Listless day to count
Listless day to count
For Shanthi, once again it is a routine day at her home. Getting up early morning before dawn sets in, Shanthi will wake up on her own. Unlike her sisters who want their mother to yell, she never made her mother shout at her.
Whenever her father left home around 3 am to make his weekly purchase from nearby villages, her mother would have cleaned the courtyard and it would look bright and brilliant with sparkling white kolam. On other days, it is the responsibility of Shanthi to sweep the courtyard, sprinkle water mixed with fresh cow dung collected from her neighbor’s cow shed. Then, Shanthi will spend her time peacefully drawing a kolam that always reflected her feelings and emotions she felt at heart. After this daily ritual, she loved to take bath in the violently chilling water and enjoy the bliss of shiver for a while. Her nerves tinged with that sharp touch of chill water and made her teeth chatter for a while.
After having her bath, Shanthi loved to be at her favourite Tulasi plant. When she lit the diya at the plant, the fresh fragrance of Tulasi leaves and its flowers made her feel blessed. The excitement she felt at heart lifted her spirits to eternity. But, she cannot be like that always. Shanthi has to help her mother in cooking their breakfast and pack the lunch for her sisters.
The clock at the veranda chimed 10 o’clock. Shanthi finished cleaning vessels that were used to cook in the morning. As they have to cook using firewood, it took extra time for her to clean the dirty vessels.
Usually on Wednesdays, her mother will go to the market to purchase vegetables. It will take at least thirty minutes for her to return. During that time, Shanthi sat on the veranda and spent her time watching sparrows and crows that flew down to eat the food scraps sprinkled on the ground after she washed the cooking vessels.
“Akka, what are you doing now?” Sometimes, Valli who lived nearby would come to her and talk for a while. Valli and Shanthi were of the same age. But, she is also a girl of few words like Shanthi. Both of them will talk about something that happened in their families or talk about cooking new dishes at home. Valli cooked for everyone at home. Though Shanthi also wanted to try hands in cooking, her mother never allowed her to cook.