Broken Pedals

An old man folds his wife’s clothes, stands in front of the mirror, and arranges the order of the bindi. He takes a deep, loving breath of his wife’s jacket. During all these activities, there is a voice calling him, but he does not notice it. He again stands in front of the mirror and combs his hair with his wife’s comb. He takes the tablet schedule box numbered 1 to 7 with a small bit of paper. He notices only one tablet left and consumes it. The old man then closes the room door and (voice only) asks for food.

A 20-year-old boy grabs a shoulder bag, opens his cupboard, grabs clothes, and arranges them. There is a big sticker of Kobe Bryant on the wall of the cupboard. He looks at it and thinks. Now he takes his jersey, pushes it into the bag, and jumps over the compound of his house in the night.

The next morning, in Chennai, at a bus stand, he talks to his friend over the phone about running away from home. The friend asks where he will stay and argues that his decision is wrong. His friend gives the boy some advice. The boy gets frustrated. During this phone call, an old man comes to him and asks for help. The boy ignores him. The boy tells his friend about his love for basketball and his aim to make his passion into a profession and find a career in basketball. The old man again insists that the boy help by showing a prescription. The boy, angrily, asks for help in finding a room in Chennai if possible. The boy, already frustrated, pushes the old man's hand slightly and crushes the prescription. The old man silently leaves the place.

The boy has tea and returns to the same bus stop. The boy’s phone rings continuously. His dad and mom call him repeatedly. Initially, he ignores the calls. Then he gets irritated and blocks both of their numbers. A local juvenile kid, in typical "pullingo" style, keeps watching him since he gets so many calls. This grabs the attention of the juvenile kid. Again, immediately, a phone call comes to the boy. A friend of a friend confirms his whereabouts and asks what type of room he needs. The boy says a normal type, or even sharing is enough. The boy ends the conversation and brings the phone down from his ear. Suddenly, the juvenile kid grabs the phone and runs away. The boy chases him, shouting and running after him. Suddenly, an old man on a cycle comes in between the juvenile kid. The kid and the old man stumble and fall. The boy grabs the kid. The kid beats the boy, leaves the phone, and runs away. The boy takes the phone and goes to see the old man. The boy apologizes for this. Now the boy recognizes the old man and again apologizes for not helping him initially. Feeling kind and guilty for the situation, the boy tells the old man to ask for any help. The old man gets up with the help of the boy, dusts himself off, and the boy lifts the cycle. The boy then asks the old man about his destination. The old man says he wants to go to the school where his wife is waiting for him. The old man also claims that he forgets the way even after asking others. The old man now seeks the boy to drop him if possible. The boy, feeling sad and also guilty for not helping him earlier, accepts to drop him at the school. The old man asks whether he (the boy) knows the route. The boy smiles and says no, but he states that they can ask for directions from others. The old man asks for the boy’s name, and he says Senthamilan.

Senthamilan turns the cycle, asks the old man to sit back, and starts riding. Senthamilan rides the cycle. The old man and Senthamilan get to know each other while riding. Senthamilan asks directions from a person, and the person guides him. While driving that way, the old man asks Senthamilan to stop and take the previous lane. Senthamilan suggests the route is straight, but the old man asks to go in the lane. Senthamilan struggles to drive up and finally reaches a viewpoint. The old man asks for something to drink. Senthamilan goes down. Meanwhile, the old man goes into the woods, tries to light a beedi, but finds some night jasmines and takes out a paper from his pattapatti. He picks the flower and imagines how beautiful it would be for his wife. Senthamilan returns and shouts for the old man. The old man comes out of the woods, folding the paper in his hand, and comes to the viewpoint. Senthamilan asks the old man about it. The old man shows him the paper with flowers and keeps it in his bag. They both sit at the viewpoint and talk about it. The old man tells Senthamilan that his wife used to bring him here after every fight. Then the old man grabs a photo of his wife from the bag and shows it to Senthamilan. Senthamilan sees it and says his wife is cute. Senthamilan's face becomes slightly dull. He sees the birth date and death date (தோற்றம் & மறைவு) in the photo. But Senthamilan hesitates to ask about it. At the same time, he gets confused about whether the old man’s wife is dead. But the old man still believes his wife is not dead. Senthamilan sees the flowers in his bag. Senthamilan asks about the old man’s family. The old man stops licking the ice cream and sees Senthamilan for a few seconds. The old man asks his daughter-in-law for food. The daughter-in-law pushes the already kept plate. Natarajan feels the food is too cold and asks her to reheat it. She shows a harsh expression on her face and starts to complain about her father-in-law and gets awakened with anger. She insists her husband make his father (the old man) accept the death of his wife. Senthamilan stops licking the ice cream. The old man smiles and starts licking the ice cream. Senthamilan looks at the photo and hands it back to the old man. After they both finish the ice cream, Senthamilan tries to throw the plastic cup. The old man stops him, takes his ice cream cup, and puts it in his bag. Senthamilan asks the old man whether to leave the place. The old man does not hear it. The old man gets dizzy. Senthamilan touches the old man's shoulder, and the old man comes to consciousness. Again, Senthamilan asks whether to move or rest. The old man accepts to move, but while boarding the cycle, he again gets dizzy and stumbles on the shoulder of Senthamilan. With consciousness, the old man wakes himself up. The old man manages to board the cycle. They both leave the place. Senthamilan again asks for directions from some other people. They both proceed further towards the school.

Suddenly, the old man points out a hotel and asks him to stop there. Senthamilan questions why, and the old man says he wants to eat curd vada. They both go in and order two thayir vadai. While eating thayir vadai, the old man asks about Senthamilan. He also asks whether he belongs to Chennai. Senthamilan denies it and says he came from Madurai. He also states that he has a big craze for basketball. The old man asks, is it the game where boys kick the ball and fight? Senthamilan explains it. Senthamilan also states that his parents have no love towards him; they only love their own egos. Senthamilan says he could not concentrate peacefully on sports and studies. Senthamilan says he saw an advertisement about a basketball academy in Chennai and to get better in sports, he ran away from home. The old man advises him about the importance and dimensions of parents' love and suggests going back home. But Senthamilan denies it and says he wants to achieve in basketball. The old man asks, “Who will be there with you to celebrate your achievements? Taking decisions takes a matter of seconds, but facing the consequences takes days, sometimes years. Get back before you get lost. Being a social orphan is not as easy as you think. Never give up on anybody, especially your parents. Miracles happen every day.” They both go to the wash basin to wash their hands. The old man takes a female comb, looks in the mirror, and combs his one or two hairs. Senthamilan asks why he combs with a female comb and offers his own comb. The old man denies it and says that the comb is his wife’s and he wants to return it to the school. Senthamilan looks at the old man with astonishment. The old man asks to leave the place. Senthamilan and the old man leave the place. Senthamilan drives. Senthamilan asks for directions, and finally, within a few meters, they reach the school. Senthamilan drives a little further and tells the old man that there is only half a kilometer and one signal left. The old man is resting his head on Senthamilan’s back. Senthamilan again says they are about to reach. But there is no response from the old man. Senthamilan gets anxious and shouts. The old man does not show any movement. Senthamilan manages to stop the cycle but cannot get down quickly as the old man is resting his head. Somehow, Senthamilan manages to get down, but the old man’s head slides down. Senthamilan, with one hand, makes the old man sit down. Senthamilan develops fear. He shakes the old man, taps his face, but there is no response. He starts to cry. He anxiously searches for a water

 bottle in the old man’s bag and his own bag. There is no water. He finds the tablet schedule box numbered 1-7, but all the slots are empty, and a crushed prescription in the old man’s bag. He bursts into tears. He desperately runs to the nearby store and buys a water bottle, splashing some water on the old man. The old man does not respond. Senthamilan tries to feed him some water, but it repels. He calls for nearby people. The people hesitate one by one. Finally, a good-hearted man comes, checks the old man, and says the old man is dead since there is no breath. Senthamilan, upon hearing this, suddenly stops crying and retreats in shock. Senthamilan stares at the flowers, tablet boxes, and the old man's bag. Then the man calls for an ambulance. The ambulance arrives and takes the old man. The paramedic asks Senthamilan the name of the old man. Senthamilan replies he does not know. The paramedic asks him to follow, but Senthamilan stares at the path of the ambulance. Senthamilan is standing with the old man’s bag. Suddenly, a call comes to his phone. Senthamilan answers it. It is his friend calling to tell him the room is ready and it’s a sharing type. Senthamilan does not reply for a second. After a few seconds, Senthamilan lifts the comb in his hand, looks at it, and says that he does not need any room and he has decided to go back to his hometown and live with his parents.