Respected Madam/ Sir,
Married life means what? No, you tell me, Madam/ Sir. Is it only living in same accommodation, having the children, and shopping and cooking and eating and cleaning and putting name in spouse section of passport and all? Only that much? Never never, thousand times never.
Married life means communicating clearly like anything. Otherwise what will happen? I will tell you what will happen. Life will become like... whether you have seen superhit Kamal Hassan film Kurudhipunal ? I saw it in Sarita Savitha Sangeetha theatre in Cochin decades and decades ago. Film is tension from beginning to end. Everybody is telling lies to everybody, secret and spy and chicanery from morning to night. Tensions means nonstop tension. And then everybody is dying. Like this only marriage without the communication. Sandai in the mandai from Monday to Sunday.
Now you are thinking old man what you are talking riddles as if Alif Laila character from Doordarshan days? Please speak clearly if possible. First of all, please shut up about Alif Laila, it is superb programme. I am still having VHS tape recordings on top of almirah.
Let me explain. Two days back, Mrs. M came to living room and said I have made special adai-avial. Please come immediately. I said, thanks Kamalam, coming after this chapter. At that moment I am reading superhit novel by John le Carré called Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy . Then I went to dining room and we are enjoying superb adai-avial. But later when I was looking at Facebook, I saw one update from Mrs. M. It is simply saying: “In life if you put effort after effort for other people and they are just saying thanks means is it not stabbing in the heart? Why people are like this.”
I thought, oh my god what happened. Maybe I should have said 2-3 good things about adai-avial. Next time I’ll be careful. Around 3 p.m., she said, I am going for walk. I immediately said. I will put decent clothes and come with you? She said, no, no. I want to go for solo walk.
After 10 minutes I am checking WhatsApp to see if Mohammad Usman is planning any evening social activities. Suddenly I saw Kamalam Mathrubootham status message. It is saying: “Sometimes better to let people sit alone at home so that they understand how they are betraying other people. Only they will understand value of relationship.” Along with one photo of raindrops on window.
Immediately I took off lungi, put on trousers and ran out of house like Lydia De Vega. Where is Kamalam? Is she in garden? No. Is she in clubhouse? No. Suddenly I find her sitting with other members of Ladies Association inside one coffee shop. I said, Kamalam please come to one side for private talking.
She asked, what happened. I said, Kamalam I am apologising immediately for stabbing the heart and betraying adai-avial. She said, old man, you are full of thanni or what? What nonsense you are talking? I said, Kamalam what about Facebook and WhatsApp? You are putting full sentiments?
She said, you are useless. Fight is going on in Ladies Association. Election is coming and Mrs. Nalini is thinking of standing for president as if periya Barack Obama. Whether rest of us seniors have died? So, we are having special meeting without her and doing mental pressure tactics on social media. Hahaha. Go home, old man. We are talking politics.
Madam/ Sir, whether you have seen my status message on WhatsApp? It is picture of my wedding photo. But Mrs. M head is replaced with Suhasini photo from newspaper.
It is called mental pressure tactics.
Yours in exasperation,
J. Mathrubootham
Published - February 29, 2020 04:08 pm IST
