Death of a Legacy

When the old ancestral house was sold I didn’t cry. I watched with dry eyes as the house was broken down brick by brick. Somehow I could take it philosophically. But when they cut you down it was as if a part of my past was being ripped apart. You were part of my childhood. It is strange but I always thought of you as a female, a sort of mother figure. I could snuggle against your big warm bosom and whisper my childhood woes. You were a silent witness to the agonies and ecstasies of my growing up. . Come April, sweet, warm and filled with promise of spring. And you were ready to burst forth with the sweet fleshy mangoes which the children savored greedily. Some raw, some ripe. We children loved them anyway. And the long sturdy swings that hung on you ready to raise me up in the sky! Holding me firmly on your lap you would whisper in my ears “Sky is the limit, my child”. And I always believed you. I walked along the strangest paths that life took me through and now finally I thought I have come back to your comforting shadows at the twilight of my life.

The dividing wall in between notwithstanding I could still be with you . Sometimes from your stretching branch the summer breeze will even drop a mango or two in my courtyard and you will wink at me when I run to pick them up. I became a child once again and it was our secret. Yesterday I was standing in my terrace watching you, bent with those luscious mangoes. How old are you, I wondered? Age has not withered you, you looked the same. Strong, comforting and forever generous.

From nowhere they came, five men carrying axes and ropes. Before I knew what was happening, the first axe fell on you. I ran inside trying not to scream .You didn’t utter a word and fell down without a whimper as the axes fell on you mercilessly again and again. If only I could give you one last hug. Through the windows I saw you being reduced into a few logs. The mangoes lay scattered all over. Suddenly I saw two of them lying in my courtyard. Your parting gift to me to relish just one last time.

The M factor in my life

No, I am not talking about menopause. Nor is it about men. Those are all things of the past . There are more important things in lfe. I am talking about the maid scene in my life now. Let me put things in the right perspective. Well, after my retirement we decided to settle down in “God’s own country ”. (Whoever coined that phrase has a wry sense of God) We came with many happy memories of our child hood and holiday visits. So far so good, till our troubles started. Kerala, as you all know has been declared as 100% literate State. While I was away from Kerala I used to bask in this reflected glory and will proudly talk about it till I had to face its flip side. With a high rate of literacy, the maid servants problem is increasing day-by-day. Added to it is the money pouring from Gulf ( till the recession ). My home town is a sort of pilgrimage spot and a number of shops have mushroomed in the town. Most of the sales persons are girls/women. Their salary is pathetic still the job is on high demand due to the ‘glamour’ and the air-conditioned comfort attached to it. The not-so-lucky lot opt for construction work where the payment is reasonably good. The net result is that there is hardly any help available for household work. Those who are available ask for a price and other perks. Take the case of Madhavi, a maid who worked for us for 2 days. Reason for her leaving ? That we watch only ASIANET where as she wants to watch the soaps in SURYA ! ( We came to know about it later through a reliable source ) Had we known, we would have sacrificed ASIANET for SURYA . After all what is more important ?

Then came Gayatri , a ‘sweet eighteen’ year old. While working in the kitchen she will be singing and doing some ‘mudras’ with her fingers. She did not miss an opportunity to remind me that she was the ‘kalathilakam’ of her school. Well, the ‘kalathilakam’ left after a couple of weeks for reasons best known to her.

Our major disqualification as an employer is that we are vegetarians . I am now willing to learn to cook non vegetarian stuff. After all what is more important ? But the demands will not end there. We have now got a maid through an agency ( a roaring business in Kerala). After a couple of days we decided to part as friends by ‘mutual consent’ due to ‘incompatibility’. But she has to be with us for one more week or so till her registration period expires. Only then will I get a substitute.

Yesterday while having her tea, she looked at me and asked ‘ Will you miss me when I am gone ?’ And that is what we call icing on the cake !!!