"I see a difference between how you were, when we were lovers, and how you have been, after we got married" said Sarala.
Section 3
In Praise of Her Charms
nannIrai vAzhi anichchamE ninninum
mennIraL yAm vIzhbavaL.
Verse 1110
"I see a difference between how you were, when we were lovers, and how you have been, after we got married" said Sarala.
Selvanayakam was following the policy of not extending any help to anyone. He was strict about not encouraging his friends or relatives to seek any help from him.
"Every one should earn money for his own needs and live within his means. What is this culture of seeking help from others?" he would often tell his wife Visalakshi.
"What would people, who don't have sufficient income, do? Doesn't humanitarianism require us to help the needy and the poor?" Visalakshi would argue.
This kind of exchange of views had taken place between the husband and the wife many times, but Selvanayakam was stubborn in his attitude.
"As your wife, don't I have the right to spend your money for some of the causes dear to me?" Visalakshi asked him once.
"You can spend money for your needs. But I won't allow you to donate money for any cause" said Selvanayakam, firmly.
Selvanayakam was alone in his house. Visalakshi had gone out.
A boy came there, asking for Visalakshi.
"Sir, is madam not home?" the boy asked Selvanayakam.
"Who are you?" asked Selvanayakam. He judged the boy to be poor, by his appearance.
"Madam told me that she would give me money to buy my school books" said the boy, reluctantly.
"How much?"
"Two hundred rupees."
At that time, Visalakshi arrived there. She took out two hundred rupees from her handbag, and handed the money to the boy.
Selvanayakam was waiting for the boy to leave, before he could take Visalakshi to task.
"Have I not told you that you should not spend money for charity?" asked Selvanayakam, angrily.
Visalakshi looked at him directly and said, "Yes, you had said that I should not spend YOUR money for charity. But the money I gave the boy was earned by me!"
"Earned by you! How?"
"I knit sweaters for a company. They provide me the thread. My job is to knit it by hand, using a needle. They will pay me for each sweater I knit. I do this job, when you are not home. I can't earn much from this. I hardly earn a couple of thousand rupees per month. I use that money to help a few poor boys in our neighbourhood, for their educational needs" said Visalakshi.
"I am earning in millions from my business. Why should you work like a labourer working on piece rate, to earn a couple of thousand rupees per month?" asked Selvanayakam, shocked and angry.
"I don't like leading a life of selfishness, without helping anyone. When I saw that we are surrounded by people, needing help and support from more fortunate people like us, I thought I should do something for them. So, I do some work to earn some money and use that money to do a little help to a few needy people. Please don't try to stop me from doing this!" said Visalakshi, folding her palms together, in a gesture of beseeching him.
Pushpa could do only that.
Buying a house was only the big spending Kuppuswamy indulged in.
When Kumar was studying Engineering, he conveyed his wish to study abroad, to his father.
"I consented to fulfill your wish to study Engineering, since you were good at studies. Your Engineering education has been costing me a lot of money, already. You will get a good job in the campus interview that will be held in your college. Why do you want to go abroad and study further, spending a lot of money?" asked Kuppuswamy.
"Studying at an international university in the United States has a lot of value. After completing my studies, I will get a job there, with very good salary. I will get an education loan from a bank, for my overseas studies. I will repay this loan from my salary. But we need to spend money initially" said Kumar.
Kuppuswamy gave his consent, half-heartedly.
Kumar went to the United States for higher studies. After completing his education, he got a job there. He told his parents that he had no intention of coming back to India. One year after getting a job in the United States, he married an Indian girl who was working there.
Kuppuswamy had no regret about Kumar's decision. But Pushpa was upset. With her husband living a life, focusing only on earning and accumulating money, and her son choosing a life for him and settling down in a foreign country, she felt lonely. Her unhappiness and frustration affected her health, leading to certain ailments. She was becoming physically weaker, day by day.
Due to changes in the trade environment and market conditions, Kuppuswamy's commission business began to take a downslide. After struggling for a couple of years, Kuppuswamy decided to close down his business.
After Kuppuswamy began to stay home, after winding up his business, he began to experience health problems, associated with his growing old.
Pushpa's health also began to deteriorate.
Both of them underwent a number of medical tests, as advised by their physician.
After studying the test reports, the physician told the couple, "Both of you are suffering from a host of health problems. You will have to stay home and be on constant medication. It will be difficult for the two of you to live without the help of another person. You may also need medical attention, now and then. Hence, it is essential that there is someone at home, to look after you and take care of you, throughout the day."
Pushpa spoke to Kumar over the phone, conveying to him what the doctor had said.
"Mom! You should follow the doctor's advice. You and dad can't manage on your own. Apart from engaging people to cook and to do household chores, you should also engage the services of two nurses, a male nurse for dad and a female nurse for you. Or, both of you should join a luxurious old age home, where there will be people to take care of you. You will also have immediate medical attention there. Both the alternatives involve considerable expenditure every month. Since daddy has earned a lot of money and saved it without spending, you shouldn't have any problem about money!" said Kumar.
Pushpa felt sad that Kumar did not offer to contribute even a small amount of money, for their expenditure.
She looked at Kupuswamy, who was sitting beside her on the sofa, listening to Kumar over the speaker.
For the first time, Pushpa noticed an expression of regret on her husband's face. Was it on account of the feeling that they had been virtually abandoned by their only son, or on account of the realization that the money saved by him over the years, without enjoying any comforts, was going to be squandered on paying salaries for people, who were going to take care of them?
She was not sure.
Vatsala:
"Does it mean that you are visiting the shops so often? What are you buying in the shops?" asked Abhirami. Then, somewhat relenting, she said, "Okay. I am only concerned that this shouldn't become a habit with you!"
Abhirami told her husband Somu, "I suspect that Suren might have picked up the habit of smoking."
"How do you say that? Did you notice the smell of cigarette coming from him?" asked Somu.
"Not exactly. But whenever he comes home, he has a chewing gum in his mouth. I think that he munches chewing gum, only to cover up the smell of the cigarette smoke."
"Why do you have this doubt? Have you done such a thing yourself?" asked Somu, in a lighter vein.
"When I am talking to you out of a concern that our son shouldn't get into the smoking habit, you are joking about this. I have seen my younger brother doing this, when he was a boy. By the time my parents came to know of his smoking habit, it was too late. Till today, he remains a chain smoker. I don't want our son to become an addict like my brother. You need to find out whether Suren has a habit of smoking and if he does, you should talk to him and help him get freed from this habit" said Abhirami, in an angry tone.
After a couple of days, when Abhirami asked Somu whether he had spoken to Suren, he told her "Your apprehension is not misplaced. Suren does have the smoking habit. I will talk to him about this."
But, after that, when Abhirami asked her husband several times whether he spoke to Suren, he kept saying, "Not yet. I will speak to him."
After two weeks, Somu told Abhirami, "I had a frank talk with our son. I have counselled him on the need to give up smoking and also given him suggestions of how to come out of the habit. I am confident that he will come out of the habit soon."
"It has been more than two weeks since I told you about this problem. But, it has taken so many days for you to speak to him!" said Abhirami.
Somu was quiet for a moment and then said, "Abhirami! I also had a bad habit. I had been playing cards with my friends on Sundays. We were playing for money, but to ensure that no one should be financially affected by losing money, we were playing only for small stakes like ten rupees or twenty rupees. Still, it was a gamble and I was addicted to it. I had been trying to come out of this habit for the past several months, but I was not successful. I couldn't resist the urge to go to my friend's place every Sunday. I had been telling you that I went to my friend's place to have a chat with my friends. When I had to take up the task of correcting our son, I decided that I should correct my fault first. For the last two Sundays, I have restrained myself from going to my friend's place. So, only after confirming that I could give up the habit of gambling, I spoke to Suren."
Somu looked at his wife's face, with a feeling of embarrassment.