missing the canvas....

‘Mix the blue paint with yellow…and then add a dash of red….’
‘mm…yes…now color the portion of the eyebrows with this green pastel… No No...the pink is for the beauty dots on the cheek…be careful the smile is retained…yes yes…you can use the florescent for the tattoo ’

This would be more likely me giving an art lesson to a kid who found the skeleton in the biology lab, Ugly. Unfortunately as a kid I never had an opportunity to do that in our school inspite of unbearable desire to do so.

Admittedly as you can guess sometime in the mid eighties I was in love with colors.. I loved drawing and painting and often used to spend more time drawing the teacher’s face than listening to strange things like multiplication tables, acute angles(what’s so cute about that? ) and blah blah... I used to get scolded as frequently as it rained in cherrapunji for drawing people, dogs, cats and elephants in my maths notebook. Although I wish to claim my idols those days were Pablo Picasso and Rembrandt, they were not simply my league.!

Blissfully unaware was I of the fact that parents working in the same school were getting daily appraisal reports from villains (teachers) about their son who was doing exquisite art in his notebook instead of writing notes…Though son was aware of potential consequences and did diligently destroy the evidence from notebook before hitting home.

For fearing that they might use narco analysis (which must be like a dream come true for drug addicts) I was forced to explain the unnatural thinning of notebooks…I was so bad and uncreative at lying that probably Appa might have put his hands on his head and quipped in exasperation.

“Hell c’mon…you should be atleast good at this!!”

Well my thoughts was changing by the minute…and looking at him I though…

*bulb* “Waah…I like that pose … that’s something I never drew”. *bulb*

One day my dad thought enough was enough put me up for an extra hour at the art teacher’s classroom where I was allowed to draw and paint till I dropped dead…Though that was a wish that turned out to be false…I would get back home and still continue drawing or painting even at late hours in the night…And again I’ll get those warning to go sleep.

Think of the loss if Thomas pappan had admonished his bright son several years ago...

“Edison...switch off that damn bulb and go sleep …”

In almost similar parlance, I became an early victim which would have otherwise added a new genre of contemporary art form …something like Abstract Chekkuionism. A new level appreciated by only a select few, high on ecstasy and trance music.

Nevertheless I stuck to this passion and did occasionally win prizes in school camel color painting competitions… And that sense of pride when you see your painting up in the wall exhibiting the prize winners. I do not remember having felt so proud until months later , math’s teacher asked me to sit in unfamiliar territory in her class….

The bench.

It felt awkward after long being a permanent floor resident with fellow friends who though maths was invented to torture mankind.

In high school the passion for art dwindled. Though I never stopped drawing, subjects changed to beautiful amoeba’s , seductive paramecium’s and scenic digestive systems. While in college what I lacked in muscle power I managed to get even with guys by using creative skills to academic use. ….which meant morphing! Many of my friends have graced the torso of bikini clad actresses or found themselves in compromising pose.

Recently when a good blogger friend suggested to blog on my interest in art it's sort of making me guilty and sad that I have never painted on a canvas for the past 2-3 years…a passion which I held so close to my heart not so long ago…I was never trained how to draw or paint…sort of happy for it because when you become trained to a technique it ceases to be art…I ll stick to what art was for me as a kid...to draw or paint what I feel like and without rules and for my satisfaction…I am no exemplary artist…but I have immense peace of mind when I draw something...even on a notepad.....some kind off stress buster…

Now when I am busy buying stuff for trip and wondering what to buy for my kid nieces or nephew’s...its not hard to decide what to buy…the same stuff that I wished as a gift those days as a child….a box of color pastels …

P.S. I hope to reply to comments in a few days…..after I reach my good old city….till then auf Wiedersehen :-)

Don't forget those who left us..

And lets leave those who have forgot us.........

Achuthanandan:-
'But for slain major, not even a dog will visit his house'


Vilasrao Deshmukh:-
Bollywood tour with Ram gopal verma and Ritesh Deshmukh


Narendra Modi:-
Karkare’s family sources said Modi had dropped in on his own at the grieving family’s home, after the officer's kin had thrice told his officials that they had no wish to meet anyone
Karkare's widow and other family members have declined Modi's offer.

R R Patel
"Such small things keep happening in a big city."

Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi
"Some women wearing lipstick and powder have taken to streets in Mumbai and are abusing politicians spreading dissatisfaction against democracy. This is what terrorists are doing in Jammu and Kashmir."

When it comes to political arrogance, high handedness and incompetence all of em are the same…the same scumbags in different colors…They are not mere political leaders. They are the same people whom we have elected in the past…We must be blind if we elect any of these folks ever again…!!

Indian Zeitgeist

Germany was brutally destroyed during the war. I don’t sympathize with nazi’s but its true that there were a huge number of civilian Germans who were killed during the war and its tragic proportions subdued just because they were on the wrong side of the battle…Not many know that 50000 people were killed in a single air raid in the city of Hamburg(source wiki ). Unfortunately people don’t talk about it in the same breath as what happened elsewhere.


Recently one of my good friends and a blogger asked me an interesting question.

“How did Germany become an industrialized and developed country inspite of the strict labour laws and destruction it faced in the war”

The rise of Germany post war is well documented and you can find details in wikipedia where it explains the wirtschaftswunder aided by american aid, currency devaluation and other measures. Besides these, having stayed here for sometime I could think about other german traits which might have contributed to phoenix-like recovery and the lessons we could learn from them.


Now the question is what makes the Germans special…Having worked with them and seen the locals I can make out drastic difference in work culture, ethics and attitudes. .

Law and order

To quote an example: - In the public transport system followed here, it’s not necessary for a passenger to show his ticket or pass to the bus driver. Neither do they have turnstiles in metro stations which validate your entry...

Why?

People here are expected to be honest.. It’s a virtue which is given extreme importance and people DO follow it most of the time. Ofcoz there are occasional ticket checkers in the metro but you would hardly find anyone traveling ticket less. I felt it was amazing that most people follow it inspite of the tempting scenario where you could actually travel without a ticket. Infact I have not seen this system in other European countries where the system wouldn’t enable you to board any public transport facility without a ticket. You may ask why Germans do it this way.

1) People are generally honest and obey the law.
2) The penalty on getting caught is huge. You could actually be denied a loan even after 10 years if your past record shows an indication of unlawful practice. It’s not a ‘one time pay the fine’ affair. A crime done, its baggage carries for a lifetime and people don’t think its worth to break the law.
3) Germans have a fascination for law and uniform. Infact they respect it so much which partly explains why Hitler managed to get people follow him with apparent ease.

Work Culture

There is no half baked approach to work here. Infact even the simplest of trade has to be mastered in perfection. To quote an instance, if someone has to start a saloon the person has to go through a three year full time course on hair dressing. It’s a system which makes you perfect at what you do. Infact here, there is no rush to finish school. They have 11 year schooling system instead of our standard 10. The result of this system is any work given to a german from painting a house to creating aircrafts is beau idéal.

In comparison the Indian instinct is to make things work somehow. The onus shifts from quality of work to how fast you do the job. Impressive in the short run but not long.

Another behavioral trait which is considered highly back home...”Not to say NO to anything” doesn’t work always here esp. as we Indians tend to overuse it to impress anyone. Germans expect you to be realistic and therefore it’s not considered offensive to ask for a pragmatic estimation. But they don’t appreciate if you don’t manage to finish the job in agreed upon time. A mistake often happening to many first time onsite software engineers.

This is an area where we need to draw valuable lessons. I remember our ministers blaming short life span of our roads on the monsoons. Our instinct is to put the blame rather than find the solution. Here, where the roads are punished even more due to the vagaries of nature, they still last for a lifetime because for them they perceive it as a challenge to create lasting quality infrastructure. Infact I could assume the german skills in heavy machinery was a result of shortage of manpower which forced them to innovate and create machines for every task. We are much better blessed manpower and weather wise and hence we haven’t been really ‘forced’ to innovate. At the same time the classic ‘our fate’ attitude for anything non-positive makes us settle in comfort submission zones.

Nationalism and Practicality

Germans have a unique sense of nationalism. They had consciously shed the German race theory and quickly resorted to nation building after the war. Ofcoz since a large number of Germans died in the war, they used auslander’s (outsiders... mostly Turks) for that. There was an inherent desire to catch up with the victors of the war and practical nature of Germans can be seen in subtle examples like the stark difference between the architecture in comparison to France if you notice comparatively newer design seen in Germany. France since it was less destroyed still carries the old European charm whereas Germans preferred the functionality over the charm. That doesn’t mean Germany is any less beautiful…Infact elegancy wise I think the squares and countryside here beats the French any day.

We still stick to beauty of grandiose designs than over practical use. We spend more money on monolith statues or pillars than the roads or public facilities. Sadly we even scuttle useful ideas from implementation under the clause of financial viability. Last year in the city where I live, they celebrated 100 years of the metro network (in a city with one sixth the population of Bangalore)… The price we pay for laid back and short sighted approach to infrastructure can be seen in our big cities. What they foresighted 100 years ago may not have been financially back then, but the results paid off. Our city administration should take cue from em and stop wasting years on “financially viability” studies for public infrastructure projects. Long term nation building should be given precedence over short term financial or political gains.

Relation with other European countries

I guess most of you might think that I have been supporting the Germans over the French in this post. I agree partly due to the fact that I have been living here and my friends here are Germans who have historic hatred for the French and that feeling is mutual. ;-D
Most Germans are sad that they are the portrayed the classic villains in Europe. But historically speaking almost all European countries have their shades of grey. Racism is prevalent in shallow mindsets just as much we would feel for other Asians living in our country and probably its least in Germany. If you go further back in history the supposedly peace loving Swedes and Norwegians were equally brutal during the thirty year war which most of us are not aware of.

There is still a rivalry between all the European countries which is not much in open ever since the European Union became functional. The practicality of co-existence dawned on them which keep this rivalry in small talks over a beer.

India needs to find the solution to the Kashmir problem. What we now have is a peaceful existence of co-hatred for which we spend hell lot of money and yet to no real solution.

Future

I must admit this country is not what it used to before...There is a huge disconnect between old timer Germans and the new generation. The new Germans did not have to struggle or work hard as the old timers…They are threatened by Indians and Chinese who are fast catching up and trying to excel in what they did previously. But am sure they will re-invent themselves considering this is a country which gave birth to people like Nietzche...Goethe...Einstein and Porsche.

We are almost in the same situation like the Germans were in late 50’s... There is an Indian dream in most of us to be successful. But the dream is restricted to a small percentage of population and a vast number still haven’t moved much between the 70’s and today. There was an inherent desire among germans after the war to be a dominant force in the world albeit in a different way, which the succeeded. What we need do to is mature as fast as they did...in thinking and practice with a zeal which goes beyond our definition of a multi-religious democracy which we are justifiably proud of. A nation which should be able to survive based on what we make, what we can offer and beyond fluctuations of currency conversion which we are currently heavily dependant on. Although we have made a progress over the last decade, it still got a lot of change to happen to be a force to reckon with.

Join the Room!

One day when all the world leaders were tired of the wars…economic crisis…summits...and shortage of scandals they decided to enter the yahoo chat room for some fun…It all started when the new prez elect installed yahoo messenger in his new HP laptop (window vista and change inside!)

Barack Obama joined the US chat room

Obama: Hi fellas.
Hillary: Hi mate…long time no see.
Obama: Yeah...and hopefully not for another 4 years.
Mc Cain: Good luck buddy...btw is Joe the Biden online?
Obama: nope...he is chatting with Sonila.
Mc Cain: Why do you have an Indian in your team…?
Obama: Dude she is VHP…I need her.
Mc Cain: VHP?
Obama: Very Helpful for President.
Mc Cain: Cool…Btw where do you plan for you first state visit?
Palin: Mr. Prez you should probably visit Alaska…a country of strategic importance for us.
Obama: John...thanks for all your support in the election…You know I mean it!!
Obama: I am actually visiting India…a place called Kerala.

Bush enters the chat room.

Bush: Hi …you guys in there?
Obama: Damn him again…what do we do?
Mc Cain: No worries...just tell him we are not here.
Obama: No one here…myself and Mc Cain are in invisible mode…Can’t you see that...
Bush: oops…am sorry!

Bush leaves the chat room

************************************************************************************

Achumaaman joined the Kerala chat room

Achumaaman: Comrades the new American prez is visiting our state.
Achumaaman: Since he is a socialist we need to give him a wonderful welcome.
Politburomember: Yes, Sakhaavu …I have taken care of it…I have even put banners throughout the state…
Politburomember: though there is a slight mistake with the spelling...we have a ‘B’ missing and a couple of A’s missing and mixed up.
Achumaaman: WTF?
Politburomember: it says ARRACK TODDY…anyways in his fast entourage he would read it as BARACK TODAY!!
Achumaaman: What happened to the ‘B’?
Politburomember: Sakhaavu...all of em were used in the recent Bandh.
Achumaaman: Oh never mind…chill.
Achumaaman: Guys did you see the new movie twenty-twenty
Politburomember: Nope...we boycotted it...Mammootty is no more ‘left’…The posters shows him in the middle.
Achumaaman: Damn…Let’s suspend him…

***********************************************************************************
As usual folks in US chat room got bored and they joined the International politics chat room

Obama: hey Zardari please clean up the mess in Pakistan asap
Zardari: How can I do…Don’t you understand that we have troubles with the Indians as well
Obama: Don’t worry dude...I have got MS word on it…
Zardari: I agree you guys are good with computers…and got MS word…but we have had three bloody wars!!
Obama: I mean Manmohan Singh’s word on it…He won’t trouble you…
Zardari: High fives Obama!!
Zardari: Hi...Sarah…

*Sarah clicks Report Abuse.*

Sarah Palin has left the room.

Zardari has left the room.
Gadaffi has left the room.
Sarkozy has left the room.
Akhito has left the room.
Nazarbayev has left the room.

Brown: Where are all the folks going?

Sarah enters Alaska chat room.
Zardari enters Alaska chat room
Gadaffi enters Alaska chat room
Sarkozy enters Alaska chat room.
Nazarbayev enters Alaska chat room
Akhito enters Alaska chat room

Brown: aaah...OK...I get it.

Putin enters Alaska chat room

Sarah has left the room.

Zardari has left the room.
Gadaffi has left the room.
Sarkozy has left the room.
Akhito has left the room.
Nazarbayev has left the room.

Putin: Hello any one there?
Putin: “KNOCK KNOCK”


Meanwhile similar things were happening in another room.

Raj joined the Mumbai chat room

Venkataraman has left the room
Colonel Nair has left the room
Balbir Singh has left the room
Mohan Yadav has left the room

Yahoo Alert: No one is still left in the room. Do you want to stay?

Raj has left the room.
Raj joins Indian Politics chat room.

Indian Politics administrator declines access.


*Inside Indian Politics chat room.*

Karunanidhi is sharing the song “Tamizha Tamizha”
Rajapaksha declines the file.

Thapar: Isn’t it amazing the Americans have finally voted a Brown leader to power.
Laloo: arey but we have been electing brown leaders for last 60 years!!
Gordon: And it has happened in UK as well for the first time 2 years ago!;-P
Laloo: LOL!! Gordon bhaiyya too good...Do visit Patna sometime.

Meanwhile Bush was alone in the US chat room.

Al Queda: Hi…asl?
Bush: asl….what does it mean.
Al Queda: Ammunition shotguns and launchers.
Bush: You see...am currently de-facto president. I ll check with the new Prez elect...btw what was your name...Could you spell it?
Al Queda: Al as in Al Gore…Q as in Kuwait…U as in urgent...W as in war…A as in America…D as in destroy…and A as in asap!
Bush: Thanks dude…I ll let him know…Cool name you have btw…would love to meet you.
Al Queda: me too.

Suddenly a virus attacks all chat windows. The virus was spreading like wildfire….A stranger started visiting all chat windows.

God: Your appraisal is coming soon. Due to economic crisis in heaven we would have to send few of you to hell. Please be prepared for the lay offs. Your role change would be communicated shortly after reviewing appraisal presentations.

It echoed somewhere in a voice chat that was still open…

“RUN LALOO RUN!!”

P.S. Please take part in this for a cause..its fun too..

Charter For Compassion

An 'ism' misconstrued!

I have been tagged by Cris and quite a serious tag it is... No rules to list, it’s about writing your opinion on feminism.

Now this was a really foreign topic for me.I first heard this word in Suresh Gopi movies where he would be accusing a lady IAS officer/ journalist of being a feminist blah blah…and more blah…
Later on I began noticing these words on the covers of magazines like Femina, still having no clue what was this all about…

And finally when I am tagged I began wondering what the heck is this all about!

I checked in wikipedia and it says Feminism is defined as the belief of the political, social, and economic equality of women. Well I couldn’t find a fault with what was written there and I wondered why there is so much hue and cry about it…

Feminism in principle is noble and necessary but it seems that the society due to radical feminism have given negative connotations to the whole idea. Men often look at feminist as someone who doesn’t trust them. Men often think feminist are after domination over men…These concepts are probably due to the wrong approach followed by many feminists...Its not having the large scale social agreement, as say a concept like “NO to racism” which is universally agreed. Coz the idea of feminism itself is skewed.

My idea of feminism largely agrees to the posts written by Cris...Pareltank and Silverine. I think the essence is in principal, equality and mutual respect. Atleast from my knowledge reading blogs, I have felt the crux of the problem for most Indian woman are generally restricted to work sharing at home, concept of dowry (which I wholly detest) and equality in office.

Well the power to bring this equality is in hands of woman…and they can be done in an eloquently silent way. I generally believe a person who influences us most as a child is our mother. At my home we have a certain set of rules (which ceased to exist as rules and became voluntary practice when better sense prevailed) which we follow…We all wash our plates ourselves after dinner…a habit which was inculcated as a child…We did our little job in the kitchen like dehusking and grating the coconut…making tea…cutting veggies ocassionally and like that…We washed our clothes ourselves until the washing machine arrived…and while my parents worked elsewhere we managed the home ourselves… For all these things I suppose I must have put up a fight as a kid and even tried to blame parents for child labour…;-D

But I guess more or less these were implemented by dad for two reasons…

1) To help reduce the workload on Mom
2) Just to make us prepared for the future…

And seriously am grateful for what he did there…And its not a stead and fast rule…we were never asked to do these during our exams...And I know that at times when we were going to kitchen to wash our plates Amma would try to come and do it for us because for her the motherly instincts ingrained over time (from older generations) was making her probably guilty!! . Thanks to Dad he never entertained it.

This is the whole point because I think any future parent should try to inculcate such habits in children... I remember that I used to find it demeaning when dad used to sweep the verandah in front of our house because that’s what dad’s were not supposed to do…Atleast as a kid I was probably a male chauvinist coz the society told me how it was supposed to be…Men don’t DO IT!!
And now when I look back I think it was pretty cool to clean your own house…or wash your own plates …and that’s the way it should be done!! All the ideals of feminism can be implemented by raising children properly and making them realise that you as a boy doesn’t entitle you to be pampered...neither a girl should shy away from having some grease on her fingers…


Many of the things shown in media like a husband cooking for his wife when she is tired from office is just exaggerated romanticism …Its shown as if the husband is doing something extraordinary...unfortunately woman generally glorify it by calling it ‘cute’… Stranger that a guy who knows to cook is even considered as bonus in a relationship. I rather thought it was a minimum standard and not anything to say hallelujah about…Well the point is things like cooking or cleaning the toilet is not cute for the average person and is a chore. So I wouldn’t blame if a partner says work should be shared….its natural extension of a good relationship which would be followed without even having to mention it….


Ever since I have come abroad…besides the place...culture etc...One thing at struck me here is how woman in general are so different here...They laugh as loud as men do in the buses or trains…They go out alone in night…Do all the shopping themselves…so many of em are cab or bus drivers...They are simply equal…I don’t think they have ever felt like given a second fiddle status which unfortunately is the case back home...One of my colleagues (her husband works in the same site as ours)accompanies us for lunch usually and her husband goes for lunch with his friends…I think it something of a taboo back home where a husband and wife is supposed to have lunch together…I thought how mature and sensible the guy was too…trivial things but a massive difference in perception the society has.

At the same time woman should learn to distinguish between men who are simply chivalrous and men who do it for you coz they think you are the weaker sex and out of pity…I think its tough to find who those sort of folks are…Don’t mix romanticism with own self respect!!

Probably the onus is on woman to define their ideals of feminism…I sincerely wish the woman of this generation brings the change taking into confidence men who must be scared or who have wrong notions….


Anyone who is interested can take up this tag!!

P.S. Listening to song from Hum Dono..If there are oldie fans out here...listen to another of my favs...damn they copied the jingle for om shanti om.

Indebted

This is a humble attempt at writing a story and its pretty long too...Do read when you have all the time in the world....and the story is heavily flavoured in malayalam...Please excuse coz this is my longest post too..:-)

************************************************************************************************


As he woke up to the rings of palli mani * , Appachen had as usual made kattan kaapi ** ... Almost every day as he lazily pulled the bed sheet below half open eyes and turned towards the teapoy he knew what awaited him…The glass of kaapi glowing under the sunlight glimmering through the window and wafts of steam swaying and then disappearing, drunk in that daylight glory. Appachen knew, he loved it.

Joemon also knew Appachen would be back soon and he ran towards the nearby brook armed with Ummukiri*** secure in his cuddled palm. On his way he plucked a fresh coconut leaf which he would need to fashion a crude tongue cleaner like most people in his village did.

"Appachennu tooth paste medichaal enthaa?"

He asked himself while spitting out the salt flavored Ummukiri.

"hmm...chilappol Appachennu Colgate ishtallayirkkum "

He kept murmuring to himself…

Feeling bored with the usual routine he began twisting his head against the fingers stationery in his mouth and soon started laughing thinking how silly it was to brush that way. In a few minutes he was done and cupping his hands into the stream he splashed water on his face. After wiping with the thorthu he walked leisurely back home.

He forgot to drink Kaapi that Sunday.

***********************************************************************************

Josekutty is a sturdy man with a frame that was slender yet tough, although he was way beyond his youth.... Farmers all look the same, he tells anyone who comment about his excellent physique.. As he walked back home from the church he was greeted by Thomas who was sitting in the chayakkada(teashop)..

"Josekuttyee…How are you doing…Christmas is coming soon."

"hmmm"

Josekutty answered back with disinterest, eager to stop any further conversation…
"Christmas is coming soon" That was a statement and a reminder at the same time.
He kept wondering as he walked briskly towards home.

"Appachaa am here…." Joemon yelled.

Joemon was crouching near the hen roost and playing with the colorful pullet in it.

"Ah….are you still there? Get ready for the Sunday class..."

He ran towards Appachen and looked inside the bag he was carrying. There was just some muringa(drumstick) which he plucked on his way home. Joemon wondered how long it has been since they had some fish for lunch on Sundays but he didn't want to ask Appachen...

He held appachen's hand and they walked towards house.

The spartan home tucked away from the hustle and bustle of the town was abode of Joemon ever since he remembered….There was nothing much to say about the house which looked like a artifact of past while neighboring houses were adapting to modernity of life….There was no television ..no mixie…and no telephone…

Appachen went straight to the kitchen and started fire in the aduppu…After putting rice on the aduppu he went outside to the parambu…He had more mouths to feed. But he was interrupted by Joemon…

"Appachaa…ente uduppu thechitilla"

Joemon was getting ready for the Sunday class and Appachen hurriedly went inside and took the shirt from his hand to iron …It was taking lot of time for the isthirri petti to warm up…it seemed like an indefinite wait just like his life.

"Christmas is coming soon."

Why were those words still ringing in my ears? Appachen mulled over as he bid goodbye to Joemon. While he stood on the verandah watching his son walk away, he twitched when he heard the rice boil and threatening to dislodge the lid. And he hurried back to the kitchen.

After making lunch he set out to the parambu to feed the other two in their house. They started bleating as they heard the master walking towards them. Malutty the goat and her little lamb Appoos. He collected fresh leaves soaked them in the gruel and fed them.

There was lot of work to do…Wash Joemon's clothes…plough the fields….sell the jackfruits and ground the coffee….And he set out to what was most important...because Joemon had school next day.

It wasn't long before he came running from the class. He threw his sling bag and ran to the parambu to meet two of his best friends…

There was the obvious bleat and Joemon smiled as he ran towards Malutty and Appoos.

"Appoose…ninakku Kanji kittyo"

Before he could ask Malutty the same, both began licking his sweaty hands…the salty sweat was probably a dessert for the lambs…Joemon began giggling because it tickled him.

He began caressing Appoos head and looked into the eyes of Malutty. Malutty looked back in satisfaction and understanding. She knew Appoos was always safe with Joemon.

"Mone….Don't waste your time…Don't you want to have Kanji?"

"Appachaa…I am coming!!"

Joemon bid goodbye to his friends and ran back home.

"Mone…Don't waste your time like this…if you want to go to SB College like Paul chettan"

"What will Paul chettan do after that?"

"He will work and make good money…He can buy anything he wants after that"

Joemon paused while Appachen said that during the simple meal Appachen had prepared...Kanji with muringa thoran and chammanthi podi….There was a lot to aspire for!

The next day after Joemon had left for school , Josekutty started his work in the parambu as usual…The usually silent neighbourhood was interrupted by the horn from an ambassador across the narrow road…

Two kids came running from the house and hugged the suitcase which the driver was unloading…Peter was back from gulf for his Christmas vacation…His wife and ammachi radiated in happiness…and his children seemed to already figuring out ways to open the suitcase.. Before getting inside the house Peter glanced at Josekutty…


"aaah...Josekuttyee pinee kaanam…innyum samayam ondello"

"yes…yes"

Josekutty went back to plough the ground but his thoughts were elsewhere…As he dug harder into the ground he mocked himself in wonder to unearth a nidhi !
Across the house Peter was enjoying a splendid meal set for him…

"hmm…aa Josekutty ithu verryum pacha pidichilla alle?"

"Well...he is a man of self-esteem...Do you think he will ever ask for a loan…I don't know how he is managing after the crops failed this time"

"Hmm…maybe that's why he still walks with his head held high in spite the troubles...Josekutty is a different man".

December was half way through and Joemon was happy with his school closing for vacations… He ran as usual to meet Malutty and Appoos for his daily conversation…

He promised Appoos that he will spend more time with him after the vacation begins…Joemon took out the banana which he had concealed in his pockets and fed it to his beloved Appoos…He had to occasionally turn back while Appoos relished the fruit, wary of Appachen who might be out in the Parambu…His lunch was not supposed to be shared.

Luckily Josekutty was relaxing on the chair after a tiring day and cooling himself by spinning the thorthu over his torso…

"How was your school today?"

"It was nice Appachaa….Father Vadakkedathil told us to enjoy the Christmas and pray for a good next year"

"Appachaa...Is Peter uncle back? I saw Rini and Varghese fighting over a ….."

Joemon paused…That was none of his business to check neighbours and he ran back outside…
************************************************************************************

December 25th

After the midnight mass…Josekutty and Joemon were walking home…
The little village was lit up and the christmas stars hung outside homes tried to fight in vain with glory up in the sky….Ladies hurried home and Joemon could hear them discussing about the spread for breakfast which they had planned…

They reached home and it was 3:00 am…But he was not feeling sleepy after the long walk..

Joemon ran inside the house while Appachen waited to close the gate…Probably he was too shy to watch his son..

"Appachaa….Cycle!!! oru Cycleoo!!!!!"

Joemon's excitement was implicit...It was a gift which he never expected….however he secretly wished…But a Cycle!!!!

He ran towards Appachen and gave him a warm hug…Appachen's happiness knew no bounds as tears tricked from his face which he quickly wiped off before Joemon could see them..

That's when Joemon took out the Cycle and ran outside to show it to his friends…He heard the familiar bleat in the darkness…But did he miss one…

"Appachaa….where is Appoos?"

"Appoos poyyi mone…he wanted to stay elsewhere...so he left…You have Malutty anyways"

That's when the world came crashing for Joemon….Appoos is gone…

The next day morning he went again to the Parambu...Probably Appoos might have comeback…But all he could see was the sullen face of Malutty…He hugged Malutty and asked her why Appoos had left.

He did not understand her bleats for the first time...

**********************************************************************************
Josekutty was a proud father today…He thought that he was like Peter now….And Joemon would be proudly showing his cycle to friends when the school reopens…

Few days later Joemon was walking towards the church when he heard a familiar sound..

And that came from Chacko uncle's Yerichi kada…

"Appoos ee"

He yelled as he entered Chacko's shop.

"hmm…yennaadaa.?"

"Appoos…Appoos akathu ondu"

"hmm…ninte Appannu kaashum kodithittum ondu"

Tears broke as Joemon began trembling...His feet went cold and his mouth dried…
Chacko could kill Appoos!!

He couldn't bear it and ran home...

"Appachaa…" he cried as he entered the house..

Hearing the desperate plea Josekutty came out from the kitchen…

"enna patti?"

"I saw Appoos….at Chacko uncle's shop…please don't kill him"

Josekutty was stunned and expressionless…He had sold Appoos for a Christmas gift…He just wanted to be like any other father…

Was he not? He wondered…

He hugged Joemon who was still crying….

"I ll get Appoos back…are you okay "

Joemon was now silent and just hugging his dad and resting on his shoulders…He did not speak..

The lingering silence was making another question in Josekutty’s mind very vociferous. He had attempted to ask it many times. He perceived intuitively – this is the moment.

"Do you want a mother…Mone?"

Joemon was still silent…and it was excruciating for Josekutty..

"Mone…then what do you want?"

Josekutty asked him again…

And Joemon lifted his face and with the faintest of smiles replied to his dad..

"Appachaa…I only want Appoos to have his Mother"

Josekutty stood up , and walked to the bedroom….He opened the suitcase and glanced at the photo of Theresa which he had kept beneath it…He smiled at her…almost murmuring…"Your son"

After putting a fresh shirt…He walked out towards Peter's house…It was time for a debt…

A debt worth having.


********************************************************************************
* church bells
** black coffee
*** flavoured charcoal

Folks do read this post in pareltank..