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An Errant Lakshmi For A Change!

Discussion in 'Varalotti Rengasamy's Short & Serial Stories' started by varalotti, Sep 4, 2005.

  1. ambika ananth

    ambika ananth Bronze IL'ite

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    Shridhar

    Again your Lakshmi has become a 'bone of contention'...you want me to respond, if I respond cndidly, you get provoked....my feelings are purely mine..not super-imposed by anything...even if you want me to feel pity for Lakshmi..I cannot...!! She actually had a ball of a time with a very loving husband and a sexy lover ...many women in this world are just withering away without an iota of love from any quarter..they will get my pity. empathy and wishes.... and trying to understand your Lakshmi is beyond my intelligence...I give up sir...she has too many tricks up her sleeve,,as it looks.

    (dear Lakshmi..you have a strong lawyer on your side...you will get away doing anything...kudos to you....!!)
    ambika
     
  2. varalotti

    varalotti IL Hall of Fame

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    No Better Way To Wrap Up The Discussion!

    As usual a brilliant conclusion and a glorious retreat clothed in beautiful words. And thanks for appreciating my legal acumen.
    I will try to create a Lakshmi sometime in future - a Lakshmi who will get Ambika Ananth's approval and more than that understanding. I now suspect linking Ganges and Cauvery will be a child's play compared to that.
    sridhar
     
  3. Sharada

    Sharada Senior IL'ite

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    No retreat

    Let's continue, not neatly tie up the ribbons and wrap up the discussion! The different Lakshmis have really set us thinking. The errant Lakshmi was a fool - not the first one! Sethus are in short supply - so Lakshmi should not have strayed. The story of angry sage Jamadagni makes a point that infidelity is as old as the mountains - but why do we have the institution of marriage if the sanctity/trust cannot be preserved? In Astitva (we go back again!) Tabu is justified to a large extent because her travelling husband has his flings on the side - but Sethu is true to his wife and marital bed, hence Lakshmi's actions cannot be pardoned. Weak moments, temptations and attraction will always be there - but we cannot respond like impulsive animals with no forethought. This Lakshmi deserves no sympathy - even with a good lawyer on her side, I think I can win the case! No offence meant to anyone - we all love good arguments!
    Sharada
     
  4. varalotti

    varalotti IL Hall of Fame

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    Thanks For Reopening The Case, Sharada

    First things first. Sharada, let me thank you for your beautiful statement :'The different Lakshmis really set us thinking' That was the very purpose of my starting this snippet and now I can pat myself on my back saying 'mission accomplished.' Now that Lakshmi is facing a very virulent prosecution lawyer let me jot down the arguments:
    Your Honour, the point that infidelity is as old as the mountains is well taken. Then why do we have the institution of marriage? Good question. If we do not have the institution of marriage there will be no question of infidelity. When there is no marriage and no society and anyone can go with everyone then there is no infidelity at all primarily because fidelity is not a requirement - either contractual, moral or social.
    Your Honour, the prosecution is suddenly arguing from the other side. We have all along been saying that Lakshmi's action cannot be pardoned. It was only because of that, Lakshmi has chosen to punish herself by going away from a gem like Sethu and banishing herself into life-long loneliness as a measure of loneliness.
    And finally, Your Honour, Lakshmi did not either expressly or implicitly asked for the sympathies of the viewers and less so she expected sympathies from the prosecution. What has happened has happened. Lakshmi herself has realised that it is an heinous crime to have betrayed a husband like Sethu and has sought to punish herself. She did not even wait for Sethu's reaction; for if Sethu were to forgive her then the guilt will be even more overwhelming for her.
    Your Honour my client does not in any way refute the fact that she is a fool. Otherwise she would not have fallen a prey to sudden emotions and urges and in the process lost a life which only one in a billion woman get on this planet. Even a fool is not spared by the overwhelming power of emotions, urges and feelings. Yes, we concede that during those defining moments Lakshmi was not a strong woman. Because she was not strong where she ought to have been so, she is a fool. Agreed.

    The defence is not for Lakshmi's intelligence or her innocence, Your Honour. Nor does the defence want a sympathy or a pardon from the prosecution. But what the Defence desires for Lakshmi from the viewers and from the prosecution if the latter has a heart, understanding. Lakshmi is not asking the prosecution what she should do or what she ought to have done. It has happened. Lakshmi does not defend herself and has already punished herself, your Honour. And the prosecution is now trying to retrieve the dead body that has already been hanged and wants to confine that body to a prison. I pray that on ground of humane considerations such an outrageous plea should not be entertained by this Hon'ble Court.
    With these arguments the Defence rests, Your Honour. The prosecution however is restless. So let's continue....
    (Sharada -no offence meant. If I had hurt you, please forgive me.)
    sridhar
     
    Last edited: Sep 8, 2005
  5. Sharada

    Sharada Senior IL'ite

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    Not offended

    I don't get offended or hurt so easily! Also this is just a discussion about errant Lakshmi. I am glad that you agree that Lakshmi is a fool and that she knows it too. All of us agree that she was wrong and that she doesn't deserve any sympathy. Why and how can anyone understand her perspective? To say that "what has happened has happened" is very convenient - that is a line even a murderer can use. Okay, after she crossed the Lakshman-rekha as it were, shouldn't she have waited for Sethu's verdict? Your argument is that she was overwhelmed with guilt and she felt that she didn't deserve a good husband like Sethu, so she ran away. But shouldn't she have left the decision to him? For instance, when the defence and prosecution lawyers present their versions - doesn't the judge give the verdict? It's like committing a crime, deciding for yourself whether you are guilty/not guilty and taking whatever action you want to - then there'll be no courts and no lawyers!
    The question is - after running away will Lakshmi change - ie overcome her fear of thunder and lightning especially if a man is around? As her character has germinated in your imagination you might understand her guilt pangs and dilemma and look at her with compassion - but she truly deserves none of that. I hope more members join this interesting discussion.
    Sharada
     
  6. ambika ananth

    ambika ananth Bronze IL'ite

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    we both are on one side...

    Sharada, yes, more members should join this discussion to give a different perspective. I expressed the same views as yours, in my very first response and only we two seem to oppose Sridhar's defence...Meena says Lakshmi is right in her decision...so I guess, she too should give her opinion on our opinion again, will make this interesting. As you say, there is no question of any one getting offended...its purely a friendly discussion. between friends

    ambika
     
  7. meenaprakash

    meenaprakash Silver IL'ite

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    Its getting hot.......

    Dear Ambika and Sharada,

    What I am trying to say here is that there is no relationship when there is no trust.
    Whether the other partner mentions it or not, the perpetrator feels it in her bones.
    Even if Sethu pardoned her and took her in, there is always a time very soon he is going to ponder and ask her about her escapade. What is she going to answer ?
    When the dust settles down, even a saint like Sethu will feel let down and probably feel jealous or develop complex when it comes to sex. In time even if outside they are behaving perfectly well, the physical and mental strain will bear down and give rise to confrontation. Why waste more time trying to compromise ?
    So probably her decision is best at that moment to seperate in a more easier way.
    What happens next to both of them is left to time and opportunities.
    But between them it is a dead issue.
     
  8. varalotti

    varalotti IL Hall of Fame

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    Its Getting Hotter With Each Reply!

    Having kindled a fire - I mean a fiery discussion - I am going to sit back and enjoy other people's views. I just have one thing to say to Ambika and Sharada. The issue is not whether Lakshmi is a fool or not or whether was she justified in her sexual encounter. The issue is that after the act is over, whether she should confess everything to Sethu and wait for his reaction. Let's just drop the right or wrong sides. When overwhelmed, overpowered by guilt, the act of Lakshmi punishing herself without confessing her lapse to Sethu is right or not.
    Now 1 2 3 start....
    sridhra
     
  9. prathi

    prathi Bronze IL'ite

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    My say!!!

    I share ambika's and sharda's views. I should say we are having a great dialogue.


    Lakshmi didn’t punish herself by running away. She just ran away. Lakshmi’s true punishment was to face Sethu and hear his verdict for the confession she made. No sympathies from our side. Only thing we can comprehend about lakshmi’s character is her boneless will. After running away will her conscience be clear of guilt? Will she be more strong willed or scrupulous? Down the lane of time, she will be in another man’s arms, thanks to her fear for lightning and thunder (which I fear would never fade). Her true repentance would be to face sethu and his decision. The orphanage would be anyway waiting for her services if sethu decides not to forgive her. Her escapade proved her to be more errant than her sexual indulgence. (I am in no way justifying her repulsive slip, but just emphasizing on the increase in the degree of error).


    Whom do i see next?


     
    Last edited: Sep 9, 2005
  10. varalotti

    varalotti IL Hall of Fame

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    Welcome To The Debate, Prathi!

    Prathi, thanks for joining us on the hot-seat. Lakshmi did not run away with that musical teacher. She did not run away from Sethu to 'live happily ever after.'. To banish herself into a life-long sentence of loneliness is punishment enough. Assuming she has confessed to Sethu and Sethu decides not to forgive. Then Lakshmi decides to work for the orphanage. You say, Prathi, that that would be a punishment. But the facts are the same in the snippet. She did not run away without confessing. She told everything to Sethu through a letter and just went out to seek retribution. I have never said that her conscience will be free of guilt once she has started working for the orphanage. But compared to living in the comforts of her marital home the intensity of guilt will be substantially lower. Assume Sethu has chosen to forgive her; and Lakshmi starts her normal living. What will be the intensity of her guilt? Compared to that, in the alternative she had chosen the degree of guilt will be significantly lower.
    And one common factor I noticed in all replies is that most of the ladies have made fun of the lightning factor. Please get me right. She doesn't get an irrepressible sexual urge whenever there's lightning and thunder. She is so much afraid of the natural phenomenon that she does something weird - like running into Sethu's arms. On the fateful day the weird thing got her into something serious, something she could not digest.
    With this kind of a shock, who knows, Lakshmi might be cleared of her fear of lightning and thunder after the incident. The sense of overwhelming guilt might be so powerful that she might in the process, get rid of her unnatural fears. Psychologists say that individuals suffering from compulsive obsessive disorders when subject to extreme shock, might even be cured of their obsession.
    Prathi, your words 'Her escapade proved to be more errant than her sexual indulgence.' are very strong. It could have been an escapade if she had run away with her lover. It could have been sexual indulgence had she seduced the teacher herself.
    But Prathi we should not deny the force of circumstances. That's why I quoted Jamadagni-Renukas story. If the wife of a seer would not be spared by the force of circumstances think about Lakshmi........
    Now the debate goes on...
    sridhar
     

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