Chevaththa puliyangaa (Red Tamarind)

We are going to see the chevaththa puliyanga tree today. Last week kutti brought us some chevaththa puliyanga. It was not sour at all. Very sweet and, my gawd sooo red. I applied on my lips. We all did. It did not stay, but we had it until we finished eating the puliyanga, which was until evening, btw by the way. We all were giggling and running all over the street. Kutti has promised us to show the tree today. So today we are going to see the chevaththa puliyamaram (Red Tamarind tree) and going to get sooo much chevaththa puliyanga for us. It will last for days. We all will have lipstick on for days, this time. Mother was complaining when she heard about our mission. Kutti took responsibility for all of us. She knows this area, she goes there to collect grass for the cattles her family owns. She goes to all farms/fields in the west. She said she saw this chevaththa puliyamaram one day, and, she brought some chevaththa puliyanga for us all. Since when our school is closed for summer holidays, I have been exploring east and west. Well, some north and some south too. But it is the east or it is the west, that the stretch is very interesting.

“Do you know about the seven virgins?, that one, is virigins’ woods, they say”. Kutti showed me the other bank of the gully. Looks ghostly to me. Scary. There are seven stones standing erect. “What is the story”?. “Well, I don’t know the complete story, but they say when there were heavy rains up in the mountains, water came roaring down the gully, which carried the girls who were harvesting and collecting grass for their cattles. They went straight to heaven. People from the village saw that and they erected stones here to remember them and to worship them". Hmm, I nod. Looks ghostly. I know the rains. They are capable of such thing. I have seen the gully full, washing away the huts and small houses that existed on the banks. Whenever it bore full we got holiday, as we have to cross the gully to go to school. It is the same gully there, by my school. Small but same water. In the west it looks magnificent. It is small and like a vaikkal close to school. But same water they say. “So, they worship the dead? Do they do puja here like in temple”? “No. They do puja alright, but not like in temples. Only once in a while”. Looks true. The stones have dried garlands.

“Ok, let us run for some distance”. “okKKEEEYYYYY”… we run. “Let us see who touches that tree first”. we are running, and hearing the instruction from kutti. “Which tree”?, we still are running…”that tree” we still are running..” which that tree”? we still are running… Kutti is athletic. She is running ahead of us all and she stopped by one tree and said, “this tree”.. huh u huh u huh u… breathing heavily.. “that is cheating”.. “No it is not, it was me in the front anyways”.. “I will be the one who decides next time, let us run baAACCKK”.. “you idiOOTT, COME BACK”, I stop running and listen. “The whole objective of running was to reach the west soon. Running back east, what are you trying to achieve”? Focusing on an objective is never my strong point is it? Anyway, we all follow kutti. "Look there is a shop. Let us buy some thenmittai”. After a long stretch, there is a shop. “This is the last shop, so we have to buy whatever we want before we go”, Kutti the knowledgeable behind the mission, lets us know the information at this point.

Oh boy, so many questions that woman asked. Last shop you see. We couldn’t afford to skip. We had to reply all her questions. We needed our thenmittai. I love thenmittai. It is juicy, semisolid and sticky inside, but crunchy outside. Pink in colour. We love it. I don’t like viral appalam (like hoola hoops) . Many like it. I don’t. We bought some anyway. We run again.

“Let us go to the Gounder thottam and drink some water”. Yep. We are in there now. There he is, shouting.. “We are just drinking some water goundare” Kutti shouted back. “Who is that?” “It is me, Kutti, goundare”. “Ah, you, is it. Ok. Who are they”? “My friends. We are going to see chevaththa puliyamaram”. “Oh no. That area is very lonely and you girls shouldn’t go there”. “I go there everyday goundare. The grass there is lust green and healthy. I get good harvest there. I go there everyday. That is how I know where the maram (tree) is”. “You poor girl” “We have many bulls and cows, you know that don’t you. We have to feed them you see. Poor those cows and bulls. If I don’t get good green grass they will have to eat rice-hay or cholam stalk. Very dry you see. They love it when I give them some green grass. One of our cows, the black one with white patches on its face, it has given birth to a calf you see. Small little fella. He just loves to eat green grass. I give him very young/tender grass. I keep it separate for him. I cannot let him eat dry straw or cholam stalk”. “Take care of yourself girl. Take some older women with you when you go there”. “Are you mad? If I go with other women, how will I get good harvest day after day? If those women who sell grass start going there, it won’t last for a day. Am I mad to let everyone know that area”? “Take your mother with you at least. Take care of yourself girl. It is a very lonely area”. “I know. But, my mother has to cook at home you see. If she comes with me then how will I get hot food when I go home”? “I can never win you, can I”? He laughs. We drink water. “Stay there. I will be back in a minute”. Gounder asks. OK. He disappears for a minute. When he comes back, he has few papayas. “Take it. Nice and ripe, take it”. “Thank you goundare”. We thank and depart.

The dreamy chevaththa puliyamaram is not exactly in a pradaise looking place. It is by the bank of a dry sandy gully. A farm on the other side. Thin, like a old lady. It looked sad to me. A lone tree. Well there are several karuvela trees there. But, only one chevaththa puliyamaram. Taller than all other puliyamarams I know. Little difficult to climb, but we have experts in our team.

We came back home with a bag full of chevaththapuliyanga and few papayas that was left after catering our hunger. We also brought few roses from another farm. Mother was complaining that I might get fever the next day. I thought it was worth it, even if it is typhoid that I am going to get tomorrow, it was worth it.

Mushroom hunting

Senthil's story.

Appa and his family secret and our mushroom hunting! I love mushroom hunting. I do like to eat mushrooms as well. Mushroom fry is my favourite. Mother prepares it very well. I love it. But early morning waking up? Nah. Well, I do like it after we have reached the fields. But waking up is not my favourite part. Father doesn’t get that this is still midnight and not early morning. He calls it morning. He and his mornings! It is 2am for God sake. Midnight. Uffffff. Eyes are begging me. I feel like I am sleep walking. It is misty and dark. Don’t really understand any of it. He calls it our secret path. Family secret! Every family-father has his secret path to collect good amount of mushroom for his family. See, you don’t cultivate it like a crop that you can be sure about your harvest. I think it is just luck. But these fathers are so sure about their paths and their harvests. When there is a lightening the previous night, they all go hunting for mushrooms. Every one of them thinks it is just him who is clever enough to realise the harvest time and go hunting. So is my father. “Senthil, come this side. It is too bushy there. You don’t want to be bitten by snakes.” Whaaat? Heaven sake. I don’t wanna die for mushroom. Le’ts go home. “We have been part of these fields all our lives. Snakes are part of it too. They don’t bite. We don’t die”. Well, snake doesn’t bite you everyday to let you know that it does bite, does it? We keep walking. “Come this side. Let us take this route. No one knows this route. Last time, I got plenty of mushrooms in that red soil field. It always gives good mushrooms. I discovered it. We must keep it as our family secret”. It is too dark to remember our way back home. We see torch lights. “awww. These people. They must have followed us. Never mind. Let us take our regular route”. I just follow him. Don’t know any of his routes. “There”, father shows me a mushroom. There are few. Small white mushrooms in the middle of the green weeds and cholam plants. I run to pick them. All over the field. Soft white tiny umbrellas. I unroot them carefully. So soft that it breaks easily. I run all around the field. It is browny whitey dark now. Almost dawn. I can see the soft white tiny umbrealla mushrooms very clear. We have brought two yellow bags, one for father and one for me. Both are full, well, good amount, if you ask me to be accurate. I am very happy. Very happy. We head back to town. It doesn’t feel as long, as it was before. When we reach our giramachavadi (the village hall), others are waiting there discussing their harvests. We join. “How much did you get Annae (elder brother)?” Ponrasu chithappa asks. “Enough for both of our families”, father smiles and gives him one bag. Whaaaat?! I don’t get it. “Appa, it is ours, we collected it”. I don’t get it. Some more join us. They all shared their harvests. When we all left the chaavadi, bags are full according to each one’s family size. Some mothers prepared kaalan kulambu (mushroom curry) and my mother prepared spicy mushroom fry. Mushroom fry is my favourite.

A jump and a run - version: modern

Left left jump. Right right jump. One two three four. Left left jump and right right jump. A jump and a run, a jump and a run… Right crunch. One two three four. Left crunch. One two three four… “Why are you breathing so heavily? Did you run to come here? It was after all kurusamy maama’s shop. Not that far”, inquisitive mother wants to know. “She has been jumping and running all the way from the shop”, report from a passer-by, some athai or chithi or a paatti or an achchi. They are all the same. Even chithappas/periyappas or maamas and pattiyaas even thaathas are the same too. “Ahh. Why doesn’t that surprise me! I have been telling her to behave like a girl. She never listens. I don’t know how I am going to deal with her. It is me who is going to get the blame when she goes to her in-law’s family. Her mother in law is going to point her finger towards me for her bad upbringing. She is definitely going to shame us all”. One two three four. Left crunch. One two three four right crunch. One two three four. Haa. Some more would be good. It is burning. But, see how big the tummy is. I had to hold my breath all day to keep it less showing. Formals makes it worse, doesn’t it? Left crunch. One two three four. Right crunch one two three four. Advanced crunch. One two three … four…. Five….. haaaa…. Enough for today… “Premalatha, Premalatha, awwhat? You must be joking. I am slaving in the kitchen washing all the dishes, and you? (left left and a jump, right right jump) Nice to see you keeping yourself fit, but, please get yourself in there and prepare the sandwich for our lunch pack”. “Last time in the formals I was looking so ugly”. “Yeah, I know. I know your concern. (a jump and a run). That guy you were flirting with, you both forgetting the topic and purpose of your meeting, (a jump and a run) I know, you needed to be very fit. Has it ever occurred to you that you are approaching forty, F O R T Y and you need to age gracefully now?” ahhh. “What?” “I have cut my finger. What else? It is the knife. I always tell you to keep the paring knife off my sight. Where is the serrated one? It cuts the sandwich better”.

have moved the off topic posts

to wordpress. Have deleted all those off topic posts from this blog. This blog will remain exclusive for the home town and the four grils theme from now on. Just this post will remain for reference.

Can someone tell me how to add a team member in wordpress, please (these days this word please has gone out of my system without my consent, sorry. Thank God, atleast, this word sorry is still living in here. Thank you sorry! Happa, some consolation that this word thank you is alive too. :) )? (Michelle is not registered in wordpress yet.) Thanks.

The normal self

Four Girls - Pray

Meena
“Come here, come here, pray. Bring the palms together, close your eyes and pray. Yes, pray for good health for your grandparents, pray for good job for your father. Pray for a good future for yourself. Pray. Please apply some thiruneeru (holy ash) on her forehead, Priest”.

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Preethi
“Eh, come here. What are you doing so naughty. Pray. Hold, pchch, hold your palms together, stand still, what is mother teaching you, so disrespectful, stand still, hold your palms together, close your eyes, pray. Pray for good character, that you grow up to respect elders. Turn around, let me apply some thiruneeru. Don’t, don’t, pchch.. if you wipe it off, you will be sinned. You can go and play now”.

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Ritu
“It is prayer time. Come here. Pray. Hold your palms together, close your eyes pray. Pray that you will get to go to USA. Ask God. Ask him that you earn a lot of money. Ask him that you reach heights. Remember us when you are there, ha? Ahh, pray. Apply that thiruneeru. Ufff. Yeah, you can go and play now”.

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Nush
“Pray. Hold your palms together, close your eyes. You have to remember our roots. This is how we do it. Hold your palms together, close your eyes. Pray. Wait, let me apply thiruneeru. Ufff. You can go now”.

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Tamil version

Cycling

It is hot. Spinning columns of dry mud all around us. On hearing something grrrrrr, Murugan shouts, “Dey, Palarampatty bus is coming. Bus is coming”. We all pause. Wiping the dry mud around our eyes and mouth, and me being a girl, I hurriedly adjusted the tucked skirt to fall free. I couldn’t see anything on the left. Nothing on the right either. We are at a T-junction where a ohdai (gully) meets the Pannaipuram to Pallavarayanpatty tar-road. The ohdai is deep and covered with fence type dense shrubs and some trees on both sides, covering the ohdai with complete shade. Tamirnd trees and Neem trees. Shades under these trees are heaven. I am sitting under a neem tree watching Senthil ride a cycle. He is showing me “how it is done”. Mother asked us not too go too far. Murugan had to really explain a lot to get her to come to a compromise to send us off to manthathohtta (Mantha farm) Maarimuthu’s vaasal, which is slightly spacious than ours. We agreed because it is off her sight, as it is just behind the last house in that lane. We ran off to the ohdai. After some cycling, we have long left the Minar’s farm, which was the farthest place I have been to in that gully-path so far. After Minar's farm, the ohdai becomes quite deep. It has a nice blind summit before it meets the road. There where Senthil has been showing me how to stop the cycle exactly at the summit, just after reaching the top of the steep summit with such acceleration. The summit is really too short, and yes, it does need a great calculation to stop without falling down the down slope on the other side. Senthil is all proud to show me his talents, more so, that I can’t do it. He is teaching me to ride a cycle. He and his friends.

“Muruha, there is no bus”. “It is coming Mathini (I am mathini for him), listen carefully. Ley, stop talking, stop talking, listen carefully mathini, it is coming”. “From which side, left or right”? “Akka, akka, look one more time, ha ha ha ha..”, Senthil stopped exactly at the top of the summit, this time as well. His friends are laughing with him applauding his achievement, this time as well. The bus comes from the left. Conductor was standing on the footboard, wondering at us. The bus stops. It is not a regular stop. I stand up. “Ley, what are you doing? Who is she? Why are you with these boys? Do your parents know? Are you alright”? I am tempted to say that Senthil did not give me cycle at all, he has been keeping the cycle all the time, but he claims that he has been training me. He is laughing at me whenever I fall down. Murugan, promptly replied. “She is my mathini. He is her brother. We are teaching her to ride cycle”. Senthil and his friends take a break to listen to our conversation. “Whose children are you all? Those two (myself and Senthil) look like they are school-going-ones, why are they here? Do their parents know that they are here? Are you alright, girl”? Again I am tempted to complain that I fell down few times and Senthil laughed at me. Again Murugan replied. “These two are military man’s children”. Nope. Conductor does not get it. “Whose son are you”? Conductor goes on adding questions, without giving Murugan a fair chance to reply. Some voice from inside the bus comes to help, “Conductor sir, what is happening? Need help? Whose children are they? What are you doing here, in the middle of nowhere”? “Aren’t you Muthamma’s grandson? I will speak to her. And these two, awright, amukkana Ponniah’s grandchildren”. “Isn’t Ponnaiah Muthamma’s nephew? So, you are all related?”. “Yes sir. She is my mathini”. “How? Isn’t she your sister’s daughter?”. “Yes sir, Chuppakka is Latha-mathini’s mother. Latha mathini is elder to me”.. “Right. So, what are you doing”?. “We are teaching her to ride cycle”. “Are you ok, girl? What is your name? “Latha. In schooool, Premalatha”. “Are you ok”? “Yeah. But fell down few times”. “Why do you want to ride cycle? You are studying and this cycle business is only for jobless boys. Why are you coming to these kinds of places? Go home. Alright. I will talk to your grandfather”. Some voice from inside the bus, . “Muthamma is the only one alive among her sisters and brothers”. “How did you forget Solayppan? He is alive”. “Ah right, he is Muthamma’s younger brother, isn’t he? I forgot. Ponniah is the eldest sister’s son. And that little girl and his brother are Ponniah’s grandchildren? How time flies!!”. “Ponniah’s younger daughter works in Seelayampatty school. Ponniah’s younger sister used to work in lakshmipuram school, but she has moved to Chinnammanoor after her marriage. Her husband is also a teacher. Ponniah’s elder daughter was married off to a military man”. “That explains. This boy was referring to some military man”. The bus leaves. “Vettip paya (jobless) conductor, asking all sorts of questions. Tomorrow my grandmother is going to know that we were all here. She is going to kill me for bringing you both here. They have no clue about cycling. They are asking to teach cycling in our vaasal. Wtf !”. Murugan shakes his head. I know Murugan’s fear for his grandmother, i.e., my chinna-great-grandmother (chinna = younger. My great grand mother’s younger sister). Training continues. Gullies generated some more muddy storms.

“Where have you been? I went to watch your training, but you weren’t there”, mother asked when we reached home, after a solid six hours of training, well, Senthil’s talent-show. Mother didn’t need the bus-conductor’s report on us; our clothes, our dry-mud-covered faces and her visit to manthathohtta Maarimuthu’s vaasal just after five minutes of our departure were good enough.. “You nuts, you didn’t even have your lunch. Come here. Go and wash yourselves first. Then eat. Muruga, where are you going? Eat here. You mother is going to kill you, and probably you are not going to get any food at all for today. She has been looking for you since morning”.

Four girls - Dad's lil girl

Meena

Long day. Mmmhhhhmmm… “Meenu, come here da. Where is your mother? Still in the kitchen?" shakes head. "I want you to study well and become something really big. You should not depend on others. I don’t want my daughter working like a servant maid in the name of a daughter in law in somebody else house. I want you to be independent. You should study well and get a good job for that. You promise me you will do that?, Ahh, my chellam. Look. She is the dad's lil girl”.

Nod. Proud. Happy.

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Preethi

Long day. Frustration is an understatement. ~sigh~. “Preethu, come here da. What are you doing? Yeah, add one plus one, what do you get? Two, two, say two, two, yaay, she is a genius, Maths genius. Next Sakundhala Devi. Yeah. I want you to be intelligent. Get good marks in the 10th, get a seat in the maths group and then good marks in +2 and entrance exam.. There are no good coaching centres for the entrance exam these days. All are fraud people…”

Confused. Nod. Looking at the two fingers, seems something interesting. Happy.

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Ritu

Long day. Why the hell I always get a nutcase for Boss. ~sigh~ “Ritukutti, come here da. How is your vocabulary doing? What, ahh, your mom!!. Does she talk to you in Tamil? Tell her that she is an illiterate. English is important baby. You know, there is this TOEFL, and there are few other exams to pass…What is the new word you have learnt today? Dinner, say, dinner, dinnnnnnerer, dinner. Yeah. Good. Ask mom for dinner. Yaay. My daughter is definitely going to America. Flight, flight, zooooozooooooo”.

Happy. Zooooooozoooooo…thinner…

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Nush

Long day. ~sigh~. “Nushamma, Nushukkutti, what are you doing? Come here da. What did you do today? you went to playgroup. Did you? Wow. What did you do? Is that butterfly you created? Wow. So beautiful. Did you colour it yourself? Wow. What, what, you got a new friend too? Who, Mia, is that her name.. what a beautiful name.. ok. What else did you learn?”..I should teach her some maths at home. I want her to be an accountant or a Doctor when she grows up…

Happy. Flying all around the house, like a butterfly…fly, fly, fly, fly…

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Tamil version