Chapter 2 – The Law

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Theloottu Dharmedran Tamburan, a.k.a Dharmendran Tamburan laid in between the trail of tyre marks left by the convoy of tractors, that usually pass the field’s pathways early in the morning carrying fodder for the oxen. The temple bells resonated through the paddy fields to purify the air. Swwwwishhhhh— the long paddy strands in the field were dancing gleefully to the tunes of the cool breeze. The early morning darkness skilfully hid the blood streak on the ground while the mud sucked it up like a hungry leech. His blood… soaked his land. It was nature’s collaborative effort of hiding the dirty past!

An Ariel view could make anyone at Theeroor think that it was one of those normal days when he was heavily drunk and passed out while returning from Shantechi’s kudil (hut), which was one of the favorite spots for the men of Theloottu Mana traditionally. Illegitimate yet secretly permissible as per their law. ‘Mana’ is a family house of the Namboodiris (Kerala Brahmins) and Theloottu Mana has a history of more than 200 years!

For ages the Theloottu Namboodiri feudal lords ruled and dictated terms at Theeroor; they controlled the lower castes and made sure all of them conformed to their laws. Polygyny was common among upper-caste Namboodiris. Their laws were unreasonable and supported untouchability to the maximum. It was the way of life in Theroor those days. The lower castes were entitled only to serve the Namboodiris and as quid pro quo earn some food grains, coconuts, or anything meager that their masters wished to dispose of. 

These laws have drastically changed for the good where people have spread their wings and left the stupendous feudalism cocoons and flew towards dignity and prosperity while a few old families were still caught in the invisible loop of obeying to their then feudal lords; one such family was Thondachan Peruvambad’s family. Being the head of the family, his own family members always blamed Thondachan for his naïve and timid nature. He always ended up being a ‘Yes-man’ and kept away from anything that caused a threat to the happiness of his family and Dharmendran Thamburan was surely one of them.

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To Read Chapter 3 here