Aththai (m)adi ........

Rrg · Jul 29, 2009

Dear All,
Greetings!
You all might have read my earlier short story, "Gopu & the Ghost".
( http://www.indusladies.com/forums/stories-fiction/62695-re-peep-into-world-ghosts.html )
The setting for present story, remains the same, so also the main characters (ie) Gopu & Me.
With your permission, I propose to take off from where the earlier story ended.
As usual exaggeration guaranteed, built up on the main incident. :biglaugh
So, is being posted under fiction.
Thanks!
Rrg
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"Innikku enna specialty, theriyumaada?" ( Do you know what is the specialty today?) Gopu met me outside my house and asked.
I just looked at him blank and shook my head in negative.
I could see in his eyes, a smile that a cat would posses on cornering a mouse.
"Sani Amavasai da. Only today, the ghosts get max power and go looking for their intended victims, especially the ones on whom they want to take a revenge, outside their normal patrolling area,"he added.
"So?", I asked.
"Remember your throwing that stinking B* S* on the unsuspecting cotton tree ghost the other night. Tonight it would come to your house after 9.00 PM, looking for you. Normally, Kudala uruvi malaya pottundu poyidum. (They would draw victims small intestines out and leave, after wearing them as garland). But, I am not sure what plans it has for you tonight".
"Ennada sollarey? Annikki nee thaneda saani adikka sonney?( What do you mean? You only asked me to hit it with B* S* the other day?)," I was literally scared.
"It would knock the door thrice. If I am in your shoes, I would never open the door," ignoring my comments, he went on.
"If I throw B S once again?"
" Try, if you can. Today is going to be it's most powerful day. It will stuff it back in your mouth first. You and your mannankatti (goddamn) B* S*," he left chuckling. Ketkave aruvaruppa irundhadhu ( It was disgusting, even to hear him say).

Eventhough, my confidence, on his hold over ghosts, was shaken after the earlier incident, I had great regard for Gopu's knowledge of the nether world operations. Oflate, he was on to newer ghosts with weirder mannerisms, with newer methods of luring the victim and effective counter measures developed by him. All this did scare me, despite my mom's assurance that no ghost would dare to touch me, with her being around.
But then, as my mother had gone to our native place, along with my elder brother& sister for making arrangements for the impending marriage of my elder sister, my aunt (dad's younger sister) had come from our village to take care of our Madras establishment, presently consisting of only myself & her. Aththai was a pleasant lady, with lots of stories of yore and folk songs to entertain the kids. She also possessed the uncanny shrewdness of the village woman. But, how far could a straight forward village woman be a support in facing a cunning, city bred ghost. I was sweating. But, I tried to put up a brave face.
By the evening, I forgot all about Gopu's morning conversation.

After dinner, I was lying keeping my head on aththai's lap, listening to her bed time treat.
She was in her elements, relating some Vittalacharya type story, where the hero, in order to marry his very poor but extremely beautiful lover, crosses seven seas and seven mountains searching for a talking parrot, kept in a cage in a cave, surrounded by a retinue 1000 headed snakes, that could spew lava of fire for miles together and also protected by all imaginable hybrids of wild animals, each capable of doing some trick or the other, in order to prevent the hero from reaching the parrot. When the hero was about to launch his attack, there was a knock at the door.
Suddenly I remembered it was 'Sani Amavasya'.

"Aththai, nee eppovavadhu peyoda sandai pottirukkaya?" (Aunty, have you ever fought with a ghost?)
"Naan verunkaiyaleya adhugala adichchu, oda oda viratti irukkane" ( I have fought them with bare hands and chased them to the end) she said beaming. She was still in her Vittalacharya mood.
"If that is so, you have got yet another opportunity for your ghostly games".
"Ennada sollarey?(What do you mean)," she looked confused.
"Today being Sani Amavasai, a ghost has come looking for US outside", I said. stressing US to make her also a party to the defence.
"What non-sense?". She went and opened the door, but there was no body.
This happened twice more, within a gap of 10 minutes. Aththai looked concerned.

She rushed inside the pooja room, picked up some things and rushed to the backyard.
Before leaving, she said, "if it knocks once again, please reply that you are coming, but open only when I ask you to do"
"But, if it speaks in your voice ....." I dropped the sentence halfway, looking at the anger in her eyes.
I had never seen her angry in my life.
Such a sweet face to transform so fast like that. Oh, God!
I was sure whatever the ghost it was, it may look pleasanter in comparison.
I just nodded my head and rushed away.
Come to think of it, perhaps, that was my first serious lesson in growing up.

After couple of minutes, there was yet another knock at the door.
I shouted, with great difficulty,"Idho varen (just coming)" but did not move an inch.
I was literally shivering.
I could sense that aththai was upto conducting some action programme with the ghost.
Incase the ghost finishes her off and left with her small intestines garland, what was I to do with the remaining aththai. These thoughts just flashed.
It was then, I could hear the shrieking voice of aththai, perhaps her 'war cry,' shouting unintelligible, emanating on the run.
I rushed to look out through the window and just in time caught the glimpse of one dark figure running, helter-skelter, with aththai in hot pursuit. Wow! She was ambidextrous, applying effectively a broom stick and a staff (Kambu) used for drying clothes, shouting something to the effect, "ennada, kayavalip payaley! Veetile pombilai thaniya irundha vandhu kadha thattuveengalo? (You rascal. If a lady is alone, you would come and keep knocking at the door repeatedly, is it?). Let me hand you over to police."
To the annoyance of the figure running in front, she had closed the front gate also. Somehow, it jumped over and ran for its life, leaving behind one black bed sheet, one dirty muffler and a chappal.

On hearing the commotion, Gopu's parents also rushed out, so were a couple of other neighbours. All were shocked that such an incident had ever taken place in our locality. Finally, it was decided to hand over the intruder's property to police the next morning and lodge a formal complaint.

It took some time for aththai's anger to subside.
But, once cooled down, she was all amiles, claiming that she had practiced a bit of 'silambattam' (martial art sport played with a stick/ staff) also, in her younger days. Whatever be the fct, it was a sight to behold - the 'ghost' running for its life, that too on a Sani Amavasya.

Next morning Gopu's father came and apologized for the mischief of his son.
It transpired that Gopu was feeling that he had suffered a loss of face, after the earlier BS episode, because of me and wanted to scare me a bit. So, he had lined up with a friend of his, a bigger boy in the neighbourhood, to come covered in black bed-sheet and a dark muffler and knock at our the door at night.
As per plan, Gopu was to come at the nick of time to drive the 'ghost' away and gain my respects once again.
(He had thought of such excellent Tamil movie story as early as 1960. Only instead of me you need a heroine.)
But, in all this Gopu did not expect my aththai's so effective an involvement, which messed up everything.
The issue was closed amicably, with the neighbourhood boy and Gopu tendering unconditional apology to aththai, in front of their parents.
Poor fellow, the 'ghost' enactor was badly shaken up by the treatment he received at aththai's hands.
"Adhu eppidida unga aththai appadi parandhu, parandhu adikkara?" ( How's it you aunt gives such flying kicks?) was his question I could never answer. "Solid partyda un Kodayidi aththai" ( Your aunt is a solid summer lightening) was his conclusion.
Be that as it may, I felt as if my aththai not only related the Vitalacharya story, but also enacted it for my benefit. :biglaugh

I am sure my aththai's soul would be smiling now, at my reminiscing this incident. :rotfl
How about you??

anbudan,
Rrg

PS: The real story was simple.
On Gopu's advise the other boy came, covered in a dark sheet & a muffler and knocked at our door, when I was alone. Aththai, who was just returning from temple, caught him. He tried to run, but couldn't.
So, he blurted out Gopu's plan to save himself.
The issue was amicably settled with Gopu's father pulling up both the boys for their foolish, practical joke.
Gopu kept quiet for a couple of weeks before embraking on his next practical joke, but not at me.
Rest was exaggeration please.