*From & To Sathish* - Thread 4 - Page 141

Vaanathai Pola 279

Sub-Inspector Kanagaraj's face took on that familiar " oops, bloops " expression which a normal, daily average person has in his or her arsenal and which erupts when the person accidentally steps in a huge pile of dung or dog crap, has bitten down on something bitter and tangy, swallowed a fly or a passing insect when yawning or just the usual and cliched goof-up job a man is known to do and which is to ignore decorum in favour of loyalty and in favour of the heart.

SI Kanagaraj had come to the house of Minister Durai Pandi Arumugam as a simple grade one police constable and as a driver. He still was a driver but had been slowly pushed up the ranks and promoted as a Sub-Inspector. His loyalty should have been with his master but then it belonged more to the child of the master and the to junior Minister Kavita Arumugam.

' Iyaa, please forgive me for ignorance and for crossing the line and being impertinent with my words' he said in a pathetic and grovelling voice.

Durai Pandi glared at him, ' everyone is in the know and a wise guy but I and my pondatti are kept in the dark and the last ones to know about what is happening with my child.'

Sharadha Arumugam tugged a few hairs that were sticking out of her husbands arm making him yelp like a puppy and said, ' There is a guest who is about to be shown in and he looks like he is going to be a permanent guest of our family and yet here you are fighting with Kanagaraj.'

She told Kanagaraj, ' SI Sir, Don't worry about your boss. I will talk to him and see that he doesn't take out his anger on you when it is in fact aimed at someone else. Now, please go and bring our guest to us for I am really curious to meet this stranger who has captivated my daughter's heart and that too when we had just about given up all hopes of that ever being done.'

After SI Kanagaraj had left, she turned and looked at her husband and told him to behave and be nice or else face her wrath and worse his daughter's too.

Minister Durai Pandi looked at his wife, ' Brutus, you were the one who was asking and interrogating Kavita while I just sat still and here you are now asking me and warning me to behave.'

He looked at both of them, ' I feel sad for that man who has come here to ask my permission for my daughter's hand in marriage and pity him for little does he know that marriage means spending life in jail and that too with nutcases as wives and daughters.'

' Nutcases? did you just use the plural form instead of singular? does that mean you have other wives hidden somewhere and have been living a life of a bigamist?'

Minister Durai Pandi slowly got to his feet and mumbled, ' The death of our late chief minister AMMA was very tragic indeed and it left a huge void and vacuum in our party and Tamil Nadu politics and yet there was one small relief for most of us and that was not having to face her anger and or worse her scarier stare that when fixed could make grown men pee in their veshtis. Sadly for me, I had to face her and work with her all these years and then come back home to face another Amma in my own home and also a junior Amma in the form of my daughter.'

Turning to his son Vijay's photo, 'dei, you escaped and left me behind, all alone and at the mercy of these two women.'

Both Sharadha and Kavita were about to say something nasty to him when they heard noises and turned towards the drawing-room and saw Radha Krishnan walking towards them.

But, he was not coming towards them alone but was closely followed by Appu, Pappu and Meena and whose eyes were wide open, taking in the grandeur of the large house.

Then all three caught sight of Kavita and ran towards her excitedly yelling, ' Kavita aunty, Kavita aunty ' and hugged her tightly.

Sharadha looked at her husband and the look she gave was easily understood by him and his eyes opened wide in fear as their minds raced ahead wondering if Radhu was a widower, or a divorcee, separated or far worse was simply having an affair with their daughter when he was already a father to three children.

Radhu read their minds and heard their thoughts clearly for he was not just a mere mortal but a little bit more and had been since he had been raised from death and brought back to life by Buddha the lion in Perumalvaram.

He folded his hands and said, ' Vanakkam. I am Radha Krishnan.'

The boy who went into the dark and came back with light.

It is nice to spice up an action and adventure story and even a sci-fi story about aliens with love, romance and also daily mundane stuff. For mundane is good and familiar is always good and easy on the mind and soul.

Familiarity breeds contempt it is said but what if familiarity breeds more love, respect and gratitude. WOW! Think as to how beautiful life and all our lives would be.

Dream, just a dream but still it is okay to dream about magic and utopia.

Come into my dreams and stay for a while before you leave to return.

Prose, poem, grammatical mistakes and all is me, your satish, the teller of this tall tale.

Vaanathai Pola 280

The moment they laid eyes on him, both Durai Pandi and Sharadha knew immediately that the man who stood before them was not your garden variety man that you see every day of your life. This was a man's man, who was tall at nearly 6 feet or more but more than his height and his lean but powerful physique, what stood out were his sea-green eyes set like pieces of jade in his Indian face.

Both went " green eyes, contacts, some kind of latest trend maybe" in their minds and Radhu heard them clearly but decided that he would not say, offer any words until asked for them.

Durai Pandi Arumugam asked Radhu to sit down and he did and looked at them politely and said in a deep voice, ' It gives me great joy to finally meet both of you. Thank you for granting me permission to meet you.'

Sharadha and Durai Pandi were both from Madurai and all though their education had been in Tamil medium schools, they had learnt the basics in English Communication after being exposed to it through their children, Vijay and Kavita, who had been educated in English Medium schools and Colleges. That and all the English films and watching English news channels had given them a decent handle on the language all though they hardly ever used it.

Yet, the moment they heard Radha Krishnan speak the Language, they realized that his accent was a bit different from the accent Kavita used and they looked at him and wondered if he was some kind of professor or probably a person who worked in the publishing industry.

But the signals were all wrong, Durai Pandi thought to himself for the man looked dangerous even while sitting and talking to them politely and he exuded an aura of power that screamed danger and death and unable to face the green eyes of the guest, he turned away feeling a twinge of fear in the primitive part of his soul.

Politics is a game, a field which requires more than anything guile and intelligence and Durai Pandi Arumugam had loads of it and a lot more to spare for he had been a politician from his teens and so was vastly experienced and that had blessed him with above-average judgement skills.

He had followed the late MGR after he had been kicked out of the DMK party and had been one of the first members to join his newly formed ADMK which later became AIADMK and he had become one of the youngest ministers when they had swept the 1977 state elections. After MGR had passed away, he had switched his loyalties to the young and in-experienced but highly intelligent Jayalalitha who later became known as "Amma" and had served under her leadership.

He had been offered the chief minister post and leadership of the party but had refused is politely citing health reasons and had instead slowly stepped back from active political duties and then Vijay's death had just hastened that process.

The only reason Durai Pandi had not resigned from his cabinet minister post had been because of the late Vaidyanathan and the rivalry between them and also because the Chief Minister EPS had requested him to stay until things were brought under control.

" Durai Pandi Anna, you are right now the senior-most party member and even if you abandon me and the party then who will we look for advice and counsel. Please stay until the next elections come around and by then we will have both finished grooming Kavita and the few other promising youngsters to take over the reins and lead us into the future."

These humble words that had spoken by Chief Minister Edappadi were what was keeping him in politics and it was all the experience that was keeping him that now served him well and told him that the man called Radha Krishnan was no sheep but a wolf, a lion in a sheep's clothing.

Radhu read his thoughts and then whispered to Kavita who heard him in her mind, ' your dad is a smart man and he is doing exactly what a dad would do in this situation. Maybe, it would be nice if you could take the kids and show them around while I talk to your parents and convince them about our love and ask their permission to marry you.'

Kavita suddenly stood up and looked at the kids and asked, ' kutties, come, let me show you around this house and then take you to the kitchen and see if we can find anything to eat for I am hungry and I hope you are too.'

Meena nodded and joked, ' Aunty, we are always hungry and will never say no to food and that too not when we go to such grand houses like this one.'

Then she looked at Appu and Pappu and said, ' come, lets first get our blessings from aunty's parents and then go pay our respects to Vijay uncle.'

Both Durai Pandi and Sharadha watched with mixed emotions as the three children touched their feet in respect and seeking their blessings which they gave and then watched as their eyes turned misty with tears as the kids went and stood before the smiling face of Vijay Arumugam and prayed for him.

Then Kavita took them away to show them the house leaving Radhu alone with her parents.

Sharadha used a napkin to wipe the tears from her eyes and Radhu felt her pain in his own soul for he knew what it was to lose someone you love dearly and he had lost two. His wife and son.

' Ma'am, I am really sorry for your loss. Please accept my condolences.'

' Thank you and please allow me to tell you that your children are really beautiful and that you are blessed to have them.'

Radhu smiled, ' yes, I am blessed but they are my children now although they were not so a little while ago.'

His words had the desired effect on his future In-laws and he smiled and waited for the questions that he was sure would come and they came.

' What does that mean? my children but not my children a little while ago?' Durai Pandi questioned.

Good morning. I wish you all a beautiful day.

I am sure that all of you have passed great classics in form of prose and poetry and epics as time passed through the corridors of your lives. Shakespeare, wordsworth, Shelley, Hemingway and more and have savoured them to you heart's content and have made their thoughts a part of your soul and daily ritual.

Yes, me too. I too began to read and gobble books and through them the writers thoughts and their pain and joy and made them a part of me and they remain that to this day.

But, ennamo theriyala, from my childhood days, I have always abhorred bombastic thoughts which somehow forced me to master a skill, a way to cut through hundreds of pages of words and get to the heart of the seed that the authors had in their minds when they begin to write. The seed here is the thought that went on to become an epic, a great novel, a poem, a classic, a two line Kural ( The Kural of Thiruvalluvar) or a haiku like the real seed when planted in soil, germinates, sprouts into a tender stalk and one day grows into a tree. So does, the thought of a writer, poet, philosopher start with a single seed of a thought and then flows out of their souls culminating in a new creation.

I always go straight and ask, ' what is it, what are you saying, conveying?' and once I have grasped that, then I sit and chew on it, ruminate on it and then digest it in my brain. Honestly, lot of it is not mentally edible nor practical and useful for our daily lives.

Purpose. Read it again and loudly and use it to make that sentence " what is the purpose behind all this?" and you have our whole existence right before you standing as a house built out of cards and maybe with sand and fog. Inhale or exhale and they will be pulled and pushed out of existence.

Every waking moment of mine when I am really conscious and am alive with mu conscience, I roll the word " Purpose" around my mouth and savour and discover its real meaning. Sadly, I have not found any answer, logical or one which at least will explain the reason why all this including you and me are and that too faced with constant craving and constant sorrow in this rather consant state of life.

My friends tell me, ' O..A dei, Loosu. Vanthiya, poniya appadi iru, chumma nochu pannathe( you came, you will go. so stop bugging yourself and us).

I grin like a jackass and sing

நல்லதோர் வீணை செய்தே – அதை

நலங்கெடப் புழுதியில் எரிவதுண்டோ

நல்லதோர் வீணை செய்தே – அதை

நலங்கெடப் புழுதியில் எரிவதுண்டோ

சொல்லடி சிவசக்தி – எனைச்

சுடர்மிகும் அறிவுடன் படைத்துவிட்டாய்

சொல்லடி சிவசக்தி – எனைச்

சுடர்மிகும் அறிவுடன் படைத்துவிட்டாய்

வல்லமை தாராயோ

வல்லமை தாராயோ – இந்த

மானிலம் பயனுர வாழ்வதற்கே

வல்லமை தாராயோ – இந்த

மானிலம் பயனுர வாழ்வதற்கே

சொல்லடி சிவசக்தி – நிலச்

சுமையென வாழ்ந்திடப் புரிகுவையோ

Nallathor veenai seithae

Adhai nalangeda puzhuthiyil erivathundo

Nallathor veenai seithae

Adhai nalangeda puzhuthiyil erivathundo

My Mother Shakti, you have created me

like a beautiful veena

and was it just to be cast away

as useless garbage

If then why did you create me

with all these questions hunger

and knowledge

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3PHhBP5AJk

Vaanathai Pola 281

The question ' What does that mean? my children but not my children until a little while ago ?' asked by Kavita's father Minister Durai Pandi was a valid, perfectly normal in logic and intent and he knew it and so did Sharadha and yet both saw that it had evoked some kind of emotional reaction in their visitor, Radha Krishnan.

Durai Pandi was an experienced politician and had been in the game for nearly 45 years now and yet that had never taken away his kindness and simplicity that his native Madurai soil had blessed him with and thinking that he had probably been a bit hasty in asking the question, began to nervously apologize to Radha Krishnan.

' Kindly forgive me if I have offended you in any way with my question. The equation between you and Kavita is your own and even though it concerns us, her parents. You are under our roof and in our home as a guest and it is our duty to tend to you and treat you with respect.'

Radhu blessed with his new perceptive skills that had come due to the incident in Perumalvaram, smiled and tried to read both Durai Pandi's and his wife Sharadha's thoughts and was pleasantly taken aback when he realised that Kavita's parents were indeed really kind and genuine souls for their thoughts were only about their daughter and her future and that the question her father had asked had no ulterior motive. He persisted with his silence for a few more moments and continued to read their thoughts and only felt the parents worry about their only child and a lot of empathy towards the three orphan kids.

For Sharadha Arumugam, hearing her husband apologise was a bitter pill to swallow and that too when he was not at fault. But the man who sat in front of them was like he said a guest but also more than that and so pushing away the irritation that she felt at her husband for apologizing, she turned to Radhu, ' Mr Radha Krishnan, do you agree that you are here for a reason and which happens to be a very important one for all of us concerned?'

' Yes ma'am.'

If that is true sir, then you see the point in my husband's polite question and understand the reason why he asked that question.'

Radhu smiled and leant slightly forward and said, ' Sir, I am the one who is at fault here for taking a few moments to gather my thoughts before answering your question and that momentary silence made you think that you had offended me by asking the connection between me and the children and The Flock. I am sorry for that.'

Being seated before Kavita's parents who were soon going to be his In-laws and by that very definition, his family in the very near future made Radhu realize that there was nothing to be lost or gained by talking about The Flock.

Turning to Sharadha, ' Maam, both of you are perfectly entitled to ask anything you want and I will answer all of them honestly.'

Pointing to the three kids who were in the kitchen with Kavita, ' I met these angels just a short time ago and that too after joining The Flock as their new head of the institution.'

He explained to them about Appu, Pappu and Meena and how they had been orphaned at a very young age and now lived under the care and protection of The Flock.

' It is a very sad and tragic situation when children lose one or both parents and become orphaned at such a tender age. But, Mr Radha Krishnan, what is it you do there at The Flock? This place called The Flock, is it some charity organization or is it part of some NGO?'

' None of them sir. It is an Educational institution that is meant for underprivileged kids from all walks of life but at the same time the way it is run is comparable to any top boarding school in the country and maybe even better in my opinion' Radhu said proudly.

Durai Pandi Arumugam looked a bit confused and bemused, ' But who funds the running of The Flock, Mr Radha Krishnan? By some multi-national company or by some private trust?'

' Neither sir. The flock is the child of one man. A brave and great man.'

Sharadha clapped her hands and exclaimed, ' God bless that great soul. How I wish we could meet him some time or at least visit this place once and maybe do some kind of contribution to the place.'

Saying this, she looked pointedly at her Minister Husband who looked at her and then at Radhu and quickly added, ' Yes. Sure. We have enough saved for our old age and enough saved for our daughters future that will last several generations.'

He looked at Sharadha, ' why not do that right now? Go and get my cheque book, please and let us at least start this day by doing a good deed and serving a great and noble cause.'

Radhu raised his hand and said, ' Please, anything to do with money and financial contribution has to go through our temporary Chairman of The Flock for she is the one who has the power of attorney and also the one who handles all the bank and financial stuff.'

Durai Pandi looked at Radhu, ' She. You said she and also mentioned her being the temporary chairman.'

Hurriedly he added, ' I am so sorry that your founder is no more. Please accept my condolences, Mr Radha Krishnan.'

Radhu smiled, ' No sir, he is not dead. Not yet, although he was left for dead by the roadside after having been stabbed many times by some unknown assailants.'

' OMG! who could be so evil as to hurt such a kind man and a person who runs an institution for children. What a horrible and scary times we live in' Sharadha whispered sadly and began to cry for that was the nature of her soul.

Radhu's respect for Kavita's parents hit the skies and he sat looking at Durai Pandi consoling his wife and realized what precious gems they really were and it also made him realize and understand his lover better.

Durai Pandi Arumugam looked at Radhu, ' This founder of The Flock, your boss. What is his name? Please, tell us more about this great man and what condition he is in right now.'

' The founder's name is Retired Brigadier Rajashekara Varman. The temporary chairman of The Flock is his sister, Dr Girija Padmanabhan.'

Durai Pandi's face paled in shock, ' Brigadier Rajashekar Varman. But of course' and turning to Sharadha, ' Ammadi, Remember that incident near Perungudi a few months ago.'

Sharadha nodded sadly and said, ' A highly decorated officer and who has been in a coma from that night onwards.'

Radhu nodded and said, ' Yes, ma'am. The same person.

Sharadha wiping her tears, ' please, Mr Radha Krishnan, don't call me Ma'am.'

' Then, please don't address me as Mr Radha Krishnan, and instead, use Radhu to address me for people who I am close with, do that.'

Their conversation was disturbed by Radhu's mobile phone who rang softly and he answered it on the second ring and after listening for just a few seconds, answered, ' Ammi, I will be there in twenty minutes.'

He got up and at the same time Kavita and the three children came back and Radhu saw that all four of them were stuffing their faces with breakfast.

Radhu glanced at Kavita and spoke to her in her mind, ' Baby, got to go. Mother called and her voice indicated an emergency.'

Then the rest and the world heard him say, ' Kavita, an urgent matter. I am leaving the kids with you and will return as soon as possible. Is that okay?'

He looked at Meena who nodded and said, ' Master sir. We are okay and I promise that I will watch over these two demons until you come back and see to it that they behave.'

Kavita asked Radhu to wait for a second and the placing her plate down, went to the wall where many sets of keys were dangling and picking out on, handed it to him and said, ' Don't waste time booking a cab. Take my car for you need it more than I do and don't forget that I have my own official vehicle and a dozen armed police commandos to watch over me.'

They all watched Radhu leave in a hurry and then Sharadha looked at her husband and then slowly looked at Kavita, ' Ammi. Isn't that a Muslim word for Amma?'

Kavita looked at her parents and cursing softly, thought to herself, ' Okay, I guess there is no way of avoiding the topic.'

Cold Turkey and my stash of drugs

“Life doesn’t get easier or more forgiving, we get stronger and more resilient.”

Many years ago, may be I better use decades here for this happened sometime in the late 1980's when I saw a friend suffer from cold turkey.

"Cold turkey" refers to the abrupt cessation of a substance dependence and the resulting unpleasant experience, as opposed to gradually easing the process through reduction over time or by using replacement medication.

Sudden withdrawal from drugs such as alcohol, benzodiazepines, and barbiturates can be extremely dangerous, leading to potentially fatal seizures. For long-term alcoholics, going cold turkey can cause life-threatening delirium tremens, rendering this an inappropriate method for breaking an alcohol addiction.

I think he was majorly into Grass and Smack that was the rage back then and me and a few others stood watching as he began to moan, groan and roll on the ground and then began to curse and yell in pain.

He went through four to five cigarettes in a hurry and all that nicotine calmed him down a bit and I have no idea as to what happened after we went our ways to our homes. Must have got his fix, I am sure of that and that guy is still lurking somewhere and believe it or not he comes out only in the night ( Vampire, not. More of a weasel, I think).

Over the years, I have seen hundreds of people exhibit the same symptoms and suffer the same way in many different situations and none of them had anything to with drugs, alcohol or any other intoxicating substances and yet they went through the full range of Cold Turkey.

Not drugs. What then?

Life. Love. Loss. Death. Tragedy. What else?

It takes anywhere between 30 to 90 days for an addict to enter a rehab program and become clean and deaddicted from the drugs and alcohol and I give you a similar program that has been with us for a long time and will also refer to some examples of great souls who entered the rehab program and cleansed themselves.

Buddha walked away from life and in the end sat under a tree for 49 days before he lost his addiction.

Jesus went into the desert and spent 40 days in his own rehab.

Muhammad, The Prophet fasted for many weeks and found Allah.

Ramana Maharshi lay down and died and experienced death for a few minutes before he came out of his addiction called Ego and Self.

All devotees of Swami Ayyappa have to follow a vratham of 41 days before embarking on their voyage to Sabarimala.

It takes a minimum of 30 days to an year or more before we recover from the loss of someone we loved and lost.

It takes more than that when someone get divorced or is abandoned or is betrayed.

Bloody Satish. wtf! Why do you have to look at life in such a crooked, sad and twisted way and then share it with us.

Well, cos we are all life addicts, love addicts and loss addicts and there is no rehab for the likes of me and dare I take the liberty of including you with me.

I could go on and say more, a lot more that would fill a 1000 page book. But I will not and instead give share with you my stash of drugs and booze which is my love, my thoughts and my experiences and hopefully it will help with your own Cold Turkey.

I am really sorry that my cocktail of intoxicants is not the right mix and might not do the trick of giving you a high but, I tried and will keep trying.

The sun will rise and take me on a new high. The moon will shine in the early dawn and I will raise my snout and howl to the crescent moon and lyrics from James bond movies of old and news flash through my mind and lips and I sing.

They say experience is the mother of all wisdom and that necessity is the mother of invention. But then necessity arises from experiences and its defence and offence moves. You either run or make a stand.

“The world breaks everyone and afterward many are strong at the broken places.” – Ernest Hemingway

Good morning. I wish you a beautiful day. Many years ago I wrote this chapter for the story Jannal Oram and today I take the liberty to share it with you.

No rhyme or reason or worse treason

but the bark of an amateur lark

who likes to talk a lot

and chitter and chatter

about this and that and what not

and ends up being thought as a madhatter

atom to molecule and to bigger blocks

a second to a minute to an hour

a breath, a thought, a wispy strand of web

and yet a story, a song and a universe even

Tears falling, falling

heart fluttering, fluttering

my love, departing

Raman stood quietly after Jeeva had left him and he stood for a few minutes in the light of the doorway and then on bare feet he followed his bereft heart and he came running out of the house hoping to catch Jeeva before she went out of his sight. But it was too late for she had already turned the corner.

Raman had never been in love before and so he had no clue as to what was happening to his mind and more importantly to his body. His throat felt parched, his limbs felt heavy and weak and his eyes were burning with salty tears.

He stood outside the gate staring at the street not knowing what to do or how to go handle this situation and he stood with his lips mumbling " Jeeva, what did I do wrong? I thought calmly for both of us and yet here I am and there you are, and both of us feeling lost and lonely."

In the neem tree, a few branches above, the mother crow noisily pushed food down the baby crow's pink mouth and squawking and cawing mother and baby crows looked down with their beady eyes twinkling and they looked down the world below.

The baby crow, a miniature of its parent, shuffled closer to its mother until their bodies touched each other and black and black merged and they sat as one.

The baby crow looked down and cooed gently to its mother " Amma, why is that man standing there staring wildly at the street ahead of him?"

The mother crow " his heart is broken, child. And he is feeling the effect of a broken heart for the very first time."

The baby crow was confused " but who broke his heart and why did they break it, mother?"

The mother crow kept looking at Raman who stood staring at the ground and at his bare feet " Love broke it my son and his love for that woman who ran out broke it and so he is hurting from it."

The baby crow " Amma, you are a woman and does that mean you will break my heart too?"

The mother crow cawed loudly and throwing its wing over its nearly adult son and hugging him closely " Never child. A mother very rarely hurts her child. But then son, there come other women into a man's life and they are all not like his mother and their love is totally another."

" What will happen to him, mother? How will he live with a broken heart?"

The mother crow turned and stared at Raman down below " They mend themselves my child and they are healed again by the kisses and love of the one who broke it or someone else usually comes along with a better love and a better glue that will seal and heal the cracks and breaks of a hurting heart."

The November rain came swiftly, carried by dark rain clouds and they slowly let loose their burdens all over Chennai and Raman turned his face upward into the clouds and heavens above and whispered " what am I supposed to do now? Is this what love all about? is there no right and wrong in love and is there something called true and perfect love."

And as if laughing at this question thrown up at them, the clouds laughed loudly with thunder and roared their seemingly hidden answers.

The same rain caught Jeeva before she reached home and instead of running, she walked soaking herself as if she was trying to cleanse herself of the pain and hurt that she was feeling and her tears mingled with the rain and only then it struck her that she had goofed up and goofed up pretty badly.

She had only thought about herself and not about both of them and then she realised that what Raman had said and had done was right but why had he not understood what she was going through and what she had needed at that point when they stood facing each other.

Raman felt the chill of the rain seep into his bones and slowly sink its icy claws into his heart and then a sliver of sun shone like a solitaire diamond and the light cut through the fog of sadness and pain and turning his face to the sun, he took a deep breath and told the sun 'Rome ne s'est pas faite en un jour ' meaning Rome wasn't Built in a Day' and he knew that he was telling himself and in a way telling both of them, although Jeeva was not there to hear him say that.

The moment he understood and realised that things like fights, a difference of opinions will happen and should happen, he also knew that when two good and kind people are involved, matters are usually settled and resolved in mutual satisfaction.

He decided that he would wait for a few hours before trying to reach out to Jeeva and make things better and then quickly ran a mental checklist as to what he was going to do next.

He quickly ran into the house and the baby crow huddled next to its mother looked up " Mother, that poor man looked so sad and was crying like I do when you go away leaving me all alone searching for food and yet now he looks happier ."

The mother crow with a twinkle in its eyes softly pecked and nuzzled its baby " when I come back with food don't you stop crying and begin to jump all over the branches. That is the same way that man is reacting for what went away has come back to his soul even if that other person is not physically there next to him."

The baby crow totally lost " amma, it sounds so complicated and confusing. God, please don't make me a human in my next birth."

Both sat shaking their feathers and in the process shrugged off the water that had dropped on them through the leaves and branches of the neem tree.

Vaanathai Pola 282

Every heart has its secret sorrows which the world knows not, and often we call a man cold when he is only sad.

Kavita looked at her mother who had just asked her if the word " Ammi" that Radhu had used before leaving had indeed meant mother in Urdu and she nodded her confirmation.

Then she looked at her dad and mom and said, ' Please, we will talk more when Radhu is here the next time and not right now.'

Her parents knew her very well and the finality in her choice of words and the tone in which she delivered them was enough to shut off any more questions they might have wanted to ask of her and at the same time ended the conversation.

But she too knew her parents very well and knew that leaving them in limbo with such a crucial question unanswered about their daughters future would put unnecessary strain on their already fragile souls, she offered a truce.

' I know that both of you are full of questions and concerns about me and Radhu and I will answer them all very soon. But for now, trust me, trust your child's judgement and her heart for it is good and will remain good.'

The three kids, Appu, Pappu and Meena looked at each other and knew that although the topics of adults were none of their business, they could not help it for the topic of discussion was about their new friend, Master sir and Meena intervened for him.

' I am sorry but you are talking about Master sir and we three wanted you all to know something about him.'

All three Arumugam's looked at her, each wondering what the child was going to say and Meena smiled and said, ' all three of us pray every day that at least in our next lives we can have someone like master sir as our father and mother for he is the kindest and sweetest adult we have met until now. We like big master sir who is in the hospital but the new master sir is special.'

Finished speaking her heart, Meena looked at the other two kutty musketeers who also joined in and stated that they too liked new Radhu very much.

Kavita with a shadow of a smile on her beautiful lips, asked her parents, ' Is this conduct certificate enough or do you want more?'

Her parents remained silent and then seeing Kavita getting up, Sharadha Arumugam asked her if she was going out.

'Yes amma. I will drop the children off at The Flock but before that, we will be stopping at Global hospitals for they want to say hi to their master, Brigadier Rajashekar ' Kavita replied but comfortable avoiding to reveal that Radhu too would be there at the Global Hospitals along with the lady he had called Ammi who was Shinogai, his mother.

The house fell silent after Kavita had left with Appu, Pappu and Meena and the two parents sat drowning in the silence, each lost in their own thoughts about their only child and the man who had come into her life.

Sharadha too got up leaving her husband and headed into the kitchen to see to the lunch arrangements although her mind was full of the new arrangement between Kavita and Radha Krishnan.

Now alone, Minister Durai Pandi Arumugam reached for his mobile phone and called the only person who he trusted and had the powers to help him clear his doubts.

The man answered and enquired in a polite tone, ' Sir. How are you doing? How can I help you, sir?'

' Can you please make it to my house as soon as possible for I need to talk to you in private?

The man worriedly, ' Sure sir. I will be there as soon as possible.'

Then in a hesitant voice, he asked, ' Sir, you sound a bit worried. '

' I am worried and only you can help with that. Bring me the file on Radha Krishnan. The man who was involved in that fight which took place a few days ago in that star hotel and which ended with the death of Selvam, the son of Jagatratchagan, the late Thevar community leader.'

' Okay, sir. Will do and I will see you as quickly as possible.'

' Thank you Commissioner sir and please, keep this quiet and confidential and between us.'

Commissioner Vishwanathan placed his mobile phone and looked at Deputy Commissioner Ilavarasan,' That was Minister Durai Pandi and he wants to meet me to discuss a matter that concerns Radha Krishnan. I think it will be better if you too tag along for this is going to be one interesting meeting.'

Vaanathai Pola 283

Major Param looked at Raman, turned away and looked again and each time he looked his eyes filled with more respect for Raman and his happiness seemed ready to explode his heart.

He spoke fast and his voice was filled with the excitement and his chest filling up with pride, ' you took that old arrogant buzzard down and that too in a few seconds?'

Raman had taken an instant liking to Major Param and so made a little bit of allowance for him and spoke about the sparring that had taken place between him and Dr Otto of Mossad when he and his boss V.k. Singh had been there just a couple of days ago.

' I did not start it and I did my best to avoid sparring with him, but he insisted' Raman explained to Param.

' I am not scared of losing, Major for my mindset is that, one can learn even from a loss and become better for it. Winning is not everything but what is good and enjoyable is the preparation and the process behind it.'

Raman paused and then said, ' Major Param, in the end, it is all about our Ego and the clash with other Ego's. This is the biggest disease that plagues our species and almost all crimes that are committed are done so because of it, Ego.'

He smiled and telling Param to hold that thought, Raman left to get into some new clothes and came out a few minutes later, comfortably dressed in grey cotton pants and a sky blue cotton shirt and slipping his feet into a pair of Roman sandals, he looked at the Army Major who got up and together they left the house on their mission and with Endeavour.

Both got into the back seat of the Hyundai Verna Sedan and sinking into its plush leather, Raman sighed and looked at Param who handed him a red folder which had the words " Top Secret " written on it.

' No, not now. Maybe later. For now, I want you to fill me in one the case and what you think is going on and also tell me everything you know about this missing person, Brigadier Prakash Malhotra.'

Major Param nodded and whispered to the armed commando driver, ' Defence Colony, Brigadier's house' and then began to talk about the man of the moment.

' Prakash Malhotra is 52 years old and finished his training in OTA Gaya ( Officers Training Academy) in 1991 and passed out as Lieutenant, a two-star rank officer of the Indian army and was posted to the Kutch region and began his career under retired Brigadier Rajashekara Varman. While in the army, Prakash finished his MBBS and was soon promoted to the rank of Captain and then in a years time he was promoted to a Major and his meteoric rise did not stop there and blazed on and on.'

Raman looked at him and Major Param shrugged, ' I know but then he was simply a brilliant man and blessed with a brilliant mind and a highly motivated one at that and all this bloomed under the guidance of his mentor and senior, Brigadier Rajashekar.'

' Param, so both were pretty close to each other.'

' Yes, like father and son and it was Brigadier Rajashekar who fast-tracked the young Prakash's career and no one dared to stop his rise or the man behind his career.'

' Okay, Param. After we have finished talking to Mrs Malhotra we need to contact this former brigadier and see if he can shed some light on this case concerning his missing prodigy.'

' well boss, that is impossible.'

' why? is he dead?'

' No. worse than that. He has been in a coma for a few months now.'

Raman looked out of the window as their vehicle was reaching Guindy and whispered, ' Sad' and asked Param, ' accident or a stroke?'

' Worse. He was attacked by someone and was stabbed and left for dead and yet he survived and has since been in a coma. Me, I would rather be dead than lie in a coma stuck in some dimension totally blind, deaf and mute and yet my soul screaming for someone to rescue me as I lie in the darkness.'

Raman stared at Major Param, ' bloody hell. Now that you described it so vividly and creepily, I too agree that it is better to die than slip into a coma and wither away.'

Radhu aka Radha Krishnan, son of Shinogai and Rajashekar Varman walked into Global hospitals as a new man. He had left to Madurai a few days ago as an above-average but still a normal person and a mortal. But now, he had returned a very different being with powers that had been infused into him by the spirits that guarded the sacred land of Perumalvaram.

Is this a love story? Is this a story about revenge and vengeance? Is this about aliens? Is this a family drama? What is it?

It was and still is the story about The Boy who went into the dark and came back with light.

Adam and Eve

Love is composed of a single soul inhabiting two bodies.

That sort of rare and perfect love becomes a story. Their thoughts about each other transcend into a song, a poem. But is it true and is it attainable or is it just a vision like that of God who one can to approach but always remains just out of reach.

Or have we all including the Pundits gotten it wrong and there is no such thing as love but only love-filled moments and moments are always momentary and temporary.

Like birth and death and like joy and sorrow, it too shall pass.

Is love enough?

You bring together two hands to make a clapping noise but what about that one-sided love. That flickering light that burns in a lovers soul and who does not require the love of the one it loves to acknowledge it.

What about unreciprocated love that one nurtures quietly and to their death?

Is it possible? Is that love possible?

Don't you need two bodies to come together in a physical act to make that love better or ...........?

Is love just a carrot that Mother Nature dangles in front of us so that man and woman can come together as one and breed more man and woman?

Not possible, for I and you have seen many men and women come together and make babies and then separate and live like a snake and mongoose and under one roof in a pact called Marriage.

Satish, What the F..k? You might be wondering

A dear friend told me to write a love story. ' You write about the sunrise, birds, trees, death and seasons of our souls. Bring them all together and write a story.

I will try to do that. Only tryyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy.

If I know one thing and one thing only then it is that Love makes all things possible, worthwhile and importantly bearable.

Love gives hope and Love is faith.

I confess honestly and ruthlessly, that my soul is not mine but my body and its life is. That I am willing to lay down and gladly for a few souls and not out of just gratitude but out of love that comes with that and more.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sf3VIFQpTkc

Vaanathai Pola 284

Sadly absorbing the fact about Brigadier Rajashekar being in a coma, Raman nodded and looked at Major Param, ' we will come to that later after we have finished talking to this missing man's wife and will expand our radius of investigation little by little and step by step.'

Smiling, he spoke his thoughts aloud, ' I still don't know what I am doing here, helping you, the army with this case and the best part is that your boss Rudran personally intervened wanting me to handle this and that is not easily done. For it requires cutting through so many department regulations' and he looked at Param, ' when did this man go missing?', who replied, ' Yesterday morning.'

' A man goes missing just a day ago and here we are together' Raman said tiredly.

Major Param tapped the red folder that had Top Secret written on it and said, ' It is time you read it and then you will begin to understand why you have been deputed to this case.'

Raman wearily picked up the folder and opened it and his eyes opened as wide as the folder itself and his heartbeat instantly accelerated as the words project Black Biology screamed at him from the paper and roared its lethal potency at him and he quickly scanned the five-page folder that appeared to have been specifically prepared for his eyes only.

' Biological warfare department. Brigadier Prakash Malhotra was the head of this secret department.'

Major Param nodded, ' Do you realize now how important this man is and how critical it is that we find him quickly?

Raman leaned his head back and thought his thoughts openly and loudly, ' I thought that only a few rogue countries like Iraq, North Korea were into this sort of scary stuff apart from USA, Russia and China. I never would have believed it if someone had told me that our nation too was into this.'

Turning to Param, ' Major, but why? what is India doing in this field and why a separate department when we have one of the largest armies in the world, a huge air force and quite a substantial navy at our disposal.'

' Raman, it would take at least a dozen nuclear missiles to destroy even a small enemy country in the event of a catastrophic war and that being said the enemy will see our nuclear ballistic missiles being launched on their own radars and will themselves release their own missiles and this will ensure " MAD, Mutual assured destruction."

Mutually assured destruction (MAD) is a doctrine of military strategy and national security policy in which a full-scale use of nuclear weapons by two or more opposing sides would cause the complete annihilation of both the attacker and the defender. It is based on the theory of deterrence, which holds that the threat of using strong weapons against the enemy prevents the enemy's use of those same weapons. The strategy is a form of equilibrium in which, once armed, neither side has any incentive to initiate a conflict or to disarm.

Major Param smiled sadly, ' yet all it takes is one patient suffering from some highly infectious disease to be placed in any one of the cities of the world and let him walk around spreading the disease and all it takes is a matter of days before the disease takes control and before it spreads and has spread globally.

The author of this story speaks

In case any of you are wondering how the story Vaanathai Pola has glaring logic related issues and yet is pertinent to today's happenings in the state, nation and the world, please remember that I am writing, sharing, telling you a story. To do that and to keep it interesting, I take a few current issues from politics and other fields and our own daily lives and integrate it into the story.

Corona. Covid-19. Virus. Global pandemic

Yes, I did not touch on it until now but I am doing it now for a Virus is the reason for this story and how it all began in my rather muddled head.'

The use of biological agents is not a new concept, and history is filled with examples of their use.

Attempts to use biological warfare agents date back to antiquity. Scythian archers infected their arrows by dipping them in decomposing bodies or in blood mixed with manure as far back as 400 BC. Persian, Greek, and Roman literature from 300 BC quotes examples of dead animals used to contaminate wells and other sources of water.

In the Battle of Eurymedon in 190 BC, Hannibal won a naval victory over King Eumenes II of Pergamon by firing earthen vessels full of venomous snakes into the enemy ships.

During the battle of Tortona in the 12th century AD, Barbarossa used the bodies of dead and decomposing soldiers to poison wells. During the siege of Kaffa in the 14th century AD, the attacking Tatar forces hurled plague-infected corpses into the city in an attempt to cause an epidemic within enemy forces. This was repeated in 1710, when the Russians besieging Swedish forces at Reval in Estonia catapulted bodies of people who had died from the plague.

During the French and Indian War in the 18th century AD, British forces under the direction of Sir Jeffrey Amherst gave blankets that had been used by smallpox victims to the Native Americans in a plan to spread the disease.

Allegations were made during the American Civil War by both sides, but especially against the Confederate Army, of the attempted use of smallpox to cause disease among enemy forces.

Modern times: Biological warfare reached sophistication during the 1900s.

During World War I, the German Army developed anthrax, glanders, cholera, and a wheat fungus specifically for use as biological weapons. They allegedly spread plague in St. Petersburg, Russia, infected mules with glanders in Mesopotamia, and attempted to do the same with the horses of the French Cavalry.

The Geneva Protocol of 1925 was signed by 108 nations. This was the first multilateral agreement that extended the prohibition of chemical agents to biological agents. Unfortunately, no method for verification of compliance was addressed.

During World War II, Japanese forces operated a secret biological warfare research facility (Unit 731) in Manchuria that carried out human experiments on prisoners. They exposed more than 3,000 victims to plague, anthrax, syphilis, and other agents in an attempt to develop and observe the disease. Some victims were executed or died from their infections. Autopsies were also performed for greater understanding of the effects on the human body.

In 1942, the United States formed the War Research Service. Anthrax and botulinum toxin initially were investigated for use as weapons. Sufficient quantities of botulinum toxin and anthrax were stockpiled by June 1944 to allow unlimited retaliation if the German forces first used biological agents.

The British also tested anthrax bombs on Gruinard Island off the northwest coast of Scotland in 1942 and 1943 and then prepared and stockpiled anthrax-laced cattle cakes for the same reason.

The United States continued research on various offensive biological weapons during the 1950s and 1960s. From 1951-1954, harmless organisms were released off both coasts of the United States to demonstrate the vulnerability of American cities to biological attacks. This weakness was tested again in 1966 when a test substance was released in the New York City subway system.

During the Vietnam War, Viet Cong guerrillas used needle-sharp punji sticks dipped in feces to cause severe infections after an enemy soldier had been stabbed.

In 1979, an accidental release of anthrax from a weapons facility in Sverdlovsk, USSR, killed at least 66 people. The Russian government claimed these deaths were due to infected meat and maintained this position until 1992, when Russian President Boris Yeltsin finally admitted to the accident.

In 1985, Iraq began an offensive biological weapons program producing anthrax, botulinum toxin, and aflatoxin. During Operation Desert Storm, the coalition of allied forces faced the threat of chemical and biological agents. Following the Persian Gulf War, Iraq disclosed that it had bombs, Scud missiles, 122-mm rockets, and artillery shells armed with botulinum toxin, anthrax, and aflatoxin. They also had spray tanks fitted to aircraft that could distribute agents over a specific target.

In September and October of 1984, 751 people were intentionally infected with Salmonella, an agent that causes food poisoning, when followers of the Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh contaminated restaurant salad bars in Oregon.

In 1994, a Japanese sect of the Aum Shinrikyo cult attempted an aerosolized (sprayed into the air) release of anthrax from the tops of buildings in Tokyo.

In 1995, two members of a Minnesota militia group were convicted of possession of ricin, which they had produced themselves for use in retaliation against local government officials.

In 1996, an Ohio man attempted to obtain bubonic plague cultures through the mail.

In 2001, anthrax was delivered by mail to U.S. media and government offices. There were five deaths as a result.

In December 2002, six terrorist suspects were arrested in Manchester, England; their apartment was serving as a "ricin laboratory." Among them was a 27-year-old chemist who was producing the toxin.

Later, on Jan. 5, 2003, British police raided two residences around London and found traces of ricin, which led to an investigation of a possible Chechen separatist plan to attack the Russian embassy with the toxin; several arrests were made.

On Feb. 3, 2004, three U.S. Senate office buildings were closed after the toxin ricin was found in a mailroom that serves Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist's office.