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