SALESMAN’S DIARY-KATTUR

I had only a few English books  left for sale- Short story book and Autobiography. So I could approach only educational institutions. High school at Kattur was in my mind and some buses went right up to Kattur. I waited at Cherpu and boarded the bus.. There were several students going there and I had no difficulty in getting down at the right stop.

The HM was a lady and I showed her my books. She was apologetic;”Our school has only poor children. The Library is in name only and all books are donated by parents. Having come here, do not go disappointed. I shall buy the story book” I was happy to collect one hundred rupee note and thanked her. She advised me to go to the Higher Secondary School, at the next bus stop. So I walked slowly, as my age(81 plus) did not allow me to go fast, as I used to do earlier.

Here the reception was astounding. The lady in charge bought both books and advised me to go to teacher’s room,, where two autos and three stories were sold!

I enquired about English medium school and was advised to hire an auto. I paid Rs.15. I got down at the gate and walked in.

The Principal just bought two books and gave me the money..I walked back to the gate and saw a car about to start. He asked me where I wanted to go. “Any place where I can catch a bus,” I replied. “I am going to Irinjalakuda” he said and started the car.

I must not sit as in a taxi, I thought. So to start conversation, I said I am an author and came to the school to sell books. He looked at me with admiration and I became eloquent, describing how I began writing at the ripe age of seventy five. In about twenty minutes we reached the bus stand at Irinjalakuda.

“I did not want to come here; but your story impressed me and I must actually thank you”

We exchanged phone numbers and he departed.

I reached Urakam and got a bus for Chathakudam.

STORY-RAIN

We are black farm hands(cherumakkal) living in huts with thatched roofs and mud walls. For us the rainy season is the worst time, when the fields are submerged in water from overflowing river.

The day began on a sunny note and I went in my canoe fishing and got some fat fish.

By evening it began to rain. By sunset, it was  flood, bringing with it trees and small branches. I was busy collecting wood. Something like a dead body got stuck in the veranda“I examined and found him to be alive. “Papa, he is alive; please come and see.” Father came and we pulled him on to the small bamboo cot and removed all wet cloths, leaving him naked and shivering. Father covered him with a sheet and asked me to warm up rice water and give it to him. Mother heard all this noise and woke up. She ignited the fire and soon we fed him. At last he was able to talk. He was tall and fair complexioned. He heard us but could not reply.He simply looked at us and remained speechless.

“He may be deaf’,” mother said.” Sleep with him to keep him warm”

i obeyed. In the morning he seemed alright.He washed in the lake water and took cooked tapioka and fish. “Are you coming with me. We shall fish”

He did not say anything but got ready with the net. By noon, we got quite a good catch. The flood water receded and we had  hot lunch. “I want cloths,” he said. Thank God he can speak -I thought.

I had some money and we canoed up the river to the market and bought him trousers and shirts. He told me he does not remember anything.” What is your name?” he asked me. “They call me Sini; I have passed tenth and working in Panchayath Office. What is your name?.”

“I don’t know; you may call me anything.”

“Then I call you Kishan”

We took tea and returned home. By this time it became known to all. He must be in the hill area. Shall we advertise? I weighed the options. I felt selfish. God gave me this man Why not I keep him?After some time, we went up in the canoe and tried if he can remember the village from where he came. We had carried provisions for eating and drinking. At some point, people looked at us and started talking. I enquired what the matter is.

“He is my husband,,” a woman said. But Kishan refused. “I have no family”‘ he said.As my duty was over, we returned.
After the rains, he started visiting visiting the Namboothiri mana just across the fields. There he got work and good food; sometimes he even slept there. I became jealous. I deliberately enticed him to enjoy my body and I found him quite strong and adept in sex. I then explained my plans to him:”I will get loan to build a house from the Panchayath. They will give plot also as we are entitled for special favours, as Scheduled tribe. I will try for the post of peon in my office. So let us go and register our marriage. Do not go to the Mana; I don’t like it.”
So he agreed and we began a new life as husband and wife. By the time our house was built, I gave birth to a white boy!

KASHMIR WAS A FREE KINGDOM UNTIL INDIA BECAME FREE

littla known fact about Kashmir is that it was not part of the British Empire in India. The powerful British army fought and won Punjab and Sindh, but failed to conquer the Himalayan Kingdom because of its geography. Even the Mughals did not attempt its conquest. Himalaya mountain range is about five hundred miles wide and protects her children-Bhutan, Sikkim, Nepal and Kashmir. So the agreement of 1947 between Lord Mountbatten and Pandit Nehru did not include Kashmir, though more than 600 Princely States were given the option to remain free or join India or Pakistan.

At that time the route to Srinagar was via Chandigar, through a narrow pass from the West of Srinagar, through which only one can walk or ride on horse back. The High Way from Jammu was built by India much later. Now you can understand why even the Mughals spared the Kashmir valley. During summer, they escaped from heat to the heaven of Kashmir, where they stayed in house boats, because the law did not permit sale of land to foreigners!.

After freedom, Pakistan attacked the valley through a proxy war and the Hindu King, Maharaja Karni Singh came and requested India for protection.

The story is that Nehru was reluctant to give help, because he knew history and was himself a Kasmiri During freedom struggle, Shake Abdulla was a powerful leader in the valley and hated Pakistan. It was he who prompted Nehru to agree to the Maharaja’s request. When our Prime Minister meets his Pakistani counterpart, he can explain that it was Pakistan that created the Kashmir problem, not India!.

Love of freedom is a fundamental human instinct. Scotland never liked the British and even recently, were given some sort of autonomy, though both spoke the same language! The fight between Athens and Sparta has been described by Nehru in his “Gimpses of History”.

Let us forget the past politics and remember only History!

GIVE FREEDOM TO KASHMIR

I WELCOME GOVERNOR’S RULE IN KERALAM

Governor is not a figure head as the President of India. Governors have wide powers which can be used in exceptional circumstances. Mere fact that the ruling party has a majority, is not sufficient excuse for remaining in power.

Watch the TV channels. Is there a single department that functions effectively?

Enquiry is going on against all and sundry.There is not the semblance of law and order..The State is heavily indebted..Governance has become a mockery.

This is time to drive away the horses and clean the  stables..

INDIAN NATIONAL CONGRESS IS GOING TO SPLIT

Chidambaram has given the clarion call for a revolt against the hegemony of Sonia Gandhi, who may better see the writing on the wall and graciously withdraw from politics. Let a new leadership  evolve,, based on elections from primary units.

Gandhi killed democracy in the Party, because he wanted to install Pandit Nehru as the dictator of India. The family ruled the country for all these years and is it not enough?

IS MARXISM OBSOLETE?

Even Darwin’s theory of evolution is now questioned by scientists, based on evidence unearthed by scientists..

When Karl Marx wrote Das Capital, capitalism was in its infancy. Further, the study was confined to England and France. The rest of the world was still feudalistic or even slavery persisted in several areas.

Today, capitalism is trans-national. Crude tools of production have been replaced by ultra modern machines.

Another factor is the coming together of various capitalist nations to save from total collapse. Countries like  India is eagerly inviting capital to invest in India and transfer profits to their nations.

Another factor is war. Capitalism survives on war and production of arms. Terrorism based on Islam has given scope to protracted war in the whole of Asia.

Still another factor is human nature. Marx failed to take into account this important factor. For him, only classes warred. Why do two tribes,belonging to the same class, go to war?

These are only a few pointers for further research in this field..

STORY-UNDEVELOPED GIRL

I noticed that some workers were digging near the road side and on enquiry, I was told that a retired Colonel was constructing a palatial building there. I was not interested in buildings and ignored it. But my morning walk was along that road,by the side of the river which was always full because of the barrage built down stream. It is the same river flowing by our home, which meanders around the temple and I stand by and watch it for some time.
I completed BSc.As could not find any job. I used to sit in the Taluk Office premises and fill forms for people coming there.
My friend Ashok knows everything going on in hia locality and was very sympathetic to me. He told me:”There is a golden opportunity for you. Have you not seen the mansion in the Karuvannor are? The owner is a retired military man. He has a daughter almost eighteen years old, bbut behaves like a two year old. She is extremely beautiful. If you marry her, you will become entitled for all the wealth.”
“It is worth trying; but how can I approach him?”
“You do what I say and the lottery is yours.”
He took me to Menon’s mansion.The watchman asked who we want to meet. Ashok lied that Menon has called us.
He allowed us in.
Menon was happy to see two well dressed young men. Ashok:”This is Krishnan of Pulikot house near here. Bhadran’s younger brother.” He took us in and his wife also joined in the conversation. “Bhadran’s father was my class fellow. How are they?”
“I have one brother and several sisters. All are of marriageable age.”
“Will you tell him to meet me?”
Soon things started moving. Menon’s influence worked and two sisters got suitable match. I began going to Menon frequently and the girl became very much attached to me because I played with her as a boy would. Sometimes she will not allow me to go home and insisted on sleeping with her, telling stories which children like to hear. She has a special maid to look after her. She would sleep on the floor
Finally Menon spoke:” We shall do a formal marriage ceremony and you have to look after her . Are you sure you can endure it?” I agreed.
I told the maid to come only when I call in the night.
After several nights I slowly removed her cloths and fondled her breasts. Then I inserted my organ and she did not mind. She only smiled. When it was over, I called the maid and showed blood on the sheet. She smiled approvingly.”It happens when the hymen is broken”. Soon her mother also came and saw it. She patted me on the back.
I enjoyed doing it daily and she became pregnant.
I told her father:”I was experimenting and now I can say I have succeeded.
Semen ignites a woman’s system to produce necessary hormones. Hormones control all activities. Physically she is on the way to recovery. Now we may introduce her to the outside world. I suggest a small tour of temples in Keralam, when she will have opportunity to see mountains, rivers and the sea.You and mummy also come. Of course, we must first consult the Doctor.”
Our tour lasted for three months. When we returned, every one noticed the change in the girl. She seemed more mature.The vacant look in her eyes were gone. Her under belly had swollen a bit. Sometimes she would ask:”What is here?”I would say-a baby.
“How will it come out?”
“The Doctor will take it out.”
At long last, the day arrived. She was admitted in the Hospital. The nurse came out with the baby. “Congratulations! It is a boy.”
My experiment was reported in local newspapers and TV channels. Mother came to me and said:”God has given you to us. Ask anything and we shall give you.”
“Thanks. You have given me a girl and a child. What else do I need?” I went to my wife and kissed her!

STORY-ACCIDENT

I was taking bath. My mother had gone to the temple and I had not bolted the door.

Hearing the door buzzer, I called out,”Come in.” I went on with my bath and turned only when it was over. I was terrified on seeing hour cable operator standing and watching me. He lost no time in carrying me to my bed and enjoying a good …I should confess that I actually enjoyed it.

Without delay he left I had noticed a black birth mark on his left thigh.
I was still in the school and the incident haunted me. When I joined the college, I told mummy that I want to stay in the hostel. I did not tell anything to her.
After taking degree I went to Pune to my Uncle’s house and soon got a job there. My mother also joined me and we hired a house.A number of years passed and I got married and had a son. Mother passed away and then we thought of selling the old house in Keralam.
We took some time to get a buyer for the house. One day there was an accident. A man was hit by a speeding car and my son rushed to the spot, just in front of my house. I looked out. They were lifting the man when his lungi fell down, exposing his thigh. I was shocked to see the black birth mark I had noticed when he raped me. I felt sorry for the man…

ELECTIONS AGAIN

Jharkand and Kashmir are going to polls immediately.

Both states are infested with terrorists and so the elections are spread over several days. Results will affect the working of the Central Government. Policy and ideology may conflict each other. Should Hindutwa be abandoned?