'He died of a snake bite,' some said while others privately believed that he had consumed poison. There were few people around when the body was mounted atop a bed of logs that was soon engulfed in flames, the last rites of purification for a departed soul. Savita stood watching from a distance, her eyes swollen and red as the fire that was consuming the corpse.
Savita, still young at 25, was a mother of two little kids. She lived in a small village in Bihar while her husband worked in far away Delhi. Lonely and depressed, she found happiness in the arms of her neighbour, Subhash Yadav, a young man five years her junior. Their hearts soared and, together, they experienced the joy of living, of being. But, in a small village made smaller by prying eyes and jealous inhabitants, their love soon became a subject of gossip.
The village folk, unwilling to see a couple couple without social or legal sanction took a serious view of the happenings in their village. They made what was not their business theirs. At first they warned Subhash Yadav to break off his liaison with Savita. Then they began to taunt and ridicule him. Seeing that their words had no impact on him they threatened him. 'That woman that you love and sleep with - you know, that Savita woman. We will make her the village bride. Why must we not taste the meat you do? Once she has been with all of us, she will learn how to love you better...'
A few days later, someone found Subhash's body lying in a field.
Savita's mind was a tangle as she watched his body charring before her very eyes.
'Gone! The bastard has gone! Let's see how this whore makes love with him now,' someone seemed to say. Savita didn't know who said that and why. All she could see was her Subhash covered in flames as they raged furiously around his body. Draping an end of her saree over her head, Savita dashed to the funeral pyre and jumped straight in.
'No one can take my love from me. Subhash is mine and I am his. I will be his sati,' Savita whispered as the flames enveloped her with her Subhash.
A Note:
Sati, the act of a woman consigning herself to the flames of her husband's funeral pyre has been banned in India since its independence. However, the odd incident does take place once in a while.
Points to Ponder:
The incident raises many questions. But, since the ban on Sati, any statement in support of the practice can be interpreted as a violation of law in India. While Sati may be abhorrent, what about those who drive women and men to such acts of desperation? Are they not more in the wrong?
Conventions, traditions and laws are inimical to love but that's nothing new. Can love be controlled? Should it be? Is love an act of the will? Is love without social or legal sanction wrong? Is it always avoidable? Do others have the right to interfere in what is essentially a private matter?
What do you think Savita could or should have done after Subhash's death?
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