![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.druvakarthik.in\/short-stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/yours-gulaabi-dk-1.jpg\")
<\/p>\n“Maama.. Maama..”<\/p>\n
I screamed and cried, hoping he would hear me, turn around and come back for me. But he never came back. All i wanted was to go back home and be with my mother.<\/p>\n
I didn’t know that I had been sold for \u20b910,000 that night!<\/p>\n
The life i had before that night feels like a dream, the dream i can still remember, but never live again.<\/p>\n
Maybe i was ten or maybe eight. I don’t remember how old i was back then. All i remember is playing on Malpe Beach, running around the udupi temple with Raaghu and sitting beside my mother, helping her separate the roses by its colour.<\/p>\n
Udupi was my home, raised by a single parent, my mother, Sumathi. She made flower garlands and sold them in front of the udupi temple. While she sat making garlands, i would run around the temple, being the naughty little girl everyone seemed to know. No matter where i went around the temple, someone always seemed to know me. Everyone knew me as Rukmini.<\/p>\n
One day, i asked my mother what Rukmini meant. She simply said, “She’s Krishna’s wife.” I remember feeling a little awkward when she told me that. I was too young to understand what marriage meant, what it meant to be someone’s wife. For me, it was just a name my mother had given me and i never thought much about it.<\/p>\n
Around the temple, i had a friend named Raaghu. I think we were about the same age because we were almost the same height. Raaghu was the only friend i had back then and my partner in crime, especially when it came to convincing people to buy us Bombay mitai.<\/p>\n
For me, Bombay mitai had to be shaped like a butterfly. For Raaghu, it was always a wristwatch. We would stand near the vendor and watch him make the colourful sweet into the shapes we wanted. To us, it was something special. We didn’t need anything else. A little Bombay mitai was enough to make our day.<\/p>\n
Whenever my mother looked away from her stall, I would somehow manage to sneak out a rupee. One rupee was enough to buy us two Bombay mitais. We would buy our Bombay mitai and enjoy every little bite.<\/p>\n
Every Saturday and Sunday evening, i joined the musical groups gathered outside the temple. I sat among them, singing along and remembering only bits and pieces of the lyrics. I never knew all the words, but i would sing along whenever i knew a line.<\/p>\n
That’s all i remember from the days before the darkest chapter of my life began.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
It was early morning on Krishna Janmashtami. The streets were filled with people and Sri Krishna songs played through loudspeakers. There was noise everywhere. My mother was busier than ever with her work and i sat beside her, separating the red roses from the yellow ones that had got mixed together.<\/p>\n
I had never seen so many people in one place. It felt as though the whole world had come to the temple that day.<\/p>\n
Janmashtami was a special day in our home. My mother would prepare all kinds of snacks and she would start getting ready almost a week in advance. I could see how much the festival meant to her. Even when she was busy with her garlands, there was a certain excitement in her eyes.<\/p>\n
For me, Janmashtami was all about the beautifully decorated Udupi temple, the festive atmosphere, the delicious snacks Amma prepared at home and the excitement of wearing a new dress. Everywhere I looked, people seemed happy and the whole town felt alive with celebration.<\/p>\n
The real fun began the next day, during Vittal Pindi. The streets came alive with people dressed in different traditional costumes, music and celebrations. I loved watching the groups move through the streets, singing and playing their instruments.<\/p>\n
I dressed up as Radha and followed a musical group, singing along as though i were one of their own singers. Raaghu, dressed as Krishna, was more interested in annoying me than joining in. He kept pulling my hair just to get a reaction out of me.<\/p>\n
With all the noise and celebrations around us, i noticed an uncle carrying a camera around his neck.<\/p>\n
I had seen photographs before, framed on the walls inside the temple. But I had never had a photograph of my own. Maybe we had never been in a position to afford such things.<\/p>\n
I wanted to ask the uncle if he could take a picture of me, raaghu knew what i was thinking. He quickly went to uncle and asked if he could take picture of us.<\/p>\n
Uncle smiled and said yes.<\/p>\n
Uncle first took a photograph of me. Then, he took another one of Raaghu and me together.<\/p>\n
I quickly went up to the uncle and asked him for the photographs. He smiled and said, \u201cWe need to wash them first. I\u2019ll get them for you tomorrow.\u201d I didn’t understand what he meant by washing a photograph, but I was happy knowing that i would get to see them the next day. I couldn’t wait to see my picture and the one with Raaghu.<\/p>\n
That day was filled with laughter, fun and beautiful memories. I went home with a little happiness in my heart, looking forward to tomorrow, unaware that this would be one of the last beautiful days.<\/p>\n
The next day, Raaghu and i waited near the stall, hoping the uncle would return with our photograph. As usual, my mother was busy with her flowers.<\/p>\n
The moment i spotted him approaching, i rushed towards him and asked for the picture. He handed it to Raaghu and me, we stood looking at it with smiles on our faces. It was our first photograph together, taken on such a special day, with him dressed as Krishna and me as Radha. To us, it was something so precious.<\/p>\n
While I was busy with the picture, the uncle asked me where i lived. Without looking up, i pointed towards my mother’s stall.<\/p>\n
He then walked over to speak to my mother. Raaghu and I were too busy admiring our photograph and talking about it. <\/p>\n
The uncle and my mother spoke for a while, but I had no idea what they were discussing.<\/p>\n
A few minutes later, my mother called me over.<\/p>\n
“Rukmini, will you go with Maama? He’ll get you admitted to a good school and music class.”<\/p>\n
I stared at her, wondering if i had heard her right.<\/p>\n
“What, Amma? What did you say?”<\/p>\n
Amma explained again, telling me how Maama (Uncle) would take me with him and make sure i get a good education.<\/p>\n
My mother couldn’t afford to send me to a good school. There was a government school nearby, but getting there wasn’t easy either. The journey involved taking two buses, something that wasn’t practical for us. I didn’t understand why i had to go away to study, but i could see how much my mother wanted me to have a better future.<\/p>\n
“No, Amma. I don’t want to go. I don’t want to leave you.”<\/p>\n
I kept refusing, hoping she would change her mind. But she continued trying to convince me, telling me about the good school i would attend and the music classes i could join.<\/p>\n
I didn’t know what to say anymore. I didn’t want to go anywhere without my mother. I couldn’t imagine staying in a place where she wasn’t beside me.<\/p>\n
Then my mother started crying.<\/p>\n
I had seen her tired after long days of making garlands, but i wasn’t used to seeing her cry. I didn’t know how to comfort her or what to say. Seeing tears in her eyes hurt me more than anything else.<\/p>\n
I didn’t want to leave her. But i couldn’t bear to see her cry either.<\/p>\n
So, after a while, I gave in.<\/p>\n
“Okay, Amma. I’ll go.”<\/p>\n
Everything happened so quickly, almost like the blink of an eye.<\/p>\n
It was Janmashtami week, the day people celebrated the birth of Lord Krishna. Everyone around me was celebrating, but that was the day my fate was decided. A day filled with happiness for so many people became the beginning of the saddest chapter of my life.<\/p>\n
By evening, a small trunk with my belongings was packed. My mother kissed my forehead and cried. I got into an auto and looked around, not knowing what to expect. I didn’t want to leave her, but i had already said i would go.<\/p>\n
Just then, Raaghu came to see me. He brought me a butterfly shaped Bombay mitai and gave it to me.<\/p>\n
\u201cGo and come back soon,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
I smiled faintly, then looked at the photograph I had been holding since morning. I got down from the auto, went to Amma and handed it to her.<\/p>\n
“Amma, keep this with you”<\/p>\n
She took the photograph from my hands, holding it close as she looked at me with tearful eyes.<\/p>\n
The auto took us to the railway station. I was going somewhere far away, but I didn’t know for how long.<\/p>\n
I looked at Maama (Uncle) and asked, “How many days will i have to study?”<\/p>\n
He said, “A thousand days.”<\/p>\n
I didn’t know what a thousand days meant. I couldn’t even imagine how long that was. I just thought about going to school and learning new things.<\/p>\n
After a long journey, the train finally reached Mumbai.<\/p>\n
My mother always called it Bombay, so that was the name i knew. When we got down, i looked around and asked Maama, “You said you were taking me to Bombay, but we have come to the wrong place!”<\/p>\n
Maama laughed and said, “Bombay and Mumbai are the same.”<\/p>\n
I didn’t know much about the world, so i believed whatever Maama told me.<\/p>\n
We started walking through the streets of Bombay. We went to a shopping plaza, where he bought me two pairs of clothes. I was happy to get new clothes. Everything was new to me.<\/p>\n
While we were walking, i saw something that made me smile.<\/p>\n
Bombay mitai!<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.druvakarthik.in\/short-stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/yours-gulaabi-story-dk-2.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
I was happy to see that they sold it here, too. I turned to Maama and asked, “Can you buy me one?”<\/p>\n
Instead of buying me one, Maama bought me two.<\/p>\n
I couldn’t believe it. For the first time in my life, i had two Bombay mitais all to myself. I ate one right there and kept the other carefully in my hand to save for later that evening.<\/p>\n
We took an auto to another place. After getting down, we walked a little farther. The roads were narrow and some streets were so small that it looked difficult for even two bicycles to pass each other.<\/p>\n
I looked around. The women on those streets dressed differently from the women i had seen near the Udupi temple. Some of them looked at me and smiled. A few women came close to Maama, touched his cheek and called him something in a language i couldn’t understand.<\/p>\n
I didn’t know who those women were or why they were talking to Maama like that. Everything around me was unfamiliar, but i continued to follow him.<\/p>\n
We reached a house where there were many men and women. I had never seen so many unfamiliar faces in one place. Maama took me into a room where a woman named Pushpa was sitting.<\/p>\n
She spoke to Maama in a language i couldn’t understand. I stood quietly, watching them talk. Then Pushpa aunty took out a big bundle of notes and handed it to Maama.<\/p>\n
I didn’t understand what they were doing or why she was giving him so much money. I was just standing there, watching the adults talk.<\/p>\n
After some time, Pushpa aunty turned towards me and asked me in Kannada, “What’s your name?”<\/p>\n
“Rukmini,” I replied.<\/p>\n
She reached for the red rose in my hair and pulled it out. She brought it close to her nose and smelled it, then looked at me with a smile and lifted my chin with her fingers.<\/p>\n
\u201cAaj se tu meri Gulaabi\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
I didn’t know why she was giving me a new name. I didn’t know why Maama had brought me there or why he had received that big bundle of notes from her.<\/p>\n
I had always been Rukmini. But from that day on, I was Gulaabi.<\/p>\n
To be continued…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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