Mullai is in a mood where everything seems to annoy her, Mahi playing and making a huge ruckus with her toys, her mother watching a serial in full volume and it is all because of Kathir...
How dare he advise her? When he knows nothing about what she goes through so often...
That night, when he comes down for dinner, there is an awkwardness between them and they both find it unpleasant. Fortunately, because of Mahi's constant chatter, her mother doesn't notice anything amiss. He follows her into the kitchen, with the plates in his hand.
K: Innum kovama?
The way she grabs the plates from him and keeps it in the sink answers his question.
She goes to the hall, grabs her bike keys...
Pa: Innnerathukku engae di poreh?
M: Amma naan oru adult, engae venalum, enthae timeku venalum polam...
Pa: Vara varae inthae ponnuku rombhae thimiru athigamae ayiduchu...
She looks at Kathir to confirm it, and he nods very subtly only after making sure that Mullai can't see him.
K: Tho vanthudren athai...
Mahi is busy playing with play doh and Paarvathy gets immersed in a serial... She nods and doesn't even look up...
He goes out and sets his jaw, so as to not laugh...
Mullai's bike hasn't started.
She kicks the starter again and again, muttering something that sounded like dhrohi at her vehicle..
K: Mullai... Sorry... Ethanae thadavae solluven...
M: Naan unnae sorry ketkae sollavae illaiyae... She says with false sweetness...
Her bike starts and she speeds off and he follows her in his bullet...
After many twists and turns, she stops and gets off the bike...
He looks at her cautiously as she comes and stands next to him....
M: Ungae urlae ithae ennae solluvangae nu therilae, aana engae urlae ithukku peiyr... stalking.
K: Aii...ohn urrum en urrum onnu dhan Mullai.
M: Appadiyah?...Sir konjae naal ah pesurathae pathae, Irish ah maaritaro nu santhegamae irruku..
K: Appadi ellam onnum illae..
She suddenly takes his keys and flees to her bike and rides off...
This happens so fast that he doesn't have the time to react...
Stupidly, he feels like laughing...
And he does...
This was the Mullai he knew,
The mischievous Mullai...
He gets down and starts pushing the heavy bike...
After some moments, she comes riding towards him slowly...
She gives him the keys...
M: Naan angae pohathae karanam Mahi dhan...
He just looks at her, waiting for her to continue...
She leans against her vehicle and looks somewhere to the right of him...
M: Sathish ponathuku approm neraiyae per, ennae blame pannangae... Naan avarae ozhungae paathukalae nu... Naan thaali bakkiyam illae dhavae... Innum ethatho pesunangae... Athey maari yarachom Mahi yeh ethachom solliduvangaloh nu oru bayam irruku... Erkanavae oruthar sollitangae...
Her voice chokes and Kathir feels like single handedly throttling all those people who spoke ill of her when she was feeling the most fragile..
M: Anthae pillae ennae pavam pannucho ippadi porakarathukku munnadiyae Appa vae....
She doesn't complete the sentence, she doesn't need to...
K: Yaaru? The word comes from deep in his belly...
Who had the audacity to say something so...so..vulgar about a baby?
M: Unnaku avangalae theriyathu...
K: Mullai... Naan onnu solluven... Please take it in the right spirit...
She looks at him, a frown line appearing in between her eyebrows...
K: Nee Mahi kagae dhan Kunnakudi ku ponomae... Ethukku oruthar, rendu per kagae, nuru nallavungale othukki vekkurae? Dhariyamae vanthu avungae munnadi nillu... In fact, avungae dhan ippadi pesuarathuku asingae padanom.. Approm Mahi ku, avungae Amma evlo brave lady nu theriyae vendamae? Appo dhan Mummy Pig maariyae unnae oru role model ah pappae....
She looks at him wide eyed and speechless...
M: Nee nee... Peppa Pig pathiyah?
He nods, not understanding why she is talking about Peppa right now..
She opens her mouth to say something and then closes it again...
She feels that it the sweetest thing anyone can do for someone...
No costly gift can ever come close to this...
Once again, she tears up...
K: Mullai... Sorry... He touches his ears... Unmaiyae sollanom na, nee Kunnakudi varlae naalum rombhae rombhae courageous dhan... Please azhuvarathae niruthu...kashtamae irruku...
She wipes her eyes and starts her bike and waits for him..
K: Nee poh Mullai... naan odanae varen...
She nods and leaves...
He just stands there under the street lamp that is casting long shadows beside him as he moves restlessly...
He feels awful... No no... He finds it revolting that this is 21st century, and still women have to face this kind of abuse... As if the trauma that Mullai went through was not enough...
And what's worse, he is willing to bet on his much loved bullet that it was a woman who said that...
Shaking his head in disgust, he climbs onto the bike, pulls back his sleeves and rides off in search of a Tea shop...
******
September brings with it a slight smattering of rain and cool mornings. The people in Chennai, celebrate rain.. No matter how miniscule the amount it rains, people immediately tweet about it, post videos of it on Fb and keep pics of it as their WhatsApp statuses...
(The author also does this)
On Teacher's day, Mullai comes home with half a dozen roses, a years' supply of red pens, 4 keychains and so many greeting cards, Mahi immediately takes the keychains to her room to play with it...
Pa: Mullai... Irruturathukku munnadi sikiramae poie madilenthu kaanjae molahae veh eduthuttu va di..
M: Ammmmaa... Kalelayum ennae dhan anupunae, appo inimae vazhkaiyulae neengae paddikkatte yerae mattingalah?
Pa: Yen di ketkae mattae... Nee iruvathu masam veraikkum oru adi eduthu vekkalae.. Naan dhanae unnae idupulae thooki vechittu ellae edathukkum kootitu ponen...
Mmv: Aicho...start pannitangalah? Mullai get up... Ithukku patthu thadavae padi yerittu vanthudalam...
She literally runs up the stairs and finds Kathir there skipping...
This is one disciplined guy...
K: Hi Teacher Amma... Happy Teacher's day...
M: Thanks Kathir...
K: Eppo treatu?
M: Ennathu?.. Naan oru nallae Teacher ah irrukarathukku nee dhan ennaku treat kodukanom...
K: Hmmmm aama la... Ennae venum kelu...
M: Biriyani...
K: Ada cha... Eppo paathalum andhae soru dhanae... Verae ethachom kelu...
M: Biriyani mukkiyam Kathiru...
Kathir laughs...
M: Aii ethukku sirikurae? Biriyani is an emotion... Memes eh pathathu illayaiah?
K: Hmmm... Ennaku biriyani melae avlo interest illae...
M: Irru oru naal... Pakkathu veetu bai aunty odae biriyani eh saapdu... Flat ayiduvae...
K: Seri...try pannittae pochu...
M: Ippo ennaku biriyani saapdom polae irruku...
He smiles...
K: Swiggy leh order podavah?
M: Amma kitte, inniki avunage samachae dhey saapadae mattom nu nee sollureh nah, order pannu...
He hurriedly keeps back the phone in his pocket...
Laughing, she goes to the other side of the terrace to collect the dry chilli and he helps her... He takes it down, and she brings the clothes...
Mullai thinks back to what he said the other day about visiting Kunnakudi...
She never thought about it in that way before...
People sometimes have totally unexpected perspectives...
Every year, her father on his trip to India will visit his native place and every year he will ask her if she and Mahi would accompany them and she would say no and for the past two years, he stopped asking.
What Kathir said made her think, a lot...
Because there was so much truth in it...
Why was she, avoiding to go to a place that she loved because of three or four mentally backward people?
Maybe someday......she will have the guts to go there..
Tbc.....