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| Sunday, 20 October 2002 |
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Short Story Red
and Blue mattress series by Ruth Cole
On other occasions they had continued their war training and the accumulation of guns while the leaders were at peace talks. But this time they had stopped all involvements. Terrorism was coming to an end. Dhanu was greatly disturbed. She stopped pacing and looked at herself in the mirror. She looked very strong and confident in her terrorist uniform. She smiled and saluted to her reflection. Then she looked around the room and noticed the red and blue mattress. She then tried to wear the mat like a saree. (It was nothing more than a blanket but the terrorist called these their sleeping mattresses) She looked at the charming modest girl in the mirror. She couldn't identify this new creature as her reflection. She hated the vulnerability this new creature had. It took her back ten fifteen years. Discrimination She remembered her childhood. They belonged to a Sri Lankan Tamil family in Jaffna. Her father was proud of his belonging to the peninsula, its customs and beliefs. They belonged to the Vellalag caste and he believed that they were superior to all the other Tamils. Thus he upheld conventional values and tradition and said that they should live an exemplary life. At home they remained under the father's control. He made decisions about their lives. He expected his wife and young daughters to wear sarees. The only education the girls of her family received was on Karnataka music and Bharata-Natyam. But Dhanu was glad that she was allowed to go to Hindu College. But unlike her brother who was expected to join the civil service, she was not expected to earn her living. She remembered the plight of her friends who were given in marriage at a young age. They couldn't go against their fathers wish. They had a strict culture and tradition. The women were not given a separate identity. They only played the roles of a daughter, a wife and a mother. Their lives were restricted to sari and Talli. Adding to this, the Tesawalamai law was a patriarchal law which restricts the rights of women. She remembered how jealous she was of her Sinhalese friends who had more freedom. But Tamil women were always under this suffocating male control. Dhanu now recalled that if not for the L.T.T.E. war her plight would have been the same. She remembered the sufferings of Madu, who was married to her neighbour. She came from a Chetti family in Colombo. Madu was used to a more liberal life there. She had opened Dhanu's eyes to the modernization of the world. In Colombo they wore casual clothes, ate light diets and enjoyed life. She was shocked to see the girls as pawns of their fathers and wives as slaves of their husbands in traditional society . Metamorphosis The L.T.T.E. war was a revolutionary turning point for Tamil women. Their father's couldn't stop them when they decided to join the armed struggle rejecting customary roles. The women cadres were treated equally with men. Their capabilities were recognized. They no longer played a supporting role but a major role in society. They fought shoulder to shoulder with men. More over, they were allowed to wear trousers and ride bicycles. The brutality of the war was opened to their eyes. In previous riots like the Hindu - Catholic conflict over the Tiruketheeswaram Kovil or the Jaffna and Vanni Tamil clashes provoked by the Yarl Akatti Sangam. (The Society to Remove Jaffna Man) or even the hostilities between Sri Lankan Tamils and immigrant Indian Tamils, girls were not recruited. All this time men had expected them to be like Lady Sita of the great epic Ramayana. She was the symbol of feminine ideology. Her husband Prince Rama didn't allow her to go to war saying women were not aware of war tricks. (Though Lady Sita did go to war, men ignored it for their convenience.) But now it has changed. Dhanu appreciated the freedom they had got due to the war. The girls too made decisions and war plans. They engaged in masculine activities ignoring the patriarchal concepts of feminism. They were no longer considered a feeble gender or expected to be like "Lady Sita". The memories of her oppressed childhood led her to kill the men brutally. It pleased her to be able to kill men and take revenge for all their male authority and ill treatment. Her jealousy over the freedom her Sinhalese friends enjoyed, gave her the guts to kill women soldiers. This awareness of her new acquired roughness made her strong. There was no discriminating laws anymore. Military law treated all equally. She could wear what she wanted and do what she wanted. Denial She remembered how Captain Vanathi wrote a bunker poem saying that the new generation of women wore blood stains and cyanide flasks instead of Kunkumam and the Thali. Thus for Dhanu this was not only a war of liberation of Tamil Eelam but a war liberating women. The ghost appearing in the mirror would be a denial of this independence, and a return to the old life style. She frowned at the mirror and took off the red and blue blanket immediately. She was relieved to see a much accustomed reflection back. She hung her gun on her shoulder. Now she looked not only confident but also strong. But peace would deprive all this freedom. She reassured herself that the new generation of men would accept change. Their attitude to women would be broadened. They would be used to seeing a different type of woman. They might not chain their wives with a Thali. Peace will dawn not only to their country but also to their lives. She looked at the red and blue mattress which she had thrown away. She folded it nicely and replaced it with a sigh. She felt calmer. She then left the room and walked down the A 9 road. Laughter There was laughter and happy faces everywhere. The Tamils who escaped to other countries had returned to meet their relations. There was also the Sinhalese observing the remaining beauty of the peninsula. People were sharing their special food without any hostilities. An old lady offered her some sweetmeats. She felt glad that peace had come. The place looked as if it has been recalled to life. As she was wandering along the road she noticed a happier face. It was her neighbour Madu. Dhanu was surprised to see her happy at a time when the war was about to end. Madu had volunteered to participate in the war thinking that it would be Tamil women's ultimate salvation. Dhanu expected Madu to be as disturbed as she was. She couldn't understand why Madu was so happy. She took Dhanu to meet her family who had visited her after about twelve years. All this time they were not in contact. The war had cruelly separated them. They were in doubt if Madu was still alive. It was only now that Dhanu realized why Madu had sighed and cried all these years. Today Madu looked as if she had won the war. Dhanu had not seen such brilliance in Madu's eyes before. Not even when the war broke out. She felt happy for Madu. It's through her eyes that Dhanu saw the world differently for the first time. Now she reopened Dhanu's eyes for the second time. She was really glad that peace had come. She felt an urge to visit her parents.. She flew home singing to herself "Wada Millei, Beda Millei, Alakhier Ulagam Nallei Mallakhiergam". |
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The warmth of hearts outweighed the warmth of fires and explosions. The
whole scenario had changed. Dhanu preferred valour and gallantry to
harmony and tranquility. But to her greatest disappointment, peace had
come. The Truce is going to be an abiding horror. She stopped polishing
her gun and paced up and down the room.
