The Modern Woman - Puthumaiy Penn - Chapter 2

This is Chapter 2 of a multipart series. If you have not read Chapter 1 yet, or you want to read it again, here is the link to Chapter 1.  I would suggest you read in sequence. There are many Tamil expressions throughout. For non-Tamil readers, there is a glossary at the end of each chapter.

Chapter 2

A decade and a half ago, Bharathi was a lanky kid in Class V in the same school she risked her life saving earlier that day. She was one of the brightest students, yet also the most annoying for the teachers too. An extremely inquisitive child, she questioned anything and everything under the sun, including the sun itself.

“If the sun is so bright, why do we have to color it yellow, and not white?” she asked the Akka from Madras who taught them Art on Fridays.
“Why are leaves not Koiyya¹ pink?” she put forth to Kamala Miss who taught them Science and Social Studies.

“Vakkeel aaga poriya? Ivalo Kelvi Kekkara²?”, the HM asked her one day. “Yes Yuvaronar”, she had replied then, reciting from numerous movies she had seen with her father on weekends.

This inquisitiveness; as the old proverb on curiosity and its effect on the feline goes, did lead her to trouble often. This one time, after school when all the kids played, she wanted to test out an adage her Tamil Miss had used on her - “Naay Vaalai Nimirtha Mudiyadhu”³.

“Paappom la”⁴ she had said to herself, taking this up as a challenge. She somehow caught hold of a small pup that played around on the grounds and attempted to tie its tail to a wooden stick with one of her ribbons. Her theory; if it were left tied to the stick for a week, it would remain straight. Just like the chart-paper, that she had left under her mattress; which turned out to be super straight the next day. However, despite many attempts, she was unable to keep the puppy steady long enough to tie the stick. She recalled discovering that something so tiny and cute was also very nimble and fidgety. Somehow, the poor animal managed to escape from her tiny hands and ran away to its mother. As if to complain about Bharathi. In an instant, dogged determination turned into acute fear as the mother dog came barking at Bharathi with all her ferocity. It was the hunter, who was now the hunted and Bharathi ran screaming “Aiyyo Amma Aiyyo Ammaaaa⁵”. She ran all around the ground, jumping over swings, see-saws, and right through a Kho-Kho game being played by the girls. She darted for the classroom, towards safety. It must have been a sight to watch. The dog chased her around the ground as she ran ahead. Half of her hair was flying in the wind, while the other remained in the other ponytail. The dog was quick too and slowly gained on her. Any moment now, that animal would dig its sharp teeth into her; she cringed at the thought! At that very instant, someone had lifted her up high into the air and she was suddenly flying, swung around and placed on the top of the Sintex Tank that was placed in the playground. She was safe from the dog for now, which strangely seemed to cower down.

That was when she saw him. He stood there, tall and steady, staring the dog down with a smile. They seemed to know each other. The dog and him. He bent down, ran his head under her neck and over her back. She seemed to like it very much and sat down curled. He pulled a couple of tea biscuits from his trouser pockets and held his hands out. She lapped one up, held another between her teeth and ran away in search of her pup.

Are you crazy?? Paithiyamaa⁶?” She knew this tirade was directed at her. For he had turned around, and was staring right into her eyes. She had stopped sobbing, and was about to offer a defense, which now seemed as feeble and incoherent as the words that spilled out of her. “Anaa…Tamil Miss sonn…⁷”, she never did complete that sentence. Instead, she said “Thank You…”. She wanted to run away from there out of embarrassment. Unfortunately, she did not have the courage to jump down from the tank. He smiled a wide smile, understood her predicament, lifted her and brought her down. Just as he stepped backwards, he stumbled on bunch of rocks and thorns and almost fell down. He instinctively stepped a few steps backwards to regain balance and managed to stay standing. However, in the melee, one of the thorns scraped his ankle in a long cut. He winced in pain, and sat down as a red line of blood oozed out.

“Aiyyo, Sorry. Ennala thaan..⁸”, she mumbled as she sat down next to him, inspecting the wound. She untied the other ribbon from her head and tied it on his calf, just above the gash. Not only had become the laughing stock of the school by this fiasco, she had managed to hurt her Savior. “Nalla varuvaay ma, Nee⁹” an inner voice said to her.  

“No, it’s not your fault. I forgot about this”. He pointed to the stones and bushes. They were a recent addition around all the saplings planted for Republic Day. If not for these, the saplings would have been eaten away by the goats, cows and other animals that had free access in that school without gates. Or compound walls.

“Anyway, let’s show the school nurse. She will dress it up.” She helped him stand up.

“Parava Illay¹⁰, I’ll go home and take care of it. Thanks for this” He pointed at the ribbon, and ambled away.

She watched him walk away. He was tall, for a 10^th class student. He was lanky. Long thin legs. Broad shoulders, an almost chiseled face and straight silky hair combed sideways and back. A pubescent mustache had found its way between his long nose and wide lips. All who knew them would say he looked just like his Grandfather, the Periya Pannaiyyar Manickavel who had donated and built the school during the British Raj. His son, and Sakthi’s father Shanmugavel had been focusing on expanding their family business, despite the government encroaching and “nationalizing” a majority of the lands they had owned for generations. He was the one who started the Sakthi Mills, Sakthi Sugars and the Poultry farms in the village. All named after the guy who saved her and hurt himself in return. Later on, she found out that they had to put six stitches to sew that cut up.

She walked back home, eager to tell Amma all about her adventures and how she may have permanently maimed her reputation and the Pannaiyyar’s son’s leg on the same day. But, the mood at home was extremely festive. There were many boxes of sweets all around the house. Her father, who was a builder, had won a big contract from the Village Panchayat for rebuilding her school, including addition of three new blocks. She had heard her father and Amma talk about this numerous times, saying if they got the deal, they would become quite wealthy, and could afford to move to Madras, buy an apartment and put her in a convent school, etc. She too was excited at the thought of living in the city with its lovely glittery shops, the cinemas, the parks, the buses and cars, the various hotels and restaurants her father had taken them where they had eaten Thali Meals that served 100 items starting from Soup with fried bread croutons to her favourite dessert; Gulab Jamuns with Vanilla Ice Cream. Although, it also meant she had to leave her school and her friends behind. That thought saddened her.

In a few weeks’ time, she and Amma had moved to Madras, while Appa stayed back working on the site. He would join them over the weekends. On most days though, he would spend all the time at the site supervising the procurement, loading and unloading of materials, working with the engineer etc. She had been enrolled in a school called Sacred Heart Matriculation, had found new friends and a new life. Her friends, her life in the village soon forgotten. A distant dream.

….

“Hello! Where didja disappear?” he asked. He had changed in to black linen shorts, a white short kurta, and was toweling his hair.

“Onnum Illay, I got reminded of the “Naay Vaalu¹¹” incident in school.

“Naay Vaal nimirardho illayo, indha vaalu, vaalave irukku¹². You’re even more stubborn than that dog’s tail”, he said to her playfully.

“Inga vaa..” she beckoned. He lied down on the bed, resting his face on his hands, looking into her eyes that seemed to shine with a newfound plan.

She slid down, losing the towel and sat at the edge of the bed. Lifting his left leg up to her face, she ran her fingers down the feet, tickling him. Unable to hold himself steady, he resists and jerks his leg from her grip. She then proceeds to tickle his other feet, his ankles, calves and all the way to his waist. She knew every spot on his body that would feel ticklish at her mere touch. She went for them all. He laughed and snorted uncontrollably, wriggling on the bed, trying to get away from her playful torture.

“Aee…Ippo nee thaan pazhi vaangaray!¹³”

At last, she let go, as they both lay facing each other. She looked into his eyes and kissed him. If her tickling was capable of turning him into jelly, her kiss turned him hard. Into steel.

She kissed her way down… once again, holding his legs up. He pulled it back, wondering if she was about to tickle him all over again. She held it tight in her grip, not letting go and looked at him. Her eyes shone a different light, than of playfulness. She showered a few kisses on his feet, fingers tracking a path up his ankles and calves. His eyes closed in rapture, as he felt her tongue on his sensitive skin. She felt it with her fingers. The scar. It was still there. Reminiscent of the very first day she had met him. She kissed the scar a dozen times of more. A tear welled up within her, and escaped her lashes. It rolled down her cheeks and fell on his feet. He looked up at her instantly. He knew it wasn’t grief that elicited that tear.

This was Love. And they were about to make a lot of it.

Glossary

1. Koiyya” – Guava fruit.
2. "Vakkeel aaga…” – “Are you gonna be a lawyer when you grow up? You seem to ask a lot of questions.
3. "Naay vaalay…” - One can’t straighten a dog’s tail.
4. "Paappom la” – Colloquial Tamil expression drawn from Kollywood meaning “let’s see about that”
5. “Aiyyo Amma…” -  “Oh dear, Mother!”
6.  “Paithiyamaa” – “Are you crazy”
7.   “Anaa.. Tamil Miss…” - “But… Tamil Miss had sai-“
8. “Ennala thaan…” - “it was because of me…”
9. "Nalla Varuvaay ma…” - A sarcastic statement that says you are gonna be highly successful.
10. "Parava Illay – “no worries”
11. “Onnum Illay…” – Nothing, I was reminded of the incident with the dog’s tail.
12. “Naay vaal nimi…” – Whether or not the dog’s tail straightened, you remain a stubborn trouble maker.
13. “Aee Ippo… “- Now it’s you, who’s taking revenge on me.