Did water come today???

Our new home is next to a college. There is a round-the-clock security in that college, who stays and lives in a small security room near the entrance of the college. He is a short, dark, old man, probably from some nearby village, who had come to Chennai to make a living. Unlike a traditional security, he never wears a security uniform. He is always clad in a white vesti (dhothi) and a white shirt. At times, in the evenings, I have seen him going out in his cycle, wearing only a dhothi, and a towel on his right shoulder, wihout a shirt - a sight that is no so common in this city. Initially I didn't make any effort to talk to him or to establish a rapport with him. As I strongly believe that the interaction with the neighbors should very limited, and as a general rule, the more close they are, the less the interaction should be.

It was the common corporation tap on the road, that brought us together. Water comes in that tap once in 2 or 3 days. I fetch a pot or two and use it for some special purposes :). Last week when I was returning after dropping my little friends in school, I saw the watchman thatha, and asked him, "Did water come today?".

Immediately he started replying "I am fetching water from this tap for more than 12 years...", Though that is not a direct reply for my question, it gave me a confidence that the direct answer will follow soon. "I have a built a house... The owner helped by lending some money...". Probably he was referring to the Owner of the college. At this point, I interrupted "Where?? in Chennai???". He seemed to get a bit annoyed on hearing my words. He replied "What?? Chennai??? Why should I build in Chennai... I built in my native...". So according to him, people who do not have a native, will build their home in Chennai. As he is a one with a native, he has built his home in his native. "Which is your native??" I asked... He was prompt to reply "Aranthangi... Near Pudukottai..." and he smiled while giving this reply.

At this point I told him that "I am from Trichy...". I normally never tell this to anyone, as I myself was not sure if I can call Trichy as my native. But now I told this to the security thatha, so that he doesn't think that I am a nativeless fellow. If owning a home makes you a native of the place where its built, then I definitely have two natives. And partially have one more native :). But as my Mother used to say, the place where we live, and the place that gives us a living, is our native. So, at the moment Chennai is my native :).

At this point I wish to remind the Readers that my initial question to the security thatha was "Did water came today?" and that question wasn't answered until now. Thatha went on "Avar romba nallavaru..."(He is a very nice Guy), pointing to our apartment. Probably he was referring to the builder, who built and sold that apartment to us. Thatha continued "The land belongs to the "John" behind this building. (The neighbour behind this building was "John"). He bought it for 70 lakhs, four years back. Initially he had his office here. I was working in that office for sometime. He is a very nice Guy. Now also he asked me to get a maid for cleaning the office...". Thatha went on and on and on. He continued "Now I have pledged some of our jewels and I am paying for them..."

I lost all hope of getting an answer to my question, and was about to leave, as I understood that the thatha will never stop talking as long as I stand there. I said "Saringa" (Ok) and turned back to enter our apartment, at which point the Security thatha said "Water didn't come today... It comes once in three days... It will come tomorrow...". I replied "Ok, Thanks..." and went inside our apartment. I turned back and saw him slowly walking towards the college gate.

- Pavala
05-July-2019.

 

Ilayaraja and his efforts to learn a Musical Instrument

The first question I asked when I got to know that my cab mate's name is Ilayaraja
was "Do you play any musical instrument?". For sometime I was using the company provided cab to commute to office. He immediately said "No," but went on to add "Infact, I tried" and continued "When I was in Madurai, in the floor below my apartment, there was a music school, where they teach music to kids" (So, our Ilayaraja stayed close to music, at-least.)

Ilayaraja added "Once I went to that school teacher and told him that I want to learn a musical instrument... And also told my wish to learn violin...". But the master had told him that he will get neck pain eventually as the violin had to be held in-between the shoulder and the cheek..."

Undeterred and also to do justification to his name, my cab mate still wanted to learn a musical instrument. So, he replied to that music teacher, "Sir, then I will learn guitar.." For which the master also agreed.

Our friend bought a guitar, paid the fee to the Master and started attending the classes. But soon, another trouble came. The musical notes were too difficult for him, to understand and to learn. So, after a couple of classes, Ilayaraja told to the Master "Sir, the notes are a bit difficult for me to understand and remember. So, can I drop Guitar and switch to Keyboard...". For some reason Ilayaraja have come to conclusion that the notes for Keyboard should be easy, as playing a keyboard is very easy. Not need to strain at all, all we have to do is to select a key and press it. It always gives some sound, unlike the violin or a flute, where it takes weeks to hear the first sound. But he lost all hopes of learning a musical instrument when his master said "The notes are same...".

After this incident, he stopped going to the classes, and never thought about learning any musical instrument in his life again. But it seems that frequently he comes across this question "Do you play any musical instrument..." Whenever people get to know about his name. I was happy in a way. When people hear my name, all they ask is its meaning, and what it refers to. Had my name been something similar to Ilayaraja, life would have been a bit more tough.

- Pavala
05-Jul-2019.