Nagappan is a young man. He is one among the energetic and smart guy in his village. Though a school drop-out he is good in mathematics. He worked part-time in a merchant shop as an accountant these shops are British sponsored run by high class people, who are mostly rich and affluent. If there is a debate between fight for food and fight for independence, he would say lets fight for food; after when you feed a poor you can see GOD in their smile. So he never took part in the Independence struggle. Agriculture is an art & science he learnt and taught. He had a piece of land where he cultivated some seasonal crops, making him to occupy rest of his time.
Lately, Nagappan is in love with Lakshmi. Lakshmi is one beautiful girl born in a middle class family, she went to school until her higher secondary however she flunked in most of the subjects, what normally takes 4 years to complete she took almost 5 years to complete. She belongs to a Telugu speaking community. Their family used to live in the nearby village, bordering Nagappan’s since it was the pre-independent period where borders of the state were not as how it is now. Despite of her academic performance she is very talented; she has got an amazing elocution in English. Her other interests includes singing, painting and storytelling. Though she appeared to be an introvert she is very outspoken for the known ones.
To help her family and to keep her occupied she reared goats in the village border where green grasses are abundant enough for the cattle to graze. One such day, she saw Nagappan for the first time. For her he appeared to be a rude man with big moustache and badly dressed. Since she doesn’t speak his mother tongue Tamil, she initiated her conversation in English. “Can I get some water, please?” she asked him. Nagappan looked perplexed not knowing what she is asking for. As there were no kiosks nearby and the mineral water cost more than 1 NP (Naya Paisa) in an automatic vendor machine, she started explaining him in signs. This is how their relationship started.
Nagappan was taken aback by the beauty of Lakshmi, “how on earth a girl can be as beautiful as her”, he wondered. They manage to find some time to meet and talk. They enjoy their evening river walks holding hands and both enjoyed their company. Like most of the young lovers, they used to have long phone conversations. Due to the lack of coffee shops, they will have to meet in pump house, river banks, or in temple. Lakshmi loves long drives, so Nagappan used to get his friend’s bullock iCart and took her around. The rhythmic chimes of the bull’s chain mixed with the romantic songs from his MP6 player are a real romantic delight for them.
One day they were talking about their relationship and all the things that they had been through together. Lakshmi said to him the thing that surprised her most is the drama she went through in her mind. She said to him that the first time she saw him she was afraid to talk to him, and then when she met him she was afraid to learn Tamil for him, after that she was afraid to love him and now that she loves him the only thing that she was deadly afraid of is losing him. He just laughed and held her hands tight as a sign that he will hold her in all situations of hers and never put her love.
Did they finally marry? Are their parents’ convinced? What happened to the independence movement?
I realized a sudden tremor, was it a quake or a tsunami? No – back in real world. Someone was standing by me and asking “Bonjour Monsieur, s'il vous plaît vos billets”
PS: This is a completely fictitious story just to quench my wild thoughts and to keep me occupied in recent long train journeys. Any resemblance to real people and names are purely coincidental :) lol
love & peace,
Jb
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