Seetha Kalyanam Vaibohame

BSA SLR

Riding a bicycle to school was a huge deal, especially for girls. Ranju, from a very early age, was very aware of their family situation, including finances. She never asked for anything. Even if we she did want something, she would look around to see if either her parents or her siblings were in need of something more essential than hers so whenever she did, reluctantly ask for something, Arun made all efforts to get her what she wanted. In fact, all three children were not greedy or adamant.

Arun and Seetha were never lavish but they gave beautiful memories and moments of happiness for the family. A small example was that, every full moon night, the family ate dinner at the terrace, under the moon. Ranju and Sivu grabbed a large blanket and placed it on the floor. Arun would sit on one side and Seetha, Ranju and Shivu would sit across from him. Sowmy plopped herself on his lap. Seethu would mix thaalichu kottina thayir sadam, morumolaga and pappadam in a large bowl. Arun would take the bowl from her and he would entertain them telling stories. He would make a ball of the rice and place it on each of their palm, as they gobbled them up. The stories he would tell them would be the ones from the Arabian nights. There would always be a question at the end of it that they would have to figure out. The bright light of the moon and the breezy night always made those nights special.

Every Sunday they took a family trip to the beach. The kids loved Marina beach. They played in the water and built sand castles for hours. They never missed to eat the Sundal, murukku, manga and corn. By the time they returned home, they were asleep in the car. They had to be woken up to have a shower and go to bed. Arun also made rose milk at home on Sunday afternoons. Every 3 months, Seetha gave a break for her students on the second Saturday. That was the day the family would go to watch a recent movie and then stop by at either Saravanan Bhavan or Rathna cafe for dosa.

One evening, just before Ranju's 12th birthday, Arun called her aside. They sat on the verandah. Arun pulled her close to him, placing his hand on her shoulder. He said, "Ranju kutty oda porandha naal varudhu. Adhuvum 12 vayasagardhu. Periya ponnu aayachu. Unakku enna venamo kelu. Appa vaangi tharen." (Your birthday is coming up. That too you are turning 12. You are a big girl now. What do you want?" Ranju entwined her fingers with Arun's and looked at him hesitantly. He smiled and kissed her forehead, "Ennoda Ranju athara vegam aasa pattadha kekka maata nu appaku theriyum. Enna venum kelu." (I know you don't ask for all that you wish for, so easily so go ahead and ask) Ranju smiled and said, "Appa school ku poitu varadhukku enakku cycle vaangi tharela appa? Adhu enna velai nu ellam enakku theriyadhu. Anniki Vidhya aathula oliyum oliyum paaka ponappo TV la paathen pa. Girls ku etha madhiri front la andha rod irukku illiya? Adha madakki vittirukka?" (Can I get a bicycle to go to school? I saw the ad at my friend's house on their TV the other day. It even has the style suitable for girls) Then she realized that she was getting too excited so she shrugged her should and bent her body. Arun listened to her and smiled. By then they heard Seetha call out for Ranju. Arun ruffled her hair and said, "Po, unga amma Unna koopadra. Enna venum nu poi paaru." (Go see what your mother wants) Ranju smiled back and ran inside.

So once she had told her father what she wanted, the matter was forgotten. She knew that her father would definitely get it for her, if at all it was possible. Children did not throw a tantrum. They learnt very early in life that a parent not buying something for them had nothing to do with the love they had for them. See, in those days there was no concept of a credit card. People paid for everything in cash. So if someone got a salary of Rs. 5000, one had to manage the regular household expenses such as rent, groceries, milk, school fees, bus tickets etc and manage to save for a rainy day. So any extra expense had to be well thought of.

It was Ranju's birthday. She woke up to Shivu handing her a handmade card from him and Sowmy. It was just a piece of paper that they had ripped from his note book and both he and Sowmy had drawn something on it. It said, "Happy birthday Ranju." Then Seetha came by and handed her a brand new pavadai sattai. Ranju was thrilled. She could wear her "Color dress" to school. She quickly rushed to the bathroom to have a bath as Seetha told her, "Vegam poi kulichuttu vaa. Appa school ku eduthundu pogarthukku mittai vaanga poirukka. Naan unakku pidicha semiya payasam pannaren." (Go quickly and have a shower. Appa has gone to get chocolates for you to take to school. I am making your favourite sweet) Ranju nodded and smiled as she got up.

When she returned, her father had returned. He wished her a happy birthday as Raju took the blessings of both her parents. He then handed her the box of chocolates and whispered, "Vaasal la poi paaru." (Go out and see) That's when she heard a sound of a bell. Her eyes lit up and she ran outside to see a brand new red BSA SLR. The other two kids were running around it happily. Shivu was ringing the bell on the cycle making Sowmy giggle but both the kids knew it was Ranju's. Ranju had learnt to cycle from her friend Vidhya. The girl's had learnt monkey peddling on Vidhya's brother's cycle. Ranju quickly hugged Arun and looked up at his eyes saying, "Thanks appa." He smiled back, patted her back and said, "Poi otti paaru." (Go try it out) Ranju took a ride first but let her brother get a turn next. He placed Sowmy on the back and the three children took a few rounds on their street while the parents stood there watching.

Seetha leaned close to Arun and his arm automatically pulled her close to him. She smiled and as they were watching their children, she said, "Namma kozhandhaigal romba kuduthu vachirukka theriyuma?" (Our children are so lucky you know) He looked at Seetha and raised his eyebrows asking why, and she said, "Neengal avalukku appa va kedachadhukku." (To have you as their dad) He smiled and nodded. He tightened his grip on her and said, "Illai maa. Naan thaan kuduthu vechirukken. Nee enakku kedachadhunaala thaan ippidi muthu mutha moonu kozhandhaigal namakku kedachirukka. Ungala sandhoshama vachukardha thavira enakku vera enna venum sollu." (No. I am the fortunate one. I have you and because of you I have these lovely children. I just want to see my family happy) Seetha looked into his eyes and tiptoed which was an indication for him to peck her lips before the kids returned.

Brinda Subramanian