Wanderers in Eternity – Chapter 1 (Page 1)
CHAPTER ONE
Sundaram and Family
1958 -1959
Sundaram lived in a shed near the old Dutch canal in Delkanda Junction. Not alone though. His wife Thangamani, six year old daughter Janaki and three year old son Ranganadan lived with him. The hut consisted of a single room made out of wooden slats. The rusted corrugated iron roof extended beyond the wooden walls and in these shaded areas on one side were the three stones on which the pots were placed while cooking and on the other side were the hemp sacks, bottles, old tin cans and newspapers that Sundaram collected.
Most of the newspapers were stacked inside the shed. Hidden by these newspapers, closer to the wall, were safely stored lead, tin and aluminum containers. For the newspapers collected from houses, he exchanged these vessels and bangles. Multicoloured glass bangles were stored underneath the camper bed.
Sundaram slept on this bed. A child would sleep here only if he or she got sick. Thangamani and the two children slept on a raggedy mat spread on the dirt floor. Inside the shed which had two doorways was a semidarkness all day and night. All the wooden slats were moldy black. Inside the shed was this moldy smell. In the rainy seasons the damp musty smell increased. The odor of the arrack which Sundaram drank for the cold mingled into this moldy stench. The burning tobacco stink of the cigar he smoked to relax after a hard day’s work had permeated through all the nooks and crannies of the hut.
Yet, this was their home. Most of Thangamani’s day was spent outside the shed under the corrugated roof by the hearth. The acrid smoke that arose from the rubber wood lit by her continuous blowing into the fire also snaked through the wooden slats and filled the shed. Thangamani wondered whether Ranganadan coughed from a very early age because of this firewood smoke.
Thangamani often lamented about their sorrowful existence in this capital of Colombo. How many times did she contemplate about going back to her relatives in Yalpanam up north. But this was merely a dream. She lived her life in Sundaram’s dream. His dream was of buying a small piece of land and building a house with the money saved by selling sacks, bottles, and old newspapers. This house would be for his son Ranganadan. This was only one part of Sundaram’s dream. The rest of it consisted of giving a good education to Janaki and finding a suitable husband for her. For this a reasonable amount of money had to be saved as a dowry. From the money earned each day only a minimum was spent on food. To the green leaves plucked from the canal shore was added some rice and dhal. An onion or a potato was fried with chili on a rare occasion. That would be a heavenly treat.
Six year old Janaki showed signs of turning into a beauty even now. She had a tanned skin like her mother and her eyes were beautiful. The lips were full. Thangamani knew that anyone seeing her daughter would turn around to take a second look. She placed a black pottu on the girl’s forehead to take away any evil-eye curse. There was a similar pottu marking on Ranganadan’s forehead as well. He still ran around naked with only a holy thread tied around his waist. Whenever he tried to go towards the canal it was Janaki who obstructed his way.
Since Janaki was attending school these mornings, Thangamani tied her son to a pillar on the porch. A thin rope was attached to the thread around his waist. When the other end of the rope was tied to the pillar she could do her daily chores without any disturbances. Ranga would cry for awhile and then eat a chunk of sweet jaggery given by Amma and play with stones and pieces of wood nearby. When he started this game playing he would forget that he was tied to a pillar. This is how he would spend his mornings.
Thangamani would say many things for her son to hear. “Son, let’s go to Yalpanam. Yes… There your grandpa lives. Yes. Yes Appo we will take the train and go to Yalpanam. Kuchu, kuchu, kuchu, kuchu, hooo…”
Ranga would hoot along with his mother and laugh. This was their little game. Thangamani would laugh along with her son and then blow into the fire. The dahl would cook with the chili. While this is happening, she would cut up with the broad knife the green leaves that she had gathered from here and there.
Thoughts about Janaki and Sundaram would fill her mind every so often. In the depth of her heart was the constant prayer that they should come home safely.
Sundaram who went from house to house since early morning, collecting old newspapers and bottles would go to the school gate by the time of the last school bell. When he saw his daughter coming towards him with a big smile, all the thirst and weariness within his body would be washed away as if by a cool stream. He would get hold of her hand and balance the wicker basket on his head and return to the hut by the canal.
The smell of the rice cooked by Thangamani would awaken the hunger of Sundaram and Janaki. But the first thing that both of them would do immediately on returning home was to drink water from the coconut shell. Removing her school uniform, Janaki in her underpants would sit near her Amma and jabber many things which she had learned that day in school. The girl was fluent in both Sinhala and Tamil languages. She would recite out loud a poem which she had learned.