SUNDARAM’S PREDICAMENT

Sundaram sat crest fallen in the stiff back chair in the tiny apartment at Thiruvellikeni in Madras. His eyes were hopelessly trying to focus in the day’s newspaper, a result of years of habit. His wife Lakshmi a product of yester yrs, who in the 24 hrs of married life had never dared to utter a word against her husband, was quietly in the kitchen trying to make headway with the days cooking.

The house wore an ominous silence. Their younger daughters were involved in the job of stitching buttonholes in the school uniforms. The stray orders of stitching they fetched from near by ready-made factory. Their elder daughter Shankari was out to fetch kerosene from the long ration queue.

Sundaram was patriarch in true sense. He had believed in ruling the family with an iron hand and irrevocable discipline codes. Filled with pride of an aristocratic landed ancestry Sundaram was finding it a tough going to uphold the traditional values, in that urban conglomerate where he had secured a respectable job of accountant 25 yrs back. Tall with an angular nose, sharp critical eyes which had kept Lakshmi and horde of four children well with in their parameters etched by the patriarch Sundaram. When Lakshmi bore two daughters in quick succession after marriage at the age of sixteen, Sundaram did not speak anything. He did not believe in expressing his disappointment. But silent-seething rage used to erupt at home over trivials. Lakshmi bore his rages calmly with fortitude like any true hindu lady. She could sense her resentment and even felt it well with in her husband’s expectation.

When she carried her 3rd child just in an yr. of shanthi’s birth even her conservative family members raised an eyebrow. But Lakshmi had impeccable faith in Lord Murugar. She had seen the lord himself in child’s apparel a couple of times that had put her mind to rest that her next offspring will be a boy. She was at peace with herself attending to the multitudes of jobs at home. With Shankari and Shanti the two toddlers and Sundaram keeping his strict discipline in matters of food and clothes Lakshmi had to spin like a top attending to every ones needs.
All the trouble was worthwhile when finally their son Ganeshan arrived. Sundaram was pleased and Lakshmi felt supremely contended of having won the favour of her lord. With Ganeshans arrival he did not have anything against his wife. Feeling so much benevolent towards Lakshmi that he did not mind at all when Kamali arrived in couple of years.

However it was Ganeshan who was the apple of his eyes. Ganeshan grew up in adulation. He always had his mother and sisters to attend on him. Looking through the families eyes Ganeshan always felt himself special. When it was time to enroll him in school, Sundaram went around and put him in the English Medium School, 2 km. Far. Where as his three daughters got their berth in the near by Municipality school.

Ganesh did grow up to their expectations. Chubby and exuberant he did exceedingly well in academics too. Every time when he used to come home with flying grades Sundaram felt a feet taller. He looked at his son to carry the family prestige and name and channel for all his unrealized ambitions. Unabashedly his plans for Ganeshan grew higher and higher as the child himself grew from childhood to adolescence, For was not Ganeshan proving worthy of his every effort and dreams?

When Ganesh got his seat in Tiruchi Engineering College Sundarams happiness knew no bounds. Lakshmi had never seen him in that mood. A generally reticent Sundaram talked incessantly. He bought a large packet of Jalebis and distributed to neighbors with whom he hardly had nodding acquaintance. The day Ganeshan was to leave it was like a marriage. The entire house ran around making savories, sweets and pickles, packing them in compact packets, all that was arranged in a neat carton got on special request from Madavan working in the medical company. When Ganeshan landed in Tiruchi with his good-sized carton of eatables, he was an instant favorite among the newfound friends. However the friendliness lasted only as long as the eatable remained. Soon he found himself the target of subtle ridicule. He stood out in the group of gay go gutters with his conservative and almost puritan ways. He learned life a hard way in the hostel. In the four years in hostel he learned more about life than about engineering. Where his life had started and ended with his dotting parents he saw it had a lot more variety to offer. The very adulation of his family now he found it loathsome. Every time he returned home in the holidays he could see his parents staying in a world apart, a world his father Sundaram had created stunted, shrunken, refusing to change as the rest of the world moved swiftly and rapidly around them.

His mother Lakshmi never having an opinion, so docile, that at times he felt like screaming and waking his mother. His sisters seemed to be clone of his mother, always obedient, stitching, cleaning, washing, cooking and looking at him as though he is a species from the outer world. Any attempt to get a rapport with them, share the umpteen thoughts milling in his mind found no response.
Soon after finishing the Engineering when he got a scholarship to go abroad he felt most elated. He was ashamed to admit to himself how relieved he felt to have a way out of all obligations expected of him. To live a life under constant glory of adulation he would have found it most galling. A journey abroad was he felt like a ticket to freedom.

Sundaram and family felt at loss as how to react to Ganeshan's going abroad. No doubt it was something to be proud of. But they had a nagging fear will they loose Ganeshan?

Sundaram’s finance was at an abysmal low level. Having drained off all his life savings and even borrowed heavily for Ganeshan’s education. His daughters had grown up. Sundaram had quietly submitted Shankari's and Shatters horoscope at the marriage bureau. They had immediately suggested him a couple of cases for Shankari. One boy was working in the railway canteen another a lower division clerk in a private firm. Both he had rejected. Once Ganeshan starts earning handsomely wont it be possible to see them grooms fitting to their family heritage and standing?

All that hopes were drowned to dust in the small blue aerogramme, which arrived few days ago. Ganeshan an indifferent letter writer had kept them in waiting often. That when a letter arrived after two whole months, they all were most eager to know the news. As was the routine Sundaram read it while the family patiently hovered around trying to know the contents from Sundarams facial reaction. When Sundarams face turned a ghastly pale they kept quiet for him to speak. However this time Sundaram did not wax eloquent about Ganeshan’s escapades as generally he used to do. He got up in a huff flinging the letter aside. It was Kamali who got the nerve to open it and read the contents.

Ganeshan had married a Korean Girl. He was extremely sorry to break the news this way but as he felt there was no way his family going to accede to this, he thought private marriage was the only way out. It was also not possible to come immediately. It may take some months or even a year or two by which time it will be possible for them to travel out of the country. That’s another reason they decided to have the marriage done there itself. After reading the letter thus to the rest of the family Kamali, her sisters and mother stood quietly in a daze as though mourning a death.
It was Sundaram who took the news the worst. He refused to talk or discuss the matter. He lost the aim and zest for living. He ate listlessly and whatever little he ate didn’t get digested. The aristocratic bearing and commanding ways were completely lost. He kept to himself looking blankly for hours at the newspaper at times mumbling to himself.

The daughters and Lakshmi having more resilience and tenacity were quick to take matters in the stride. If anything it made them more determined to conduct their affairs more competently.

Presently Shankari returned back with the tin of kerosene, having successfully managed to procure the family’s share in the long queue and daring the mid summers hot sun. Inspite of the ordeal she looked bright, her eyes twinkled with suppressed excitement. Having a peep at her by her sisters working in the anteroom, they could sense there was something in the offing. There was a warm comradeship among the sisters, which kept them in good spirit inspite of the grinding poverty. They quietly walked in to the kitchen where Shankari was talking in hushed tones to her mother. Shankari was telling breathlessly, they have been recruiting in the ready-made factory, girls for work as the proprieter has come down with a huge export order. There are good chances for them to get recruited having worked sincerely at the piece meal jobs for the last two years. The hushed tones between the mother and the daughters continued. Even Lakshmi got caught up with the excitement and dropped a couple of vessels and broke in to smiles and even laughter.

In a matter of days all the three girls were gainfully employed in the ready-made factory.

The house started reverberating in their enthusiasm of the newfound prosperity earned with their own efforts. Sundaram slowly started coming out of his reverie and mourning. He could now see his daughters in a new light. It dawned on him he need not feel lost when such pillars of strength, his affectionate and competent daughters are around him. The sharp critical glint in his eyes was replaced by a warm affectionate glow. He once again started reading his paper relaxedly and ate his food worth relish. Ganeshan was forgotten like a dream, which went sour. As time passed it looked Sundaram may even develop equanimity to pardon his son who erred gravely.