Lalitha Vero

The Vero Sisters and the Vas Carnival

The travelling Vero family, known for their carnival attraction The Vero Sisters, have always deeply valued the birth of twins as a sign of prophecy and fortune. When twenty-odd years ago Eirini Vero returned home pregnant but alone she was welcomed back amongst them, though only one of her expected twins survived the birth. Eirini’s surviving daughter, Lalitha, grew up immersed in the carnival’s traditions but ultimately bore the stigma of her lost twin. Despite it she was a vibrant, creative child, deeply involved in music and art.

As she grew older she developed a close relationship with Dominik, the Vas family’s eldest son. However Dominik’s mother, Renáta, eventually foretold their union would be barren and refused her blessing, leading to heartbreak and familial strife. As a result the conflict between the Vero and Vas families deepened, and soon after, a mysterious illness struck the carnival. They settled permanently in Moscow, transitioning from tents to houses. Lalitha, too, succumbed to the Sickness. She survived thanks to Dominik’s little sister, Roza, but was forever changed.

Talents

Great Mami taught Lalitha the Vero ways, but always with a tut and grumble. Her mother said it was just because Mami was old, old enough to well remember the days when Lalitha would have been considered a didikai because her father was an outsider, but Lalitha knew better – it was because a twin sister inexplicably dead in the womb was as good as a curse for their family. But if the Vero women had one rule, it was that they never read the fortunes for each other. And whatever else Lalitha was, she was still a Vero.

She can read palms and cards, and is both superstitious and skeptical of the answers provided. She wants to believe though.

She’s a talented musician and singer, but her deepest mastery lies in an ability for composition and lyricism that cannot help but move others. Her music communicates something in the soul, whether it be joy, sadness, anger, ecstasy or madness: nothing remains forbidden or taboo. Her performances are usually intimate and spellbinding. Though the lyrics are highly poetical (and not always in English), the feeling behind them is personal and raw: Lalitha cannot separate the two. She usually plays guitar or darbuka drum.

Tattoos

Lalitha has various tattoos, all small outlined images dotted around and down one arm. They include Ceija’s smiley face, a coffin, a jester, a slice of cake, a rainbow, a cartoon ghost, musical notes, and on the back of her shoulder, a crude dancing devil in red ink. Each one has a personal significance, and all were done by her cousin Ceija.

Moscow and Music

Lalitha loves her home and her family, and would do anything for them, but she struggles to find her place there. With nowhere else to go she still lives in the little house with her mother and her aunt’s family. But now that the carnival has grown roots more and more often she roams the city, falling foul of a society that sees her as an outsider. The nightlife dazzles her. She travels between bars peddling her gifts, making no distinction between dingy backstreets and high end venues guarded by security that rarely lets her through. Not because she’s naive but because she’s fearless, and refuses to be categorised to where society believes she fits. She has a knack for inspiring others and awakening desire and ambition. Sometimes she busks in Old Arbat, though she doesn’t have a licence and is usually moved on.