Monday, June 19, 2006

Sathanur Days - Part 5: A story about friendship

For an introduction to this series, please start here

Technically, this is not part of my Sathanur experience, since this is not my story. Infact, the events in this story happened even before my dad had a shot at being born, because my grand dad hadn't met his match yet. I mean the word 'match' in all its connotatins and 'pun'notations (another of my might copyright in not too distant future words!). But this story was set in Sathanur, and hence qualifies to be a part of my Sathanur series (plus, its my blog!). Anyways, without digressing further, let me set the stage here.

When I visited India this year, my grand parents came and stayed over with us. And this gave me a chance to spend some quality time with them, and also to hear some of their Sathanur experiences. My grandpa had quite a few interesting tales to share. And when I naratted one of them to my friends Ram and Miss W yesterday, they had a laughing fit (the beer/wine and the pleasant summer evening on the balcony might have had something to do with it) and told me I should write this on my blog. Since I'm neither known as a particularly good writer or a great story-teller, I have nothing to lose. so here goes (as narrated by my grand dad)...

This happened when I was a kid, probably a teenager. I had a best friend called 'Subbu'. Although he lived in another town, we were inseparable. Once, Subbu came over and announced that he was going to visit 'Swami malai' (a temple town) to attend the village fair, and that he was planning on buying a deer for himself (a live one he could play with, not an item on a restaurant menu!). And he asked me if I would need one as well. I thought long and hard and told him I don't need a deer, but maybe he could get me a colt (baby horse) if he could find a good deal. Why I told him that, I have no idea. I did not particularly need a horse at that moment in time, nor did I know how to feed or what to do with one.

At this juncture, a brief news item about Kalaignar Karunanithi (our current Chief Minister) on Jaya TV (Jayalalitha's rival network to KK's Sun TV) seemed to distract my grand father a bit. Since KK was someone he loved to hate, he watched the short Kalaignar-bashing clip with unabashed joy. Then he digressed a little bit to tell me about the time when he was on a walk with a friend when they ran into Karunanithi by a tea stall (before he became famous). His friend apparently knew the budding politician, and Karunanithi in turn talked his friend into buying him a cup of tea. After muttering a few choice words that KK would be happy not to hear about, my grand dad turned back to me.

Anyways, so Subbu came back a few days later and told me "dei Sambu (short for Sambasivan), I bought the colt like you asked me to. When should I bring it by?". I looked at the celing, scrubbed my chin and told him "What do I do with a colt now? I don't have a place to keep it. I can't keep it in the cow shed you know. On top of that, I wouldn't know how to feed it or anything. Why don't you keep it for a little while till I get some things sorted out at my end".

Being the good friend that he is, he agreed without a murmur and left. I didn't hear about the horse for another few years till he brought it up again "dei Sambu, the colt has grown into a beautiful and healthy horse. Don't you want to take custody of it, or at the very least, see what it looks like?" To this, I replied "Now that you've taken it upon yourself to raise the horse, the animal might find it difficult to adjust to me. Why don't you keep it for the time being? I'll come by and take a look at it sometime". Again, Subbu agreed and went on his way.

It was all peace and quiet for the next few years till Subbu brought up the horsey issue again "dei Sambu, the horse is all grown up now and ready to be tethered to a vehicle. Should I bring it by?". To this, I replied "I don't have any use for a horse-driven carriage just yet. I have my hands full with all the bullock carts around the house. Why don't you do the honors yourself?". As you might have guessed, Subbu again left without so much as a whimper.

A few years passed before the subject came up again. "dei Sambu, the horse and carriage are doing great. I can't hold on to them any longer. Its time you take them. What do you say?". this time I was ready and told him "dei Subbu, I thought about it. I don't have any use for the horse/carriage. Why don't you just sell off the horse?". I expected some sort of abuse or name-calling from him, but that did not happen. Again, Subbu went on his way without a word.

At this point, my grand dad paused a bit, to enjoy the last of his filter kapi (coffee). When he was absolutely sure that not a bit remained in his stainless steel glass, he handed it over to my mom, wiped his lips, cleared his throat and continued with his narration.

I thought I'd heard the last of the horse episode and went on with my life. But apparently not. A few months later, Subbu visited me and handed over a bag. Inside was some cash, 400 Rupees to be exact. Subbu simply told me "dei Sambu, this is the money I got from selling off your horse. Hope you find this reasonable".

I was absolutely stunned. I couldn't even begin to comprehend the fact that he was giving me the money that he had earned by putting in his time and effort into raising the horse over several years. His selflessness touched me. I pointed out the obvious to him "dei Subbu, it was you who bought the horse. It was you who fed and raised and took such good care of it. It was you who bought the carriage and rode it. The horse belongs to you, and this is your money". Subbu thought about it a little bit more, and agreed reluctantly to keep the money.

So Karthik, this is what friendship is all about. There are friends, and then there are friends. And there was none better than Subbu. We would do anything for each other unconditionally and unselfishly, without a question.

My grand mom had joined us midway through the tale. And when he finished up the story, I could see both their eyes clouding as they remembered their dear friend, now long dead and cremated.

3 Comments:

Blogger Parupps said...

Hope you have something to tell your grandkids about me..WAIT, actually you do. You can tell them how I sacrificed my.....
*I AM HIDING UNDER THE TABLE NOW*

6/20/06, 10:32 AM  
Blogger Bharath said...

dude... :)

If you can call me a drama queen, u should call Subbu one too ;) Its his dramatic act that made your grandparents' eyes cloud, wasn't it?

Anyway, super read!!

6/20/06, 11:36 AM  
Blogger c2c said...

Parupps - Ok I admit it. You SACRIFICED your damned wicket for me. But one more peep out of you and I'm getting on a plane to Denver with a thodapa kaittai!

ET - You're calling Subbu a drama queen? This is like the Cubs calling the Sox 'losers' :D oh oh! i might have touched a nerve there...

6/20/06, 11:23 PM  

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