A Maoist love story, starring a village teacher

They spent a fortnight changing buses, hotels and cities,Bangalore and Mysore, places they had only heard of,where police and his former comrades could not have spotted him. We knew no one would identify me in these cities, but life outside was expensive and difficult, he said.

He had rarely stepped outside Chhattisgarh except during travels with comrades to the neighbouring Maoist areas in Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra. He was not equipped for life in a big city. She knew more about the outside world but money was getting spent fast and soon they realized they had few options.

We wanted to settle down somewhere in the south, but learnt it was not possible.we did not know the language, city, he said.

Joga and Varlaxmi were tribals, both 28 years old and Bijapur residents. He was a Gond, she a Halbi. Their unusual love story began early in 2012, when Joga stopped at Penkram village during a routine trip through the forests with his comrades. She taught at a local school. Maine usey dekha, aur laga haan…(I saw her and it struck me,yes…), he recalls.

Maoists do not normally stay at one place for long but Joga got his men to overstay and then made more trips under the excuse of touring the area. But this could not be sustained for long. So, as a member of the Dakshin Bastar Division Committee, one of the five DCs under Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee of CPI (Maoist),he used the Maoist practice of calling teachers, health workers, sarpanches and contractors for meetings in the forests to get to meet her.

Soon his comrades and bosses got to know. They did not approve. They encourage marriage within the fold,but she was a government teacher, Joga said. Their feelings intensified and within months he decided to leave the party he had joined 10 years ago.

It took months of planning and preparation and he needed money. We take funds from private contractors for party expenses. I collected Rs 10 lakh from a contractor but did not deposit it,”Joga said. And with just two bags, they eloped on February 1.

They crossed the Indravati river, slipped into Andhra and crossed Hyderabad before reaching Bangalore. But the honeymoon was shortlived. Besides the tribal languages of Halbi and Gondi, he knew only Telugu and fumbling Hindi. So Karnataka and Tamil Nadu were ruled out and they decided to return to a place closer to home.

As they were running around, did he regret his past,of living with guns? I was involved in 10-15 major attacks.I was increasingly getting fed up, he said, although there was no regret visible on his face. But that is all in the past now.

As the couple looks to start a new life,he wants to forget his past. She has taught, changed me a lot.I have to settle down, Joga says pointing at Varlaxmi, or meri madam,” as he calls her.