They say you can keep a flower concealed but cannot mask the fragrance it exudes. As summer gave way to monsoon the mother noticed the teenager whom she had borne and nurtured over the years blossom into a young woman. She watched quietly as Sanyukta lined her eyes with light feathery strokes of kohl, dressed her hair neatly, rubbed on lip balm and misted herself with deodorant  before leaving for work. Her body language and gait was more ladylike and graceful. She had come a long way from her unfettered and unadorned original self, from being someone who rarely bothered to glance into the mirror. Anju wondered if this metamorphosis had anything to do with Sanyukta spending more time with her mentors at work. 

Anju knew that while Randhir was committed to building a career, for Parth life had begun to revolve around Vidushi. She feared that Sanyukta being on the cusp of youth, could become inspired by Parth's romance and fall for someone at the office. It was only natural for a girl her age to be drawn to the opposite sex. Anju could never forget how she had fallen for the charming Harsh Shekhawat like a ton of bricks and had suffered agonisingly when she had to walk away from him. No, her daughter would not suffer a heartbreak if she could help it, she had to warn the impressionable girl before it was too late. She sighed, she was relieved that Sanyukta was going back to college soon. 

There was no visible attraction toward anyone in particular but Anju knew that if Sanyukta chanced to meet somebody she could lose her focus easily. She felt it was time to remind her daughter of her academic goals, she had no choice but to pursue a career that gave her the means to fend for herself. Life had taught Anju a hard lesson, her woes had compelled her to become financially independent in order to survive. Her daughter would have to follow suit, there were no shortcuts to success unless one was prepared to compromise on one's integrity. Falling in love was a luxury Anju and her daughter could ill afford, and the reason for that was too complicated for her to explain to the inexperienced. 

"If you love that Shekhawat boy truly and want him to be happy then you will marry the man we have chosen for you! You cannot be impulsive and selfish." Anju could never forget her uncle's words, and her eyes teared up. No Anju, you cannot be weak after all these years, what happened was for everybody's best, especially for the man you were deeply in love with, she tried to console herself. She decided she needed a distraction to dispel her thoughts and went into the kitchen to rustle up something for her daughter who would be home soon. Emotional eating was not new to Anju, it had compensated for hours of loneliness. Anju was making popcorn when Sanyukta returned. "Ma, this smells so good!" Sanyukta chirped happily. "Go freshen up, I'll make us some coffee!" Anju said, sending her daughter into her room. 

In a few minutes mother and daughter were sipping the freshly brewed coffee and munching on warm popcorn. "Ma, when do you start you training?" Sanyukta was referring to her mother's new job position. "I guess it will be a couple of weeks before the training commences." Anju replied. "I am so happy you breezed through the interview to be selected." Sanyukta smiled at her. "You know this happened because Harsh roped me in!" Anju said softly, her voice trailing off. Sanyukta was perceptive enough to know the reason for her mother's discomfiture. Anju rarely approached Harsh, rather she took pride in being self-reliant. After helping her find a teaching job over twelve years ago Harsh had largely left mother and daughter alone at Anju's request.

Sanyukta had never understood what exactly went wrong between Harsh Shekhawat and her mother, she had never dared to ask. It was confusing because there was no acrimony or discord between them. Everyone knew that they were in love, but one day Anju suddenly broke up with him and settled for an arranged marriage with a man recommended by her guardian, her dead mother's only brother. Although Harsh was distressed initially he too went on to marry the girl chosen by his father. His wife had given him two sons within three years of the marriage while Anju suffered miscarriages and bore a daughter later, much to her husband's disappointment. After becoming widowed the single mother never remarried, resigning herself to her fate.

"Sanyu, we need to talk about something important. You must choose a professional course in a year's time. Keep your focus on your goal, there will be time enough for all other pursuits once you start earning. If you crowd your mind with distractions you may regret it later. I hope you understand what I am trying to say!" Anju did not want to spell things out for her daughter, hoping that she could get the message. "Ma, I am not dating anyone, if that is what you are hinting at. Please don't worry, I know our situation, and I will not let my grades slide." Sanyukta addressed the elephant in the room. "Sanyu, don't get me wrong. It is not unusual to be in love at your age, I was head over heels in love with Harsh as well. But I've lived through the pain of unfulfilled aspirations, I can tell you that some wounds never heal even if scabs form."

"I just don't want you to suffer like I did, that's all!" Anju made her point. "Are you saying that it is wrong to fall in love, Ma?" Sanyukta needed to hear her mother's view on the matter. "Being in love is one of the best feelings you can experience. Sanyu, I am going to open up about something which I've never done before, what I have to tell you may shock you, but you must listen in good faith! You need to know our background, we belong to a stigmatised community. As recently as the early twentieth century our people did not have a clan ancestor because children were born illegitimate, some mothers could not tell who the father was. The women were not allowed to marry because they were forced into carnal servitude by temple priests and feudal landlords."

" My great-grandmother was a dedicated to temple prostitution as a young girl. She was deflowered at the tender age of twelve, her virginity bought by a man four times older, who was already married with grown kids. In a few years he replaced her with another young girl and she had no choice but to accept the patronage of another married man. He was so enamoured by her beauty that he rarely went back to his marital home, spending night after night with her, even offering to make her his second wife. Unable to live with the humiliation the man's first wife committed suicide. It is believed that because of her curse the women of our bloodline shall bring doom upon themselves or worse, on their partners whether they fall in love or marry for love. My grandmother struggled to make ends meet after her husband was paralysed. My mother was deserted by my father for another woman, and you know my own history."

"I had a hard life, being mistreated by my aunt after my grandmother died. Harsh offered me a chance to elope with him and I almost did when my uncle found out and revealed to me our background. He gave me the diary of my unfortunate mother who was foolish enough to fall in love with her musician husband who walked out on her, even resorting to selling her jewellery to buy a mangalsutra for his new wife. She attributed our misfortune to the hex, and warned of what could happen if we devoted ourself to a man.  I know you are going to dismiss this as humbug, but come what may, I will not let you depend on any man for your upkeep. Even if you marry someone you must keep working, it will help bring you the dignity and independence a disappointing marriage cannot offer. Sorry if I sound like a doomsday prophet, every word of what I told you is true!" Anju paused.

"Ma, I don't know what to say! You walked out on Harsh Shekhawat because of the writings of a delusional unfortunate woman? You are an educated woman! How could you deny yourself the ultimate happiness because of a mere superstition?" Sanyukta found it hard to believe that her mother had been so gullible. "That's not the only reason Sanyu! I found out that I belonged to the  Devadasi community, that came as a shock to me! These women were so stigmatised that my great grandmother isolated herself from her daughter who was brought up to never return to her mother's profession. The girls in the community were trained to be singers, dancers or actresses, but my grandmother was meticulously kept away from the performing arts."

"Unlike her mother before her she was married off legitimately to give her a chance at a respectable life. Her true identity was concealed from her. Many years later my father left my mother after he found out that she had a Kalavantin background. She died of a broken heart but not before she penned down her tragic tale. My uncle only showed me her diary when he discovered that I was planning to run off with Harsh. The knowledge of my ancestry really shook me. My uncle pointed out how I would bring shame upon Harsh if I married into his orthodox family. I was in a quandary, even though I was hopelessly in love with Harsh I broke up with him after revealing it all. He tried hard to convince me but I managed to dissuade him by warning him of the possible embarrassment his influential father would face if his son brought home a wife who belonged to the Devadasi community."

"Sanyukta, you have no idea how much our people have struggled to find legitimacy. Those who migrated to Bombay invented an ameliorative community name to bury our true origin underneath it. Education was made priority, children were encouraged to become writers, doctors, engineers and politicians while daughters were married off to discourage them from seeking rich patrons.  Agreed, the community has given the country some of its greatests classical and playback singers, musicians, actresses and filmmakers because of a natural leaning towards the performing arts. However, even after so many decades there is still unspoken prejudice against our people. You have not experienced it so I do not expect you to understand." Anju ended the conversation to serve dinner.

That night Sanyukta slept fitfully because of what her mother had disclosed, so did Anju because she felt guilty for having unburdened her troubles on her guileless daughter. It was harsh but necessary, if the girl was old enough to fall in love she was also old enough to know the bitter truth. She had been forewarned much earlier, unlike Anju who had been told the truth when it was a little too late. Anju hoped her daughter was mature enough to deal with the facts. On the other hand Sanyukta did not know how to react to the situation. If her mother had managed to talk Harsh out of marrying her for this reason the prejudice against the community must be quite strong indeed. And Randhir was his son! Did Randhir know the truth about her background? Would he or any other man agree to accept her if they knew the truth? She wondered, before drifting off to sleep in the early hours of the morning.