in the palace. One of
the maids who saw the girl by peeping in through the
window, came and described her beauty. That is the cause
for the laughter. They were discussing if she was a
Singhala girl, a Kalinga lady or perhaps a maid from
Chera. You know that the ancestors of the Pazluvoor clan
originally came here from the Chera country?"
"I have heard it too. Perhaps you had told me earlier.
That's OK! Kandamara, how long is it since Lord
Pazluvoor married this mysterious beauty?"
"It must be less than two years. He has not left her alone
for even a short while from the time he married her! He
takes his ladylove along wherever he goes; in a closed
palanquin! In fact there has been a lot of sniggering about
it all over the country. Vandiya Deva, won't there be
ridicule and derision if men who are past a certain age get
involved in such entanglements with women?"
"I do not think that is the reason. Kandamara, shall I tell
you the real reason for the laughter? Generally women are
envious. Don't think I am belittling the women in your
family. All womankind is like that! The women of your
household are dark-colored beauties. However, Lord
Pazluvoor's beloved is rosily-fair and golden hued. That is
why these women do not like her; they are making up
stories about her...!"
"Hey! What is this wonder? How do you know about her
complexion? Why, have you seen her? Where? How did
you see her? If Lord Pazluvoor knows of this, your life is
not yours!"
"Kandamara, I am not afraid of all that. You know it.
Moreover, I have not done anything improper. I was
watching, one among the crowd on the roadside, when
Lord Pazluvoor and his retinue went past. The elephant,
horses, livery, footmen, drummers -- I believe all these
were honors sent by your family to receive him. Is that
true?"
"Yes we had sent all those accolades. So what ...?"
"So what? Nothing. I was just comparing the reception that
you accorded to Lord Pazluvoor and the welcome given to
me; nothing else ..."
Kandamaran laughed lightly, "We gave him the tribute and
honor due to the official who levies taxes. A welcome
appropriate to a great warrior was given to you! Sometime,
with God Muruga's grace, when you become the son-inlaw
to our house we shall give you the honors due to a
bridegroom and welcome you."
He then added, "But, you were about to say something
else; we were sidetracked. Oh yes! You were saying that
Lord Pazluvoor's beloved was very fair and light in color.
How did you know that?"
"Lord Pazluvoor was coming seated on the dark, huge
elephant from Kadamboor Fort: like Yama, the God of
Justice seated upon a huge water-buffalo! All my thoughts
were concentrated on him. While I was building dreamempires
about one day becoming famous and powerful like
him, a covered palanquin followed him. Even as I
wondered about who could come in a covered palanquin, a
hand from inside parted the curtains. I could barely see the
face within. The hand and face were golden-hued. That
was all I saw. From what you said just now, I realize that
she must be the beloved of Lord Pazluvoor."
"Vandiya Deva, you are a lucky fellow! It is being said
that no man has glimpsed upon that Young-Queen of
Pazluvoor. You could at least see her hand and face for a
second. From what you saw, can you guess anything about
the nation which gave birth to that beauty?" asked
Kandamaran.
"I did not ponder about it at that time. Now that I think of
it, she is perhaps a woman from the Kashmir country; or
she is a beauty who hails from the distant lands across the
sea like Java, Kadaram (Malaya), Yavana (Greece-Rome).
Maybe she is a princess from Arabia: I believe that women
in that country are hidden behind veils from birth till
death."
At that moment, the sound of musical instruments could be
heard somewhere nearby. Several kinds of drums, flutes,
pipes and instruments like salli, karadi, parai, udukku
were being tuned together. "What is that noise?" asked
Vallavarayan.
"The Kuravai Koothu (gypsy dance) is about to begin. The
drums and flutes are being tuned in preparation. Would
you like to watch the gypsy dance? Or, would you like to
eat early and sleep well?"
Vandiya Devan recalled Azlvar-adiyan mentioning the
gypsy dance. "I have never seen the gypsy dance; I must
surely see it," he said.
When they walked ahead a little and turned, they could see
the stage being set for the dancers. The guests were
gathering in front of the stage. The stage for the gypsy
dance was set in a wide courtyard spread with clean-white
sand and situated in a spot surrounded by the palace walls
and the towering battlements of the fort. The stage was
decorated with colorful drawings of cocks, peacocks,
swans and parrots. They had further decked the stage with
several fragrant flower garlands, red-rice popped white,
colored millet, yellow turmeric and other powders,
kunrimani (small red berry-beads), and other vivid
decorations. Tall oil-lamps and flaming torches tried to
drive the darkness away. But the swirling fragrance from smoldering frankincense and smokey torches created a
misty screen dimming the lights. The musicians sat on
both sides and in front of the stage and played their
instruments with gusto. The fragrant flowers, sweet
smelling incense and the drum beats all together made
Vandiya Devan feel light-headed.
After all the important guests were seated, the nine
maidens who were to perform the gypsy dance came on
the stage. They wore the tight fitting clothes and
ornaments suitable for dancing; they had bell-filled anklets
on their feet; brilliant red hued flowers of the hill country,
flowers favored by the God Muruga, decorated their
hairstyles. A long garland woven with such flowers thrown
upon their shoulders, seemed to bind them to each other as
they stood upon the stage. In their hands they daintily
grasped beautiful parrots made of sandalwood painted a
vivid green.
After greeting the audience they began to sing and dance.
They first sang a few verses in praise of God Muruga.
They sang of the brave deeds of Muruga; and they sang of
his victorious spear which killed the demons Soora-padma
and Gaja-mukha and then dried up the vast ocean. They
sang of how he chose for his bride, a maid from the Tamil
country, a gypsy maid from the hills who was guarding the
millet fields, even as heavenly nymphs offered prayers to
marry the young warrior-God. Their song celebrated the
grace and benevolence of Velan, i.e., Murugan who bears
the spear. The lyrical songs, the fast paced dance, the quick
drum-beats, enchanting flute all in combination bewitched
those who were watching. With the following words of
prayer the dance concluded:
Let hunger and disease be destroyed;
Let enmity be routed;
Let rain and fertility increase;
Let bounty grow boundless.
The maidens stepped off the stage and moved away.
Next, a man and woman dressed as oracles -- thevar-aalan
and thevar-aati, came on stage. The divine-man and
divine-woman wore blood-red clothes. They had brilliant
garlands made of blood-red oleander flowers. They had
painted their foreheads with bright red kumkum powders.
Even their lips seemed blood-red because they had chewed
the betel leaf and areca-nut. Their eyes seemed blood-shot!
The Velan Attam or oracle dance, began calmly enough.
They danced by themselves and with arms linked together.
As time passed the tempo and passion increased. The
divine-woman picked up a spear from the side. The man
tried to pry it from her hands; and she would not let go.
The dance became more frenzied: finally the man leaped
across the resonating stage, jumping high, he plucked the
spear from his companion. With an expression of fear on
her face she moved away behind the screens.
The divine-man now danced all by himself with more and
more rapid movements. He acted the part of the God Velan killing the demon Soora. Soora's head was chopped off
repeatedly. But the severed-head grew back again and
again. Velan grew angrier and angrier as the head came
back again and again. Sparks flew from his eyes. In the
end Soora fell dead. Thevar-aalan threw his spear down.
By now all musical instruments were quiet. Only the little
hand-held drum, the udukku could be heard. A priest stood
near the stage fanatically beating the hand-drum. Each part
of Thevar-aalan's body shuddered. Those in the audience
whispered to each other: "The spirit has materialized."
Soon the priest looked at the frenzied Thevar-aalan and
said, "Vela! Muruga! Commander of the Gods! Lord who
killed Soora! Please reveal your divine predictions to us,
your devotees."
"Ask fellow! Ask whatever you want! I will reveal all!"
replied the delirious man. "Will the rains be good? Shall
we have plenty of water? Will the land be bountiful? Will
our desires be fulfilled?" asked the priest.
"The rains will be in season. The waters would be
abundant. The land will be fruitful and desires will be
fulfilled! But you have not made offerings to my Mother!
The Goddess desires a sacrifice. The Mother-Goddess
wants a sacrifice!" shouted the dancer in delirium.
"What sacrifice?" asked the priest.
"Will it be offered if I ask?"
"Yes, we will offer it. We shall surely offer the sacrifice."
"She wants the blood of royalty! She thirsts for the blood
of a prince from a thousand year-old dynasty!" shouted the
frenzied dancer in a horrible voice.
The dignitaries seated in front of the stage -- Lord
Pazluvoor, Lord of Mazluvoor, Lord Sambuvaraya and
others, they looked at each other. Their eyes seemed to talk
a secret language. Lord Sambuvaraya seemed to make a
sign to the priest.
The priest stopped beating his hand-drum. The dancer
dropped upon the stage like a felled tree. The woman
dancer ran in to help him out. The audience dispersed
silently. Somewhere outside, the howling of wolves could
be heard.
Vandiya Devan, who had been watching all this with some
agitation, looked towards the direction in which the
howling wolves were heard. There, atop the outer ramparts
of the fortress, he saw a head!
It was Azlvar-adiyan's head. For a second he was subject
to a horrifying feeling. It appeared as if the severed head of
Azlvar-adiyan had been placed upon those walls. He
blinked his eyelids to look again: the head was no longer
there! He felt ashamed about the worthless fear that had taken hold of him. Several other emotions beyond his
experience seemed to agitate his thoughts.