GOOD FORTUNE
Illindala Saraswathi Devi
Seenayya died.
He was in bed for over two years and died after lot of suffering; he could not eat or swallow.
His death did not bring tears to anybody’s eyes. His family thought, “The jeevudu in his body has
been writhing with pain for over two years and now been freed, finally.” No more suffering for him, no
more struggle. His mouth was shut. He lay there straight and stiff.
His room was in a corner in the house. Right from that corner, he’d been groaning, screaming, calling
for everybody, fretting and fuming because nobody responded to his calls—not so much as a peek;
then he raised his voice higher—all this ended.
It was 3:00 in the morning. They all were sleeping while the fan provided cool breeze. Seenayya
breathed his last; nobody in the in the house noticed that he died.
It was dawn, the sun just came up. Seenayya’s four sons woke, brushed their teeth, and had the
coffee their wives brought in for them. After that, they picked up the newspaper, a section each, and
sat down to read.
Their children woke up, brushed their teeth, drank coffee, took bath, and picked their books to go to
school. They all were busy with their daily activities—jobs and the fear of not make it on time.
In that house, there was a 15-year-old girl; her vocal chords were muted. She was Seenayya’s only
daughter. She went into his room as usual and kept looking into his face without batting an eye. He
was not groaning and that worried her. She took his hand and felt his pulse; put her hand on his
heart and tried to find if it was beating; touched his hands and feet. The body was cold and stiff.
Her name was Sundari. She was “sundari” not only in name; she was truly beautiful. She tried to
check up on Seenayya the best she knew how. Then she came out of the room, went to the servants
and tried to sign to them—pointed to her heart and pulse on her hand and tried to explain that she
could not feel Seenayya’s pulse. Before they could figure out her gestures, she went to her brothers’
rooms and told them too.
They dismissed her saying, “Crazy girl! This dumb idiot fusses for even the slightest change in him.
Maybe he is sleeping. The house is quiet. Maybe the medications worked today.”
They all were getting ready to go to work. The daily schedule went on as usual.
Sundari was not able to speak but she was not stupid. She had been doing all the chores in the
house without anybody telling her; nobody could find fault with her work. She understood that nobody
paid attention to her concern. She ran to Madhavayya who lived a few houses down the street. He
was a distant relative of Seenayya.
She folded her two hands and explained to Madhavayya gesturing Seenayya’s condition in her own
way and begged him to come and see himself. Madhavayya understood her gestures. He had known
her since her childhood days. Like her father, he was also worried about this girl, who was born after
four boys, and with speech disability.
Madhavayya noticed her agony, understood the situation, and stood up. He threw a towel on his
shoulder and said, “Come, I’ll go with you,” and followed her.
By that time, all the men had left for work and the children for school. Working daughters-in-law
rushed to their bus stops. Only the eldest daughter-in-law was home, tidying up her room.
Madhavayya went straight to Seenayya’s room and noticed his condition. Sundari was crying
inconsolably. Madhavayya wiped her tears and asked her to bring a mat. Per custom, they both
moved the body onto the mat and covered it with a sheet.
Madhavayya came out of the room and said to Kanthamma, the eldest daughter-in-law, “Ammayi,
Kanthamma, Seenayya has died a while ago. Sundari and I laid him on the mat. What about the
others? Are they at work?”
“Yes. They’re all gone,” she replied, as if asking, “So what?”
“We need to inform them of the news. The sons must come home. The daughters-in-law need to be
here as well,” Madhavayya said.
“How can we? We have no phone in our house. What should we do?”
“Haven’t you been making phone calls from my neighbor’s house? Come on, make the calls. It looks
like he died five or six hours back.”
“Did Sundari tell you that? She’s crazy. She gets nervous for no reason and gets on everybody else’s
nerves as well. Do you think they’ll let us talk on the phone so early in the morning and that too about
death?”
“Why wouldn’t they? This is an important message. I’m sure they wouldn’t object to an urgent
message like this. Go, give them the message.”
“I don’t know. I’m scared.”
“Then, write down their phone numbers at work and give it to me. Also, include the numbers of your
todikodallu . I will make the calls. They all must come,” he said, frowning. He was annoyed.
“I don’t know for sure. I will note down as much as I can recall. I think he was okay while they all were
home. Or else, I am sure, they wouldn’t have left for work,” she thought as she jotted down the phone
numbers.
Madhavayya went and made the calls. They all, the sons and their wives, came home. Neighbors
noticed the commotion and they also gathered there.
“Didn’t any of you go into his room before leaving for work and check his condition? Probably, he
died sometime in the night,” Madhavayya said, distressed.
“We all get up and get busy with our things. We have to rush through the day or else we’ll miss our
buses,” the sons replied.
“That’s true. But, when you have a sick man in the house, you must look after him, no matter how
busy you are. And he is not somebody; he is your own father, responsible for your lives. He was the
father who had sweated to make money and raise you. He gave you all education and raised you like
princes. It’s your duty to take care of him.”
“The doctor said ‘No need for any more medications. He is not able to swallow even liquids. There is
nothing I could do.’ So, all we could do is to watch, isn’t it? We’ve been checking each night before we
went to bed. And again, before we left for work. What else we can do, you tell us. There is no remedy
for his sickness. We put him in the hospital and arranged for his medications. It wasn’t easy to
arrange for his radiation treatment yet we got that too for him. We did everything the doctors told us
to do.”
Madhavayya had no response for this kind of logic at the moment. Sundari sat next to Seenayya,
sobbing and heartbroken.
“Poor man. He’s suffered horribly for not one or two days but two long years.”
“His kindness, his good heart and the patience—they all have come to nothing.”
“The sons are well-educated and settled in good jobs. They all are happy with their families. But what
about this poor Sundari? The God has given her gorgeous looks but not the voice. She has no
mother to start with and now the father’s gone too. What would she do from tomorrow on?”
“What else? The brothers would get into a brawl—each telling the other to take care of her.
Wherever she is, and despite the fact she is still young, she’ll have to undertake all the chores and
the slog. She’ll manage somehow and put up with all the yelling and the battering from the sisters-in-
law.”
The neighbors were saying whatever came to their minds.
Madhavayya said, “Why waste time? We have to cremate the body. Let’s start making the
arrangements.”
The neighbors pitched in. Seenayya’s body was devoured by the flames.
Sundari was befuddled. She had no father anymore. Who would take of her? Nobody in this house
recognized her labor regardless how hard she had been working. Nobody ever asked her did you eat
or did you take bath; not even casually if not caringly.
Madhavayya stopped by occasionally and asked her how she was doing. Since she could not speak,
she could not tell him what was going on in her heart.
After her father died, Sundari’s life became even worse. She was sitting in the some place for hours
and crying nonstop. She had no desire to eat or drink.
The thought of Sundari was a cause for concern for Seenayya’s sons. For some of them, it was
terrifying.
Sundari’s beautiful face was worn out primarily because of the loss of her father and, secondly, lack
of food. She was also worried about the decision her brothers might make regarding her future. All
these issues together got to her to a point where she could collapse at the slightest touch.
After the death rites had been completed, Madhavayya took over as the head of the household. He
asked the sons, “You all are well-educated and well settled in life. Poor Sundari! She is still young
and further a mute. Up until now, your father had taken care of her. Who’s going to look after her
welfare from now on? What about her future?”
“What about it? We’ll know when we ask the lawyer what our father has done for us, allocated what
property to whom? We’ve phoned the lawyer. He is not in town,” the eldest son replied.
“Does he know about the present situation?”
“I called him from my office and told him. ‘Sorry,’ he said and added, ‘He suffered a lot; cancer is like
that. There is no escape from that disease.’ We’ll know all the details after he is back,” the eldest son
said.
Time was passing slowly. The sons were waiting anxiously for the lawyer to return. They were worried
about the allocation by their father.
The lawyer returned from his trip like a dazzling sunlight. Seenayya’s sons went to him on their way
home from work, and told him, “You must be tired. We can meet with you tomorrow,” reminding him of
their meeting on the following day.
Each one had his own hopes and wishes. The brothers spent all night dreaming I wish I got this or I
hope I got that. Seenayya had owned the two-storey building they were living in and also fifteen acres
of land. He had set aside the income from the land separately. It was fertile land. He had bought it in
Madhavayya’s name, since Madhavayya was childless. Recently, Seenayya had purchased
certificates of deposit in Sundari’s name, and given them to the lawyer for safekeeping. The sons
were not aware of this transaction.
One day, Seenayya read a news item in the newspaper.
A doctor from Germany would be coming to Bombay. He could make the mute persons speak by
fixing a plastic sound box in the vocal chords of the muted. He was visiting Bombay twice a year. He
would work only on young people. First, he would take an x-ray of the relevant parts and examines if
his procedure would work or not. Since it was a time-consuming process, he would suggest feeding
the person nutritious food. After examining the x-ray, he would take the necessary measurements
and would have the sound box made and return after six months. Then he would perform the
operation and install the sound box in the patient’s throat. It would take sometime for the sound box to
adjust and work in conjunction with the other parts of the body. Up until then, the patient must stay in
the hospital under his supervision. After the sound box was well adjusted to the vocal chords and the
blood circulation returned to normal, after the stitches were healed, he would teach the words, one by
one, slowly. He would train his assistants regarding the steps to be taken while he was in Germany,
and would be consulting the local doctors via phone on a regular basis. He would be instructing them
on the procedure as appropriate. Some of his patients were able to talk even before he returned from
Germany.
The news item, published by the hospital administrators, said it was a golden opportunity for those
who could afford it financially. It also said that the fee depended on the amount of work involved in
each case. Dollar value changes constantly. One must have about one hundred thousand rupees on
hand towards the expenses—the fee for the surgery, their stay in Bombay along with those who
accompanied the patient, and such.
If Sundari was really lucky, she could obtain the speech capability with this new kind of surgery. After
she got her speech, he could think about her education and marriage. Seenayya wanted to do
whatever he could to make Sundari have a normal life like everybody else. That was all he could
hope for as a father.
Seenayya had told Madhavayya about his plan and made arrangements with the help of the lawyer
secretly. He had been corresponding with the doctor whenever he came to visit the hospital in
Bombay and gathering information. This surgery had been kept secret between the three of them. At
the time, Sundari had just turned thirteen.
At about the same time, a doctor, who had examined Seenayya routinely, told him that he had cancer
in his throat. While he was in the hospital and receiving radiation treatment, he continued to have the
produce from his land sold, and certificates of deposits purchased, and had the monies deposited in
Sundari’s name.
Although he was known as Seenayya in his town, his full name was Srinivasulu. He had retired as a
registrar and had been receiving pension each month. He opened an account in a local bank to be
operated jointly by Madhavayya and Sundari and kept his wife’s jewelry there, without his sons’
knowledge. By the time the sons got married, their mother had already passed away and so the
daughters-in-law had never known about her jewelry.
During the two years Seenayya had been suffering from cancer, Madhavayya had been visiting him
regularly. Seenayya had been discussing these matters with Madhavayya at the time. He also had
made Madhavayya swear to secrecy. Seenayya had told him, “Madhavayya, treat Sundari as your
own daughter. Spend all this money for her wellbeing. If she could ever speak, think of it as her
mother’s luck. Don’t ask what is luck for a dead woman. Wouldn’t she be watching Sundari from up
there and be happy if Sundari could ever speak like everybody else! Maybe, I’ll also be happy from
up there. These are all my golden dreams. Madhavayya, my daughter’s luck depends on your
kindness and goodwill.” Seenayya took Madhavayya’s two hands into his own and shed tears. On the
third day following this incident, Seenayya died.
About a month back, a letter addressed to Madhavayya came in the mail from Bombay. It said the
doctor would be returning to Bombay from Germany the following week and asked him to bring the
girl for tests. It also said that the doctor would be in Bombay for only two months.
Madhavayya heard that the lawyer was back in town, and went to see him after dark. He brought with
him the certificates of deposit, which were in Sundari’s name. The following day was the day the sons
would be receiving their shares of the property.
On the said day, the lawyer came as scheduled and read the details of the will. The sons could divide
the property—the house they were living in and the fifteen acres of land, which was being handed
down over several generations—between themselves as they pleased. The sons also read the will.
There was no mention of Sundari anywhere. They read it over and again to see whether their father
had stated anywhere who should take care of Sundari and whether he had set aside any additional
amount for the purpose. There was no mention of her at all.
The following day, they all were ready to go their separate ways. Where would Sundari live? Her
vadina, third brother’s wife, was expecting, due in about two months. Therefore, the brother and his
wife invited her kindly into their home. Sundari moved in with them and took care of all the household
chores. One month passed by. vadina started whining about Sundari.
One day, Madhavayya came to see Sundari and overheard vadina complaining to her husband, “How
long are we going to bear this burden?”
Madhavayya asked, “What about your other brothers? Have they not invited her to their place?”
“They stopped visiting us completely. How long can I put up with this?” Sundari’s third brother said.
“Ask your brothers to come here. Tell them I want to talk to them,” Madhavayya said.
All the brothers arrived within a half hour. Madhavayya asked them about Sundari.
“Babaayi! our father did not say a single word about her in his will. Did he think we should take care
of her jointly? Why could he not allot some extra money to one of us for taking care of her? He had a
job in his lifetime yet could not consider the ramifications of his actions? If I take her in, my wife would
ask how she is our responsibility. So also my other brothers’ wives. I can’t think of any answer for this
question,” the eldest son said.
Madhavayya replied, “Alright. You all are pointing fingers at each other and asking you or me? I will
adopt Sundari. Send her to my home. She is mute, she can’t speak, but she certainly understands
the situation well. You don’t have to worry about her responsibility anymore.” He looked at them. They
all heaved a sigh of relief as if a huge burden was lifted off their chests.
Madhavayya continued, “Your father was going to tell you when it is time to do so. I was also thinking
the same thing. Seenayya was my mother’s sister’s son. I have no children and I did not marry again
after my wife’s death. Your father invited me to come and live with him. I told him, ‘No, I have my
house. I’ll live there and cook my own food.’ We used to see each other everyday. Send Sundari with
me.”
“Take her. There is nothing to pack; all she has is a change of clothes. She can take them and go
with you.”
Sundari was standing at the door holding her clothes neatly folded; she was ready to leave.
“Shall we go to our home?” Madhavayya asked her. She nodded and followed him.
***
The brothers’ bickering helped Madhavayya in finalizing his trip to Bombay. He sold his house and
the land and proceeded to Bombay with Sundari.
At the Bombay station, they had coffee and tiffin and went to the hospital. The doctor from Germany
also reached his office at the same time. He invited Madhavayya and Sundari into his office.
The doctor was young, just under thirty. He asked Madhavayya to tell him about Sundari.
Madhavayya replied that Sundari had turned fifteen and that she was mute.
“Is she the girl you’ve written to me about?”
“Yes.”
“Let me examine her. I’ll have the x-ray taken and see,” he said and walked her into the x-ray lab. He
showed to the technician the parts he need the x-rays of. The technician did as he was told.
After examining the x-ray pictures, the doctor took them into his office. “Give her nutritious food. She
has to be strong. I’ll take the measurements, have the device made, and be back in six months. Then
I’ll perform the surgery, which enables her to speak. My consultation fee for the present service is
one hundred rupees. The surgery takes lot longer. At that time, you will have to pay me a higher fee,
in addition to the hospital charges. She is very beautiful. In our country, it is a different kind of
beauty,” he said, watching her with curiosity.
Madhavayya assured him that he would pay the stated fee, had the papers drawn, and added, “We’ll
go home for now and be back in time for the surgery. I’ll give her healthy food. Is it possible for me to
stay with her in the room after the surgery?”
“Yes, you can. No need to be scared about her wellbeing. I’ll perform the surgery myself. I can make
her talk. She’ll have to stay in the hospital for some time though.”
“We will.”
After they returned to their town, Madhavayya started giving her good food—milk, vegetables and
eggs—twice a day. Within two months, the change in Sundari’s strikingly obvious. Her face glowed
with a wholesome look. She was a beautiful girl to begin with, and now, with nutritious food, she
looked like a queen.
After six months, they received a letter informing them that the doctor was back in Bombay. During
these six months, Madhavayya sold his house and other things. He sold the land Seenayya had given
him also. Both Madhavayya and Sundari packed their boxes and set out to Bombay. They did not
know where to stay. The city and the people were new to them. They left their luggage in a room at
the railway station, took bath, had tiffin, and went to the hospital.
Sundari was admitted into the hospital right away. The surgery was scheduled for the next day.
The following day, she was taken into the operation room. Madhavayya could not figure out at what
time the surgery began but understood that four hours had passed according to his watch.
The doctor informed Madhavayya that Sundari was still unconscious; therefore, nobody was allowed
into her room yet. Madhavayya went to a nearby hotel, ate and returned to the waiting room. Inside,
Sundari was being fed glucose water through tubes. The doctor stayed at the hospital for the night,
sat next to her bed, and made sure that she was receiving the food properly.
On the following day, the doctor sent word to Madhavayya that he could come in and see her. “The
surgery went well. I readjusted the relevant parts in her throat and fixed the plastic sound box in her
vocal chords,” he said and added that she would be able to talk for sure, and that he was certain to
hear her voice before he left. He also suggested that she could eat as usual after the incisions from
the surgery had been healed.
Unlike in other cases, the doctor did not collect his fee in Sundari’s case at first. He said he would
take it only after Sundari had gained her voice. He was visiting her whenever he had time.
The hospital staff were surprised by the extra attention the doctor was paying to Sundari. They also
were taking good care of her. The x-rays were being taken regularly. They showed that the plastic
sound box in her vocal chords was set well and looking natural. After running the tests, the doctor
tried to make her utter words one by one. He said A, B, C, D, and tried to make her repeat them. Her
voice sounded very weak at first and then improved gradually. She started uttering each letter,
watching the lip movements of the person who was sitting in front of her. When the doctor was not
around, Madhavayya sat next to her and helped her speak small words. The doctor told him not to
make her speak more than one half hour a day.
Madhavayya was elated that Sundari could speak. He remembered her father’s wishes, and decided
to find a good bridegroom for her and arrange her marriage after she had gained her speech.
Sundari kept practicing to speak. As long as the doctor was in the room, she was repeating each
word he had said with great enthusiasm. He was teaching her English words and feeding the food
himself. He was quite taken by her beauty.
Sundari was not very good at speaking yet. Nevertheless, she started getting interested in the doctor;
she was attracted to him. She was learning whatever he taught her quickly and he was equally
excited about her progress. They were beginning to laugh and tease each other.
Madhavayya had no problem teaching her Telugu words. Since she was already familiar with the
subject and since it was only a matter of physically voicing the Telugu alphabet, she was picking up
Telugu fast enough. The doctor was making every effort to teach her English.
One day, Madhavayya entered her room and saw that the doctor was holding Sundari’s face in his
two hands and saying something. The doctor saw Madhavayya, moved away quickly, and said, “I’ll
teach her how to speak as long as I’m here. In Germany, there are specialists to teach the language
further and give her proper education as well. Should I take her with me? What do you think?”
“Doctor garu, we don’t send unmarried girls with strangers to anywhere,” Madhavayya said.
“Then I’ll marry her. I’m very much taken by her beauty,” the doctor said.
“Aren’t you married?”
“No, I’m not married yet. I felt like marrying only after seeing her. You have no objection, do you?” he
asked.
“This young woman is like a daughter to me. I have no other family but her. I can’t live without her,”
Madhavayya said.
He was happy that the doctor wanted to marry Sundari. But what about himself after she had left?
The very thought brought tears to Madhavayya’s eyes. “I’ll go with her. I’ll find a job there and earn
my living. Take me with you. I’ll pay your fee in rupees. You can convert them into dollars. Besides,
this girl has money of her own. You can convert that also into dollars. Her mother’s jewelry is in a safe
deposit box. I’ll bring them also to you. Doctor garu, she has no mother, never knew what the word
affection meant. You must take good care of her,” Madhavayya said.
“I’ll worship her like a goddess. You go home. We can think of the conversion after you are back from
your town,” the doctor said, watching Sundari fondly.
“Where is the marriage going to take place? Here or in your country?” Madhavayya asked.
“Why do you say ‘your’ country? You’re also coming with us! Say ‘our’ country. I am so lucky! I got
such a beautiful woman for wife! No need to discuss my fee. Give it to her. One more thing. Do you
mind if I call her by a name I like?” the doctor asked Madhavayya.
“Where is the question of my liking or not liking? Whatever you two like goes for me too,”
Madhavayya said and went away. He returned with the jewelry on the third day. “Wear them and show
to the doctor,” Madhavayya told Sundari.
She wore the jewelry and showed to the doctor.
“Oh, you’re so beautiful! You’re looking like a doll! Wait, I would like to take a picture of you with that
smile,” he said and brought his camera.
Madhavayya was happy that lady luck smiled on Sundari in such a strange fashion. He had a picture
taken standing next to Sundari.
***
(The Telugu original adrushta rekha was published in the author’s anthology, Swarnakamalaalu.)
(Translated by Nidadavolu Malathi)