Disclaimer: This is a work of FICTION. Only the names of my main characters have been inspired by real life.
Not proof read and the entire chapter was typed using a mobile device. Please bear with typos.
As usual, please read the note at the end if you make it to the end of this chapter.
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Sattena Nenaindhadhu Nenjam: 1
1985
"Sivaangi", she heard her name being called from someone downstairs as she was working on a Kepler's problem on a Friday evening early October. She ran out her room and stuck her head out the corridor to see a girl she recognized from another department point to their warden with a "Madam kooptaanga". Her warden looked up saying "Un veetla irundhu vandhirukaanga, lobby la wait panraanga. Poi paaru".
Shocked, she ran downstairs. She had just been home a week back for the pooja holidays. "Letter kooda podala, phone kooda varala, Enna thideernu?" she spoke to herself as she walked down the stairs towards the lobby on the ground floor to see her second brother Mani sitting in the lobby along with an older gentleman she vaguely recognized but couldn't place.
Rushing to her brother, she asked "Enna Aachu annae? Edhum prachanaya? Veetla yaarukum odambu seri illaya?". Her tight lipped brother merely looked around and said "Onnum Illa. Edhum prachana Illa. Nee dress eduthutu kelambu, ooruku ponum".
"Enna thideernu? Enaku thingakezhama oru internal exam iruku. Yaarum onnum sollala, veetuku varanumnu? Appa kooda kadaila irundhu phone podaliye?", she rushed out the words nervously. Mani merely shrugged and added "Nyayiru madhiyam hostel la vandhu vitruvom, naano Illa Chandran Annano. Poi seekram kelambi, Book edhum venumnaa eduthutu va. Naanga veliya Namma vandi kitta nikrom". Sighing in defeat, she walked in to pack her bag.
Sitting in the back seat of the white ambassador that was en-route to her home in Bodi, a small village in the outskirts of Theni, she asked her brother seated in the front again, "edhuku Ippo ooruku? Thideernu". Her brother clearly not wanting to touch on the topic with the other person in the car asked her "idhu yaaru nu theridhu la?". When she gave a confused look at the older gentleman who had been accompanying her brother, he clarified "Namma Thangaraj periappa. Rice mill periappa da. Madurai ku velaiya vandhaaru, apdiye Namma kooda ooruku thirumbiralaam nu". She nodded un-enthusiastically and looked out the window as Madurai rushed past her.
She briefly wished it was her older brother Chandran who had actually come to pick her up instead of her younger brother. Her second brother, Mani who was twelve years older than her took after her parents, a no-nonsense person who had a very disciplined attitude towards life and a very old fashioned person at heart. Her older brother, Chandran who was thirteen years older than her on the other hand was her confidante growing up. He took after their mother's mother, her ammachi. Sivaangi was an apple of both their eyes. Anytime her parents told her No, she would turn towards her older brother or her ammachi when she was younger. She muttered "cha Chandran annae vandhirundha sollirukum enna nu".
But didn't she know why she was being called home now? On an odd weekend, when there were no festivities around the corner. She wasn't a child anymore to not understand what could the reason be for this trip. She had seen it happen to her classmate KalaiArasi at the beginning of their third year earlier this year. Kalai had gone home one weekend to come back engaged. A month later she discontinued her course to get married. A few of her other classmates who hailed from villages in the surrounding areas were either getting engaged or going home to be seen by the groom's family or as it was commonly called "ponnu paakradhu". Even some of her classmates from Madurai had mentioned that their parents had started reaching out to match makers. Only a handful of her classmates hadn't mentioned anything about getting married. With the waning student population in her already low numbered third year classroom, after all B.Sc Physics was not a very popular department in her women's college in Madurai, she had dreaded when she would be next.
