(an old write up of iqbal which i found while searching an old hard drive)..this was written in 2006-2007) My Family Home. SLP House, a house with huge liveliness and prosperity which rather was a beautiful home for us once. We call it Chootad. Today time tought me the big difference between a house and a home. The same outside walls, same varandha grills, same bedrooms, same kitchen, same furnitures, same flooring, same windows and same everythig to see. But this unchaganged house is no more the same home anymore for us. Those days I always wished if I always could be at Chootad, playing and enjoying all around. Seeing lots of relatives, who cares and cared us a lot. I always made fake pleas to stay back in Chootad even after school vacation holidays. As I did my primary schooling in Kasaragod, we used to visit Chootad only on vacations, the day we reach back Kasaragod, we started our countdown for the next vacation!. Unlike the mornings anywhere, it refreshes and soothes the most in Chootad. Scoring out all the soberness and gloomyness, dispersing all the darkness and depressions of the previous night. Sun really finds its hardest time to struggle a lot to see us down in between those thick coconut trees. Rays comes down to us filtered, amongst those long and huge coconut tree leaves, it doesnt hence scorch, it solaces rather. I feel a rise of a new begening of everything, each morning in Chootad. I hear Ummama calling all of us, Pullanmare Eneekku.. ( Oh kids getup.. ), Belikakka berunnundu.. (our elder uncle, Shukoorka is coming.., we kids call him Belikakka). Belikakka comes there often to lookout his coconut plantations in Chootad. That day, it was Thenga Parikkal (Coconut tweaking). I heard Ummama calling out again for us to get up, I got-up lazily, sluggish enough, saw everyone around me still in deep sleep, mustered all my energy to stand on to my knees. Without disturbing others, crowled up to the window to see the morning outside. The window was made of wooden bars, reminded me of our black and white Crown TV in Chootad, which always showed stripes whenever swithed it on. I inclined myself to hold one of the window bar. Amazed, so many ants and other strange creatures working hard to demolish one of its stripe !. Hold on. I thought to myself, “Oh, these foolish ants were doing this the whole night !”, I should kill them...Hmm No, I will divert them instead, putting an obstacle in that long queue of the ants’ procession, I felt succeeded. Soon I heard Belikakka shouting, Dhamodara.., (a daily worker who plucks coconut for Belikakka) now you need to go to Ansaaris (another of my elder uncle) section. I opened the window pane, sun light gushed in to me, as if it was waiting me to open up, to pour all the rays it saved from the early morning. I peeped through the bars, it was so lively, so amazing, so refreshing, realised that many things had already happened before the day started for me. Saw Belikakka directing Dhamodharan and other workers to collect and gather coconuts, they all were gathering cocunuts from the grooves inbetween the coconut plantation lines. Many lady workers, Madhavi chechi, Seethechi and others with huge baggage of cocounuts on their head, porting them to another place. I always thought why they run in so hurry, is it becaue of the heavy luggage on their head or they had some other appointment after that work or simply because they were afraid of scoldings from Belikakka. Anyway, they are unique parallel processors that i have ever seen, their equipment below their nose ever working, nonstop !. I saw our Cow with its little calf busy grazing. Remembered that the cow might have already been milked by Upappa in the morning. Through another angle, saw the battallion of our hens and cocks roaming around those vast meadows, I was searching for some new-borns chickens among them, of which Umamma told me the last day. Couldnt find it but, she might not have got it out of the fear of predators. Our ducks were quacking loud all around, they were all then ready to swim in the Sulthan Thod (a small lake near by). Far away, near the paddy fields (Kandam), I could see few cranes, showing off with its whiteness. I always wondered, why it never uses its second leg, its always folded. I saw Narayanettans (a nearby buffallow heeder) huge buffallows and oxes crossing over that small bridge to the Kandam. Suddenly I got a hic, someone called me from outside, Iquu,,,, it was Machuthatha (Mansoora, my mother’s younger sister) asking me wheater I had brushed my teeth, if so then to go and have tea from the kitchen. She is out now to take the cow and the calf to a place where there where lot more grasses. Kalathinte aduthu kettikko ( tie them near the storehouse), Ummama shouted from inside. Machuthatha was the caretaker for our cows in Chootad. She milks the cow in the evening, we all then used sit around to see that. Our cow was very beautiful with its brownish black colour, with a beautiful white sindhi mark on her forhead. Small white spots sparingly spread over her body all over. I moved out of the room, as the next step of the act, got into the bathroom. Came out and then walked down to the kitchen for the morning tea. It was a long way to walk from the varandhah to kitchen at Chootad. Varandha, then through the main dining hall, staircase hall, passage hall and then atlast the kitchen. I could see Umma and all others busy preparing for the breakfast. Ummama was sitting on the wooden sofa, her one leg stretched on the sofa itself, because of sprain she gets often, she keeps her leg straight horizontal to the seating level. She saw me coming and she announced, “Evanu chaya kodukku..” (brew his a cup of tea). She got up and leaned to the cupboard nearby, took a tiffen and opened to give me a piece of cake, it was that bought by Uppapa last night. I put the cake in my pocket to have it bit by bit later, gulped the tea at once, which was made cold enough for me by Umma. I then went near the bare hearth, Echitatha (Rasheeda, another sister of my Umma) was preparing Pathil (rise cake). She indeed has an amazing talent in making them perfect circles, feel that she was instructed by someone on its perimeter and area, 30cm and 75 sqrcm ! I went near her, took on a small blob of rice paste and put it on to the pan, Echitatha helped me to flatten it to a cake. She told it was for me, I was happy then. Echitatha then took out a hollow pipe to make the flame comeout on the firewoods down to the cooking pan. I looked down, she flamed all the woods in seconds. I was stunned to see the beauty of fire in that bare range. I tookout a stick which was burning and started to light others beneath the range stand, where firewoods were kept. I was trying to do the same what she did to flame all the woods, to hail its beauty when it burns. Echitatha noticed and insisted me not to play wth fire. I moved away as a routine to me. Soon I heard Cheppi (Safeera, my Umma’s youngest sister) crying out loud, “nee innu varanda..”(you dont come today..). She was followed by Apach (my brother) and Abshi ( my cousine, they all were of same age group). She came in to the kitchen running and sobbing. Even the day before, at Madrassa Apach referred her best friend, Kadheeja as “Manda Khadheeja” (Manda means fool). Umma camein for her rescue. Without hesitation he accepted his mistake and promised not to repeat and break the promise as done the day before. A naughty smile on his face camein, fully determined to repeat the same episode even that day. Some days, I too accompanied Cheppi to Madrassa. To the start, students seems so dull when they say ameen after the begeining prayer, Fathiha. As if they were all dragged to be hanged, for not their mistake. Just diametric when they shouts Salath, when the Madrassa disperses. They shouts to their toppest of voices, above the human audible range!. They might be intending to announce thier freedom to the whole village !. In the small breaks in Madrassa, Cheppy and Khadeeja, takes out their paper dolls from their bag. She then starts narrating Ammayi stories, those dolls starring in those tales. Ammayi stories are indeed interesting, she told me a lot then, mostly it spoke what happens in the kitchen and in the family. They were ready now for Madrassa, Cheppy lead the team, she was murmuring to herself and other two to walk fast and that she didnt want to get scoldings from Usthat (teacher in madrassa) as she got the previous day. “Assalamulaikkum..”, they told and left the scene. Ghzzzzzzzz...what was that ?, it was Chouthatha (Soudha, another sister of my Umma). She was in great hurry that day, thousand times more than to her normal hassle. Her eyes spoke out that she was awake the whole night, she had an exam that day. She was then studying in in Wadihuda ( a famous institution in my village). Her way of studies always frightened me of getting to higher classes. She stays awake the whole night, walking with her book in her hand and loudly speaking-out the lines from them. She circumbulates inside the room around her table the whole night, as if the day after she also had to give a test on “marching” to her physical trainer at school !. But then, she was the only studious member in Chootad, fully dedicated for her studies. “Kuttappa did you take my pen...”, she shouted to Rashad, my younger cousine. She calls him Kuttappan because of his naugthyness. Rashad was very little then, he didnt reply for her query. She got angry and went on to search. For his good hap, she found the pen on her desk itself. She then had her breakfast packed in for her lunch and left the spot. She always made pitty fights with Kuttappan, she showed her care and affection for him that way. And Kuttapan replied in being more naughtier to her !!. I went near to Umamma, I asked her about the new born chickens. She took me to the storeroom, and opened that small coop. “Entry of four new chickens to the family”, i jumped out. Some eggs are not yet opened up, she toId the mother hen will know the correct time to crack them to make the chickens to comeout. I asked how the hen knows all these, she explained me, that Allah gave it that sense of power. Pukakka (Nazer, my uncle) camein to the Kitchen for breakfast. I didnt see him coming previous night. He came late it seems. He was then going to Muttam, might be to attend some meetings in YMCA. He was then and till date the President of this social forum, which helped out lot of poor and needy families of my village. He saw me sitting there with Ummama, asked me whether i will join him for breakfast. I told no, out of fear. He is one of the most caring Uncle of all that we have. He loves the family than himself, really very much selfless to we all. He had the typical character of a big “Karanavar” of the family. He often took me to Aravinchaal (his in-law’s house), he had a great affection towards me. He then always made me to sing recitation songs infront of Saibu Ammayi (his wife). Eventhough i was so little then, he always joked that i should marry his daughter, of whome they were expecting that time. I rembeber how I jumped out of joy and deligth the day when he came to chootad saying that, even his second kid was a boy !!!. Ummama asked me to take a plate and follow her to get some fishes from the passer by fishermen. We went to the Varandha, saw many fishermen passing by with huge containers of fishes over their head. “Kooooiii...entha meeen ?” (hey whats the fish ? ), Ummama shouted. “Aila..Poomeeen...Malaan...”, everyone with different varieties. At last Basheerka came in, our daily retailer. He gave us some “Etta..” that day. I asked him to put one more in the plate, he jokingly told, “Ok for you, this small one”. I then took the plate to the kitchen. Echithatha took them and soaked it in water. Some of it still was quivering, as if it was trembling of the special knife Echithatha used to cut them. She sat on to a “Pala” (A low height stool), i too took a place nearby. She started cutting and cleaning them, seperating the gills and intestines away. Later these were given to be given to the hens and cocks. She told me that, these were like our “biriyani” for them.!!!. In the varandha, Upappa was reading newspaper, fully relaxed in that “sleeping chair” (chaaru kasera). I stood beside him, he tookout his glasses from his eyes, as if he was going to discuss something very serious with me. He smiled and told, “nee karrillada...Abshi anu nalla mon” ( you are not good enough....Abshi is better). He jokingly makes such comparisons and praises those are not in the scene. If we kids all happens to be present, he says his little nephews in Taliparamba (his family house) were better. He was a person who loved us and family beyond limits. He always liked to see us together, one of his biggest happiness. Whenever we all were at Chootad, it was like a big celebrartion. He brings lots of eatables from the market, especially for we kids. Soon some workers camein to talk to him, Upappa then went with them to the “Manja” (a small bridge nearby). It was then the time of constructing a concrete birdge in place of the old Manja in “Sulthan Thodu” (the lake close by to Chootad). Soon, many workers came and took their equipments from the basement down to our varandha. They all then marched to the Manja for their work. The workers were mostly Tamilians. They always interrupted we kids, in our games asking for water and tea from inside the house. I always wished then, if they were like camels !!!
Posted on: Fri, 18 Oct 2013 03:59:17 +0000