10-PArukkuLLE Nalla NADu
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https://www.rasikas.org/forums/viewtopic.php?p=202501#p202501
by arasi »
TEN
PArukkuLLE Nalla NADu
(Ours, A Great Land in the World!)
A friend called Balu came home and told us that Chellamma was upset and was crying all the time. "She did not eat all day yesterday," he added.
Bharathi was nowhere to be seen.
My father took me to see Chellamma. Bharathi got fed up with Puduvai. Wanderlust had grabbed him. Chellamma did not know. My father might have.
Bharathi got clean-shaven, and in disguise, had left home. Chellamma waited all day for him. Balu happened to go to their house the next day and he came to tell us.
I asked Chellamma to come and stay with us.
"I'm not afraid of staying alone at home but I'm worried sick about him, Yadugiri! You know how bold he is! What if the police catch him? Doesn't he know I'm dependent on him? Shouldn't he let me know before he goes away?"
My father was very shy to speak to women. "Yadugiri, ask her not to be afraid. Bharathi is very smart. He won't get caught easily. Tell her she needn't stay here alone. She can come and stay with us. We have plenty of room."
"Oh no! It's no trouble at all, our being here. The neighbors are all very kind. It's just that I'm worried about him. I will write to my father and brother. I can at least go home. Without him, what's the point of my being here?"
My father told me to stay with her. He gave me ten rupees and asked me to give it to Chellamma who had started cooking for me. Shakunthala ate at ANNiamma's house.Thangammal at that time was in kASi with her aunt.I ended up spending the whole day with Chellamma.
I again asked her go with me to our house.
Chellamma said, "No, Yadugiri. There is plenty to be done at home. This isn't something new. My family has been pleading with him not to get active in the svadESi movement. He was adamant.That's how we ended up here, leaving our home and family. When the spies are giving us enough trouble, is there any sense in placing himself in danger like this? What if they send him to Andaman Islands? If they do, how can he ever return? Who will help us?"
I said, "Chellamma, don't fear. Bharathi will come back soon!"
"You know he can't keep a low profile. As my father says, Kumarak kaDavuL (Murugan) will dispel mountains of troubles and make them disappear like dew in the morning sun (malai pOl varum kaSHTangaLaip pani pOl nIkkuvAr). He alone can help us!"
When I said I was going home, she asked me to stay on. "I will come with you in the evening. Until then, it'll be nice to have you around."
After lunch, Bhagyalakshmi Ammal (Va Ve Su's wife) came.
Bhagyalakshmi: Chellamma, You don't have to be alone. Come to our house. It will be a pleasant diversion for me to have your company.
Chellamma: I'm not worried about myself. ANNiammal is right next door. Her children are here around me most of the time. Shakunthala virtually lives in their house like another child of theirs. My thoughts are all with him. He's much too reckless, that's what I'd say.
Bhagyalakshmi: You can imagine how I felt when mine (Iyer) was abroad, so far away!
Chellamma: If Bharathi were as calm and collected as Iyer, I wouldn't worry. What if he starts singing in spite of himself?
Bhagylakshmi: What you say is true. Iyer would just quietly see the sights wherever he went, and that was all.
Chellamma: What's the use in my worrying at this point? Dr. Nanjunda Rao in Chennai is his close friend. When it came to matters of SvadESi, Bharathi ignored his dear friend's pleas. I don't know how much more misery is in store for me!"
Yadugiri: Let's only talk about positive things. God will not let us down. If we do good deeds, the results will not turn out be otherwise.
When we were at home that evening, Chellamma spent her time talking to my mother.
Ten or fifteen days went by without Bharathi showing up.
I went upstairs one day and found my father talking to a stranger. I started doing my homework at my desk and the stranger asked me: where's your usual offering (of a little pot of water, betel leaves and areca nut)? I was shocked.
"Yadugiri! Even you could not recognize me!," he said.
Yadygiri: Is it really you, Bharathiyare? Do you know how much agony Chellamma is in? How could you do a thing like that?
Bharathi: What did I do? Even you, who would come running on seeing me, couldn't recognize me. How could those CID fellows spot me!
I gave him water and the betel leaves and then asked him, "Where all did you go? What all did you see?"
"How can I answer you if you ask about it all in one breath? I hear that you consoled Chellamma no end."
"I didn't do anything. I couldn't help much. She wouldn't eat, wouldn't stay with us."
"There was nothing I could have done about it either. I went away knowing that you were all there for her. Supposing I had told her, she would have stopped me."
"Any new songs?", I asked.
"I composed one on the train. I had to restrain myself often from singing it aloud. I will sing it tomorrow. I have a cold and my voice is not good today."
As he promised, Bharathi sang it the next day. It was the patriotic song beginning with the words--pArukkuLLE nalla nADu, engaL bhAratha nADu. He said a beggar woman sang a hindusthAni song and he set the song to that tune.
After Bharathi's agnyAta vAsam (living incognito), Chellamma had lost weight because she was not eating properly. Her father came to Puduvai and took his daughter and Shakunthala away with him saying that Chellamma had anna dvEsham (lack of appetite) and that she would not survive if she stayed on in Puduvai.
Bharathi did not mind. He would eat wherever he was invited.
When Chellamma came back after two months, she said: why should he care? He has all townsmen for his relatives. I came back because I was concerned about him and listen to what he says-- "Chellamma, I like to see you happy. You didn't have to hurry back for my sake!" Now, how do you like that?"
Chellamma had brought Thangamma along with her who was growing up in her aunt's family which was steeped in orthodoxy. Often, there were arguments between her and Bharathi. He would prevail in the end. Thangamma gave in because he was after all her father.
* * * * *
PArukkuLLE Nalla NADu
(Ours, A Great Land in the World!)
A friend called Balu came home and told us that Chellamma was upset and was crying all the time. "She did not eat all day yesterday," he added.
Bharathi was nowhere to be seen.
My father took me to see Chellamma. Bharathi got fed up with Puduvai. Wanderlust had grabbed him. Chellamma did not know. My father might have.
Bharathi got clean-shaven, and in disguise, had left home. Chellamma waited all day for him. Balu happened to go to their house the next day and he came to tell us.
I asked Chellamma to come and stay with us.
"I'm not afraid of staying alone at home but I'm worried sick about him, Yadugiri! You know how bold he is! What if the police catch him? Doesn't he know I'm dependent on him? Shouldn't he let me know before he goes away?"
My father was very shy to speak to women. "Yadugiri, ask her not to be afraid. Bharathi is very smart. He won't get caught easily. Tell her she needn't stay here alone. She can come and stay with us. We have plenty of room."
"Oh no! It's no trouble at all, our being here. The neighbors are all very kind. It's just that I'm worried about him. I will write to my father and brother. I can at least go home. Without him, what's the point of my being here?"
My father told me to stay with her. He gave me ten rupees and asked me to give it to Chellamma who had started cooking for me. Shakunthala ate at ANNiamma's house.Thangammal at that time was in kASi with her aunt.I ended up spending the whole day with Chellamma.
I again asked her go with me to our house.
Chellamma said, "No, Yadugiri. There is plenty to be done at home. This isn't something new. My family has been pleading with him not to get active in the svadESi movement. He was adamant.That's how we ended up here, leaving our home and family. When the spies are giving us enough trouble, is there any sense in placing himself in danger like this? What if they send him to Andaman Islands? If they do, how can he ever return? Who will help us?"
I said, "Chellamma, don't fear. Bharathi will come back soon!"
"You know he can't keep a low profile. As my father says, Kumarak kaDavuL (Murugan) will dispel mountains of troubles and make them disappear like dew in the morning sun (malai pOl varum kaSHTangaLaip pani pOl nIkkuvAr). He alone can help us!"
When I said I was going home, she asked me to stay on. "I will come with you in the evening. Until then, it'll be nice to have you around."
After lunch, Bhagyalakshmi Ammal (Va Ve Su's wife) came.
Bhagyalakshmi: Chellamma, You don't have to be alone. Come to our house. It will be a pleasant diversion for me to have your company.
Chellamma: I'm not worried about myself. ANNiammal is right next door. Her children are here around me most of the time. Shakunthala virtually lives in their house like another child of theirs. My thoughts are all with him. He's much too reckless, that's what I'd say.
Bhagyalakshmi: You can imagine how I felt when mine (Iyer) was abroad, so far away!
Chellamma: If Bharathi were as calm and collected as Iyer, I wouldn't worry. What if he starts singing in spite of himself?
Bhagylakshmi: What you say is true. Iyer would just quietly see the sights wherever he went, and that was all.
Chellamma: What's the use in my worrying at this point? Dr. Nanjunda Rao in Chennai is his close friend. When it came to matters of SvadESi, Bharathi ignored his dear friend's pleas. I don't know how much more misery is in store for me!"
Yadugiri: Let's only talk about positive things. God will not let us down. If we do good deeds, the results will not turn out be otherwise.
When we were at home that evening, Chellamma spent her time talking to my mother.
Ten or fifteen days went by without Bharathi showing up.
I went upstairs one day and found my father talking to a stranger. I started doing my homework at my desk and the stranger asked me: where's your usual offering (of a little pot of water, betel leaves and areca nut)? I was shocked.
"Yadugiri! Even you could not recognize me!," he said.
Yadygiri: Is it really you, Bharathiyare? Do you know how much agony Chellamma is in? How could you do a thing like that?
Bharathi: What did I do? Even you, who would come running on seeing me, couldn't recognize me. How could those CID fellows spot me!
I gave him water and the betel leaves and then asked him, "Where all did you go? What all did you see?"
"How can I answer you if you ask about it all in one breath? I hear that you consoled Chellamma no end."
"I didn't do anything. I couldn't help much. She wouldn't eat, wouldn't stay with us."
"There was nothing I could have done about it either. I went away knowing that you were all there for her. Supposing I had told her, she would have stopped me."
"Any new songs?", I asked.
"I composed one on the train. I had to restrain myself often from singing it aloud. I will sing it tomorrow. I have a cold and my voice is not good today."
As he promised, Bharathi sang it the next day. It was the patriotic song beginning with the words--pArukkuLLE nalla nADu, engaL bhAratha nADu. He said a beggar woman sang a hindusthAni song and he set the song to that tune.
After Bharathi's agnyAta vAsam (living incognito), Chellamma had lost weight because she was not eating properly. Her father came to Puduvai and took his daughter and Shakunthala away with him saying that Chellamma had anna dvEsham (lack of appetite) and that she would not survive if she stayed on in Puduvai.
Bharathi did not mind. He would eat wherever he was invited.
When Chellamma came back after two months, she said: why should he care? He has all townsmen for his relatives. I came back because I was concerned about him and listen to what he says-- "Chellamma, I like to see you happy. You didn't have to hurry back for my sake!" Now, how do you like that?"
Chellamma had brought Thangamma along with her who was growing up in her aunt's family which was steeped in orthodoxy. Often, there were arguments between her and Bharathi. He would prevail in the end. Thangamma gave in because he was after all her father.
* * * * *
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