Anecdotes of Abi and Vetri

TVET - IAS Abiyum Vazhakkaringnar Vetriyum - Part 4a

V: Athukkagava Anni naan ippadi Abiya vittu koduthuttu irukken? Vendam Anni vidunga! Ungalukku Abiya pathi therinja thagaval sollunga. Ellarayum pathukkunga.

Later, Poongavanam brings Nandhini to visit him regularly and take letters back to Kamala and once in a while pass on a few allowed essentials like bars of soap and home made snacks. Vetri prohibits him from arranging for any favour in jail.

Time doesn't stop for anyone and Vetri has started his classes. He has managed to convince 20 students for the 10th class and 15 for the 12th class in addition to the existing ones. He works with an NGO who teaches the inmates and brings study materials. To communicate with them, he is allowed to use his email. The CO is pleased but he doesn't show it to Vetri.

Though Vetri has it better than many other prisoners, it's not an easy life. There is always someone watching him, and he has to obey the prison timings. The gangs in the prison are still active and he is shoved, pushed and even touched inappropriately, many times,  all "accidentally", of course. Vetri learns quickly to keep his balance and avoid or prevent people from touching him "accidentally", of course without resorting to force explicitly. These are the times he understands first hand the humiliation a woman undergoes when she is inappropriately touched. He also learns  that the first day of prison could be a humiliating experience for prisoners, particularly the unfortunate ones with no money or influence and he was among those lucky ones to have come during the time of upheaval in the jail. When described about this humiliation by new inmates, the Vetri before jail  would have beaten those officers blue without any care for consequences. The few weeks in jail teaches him a lot of things Abi wanted him to do, mainly to think before reacting in anger. Every time he swallows his anger, Vetri remembers Abi and after the first few times, he feels more confident that he can be the man Abi wanted.

The  week after Nandhini's first visit,  Vetri does not write a letter to Abi. He is not sure where he should send it. Then, after some deliberation, he continues to write to Abi at her father's house, once every fortnight. In every letter, he always adds a note to his child about how much she would have grown (he is sure, it's a daughter), from what he read in books for that stage.  Six months after he came to jail, closer to the due date, he worries for Abi's health and is excited about the baby. As he reads about delivery, he keeps imagining bad scenarios and is restless.Ganesan asks him about it and Vetri tells about the child he is expecting. Ganesan takes him to the prison temple and asks him to pray for his wife and child. Vetri goes there every morning before the 6 am roll call to the temple and prays Tiru Naankathaal for a few minutes.

One fine morning, he receives the photo of a tiny baby from what looked like Abi's email. The baby is wrapped in a pink towel with only face left uncovered. The eyes are closed and the features are indeterminate. Yet, that baby is the most beautiful person he has seen and amends in his mind that the second most beautiful person. Though he is an emotional man, Vetri does not cry seeing the baby's photo. His heart is full and he feels content and serene. Not finding any text accompanying the photo, he is not sure if it's a boy or a girl, though he instinctively feels that he has a baby girl. He replies to Abi thanking her, expressing his joy and congratulations and asks for the gender of the baby. Then, he sees the photo for some time before continuing his work. Later, he writes a letter filled with his happiness and gratitude. He also writes a letter to his father, about how he felt betrayed by his father and how he is still grateful for whatever his father gave him and how he is sorry that he could not be what his father wanted. The next day, he thanks the Goddess and asks for a hint if it's a girl or a boy.

Later that day, Vetri is asked to use the library in the morning for some reason and  Vetri is surprised to see a 19 year old boy in the library using the computer. By then, Vetri knows most of those who come to the library. That boy sees Vetri and starts chatting with him. He is an under-trail inmate. His family doesnt have enough money to bail him out and he swears on all things holy that he is innocent. He is in jail for 6 months now without any verdict given. Vetri learns that since the boy has no money, he cannot get a good lawyer and so his case is going on for months now. Vetri finds that there are 100s of such people just in Puzhal and many more in other jails all over the country. Though the boy is not having it as tough as the convicts, Vetri understands the great second chance Poongavanam gave him, the first time he saved him. He thought that he knew about the world of law and order and criminals and police, he llearns first hand that prison is a very different world.