It was a sunday. Drizzling rain had been since early morning and the cloudy sky seemed to deter the spirit of a holiday. Suddenly the sky became clear. I remembered my promise to visit Mrs. Lathika Menon. It was her long cherished desire to give me dinner. When she invited me in the last month, I said excuses. She believed my words. Now this time I had no excuses. I agreed to reach her house before noon. My friend Mrs. Lathika was living with her daughter and an aged woman. She had been living separated from her husband.. The reasons I didn't know, I desired not to ask her. I felt pity for her husband wherever he was to live away from such a lady as she is so pretty.
Her house is in the suburbs of the town. I first met her in Salini s house. Mrs. SaliniDas, the director of "Nataraj Natyagraha" is a well known dancer. Her husband Mr. Das had been in the UAE a long years. Now he is known as the husband of Mrs.Salini. Many talented young girls practising in her school won laurels in school college arts competitions. The well known actress Miss. Santhi even now comes and practices there. The architecture of ''natyagraha ' has its novelty. The location is its great attractiveness, the place below the hill in the eastern part of the Trichur City is a short distance from the town.
I was arrested by the beauty of the place whenever I visited there and received her hospitality.
Once I said, "Salini you are lucky to have such a beautiful place for your dreamland, I have no mind to go back".
She smiled and reminded me the lines,
"Woods are lovely dark and deep
But I have promises to keep"
I taught her Robert Frost's poem, when she was in her college days. The slender beautiful girl in the BA lit.class was the Juliet of the Romeos of the college. She became my favourite in the second year of her studies. In her second year I taught them Shakespear's 'Midsummer Nights Dream'. I accompanied her during her Banglore journey to participate in the Inter University Youth festival. No one accompanied her from her house. She told me once that her mother's marriage was a love marriage.Her father met an accident when she was studying in the 9th class. There after her mother brought her up singularly. Her father's relatives were not financially sound. Her mother didn't seek the help of her parents. The amount received as compensation helped her family a lot. They lived in a rented house with her paternal grandmother. Her mother was a graduate, she did tuition classes to neighbouring children. Her father's ambition was to train her as a dancer. She was a bright student in my class. I took special care and attachment to her.
That year I got a scholarship to the UK for further studies. I took three years leave from college. I went to the UK for my Phd, during those years I had no contact with her. I came back only after five years and joined as associate professor in the Maharajas college.
She came to my college to inaugurate the arts festival. Then she was known as Mrs. Salini Das. a distinguished dancer. After the inauguration of the arts festival she came to my side.
She said, "What a surprise Sir, to see you here".
"Sir, I am an ardent reader of your books".
" Very happy to see you Salini , I am proud of you", said I.
"Thank you sir", said she.
I gave her a copy of my recently published book of poems titled ,"Millennium poems".
"Once more ThankU Sir", said she.
" I invite you to visit my house"
She gave me the visiting card.
...
During one of her visits to the Gulf countries, as she was a member of the dancing troop after her graduation, she met Mr.Das. who was one of the organisers of the dancing troop in the gulf programmes. Thus she became Mrs. Salini Das. He bought that beautiful place for her dancing school and built a two storied luxurious house for her, there she built a lovely "natyagraha". Mr. Das is a reasonable husband and has high devotion to her.
"I am unlucky sir", once she said in a sad voice
"Why", I retorted looking at her eyes deeply.
"we have no children sir", says Salini.
I saw despair deepened in her eyes.
"No despair Salini, God bless you, have a beautiful daughter like you.". I consoled her.
Meekly she said the infertility case of her husband's medical checkup. I found the hollowness of my words.
.....,... .... .....
How do they become friends. Mrs. Lathikamenon is an intimate friend of Salini. During one of my visits to Salini she introduced her.
"Sir you know this is my dear friend Mrs. LathikaMenon. She is in your field sir, I mean she is a novelist " I saw the blushing of her cheeks and the smiling on her lips. I think she is somewhat shy and conservative.
I remembered the recent news that She is awarded by Sangeetha nadaka Accademy.
..... .....
Drove my car directly into the courtyard of her house. As I expected Mrs. LathikaMenon was waiting for me.
"Hello Sir I am very happy in your presence you are my only VIP guest today".. I wished her . I saw the brightness in my eyes.
"This is my daughter Soorya", she said pointing the young girl coming from the hall.
I took the hands of the kid and I welcome her,
"Oh, Soorya Mole very glad to see you".
She smiled. We entered the hall so decorative it was.
"In which class you are studying", I asked Soorya.
Meekly she said, "First standard "
"Good", said I.
I noticed that only three people were there.
She arranged a very grand dinner there. I ate it with great relish. Soorya stood beside me, she seemed to be happy.
. After dinner we three sat in the hall. Naturally our talk turned to literature. Soorya's song also enriched the meeting.
I visited her library, a room with a shelves of a number of books. I felt envious of her for the abundance of book collection
"Surely a good library,"I appreciated her
"Thank you Sir", said she.
I saw all my works on the shelf. Reading my mind she said, "I have all the collection of your poems sir,"
I looked at her face smilingly.
" I haven't yet read any of your novels so far. "
I said in a mood of forgiveness
"Sir I have published only three novels", said she.
I remembered her recently published novel, "Wounded women", recommended for Sahitjya Accademy Award. I have read only the review of it. As she read my mind she took a copy of that novel from the shelf. With a smile she presented it to me.
Having some urgency, patting on the check of Soorya I returned promising to visit again.
..... .... ..... continue.
Chapter 2...Visit.....
..... ...
Hearing a bell on the mid day snare I woke up from my dreams, I heard the sound of Mrs. LathikaMenon on the phone.
"Yes, Gopikrishnan how are you! Mrs . Lathika Menon"
"Fine sir, are you sleeping. Sir, I'm disturbing you"
" No Lathika only a slight rest after meals, that's all".
"Sir I am going to Salini s house. She will come back from Madras this evening. Yesterday she telephoned me and she requested that I inform you".
"Ya, Lathika I have read your novel, really it wounded my heart.
" Thank you sir, yours is a great compliment to me".
... ..... ...Late in the evening I drove my car into Salini s house Salini arrived so early from Madras. Before reaching there I stopped a while before the Imperial Hotel, I stepped into the A/C bar longue and ordered two pegs of whisky.
"Oh, You are here", turned my face hearing a familiar sound, I saw Mr. Ravi Menon editor of "New India Daily"
" Ya Sir , on my way to a friends house",I retorted.
We sat together a while, our conversation turned to literature and the trend of publishing companies. I gave my work to a foreign publishing company. Ravi is my friend and a well known journalist, who published two books about journalism. After one more peg with him I said good bye to him. Reached Salini s house, I felt that I reached a strange place quite apart from the madness of the city.. Salimi welcomed me. She seemed so beautiful in the orange coloured sari.
"How was your journey"
"Fine sir"She shook my hands, we entered the hall.
"Hello, good evening uncle", said Soorya.
I took her in my hands and said, "Good Evening Soorya"
I turned to the smiling face of Salimi
"Where is Mr. Das?"
He was with me in Madras., today he has gone to Dubai", she said with a smiling face
"Any urgent matter ", I doubted
"To attend the meeting of the Malayali Association ", replied Salini.
"Oh yes, Mr. Das is the secretary of the Association, I forgot", said I.
"Sir in the next month there is a gulf programme, especially in Dubai. I wholeheartedly welcomed you to accompany me".
"Sorry Salini, in the next month I will be in London, a conference of international poets or otherwise I would be very happy to accompany you. I am unlucky Salini"
"Why are you smiling, ", I asked jokingly to Lathika
"Nothing sir", she replied stumping the shoulders of Salini.
"Sir wants hot drinks", Salin pointing to the cupboard of Mr. Das.
"Now in a good mood, really sir", joking Salini.
"True Salini on the way I met a friend of mine, We spent some time in Hotel Imperial".
"Salini, you know Mr. Ravi Menon"
"Yes sir I remember he once wrote an article of me".
Salini opened the cupboard. Looking at the dining table I wondered. Salini cleared my doubt saying, "I have a good cook here,".
"Oh yes, I asked about the importance of this day"
"Ten years of friendship, ten years ago on this day I met Lathika, so we decided to join together ".
"Am I an intruder ", said I.
"No sir you are my teacher, wellwisher and a good friend. Lathika is a good fan of you so we enjoy your company".
I took a glass from the cupboard, Salini poured a peg of whisky in my glass.
"Thank you", said I. Sipping whisky I said,
"I also enjoy your company".They smiled both.
"Soorya are you playing piano ", saw that she was playing with a kid piano. She nodded and smiled. Only four and Salini s cook were there. Relishing a grand feast, I said ,"Wish your friendship will be forever". I drove back late at night. Dropped Lathika and Soorya into their house, her aunty was anxiously waiting for them infront of the house.
"Goodnight uncle"
"Good night both of you"
With a sudden impulse I drive to my native village, about more than 200 miles away from the city. Driving lonely in the night, I like most in my life such travels.
. ... ... ....
Chapter.... ... 3.....
.... My Uncle....
Raghevattan, my uncle in relation, friend in intimacy had been living with us for the last 20 Years. When I was about fifteen years old he came to live with my family. Then I was studying in the 10th class. He was a distant relative of my mother He lost his business, deserted by his wife and became a miser in life. Sympathising with him, my mother allowed him to live with us. Thus he became a member of our family. He did all the farming work along with my father. He earned a good name in my father's book. My father was a man of strict principles, in all means a "tharavattucaranaver". He was a local magistrate of the village.His decision was the last word of all disputes in the village. All government officials related to the village first came to my tharavadu to visit my father. In every place of the village we had paddy lands and coconut fields. Most of the colony people were our workers. My mother helped those people liberally.
Raghavettan came with his daughter of five years old Janu. I first saw her as a meak girl in a jacket and shirt, frightened in nature. Soon she became my playmate. I had no other intimate friends in my locality. I wasn't allowed to mingle with locality boys. Janu suffered all my naughtiness.Janu became the pet of my mother. My mother took the initiative to send her to school. She was admitted in the first std. of the local primary school. My grandfather was the founder of the school. He gave the property and constructed a building for the school and surrendered the school to the government. Even Though he did the annual maintenance and gave other amenities to the school. My father was also acknowledged as the local manager of the school. My family gave accommodation to the teachers who came from distant areas. I got my primary education from that school. The government sanctioned primary level up to 5 th std in the school from the beginning. My father's influence government upgraded it as a UP school. After upper primary education my mother sent her to a nearby high school where I completed my 10th class,three kilometers away from my house . I was the only student who reached the school by bicycle. Janu went to the school by walking along with another girl who was the daughter of one of my mother's home maids. My mother met all the expenses of that girl only to get a companion to Janu. No higher studies nearby, so stopped her education completing 10th class.
Five years of my college study changed a lot. I enjoyed my life in the capital city. In the two years of my intermediate course, I was accommodated in a hostel run by a relative of one who lived in my village. My father entrusted my affairs with him as my local guardian After completing my intermediate, I joined a degree course in the university college. My father's decision I was forced to take the history option in the degree course.He would like to train me as an IAS cadre officer. The three years of study in the university college changed me to a youth of moderate values and leftist ideas. During my degree course I began writing english poems I approached the editor of sunday edition English newspaper and showed him my poems. His intimacy with my brother- in- law helped me to print my poems in the sunday edition and other english journals.He took interest in my poems to be published in magazines. Thus I became a known figure of a person of writing poems in english. It gave me the name of a young poet among the literary circles in the capital city.My room in a lodge some distance away from the city was always crowded with friends. My friends gang took no part in active student politics. We took interest in social and literary activities. After the degree course, one year gap took for my postgraduate studies because of the unexpected death of my father. I was forced to stay home. The death of my father doubled the burden of Raghavettan. He took the full responsibility of farming and other works.
My father Bhaskara Pillai known as
" Pillayettan" among his friend's circle served as the president of the panchayat for more than fourteen years continuously. No TA or DA or honorarium he accepted. His sudden death presented a great shock to my family. He was all in all in my family. He never yielded to even before illness. He was suffering from chest pain, but he treated it as gas trouble No one dared to advise him. Raghavettan had some influence on my father. Even Though he hadn't the courage to interfere in the decisions of my father. They had great intimacy together but that intimacy didn't allow him to advise my father. My father had a habit of drinking very secretly. He had an outhouse there, once it was used as a building for preparing ayurvedic medicines in my grandfather's time or before. My father turned one side of it as an out house of his personal use.All other utensils of medicine making kept in other rooms managed by my mother.
By this time Raghevettan became a good company of my father.. Raghevettan prepared the liquor himself used only for my father. It was a specially prepared liquor with fruits and spices, a medicinal liquor.. My father kept his stature even in drinking. His habit of drinking wasn't known to others. He always kept it as a secret of himself
After graduation I gave up the idea of becoming a bureaucrat. After the death of my father I joined post graduation again two years in the same City passed my masters degree with distinction in the university. I got an appointment as a junior lecturer temporarily in Maharajas college. I wouldn't like to work in University college because I had been there for the last seven years
Janu stopped her study, but she was good in drawing pictures. I gave her books of drawing and painting. She used it with pleasure. My mother gave an eye to her in all activities. My mother was disappointed not to send her to college studies. But my mother was not ready to send her to a distant college Instead my mother made her study texts of "puranas" arranging a woman of knowledge in puranas. She came to our house every Sunday, a retd. schoolteacher and a. vedic preacher.
"you are going to be a woman of the saga" once I commented.
"No, Gopiyetta", she called me "ettan" always.
Hearing my comment my mother retorted,
"she would guide you ".
I didn't know what my mother meant.
Janaki was my mother's pet. As a grown up girl Janu is so beautiful. A serene look in her face is so attractive. She came to my house a girl of five years with a feared face. When I came back after my research study , she was in her twenties
My mother's illness forced me to come back from the UK, resigned my job there, after five years of part-time work and research. Mere Gopikrishnan turned Dr. Gopikrishnan a known poet in literary circles awarded by British council to one of my poetic collections.
My mother was in the hospital, it was janu who an accomplice gave all solace to my mother, not her mother. As a son I was always away from my mother, my desire was in the USA enquired only through phone or letters.. Discharged from hospital after two weeks my mother lost her health and mental courage I have got an appointment as associate professor in english dept. in govt. college, Trichur.
chapter..... 4...My mother.....
My mother was a women of strong impulses the one who chained my father s perdon of arrogant nature. My mother belonged to an aristocratic family the elder daughter of Gopalapillai a landlord. My mother had only one brother a senior advocate in the High Court of Kerala
Acres of land and paddy fields in the village belonged to my mother's family. When she fed up in the bed I thought she was affected by fear of death.. So I decided to stay home. Moreover my long stay in the UK affected her health and mind.
One day when we were alone my mother called me by her side and said "kanna", as she always called me "kanna""Janu is alone, you know her well they joined with us".
"Janu is always with you", said I.
"kanna I am talking seriously. Now you are nearing thirty five, you can marry a girl from any wealthy family. We need no wealth to accumulate. I say she will be a perfect match for you. As for education she has no degree but she is more sensible than any other educated women ".
My mother looked into my eyes in a questionable manner. Then suddenly Janu came into the room, I laughed aloud.
Janu asked, " What is the matter Gopiyetya".
I looked into her face and said , "nothing Janaki, Devakiamma " that I called my mother affectionately.,"saying you are of marriage age I will turn to be your Ramam. She kicked my shoulder and said,
"no Janaka Maharajait is here , no bow and arrow here." said she.
"No bow and arrow needed Janaki, it is
the order of Rajamatha Devaki Amma, obey the order" "Nothing to realize, she stood dumbfounded."
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