198. Flowers for KK (Short Story No.12 from Marriage and Mutton Curry) by M. Shanmughalingam

BOOK REVIEW: Flowers for KK (Short Story No.12 from Marriage and Mutton Curry) by M. Shanmughalingam

If you are a jealous young woman like myself, you would only want the guy solely to yourself. All hands off deck! Even in the thresholds of marriage, it will be only you and your man, like it or not. But what if circumstances turned the tables on you, and he is forced to marry another? Would you accept it?

In this cleverly woven story of sororate marriages in the Jaffna Tamil society, Dato' Dr. M. Shanmughalingam depicts the sorrows of the first wife and the reality of marriages to the husband getting married to the sister in the same family he takes the bride from.

Mr. Kanagaretnam, nicknamed King Kana (hence the abbreviation KK), is married to Acca, the elder sister of the family. Alas, they have been childless for many years and this frustrates and angers KK because it is considered a shame to the family. At this point, KK brings up the issue of sororate marriages to Acca and announces that he'd marry Thangechi (the younger sister) in order to welcome a heir into the family.

Due to the lack of a child, KK treats Acca pretty disrespectfully and orders her around. Even if she tied a saree a little above her ankles, she is asked to retie it again. The way she applies talcum powder on her face or ties her hair bun is duly chastised by KK. 

When KK puts forward the plan of marrying Thangechi, he even brings both Acca and Thangechi to one of his formal functions. Indirectly, he is already showing off that if he can't have a child with his first wife he can always marry another. Thangechi can't seem to understand the bitterness of Acca towards her for pulling the rug off from under her feet.

Can you guess what happens to Acca and Thangechi when Thangechi gets married to KK? Does Thangechi conceive as thought of by KK or does Acca  conceive to fill in the need of a heir? Does Acca's love remain for KK and Thangechi or does KK treat Acca better than Thangechi? All these questions I'm going to shoot it back to you fellow readers.

For more mind dazzling stories on the Jaffna Tamil society, Malaysia's rich history or just plain good reading, Marriage and Mutton Curry should definitely be on your TBR list.