And A Room For The Pigeon Too

  When Vaseekaran walked in that evening and told her, “We have been transferred to Delhi,” Vanaja looked at him with a sense of surprise and thrill. An inexplicable sense of joy filled her  and her heart took off on a mental sojourn, spreading its wings like a pigeon.

It was a hectic period, packing and taking leave of all the relatives and friends. All through, the initial enthusiasm was still surging like waves in her heart and continued to do so, even after shifting into the large apartment among the others in the vast concrete mountains of Delhi. These were the Official Quarters in the East of Kailash area of New Delhi. 

The central wall between two flats had been done away with, converting both flats into a massive single apartment. The result was a cluster of rooms with no apparent design. Four large bedrooms. A massive living room in which you can accommodate seventy persons for lunch. A dining room. Two nameless tiny rooms. A big store room. A nice kitchen, and two sit-outs. One sit-out was from the master bedroom and this opened out to the Reserve or Protected Area….some thing like a forest …the abode of various flora and fauna. Birds, Birds, Birds…familiar ones ; strange ones ; beautiful to see and listen to. Peacocks calling out and at times alighting with élan on the sit –out railing…

Vaseekaran had left for office.

She was alone till sunset.

She went round and round the house. Exploring every room. A solid three thousand sq.ft. area. Such a big house just when Vaseekaran had three years for retirement What for? For her and her husband to play hide and seek at this age?

She wanted to laugh out aloud.    

                                                *****************************************

    She was born and brought up in Salem. She lived in a huge house until she got married. The compound was teeming with trees bearing mangoes, sappottas, jack fruits, coconuts etc. etc. Cuckoos would call out in plaintive tones from the branches of the mango trees. Parrots had their nests in holes in the coconut trees. Squirrels would be running around, playing among themselves. During the rainy season, the place would echo with the 'thani aavarthanam' of toads. Jasmine, Rose, Pavazhamalli, Shenbagam and other flowers blossomed in abundance.

She had her own room here. She had more books than clothes. Through the open window, the sky would share all its secrets with her. The stars and the moon would recite stories and call out to her through the leaves and golden yellow flowers of the Sarakkonrai tree.           

Marriage transported her to Bombay. The apartment had just three rooms. A veritable " Piya ka Ghar". This tiny pigeon’s nest accommodated her father-in-law, mother-in-law, a  school-going sister-in-law, a brother in law who was studying in college, father-in-law’s aged sister and Vaseekaran’s elder sister’s son who had just got a job.

Vaseekaran had a good job in a renowned bank. He had a very good reputation there. The family was very good. According to their horoscopes, both Vaseekaran and Vanaja had a bright future. These were enough to please Vanaja’s parents.

The girl who used to flit around the huge Salem home like a sparrow, had to pack just a few of her books, collection of various colored pebbles, music books, etc. and relocate herself into this pigeon hole. All her treasures remained locked in a small trunk. She had hardly any time left, even to open the trunk once in a while and look at her treasures.

The room they used was crammed with everybody’s things. Her brother in law would gently knock the door in the middle of the night (in his second-year chemistry and ask them if he could take his record notebook. Nobody was willing to shift into a bigger house.

“…….this is a very lucky house. The Matunga Concern is close by. Can get a priest at the drop of a hat.' The younger sister in law’s music class was within walking distance. Father-in-law’s age-old friends lived close by. Sankara Matam was conveniently close for her mother in law and Vaseekaran’s aged aunt.”

And so…

with untold yearnings and desires whispering in her heart, she lived there, losing her identity..till the sister in law got married, the brother in law got a job and flew to the States, the aged Aunt and in-laws left this world, her own children Bhaskar, Ramya and Shekhar ( born and brought up in this nest) completed their studies in the same old Ruparel College.

In the midst of this hectic life, the longing to live in a big house was very much alive in her heart. Bhaskar and Shekhar got married and shifted to places abroad. Ramya got married six months ago and left for Sydney.

And then the transfer to Delhi with a promotion.    

*************************************************          

She went round and round the house like a little kid. It was fully furnished.

She went to the room she had selected for herself. She opened her treasure chest and arranged all her possessions in the cupboard. She felt that her lost youth had sprung back into her life after thirty long years. She wanted to share her happiness with someone.

She took out some sheets of paper and sat down to write to her friend.

“ My dearest Prema

Never anticipated that life in Delhi would be so beautiful. The quarters they have allotted is a massive one. Know something? There’s a room here even for the pigeons….” She continues writing.....

In the small southeast corner room, two pigeons were building a nest.

                                       ************************************