His father and mother had taken him to see a girl. It was a time when it was rare to find a bride. It had become rare for girls to be born. If the bride’s family called, the girl’s family rarely picked up. Even if they did, the tone of their conversation would be different. The bride’s family should always keep their voice down. Otherwise, those who spoke in favor of the girl would hang up the phone. It was enough for the groom’s family to receive a message saying, “You can come to our house to see the girl.” What could be a happier moment than that? So, the three of them, father, mother, and he, set out to see the girl.

 Three people shouldn’t go to a good cause. They say that a cause where three people go is a failure, so they decided that his mother and father would get out of the car and go to the girl’s house first, delaying him a little while before he arrived. They set out with this plan.

“If there’s one thing, why shouldn’t three people go? What kind of trouble is that going to cause?” the boy asked his father.

“So you really need to know now?”

‘Tell me, please tell me’

‘In the Ramayana, when Sri Rama went to exile in the Ayodhya palace, he killed his wife Sita and his brother Lakshmana. He fought three battles in total and suffered a lot.’

“Enough of your explanation, is this the time to say it? You need a plan for what to say and when. You’re only ten years old,” his mother interrupted.

He was sitting in the car. The two adults got out and were walking ahead. The girl’s house was a little further away. They had beautifully decorated the door of the girl’s house with a maakolam. They had beautifully decorated the four-gopura kolam with a saffron border. Seeing the kolam filled my heart with satisfaction.

‘If you look at the street scene, you can see why everything in the house is in such a mess’

‘Can’t you just shut up and come here?’

‘What did I say, Dad?’

“He’s a fucking idiot,” his mother said.

Seeing the two elders arriving, the women of the house welcomed them with an aarti platter. Paneer was sprinkled on their heads with anise. A plate of sandalwood flowers and Paris chocolate was displayed.

‘Brother, come after me,’ his mother said with a smile. His mother and father sat on the sofa in the hall. He followed them there. He was also welcomed by performing aarti, sprinkling paneer, giving sandalwood flowers and so on. He also came and sat on the sofa with them. He himself was the main character.

The bride was with three people in the girl’s house: the girl’s mother, father, and sister. So there were four of them.

‘Everyone should come. Very happy. Our daughter looked at your boyfriend’s profile and said that she would invite him. She has never said this before. When the subject of marriage was brought up, she would only talk in a whisper. A surprise. The astrologer had said that this transit of the guru would bring her good fortune.’ The girl’s father started the matter. The girl’s mother lit a lamp in front of the Mantralayam Raghavendra Swamy picture. Two wicks were burning in the lamp. The smoke from the wick spread a thin sandalwood fragrance all the way to the hall. The girl’s family and the boy’s family finished explaining their respective origins. However, now both the families have settled in Chennai.

“The girl can come dressed up. Before the good times end, let’s both of them look at each other. That’s very important,” said the boy’s father.

“Come here, the girl’s mother said, ‘The chicken is ready.'”

They brought out pink-colored banana fritters and rava soya on small plastic trays. They placed them on the teapot in front of the sofa.

“Wash your hands or eat sweets. Just bring coffee for everyone and come back. She will make coffee for all of you. Then you will all look at the girl and the girl will look at all of you,” said the girl’s mother.

“Why do you say ‘model’?” his mother asked.

The three of them started eating their tiffin by dipping their hands in the wash basin. That’s right, by dipping. The girl’s mother served banana fritters and rava sojji twice. The coconut chutney and small onion sambar were a perfect accompaniment.

The boy’s father took his sweet and put it on his son’s plate. His mother tasted the sweet from his plate and ate it. ‘I don’t have a sugar problem. But I can’t touch the sweet. The girl has sugar all over her body. But she can’t stop eating the sweet. What are you doing?’ said the boy’s father.

“There must be sugar. What can I do if I get married at ten months old and have a baby? Can’t I afford to have a sweet tooth?” This is his mother.

A shiny silk dress. A small amount of lace was tied around it, and the woman who had brought it, milk decoction, sugar, and some tumblers and tapas, kept them separately in a circular ever silver tambal, placed it in the teapot. She stood up in front of the lamp-lit Swami’s picture, performing the Panchanga Namaskar that women do.

“Tell me how you want to serve coffee, and I’ll mix it that way,” the woman said. Shobana Babu’s voice reading the news in Kanir.

“We’ll mix the decoction and take it away. I’ll give the coffee to the waiter. Ask him how you want it. Then we’ll mix it and take it away,” said his mother.

“The way you drink coffee is the way I drink it,” the groom told the woman.

She stirred the coffee as casually as she could, and handed it to the little girl, both the mug and the tumbler.

He looked at her face and bought a Tupperware tumbler full of coffee.

‘Fifty Fifty’

“Okay,” she said.

The two of them shared coffee and argued.

 “In this day and age, even well-educated children don’t get a decent salary, that’s another thing,” said the boy’s mother.

“Sing the song ‘Kolanthaki’ too, please. It’s the one that usually wins medals in music competitions in college,” said the girl’s mother.

“I will sing a song, little one,” said his father.

The woman sat on a chair and sang Subramania Bharathi’s song, “She sits in the white lotus flower, in the sound of the veena.” The room itself was filled with majesty with the sweet voice of the woman. The melody of Bharathi’s song, Ananda Bhairavi, was enhanced by her body.

“Well done, I’ll give you a first grade,” said Dad.

“Why don’t you talk to me, my dear?” his mother asked. He didn’t answer.

“Why are you talking to me, Kozhanda?” his father asked, looking at his daughter. The girl remained silent.

“The room opposite is nice. I’ll put a comfortable chair and sit down. Let’s both go and talk and have a good time,” said the girl’s father.

“Times have changed, what about those days?” said the woman’s mother.

The woman and the child got up. They both went into the room. The woman locked the door. He was scared and left.

‘What’s wrong, you have to forgive me. There is an important reason why I told you to buy a girl. I am telling you from my side. I have been in love with a girl on this street for a long time. He has a good job in a good company and is still in trouble. You are in a good position in the HR department of your company. Here is the bio-data of the girl I love. Keep this cover in your pants pocket without anyone knowing. You should buy him a good job. Only then can I get him married. I should keep this matter in your heart without anyone knowing. I have not told my mother and father all this yet. I have kept the whole thing in my heart and am wondering how to tell it outside. I consider you my brother who is also jealous of me. “This brother is the only one who can please me in a good way,” the woman begged and cried, looking at him.

He didn’t open his mouth to speak. He took the biodata envelope she had given him and put it in his pants pocket.

“Just squeeze it well and wipe it off. Then we can go outside,” she said. She straightened herself up. She opened the latch. The two of them came out of the room.

“What are you talking about? It’s fruit,” said his mother.

“It’s just fruit,” he replied to his mother.

His father was embarrassed just by the two of them talking behind the bar in the room. The woman went into the kitchen and stood there.

The girl’s mother and father spoke innocently.

“We’ve got a lot of money for both of us, now we just have to arrange everything else.” 

“Tell me the truth,” said the girl’s mother.

“I want to see a good day. I want to give an advance for the wedding hall,” the girl’s father said happily.

‘Dad, we can be jealous’

“Call that little girl. We can talk and get her out,” his father told his mother.

The woman who had entered the kitchen stood in the hall.

“We’re jealous. You’re going to come and stay with us, girl. We’ll tell you and be jealous,” said his father.

“Okay, uncle, okay, auntie,” she said softly. How modest.

“Tell me why she’s so angry,” said the mother.

‘Is everything okay? You two are going to go. A car will arrive at the door. I’ve already booked a car.’

‘What’s the hurry?’

“We will go and see you all,” he told the woman. The woman was just looking at him. The boy’s mother noticed this and said,

“It seems like the girl is in a big hurry,” he said, laughing.

He put on his sandals and got into the car. His mother and father sat in the back seat of the car. The car drove off. All the women in the family waved and sent them on their way. That woman too.

“Just one question. Why don’t you shut the door and lock it before that girl goes into the room and talks to you?” his father began.

‘Are you okay, Siddha?’

‘No, father is asking the right thing. That’s the point. She is not a girl with a lace. She told me. ‘I love her on this street.. She doesn’t have a good job and you are in a good position in the HR department in your company. You should do something. You should give her a good job in your company. Then she will marry me, brother.’ I begged her not to tell anyone about this.

“You wicked sinner, why don’t you cut his throat?” said his mother.

‘I saw the door of the room and saw the signs of the gods, and I knew something was wrong.’

‘I don’t have that guy’s bio data. I have it in my pants pocket.’

‘Don’t tear it and throw it away’

‘I don’t know what Anna is thinking and is typing this bio data. She said so herself.. I’m in HR. I will definitely call her for an interview. I’m going to give her a good job.’

“This is wrong,” said his mother.

“It’s wrong, but I want to see that boy. If he’s a good guy, I’ll even give him a job in my company. I wonder if that girl believed the truth. How would I know if she’s forgotten? I want to get a good job for the boy I love. I think I can achieve that through me. What’s wrong with that good girl?”

He looked at his father who said, “You’re a fool, you don’t know when you’ll lose your virginity. You should be a father and watch this pain. Only then will you know what that pain is.” He looked at his mother. His mother’s eyes were wet. His mother wiped them away and fixed them.

‘Not a good job. He must be in love with a girl. You must be too.’

His father grumbled at him.

Where did it fall on his ears? The three of them finished their flirting and hurried home by bus.

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