BhadrajiJayatilaka.com

8

1988

Seeing the Buddhist monk and the man walking towards her, Janki waited by the barricade. Involuntarily, her fingers got caught in the fence. She removed the sari which was covering her head and adjusted the ruffled hairs. Though Doctor Saminadan who stood near by uttered something, she did not hear any of that clearly.

From the campsite came the commanding orders of an army captain who was training his troops. The dry parched land of Vavuniya was burning in the afternoon sun. Somewhere a whole battalion of crows were cawing.

Looking at the monk’s face for a moment, Janki bent forward and put her hands together to worship him. The words “May you be well,” came out of the monk’s lips. In the next instance, Janki’s eyes stopped at the face the young man who accompanied the monk.

They stared a each other dumbfounded by a whole series of inexplicable emotions rising within them. Doctor Saminadan said something to Reverend Subuthis and then turned towards Janki.

“Jnaki, avarkal yar enru solla mudiyuma?”

“Mh….” Janaki muttered while still looking at Ajith.

“This must be Janaki?” To the monk’s question the reply came in an affirmative from Ajith.

“Let us go to that boutique.” Saminadan pointed to a restaurant across the steet.

Ajith could not find words to say anything. He and Janaki were both speechless. Either one did know where to begin the conversation.

As the foursome walked into the restaurant, several customers turned to look at this unlikely combination. A Buddhist monk, a Tamil couple and a Sinhalese man. The four of them went to a table in the back. “Let us have a cup of tea,” Saminadan spoke again in very clear Sinhalese.

“Not for me. I will just have a glass of water,” reverend Subuthi said. He and Ajith sat on one side of the table while the other two sat facing them. Janaki’s face was in front of Ajith’s.

“Janaki knows Sinhalese,” Saminadan broke the silence.

“I have met this gentleman in Neveli,” all at once Janaki became talkative. ” A long time ago.”

“Can you tell me who I am?” Ajith asked with his eyes wide open.

“You, sir told me that you would find my husband. After that you went away, and I never saw you agin.”

“This gentlemen was injured in a bomb explosion,” The monk said.

When Saminadan said something to Janaki in Tamil, Ajith guessed that he was explaining what the monk said to the woman.

Janaki forced a smile on her lips as if to say I forgive you.

“You look very familiar to me, sir. I remember you very well.” Janaki, do you know anything about reincarnation? ” the monk inqurired.” We are born and then we die. Then we are born again to die again.”

“Yes, sadhu…… That is what eternity is all about.”

“What year did your father die, Janaki?

“My father? Ambath onpadu…”

“In fifty nine,” Saminadan translated.

“This gentleman, Ajith was born in nineteen sixty.”

“Janaki, your father’s name was Sundaram?” Ajith said quizzically.

“Sundaram, yes.”

“I am Sundaram.”

“Appa? My father?”

Janaki’s eyes were filling with tears. Seeing this, Ajith could not hold back his tears as well. Everything around went quiet. Say “Appa” Janaki sobbed. She wiped away her tears with a handkerchief she held folded in her hand.

“Birth and death are both painful,” Reverend Subuthi uttered.

“Janaki, I am Sundaram. They poured poured all over me and burned me to death. Oh, Janaki, my magal, my magal….”

“Appa!” What Janaki went on saying afterwards no one really understoor. Doctor Saminadan stroked her arm as if to console her.

“Mella shollu, Janaki. Speak slowly, speak slowly.”

Janaki wiped away her tears and started to talk slower.

“Appa died. We did not know. I was so small. I was waiting for Appa to come to pick me up. I waited and waited but he did not show up. So I went runnig and running. Mother was crying, younger brother was crying. I remember very vaguely, we came to the shed. everything had been burned down to ashes… Mother took the money from where she hid it and with the two of us came to the road. We stayed somewhere to spend the night. Then we took the train to Jaffna.”

“Where’s mother? Ajith could not hold back that question.

“Mother died only two months ago, sir.” Janaki’s tears renewed. “Mother went kind of crazy. Why? Because my younger brother ran away. Then my son, Vasantharaja was taken into custody. My younger brother got shot and he died from his wounds. Uncle mahes also got shot and he died. Everything is gone, sir. Mother went crazy.”

Ajith tried to bear the pain pulsing in his heart. Isn’t this his own daughter?

“I lived with my mother. Now I am all alone, sir.”

“Janaki, I came to see your son as well. Your Vasantharaja,” Ajith said.