Seetha Kalyanam Vaibohame

Valadhu kaal

Seetha had never traveled overnight by train so when Parvathy told her that she should get some sleep, Seetha was a little nervous. Arun helped Parvathy with her blanket and bedsheet. He then blew air into her pillow and stopped to plug it once it reached a comfortable height. Parvathy thanked him. She took the lower birth on one side and requested Arun to shut the window as it was getting cold.

He then looked at Seetha and smiled. He said, "Nee inge paduthukko, Amma ku edhirke. Unakku pillow va oodhi tharattuma?" noticing her struggling with it. At first she nodded a no but soon she realized that she did not have the lung capacity to blow air into the pillow. Arun opened up the middle berth right above his mother's side when he heard her clear her throat and slowly saying, "Enakku.... Idhu... odha varalai. Neengale konjam...mmm....indhaango." Arun bit his lower lip trying to contain his laughter but promptly turned around and took the pillow from her while gently touching her hand while doing so. He enjoyed seeing the blush that crept into her cheek when he touched her. She quickly looked away and he silently chuckled.

He blew the pillow for her and said, "Indha maa idhu poruma nu paaru. Romba perusaana aparam kaarthala kazhuthu valikkum." She took the pillow from him and nodded, "Idhu seriya irukku. Aana unga kitta onnu kekatta?" He looked at her and said, "mmm....sollu maa?" She hesitantly said, "Illai naan ippidi vandi la ellam thoonginadhu illai. Neraya aal nadamaatam vera irukku." He smiled, "Nee bayapadadhe. Idho paaru naan inge thaan paduthukka poren. Naan Unna paathu paduthukkaren. Nee thoongu seriya? Nee paduthukko naan pothividaren." She nodded and laid down. He covered her with a blanket which she quickly grabbed from him and covered herself.

Arun shut the window on her side and he climbed up to the middle berth from where he had a clear view of his wife. Seetha glanced at him a few times and smiled when he finally gestured her to close her eyes and get some sleep. Although, Seetha was anxious, at some point sleep did seep in at some point. She woke up when she felt a tap on her shoulder. She jumped up to see Parvathy next to her, "Station vara pordhu. Vaa namma moonji ellam alambeendu varalaam." Seetha looked up at the empty middle birth that was pulled down already but Arun was no where in site. Seetha followed Parvathy to the wash basin to wash her face and brush her teeth. A glimpse of last night's incident flashed in her mind making her smile.

When she came back to her seat Arun had returned with two cups of coffee. He sat beside Seetha and asked, "Thoonginiya maa?" She smiled and nodded. She looked at the coffee cup that he was handing to her and said, "Ungalukku?" He smiled and said, "Nee kudi maa. Naa angeye kudichutten." She looked at his doubtfully and asked, "Nejama?" He smiled again and nodded, "Nejama maa. Naan unkitta poi solluvena sollu?" Their eyes met for a moment and she nodded, taking the cup from him.

Few minutes later the train started to slow down. People were starting to walk towards the door. Seetha wasn't sure what was going on. Parvathy said, "Central Station vara pordhu. Ellarukkum enna avasaramo theriyala. Train ninna udane gudhikkanum. Namma molla polaam. Onnum avasaram illai." Seetha nodded but watched out of the window when the train came to a screaching halt.

Madras Central was nothing like the Olavakode or even Covai station. There was a lot of hustle bustle. Coolies were running helter and skelter. She could smell a combination of mallipoo, maampazham etc unlike the smell of chakkai and banana chips in her home town. As she was observing this, a young man in white pant and shirt appeared near their window on the platform side. He had a wide grin when he saw Arun. "Saar, vaanga saar. Thirumana Vaazhthukkal saar" he then looked at Parvathy and said, "Amma eppidi irukeenga?" As Arun started to move the luggage the guy quickly said, "Irunga saar naan varen." In a jiffy he was in their compartment. Arun immediately pointed towards Seetha and said, "Seetha ivar thaan Selvam. Enna daily office ku kootendu poi kottendu varuvaar, office driver. Selvam ivanga thaan ennoda manaivi Seethalakshmi." Seetha smiled and nodded.

She was fascinated by the way Arun's dialect and way of speaking changed instantly. Although she had not heard the term "manaivi" before, she assumed that meant wife. Selvam rattled off to her in a slang she did not understand but understood that he had some good words to say about his boss, Arun. Soon they were out of the train. A coolie was summoned to carry the luggage, who was literally running, closely followed by Selvam who was directing the guy towards a white ambassador car. Arun followed Selvam and Parvathy and Seetha held on to each other trying to stay right behind Arun.

The luggage was loaded into the trunk of the car. Selvam opened the door to the back seat for the two ladies and Arun took the passenger side of the car. As the car slowly came out of the parking lot after several honkings, the hit the main road. The first thing that caught Seetha attention was the huge posters of upcoming movies. While one poster had MGR and Manjula's Rickshaw kaaran and on the other side was Sivaji Ganesan and Jayalalitha starrer Savaale Samali. Seetha's eyes went wide. The 20 minute ride was entertaining until after a few bumps the car stopped outside a house.

It was still early and she noticed that the maami next door was busy drawing a kolam outside her house. She smiled when she saw the car and peeked to get a glance at the new bride but Parvathy quickly called out for her saying, "Saroja ponnu maapillaiya dhrishti suthu aathukku kooteendu varanum konjam seekirama eduthundu vaa." Saroja adjusted her saree and quickly ran in to bring a plate with a mixture of manjal kunkumam and camphor. Aarthi was taken by two neighboring ladies and were welcomed into the house with a chorus of women saying, "Rendu perum Valadhu kaal eduthu vachu vaango."

Seetha took her first step into the new house which would soon become her home.

Brinda Subramanian