Kunnutaiya Part III: The Bridegroom

• Kunnutaiya is liked by his new masters. The household women are kind to him and he becomes (almost) a family member.  
  

• One day the two accidentally exchange glances. A special attraction starts to grow between the two teenagers.
  

• After a few years Kunnutaiya becomes a grown man. The family depend on him for all kinds of work.
  

• The young girl of the house, meanwhile, has become a lovely young woman.
  

• Kunnutaiya dreams of this lovely girl frequently. But he knows that he can never marry her due to his low status.
  

• Celatta, the goddess who looks after Ponnivala has been neglected all these years. Her temple has not been cared for. Vishnu, Celatta’s brother, agrees to find Kunnutaiya and bring him back to her lands.  

• Vishnu takes the disguise of a wandering ascetic and approaches Kunnutaiya at night, near the cattlefold where he sleeps in order to guard his masters’ animals.
  

• The strange visitor tells Kunnutaiya to block his masters’ path by lying down, and then to get up when called and announce that he is the rightful bridegroom for their sister.
  

• The two masters find Kunnutaiya early the next morning as they set out to worship at their family temple.
  

• The two masters are angered and beat Kunnutaiya for insolence. The odd visitor returns and finds him in pain, tied to a post.
  

• The visitor unties the victim and then starts to set Kunnutaiya’s masters’ palace on fire.
  

• The men come running. The beggar says he will stop the fire, but only after they agree to give their sister in marriage to Kunnutaiya.
  

• This extortion trick works. The two masters agree and the visitor stops the fire. A maid takes their young sister as far as the village boundary.
  

• The wedding occurs in a forest. Now the real Vishnu arrives to conduct the couple’s unorthodox marriage ceremony.  
  

• No family members attend. A servant is sent bearing insulting gifts. The young bride is told never to return to her family home.  
  

• The newlyweds set off together. They are hoping to find Kunnutaiya’s old family lands in Ponnivala.
  

[Continue to Part 4==>]

[<==Back to part 2]