1104. Change of Weather

"Why are you being so difficult? This is December. And this winter is colder than it would usually be. I am lying down covering my body with a heavy blanket. I have not even switched on the fan, but you insist on switching on the a/c! If the a/c is switched on, I will have to sleep outside!" said Nikhil."

"Go out and sleep!" said Karthik.

"Hey! This is my house!"

"What if it is? I am your guest. You should give priority to your guest's needs."

"I can give priority to the guest's needs, not to his crazy ideas. Just get into the street and walk along the street. See whether there is a single house where the a/c is switched on."

"If I ask you to switch on the a/c, because I feel it is warm here, you are asking me to check out whether the a/c as been switched on at other houses!"

"Last night, you asked me to switch off the fan saying that you were feeling cold. What has happened to you today?  You went out during the day. Maybe something happened to you, when you were out. Where did you go?" asked Karthik.

"I won't tell you" said Karthik.

Karthik though of the incident that happened that afternoon.

Learning that his uncle's daughter Kamali who was studying in another town, had come home, Karthik went to his uncle's house to meet her.

He had a chance to speak to Kamali alone in her room for about an hour. Since it had already been decided by the parents of both that the two would be married to each other, Kamali's parents had no problem about Karthik meeting Kamali and talking to her in private.

Kamali's room was on the first floor. Since there was an open terrace above that floor, her room was hot. Though it was winter, Chennai would be hot during the day time.

There was an air-conditioner in Kamali's room. But it was not functioning. The fan was running.

When Karthik was conversing with Kamali, he told her, "I am feeling cold. Will you switch off the fan?"

"You are feeling cold? I am feeling hot in spite of the fan running. Are you having fever?" asked Kamali, surprised.

"Initially, I was also feeling hot. But as I was sitting near you and talking to you, the climate seems to have changed from being hot to cold" said Karthik.

Kamali stared at him in disbelief. However, she didn't switch off the fan. Till the time Karthik was sitting with her and talking to her, he was feeling cold.

'When I told Kamali that I was feeling cold and asked her to switch off the fan, she didn't. Now, when I ask my friend to switch on the a/c since I am feeling warm, he refuses to oblige me. I wonder what has happened to these people!' thought Karthik.

Thirukkural
Section 3

Love

Chapter 111
The Joy of Being Together in Love

Verse 1104 (in Tamil):
nIngin theRUm kuRugungAl thaNNennum
thIyANdup peRRAL ivaL.

Meaning:

It sears when I move away, it chills when I get near.

Where from did she acquire such a fire ?

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'veppa nilai mARudhal' by the same author.)

Verse 1105
Verse 1103