While you here do snoring lie,
Open-ey'd conspiracy
His time doth take
If of life you keep a care,
Shake off slumber, and beware:
Awake! Awake!
- William Shakespeare - The Tempest
The people of Uganda failed to wake up in time and Idi Amin seized power and became dictator of that East African state. He ruled with an iron fist and steamrollered all opposition into submission.
Idi Amin first gave marching orders to the whites who were exploiting the copper mines and then turned his attention to the Asians who were mostly Indians. For generations Indians had settled in Kampala, the capital city, trading in textiles and spices. They were disciplined and respected but were also envied for their affluence.
The Indian community was in for a rude shock when Idi Amin decreed that from every Asian household at least one girl should be married to an Ugandan. This would not only create a homogenous race but also show to the world that Asians were in no way superior.
Chandrakant, about fifty, was one of the more successful Indian traders. He had two young daughters named Amrapali and Chitralekha. Both were fair to the extent of looking pale, slim to the extent of diminutive and beautiful like the moon. Their mother was proud of them because they were traditional and not westernised, they used to fast on auspicious days and were proficient in Indian classical dance and music.
There were several young officers in Idi Amin's army hopeful of getting Indian wives. Brigadier Kodunga was tall, well-built, handsome as per Ugandan standards and, most important, a favourite of the dictator. He had seen Amrapali at the shopping mall and was attracted to her at first sight. When he met Chandrakant and claimed her hand, the latter preferred to lose his daughter rather than his head, and capitulated.
It was a sad day for that Indian household. Amrapali was in tears. Kodunga was at least four times her size, shining black in complexion and what she hated most - his palms and the inside of his mouth were pink.
The wedding ceremony was performed with full military honours. The proud mother-in-law of the groom was heard saying that the bride would deliver a dozen brave sons. Amrapali stood subdued - like a lamb before a butcher. The Indians present wondered how her ivory would match Kodunga's ebony.
Kodunga's home was opulent with half a dozen soldiers in attendance to do every job from dishwashing to mopping.
"I will not force myself on you. You are free and can come to me whenever you like," he said to his Indian wife. She was surprised to notice that he was so gentle and considerate. Gradually her initial repulsion turned into admiration. So much so that she started even loving the pink colour of his palms and mouth. She could now give herself completely and without reservation to him. And this she did.
Nothing good lasts long. Barely a month after, one day, they brought home her warrior dead. He was killed in a shoot-out with Israeli commandos at the Entebbe airport where Idi Amin had held as hostages passengers and crew of a hijacked plane. The Israelis won the day, freed the plane and its occupants, and took off.
Chandrakant decided to flee Uganda with his family. He used his clout in the government and landed in India within a week of his daughter's bereavement. They decided to keep her marriage to Kodunga a secret.
It was easy to find a match for Amrapali in India. She was so beautiful and now had become nice and plump. Her new husband, an uneducated small-time merchant, was a Mama's boy. She first weaned him away from his mother's influence and then found no difficulty in establishing her authority in the household.
Amrapali found out that her husband was a simpleton and that she could manipulate him like a puppet on a string. When they were together, she laughed at his ignorance. He pleaded, "Please make me clever" - and she made him.
Outside the home, she was the traditional Indian wife, drawing her pallu over her head, touching the feet of elders and going to the temple regularly. Her past was buried forever.
Amrapali, thus, had the best of both worlds.
