Sweet Milk

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Neipayasam (Sweet milk)\'09 }{\author JAHARA}{\operator JAHARA}{\creatim
\yr2018 \mo2 \dy15 \hr9 \min19 }{\revtim \yr2018 \mo2 \dy15 \hr9 \min45 }{\version1
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\lang1033 \langnp1033 \langfe1033 \langfenp1033 \cf8 Neipayasam (}{\fs22 \dbch
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Sweet milk)}{\fs22 \dbch \af0 \hich \af4 \loch \f5 \lang1033 \langnp1033
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\langfenp1033 \cf8 \par }\pard \plain \li0 \ri0 \lisb0 \sa0 \lisa0 \sl240
\langfe1033 \langfenp1033 \cf8 A man, returning home at night from a simple
cremation, having thanked everyone. We could simply call him Achhan. Because only
three children in the city know his value. They call him Achha.}{\fs20 \dbch
\af0 \hich \af6 \loch \f6 \lang1033 \langnp1033 \langfe1033 \langfenp1033 \cf8 \par
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\hich \af6 \loch \f6 \lang1033 \langnp1033 \langfe1033 \langfenp1033 \cf8 Sitting
in the bus among strangers, he went over every second of that day.}{\fs20 \dbch
\hich \af6 \loch \f6 \lang1033 \langnp1033 \langfe1033 \langfenp1033 \cf8 Woke up
in the morning to her voice. "Unniye, don\uc1 \u8217 ?t go on sleeping covered up
like that. It\uc1 \u8217 ?s Monday." She was calling the eldest son. She then moved
to the kitchen, her white sari crumpled. Brought me a big glass of coffee. Then?
What happened then? Did she say anything that should not be forgotten? However much
he tried, he could not remember. "Don\uc1 \u8217 ?t go on sleeping covered up like
that. It\uc1 \u8217 ?s Monday." Only that line lingered. He chanted it to himself,
as if it was a prayer. If he forgot it, the loss would be unbearable.}{\fs20
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\langfenp1033 \cf8 The children had been with him when he left for work in the
morning. She brought them their tiffin in small aluminium boxes. A smear of
turmeric on her right hand.}{\fs20 \dbch \af0 \hich \af6 \loch \f6 \lang1033
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\langfe1033 \langfenp1033 \cf8 At work, he did not think of her at all. They had
married, against the wishes of their parents, after a courtship of a year or two.
But they never did regret it. Lack of money, the children\uc1 \u8217 ?s spells of
illness \uc1 \u8212 ? they were often dejected. She became careless of her
appearance. To an extent, he lost the ability to laugh.}{\fs20 \dbch \af0 \hich
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\hich \af6 \loch \f6 \lang1033 \langnp1033 \langfe1033 \langfenp1033 \cf8 Still,
they loved each other. Their three children also loved them. They were boys. Unni,
10, Balan, 7, and Rajan, 5. Three boys whose faces were always smeared with dirt,
who had neither outstanding beauty nor brilliance. But the mother and the father
said to each other \uc1 \u8212 ?}{\fs20 \dbch \af0 \hich \af6 \loch \f6
\loch \f6 \lang1033 \langnp1033 \langfe1033 \langfenp1033 \cf8 "Unni is always
making things. He has a taste for engineering."}{\fs20 \dbch \af0 \hich \af6
\hich \af6 \loch \f6 \lang1033 \langnp1033 \langfe1033 \langfenp1033 \cf8 "We
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intelligence."}{\fs20 \dbch \af0 \hich \af6 \loch \f6 \lang1033 \langnp1033
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\langnp1033 \langfe1033 \langfenp1033 \cf8 "Rajan is not afraid of the dark. He is
smart. He should join the army."}{\fs20 \dbch \af0 \hich \af6 \loch \f6
\loch \f6 \lang1033 \langnp1033 \langfe1033 \langfenp1033 \cf8 They lived in a
narrow street in the city, in a middle-class neighbourhood. A three-room flat on
the first floor, with a veranda just wide enough for two people to stand in. Mother
grows a panineer plant in a pot. It has not flowered yet.}{\fs20 \dbch \af0
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\lang1033 \langnp1033 \langfe1033 \langfenp1033 \cf8 In the kitchen, brass spatulas
and ladles hang from the hooks on the wall. A wooden plank lies near the stove.
Mother usually sits there, making chapatis when Father returns from work.}{\fs20
\langfenp1033 \cf8 He got off when the bus stopped. He felt a twinge of pain in the
knee. The beginning of arthritis? Who will look after the children if I am
bedridden? Suddenly, his tears welled up. He rubbed his face with a dirty kerchief
and quickened his step.}{\fs20 \dbch \af0 \hich \af6 \loch \f6 \lang1033
\langfe1033 \langfenp1033 \cf8 Have the children gone to sleep? Had they eaten
anything, or had they just cried themselves to sleep? But they are too young to
understand. Unni just stood there watching me when I put her in the taxi. Only the
youngest one cried. But that was because he wanted to }{\fs20 \dbch \af6 \hich \af4
\hich \af6 \loch \f6 \lang1033 \langnp1033 \langfe1033 \langfenp1033 \cf8 get into
the taxi too. Certainly, they did not know the meaning of death.}{\fs20 \dbch
\hich \af6 \loch \f6 \lang1033 \langnp1033 \langfe1033 \langfenp1033 \cf8 Did I
know? No. Did I ever imagine that she would suddenly fall down one evening and die,
without saying farewell to anyone?}{\fs20 \dbch \af0 \hich \af6 \loch \f6 \lang1033
\langfe1033 \langfenp1033 \cf8 He had looked in through the kitchen window when he
came back from work. She was not there.}{\fs20 \dbch \af0 \hich \af6 \loch \f6
\loch \f6 \lang1033 \langnp1033 \langfe1033 \langfenp1033 \cf8 He could hear the
sound of children playing in the front yard. "First-class shot." It was Unni
calling out.}{\fs20 \dbch \af0 \hich \af6 \loch \f6 \lang1033 \langnp1033
\langnp1033 \langfe1033 \langfenp1033 \cf8 He opened the front door with his key.
It was then that he saw her. She was lying on the floor. Her lips were parted. She
must have slipped, he thought. But at the hospital the doctor told him: "She died
an hour and a half ago. It was heart failure."}{\fs20 \dbch \af0 \hich \af6
\hich \af6 \loch \f6 \lang1033 \langnp1033 \langfe1033 \langfenp1033 \cf8 He was
swept by a welter of emotions. He was angry with her for no reason. How could she
go, without any warning, burdening me with all the responsibilities!}{\fs20
\langfenp1033 \cf8 Now who would bathe the children? Who would cook for them? Who
would look after them when they fell ill?}{\fs20 \dbch \af0 \hich \af6 \loch \f6
\loch \f6 \lang1033 \langnp1033 \langfe1033 \langfenp1033 \cf8 "My wife died," he
whispered to himself, "my wife died suddenly today of a heart attack. I need two
days\uc1 \u8217 ? leave."}{\fs20 \dbch \af0 \hich \af6 \loch \f6 \lang1033
\langfe1033 \langfenp1033 \cf8 A great leave application. Leave, not because the
wife is ill. Leave, because the wife is dead. The boss might call him to his room.
He might express his sorrow. His sorrow! Who wants it? He didn\uc1 \u8217 ?t know
her. He didn\uc1 \u8217 ?t know her hair that curled at the ends, her tired smile,
her slow step. All these are his losses.}{\fs20 \dbch \af0 \hich \af6 \loch \f6
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\af0 \hich \af6 \loch \f6 \lang1033 \langnp1033 \langfe1033 \langfenp1033 \cf8 When
he opened the door his youngest son came running up. "Mother isn\uc1 \u8217 ?t back
yet," he said.}{\fs20 \dbch \af0 \hich \af6 \loch \f6 \lang1033 \langnp1033
\langnp1033 \langfe1033 \langfenp1033 \cf8 How quickly he has forgotten! Did he
really think that the body that was taken away in the taxi would come back alone?}
\langfe1033 \langfenp1033 \cf8 He took him to the kitchen.}{\fs20 \dbch \af0
"Unni," he called.}{\fs20 \dbch \af0 \hich \af6 \loch \f6 \lang1033 \langnp1033
\langnp1033 \langfe1033 \langfenp1033 \cf8 "What is it, Achha?"}{\fs20 \dbch
\hich \af6 \loch \f6 \lang1033 \langnp1033 \langfe1033 \langfenp1033 \cf8 Unni came
into the kitchen.}{\fs20 \dbch \af0 \hich \af6 \loch \f6 \lang1033 \langnp1033
\langnp1033 \langfe1033 \langfenp1033 \cf8 "Balan is sleeping."}{\fs20 \dbch
\hich \af6 \loch \f6 \lang1033 \langnp1033 \langfe1033 \langfenp1033 \cf8 "All
right. Have you all eaten anything?"}{\fs20 \dbch \af0 \hich \af6 \loch \f6
\loch \f6 \lang1033 \langnp1033 \langfe1033 \langfenp1033 \cf8 "No."}{\fs20
\langfenp1033 \cf8 He removed the plates covering the vessels kept on the sill.
Chapatis, rice, potato curry, chips, curds \uc1 \u8212 ? the food she had made. In
a glass bowl, the neipayasam that she sometimes made for the children.}{\fs20 \dbch
\hich \af6 \loch \f6 \lang1033 \langnp1033 \langfe1033 \langfenp1033 \cf8 No, they
should not eat this food. It is touched by death.}{\fs20 \dbch \af0 \hich \af6
\hich \af6 \loch \f6 \lang1033 \langnp1033 \langfe1033 \langfenp1033 \cf8 "These
have gone cold. I\uc1 \u8217 ?ll make some uppumavu," he said.}{\fs20 \dbch \af0
"Achha..." it was Unni.}{\fs20 \dbch \af0 \hich \af6 \loch \f6 \lang1033
\langfe1033 \langfenp1033 \cf8 "Um?"}{\fs20 \dbch \af0 \hich \af6 \loch \f6
\loch \f6 \lang1033 \langnp1033 \langfe1033 \langfenp1033
\cf8 "When will Mother come back? Isn\uc1 \u8217 ?t she better?"}{\fs20 \dbch \af0
\af0 \hich \af6 \loch \f6 \lang1033 \langnp1033 \langfe1033 \langfenp1033 \cf8 Let
the truth wait for another day, he thought. There was no point in giving grief to
the child tonight.}{\fs20 \dbch \af0 \hich \af6 \loch \f6 \lang1033 \langnp1033
\langnp1033 \langfe1033 \langfenp1033 \cf8 "Mother will come," he said.}{\fs20
\langfenp1033 \cf8 He placed the washed bowls on the floor. Two bowls.}{\fs20 \dbch
\hich \af6 \loch \f6 \lang1033 \langnp1033 \langfe1033 \langfenp1033 \cf8 "Let
Balan sleep," he said.}{\fs20 \dbch \af0 \hich \af6 \loch \f6 \lang1033 \langnp1033
\langnp1033 \langfe1033 \langfenp1033 \cf8 "Achha, neipayasam," Rajan exclaimed
happily. He dipped a finger in it.}{\fs20 \dbch \af0 \hich \af6 \loch \f6 \lang1033
\langfe1033 \langfenp1033 \cf8 He sat down on the wooden plank where his wife
usually sat.}{\fs20 \dbch \af0 \hich \af6 \loch \f6 \lang1033 \langnp1033
\langnp1033 \langfe1033 \langfenp1033 \cf8 "Unni, will you serve? Achhan does not
feel too good. Headache."}{\fs20 \dbch \af0 \hich \af6 \loch \f6 \lang1033
\langfe1033 \langfenp1033 \cf8 Let them eat. They would never again be able to eat
their mother\uc1 \u8217 ?s cooking.}{\fs20 \dbch \af0 \hich \af6 \loch \f6
\loch \f6 \lang1033 \langnp1033 \langfe1033 \langfenp1033 \cf8 They started eating
the payasam. He sat motionless, watching them.}{\fs20 \dbch \af0 \hich \af6
"Don\uc1 \u8217 ?t you want rice, Unni?"}{\fs20 \dbch \af0 \hich \af6 \loch \f6
\loch \f6 \lang1033 \langnp1033 \langfe1033 \langfenp1033 \cf8 "No, we want only
payasam. It\uc1 \u8217 ?s very tasty."}{\fs20 \dbch \af0 \hich \af6 \loch \f6
\loch \f6 \lang1033 \langnp1033 \langfe1033 \langfenp1033 \cf8 "Yes, Mother has
made splendid neipayasam," Rajan said happily.}{\fs20 \dbch \af0 \hich \af6
\hich \af6 \loch \f6 \lang1033 \langnp1033 \langfe1033 \langfenp1033 \cf8 He got up
and walked quickly towards the bathroom.}{\fs20 \dbch \af0 \hich \af6 \loch \f6
\loch \f6 \lang1033 \langnp1033 \langfe1033 \langfenp1033 \cf8 \par }}

Sweet Milk

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Sweet Milk

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{\rtf1 \ansi \ansicpg1252 \deff0 \stshfdbch2 \stshfloch0 \stshfhich0

\deflang13321 \deflangfe13321 {\fonttbl {\f0 \froman \fcharset0 \fprq2 {\*\panose

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