129. "Remember Me?"

Thirty years had passed. In Dhandapani's mind, the memories of spending his life as a boy in that village were like the impressions of a hazy dream.

Dhandapani's father had passed away two months before he was born. Dhandapani could not even know his father's face, since no photograph of his father was available.

In the year1960, in the village his family had lived, the number of people who would have been photographs was in single digit.

Arranging to be photographed even during a special occasion like marriage was a practice only among the well-to-do people living in towns.

"Look at your face in the mirror. What you will see is your father's face!" Dhandapani's grandmother would often tell him.

Dhandapani lived in his native village till he was five. Since he was brought up in a joint family, he did not feel the absence of his father very much.

When he was five years old, an incident happened. During the Deepavali festival, he was holding a sparkler in his hand and whirling it. 

His shirt caught fire, from coming into contact with the flame of the sparkler. For a couple of minutes, no one noticed it. By the time someone saw his shirt burning, pushed him on to the ground, rolled him a couple of times and put out the fire, the fire had burnt a small area on the side of his torso, below his right shoulder. It took a few weeks for the burn injury to heal.

A few months after this incident, Dhandapani left the village, with his mother, for Chennai, for living in his uncle's house.

He had his education in Chennai. After completing his education, he got a job, got married, begot children and settled down in Chennai.

After thirty years, he got a chance to visit his native village. 

His family members had decided to sell the properties in the village jointly owned by hem. The sale was finalized and the date for registration of the sale deed was also fixed. As one of the joint owners, Dhandapani was required to go to the Registrar's office and sign the registration of the sale.

Dhandapani arrived at the village, a day before the date of registration. He stayed in a relative's house. 

In the evening, he went around the village. No place appeared familiar to him. People said that the village had not changed much. Yet, he had no recollection of any place, which he should have visited as a boy.

He went to the house in which he had lived. He had no recollection of living in that house. Images of his standing outside that house, whirling a sparkler, someone shouting, 'fire, fire,' someone pushing him to the ground and rolling him and his getting scared by what was happening to him seemed to be the only things that stayed in his memory.

He sat on the pial of the house and wondered why he couldn't remember anything about his life in that house till his fifth year. 

He heard a noise and turned back.

A tall old man had come and stood near him. 

"Dhandapani! Do you remember me?" he asked.

Dhandapani looked at him. Even as he was wondering how he could possibly remember a face seen by him thirty years back, a spark appeared in his mind.

"Are you not Kulasekaran uncle?" asked Dandapani.

"Amazing! You remember my face after thirty years!" exclaimed Kulasekaran.

A scene appeared in Dhandapani's mental screen. It was vivid like a scene from a movie.

After he had the burn injury, went to the hospital, got medicated and came home, many people came to see him.

He was able to remember only one among them - Kulasekaran, the man known in the village for his sharp tongue!

"Lad! You have survived the fire accident. Though you swallowed your father, even when you were in your mother's womb, your father, dwelling in the heavens as an angel, saved you from getting burned."

Kulasekaran's words fell on Dhandapani's ears like a flame and inflicted an agony that was even more intense than the one caused by the burn.

After thirty years, Dhandapani felt the same pain rising up again in his mind. He reflexively put his hand on his chest.

"How can I forget you?" asked Dhandapani, with a smile.

Kulasekaran couldn't have sensed the bitterness behind Dhandapanils smile.

Thirukkural

Section 1
The Path of Virtue

Chapter 13
Restraint

Verse 129 (In Tamil)

thIyinAl sutta puN uL ARum ArAdhE
nAvinAl sutta vadu.

Meaning:

A wound caused by fire will heal inside;

a scar caused by the tongue never heals.

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'ninaivirukkiRadhA?' by the same author)

Verse 130 (Soon)
Verse 129