Seetha Kalyanam Vaibohame

Bombay farewell.

Seetha loved it when there was a noise full of people. She had grown up that way and missed the noise, commotion, laughters, disagreements and everything else. Although she was just recovering, being around kids gave her the happiness and energy but Parvathy reminded Seetha that she must take it easy, "Seetha eppidiyum naalelerndhu nee thaan paathukanum. Nee ukkandhukko. Padma thaan irukkale. Naanga rendu per irukkome. Eppidiyum kozhandaigal Rendum unkitta oteenduta." Seetha nodded. Padma smiled and agreed, "Amaam amma. Kitchu enna vittu ava Appa kitta kooda irukka maataan aana Seetha kitta udane oteendutaan." Seetha smiled and looked at Kitchu who was in her arms. She stepped out of the kitchen, back to the bedroom. Anjana settled in her father, Aravindh's lap while the two brothers were in deep discussion about recent political changes.

After lunch time, fatigue started to slowly creep in for Seetha. Baby Kitchu was beginning to yawn too and yearning for an afternoon nap. Arun stepped into the bedroom to remind Seetha to take her medicine but the sight he saw took his breath away. Seetha had spread the pai (mat) on the floor and was fast asleep with Kitchu clinging on to her. (**People usually used the bed only at night. Afternoon naps were generally done on a mat spread on the floor. It was done so due to madi or impurity of the bed.)

Seetha and Kitchu were facing each other. Kitchu was sucking his thumb and his other little hand was tightly holding Seetha's thaali and blouse. Seetha's arm was on Kitchu's back. Arun smiled at the sight. He knew that Seetha would, one day, be an amazing mom. She had a natural maternal instinct. He noticed the empty tumbler on the table and the used medicine wrapper next to it, indicating that she had remembered to take her medicine. Seetha wasn't someone who was used to taking naps but the medicine was clearly doing what it was supposed to do and her body needed the rest. He glanced at them one more time and walked out of the room, gently shutting the door.

Just like all good things come to an end, soon it was time for Aravindh, Padma, Parvathy and the kids to leave. The day went by extremely fast. Seetha was in charge of managing the kids, which was not a tough task. Right from a very young age she had seen both her sisters come home for delivery. So she could handle anything from bathing, feeding, cleaning to playing, singing and disciplining. It came naturally and Arun couldn't help admiring his wife. Finally, the taxi had arrive. The train was leaving central station at 7:30 pm which meant they had to be there atleast an hour early.

It was decided that Aravindh, Padma, Parvathy and kids would take the taxi while Arun and Seetha would follow them in the scooter. It had been a couple of days since Seetha had sat on the scooter and the fear slowly crept in. After loading the taxi with the luggage and the people, Arun told them to go ahead, "Neenga kelambungo. Naanga pinnadiye scooter la varom." He then went inside the house where Seetha was getting ready. He asked, "Ava kelambitta. Namma polaama maa." She nodded but he could sense the fear. He walked close to her and said, "Scooter la ukkara ukkara pazhagidum seriya? Unakku romba bayama irundhudhu naa ennoda iduppa kattikko.... Pudichukko." She chuckled blushing but nodded a ok.

He tilted the scooter for her to jump on to. It was a breezy 45 minute ride to the train station. Although there were several bumps on the road which made her want to hold his waist, she felt shy to do so hence she tightened her grip on his shoulder. The train was already on the track when they met up with the rest of the family. Aravindh, with the help of a coolie, had loaded the luggages in. Padma was seated inside, nursing Kitchu and Parvathy was holding Anjana, who was unusually hyper after seeing the ballon vendor in the corner. She was trying to drag Parvathy who was getting frustrated.

Seetha noticed that Anjana needed a little bit of disciplining so she took hold of her hand pulling the child towards her. She bent down to the child's level to look eye to eye and said, "Anju, ippidi Adam pidikka pdadhu. Paati paavam thaane. Ippidi paatiya pidichu izhuthu Adam pudichena naan paatiya ingeye enga kooda vachuppen. Nee periya ponnu aayachu. Chamatha irukkanum. Unnoda pacha bag la ellam choppu saaman, bommai ellam irukku. Appa unakku Bombay ku poittu balloon vaangi tharuva. Ippo vaangina adhu odanjudum seriya?" Anjana understood and nodded.

Padma witnessed that and smiled. She said, "Parava illiye Seetha. Unakku kozhandhaigala nanna sammalikka theriyardhu." She had just finished feeding Kitchu who sat up. He started to reach out for Seetha as soon as he saw her. She stepped into the train and took the baby who cooed and giggled in her arms. Since there was some more time for the train to leave. They all decided to take a seat in the coupe. Padma looked at Arun and said, "Machinare unga pondaati ku kozhandaigala paathukka nanna therinjirukku. Vegam oru nalla news thaango." Arun blushed and looked at his wife who wasn't giving him eye contacts but was clearly blushing as well.

Arun got up saying, "Naan ungalukku water bottle la thanni fill pannendu varen. Anna neeyum vaayen?" The brothers stepped out. Parvathy sat next to Seetha, "Kozhandhe nee udamba paathukko. Ithana naal naan kooda irundhen aana innime nee thaan thaniya ellam paathukanum. Naan Dhanathukitte leave ellam poda pdadhu nu solli irukken. Saroja kitteyum unna etti paathukka soleerken. Edhuva irundhaalum Arun kitta sollu. Enakku letter podu. Naanum ezhudharen. Sollarene nu thappa eduthukaadhe. Chinna vayasuliye kozhandhai pethukardhu nalladhu. Namma udambum oru alavukku sonna pecha kekkum. Aana adhukku minnale unnoda udambu mukkiyam seriya?" Seetha nodded.

Once the guys returned, Arun gestured to Seetha to follow him and they stepped off the train. They walked towards the window. Kitchu was still cooing to Seetha from one of the windows while Arun walked up to his mother who held his hand, "Dei avala jaakardhaya paathukko da. Sila vishayam ellam ava medhuva purinjuppa. Porumaiya iru ava kitta. Naan sollardhu puriyum nu nenaikaren." Arun nodded. His mom was being discreet. The train whistle blew indicating it was time to say goodbye. Although Seetha had not spent a lot of time with this family, she had become very fond of them, especially her mother in law so tears did not fail to trickle down her cheeks. As the train moved forward the stood at the platform waving, until they were out of sight.

Arun and Seetha walked quietly, with a heavy heart, towards their scooter. Arun tilted the scooter for her to sit, which she did quietly. Although the ride back home was quiet and they were both lost in thought, a smile did not fail to break out on Arun's face when Seetha's hold moved from his shoulder to his waist.

Brinda Subramanian