*From & To Sathish* - Thread 4 - Page 140

CoVid Vaccines will soon be available to us Indians too 👍🏼

I called the vaccine distribution facility to register for the CoVid vaccine

Me : Hello

Reply other end : thank you for calling. To continue in Hindi press 1. To continue in English press 2.

I pressed 2

Reply : For Russian Vaccine press 1. For American Vaccine press 2 and for Indian Vaccine press 7

As I want to be atma-nirbhar, I pressed 7.

Response : If you are a man press 1 and if you are a woman press 2.

i pressed 1

Reply : To purchase vaccine press 1

for free shot press 2

I pressed 2

Reply : To be injected on hand press 1. to be injected on hip press 2 and to be injected elsewhere press 7.

I pressed 2

Reply : please type in your mobile number.

I punched in my phone number.

Reply : thank you.

For the free vaccine your name is registered and secured in our data base.

Your wait list serial number is 81 crore, 57 lakh, 66 thousand 7 hundred and 55.

Under normal circumstances you will get a call from us after 3 years.

Till then keep washing your hands and maintain distance of 6 feet from the nearest person. Continue to wear mask till then.

Thank you for calling us.

Good Day.

😅

Vaanathai Pola 273

' Rudran, so our paths cross again and we meet again on common grounds' Raman thought to himself and got into the car and after just a few minutes got out of it once it had reached his home.

' Both of you can come in and wait while I shave and get ready' Raman told them and Major Param took his invitation and after telling their driver to stay put in the car, got out and accompanied him into the house.

Catching sight of the police jeep and the constables who were relaxing outside the house, Major Param broached the subject with tact, ' I am sorry about the loss of your friends and the tragedy that befell on them.' Pointing to the posse of cops, ' is that the reason why they are still here?'

Raman nodded, ' yes and also because my new line of work keeps me away from home and sometimes days at an end.'

Major Param saw that there were three private security guards patrolling the compound and from the bulges on their hips, all armed with handguns and glanced at Raman who answered, ' These gentlemen are from Former DGP of Tamil Nadu, Mr Devarajan's private security agency and who also happens to be my Judo Sensei. It is he who insists on providing his own security for me and my family and the house I live in. His men watch the insides while the police team outside keeps a watch on the outside area.'

Major Param seemingly approving this double layer of security that had been provided to Raman's family asked him, ' so, what about Raw and their security for you?'

' Major Param, the last thing I need is for people hanging around me in the name of security and I had to threaten my boss with an Immediate resignation letter and only then he backed off from placing my own security team.'

' Tell me Major Param, how am I supposed to play the role of a spy when I am moving around like some celebrity with armed personnel shadowing my every step and move?'

' You are right Raman and also from what My own boss Rudran told me, you can take care of yourself even facing the most impossible threats and you did so in that case of the Romantic duo Gulab and Jamun.'

His eyes filling with respect and something more of friendship and trust, Major Param looked Raman right in the eye, ' I have never heard Rudy say that of any other human being. This only goes to show how much he respects you and your skills and also how much trust he has placed on your shoulders by placing the entire organization of Chakravyuh at your disposal.'

Raman's eyes reflected nothing and his face remained blank and both forced Major Param to curse softly and say, ' okay comrade, I will be open with you and I expect nothing less from you.'

Raman opened the door and entered the house and then turned and looked at Major Param with silent and expectant eyes.

' Raman, I know that V.k Singh has immense faith in you and how handled things earlier this year and which has brought you into the circle and close proximity of the Prime Minister himself but I am not sure where you and my boss met up and what has led him to place so much faith in you.'

Raman smiled a very tight and knowing smile and then folding his arms across his chest, looked at Major Param and enquired, ' Do I detect a slight hint of jealousy in all your questions and is it because your boss has decided to go out of Chakravyuh and reach out to me to help in this case?'

Major Param nodded and spoke in a clear and honest voice, ' I guess you are right. I am second in the organization and yet here I am working with another spook and one who is still half civilian and yet one who has been made a Major by the Prime Minister himself. And to top that, my boss Rudran thinks the world about you.'

Sitting down and sinking into a sky blue cushioned sofa, Major Param asked Raman, ' what did you do to earn this respect and where?'

Raman had taken an instant liking to Major Param and had known instinctively that he was a man who could be trusted with everything and that included his life.

' I will tell you in a very brief manner and that will be the end of it, promise'

Major Param's eyes lit up with excitement and he replied, ' Promise and I keep my promises.'

Raman came closer and standing just a few feet away from Param, said, ' I met Rudran in Tel Aviv a few days ago along with Mossad's head Dr Otto Hauptmann.'

' That bloody arrogant balding Bast..d. He thinks he is God's gift to mankind and considers himself as the reincarnation of Hercules himself.'

Raman although a bit taken aback with a sudden and surprising show of emotion from Major Param realized that there must be some old bad blood between him Dr Otto of the Mossad remained stoic and silent.

Eventually, Major Param stopped cursing after realizing that he had revealed more about himself than he would have liked now began to curse himself and then slowly calming himself looked at Raman and said with grudging respect in his voice, ' Dr Otto is one heck of sparring partner and one of the top-ranked men in the world of the martial art called Krav Maga. My bad luck, I tried pitting myself and tested myself against not once but thrice and lost badly.'

Major Param seemingly now back to his normal cheerful self, continued, ' My Ego. I blame my Ego for thinking I could take him on and also because he was nearly twenty years older than me. But that old dog not only beat me but downright humiliated me and three times and before Rudran and my other men.'

Sighing ruefully, ' Rudran warned me beforehand that I would lose and yet I challenged Dr Otto disregarding his warnings and tested myself and failed badly.'

Waving the old humiliating memories aways, he asked Raman, ' you have yet to answer me as to why Rudran has placed his trust in you?'

Raman shrugged and said, ' I will answer it but answer my one question and which is " do you think Dr Otto can be defeated by anyone at all?'

Major Param smiled, ' yes. I think Rudran can take him on and beat him but that too only after a tough fight. I wish I could see him do that and wipe that smirk off Dr Otto's arrogant face.'

Then realizing the question had been loaded with an answer, he looked at Raman with surprise, ' what is the meaning of this question?'

Raman got up and looking down at Major param said, ' Well, you can rest easy now for I wiped the smirk off Dr Otto's face while I was in their headquarters and it took me only a few seconds to do that.'

Major Param literally jumped out of the sofa yelling, ' What, you did what? You really mean that. No fu..ing way. I don't believe that. Do you have any proof for this sparring that you did with Otto ?'

' Yes and that proof is Rudran himself and that is why I am here handling this case of the missing Brigadier Prakash Malhotra.'

Vaanathai Pola 274

She knew him very well and understood the meaning behind each and every nuance of his words and actions. Sharadha knew her husband, Durai Pandi Arumugam so well that she could even accurately predict what he would say or do next and so from the corner of her right eye, she caught him looking at the door of the bedroom inside which their remaining child still slumbered on.

She lowered the Thina Malar newspaper and folding it placed it on her lap and now openly stared at her husband who oblivious to the fact that he had been found out kept repeating the same action. Look at the paper and pretend to read it and then slowly sneak a look at the clock and then turn and look at Kavita's bedroom door with worry and concern.

" Down, Up and the eyes slowly left and then slowly back to right and down and up and left " Sharadha Arumugam, wife of Tamil Nadu Cabinet Minister Durai Pandi Arumugam began to mumble and wondering what was going on, he looked at her but did not say or ask anything.

" Down, up, left then right, down, up and left again."

" sharadha, enna, Are you finally going to start doing that cardio workout?'

She looked at him as wives all over the world look at their husbands and fixed him with that inscrutable look that revealed nothing about what she was thinking and yet she was thinking, ' Here I was just now thinking that I could bully him and tease him for worrying about Kavita and the man comes up with a winning move."

Flashing an innocent and open smile that wives all over the world flash at their naive husbands, she enquired in a sweet and innocent voice, ' Cardio workout and that too me. What's wrong with you? why would I do something like that and that too at my age?'

Durai Pandi hesitated for a few seconds and thought to himself, ' Oh, Oh, she is up to something for that sweet and innocent smile is only bestowed on me by her highness when she is up to some kind of prank and which I will realize only after the rug which I am standing on has been pulled right from under my feet and I land on my old and sorry arse. Better to shut up and mind my own business.'

But then Sharadha Arumugam was not one to let go so easily and now proceeded to sink her fangs a little deeper and asked, " What do you mean by cardio workout? have you been watching any stuff like that on youtube and how did you even connect my words with a cardio workout?"

" I just happened to see you watching those workout videos a few times and so I concluded that you must have for just like in those videos where that lady keeps on saying, up, down, left, right and again repeat."

She very nearly blushed and lost the game but did not for after years of practice playing this kind of mind and verbal bouts with her husband, Sharadha had gained not only with but tact and had polished her technique.

" I see. So, you saw me watching those youtube workout videos."

Minister Durai Pandi nodded and smiled and then his smile froze for he saw his wife's smile fade and fire fill up in her eyes as she sweetly stabbed him with her next question, " was it just by accident that you saw me looking at youtube workout videos or was it because you wanted to stop and drool at that hot trainer in those videos."

The game was up and he knew he had lost for she had known the truth the moment she had asked the question and not knowing what to do, Minister Durai Pandi tried different versions of smiles but no smile came to life on Sharada's lips and she kept staring at him and kept him locked under her angry and investigative stare.

Hunter became hunted and the predator was caught in the very same trap that he had laid for his prey and now all he could do was pray for help and keep staring at his wife as all husbands do when they are caught with their hands in the cookie jar.

Johny Johny

(Yes mama)

Eating sugar?

(No, mama)

Telling lies?

(No, mama)

Open your mouth

(Ah, ah, ah!)

Help came and it came in the very form that had started the whole jolly verbal joust and the door opened and Kavita came out and taking one glance at her dad and mum knew what was going on.

" Appa, you are giving that familiar expression that Bhagyaraj made famous in his films and that was copied and perfected by his student Pandyarajan."

Minister Durai Pandi Arumugam hurriedly looked at Kavita and asked, " What, enna, who me?"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4nPv-bmCoo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mqPCeTxHFgE

Word Count: 1

Soliloquy with my own solo dialogue ( just sharing my thoughts)

Happiness is often the pursuit of worthwhile desires and ambitions, whereas peace of mind is the ability to let go of those ambitions and desires. The achievement of peace is the ability to simply accept things as they are. In fact, this state can put you in a good place to then experience more happiness.

IF ONLY IT WERE THAT EASILY DONE AS IT WAS SO EASILY SAID.

Why you ask and which I will answer with a question " why was I put here" or " what am I doing here?. To be happy or to be peaceful?"

TO BE OR NOT TO BE.

I guess God, in the form of nature, thought that variety is the spice of life and that eventually, a perfect model would evolve from the bag of tricks that IT used to mix up a cocktail of Genetic material.

Even IT must have thought of the end product and the endgame as IT waited patiently for more than a billion years before ITS womb of this planet gave birth to that first single cell with intelligence and which soon or later began to split and splice itself.

WHOA, hold on to that single cell birth and look up( also look down and around for I know not where IT dwells) and ask in a loud voice, " Why did that single-cell decide to go postal and into a multicellular state of life? What prompted it to split itself and become Bi-polar as in X AND Y and also other forms of chromosomes.

Okay, people and fellow souls, this above is me and I also know that this is a rather morbid and grotesque way to live or even exist and go about my daily life.

Here, down below, I confess that I did bury my puny brain, head, conscience, thinking in my arse and went about life thinking and worrying about nothing and most importantly without questioning anything or any Entity that we call God about who, why and what.

But, I soon realized that I am a product of evolution that God and Mother Nature took many Billion years to make and perfect and here I was throwing away all that hard work and all that I had learnt and understood and instead of burying my head in my own arse or up someone's arse, thinking " I don't give a damn about why I am here and what is going to happen next".

How is that possible? How can I or anyone just bend their heads thinking that they cannot see or hear anything that concerns them and others?

You can turn a blind eye and you can turn a deaf ear but what about those signals in your mind and in your soul. How can we shut that off? Do we become cruel, angry and a psychopath and ignore that there is a reason for this life and our existence or do we open, hear with our eyes and ears and with our soul and conscience and do our best to make sense of life, even though it might be akin to Jesus and the cross that he carried and was crucified on.

I confess that I have sung that favourite song many a time which goes

Ponaal Pogatum Poda

Indha Boomiyil Nilaiyaai

Vaazhnthavar Yaaradaa

Iraval Thanthavan

Ketkindran Adhai

Illaiyendral Avan Viduvana

Uravai Solli

Azhuvathanaalae Uyirai

Meendum Tharuvana

Kookuralaalae

Kidaikaathu Idhu

Courtuku Ponaal

Jeikaathu Andha

Kottaiyil Nuzhainthaal

Thirumbaathu

Ponaal Pogatum Poda

Indha Boomiyil Nilaiyaai

Vaazhnthavar Yaaradaa

But then i realized that is not the way, my way to live and so I changed tune and now my song is this

Satti suttadhadaa kai vittadhadaa

Buththi kettadhadaa nenjaith thottadhadaa

Naalum nadandhu mudindha pinne nalladhu kettadhu therindhadhadaa

Satti suttadhadaa kai vittadhadaa

Buththi kettadhadaa nenjaith thottadhadaa

Paadhi manadhil dheyvam irundhu paarththuk kondadhadaa

Meedhi manadhil mirugam irundhu aatti vaiththadhadaa

Aatti vaiththa mirugamindru adangivittadhadaa

Aatti vaiththa mirugamindru adangivittadhadaa

Amaidhi theivam muzhu manadhil koyil kondadhadaa

Satti suttadhadaa kai vittadhadaa

Buththi kettadhadaa nenjaith thottadhadaa

Aaraavaarap peygalellaam odivittadhadaa

Aalayamani osai nenjil koodivittadhadaa

Dharma dhevan kovilile oli thulangudhadaa

Manam saanthi saanthi saanthiyendru oivu kondadhadaa

Satti suttadhadaa kai vittadhadaa

Buththi kettadhadaa nenjaith thottadhadaa

Erumbuth tholai uriththup paarkka yaanai vandhadhadaa - naan

Idhayath tholai uriththup paarkka njaanam vandhadhadaa

Pirakkum munne irundha ullam indru vandhadhadaa

Pirakkum munne irundha ullam indru vandhadhadaa

Irandha pinne varum amaidhi vandhu vittadhadaa

Satti suttadhadaa kai vittadhadaa

Buththi kettadhadaa nenjaith thottadhadaa

Naalum nadandhu mudindha pinne nalladhu kettadhu therindhadhadaa

Satti suttadhadaa kai vittadhadaa

Buththi kettadhadaa nenjaith thottadhadaa

I believe. I have faith. I have implicit trust in GOD and I will endure IT while IT endures me and my silly and foolish questions.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pkywv_mRuTI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m4qSnpr_fgw&list=RDm4qSnpr_fgw&start_radio=1&t=4

Vaanathai Pola 275

My father is that and more and also is my friend and brother and more and is also my Angel. My mother is that and more and also my sister and companion and she is my soul and together we are one although numbering three and united and one circle.

Kavita bent and hugged and kissed her dad on his cheeks and then plonked herself on her mother's lap and hugging her held on to her tightly and all the while contemplating how to go about starting the topic of marriage that had to be started soon and before her tummy started to reveal to the whole world that she was pregnant.

Sharadha Arumugam knew her daughter very well and as well as she knew her husband and the only person she had difficulty in reading was now staring at her from a huge photo, flashing his magical and charismatic smile at all who passed him by.

Holding her adult daughter in her arms and seated on her lap, she gently chided her, ' Minister ma'am, you tend to forget two very important things and they are that I am not young and strong enough like before and neither are you young and light as before. I am old and so are you and you weigh much more than the times when me, your dad and even Vijay carried you around.'

Kavita got up and throwing a mock curse, teased her mother and called her an old lady. Sharadha accepted her daughter's praises and rebukes and with a wise look said, ' One day soon you will be a mother too and one day you too will turn old and repeat the same words that I said and I hope and pray that it happens while I am still alive and kicking.'

Durai Pandi Arumugam mumbled and complained, ' that is all possible only if your daughter first makes up her mind to get married.'

Returning his gaze to the paper while his ears and his full concentration were on Kavita, he kept mumbling to himself and this was enough to provoke her and she growled loudly, ' Marriage, Marriage. I am nearly 33 years old and I am still being treated like a child. I am an adult and also a minister of this state and yet I am being harassed all the time and that in my own home and by my own people.'

She looked at him and asked in a stern voice, ' You were okay with her being single but not me. why is that, appa?'

Minister Durai Pandi Arumugam totally shocked and shaken by this new angle and new arrow that his daughter had aimed at him was at a loss for an answer and had just enough gas left in the tank to say, ' Blasphemy. How dare you even bring her name into this conversation. Amma's case was totally different and so too was her life. There is no similarity between both of your lives but for both of you being a woman.

Kavita slowly folded her hands across her chest and shook her head in frustration, ' Liar. You are a big fat liar for you have sat in that very chair and many times have compared me to the late Amma and how you dreamt of me becoming a great leader for this state and yet now here you are sitting in that very chair saying that there is nothing similar between me and our late leader.'

Sharadha Arumugam came to her husband's rescue by placing a hard slap on her only child's shapely bum and said, ' Yendi, don't pretend as if you don't understand what is in your father's heart and mind. All we want is you to be safe and happy.'

' So, if I get married, then I will be safe and happy, is that it? Is that what you both want for me?'

Durai Pandi smiled lovingly, 'Baby, I know you very well and so I know that you are just bullying us.'

Kavita went for one last twist and posed a logical question to her dad, ' Tell me Minister Durai Pandi Arumugam, will marriage instantly make me happy and safe and is marriage the only way to be happy and are all married people really happy?'

Both dad and mum were now totally lost with these direct and genuine questions and they just looked at their daughter who wagged a finger at both of them and said, ' Ha, that's what I thought. No reply of any sort and not even an attempt to answer a simple question that their daughter is asking them.'

Minister Durai Pandi smiled at Kavita, ' Nothing is certain in this world and anything can happen at any time.' Pointing to Vijay's smiling face, ' Did you or me imagine that we would be without Vijay or did we plan for Amma's sudden death that left such a big void and yet somehow we scraped through and are now facing elections in a few months.'

He raised his hands and said, ' Everything is up to God and what it wants and that includes the answer to your question about marriage and happiness. One can only try and try hard and the rest is up to life and what has been destined. We can only try to get a good husband for you and maybe one who even you will approve of but we cannot guarantee you anything. One can only try and keep trying.'

Kavita clapped her hands and said, ' Thank you, Dad, for being honest with me. I am glad that we are all on the same page here and that we don't have to hide the truth even if it might sometimes be ugly and dirty.'

Vaanathai Pola 276

Between both of them, Kavita was more scared of her mother and it had been like that right from the time she had been a child and she still remembered the very first time she had been whacked by her mother with well-placed slaps on her bum and back and still carried the memories of the knocks that had been delivered on her head over the years, leading right up to the time she began going to college.

Her dad too had been a strict person but he had never spent too much time with all of them for his political life had always kept him away from home. There had been a few times when he had fixed her with his trademark stare that clearly expressed his disappointment when her mother had complained about her.

For Kavita, her father's thoughts and opinions had always meant a lot and his disappointment in her had always hurt her more than the whacks and slaps that her mother so lovingly delivered on her head, bum and back.

Yet, now, she stood before both of them, more worried and scared about her father's heart that had suffered a massive attack after hearing the news about Vijay's death than worrying about herself.

Kavita remembered the last time that her mother had given her a whack in anger and smiled recollecting the incident that had happened in Devi theatre when she and her college friends had been arrested for beating up a couple of guys who had passed insulting remarks about their favourite pair, MGR and Jayalalitha while watching their favourite film " Ayirathil Oruvan " that had been re-released in a digital format with enhancements in both sound and video.

That had been way back in her first year of college in 2006 and the cops had arrived and arrested all of them and had taken them to the Triplicane police station and had been just about ready to book all of them under IPC section 268 for causing a public nuisance when Kavita had requested a moment alone with the Inspector and had requested him not to file an FIR until he had heard her out.

The Inspector had stood in the middle of the station and had refused her proposal and had instead yelled at them, ' all of you look like you come from well to do upper-middle-class families and yet here you are in my station after being arrested for violence against these two drunk men.'

Kavita had spoken boldly, ' Drunk or not drunk, they were the ones who provoked this whole mess and they were the ones who started this whole mess.'

The Inspector, a tall, heavily built man with a huge moustache had glowered at Kavita in anger but it had no effect on her for she, in turn, had glowered angrily at him and had said, ' Inspector sir, I will not sit idle and listen to people insulting my Puratchi Thalaivar and Amma and I will do the same even if God dares to do that and speak in that insulting way.'

The Inspector along with the other officers had deliberated for a few minutes and had finally concluded that it would be better to book them under IPC section 268 and ask them to appear in court and let the Magistrate talk some sense into them.

Kavita had asked the Inspector as to what he was going to do with the two drunk men who had been the cause for them being in the station and he had said sarcastically, ' None of your business what we do with them or how we go about doing it.'

' I want you to book them under Section 499 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for defaming a public leader and that too the sitting chief minister of this state and the head of the ruling party.'

The Inspector felt a twinge of fear the moment Amma's name had been mentioned and pushing it away, he had yelled loudly and angrily, ' Shut the f..k up, little girl or else I will be forced to book all of you for Prostitution with intent and use these two drunk men as witnesses and proof and make them tell in open court that you women came on to them with the intent of selling sex for money.'

But his harsh and filthy words had evoked just the opposite effect on Kavita who had clapped her hands happily and had looked at her friends and had whispered, ' Baasha time has come.'

The Inspector and the other cops were not used to such bold talk and behaviour and had watched with fascination as Kavita had smiled and delivered that same lines that the superstar had delivered in the cabin of the chairman of the medical college.

Kavita had stepped closer and standing boldly before the Inspector had said, ' Iyaa, yen peru Kavita.Ennaku innoru peru irukku.Kavita Durai Pandi Arumugam.'

The moment she had said her father's name, all hell had broken loose for Minister Durai Pandi Arumugam was the most powerful person in the state after AMMA herself and who also happened to be her close confidante.

The Inspector felt his bladder just about ready to explode and had nearly fainted in fear and shock.

But Kavita had calmed him down and had then made a call to her father on her mobile phone and had placed it loud-speaker mode so that the Inspector and all the other cops could hear him clearly.

' Appa, hi. Busy ya?'

' I am never busy for my child. Ennamma. Enna venum da, Kavi kutty' Minister Durai Pandi Arumugam's voice had lovingly asked and had filled the entire station with his familiar voice.

' Appa, one of my friends got arrested and The Inspector of the station threatened to charge her under a prostitution case.'

The wise and experienced man's voice was heard loud and clear, ' I am sorry, but where was this friend of yours arrested Kavita and what was she doing there, if you don't mind me asking that for the Inspector might be just doing his duty.'

' I know that Dad, but my friend along with a few others were arrested in Devi theatre while watching Iyaa and Amma's film Ayirathil Oruvan and who happened to beat up a few drunk men who kept passing dirty and vulgar remarks about our leaders.'

The voice of Minister Durai Pandi Arumugam was now filled with Rage and it exploded like a bomb, ' Kavitama, You don't have to say any more for I can understand what must have transpired in the station. Which station is it da, chellam?'

Twenty minutes later two Deputy Commissioners had arrived at the station and had apologised to Kavita and her friends and had asked them to leave and had even provided them with police vehicles to be dropped off at their homes and had then turned on the Poor Inspector who was transferred that very night to Ramnad District which faces year-round water shortage and famine.

Kavita had come back home and had narrated the whole story to her mother who had given her a whack on her back and had told her to behave properly in public in future and that had been it.

That had been the last time her mother had hit her.

Kavita stood before her dad and mum and said, ' I have some good news and maybe bad news but not for me and maybe it is not bad after all but might be just a bit disturbing for you folk.'

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YEj20IAoals

Anno Domini-In the year of our lord 2021

Another year is on us. A new beginning perhaps and perhaps not for beginnings do not begin with time. Time is of no essence, life is and always was and always be. Time is an eternally flowing river, a sea without shores and we just journey on it for a little time.

So, what does a new year even mean for me, you and for all of us if it is not another beginning towards a better day and a better time for all people and all lives that dwell inside this island universe called Planet Earth.

Actor Rajinikanth announced that he was not starting his own political party and so the old enemies DMK and AIADMK will go at it as usual and without any distractions.

Ram Rajya or Raavan Rajya and it matters not to me. I work hard for my living. I work hard to stay healthy and fit and go about my life without any help from the state or the nation's capital where the Prime Minister lives. I don't even have to worry about taxes for it is deducted even before it comes into my account and the only taxes I have to worry about is on petrol, gas cylinder and other essentials.

So, 2021, I welcome you with the due courtesy, that, you, time, deserve and nothing more for my tryst with you ends with that.

No new resolutions. No new goals or ambitions.

But, I do want to raise the bar of my soul.

I want to give more, do more, say more and sing more through my writing and thoughts and yes, bug and bore you all more than 2020.

The year is 2021, January 1 and yet I feel I am in my old clothes that are from a few generations ago and I confess that I did try undressing and getting into new clothes but I again confess that the clothes are refusing to come away for you see they are not just clothes but the skin of my soul and thoughts.

I sometimes wonder about the age of my real mother, this earth that I live in and wonder what her new year would be like.

Maybe, her New year, would be that moment when Mankind really takes charge of its elevated position which it has been raised to and thinks not only for his own species but also for all life on this planet.

A dream, Yes. Pipe dream. maybe but you agree that it is a good dream and a vision of Utopia.

2021 resolutions. I want to conserve water and I will start that right in my home and start by not wasting water and food. Firstly, see that none of the taps are dripping drops of water. I have already told the guy who cleans my car to just wipe it with a wet cloth and not waste too much water on it.

I will do more and better to look after the stray dogs and cats in my neighbourhood and see that they are fed and that their thirst is quenched.

I will strive to do better in the handling of my own species and will try harder not to judge anybody with only sight and sound and give them the due respect that they deserve and that we all deserve.

Lastly, most importantly, I will look up at the sun, the sky, the moon and the stars and at all those who I love and cherish and tell myself again and again, " Sat, you are a lucky soul and a blessed one at that for you are surrounded by so the wings of so many angels. Be grateful for that blessing and never forget that you too have the power to do, give, bless and love more and more with words and with your own wings."

So, 2021, I welcome you and hope and pray that your stay will be a good one for all life on this planet.

Good morning. Good afternoon. Good evening. I wish you all a Happy New year.

Lots of love and best wishes.

Vaanathai Pola 277

Kavita knew in her heart that one way or another that by the time she had finished talking to parents, things would never be the same again. She loved her parents more than anything, even her own life and the only thing could even come close to being compared with what she felt for her parents had been her love and devotion for her late brother, Vijay who she still loved even though he was no more.

But, now Radhu had stepped into her life and was a part of her heart and filled every cell of her body and to top that she was now carrying their child. If somebody had predicted a few months ago that she would meet someone and fall in love with him and then become pregnant before even being married, she would have laughed in that person's face and told him or her to get their heads checked up.

That was then and this was now and here she was standing before her parents whom she loved dearly and would have rather willingly died than cause them a moment's worth of pain and grief. But, it had to be said and shared and there was no way around it.

Kavita's dad, Minister Durai Pandi Arumugam who had been staring at his daughter along with his wife Sharadha, smiled and said, ' Kavi, we are still your parents and will remain your parents even if you disown us. So, stop thinking so much and come and sit down and unburden whatever thoughts that are weighing you down.'

Kavita walked and slowly sank into the chair that was between both of them and continued to struggle with her thoughts and as to how to broach the subject of Radhu and her pregnancy.

Both her parents knew their daughter very well and that she carried herself with great dignity both in public and private and there was no distinguishing between the two personas. She was always the same, blunt, frank, honest and righteous person and that was the Kavita who came home to them and the same Kavita who left home and into the public life.

Bearing that thought, Sharadha Arumugam winked at her husband, signalling him to talk and find out what was going in their daughter's mind. But, he shook his head and opened his eyes wide in fear and she angrily and quietly mouthed the word, ' coward' and leaning towards Kavita asked her if she was hungry.

' Are you ready to eat or do you want a cup of coffee before that?'

' No ma, not now and no coffee. I will have breakfast but only after I have finished telling you about what I just mentioned a few moments ago.'

Everything appears hunky-dory but then the same can turn topsy turvy and on a dime.

Holding that thought in her mind, Kavita calmed herself down and said, ' I am ready to get married.'

Durai Pandi's mind went blank and he blinked several times and then slowly looked at his wife Sharadha and asked, ' I am not dreaming, am I for I just heard our daughter say what we have been wanting her to say for a long time now.'

We are all individuals and we remain thus retaining our own identities even as we exist as a tight-knit family that is bonded in love and trust. That is the beauty and sanctity of real love when many individuals with their thoughts and characters can

co-exist in harmony and work as a single unit.

Kavita had known it and she was proved right for her words had different effects on each of her parents face.

Where her father was just about ready to leap out of the chair and starting dancing in joy, her mother, Kavita observed was more restrained and importantly very calm and quiet in thought.

Kavita could practically hear the wheels and gears shift in her mothers head as she began to put two and two together to make sense of her daughter's declaration that had come right out of the blue.

Sharadha nodded calmly and then slowly turned to her husband and said, ' Minister, please calm yourself and your heart and don't overly excited for that will exert a toll on it.'

Durai Pandi smiling happily, ' calm, How can I be calm when my daughter has just made me so happy by telling exactly what I have been wanting and aching for her to say all these years.'

Waving her away with a hand, he quickly turned to Kavita and said excitedly, ' Forget your mum, Kavita. I am so happy baby. I promise you that your wedding will be remembered for a long time to come as one of the most expensive and grandest one that was ever held in this state or country.'

Kavita smiled and thanked her dad and then glanced at her mother whose brain gears were still in full action, ' Mom, Don't you have anything to say to me? Isn't this what you wanted, what you both wanted? Here I am telling you that I am ready and willing to get married and yet.....?

' Yet what, Kavita. Finish it, please.'

Kavita was a brave woman but not brave enough to face down her mother who continued to stare at her with a frank and open look and so she slowly dropped her head in thought wondering how to talk to them about Radhu and her pregnancy.

Sharadha Arumugam smiled, ' Kavi, you know how much I love you' and pointing to her husband, ' how much we both love you and yet you ask me and doubt the love we have for you. Of course I am your father want you to get married and of course, we want you to have a happy and peaceful life. But....'

Kavita sighed, ' There we go, that But............... again and it butts in again.'

Durai Pandi looking a bit lost looked at his wife and then at his daughter and then at his wife and back at his daughter.

Sharadha looked at her husband, ' What? you think you are watching a tennis game and so are turning your head right to left and left to right as the ball is getting whacked on the court?'

Durai Pandi Arumugam was a past master in political games and a wise man with decades of experience and that acumen came in handy as he realized that he was way out of his depth in the current game being played between his wife and daughter and so fell silent.

Sharadha Arumugam looked at Kavita, ' Solluma, you were going to say something, finish it.'

Durai Pandi whispered in a brave and mousy voice, ' She was going to talk about marriage, nothing else, Sharadha' and turning to Kavita, ' I am right, ille Kavima?'

' My stupid husband, our daughter is not here to talk about her marriage but is sitting in front of us trying to tell us that she has decided to get married since she has found that person and is in love with him.'

That said, Sharadha eyes became more intense and then she looked at her husband, ' It must be that gentleman called Radha Krishnan.'

A heart knows. A mother's soul knows. Pure love knows.

Vaanathai Pola 278

Flashback to chapter 88

Kavita looked into the bedroom and saw father, Minister Durai Pandi Arumugam sitting near the window reading some Tamil magazine while the music player gently hummed and filled the air around him with some old Tamil songs penned by his favourite writer, Kannadasan and turning to her mother, asked her, ' Looks like you too have joined the bandwagon of playing mind games like dad.'

' Mindgame. How can you label a mothers love, and her instinct to know what her child is feeling, as a mind game?

Kavita fell silent and Sharadha looked at her daughter, ' there is something different about you today and although I did sense something different yesterday itself, I let it go for it was not my business and thinking that you will talk about it when you are ready.'

Kavita's eyes flared open and she hurriedly looked away and her mother holding her chin slowly turned her face to hers and said, ' Your lips look a bit bruised' and walked into her bedroom to join her husband who enquired, ' was that Kavi that you were talking to?'

Flashback to chapter 90

The last rays of the sun illuminated their room they were in with its light through the window and shed its rays and grace on all their faces and Durai Pandi gazed fondly at his only child and asked her, ' Do you trust me, Kavita?'

' Appa, what do you mean by that? Of course, I trust you and completely.'

' If that is so, then tell me what is this new change that has come upon you and why it started from yesterday?'

Like anyone of us whose eyes go wide and momentarily freeze when a vehicle coming towards us hits us with its high beam headlights, Kavita too froze and just stared at her dad unable to say anything.

' It is not Raman for we all know that is over and was just an illusion that you were seeing and also he is not here in the city. That being the case, then someone has reached into you, touched you and in the process lit the candle in your soul for I noticed it yesterday itself but did not want to talk about it and intrude into your privacy. But more importantly, did not want to ruin your happiness and the great mood you were in then and also right now.'

Sharadha looked at her husband with new eyes and new understanding and both of them looked at their daughter for an answer.

Minster Durai Pandi gently took Kavita's hand and enveloped it in his and asked her in a soft voice, ' Is he the same person who boldly took on those thugs in the hotel today?'

Kavita nodded and her father asked her, ' who is this man? what is his name?'

' Radha Krishnan.'

Back to the moment and the present

When one has spent many years living with another person or persons, one gets a feel for the others moods, likes, dislikes and importantly the time to their explosion after the fuse has been lit.

Kavita knew very well as to what the limits of her parent's tolerance were and how much they could be pushed and how far their patience could be stretched before breaking and so she nodded her head and confirmed what her mother had just said.

Durai Pandi Arumugam too nodded and then smiled and spoke, ' Well, this is good news. At least now we can be sure that you will be happy as this marriage is of your own choice. So, that's one problem solved and out of the way.'

Sharadha stared at her daughter wondering what to say and what not to say and Kavita sensing the debate going on in her mum's heart, said, ' Amma, we are all one tight-knit family. Have always been like that and will remain like that. So, please, don't hold back your thoughts and share it with me, I mean us. It does not matter if I like or dislike what you have to say, just say it so we are all clear on where we stand on this marriage.'

' Kavi, you are my child. your happiness and safety take precedence over mine and you will always be our first priority. The love of a parent does not diminish with age or after the child gets married and leaves them but burns brightly in their souls.'

Sharadha smiled wearily, ' I agree that you broaching the subject of marriage to us is a bit surprising but the very thought that you are going to get married beats everything and is the happiest news that has been heard in this house after a long time .'

The wisdom and experience of Minister Durai Pandi Arumugam came to the fore as he asked, ' Kavima, this gentleman, Radha Krishnan that you are in love with, you just met him only a few days back. Is that enough?'

Kavita looked at him and then slowly turned away as her mind and heart absorbed the question and after a few moments, she replied in a soft voice, ' Appa, I swear that I did not plan for this to happen to me. Both of you know me very well and maybe better than I know myself. It just happened and all I know right now and at this moment is that I love him and cannot live without him.'

Slowly leaning back into the chair, ' It feels like our paths and lives were always meant to cross each other to become one, and after all that has happened in the past few days, I am absolutely certain, that Radhu is the man for me, and that if I get married it will be to him and nobody else.'

Her dad shrugged his shoulders resignedly ' If that is how you feel then you have our blessings and approval. But then, this Marriage is not just about you two and also involves both our families. We know you but we hardly know anything about this gentleman. Who is he? what do his parents do and where is he from?'

Kavita looked at her dad confusedly, and her father smiled, ' Ammadi Kavi, please don't forget who you are and what your position in this state is and who you serve. These questions that I just asked will be asked in every newspaper, tv channel and Youtube channels and will be asked by the people of Tamil Nadu.'

Her father's words were ominous in their meaning and hearing them say it, Kavita felt a sense of doom fill her mind and she stood up from her chair and looked helplessly here and there for a shoulder and words of succour and then in desperation slowly turned and walked towards Vijay who loomed over her in the frame with his charismatic smile frozen in place and for eternity.

She looked into her late brother's eyes, ' Dei, anna, how the bloody hell do I finish telling our parents about Radhu and that he is half Muslim and how do I even start about me being pregnant. You are up there safe and comfy in heaven, and I am down here all alone and having to face our parents.'

She heard the voice, the new but now all too familiar voice comfort her, ' There is nothing to be afraid of when you know you are in the right and especially not when you are in love for everything else takes a backseat.'

Kavita thought to herself, ' Maybe, this is how a mobile phone with no charge left feels when it is plugged in for I surely feel that way right now.'

Something had changed about their daughter for she now looked as if she was glowing all over and both Durai Pandi and Sharadha stared at Kavita as she sat back in the chair that was between them.

' Appa, Amma, I am your daughter and I belong to you and yes, also belong to the party. But, I also belong to myself and to Radhu now.'

She looked at both of them without any fear or feeling of discomfort that had taken hold of her and said calmly and boldly, ' I love Radha Krishnan and I am going to be his wife and everything else takes a backseat to that and that includes my position in the party and my position in the cabinet.'

She looked at them with open eyes that reflected her pure love for Radhu and told them, ' these newspapers, Tv channels, youtube channels are all after ratings and revenues and are always out looking for news that they can sensationalize and flog for days and weeks on end and until they find a new bone to chew on.

Take the case of the Bollywood actor Sushant Singh and how all the channels carried that news for months on at end without even having any proper proof or evidence and most importantly when they were not supposed to speculate on a case that the Police and CBI were investigating. Both Republic and Times tv channels which are Pro-Modi and who has an axe to grind against the Maharashtra government, particularly against the Chief Minister and the head of the Shiv Sena party went on a lynching spree and blaming game. But all that is for nought.

Forget that old case and take the recent death of the popular tv actress called Chitra and how the internet was flooded with news and reports and now after a few weeks, they have all fallen silent. Why, because it is old and stale news and the public has moved on? It is going to be the same with news of my marriage which will soon be forgotten.'

Minister Durai Pandi Arumugam looked at the jewel of his life and said, ' Kavi, you already have both our approval and blessings and so there is no need for you to say anything more or explain your position.'

Sharadha Arumugam shook her head and said, ' Minister sir, don't be in such a rush' and left the sentence and thought unfinished which made Durai Pandi look at her hurriedly and then he looked at Kavita and only then it dawned on him that there she had more to say and that she had not even begun to say it.

' Oh, oh' he mumbled and thought to himself, " trust my lioness of a daughter to go easy on us for she has always been a firebrand character and I guess it was silly of me to assume that something as simple as the talk of marriage will end smoothly and calmly for all concerned.'

Kavita shrugged casually, ' Appa, amma is right and hit the nail on its head for there is something important that I have to tell you about Radhu.'

It is known and a proven fact that a mother's breasts will start dripping milk the moment she hears the cries of her child but what is not known or said even though it is whispered is the feeling of what one goes through when madly and deeply in love and Kavita knew it then as she experienced it.

She heard him, felt him in her breast, her lips, in her womb and she felt his presence and light throughout her body and slowly stood up not knowing her feet were raising her up to a standing position and turned towards the entrance and saw her driver SI Kangaraj running towards them.

He came to a halt and saluted her father first and then her and said, ' amma, he is here, unga sir is here and is waiting for your permission to come in.'

Minister Durai Pandi looked up at SI Kanagraj, ' unga sir na, yaaru? who are you talking about?

Sharadha Arumugam smiled and said, ' Minister sir, how can you be such a potato when it is obvious that it is Mr Radha Krishnan who has come calling on us and on Kavita.'

Reference chapters to the flashback when Kavita mentioned to her parents about Radhu and after the incident at the Adyar park hotel where he saved all their lives.

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