The year was 1902.
Ganga was only 16 years old when she married Bheemiah. He was 44 and she was his second wife. His first wife Yeshi was unwell. She had been unwell for about 9 years, she had been bed ridden for the last 5 of those years. She had had a break down one day, no body knew what had happened. But the house hold help found her on the kitchen floor, moaning and crying incoherently one night. The children were young then, and the incident did not have much of an impact on them. Over the years Yeshi’s health deteriorated even further, and she then spent many hours in bed, sullen and morose and refused to leave her room.
The family elders one day met and they decided that Bheemiah needed to get married again. Because the children needed a mother. They sent a proposal to Ganga’s family asking for her hand in marriage. Ganga’s Dad had died when she was very young, leaving the family in dire circumstances. Her eldest brother, was very happy when they got this proposal. Ganga, was what people described as a handsome plain woman, crude, and very industrious. She accepted her fate unquestioningly. On her wedding night, her husband came to her room, sat her down and told her very plainly that he would always love his first wife, and they would sleep in separate rooms. He would however give her full control of the house, and she would never be denied anything. Ganga, quickly settled into her new life. She now had the responsibility of caring for the family and did a good job of that. She looked after the kids, her in laws, even his first wife Yeshi.
Her mother in law and father in law were kind people, who looked at her as the best thing that had happened to the family. Bheemiah had only one sister Thulasi, a widow who stayed with them. She had been widowed very early, and had been sent back to her parents house by her in laws. The rejection society had meted out on her festered like a cancer inside her, and in turn, this manifested itself in to her being very nasty. She would pick on Ganga, who kept quiet most of the time, actually indifferent to her barbs. This got Thulasi more incensed, and one day she decided she was going to take matters into her own hands.
Every night, before turning in for the night, Ganga would go to the kitchen and get a glass of hot milk for her in laws. She would then turn off the lamps in the house, room after room and turn in for the night. One day as usual Ganga was closing up for the night, when she heard a slight sound out side the kitchen. The sound that came was like glass bangles tinkling at night. Curious, Ganga went and opened the back door of the kitchen, thinking that maybe one of the household maid’s was there. But she got a shock of her life, because there stood Thulasi, wearing a diaphanous, wet robe, with her hair askew and holding a candle. She charged at Ganga, shrieking loudly, expecting the same reaction that Yeshi had had, those many years ago. Ganga took a step back, when suddenly the famous Coorg bravery took over her, letting out a roar, she charged at Thulasi and pushed her really hard. Thulasi lost her balance, fell sideways, and hit her head against the iron grill door of the outhouse and died on the spot. The household help found her there the next day morning .The police did not press charges, Thulasi clearly had slipped and fallen
Ganga lived till she was 80, strong, wise and brave till the end. Jamba Kodavti, a word that describes the Daughter of the Soil.
Ganga was only 16 years old when she married Bheemiah. He was 44 and she was his second wife. His first wife Yeshi was unwell. She had been unwell for about 9 years, she had been bed ridden for the last 5 of those years. She had had a break down one day, no body knew what had happened. But the house hold help found her on the kitchen floor, moaning and crying incoherently one night. The children were young then, and the incident did not have much of an impact on them. Over the years Yeshi’s health deteriorated even further, and she then spent many hours in bed, sullen and morose and refused to leave her room.
The family elders one day met and they decided that Bheemiah needed to get married again. Because the children needed a mother. They sent a proposal to Ganga’s family asking for her hand in marriage. Ganga’s Dad had died when she was very young, leaving the family in dire circumstances. Her eldest brother, was very happy when they got this proposal. Ganga, was what people described as a handsome plain woman, crude, and very industrious. She accepted her fate unquestioningly. On her wedding night, her husband came to her room, sat her down and told her very plainly that he would always love his first wife, and they would sleep in separate rooms. He would however give her full control of the house, and she would never be denied anything. Ganga, quickly settled into her new life. She now had the responsibility of caring for the family and did a good job of that. She looked after the kids, her in laws, even his first wife Yeshi.
Her mother in law and father in law were kind people, who looked at her as the best thing that had happened to the family. Bheemiah had only one sister Thulasi, a widow who stayed with them. She had been widowed very early, and had been sent back to her parents house by her in laws. The rejection society had meted out on her festered like a cancer inside her, and in turn, this manifested itself in to her being very nasty. She would pick on Ganga, who kept quiet most of the time, actually indifferent to her barbs. This got Thulasi more incensed, and one day she decided she was going to take matters into her own hands.
Every night, before turning in for the night, Ganga would go to the kitchen and get a glass of hot milk for her in laws. She would then turn off the lamps in the house, room after room and turn in for the night. One day as usual Ganga was closing up for the night, when she heard a slight sound out side the kitchen. The sound that came was like glass bangles tinkling at night. Curious, Ganga went and opened the back door of the kitchen, thinking that maybe one of the household maid’s was there. But she got a shock of her life, because there stood Thulasi, wearing a diaphanous, wet robe, with her hair askew and holding a candle. She charged at Ganga, shrieking loudly, expecting the same reaction that Yeshi had had, those many years ago. Ganga took a step back, when suddenly the famous Coorg bravery took over her, letting out a roar, she charged at Thulasi and pushed her really hard. Thulasi lost her balance, fell sideways, and hit her head against the iron grill door of the outhouse and died on the spot. The household help found her there the next day morning .The police did not press charges, Thulasi clearly had slipped and fallen
Ganga lived till she was 80, strong, wise and brave till the end. Jamba Kodavti, a word that describes the Daughter of the Soil.
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