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

             Our life became more meaning full after the arrival of the child. I felt a sort of elevation in my responsibilities. We were short of time as it became a habit to watch his movements for prolonged hours. In the initial days I was not even able to hold him in my hands. An unexpected twitch or kick by him was difficult for me to manage. He was not at all comfortable in the way I held him. While fondling him in bed , I became helpless when a sudden jet of salty urine hit my eyes. It was worse when he eased his bowel in a public transport. It was at these moments I knew how adept are the mothers in tackling such situations. In my official life I had some training to meet much more complicated situations. But I found that such tricks seldom worked when we have to tackle a child’s behaviours. I think even the CEO of a corporate body  has to take lesson from an illiterate woman on these matters.

                      There were moments of despair and helplessness when at the dead of the night the child became ill, followed by incessant agony and crying. Time never move forward on such occasions. When one become helpless we rest our faith in an unseen power. Many a time we had to depend on such believes.

              As we were about to be settled down in Chrompet I was transferred to take charge of a warehouse in Pondicherry. It was a jolt. I was not prepared to shift camp. But there was no way to avoid. Then followed the usual procedures,viz. finding an accommodation in the new place, packing,transportation etc. etc.......contd....

                

Nurungukal..2..contd..

                 Our first child was born on first September in 1971, which was exactly one year after our marriage. A boy child. The delivery took place at Calicut and I was in Chromepet on duty. The colleagues wanted an immediate celebration. They were not satisfied by a mere distribution of sweets. The laddies wanted to know the details of the child like resemblance, colour, weight, mother’s health etc. The phone call from Calicut was disrupted  many a time due to a faulty system, which was very common in those days.  In my anxiety I failed to gather much except that the mother and child were safe. I booked a trunk call immediately and it materialised after a few hours. If it was now I could have had all the details by a feather touch and passed on a kiss too. I envy the new gen. parents.

                I had to wait for a few more days to get my leave sanctioned. In the mean time my wife had to go through a difficult time as the child fell ill on the 28^th day and the temperature was un- controllable for a few days. But thanks to the expert care rendered by an eminent paediatrician and the timely help by her sister for carrying the babe several time for medical care, normalcy was restored.  When I first saw my child bubbling beside the mother , he was a cute little beauty. One or two drops of tears rolled down her cheek. Was it because she became a proud mother or due to my absence when the child was ill, I failed to gather the message. Every thing became normal  as was always in her case, when I lifted him and cuddled tenderly.  The journey back to Chromepet by the trio was like that of a triumphant  conqueror, full of joy and merriment.........contd....