Seetha Kalyanam Vaibohame

Day one

Seetha stepped out of the bathroom hurriedly. She hadn't even tied her saree properly. She bundled in up in a pile and the towel was on her head. She found Arun sitting in the living room. She ran to the bedroom saying, "Rende rendu nimisham. Pudavaiya mattum seriya kateendu vandhoodaren." (I will wear the saree and return in 2 mins) She quickly went in and dropped the saree on the floor. She was facing the wall so Arun could only see her back as she grabbed the long piece of cloth and quickly tied it up. She then went to the dressing table to apply the kumkumam, kajal and the sindoor on her forehead. She then rushed out quickly to the Swamy room to apply the chandanam (sandal paste) on her forehead and then walked up to Arun who was still sitting on the couch, watching her.

She applied the chandanam on his forehead and smiled, "Ippo porappudungo"(You may leave now). He touched the top of her head which was covered with a towel, and said, "Ok madam. Naan kelambaren aana nee modhalla thalaiya thorthikko. Marupadiyum jaladosham, joram varaama irukkanum seriya? Apparam innoru vishayam. Naan office la tiffin saaptukaren adhukaaga nee saapdaama irukkadhe. Edhavudhu saaptu matha velai paaru. Aparam naduvula rest eduthukko." (ok madam, I will leave now but please dry your hair first else you will fall sick again. One more thing I will get breakfast at my office canteen but you make sure to eat something. Also take some rest when needed.) She nodded. He grabbed his office bag and walked up to the porch where his shoes were polished and neatly arranged. He tapped the shoe on the floor once. He then tapped the back of his socks and slid the shoes in. He neatly tied the shoe string as she observed. Then, as if she suddenly remembered something, she said, "Achacho naan vaasal thelichu kolam e podala. Naalelerndhu vidiyardhu kulla ezhundhirundhu kulichudanum." (I forgot to clean the door step and draw the rangoli. From tomorrow I must wake up early and have a bath.)

She followed his outside and smiled when she noticed that there was kolam outside her house. She wondered who would have done it. That's when Arun gestured towards Saroja's house. She peeked and noticed it was the same design there as well. She nodded and said, "Ohh mami nammathulaiyum kolam potirukka paavam." ( oh so the next door aunty has drawn the rangoli outside our house too.) Arun kick started his scooter and smiled at her saying, "Varattaa? Naan 12 mani kulla vandhuduven. Nee badhrama iru. Edhavudhu venumna Saroja mami kitta kettuko." (Bye. I will return by noon. You stay safe and ask Saroja aunty if you need anything) Seetha smiled and nodded. He waved at her as he sped off. She stood outside the gate until she lost sight of him.

She then locked the gate at stopped near the gundu malli (jasmine) plant to pluck some for her puja. That's when she noticed Saroja mami on the other side of the fence. Seetha called out, "Mami, kolam pottadhukku romba thanks." (thanks for the rangoli) Saroja walked up to her fence smiling, "Idhula enna maa irukku. Neengal chinnanchirusugal aathula thaniya irukken. Rathiri neram ayirukkum theriyum" (no need to thank me. You younglings must have been busy last night since you are alone and must have been tired so I decided to do it take care of it for you) she chuckled teasingly, "Adhu thaan vaasapadi la kolam illama irukka vendaamnu Naane pottutten." (so I drew the rangoli) Seetha was not sure what Saroja meant but she said, "Illai mami enakku konjam udambu mudiyama irundhudhu illya adhu thaan marundhu kazhuchuttu thoonginen adhu muzhippe kollalai. Naale lerndhu Naane ezhundhirundhu vandhuduven." (I was sick and had taken medicine before bed time so I lost track of time. I will make sure this doesn't happen again) Saroja smiled, "Puriyardhu puriyardhu. Arun adhukulla aapis ku kelambitaana?" (I understand. Has Arun rejoined duty?) Seetha nodded, "Hmmm.... Innikki edho meeting irukkam. Adhukku poirukka. Madhyanam chaapadarthukku vandhuduva. Aparam naalelerndhu thaan muzhu naal vela paakanum." (he has a meeting today and will return by noon but from tomorrow it will be full day.)

Saroja listened carefully and nodded, "ohhh seri seri. Engathu mama ippo kathardhukulla naan ulla poren. Edhavudhu vendi irundhudhuna unnoda adukollai jannal lerndhu Saroja mami nu oru koral kudu. Naan odi varen seriya? Parvathy mamie kitta soleetu thaan poitukka. Seri naan ulla poren." (Ok before my husband yells for me let me get going. Please call out from your kitchen window if you need anything.) Seetha nodded and went back into the house. She placed the flowers in the little basket which was kept in the Swamy room. She little lamp and then did the namaskaram. She then started to chant her Suprabadham, Vishnu Sahasranamam followed by Lalitha Sahasranamam. As she was chanting, she went to the kitchen to make herself a cup of coffee. She smiled at the thought that her husband had actually boiled the milk and made decoction for her.

Dhanam came through the back door yelling, "Yakka yekkov... inge irukkiya. Seri konjam seekiram vandhutten. Annan office kelabiducha? Seri naan vidu perikki kuduthu, thuni thochu kaaya pottu poren. Apparam madhyanama vandhu paathram kazhuvaren seriya?" (sister I came a little early today. I will sweep and mop the house and also wash the clothes and put them up to dry. I will return later in the afternoon to do the dishes.) Although Seetha barely understood what she was saying, she grasped the gist and nodded in agreement. The vegetable vendor made his announcement on the street. Dhanam, came back to the kitchen with the broom saying, "yakka kaai edhanchu venuma?" (Do you need vegetables?) Seetha nodded and she ran out with a little wire knitted basket and her little purse. Saroja was there too so it was easy for Seetha to communicate. She decided to make keerai molagootal, puli inji and tomato rasam. When Seetha was ready to pay the guy, Saroja said, "Iru oru nimisham." (Wait a second)Then she looked at the guy and said, "Pudhiya aalu naan kudukka maatiya ? Kekanama? Andha Kothamalli yum karuvepillaiyum kosuru kudu. Hmmm... podu ava koodaila." (Since she is new are you trying to escape from giving her the curry leaves and coriander? Put them into her basket) The guy obediently placed it and took the money from Seetha, returning the change.

When Seetha returned to the kitchen Dhanam was already in the terrace drying out the clothes. After Dhanam had left, Seetha began cooking lunch humming something. That's when she remembered. She smiled to herself, left the vegetables there, wiped her hands on her saree and went to the living room. She placed a finger on her chin, trying to remember. Then she slowly went near the Murphy radio, tip toed and turned the first knob. It went click. She clapped in excitement. She slowly increased the volume and then she tuned the other knob for the desired station. She clapped yet again when she heard the voice saying, " adutha paadal idam Petra Padam Kungumam, KV Mahadevan isaiyil, T.M.Soundararajan mattum P. Suseela vin kuralgalil....." (next song is from the film kungumam, music by KV Mahadevan and sung by TMS and PS) and Seetha sang along, "Thoongadha kann endu ondru...."

Brinda Subramanian

Hello guys, thank you all for the tips on translations. I am slowly figuring it out but I don't know if I have the time to go back to all the previous chapters and add it now. So I will do the translations moving forward and after I finish this story, I will try to go back and fix the previous chapters. I apologize for the inconvenience and thank you all so much for your love and patience. 🥰