Cursed vermillion

December 31^st it rained cats and dogs. There was storm outside and inside Kavita who is maid by profession and destiny. Her life has been bruised along her aggressive masters and abusive partner. When on morning January 1, 2014, around 4:00 am she left her bed, she decided today would be real happy New Year for her. Her husband still laid in inebriated state as if his mother breastfed him with the beer.

People’s life began after sun rise; however her life sets after the sun rise. She works from 4:00am to 10:000 pm today she was feeling devil inside her, she decided to revenge from the world that has always abused her.

So when she was preparing the breakfast for her husband, she mixed craton tiglium (jamalgota) in his meal .what she did was the thin edge of the wedge, deadlier things would follow soon.

At      8:00 am she left for b1/454, a white bungalow .everyone still has last night hangover. They lay on their bed, it’s too cold outside and they are too fragile to do chores. Kavita and ladies like her are macho maids, they feel no cold, get get no hurt.

While she was scraping potatoes and peeling onions on the kitchen slab, she heard Mr. Kapoor switching on the TV for the morning news. The bulletin was about the US trail of Indian diplomat Ms Devani Khobgrade for underpayment to the maid. Kavita thought, Indians all over the world are same. Underpayment of maids and their overuse is their fundamental right.

Today as there was devil inside her. She remembered how on her first day of job, Ms Kapoor instructed her not to eat or drink in home utensils but to make her separate utensils to eat or drink. So before serving tea to Mr. Kapoor she drank the tea in his cup and reserved tea in it to him.

While she was doing dishes, the radio reminder said” to have extra milk these winters”, radio spot sponsored by Horlicks .she remembered how her mother never gave milk to her, but only her brother. Never in her life had she drunk a glass full of milk. Kavita went to fridge took glass of milk and drank. But this chilled milk could not cool down her anger.

Ms Kapoor is on fast, so she prepared her meal but secretly mixed onions in it. She went in past when her mother forced her to fast for 16 Mondays to make lord Shiva happy .this would get her best husband, but instead Shiva got extremely happy and fetched her abusive husband who made her fast her rest of her life. But today the rout will be out. Justice would be done today.

In evening she left for her home. Ramasrey her husband is lean, dark and cruel man. He doesn’t treat her as his wife, but his laundry, his kitchen, his punching bag and brothel. In 22 years of her marriage, he broke her one rib, her eardrum and has an extra marital affair. Often she thought of divorce but her parents told her that “your husband is your god, whatever he gives you except it as his Prasad.”.Unlike rich women she cannot hold press conference and announce her divorce.

But Kavita decided she would revenge in her mild brutal ways. She knew by this time her husband’s stomach would have gone fragile,jamalgota would have played its part. She quickly went to the kitchen and chopped capsicum, her husband’s favorite dish. She mixed 20 full teaspoon red chili powder in it. This red chili was given to her by Ms Kapoor as it was deadly for their consumption. She emptied all the water in the house. Except one glass of water carefully planned on the kitchen wall. She dissolved heavy dose of poison in it. She decorated thali for Ramasrey and kept it over the slab. She poured mustard oil on the kitchen doorstep.

Around 8:00 pm in the night, Ramasrey arrived he was looking tired and broken but managed to abuse Kavita. Kavita did not reply, instead she asked him to cool down as she has prepared his favorite dish.

She went and locked the entry door of the house, and asked him to get his food from the kitchen as she was going to washroom. She locked herself in the washroom and Ramasrey took his feet toward the kitchen.

Ramasrey slipped on the kitchen door step and broke his jaw and hurt his elbow, he started abusing Kavita however hunger in his stomach was hurting more than the wounds over the body. He took his thali from the kitchen and came out, eagerly taking his first bite. His first bite of capsicum burned him from temple to toe. He was helplessly running here and there shouting for water, but found none. He found glass of water on the kitchen wall while returning from the kitchen. He thought he was drinking his life but as planned by Kavita he drank his death.

After few minutes Ramasrey went half dead, succumbing to his wounds. Then washroom door opened with eerie crankiness. Kavita emerged through it; she was beautifully dressed in her whit white sari with maroon border. Her black-grey hair lay open over her face and back. There was red vermillion on her fore head, red lipstick resting on her lips and vibrant red bangles around her hands made her look supreme divine.

It seemed devil spirits have down to earth from hell and found host in Kavita.

Ramasrey shouted “why did you do this?” sidling towards Kavita.

“Is it hurting”?? Asked Kavita

She said this pain is nothing in front of the pain, turmoil and agony I went for 22 years. For 22 years you abused me, I did not utter a word, but today you will pay price for my endless tears.

This pain is nothing in front of the pain when you hit my abdomen with your leg while I was menstruating.

when you smashed my vagina with kitchen implements.

when i delivered still born kid because you broke me while i was pregnent.

when i learnt you were living with the other woman.

 I lost my youth ,I lost my beauty, I lost my kid, my tears have even dried I  have become stone ,I feel no hurt and no regret.

Ramasrey could not stand; he was bleeding profusely, in just few minutes his soul would be wandering in the sky above. Kavita held his pale, half dead face with her fist and smashed his head on the wall. He fell on the floor. She sat in front of his dead body, she stared at her hands filled with red bangles, she broke those bangles on his body, and she wiped out her vermillion and soaked her hands in his blood. She spread his blood over her face with both her hands.

Outside people were celebrating the victory of the “Aaam Aadmi”, inside an  "Aam Aurat" triumphed .Tomorrow she might be jailed but her soul is set free. She freed her fingers from coiled ring, she broke her hands free of bangles, and she freed herself from the cursed vermillion.