October 19, 2011
Our neighbor's father-in-law is nearly 90 years old. He has been staying with her for the past few years. Two of his sons, one among them her husband, have passed away and a third one is in the USA. He needs a wheel chair and suffers from all the aches and pains that come with the age. His sole caretaker these days is a 30-something man named Joy. The only time I have seen Joy leave the old man's ear-shot is during his afternoon nap. At that time, Joy usually sneaks to their backyard, squats behind the washing stone and smokes a beedi. This old man was once a rich and powerful figure in his native village. He owned 140 acres of land, most of it a rubber plantation. Today he is confined to a bedroom in his daughter-in-law's house and is completely dependent on an unrelated Joy who lovingly calls him Achan.
To avoid disturbing the old man's afternoon nap, Achan decided against preparing the soil for new okra planting near the wall next to the old man's bedroom. The man is an early riser and listens to All India Radio from 6am. Achan postponed that bit of labor till tomorrow morning. The last round of okra seeds, planted a week ago, did not sprout. Achan went ahead this afternoon with the preparation of a platform for replanting red spinach saplings. A handful of pumpkin seeds we threw near the coconut tree have sprouted into healthy young plants.
The Hindu newspaper today proudly published a letter to the editor from the famous writer Khushwant Singh. Mr. Singh wrote that he reads around a dozen newspapers everyday, both Indian and foreign, but none of them cover to cover like the Hindu which he says is unmatched in the quality of its articles and news coverage. He "even wrestles with its crossword puzzle everyday". Glad to have such an illustrious compatriot in that wrestling! I am sure the Times of India group will pay some literary whores to write similar letters about its yellow paper tomorrow.
I read yesterday about billionaire Vijay Mallya's plans to raze his ancestral home in Bangalore and construct a 34 storey apartment complex with a penthouse resembling the White House. Times of India today speculated on its website that the Ambanis haven't yet moved to their nauseatingly opulatent billion-dollar eyesore in Mumbai because of some Vaastu defect! Both Mallya and Ambani have way more than 140 acres of land. I hope they will have more than joy in their final years.
It rained heavily in Thiruvananthapuram during the couple of days I was in Mumbai. The new Malayalam month of Thulam famous for its rain called "Thulavarsham" started yesterday. I spent most of yesterday preparing the notes from the Mumbai weekend. The couple of hours of note making everyday brings me great pleasure. So yesterday (BH:D76) I had 6 full hours of it.
Achan is going full steam ahead with the backyard vegetable garden. Much to my frustration, I cannot be of assistance except making him the evening tea and putting in a small teaspoon of tabbooed sugar for him in it. He hates drinking tea without sugar but Amma is strict in the mornings about keeping his bloodsugar level in check. Unpalatable political news in the Malayala Manorama and the sugarless, salted black tea in the mornings provide excellent facial muscle exercise for him.
Clearing up the small plot for the spinach makes Achan sweat profusely in the afternoon sun. The plot is readied where our old firepit, lined with red bricks, stood. So the soil here is effectively black ash from 15 years ago. But there were far too many bricks to be removed than Achan had imagined. While sipping tea, he recalls that his father used to make fun of him for having a "kalla-kurukku" (cheating/faking back) which pours forth numerous rivulets of sweat even when the labor is little.
I am staying away from gardening because I have a hospital visit coming soon. Nothing complicated, just one of the routine procedures a sizeable minority of men go through. I haven't been to a doctor in 11 years. Not because I am superhealthy but because major health issues have stayed away despite my lifestyle. But that lucky streak seems to have ended and my astrologer uncle's prediction has materialized. Amma made it a point to remind me of uncle's prediction. I guess this means she is prepared for my predicted out-of-caste bride! Tomorrow I have the doctor's appointment. Besides restoration to health, this short hospital stint should also give me an intimate view of the healthcare system in India.
One of the pioneers of modern Malayalam literature, Kakkanadan, passed away today. I haven't read any of his novels but stories I have. In an interview from 2008, republished by Mathrubhumi news on its website today, he says that it was from the habit of telling stories to his brother, 8 years younger, that he acquired his taste for literature. Kakkanadan, like O.V.Vijayan, was one of those leaders who freed Malayalam literature from its fantasy and pulp boundaries and injected harsh realism. In Mumbai, last Sunday night, while watching the smouldering glow of the city lights resist the envelope of the night in the horizon, I had remembered Kakkanadan's words about Mumbai, "Ivananu mahanagaram. Sirakalil lahari padarthum nagaram" (He is the metropolis. The one who spreads intoxication in the veins).
To end with the Hindi music trivia. Salil Chaudhary admits that the inspiration for his huge hit song from the film Madhumati comes from an old Polish folk song. Here's the film song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vsSh35RThDM and here's the inspiring tune: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7FSFYLvL5lg
No comments:
Post a Comment