Escapades

Tia was upset as why she was often rebuked by mother even if she had not made the mistake. While she was sitting and doing this mental jig grandmother saw her gloomy as well as angry and came and sat next to her. Tia broke the news as how she was trying to help mother in cleaning the kitchen as a consequence dropped a glass jar breaking it into shards. Mother chided her for her thoughtless action and for not being attentive and always making haste in deciphering things. In order to calm her down, grandmother narrated a story assuring Tia she was not the only one who got reprimanded on petty things.

In their village lived a man named Hulum. One day while he was working in his grocery shop a stranger came to him and asked him for some water. Hulum who was partially deaf thought the stranger was asking for betel leaf as most of the passer-byes did. The stranger who was thirsty thought Hulum was making fun of him and again requested him for some water. Hulum thought the stranger was asking for some more ingredients in his betel leaf and added some sweeteners to it. The stranger looking at Hulum’s movements slapped him hard. Seeing this some neighbors rushed there and informed the stranger about Hulum’s disabilities and that he had not acted that way on purpose. The neighbors pacified the stranger and gave him some water to quench his thirst.

Hulum who was angered and triggered reached home and called his wife Sita. Coincidentally Sita too was deaf. Hulum took out his annoyance on her saying he acted the way she had asked him and had added more sweetener to the stranger’s betel leaf but then why he was thrashed. Sita seeing her husband angrily shouting and moving his hands and legs in a rage ran to her Mother-in-law. But alas the mother-in-law too was deaf. Sita proclaimed that she did all the household chores might have added some extra chilies in the curry, but why her husband was mad on her on this silly thing. Moreover it would have been better if she had run away with the postman’s son instead of marrying him. The Mother-in-law couldn’t decipher why her daughter-in-law was crying and cursing her and went to her husband. Her husband who was sitting in the veranda and weaving bamboo baskets too was deaf. He too couldn’t understand why his wife was shouting at him. He told his wife pensively that he was getting old and couldn’t see properly so, his baskets are not fetching the price as earlier.

Tia was amused after listening to grandmother’s story. She thought about why she missed all these fun frolic moments living away from her grandparents.