Period ritual kills girl: Nature, culture clash in Thanjavur to claim a girl's life

Thanjavur: Among the several deaths caused by the 'Gaja' cyclone in Thanjavur district, the demise of Vijaya alias Vijayalakshmi (14), a seventh standard student of Anaikadu village near Pattukottai, seems most pathetic. It has raised questions of why a custom should not be waived in an emergency.  

Vijayalakshmi attained puberty a day before the cyclone let loose its fury in Pattukottai area. Her parents Selvaraj and Bhnaumathi-daily wage workers who live in a hut in a coconut grove, wished to confine her separately, following an age-old custom.

As the hut in which they were living was small, they sent the girl to a nearby hut used for cooking and asked her to stay there alone, said sources known to their family.  

The cyclone fury began around midnight and battered Thanjavur district, particularly Pattukottai area till 6 am on Friday, November 16. Only when the parents came out of their hut in the morning they knew that a tree that struck the hutment Vijayalakshmi was staying claimed her life too.

The shocked parents did not know what to do as the cyclone virtually destroyed the entire village. Later, they cut the tree and recovered her body which had multiple injuries.

Veersenan, a farmer, who helped them in distress, said the police was informed in the morning. But they could reach the place only by 4 pm on Friday as there were four more deaths at Sivakollai near Pattukottai due to wall collapse.
The girl's body was taken to government hospital for post-mortem and handed over the next day. "We buried the body in the grove itself" said Veerasenan.

Though it is customary to separate the girl on attaining puberty, in this case, the act proved fatal and cruel, said Veerasenan. "My feeling is that customs should not be followed blindly. Girls who attain puberty will be in a state of shock at that time and should be protected by parents and they should be with her to instill confidence. But unfortunately they are separated," he said.  

"In this case, parents separated her going by custom, but the hut in which they were staying is very small. Even the hut in which the girl stayed was also small. The cyclone was so alarming the parents could not come out," Veerasenan said. Custom followed blindly proved fatal for Vijayalakshmi, he pitied.