A Cottage in Swami Hills - 6. Kumar

A COTTAGE IN SWAMI HILLS 

6.  KUMAR S/O SETHURAMA IYER

Kumar and my self were of the same age. He lived in the third house to the west of our house. His father Mr. Sethurama Iyer was a teacher in Banadurai High School and in due course he became the Headmaster. The day he became the Headmaster, he got down from the bullock cart, came inside our house and declared in front of my grandfather, "Sarma sir, I have now become the Headmaster. I have broken the chain of Iyengars and today a smartha is a headmaster of Banadurai.". 

Kumar and myself used to play cricket  in the front portion of the house. We were not permitted to play in the street. When Krishnan who moved in as a tenant in Kumar's house, joined the cricket team we had to move to terrace. The advantage in playing in the terrace was that we could get good light till almost 630 PM and we did not have to face the ire of Valli (servant maid) who always wanted us to vacate the place for her to sweep the floor in the evening and sprinkle water in the front portion.  However, there was a disadvantage in the form of the next house and its notorious owner Shrt. Seetharama Iyer. The ball invariably would land in the terrace portion of the next house and when one of us climbed the wall to retrieve the ball, we faced the anger of Seetharama Iyer. If he was not around, his wife Meenakshi Bai was very kind to give the ball provided I speak to her fifteen minutes and share with her all the family news.but that would cut into the precious time for playing. Over the period of one year, this border conflict got so serious that Seetharama Iyer overnight and without giving any notice to the cricket players , raised the height of the wall separating the two terraces. This prevented us from jumping into the other side and hence was not taken kindly by the entire cricket team which felt that it was an infringement on its rights. Krishnan took the lead in teaching a lesson to the neighbour who insulted us by building the wall. So, he brought three sticks one for each of us. He raised the slogan and we shouted with him.

பழிக்குப் பழி !!  அஞ்சா நெஞ்சத்துடன் !!

We then scribbled the slogan on the surface of the wall which was still wet with the plaster with the sticks in our hands.At that moment, we did not somehow realise that the slogan was scribbled on our side of the wall and Seetharama Iyer, who was the target, would never be able to see it.

 Kumar had a tremendous fascination for imagining himself to be some one else. So, one day he was Pataudi and the next day he became Sanjay Manjrekar. There were at times conflicts as all of us wanted to be Pataudi on the day india won. My brothers joined the game at times. 

Kumar had two sisters. The eldest sister Sundari got married and moved to T. Pazhuvur and the second sister Mangalam was the one we met often in their house. She was interested in staging dramas in the house. In order to satisfy her and also to show to the world our innate capabilities, Kumar and myself wrote a story, wrote the dialogues and staged a drama in their house with some assistance from his sister who had donated her clothes for the screen. The story was about a person moving to Madurai for job and losing his purse there. He goes to Police station and Police finds the thief and gets the purse for him. It is a simple and straight forward story. We had only three actors and so the story had only three characters. Other characters were invisible. Incidentally, the beggar who appeared in the first scene was the thief. This was the suspense built well in the way it was dramatised.     

The drama had two or three songs one of which is sung by the Police Inspector. This is because every character wanted one song each, The Police Inspector sings as follows:

ஏய் !! நூத்தி ஒண்ணு.... நூத்தி ரெண்டு.... நூத்தி மூணு.... 

நம்பரெல்லாம்  காணுமே !! டீ குடிக்கவா !!  பீடி குடிக்கவா !!

திருட்டு பார்க்கவா !! இல்ல !! வறட்டு த்தூக்கமா !!

நூத்தி ஒண்ணு... நூத்தி ரெண்டு..... நூத்தி மூணு...... 

I was the lyricist and the music composer.When I later got introduced to dramas like "My Fair Lady" later, I thought I have not done a bad job and I felt my songs were just like Dolittle's songs in My Fair Lady. (Get me to the church on time ! the bells are gonna chime !)They were absurd but enjoyable.

We collected 25 Paise as ticket fee for the drama and Kumar's mother allowed us to stage the drama in the  காமர உள்ளு (camera room- This is  Tanjore tamil for "in camera").  The drama was appreciated by every one as all were closely related to the cast. Critics like Ponnamma Mami did not attend and later commented that "வக்கீல் பேரன் சஹவாசம் சரியில்லை"  

One day, we got the news that Sethurama Iyer died of heart attack in the school. Soon, a cart carrying his body came to the house. It was pitiable to see Kumar and his sister that day. I felt very sad. Kumar was heart broken and he did not meet me for days together.

I passed out of school and went to college. Kumar could not get through in Pre University. They soon had got into money problems. His father was no more and he was the only son but not earning.They sold their house.  

One day in eighties I was walking with my wife and daughter in Big Bazar. I was accosted by a frail and weak person with unkempt looks and unshaven beard. He was dressed badly in an old Dhoti. The moment he called me "Sekar, ennai theriyaradha?" (Do you recognise me ?"). I could recognise his voice. it was Kumar. After some talk, I instinctively felt that he was expecting some money from me, I did not give partly because I did not want our friendship to turn into this kind of relationship.

Was I wrong in cutting him off? I do not know.

 * Cottage in swami hills refers to the house in which we lived in Kumbakonam. This phrase was used once by my grandfather when I asked him that as some  people go in summer to Kodaikanal and Ooty where they have a cottage whether we would also be able to go and stay like them one day. My grandfather replied that he already has a cottage near swami Hills (swamimalai) and he referred to his house as the cottage.