‘I want to be like Kuttappan’ (Short story: Sreedevi Krishnan)
Published on 17 August, 2020
Abhay was enjoying his early dinner, cheese- filled pizza, carefully holding the edges of it and chewing noiselessly, with his mouth tightly closed. He usually had his dinner at well past eight, but that night was different, his parents wanted him to go to bed at eight so that, he could get up early next morning and get ready for the much-awaited Abhay’s Telecast.
“ You should finish your milk too after pizza and sleep off early, darling.’ An over- smiling Neethu reminded her son. “You know this telecast is not like the previous ones, it’s very, very important. The whole country is going to watch this’, she gently shook the back of Abhay’s head and continued, “ To get into the Guinness Book of world record is not an ordinary thing my son, you are the first five year old boy, to get this rare honour. Your Dad and I are so proud of you, sweetie pie” Neethu cooed in a voice filled with extra affection and love, nudging her husband.
Dr. Menon, seated next to her, but busy going through his paper to be presented at the Cardiology conference in New York ,took the hint , forced a smile and said in an unusually kind and persuasive tone .
‘Yes, Abhay, we’re so proud of you, Finish your food and go to bed early, okay, you’re going to get a lot of surprise gifts from America, when we both come back’;
then looking at Neethu, Menon added, “What a pity, we won’t be here to see the telecast ! We can of course watch it later, but we’re going to miss thereactions of everyone, by the time we come back every one would forget Abhay’s telecast .Ah, that reminds me, ask Malini to pack up Abhay’s clothes, favourite cartoons, toys , books etc for two weeks”
“ I’m worried about his Piano practice for the Annual Recital and Karate classes , luckily the missing school lessons were already taught in advance by his tuition teacher , that’s the advantage of getting his Class teacher for tuition too , though she charges exorbitant fee for coming over here,” sighing deeply, Neethu added, ‘I’m also concerned about his stay with your parents in that God-forsaken place and his playing merry hell with that Kuttappan all the time , wish your mom had exercised some control over these low class people! She treats that boy like her own grandson , remember, how he used to be in your parent’s place watching TV on all weekends, disgusting’ , she curled her lips contemptuously .
‘Come on Neethu, my mother misses Abhay, she’s very much attached to him, so she finds some pleasure in the company of that boy, what’s his name,’ knitting his bushy eyebrows , pretending to remember the name, butactually gaining time to hide his annoyance at Neethu’s comments, Menoncontinued, ‘ oh yah, Kuttappan’, what’s more, Abhay would be happy to watch the telecast with my parents and Kuttappan there”
Suddenly Abhay jumped and threw his hands ceiling- wards andscreamed with his mouthful of pizza, “Yeeahaaaaaaha, I’ll be in Ammomma’s place when you both go to New York, great fun!!!”
Both Dr. Vijay Menon, a renowned Cardiologist in Chennai and his pretty Gynaecologist wife Dr. Neethu Menon, were momentarily stunned by Abhay’s sudden, unexpected and unconcealed enthusiasm and joy at his spending time in a remote place in Kerala, with Menon’s parents. Recovering fast from the initial shock, Neethu was the first one to react, ‘Behave yourself Abhay, how many times have I told you not to talk with your mouthful? Wipe that cheese off your cheeks with the serviette andssssit ddddown and eeeat your pizza. Oh yeah, great fun to be with that urchin Kuttappan, no school, no piano, no karate, no tuition, twenty-four hours playing wild in the hot sun, no sense of propriety for our littlecelebrity’
Abhay sat down quickly and with his head bent low, mumbled ‘sorry, mom’ and started nibbling at his pizza
Menon’s heart went out for his son, ‘Abhay, the five year old child prodigy’, as newspapers called him, who won several accolades for his amazing special talent to recite two tragedies of Shakespeare, Hamlet and Othello, inperfect BBC accent with proper expressions and voice modulations before packed audiences right from the time he completed his fourth birth day. Menon knew only too well, that it was Neethu who had discovered theunique talent of their son, nurtured and developed it to this level. Why Abhay’s , even for his own success , Neethu the only child of a fabulously wealthy parents, was instrumental. As she often reminded him , except for her father’s immense wealth, political influence and high connections , he would have been just another Cardiologist in Chennai.. Menon was painfully aware of this fact and never tried to prevent an over- ambitious Neethu from what she wanted to do. He was of course proud of his son, who was dressed up, talked and behaved like a ‘mini adult’, but always wondered whether Abhay was actually enjoying his celebrity status. Was n’t he missing out on his carefree, innocent childhood? Whenever Menon voiced his doubts, Neethu silenced him by saying that, he would never, ever understand the present, highly competitive world, where rare achievement alone was the magic mantra for instant fame and success.
“ You don’t understand ,Vijay the present trend, you must be thankful that I’m here to promote Abhay’s exceptional skill. What if I had not chanced upon his great ability to memorise, when I had taken him for those Drama rehearsals? Then he was just two and seven months old and I still remember, how indifferent you were , when I appointed Miss.Mitchell to teach him English poetry and Shakespeare at that tender age. Now see the results. I don’t deny that later you too took interest in Abhay’s stage performances and tutored him for interviews, press meets etc, but that’s all later, very much L.A.T.E.R. Don’t forget, it’s I, who discovered his talentinitially ... Abhay has my genes, you yourself admit that, I too had, why, still have a photographic memory; but my parents were only interested in seeing me with white coat and stethoscope and so pushed me towards that . Well, I’m glad that Abhay could achieve what I could not and I can at least bask in his glory’.
Menon knew from experience that, agreeing with Neethu was the only way he could stop her from the long monologue of comparison of his village background with that of her sophisticated upbringing in metropolitan cities.
Menon had to agree that, it was Neethu’s discovery of Abhay’s extraordinary memory power three years ago during his acting in an English Drama, had culminated in his rare and great achievement today. Abhay had been selectedby a famous theatre group to act in their play, after interviewing many boys of two to three age group in reputed play Schools. The drama was centred around the legal battle of a very wealthy divorced couple about the custody of their two and a half year old son.. During a fortnight’s rehearsals to which Neethu had taken Abhay, she had been awestruck by the way Abhay had grasped his role , delivered his dialogue and acted his part very touchingly. After coming home from the rehearsals, Abhay had shocked both Menon and Neethu by repeating the dialogues of all the actors in the play, without a single mistake. While Menon had just enjoyed his son’s uncanny knack to remember the dialogues , it was Neethu ,who had appointed Miss. Mitchell to teach Abhay poetry and found appropriate places to showcase his awesome talent. Menon remembered vividly, seatedon a specially designed high chair , how a barely three year old Abhay had enthralled his audience by reciting Mark Anthony’s speech and Hamlet’s soliloquy. Encouraged by Abhay’s instant fame, Neethu concentrated not only on Abhay’s mastering the two tragedies of Shakespeare but also introduced him to Piano, Karate and Western Dance. Naturally, Abhay’s days were full with different tutors and coaching.
True, when Abbey’s rare talents were widely recognised, Menon too pitched in and prepared his son in whatever way he could, to handle the rare honour and fame. But, very often Menon secretly wondered whether this name andfame was worth curbing the natural tendencies of an innocent five year old………
‘Come on Abhay, why’re you so slow in eating your favourite pizza, finish it fast& go to bed early, you need rest”. Neethu’s shrill voice brought Menon back to the present.
“Abhay, I know you will do very well for the interview tomorrow. Actually it’s not even a formal interview; after all, you’ve faced many interviews extremely well. Is n’t it just fun ,the TV camera following all your activities,so that the viewers can get a glimpse of what my little son’s doing on a Sunday? You don’t understand, my son, how great you are now, my little celebrity”, Menon laughed . Then shaking Abhay’s head gently, he continued, ‘you must go to bed early and sleep well so that you would be ready, when the TV crew comes. After that, you will be completely free andyou’ll have a great vacation of two weeks in Kottayam with Ammomma andAppooppa, we’ll bring you many surprise gifts too from New York, Okay? “
Abhay looked up, continued to chew with his mouth tightly shut for a second and then swallowed it before answering,“Okay Dad’. Menon stood behind Abhay’s chair, till he finished his milk. Once Abhay finished his dinner, Menon accompanied him to his bed room, waited patiently till he brushed his teeth and change into his night pyjamas; then Menon put him on his soft bed, wrapped him with his blue comforter and switched off the light. Turning on the bed room lamp, Menon kissed Abhay gently and said in a voice filled with affection,’ Good night Abhay , Sleep well , my son’
“Abhay, get a good nights’ rest, so that you would be as fresh as a rose for the telecast, Good night sweetie pie’ That was Neethu , planting a hurried kiss on Abhay’s forehead .
Though closing his large, luminous eyes, Abhay kissed his Mom and Dad ‘Good night’
Abhay tried to sleep but was too excited to sleep, the sweet memories of his last year’s stay with his grandparents in ‘Kottayam House’ kept coming back to his mind. He loved his Ammomma and Appoppa very much, he even loved the way they called him’Appu’
‘Appoooo, what a funny Malayali name to replace Abhay meaning ‘fearless’!!’Mom used say, but Dad was defensive,‘ ‘what’s wrong with’Appu’ that way, they call me ‘Unni’ another funny, Malayali nameaccording to you. Abhay loves to be called ‘Appu’, so what’s your problem?’
Abhay loved not only his grandparents but also their grand, old Kottayam house with its steep tiled roof which had grown dark and mossy with age and rain, doors with not two, but four shutters of panelled teak, antiquefurniture, huge backyard with guava, tamarind, mango and jackfruit trees.Abhay remembered, Kuttappan was an expert in climbing the trees and it was sheer fun to catch the tiny, thumb-shaped, sour tamarind whichKuttappan plucked and threw from the tamarind tree . Abhay’s mouth watered, remembering the taste of brownish-green tamarind with salt. Kuttappan could even climb coconut trees by tying a rope around his feet.
It was hard to believe that Kuttappan, who was slightly taller but much thinner than him, was actually thirteen. Kuttappan said, on all his birthdays, Appooppa gave him his birthday shirt and pants and Ammoomma took him to the temple to do Puja in his name. Later she made a great feast with payasam. Appoopa said, Kuttappan was a very clever boy and when hepassed his tenth standard, Appooppa would send him to ITI, once he passed his diploma in ITI, he could easily get a job in a big city. Abhay wished he could come to Chennai then.
Abhay liked Kuttappan’s small but neat and furniture-less house. Kuttappan’s father, told that the house was Ammomma’s father’s wedding gift to him.. Kuttappan’s mother was a great cook, and Abhay enjoyed her ‘Kappa and fish curry’, something which he never tasted before,. but it was a ‘pinky’ secret , as Ammomma said he should not talk about eating that to Mom and Dad.
Abhay’s another great attraction was the Kerala monsoon, He loved the sound of raindrops falling on the roof, thunder, croaking of frogs& the sound of crickets on rainy nights. During daytime, it was real fun to sit in the swing -cot and play ‘snake and ladder’ or ‘Trade’ with Kuttappan, munching Ammomma’s freshly made, hot banana chips and tapioca chips
‘Kuttappan’s so lucky, no big home work, no tuition, no Piano classes, nostage performances, why, not even School on rainy days because his school roof leaks badly, how funny!!’
Abhay. almost muttered aloud and laughed.
Abhay was wide-awake now to relive his happy days in the Kottayam house.
On sunny evenings,Abhay went with Kuttappan for kite flying or fishing. Abhay admired the way Kuttappan squatting on his haunches and threading expertly, coiling ,purple earthworms onto hooks on the fishing rod , he had made from slender culms of yellow bamboo. Oh! the amazing things Kuttappan could make! He could not only make beautiful, multi -coloured kites but also fly them very, very high. He could also make windmills, balls, snakes, watches and crown with coconut leaves, in a jiffy. And he could draw pictures very nicely and even drew portraits of Abhay, Ammoomma and Appooppa. Abhay was sure that Kuttappan would have been a ‘Wonder boy’ like him, if he were in Chennai.
On holidays Kuttappan spent the whole time with Abhay.
Even when Kuttappan had School, Abhay was not bored because Appooppatook him along for his morning walks. Holding Appoooppa’s hands, Abhay watched the emerald green paddy fields, gentle swaying of yam leaves in the breeze, chirping birds, multi coloured butterflies sucking honey from the wild growth of hibiscus shrub etc .He remembered vividly , how during one morning walk, Appoppa jumped with joy and kissed him , when he casually recited from the poem, Miss. Mitchell, had taught him.
“Dull would he be of soul who could pass by a sight
so touching in its majesty’.
Turning his walk into an enjoyable morning-run to keep up with Appooppa’s long strides, Abhay listened in rapt attention to his adventures at sea , how once his ship’s radar had broken in Bermuda triangle or how in one winter, his ship had got stuck on ice in Toronto etc
In Kottayam house Abhay did not sleep alone in a separate bed room like Chennai There he
Wrapping his legs around Ammomma’s soft, cold stomach,(Ammomma,your stomach’s as cold as fridge’, he used to say) Abhay heard the stories of the naughty Lord Krishna, Bhima with his mace and Karna ,the son of Surya , born with gold earrings in his ears and a gold breast plate on his chest ,engraved with the emblem of Sun God etc. Ammomma was a great story-teller and how she used to be choked, when she narrated how Kunti , Karna’s mother ,put him in a reed basket and cast him away in a river. On rainy nights, hugging Ammomma tightly Abhay demanded scary stories of Dracula and the Vampires, when Ammomma hesitated , Abhay would say ‘Ammomma, you’re telling ‘No’ to your own Appukuttan’ ,that magic sentence always worked and Ammomma would kiss him and narrate very scary stories of Vampires ,who had no shadows, no reflections in the mirror, left no footprints on sand or ripples in water. But those scary stories always ended with a Sanskrit prayer to Lord Hanuman, which he had to repeat after her to prevent getting nightmares.
Reminiscing the fragmented but delightful memories of Kottayam stay, Abhay slowly, but almost unwillingly closed his heavy eyelids and slipped into a sleep… ……
‘Abhay, look, look at that Guava tree, there, there, that ash striped cat’s chasing that red, oh , very red chameleon,’ holding Abhay’s, shoulders, ,Kuttappan pointed to the Guava tree and said in his excited , squeaky voice .
‘Where’s it? Where? Where?’, asked Abhay impatiently, raising his voice to a high pitch.
‘Come on Abhay, you’ve eyes or buttons? There, there, the third, no no, one.. two… three.. oh yeah the fourth branch , up there, look , fast’, Kuttappan raised his squeaky voice.
‘Oh yeah, I can see, I can see now, amazing! amazing!’ leaning against Kuttappan, Abhay said ,wonder-struck…..
‘Abhay, you’re talking in your dream, come on, son, you’ve to get ready for the TV’, shaking him gently, his Dad said, while a grinning Mom watched…..
Dressed up each time to suit the occasion, Abhay read books, played piano, recited a few verses from Hamlet and Othello, ate food with mom and dad,played computer games, sang, danced and talked casually with the TV person, unmindful of the glaring TV camera following him everywhere. Abhay was very natural, spontaneous and not at all self-conscious. His proud, beaming parents showed thumbs- up signal all the time, to show their approval and immense satisfaction in Abhay’s expert handling of thedifferent situations.
‘Now, one last and final question Abhay,” the TV man was all smiles, ‘if you were granted a wish, what would you ask for?’ , thrusting the mike on Abhay,he asked
‘Well, I would like to be like Kuttappan’,Abhay smiled charmingly…
“ You should finish your milk too after pizza and sleep off early, darling.’ An over- smiling Neethu reminded her son. “You know this telecast is not like the previous ones, it’s very, very important. The whole country is going to watch this’, she gently shook the back of Abhay’s head and continued, “ To get into the Guinness Book of world record is not an ordinary thing my son, you are the first five year old boy, to get this rare honour. Your Dad and I are so proud of you, sweetie pie” Neethu cooed in a voice filled with extra affection and love, nudging her husband.
Dr. Menon, seated next to her, but busy going through his paper to be presented at the Cardiology conference in New York ,took the hint , forced a smile and said in an unusually kind and persuasive tone .
‘Yes, Abhay, we’re so proud of you, Finish your food and go to bed early, okay, you’re going to get a lot of surprise gifts from America, when we both come back’;
then looking at Neethu, Menon added, “What a pity, we won’t be here to see the telecast ! We can of course watch it later, but we’re going to miss thereactions of everyone, by the time we come back every one would forget Abhay’s telecast .Ah, that reminds me, ask Malini to pack up Abhay’s clothes, favourite cartoons, toys , books etc for two weeks”
“ I’m worried about his Piano practice for the Annual Recital and Karate classes , luckily the missing school lessons were already taught in advance by his tuition teacher , that’s the advantage of getting his Class teacher for tuition too , though she charges exorbitant fee for coming over here,” sighing deeply, Neethu added, ‘I’m also concerned about his stay with your parents in that God-forsaken place and his playing merry hell with that Kuttappan all the time , wish your mom had exercised some control over these low class people! She treats that boy like her own grandson , remember, how he used to be in your parent’s place watching TV on all weekends, disgusting’ , she curled her lips contemptuously .
‘Come on Neethu, my mother misses Abhay, she’s very much attached to him, so she finds some pleasure in the company of that boy, what’s his name,’ knitting his bushy eyebrows , pretending to remember the name, butactually gaining time to hide his annoyance at Neethu’s comments, Menoncontinued, ‘ oh yah, Kuttappan’, what’s more, Abhay would be happy to watch the telecast with my parents and Kuttappan there”
Suddenly Abhay jumped and threw his hands ceiling- wards andscreamed with his mouthful of pizza, “Yeeahaaaaaaha, I’ll be in Ammomma’s place when you both go to New York, great fun!!!”
Both Dr. Vijay Menon, a renowned Cardiologist in Chennai and his pretty Gynaecologist wife Dr. Neethu Menon, were momentarily stunned by Abhay’s sudden, unexpected and unconcealed enthusiasm and joy at his spending time in a remote place in Kerala, with Menon’s parents. Recovering fast from the initial shock, Neethu was the first one to react, ‘Behave yourself Abhay, how many times have I told you not to talk with your mouthful? Wipe that cheese off your cheeks with the serviette andssssit ddddown and eeeat your pizza. Oh yeah, great fun to be with that urchin Kuttappan, no school, no piano, no karate, no tuition, twenty-four hours playing wild in the hot sun, no sense of propriety for our littlecelebrity’
Abhay sat down quickly and with his head bent low, mumbled ‘sorry, mom’ and started nibbling at his pizza
Menon’s heart went out for his son, ‘Abhay, the five year old child prodigy’, as newspapers called him, who won several accolades for his amazing special talent to recite two tragedies of Shakespeare, Hamlet and Othello, inperfect BBC accent with proper expressions and voice modulations before packed audiences right from the time he completed his fourth birth day. Menon knew only too well, that it was Neethu who had discovered theunique talent of their son, nurtured and developed it to this level. Why Abhay’s , even for his own success , Neethu the only child of a fabulously wealthy parents, was instrumental. As she often reminded him , except for her father’s immense wealth, political influence and high connections , he would have been just another Cardiologist in Chennai.. Menon was painfully aware of this fact and never tried to prevent an over- ambitious Neethu from what she wanted to do. He was of course proud of his son, who was dressed up, talked and behaved like a ‘mini adult’, but always wondered whether Abhay was actually enjoying his celebrity status. Was n’t he missing out on his carefree, innocent childhood? Whenever Menon voiced his doubts, Neethu silenced him by saying that, he would never, ever understand the present, highly competitive world, where rare achievement alone was the magic mantra for instant fame and success.
“ You don’t understand ,Vijay the present trend, you must be thankful that I’m here to promote Abhay’s exceptional skill. What if I had not chanced upon his great ability to memorise, when I had taken him for those Drama rehearsals? Then he was just two and seven months old and I still remember, how indifferent you were , when I appointed Miss.Mitchell to teach him English poetry and Shakespeare at that tender age. Now see the results. I don’t deny that later you too took interest in Abhay’s stage performances and tutored him for interviews, press meets etc, but that’s all later, very much L.A.T.E.R. Don’t forget, it’s I, who discovered his talentinitially ... Abhay has my genes, you yourself admit that, I too had, why, still have a photographic memory; but my parents were only interested in seeing me with white coat and stethoscope and so pushed me towards that . Well, I’m glad that Abhay could achieve what I could not and I can at least bask in his glory’.
Menon knew from experience that, agreeing with Neethu was the only way he could stop her from the long monologue of comparison of his village background with that of her sophisticated upbringing in metropolitan cities.
Menon had to agree that, it was Neethu’s discovery of Abhay’s extraordinary memory power three years ago during his acting in an English Drama, had culminated in his rare and great achievement today. Abhay had been selectedby a famous theatre group to act in their play, after interviewing many boys of two to three age group in reputed play Schools. The drama was centred around the legal battle of a very wealthy divorced couple about the custody of their two and a half year old son.. During a fortnight’s rehearsals to which Neethu had taken Abhay, she had been awestruck by the way Abhay had grasped his role , delivered his dialogue and acted his part very touchingly. After coming home from the rehearsals, Abhay had shocked both Menon and Neethu by repeating the dialogues of all the actors in the play, without a single mistake. While Menon had just enjoyed his son’s uncanny knack to remember the dialogues , it was Neethu ,who had appointed Miss. Mitchell to teach Abhay poetry and found appropriate places to showcase his awesome talent. Menon remembered vividly, seatedon a specially designed high chair , how a barely three year old Abhay had enthralled his audience by reciting Mark Anthony’s speech and Hamlet’s soliloquy. Encouraged by Abhay’s instant fame, Neethu concentrated not only on Abhay’s mastering the two tragedies of Shakespeare but also introduced him to Piano, Karate and Western Dance. Naturally, Abhay’s days were full with different tutors and coaching.
True, when Abbey’s rare talents were widely recognised, Menon too pitched in and prepared his son in whatever way he could, to handle the rare honour and fame. But, very often Menon secretly wondered whether this name andfame was worth curbing the natural tendencies of an innocent five year old………
‘Come on Abhay, why’re you so slow in eating your favourite pizza, finish it fast& go to bed early, you need rest”. Neethu’s shrill voice brought Menon back to the present.
“Abhay, I know you will do very well for the interview tomorrow. Actually it’s not even a formal interview; after all, you’ve faced many interviews extremely well. Is n’t it just fun ,the TV camera following all your activities,so that the viewers can get a glimpse of what my little son’s doing on a Sunday? You don’t understand, my son, how great you are now, my little celebrity”, Menon laughed . Then shaking Abhay’s head gently, he continued, ‘you must go to bed early and sleep well so that you would be ready, when the TV crew comes. After that, you will be completely free andyou’ll have a great vacation of two weeks in Kottayam with Ammomma andAppooppa, we’ll bring you many surprise gifts too from New York, Okay? “
Abhay looked up, continued to chew with his mouth tightly shut for a second and then swallowed it before answering,“Okay Dad’. Menon stood behind Abhay’s chair, till he finished his milk. Once Abhay finished his dinner, Menon accompanied him to his bed room, waited patiently till he brushed his teeth and change into his night pyjamas; then Menon put him on his soft bed, wrapped him with his blue comforter and switched off the light. Turning on the bed room lamp, Menon kissed Abhay gently and said in a voice filled with affection,’ Good night Abhay , Sleep well , my son’
“Abhay, get a good nights’ rest, so that you would be as fresh as a rose for the telecast, Good night sweetie pie’ That was Neethu , planting a hurried kiss on Abhay’s forehead .
Though closing his large, luminous eyes, Abhay kissed his Mom and Dad ‘Good night’
Abhay tried to sleep but was too excited to sleep, the sweet memories of his last year’s stay with his grandparents in ‘Kottayam House’ kept coming back to his mind. He loved his Ammomma and Appoppa very much, he even loved the way they called him’Appu’
‘Appoooo, what a funny Malayali name to replace Abhay meaning ‘fearless’!!’Mom used say, but Dad was defensive,‘ ‘what’s wrong with’Appu’ that way, they call me ‘Unni’ another funny, Malayali nameaccording to you. Abhay loves to be called ‘Appu’, so what’s your problem?’
Abhay loved not only his grandparents but also their grand, old Kottayam house with its steep tiled roof which had grown dark and mossy with age and rain, doors with not two, but four shutters of panelled teak, antiquefurniture, huge backyard with guava, tamarind, mango and jackfruit trees.Abhay remembered, Kuttappan was an expert in climbing the trees and it was sheer fun to catch the tiny, thumb-shaped, sour tamarind whichKuttappan plucked and threw from the tamarind tree . Abhay’s mouth watered, remembering the taste of brownish-green tamarind with salt. Kuttappan could even climb coconut trees by tying a rope around his feet.
It was hard to believe that Kuttappan, who was slightly taller but much thinner than him, was actually thirteen. Kuttappan said, on all his birthdays, Appooppa gave him his birthday shirt and pants and Ammoomma took him to the temple to do Puja in his name. Later she made a great feast with payasam. Appoopa said, Kuttappan was a very clever boy and when hepassed his tenth standard, Appooppa would send him to ITI, once he passed his diploma in ITI, he could easily get a job in a big city. Abhay wished he could come to Chennai then.
Abhay liked Kuttappan’s small but neat and furniture-less house. Kuttappan’s father, told that the house was Ammomma’s father’s wedding gift to him.. Kuttappan’s mother was a great cook, and Abhay enjoyed her ‘Kappa and fish curry’, something which he never tasted before,. but it was a ‘pinky’ secret , as Ammomma said he should not talk about eating that to Mom and Dad.
Abhay’s another great attraction was the Kerala monsoon, He loved the sound of raindrops falling on the roof, thunder, croaking of frogs& the sound of crickets on rainy nights. During daytime, it was real fun to sit in the swing -cot and play ‘snake and ladder’ or ‘Trade’ with Kuttappan, munching Ammomma’s freshly made, hot banana chips and tapioca chips
‘Kuttappan’s so lucky, no big home work, no tuition, no Piano classes, nostage performances, why, not even School on rainy days because his school roof leaks badly, how funny!!’
Abhay. almost muttered aloud and laughed.
Abhay was wide-awake now to relive his happy days in the Kottayam house.
On sunny evenings,Abhay went with Kuttappan for kite flying or fishing. Abhay admired the way Kuttappan squatting on his haunches and threading expertly, coiling ,purple earthworms onto hooks on the fishing rod , he had made from slender culms of yellow bamboo. Oh! the amazing things Kuttappan could make! He could not only make beautiful, multi -coloured kites but also fly them very, very high. He could also make windmills, balls, snakes, watches and crown with coconut leaves, in a jiffy. And he could draw pictures very nicely and even drew portraits of Abhay, Ammoomma and Appooppa. Abhay was sure that Kuttappan would have been a ‘Wonder boy’ like him, if he were in Chennai.
On holidays Kuttappan spent the whole time with Abhay.
Even when Kuttappan had School, Abhay was not bored because Appooppatook him along for his morning walks. Holding Appoooppa’s hands, Abhay watched the emerald green paddy fields, gentle swaying of yam leaves in the breeze, chirping birds, multi coloured butterflies sucking honey from the wild growth of hibiscus shrub etc .He remembered vividly , how during one morning walk, Appoppa jumped with joy and kissed him , when he casually recited from the poem, Miss. Mitchell, had taught him.
“Dull would he be of soul who could pass by a sight
so touching in its majesty’.
Turning his walk into an enjoyable morning-run to keep up with Appooppa’s long strides, Abhay listened in rapt attention to his adventures at sea , how once his ship’s radar had broken in Bermuda triangle or how in one winter, his ship had got stuck on ice in Toronto etc
In Kottayam house Abhay did not sleep alone in a separate bed room like Chennai There he
Wrapping his legs around Ammomma’s soft, cold stomach,(Ammomma,your stomach’s as cold as fridge’, he used to say) Abhay heard the stories of the naughty Lord Krishna, Bhima with his mace and Karna ,the son of Surya , born with gold earrings in his ears and a gold breast plate on his chest ,engraved with the emblem of Sun God etc. Ammomma was a great story-teller and how she used to be choked, when she narrated how Kunti , Karna’s mother ,put him in a reed basket and cast him away in a river. On rainy nights, hugging Ammomma tightly Abhay demanded scary stories of Dracula and the Vampires, when Ammomma hesitated , Abhay would say ‘Ammomma, you’re telling ‘No’ to your own Appukuttan’ ,that magic sentence always worked and Ammomma would kiss him and narrate very scary stories of Vampires ,who had no shadows, no reflections in the mirror, left no footprints on sand or ripples in water. But those scary stories always ended with a Sanskrit prayer to Lord Hanuman, which he had to repeat after her to prevent getting nightmares.
Reminiscing the fragmented but delightful memories of Kottayam stay, Abhay slowly, but almost unwillingly closed his heavy eyelids and slipped into a sleep… ……
‘Abhay, look, look at that Guava tree, there, there, that ash striped cat’s chasing that red, oh , very red chameleon,’ holding Abhay’s, shoulders, ,Kuttappan pointed to the Guava tree and said in his excited , squeaky voice .
‘Where’s it? Where? Where?’, asked Abhay impatiently, raising his voice to a high pitch.
‘Come on Abhay, you’ve eyes or buttons? There, there, the third, no no, one.. two… three.. oh yeah the fourth branch , up there, look , fast’, Kuttappan raised his squeaky voice.
‘Oh yeah, I can see, I can see now, amazing! amazing!’ leaning against Kuttappan, Abhay said ,wonder-struck…..
‘Abhay, you’re talking in your dream, come on, son, you’ve to get ready for the TV’, shaking him gently, his Dad said, while a grinning Mom watched…..
Dressed up each time to suit the occasion, Abhay read books, played piano, recited a few verses from Hamlet and Othello, ate food with mom and dad,played computer games, sang, danced and talked casually with the TV person, unmindful of the glaring TV camera following him everywhere. Abhay was very natural, spontaneous and not at all self-conscious. His proud, beaming parents showed thumbs- up signal all the time, to show their approval and immense satisfaction in Abhay’s expert handling of thedifferent situations.
‘Now, one last and final question Abhay,” the TV man was all smiles, ‘if you were granted a wish, what would you ask for?’ , thrusting the mike on Abhay,he asked
‘Well, I would like to be like Kuttappan’,Abhay smiled charmingly…
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SudhirPanikkaveetil 2020-08-17 14:23:58
Extracurricular activities should not become a burden for children. But at present it is like making the dragonfly to lift a stone it cannot afford to lift. In this story author criticizing the attitude of parents who force their children’s participation in extracurricular activities without any regard to their choice. She has emphasized the importance of letting children to enjoy their aspirations which are being developed through their innate abilities and interests. The village boy who is free to move around influences the protagonist in the story. The boy from the town is overburdened with the assignments his parents given to him and the short sojourn with grandparents is a relief for him . When the village boy becomes his companion the little boy wishes to be like him contrary to his parents wish that he may become a doctor, engineer or TV star. A thought provoking subject for the present day parents. Good wishes Smt Sreedevi Krishnan.
Sharila 2020-08-19 12:20:29
Yet another short story loaded with a message so relevant to our present world. Thank you Sreedevi ! Waiting with bated breath for your next publication!
SringaraNicklasRizopoulos 2020-08-20 15:19:12
Freedom is like a motherless child or so the saying goes. Abhay is like a bird in a gilded cage with all the sophisticated gizmos that his parents offered. Kuttappan on the other hand is foot loose and fancy free and running around like the same bird without fetters and without the bars of its cage to box it in. Thats the envy of Abhay, thats the freedom he longs for and would like to be like Kuttappan!
The vividness of Sridevi's storytelling highlights the moral of the story subtly.
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