Certain Wise or Unwise Whys!

Many a time and oft certain whys emerge from my mind and they fade away unravelled(not because of the emergence of the ‘Kolavery, even much before that) . These whys are wise or unwise, I exactly don’t know to express the fact. Of course, you may extract something paradoxical from this article.  As they come into your sight ,find the  ‘that is why….’ for these whys. Here they are….

1. WHY did the primordial man leave his natural refuge of his wild life?

  Hadn’t he evolved from his savage stage to the modern sapient  homos, he could have freely moved without any planning and preparation. He wouldn’t have built any fortification. He could have taken any natural haven like caves or burrows for his comfortable sleep. Tension and attention to anything of his life would have remained far-far away. He wouldn’t have been familiar with any sort of  fright. No lingering about the yester-years, no botheration about his tomorrows, might be both sweet and bitter; no responsibility of his offspring and no liability for his family.  All members followed an identical life style and so no strenuous labour and no stress feeling to achieve any goal.  Altogether his was a life full of gaiety. Then there may arise a question ‘what if the population amplifies and resources don’t’. Nil problem, since natural calamities and wild beasts will see to the population planning. Devastation will occupy the  atmosphere and so the environment will maintain its own balance.

2.WHY did he discover agriculture?

If at all a residence is raised, the nonexistence of agriculture wouldn’t have necessitated him to put in a lot of labour for converting the land to be conducive. Ploughing, sowing, weeding, watering and manuring to nurture the crops may eat away his health and mental peace. There would have been no need for protection of cultivation from man, beasts, pests, insects; no search for other hands for cutting ,carrying, threshing, winnowing etc. during harvest. He could have walked and worked in his own innate ways. Eating fruits and roots to extinguish the hunger and drinking nature’s water and  natural juice to quench the thirst would have been the systems for his metabolic purposes. If the climatic conditions turn adverse, the yield would become inversely proportional to the desire.

3.WHY did he introduce cooking in his life?

If at all he goes for cultivation of land ,the absence  of cooking would have facilitated him a lot in pecuniary and physical terms. Cooking becomes a burden for the two-legged female domestic animal that runs and rushes with the raw items in the kitchen. Had he not noticed the occurrence of fire, the humans’ food channel and its attached parts would have acquainted with the fresh food sources. No cleaning, no cutting, no chopping , no boiling ,no steaming ,no frying aha! How lovely to have saved time. The experience of consuming cooked food makes feel that it is tangy. Otherwise natural fresh food items would have been  refreshing.

4.WHY did he institutionalize education?

Without formal education prevalence of equality amongst man’s fellow occupants on earth would have been a reality.. No worry of curriculum, books, home work, fees, exam- result etc. resulting in anxiety and fear would be felt. No fret of qualification and higher education he would have thought of. Knowledge will occupy its throne in man’s mind through the way of experience and acquaintance. History, philosophy, various branches of science, formal math and the like wouldn’t have been born at all on this earth  Only spoken language would have occupied its regime. Even otherwise now also all do not have the awareness of every learning process on the globe. Nothing happens to those who are ignorant of certain areas.

   

5.WHY did he start  competing and contesting with the equals of himself?

Had he not indulged in competitions, there wouldn’t have been words like ‘envy, challenge, adventure, goal-setting, argument, dispute, debate, fight, greed, murder, deceiving, vengeance and so on and so on .Had he gone for his own choicest skill, everything would have turned and been turned fine. Things would have attained a natural and smooth direction to move about.

 Yet again a procession of ‘Whys’ about modern amenities, facilities, luxuries and other life patterns raise their attention-catching hands and if I go on reciprocating, the procession will possess no end. Again I feel that had we been in our primal age, this earth would have been an ‘Eden’. Nature’s ‘gift’ the greatest of all gifts is invaluable and inexplicable. Let’s enjoy its preciousness with full spirit.

    

sarala

The Admission

                                A Mini-story 

                                

The couple walked off  to the bed from the sit-out,  where they had a discussion about their baby’s admission in the best school of that locality. They took a decision of very firm nature.

The on-set of dawn awakened the couple, who left the bed delightfully because they were going to move towards the authorities of the school. The wife’s body formed a digital machine to complete her catering and the other domestics second by second.. The hose-pipe jumped into the spouse’s hand and cleaned their four-wheeler.

Telephonic information  reached both the offices to lessen one-day-leave each. Finding themselves in the most gorgeous dress of theirs, they made their exit out of their shelter.. Their limbs co-operated with their needs, as the wife’s hands opened the gate and the husband’s hands flew the vehicle on the wheels. Both spun the threads of ambition about their kid’s prospects and weaved the dreams to the sky,where the sun was the notary to attest the wishes..

“What will be the response from the principal?”

 “Oh! In affirmation only because they have called for furnishing the admission-form. We are much early too for the procedures.” merrily chatted both.

 “Priority of application will definitely be looked into,” they were confident.

Over enthusiasm didn't allow them to think of even the eligibility of the baby and the possibility of admission. 

The traffic signal alerted them and they were at a junction. The Educational Trust is in possession of      two schools, titled at the highest peak of reputation. Both the schools were practically the same  in all the activities.

 “Which direction will we go to?” the wife.

 “Now we can proceed straight only,” the husband.

 “Okay we will approach the principal of the ‘Lotus’ school,” the wife

“Please be seated. What can I do for you ?” the principal.

 “Admission of our little one.,”  Both jointly.

 “Haven’t you brought the child ? Where is it?” the principal.

“Sir, er….er… the child is ...the child ... in the womb. By the time it reaches four years, admission will be a big impediment.”

The principal’s expression was inexplicable and wonder-filled.

  

The Grandmother and the Granddaughter

Part-3

The story so far:

One ill-ominous day Manju’s both the parents bade adieu to their lives on earth. A tipper recklessly approached them in the form of Yama .The poor grandmother was left with the babyhood of her grandchild..

Now pl. read……    

Karthyayani amma, the woman in her young-old age had been bound to do the child-rearing, since she had  no other way. She stretched her limbs and body to collect more vigour  and vibrancy. She was endowed with a high sense of hygiene. She considered cleanliness to be next toGodliness, which facilitated her to find means to meet both the ends. Carrying the tot(Manju)on her sobbing chest, she tiptoed to the neighbours’ houses as a house- help. She could manage to accomplish the needs at that instant by stepping into three or four dwellings.

Years, months, days and hours passed within a wink, they experienced so. The grandmother’s passion, ambition, dream, desire and everything rotated around her granddaughter. Her world full was filled with Manju and her welfare. She breathed Manju, she felt Manju and she sensed Manju. Without thinking about her, not even a single minute passed. She kept, whatever things of quality high she came across, exclusively for Manju  and Manju alone. Manju too failed never to return the concern in deserving quantity to her Granny. Though at times the recollections about the departed ones exhibited a flash-back in their psyche, they wasted no time in haste. While the oldster was busy with her engagements,the youngster found herself immersed in academics. And furthermore the latter could excel too in her field.

Now Manju has crossed her mid-teen and reached class-xll.  Manju keeps nothing hidden from her grandma in her mind. They converse with each other like friends. One day Karthyayani amma was cooking porridge for both of them. The grand darling went near her granny and started doing her hair that lay untied. Granny looked at the granddaughter with an interrogatory sign on the face. The  latter  unlocked her mind  fumblingly,“ ere….. and .. Ramesh Bhaiyya(addressing an elderly person) waits for me under the wild-jack tree every day. He enquires about our welfare and my studies.” Ammoomma(granny) opened her third eye in fury and raised her voice at Manju for the first time. Manju’s hands automatically got detached from granny’s hair. Suddenly ammoomma’s affection towards the granddaughter made her cool. The former eased her voice and caressed her dear one. Manju was clever enough to opt for another route to school.  

Karthyayani amma’s mind is packed with fear and worry for her earnings are too meagre for her dear one’s expanding expenditure, even when the latter tags on an austere way of living. And also Manju though is not extra-beautiful, her charm strikes the eyes and character wins the soul. Manju’s age and looks disturbed her ammoomma’s sleep.

More over the avenue to find revenue to continue her dear one’s education has befallen  dearer and dearer causing anguish in her. And more to say her colourful academic record doesn’t allow her to favour the thought of discontinuing her studies. All these together with her aging physique deteriorate her health. The grandmother is gradually falling victim into the grip of her bed.

Manju though with much hesitation, crafts her mind to be a substitute for ammoomma., since there is no other go and she doesn’t want to see her dear Ammoomma in hard labour  at this age. The latter’s old eyes get ready to shed tears of  disappointment and distress. Her supreme aspiration is to see Manju at a high peak of education and thereby in a decent profession. So she can’t even think of Manju without the tail of a superior qualification.  She feels, “ Manju’s arduous labour in the neighbourhood may or will set villainy in Manju’s studies.” Manju in a house-help’s attire never resides in grandmother’s distant dream even. In addition to that Manju’s lone existence, if something untoward goes off, remains as a terrifying scene in her mind. Agony and anxiety co-dwells with  both, the granny and granddaughter.

 The next day Manju’s legs automatically carry her to the cuisine to cook something for her dear ammoomma who lit the stove only for Manju. Ammoomma’s weak eyeballs follow Manju’s direction. She heaves a deep sigh of gloom. Manju also is in utter darkness where through even a magnifying glass, she is not able to find anything bright in her tomorrows.

Somehow she dresses up as a house-maid and sets out for one of ammoomma’s mistresses. She thought, “I’ll complete the work before the school hours.” The young hand doubles the delight of the mistress. Manju is now riding on the wings of the time, not on the wheels. As a few days get ahead, granny’s state worsens and Manju’s presence with her becomes inevitable. Her hands heed to grandma’s needs and then her legs lead her to the small courtyard.

 She, when granny is in a nap, whispers to the rose and jasmine, converses with the butterflies, speaks to the fish in the pond, “Are you the same as I will be, an orphan, an unfortunate person, a destitute; if some mishaps occur in our house?” Literally she finds no means to survive, but she is the last person to transfer her life to the other world. Now she reaches back ammoomma’s bed. Both the inhabitants got dipped into an unfathomable sense of helplessness.

A few minutes go by, then she feels the softness of a smooth hand on her shoulder. She tilts her head. To the surprise of both the inmates of the house, they read the fondness for them in Ramesh’s mother’s eyes. Her calm voice expressed Ramesh’s desire, “Yes, he has recognized a gem from the ashes of hardships here. Both of us, his parents value the principle ‘character wins the soul.”

Manju’s and grandma’s countenances illustrate an expression that is full of gratitude and gratefulness. A cool wind blows in and ammoomma is calm and comfortable now.   

Ho! Ammoomma  now catches the trip to the world devoid of demise. Though Manju bursts out into tears, her mind accepts the everlasting fact.

 

sarala

The Grandmother and the Granddaughter

                       

                         Part-2

The story so far :  A granny and her granddaughter were taken to a conversation. Granny slowly got slipped into a nap and thereby a dream. The dream drew her to the childhood days of Onam celebrations. A synopsis of Onam celebrations pass through  her dream.

Now pl. read…………

The very thought of Onam had again  pulled her half a century back to the shore of nostalgia. Onam always had been accompanied by a series of sugary experiences. The festivities were indeed mind-blowing especially when one was rich enough to lavishly spend  for Onam.

‘ONAM’ the most popular festival of Kerala has more or less moulted its old shell and developed channel feathers.  Though the festivals and carnivals have encroached upon the screens of visual media, one rejoices at the fullest degree while Onam celebrations are in full swing.

 But here this family of grandmother(Karthyayani amma) and grandchild(Manju) cannot connect much grandeur to any festivity. The god of riches has deserted and rammed them into poverty, even though the old woman was a progeny of an affluent ancestry, born with a silver spoon in the mouth. The excessiveness and extravagance of the descendants of the family dissolved the entire property of the family in debt. Result the successors had to sleep under the blanket of poverty. Besides  the scantiness of revenue, lonesomeness also has taken shelter in this residence.

 Karthiyayani amma’s mind now opened the box of poignant memories of that ill-omened day. The more she sought to avoid the vistas of the gone past, the more vivid it appeared..

That was a dull morning with a damp weather. Both the husband and wife, Manju’s parents, had set off for road- work. Mother Nature seemed to be awfully gloomy. It was heavily raining in the early hours of morning. The Nature’s children all around were gloomy for reasons not known. The plants were shedding tears. The thousand watts bulb, on that day was sending just a feeble light. The lane to the destination had on its face deep wounds full of filthy puss. As to arrive at  the  outlying work-spot the couple rushed on their leg-bikes that acted as acrobats. Their gait was literally a race, so as to reach the  spot at the earliest  time itself. Even then they felt they wouldn’t  reach there on time. “Late arrival may turn us deprived of our work- opportunity.”  Both were engaged in chit –chat too.

 The  paucity of  income never diminished their delight as they were contented with their sweet daughter and affectionate mother. They had acquired a true heart ever ready for any sort of work. Also they were in possession of a tidy house of tiny size.

Alas! Their glee lasted not for long. It was just a bolt from the blue that a violently- driven tipper ran over the couple. The impudent driver without any pause departed from the scene in his carriage. Some passers-by turned up to help them and got them into a hospital. Four eyes were eagerly lying in wait for the couple, who were supposed to get back home much before. The little child, who was a four or five year-old one, always wanted her mother’s patting hands to sleep. None were bold  enough to inform the old woman about the despondent condition of her son and daughter-in-law. Nevertheless  by evening two corpses made their entry into the house instead of the couple.

The tears flowed down through the cheeks of grandmother and grand daughter found no boundary, though the latter had no lucid idea about the mishaps. All the surrounding eyes shed as much tears as to form a small stream. Sad words, sighs and sobbing echoed everywhere. The breeze didn’t even peep, as if to witness the scene was unbearable. Wholly the atmosphere turned tight and hot without much sound.

When the dear and near dispersed after the completion of all the formalities of funeral,  the grandmother woke up to reality where she heard the tot’s screaming for food. “I have to survive, survive for this innocent darling. I cannot or should not lose heart and health. Otherwise the woes will become my foes. Yes, I have to cook something for both of us. I have to find some means to meet both the ends.” Grandma rose up with a clear vision.

Sarala                                                           ( to be contd.)

The Grandmother and the Granddaughter

                                      

 I had initiated this much before Onam. Somehow I couldn’t post this on the web in time. This is a story in a series of two or three parts. Hope you all will spend a little of your valuable time to go through this.

 Part-1

          Granny’s earsplitting voice went on “Manju, where were you all this time? Who did you take permission to go out, from?”. She never tolerated her dear Manju frittering away the time without any purpose. The grand-offspring curved the lower lip downwards to express a smile.

 “Ammoomma(Grandma), don’t you remember that tomorrow is * Atham and we have to collect flowers,” said the girl. “We have gathered a lot of flowers from the hillside pasture. And also from bushes near the paddy field.”

 “Oh! *Onam, Ponnonam. What a lovely festival!” murmured the grandmother. Her mind slowly slipped into the past. It travelled to the Onams of her childhood and at that time her mind got immersed absolutely there. ‘And there he stood at the gate of the heaven, where God asked him to recall the sweetest part of his life. He wondered and then realized it was childhood after all.’ No wonder, Karthiyayani amma (the grandmother)was transforming herself into a child.

 Joyful conversation and communication of ideas among the friends and siblings illuminated the atmosphere. The chat went on and went on whenever they met(by and large they were together). 

 “Sarojini, Saraswathi, Kochupenne, let’s walk off to the surroundings of the mini-forest. We'll gather flowers from there.”

 “I’ll pick these small flowers from here and you all go to the other areas and pick those balsam flowers,” Karthyayani.

Gopalan had tied the swing on the jack tree. The swing was impatiently lurking for them.

 "After completing this work we will be with the swing.”

" Where did he take the rope from?” the children asked each other."

Yes, a big climber plant had bowed before him to offer its stem. So, with its stem, the swing got ready to accept its young friends.

“First I’ll swing and you push me fast and then you can swing. Let’s do *chilliyattam.

 “Can you swing higher and touch that branch?”

“Yes, watch me.”

“Aha! What fun? It is really joyful.”

All of the pals were in an exhilarating mood. 

“Now let’s go home, the farmers will bring *Kazhcha  and achchan(father) will give them the return gift.”

“Yes, achchan has purchased  new dresses for them.”

“Achchan also was counting some amount and that I feel will go to those people.”

 “How much will he give them?”

 “Don’t know. The money will be hidden in his hands. It obeys what he says,” laughter.

.

“Uncle Time is walking fast. So let us go back to our houses. Let's see what is going on there.”

 “We should get up at very early dawn itself to arrange*Pookkalam. Don’t wait for the Sun to switch on his light," chatting.

“  This time we will play with our playthings also. Have you made any toys?.”

“Why not? Yes, I have a few handmade toys."

Various leaves, paper, plant-parts, sand, soil, stones, shells, etc. have taken new incarnations and dressed up as fine toys in their proficient hands.

  "Friends, all of you come here, listen, the  Band of Pulikali is nearing our house. Let’s watch the hunter  shooting the tiger."

  Lighting earthen lamps on the stems of banana-trees at the entrance of domiciles at dusk is an eye-catching ritual. Usually, the children perform that holy duty. The lamps are beautifully arranged adding hues to this festival. An elder member of the family makes ready the ‘bow and arrow’ to be kept near the lighted sacred lamp. Oil in the lamp will be sufficient for the whole night. It is believed that Maveli visits the houses during the night and he examines the bow and arrow.

" Tonight I’ll not sleep to observe how*Maveli shoots the arrow," thought Karthyayani Amma.

" Oh! My sleep cheated me as usual.”

She had slipped into a deep slumber and hence she couldn't witness Maveli's entry, “Aha! Ha! Today is our Onam! Ponnonam! I have defeated even the sun in waking up. First, I only will have a dip in the pool so that I can put on my new apparel."

 In the morning Mothers serve the children only rice flakes and plantains. The plantain-leaf feast is this festival's charm. Without the feast, it is not festive. 

"Oh! The time is not passing," the thought of the feast makes children's mouths water.

 It will be sumptuous indeed. All sorts of vegetable curries, fried pappads, chips, pudding, etc. are really relishing. Then the rice falls in the middle of each leaf and the dishes on the top of the leaf in a line.

The mistress of the house first arranges every item of the feast for ‘Maveli’. the children are not allowed to go and watch Him during the meal-time.

After the meal at lunchtime, people engage themselves in * Thiruvathira and enjoy the amusements of the games- *Pashuvum-Puliyum, juggling and some other games. 

 Then they will carry out  * Thumpithullal in everybody’s house and clear of the flowers arranged for Pookkalam. Yes, they accomplish the work of removing the Pookkalam of all the houses.

When Ponnonam is gone, another one year it will take for Maveli to visit again.

“Ammoomma, are you sleeping? What are you dreaming about?” The grand-daughter asked.

“ What! What is it? O! Dear  I fell into a nap,” said the granny with a shade of shyness on the cheek.”

 “ Did you have a dream, Ammoomma?” Manju asked humorously.

 “ Yes, I dreamt of our golden olden days of Onam, ” replied ammoomma.

*Onam is an exceptionally important festival in Kerala, India. 

*Aththam-the first day of Onam(The celebration remains for ten-days or more.)

*Chilliyattam-swinging by standing on the swing.

*Pookkalam-floral arrangement.

*Pulikali Band-A team of children, a few of whom dress up as tigers and another set as hunters and

 move about from house to house, displaying the game of shooting the tigers.

*Utradam-the ninth day.

*Maveli –A mythical king after whom this festival occurs.

*Pashuvum-Puliyum- a game in which people engage in recreation as cow and tiger.

*Thiruvatira-a legendary folk-dance of Kerala.

                                                                                                    

( to be contd.)