Nurungukal...2...contd...

          When my wife went to Calicut for the delivery, I had to once again depend on the Nair mess. Even now I am very lazy when it comes for cooking. Many a time I had skipped my timely food when my wife is away. Especially in those days the ready to eat preparations were not in vogue in the market. But I remember that Maggy noodles, which is now a forbidden eatable had come for my rescue. Perhaps we were not aware of the hidden danger in such pre cooked foods. But I had a friend who used to be an expert cheff even when his wife was at home and she used to take advantage of his aptitude, and about which he was proud of. Hats off to my friend who is now no more.

                I would love to remember in gratitude the services rendered to me by one of my assistants who was in charge of the cleaning activities . When ever he is free he used to come to my house and help me. He loved to cultivate vegetables. The little land available around my dwelling was full with varieties of vegetables. He was from a farming community. Before joining the ware house he was working in a big farm. He had to leave because of the atrocities of the land lord. He had lost his parents  in his child hood. He never had a chance to go to school.  Although he was not a good cook, he put his heart into what ever he prepared. This gave me a chance to taste some of the native preparations made out of Ragi and other minor millets. Actually he worshipped the work he did. I have seen many such devoted workers during my service in Tamil Nadu. Their work culture is something which our brothers can emulate. Another quality which I have noticed in them is their frugal living. When we earn to spend they work to earn. So is their attitude in the usage of natural resources. Although we now blame them for the excessive use of chemicals in agriculture, issues like those in Ksargode is yet to be reported from Tamil Nadu.

            Many years later when I visited Chromepet warehouse, my assistant about whom I have mentioned above came running to me and embraced me which made me shed a few drops of tears. He told me he had married and was the proud father of a boy. He had built a  house nearby and was leading a contended life. I have very closely observed such personalities and derived precious lessons. Their innocence, dedication, simplicity, transparency etc; etc; are matchless. Let us try to be at least a miniature version of them in life.....contd

Nurungukal..2..contd..

    As an advent of Green Revolution there was a spurt in the need of warehouses managed on scientific lines. The slogan “a grain preserved is a grain produced” became true when the loss in storage was reduced in our warehouses due to the concerted efforts of the staff. More over every unit was considered as a cost centre and monthly reviews revealed the status. The transactions were transparent and systematic. The individual responsibilities were clearly defined as in Railways. Above all the top management had a clear cut and time bound vision to be executed. Thus Central Warehousing Corporation became the trusted national agency for storage. There was a setback when a parallel body was formed to accommodate the additional food grain production in the country. But it did not deter the management  to go ahead with expansion programme since the scope was very large due to diversification of its activities. Even though there was material progress, the basic function of warehouses i.e; to avoid the distress sale by the farmers was not fully complied with. The warehouses remained beyond the reach of  rural farmers. To that extent CWC is keeping away from a social commitment. On the contrary the services are exploited by a hand full of traders [middle men ]. Although this issue was discussed at various forums, no effective solution has been evolved yet. Being a farmer now, I feel that this burning issue, distress sale, among many others, has to be addressed if we intend for a sustainable agrarian economy.......contd...

Nurungukal...2..contd...

      In Chitalapakkam also there was a large rainwater collection pond. It was a mini lake.  It reminded me of the lake in Trichy about which I had described in one of my earlier posts. But as in Trichy I did not get an opportunity to enjoy the rural Tamilian  life as it had already lost it’s ethnic culture and the urbanisation process was in fast progress. Since there was no place to spent a few hours to relax in Chitalapakkam, for a young couple,  we used to head for Madras city as and when needed. We preferred Mambalam for marketing, especially vegetables and fruits and Madras city for a dine out  or movie.

       I never thought that my wife could manage the kitchen so well  even though the facilities were very limited.  My contribution in the matter of house keeping was minimum as of now. I was always tied up in the office. From the beginning of my official life in 1963 and till today  I was not able to pay 100% support to my wife in the inner details of managing our house. I feel guilty for that serious lapse. If it was official responsibilities  then, it is social commitments now which keep me away. Still she manages me and support with my actions whole hearted. That is a God given gift to me.

        I still remember the visit of my brother-in-law and one their cousin-in-law to us immediately after marriage. We had not settled down. It was a surprise visit to know the welfare of us. They stayed with us for one or two days and left in full satisfaction and also gave some cash to my wife, which we spent to purchase our LPG connection. It is the same one we use even now. Then her mother and another brother paid us a visit. It was then I paid  a visit to Tirupathy along with them. But my wife could not accompany as she was in the family way.

         We had a full life, enjoying  every bit of it. If our childhood was happy, cheer full and lively, wedlock is pleasant, sharing and contentment. It was at the peak of our enjoyment days I had to leave her back to Calicut for the delivery.  There was a sense of loss in me for a few days. I craved for their return. ....cntd...

Nurungukal...2...contd...

               Next day  when Nair came with my dinner, I was curious  to know about his landing at Chittalapakkam. When he narrated , it had all the ingredients for a film script. 

              A vociferous gang of girls used to frequent their hotel. They were from the adjacent parallel college. Their presence used to make a vibrant atmosphere and our Nair who used to be in the cash counter developed a closeness especially to a rustic girl among them. Initially it was only an infatuation, but gradually it turned out to be an ardent love affair. Almost every day they met in the nearby temple premises. She belonged to an orthodox family from Kasargode. She was sure that under no circumstances her parents and brothers would agree to their relationship. Nair consulted with the owner of the hotel who was then his conscience keeper. With his blessings they got married in the temple and got registered. For the second time in his life, Nair had to leave the camp incognito. This time he was accompanied by his life’s partner. Their destination was Tambaram where one of his friends had promised shelter to the couple.  He said that they had started the mess house with great expectations . He said his only regret was about the decision he took as a boy to abandon his sister. One day he wanted to go back,  as a successful entrepreneur, and spent a few days with her. He also told me that his wife was expecting their first child and left with a smile. I wished him luck and happiness and got engrossed in my night shift.......contd....  

Nurungukal....2...contd...

         Now Nair was in a hurry to wind up the narration. He said that after two agonising days he reached Mangalore. He knew what is hunger and thirst, which was totally  beyond his comprehension. The horror of lonely nights in the corner of Railway platforms still haunted him. On reaching Mangalore his fervent attempts to find an asylum paid result when he was engaged in a hotel for cleaning utensils. This provided him food and shelter. The owner was an Udupi Bhramin. He was benevolent and caring. Gradually Nair  won his confidence and became his most trusted assistant. He was given more responsibilities and soon attained the post of second in charge of the hotel.

       A few years passed smoothly. He aspired to make a visit to his family to know the welfare of his kid sister. But some thing, might be a sense of guilt, restrained him. And till now he could not fulfil that. Then once again fate had its own design on him. He had to leave the pasture for the sake of possessing his life’s partner with whom he had developed an affair, which he knew that the society would not approve.  He believed that their union was part of a destiny, and can be compared with any such event which you might have read in novels...contd....

Nurungukal...2....contd...

   Nair continued his story ignoring my appeal to go home. He said that he was losing ground and his boat was not drifting as he wished. He was desperate and felt lonely.His adolescent resistances against the  evil designs of his step mother lead to more and more misery. There was no other option before him but to escape from the scene and that was what he did. Leaving his kid sister to the mercy of the step mother he left home to an unknown destination.  It was an hard and risky decision to abandon our kith and kin with whom we might have developed a close knit fabric of love and affection. Many a nostalgic event might have happened which can not be easily erased from our mind.  A few more drops fell from his eyes, which for a moment made me dump and I felt a lump descending through my throat.

    With an empty pocket he boarded a train to Mangalore.  He said that the amount of agony experienced by him in that journey would washout what ever sins he would do in his life time. Many a time he was thrown out by the railway staff for ticket less travelling. It was then he knew that the money mattered every thing. And since then he was in search of earning an income of his own......contd......

Nurungukal....2..con

There was heavy transaction on that day in the warehouse. A ship containing  CARE [co op. American relief for every where ]products had berthed at Madras harbour She had to be emptied within the free time. As per our depositors request we decided to operate night shifts and I was in charge of it. It was 5 pm. I came out to take a stock of the pending loads waiting  outside the gate.  Nair was there in active conversation with one of our staff. He followed me to the office. He seldom ventured to enter the premises, except on urgent errants. As he came near to me I understood that he was not in his normal mood. The foul smell of the local brew confirmed my apprehension. I asked him why he had not returned home. He ignored my enquiry and slowly with an unsteady tongue bundled out his heart. As I had some time to spare before the commencement of the night shift I gave him a patient hearing.

  He hailed from a wealthy joint family of Kannur. His father , a martial art [kalari] specialist was powerful and arrogant. There was none to oppose him against his atrocities. Women were his weakness. Many a time he inflicted injuries on his wife and children under the influence of liquor. Nights were dreadful. It was common that he stayed away from the house for days to stray with other women. Nair’s mother was helpless. She was from a poor family with none to support her cause. She fell ill and succumbed to the torture of her husband. Nair was in 10^th std. His life became miserable when his father married another lady.  The stepmother gradually took control of the family affairs which compelled our Nair to escape from his native place, leaving his younger sister to her fate. Tears were rolling down his cheeks despite his efforts to control his emotions. I tried to console him and requested to go home. But he was reluctant  and continued after wiping out the tears....contd 

Nurung      Nurungukal...2....contd...

      For t         For the bachelors working in Central Warehousing Corporation the nearest joint for meals was the mess house run by a Nair family. Nobody knew the correct name of the Nair. Some called him Unni, others addressed him as Kutty. For the  malayalees in Chitalapakkam  they were Unniettan and Chechy. They had no children at that time. Nair’s mess provided homely food at a very law rate. Our life would have been miserable other wise.

                    They had set up this service a few years ago, to be exact from the days when the construction of the ware house was commenced. We knew nothing about from which part of Kerala they hailed. Yet it was anybody’s guess, from their slang, that they were from the northern districts. More over their recipes and tastes tallied with that of Kannur side, especially the fish preparations.

   The mess was open only till 4pm. After that Unniettan used to take an evening walk, and it was his habit  to chat with some of us in the ware house occasionally. It was during these visits he usually collected the dues or to raise a short term loan.  He would spent a few hours near the gate, invariably till the closing of our transactions. I remember it was during such an outing he opened his mind to me about his past and how he landed up in Chittalapakkam. A very interesting episode it was for a bachelor like me.........cntd