Kayal's POV

In the morning I woke up pretty early to attend the meeting. The sky had given us a small break from rains. As soon as I got up, I realized that I had got my Periods. I went to the bathroom with my Menstrual Cup and change of clothes. After a quick bath, I came outside to find Salim and his team finishing their prayers. Salim is now a Hafiz. Few days back, he gave us a small treat on a week day for that. It seems he was leading the prayer.

I waited outside for him. We came to the main road and got a load auto. He sat opposite to me. We didn't speak anything. We reached the tea stall in few minutes. All our friends were there. I introduced Salim to everybody. "Salim, this is Ponni from Tanjore Medical College. She handles vaccination and general check up. Ponni, this is Salim Ali. He is doing his Master's in Political Communication."

Both of them said 'Hai' to each other. I then turned towards Ponni. "Ponni, try to come to the colony by today or tomorrow. There are a few people complaining about fever. We have given them Paracetamol. But still, it will be better if you can check."

"Sure. I will come by today evening."

"Thanks Ponni."

With that we moved to the next person. "Salim, this is Madheshwaran from PSG College Coimbatore. Madhesh, this is Salim Ali. He is studying Political Communication." Both of them had a handshake.

Madhesh asked me, "Kayal, do you have extra milk powders? We have run out of Milk powders and we will be getting our supply, only by tomorrow morning. There are many kids in our camp. We need it urgently."

I replied, "Sure, I will send it through Arugan."

Similarly I introduced him to many more friends. He was comfortable with everybody. At last I introduced him to Francis Sir. "Sir, this is Salim Ali, doing his Master's in Political Communication. Salim, this is Francis Sir. He works with an International Aid organization."

They had a gentle handshake. Sir said, "I am happy that these days young people like you willingly participate in relief activities. May God bless you all."

Salim replied, "Thank you Sir."

After that he started chatting with Francis Sir about his interests, area of specialization etc. I left him to chat with Jeeva Anna(Elder Brother) with a polite, "Excuse me."

As soon as I went near Jeeva Anna, I snatched the cigarette from his mouth and stabbed it to death. I said, "Passive smoking is injurious to my health."

He told me an irritated voice, "Vanthuttiya Aaya? (Have you come, Grandmother?) One cigarette costs, twelve Rupees."

"You may have to spend Twelve lakh Rupees to cure Cancer, if you don't have insurance that is."

"I will instead die than waste Twelve lakh Rupees or Government's resources."

I replied in a sarcastic tone, "And, they will give you a Post Humus Padma Bhushan in honour of your sacrifice."

Salim joined us now. "Anna, this is Salim Ali. He is doing his Master's in Political Communication. We are classmates. Salim, this is Jeeva Anna, senior most member of our NGO. He is our mentor, guide, brother etc."

Salim extended his hand for a handshake, but Anna caught him by surprise by giving him a hug. "Welcome. Anbu told me about you."

"Thank you."

Jeeva Anna, then drilled more information from him when I left to buy my Coffee. I think Salim prefers tea, so I bought a tea for him and gave it to him. When we returned our cups to the stall, we boarded the load auto again bidding a bye to Jeeva Anna again.

As soon as we boarded Salim asked me, "He seems like a great guy."

"Definitely. We are working here because we know our family and homes are safe. But his home is flood locked now. His mother is staying at a relative's place. He tends to put others before thinking about himself. I first saw him in a youth forum, when I was in my IX Grade. All of us were discussing about ways to stop child labor. He was hardly participating in our discussion. Instead he was scribbling something in his paper. I used to hate his attitude. Only later I realized that he had made portraits of all ten of us. He sold our portraits to us for 200 Rs each. I thought how lucky he is to have such a talent. When we got out, I saw him giving that money to a young boy who was working in a tea shop to treat his mother's illness. I was really impressed by his deed. I immediately ran towards him and asked him whether he could teach me to sketch like him. To this he hesitated and asked me the reason to learn Portrait sketching. When I told him that I want to sketch so that the little boy doesn't have to work in that tea shop ever again, he laughed and agreed. From the very next day he taught me to sketch in my house. My Amma being Amma, enquired about him through her sources. We learnt that his father passed away when Jeeva Anna was just ten years old. His father used to be a manual scavenger and he died in a methane gas explosion in a man hole. His mother is a sanitary worker in Corporation of Chennai. He studied Fine Arts in College of Fine Arts, Chennai. He studied under various scholarships.

Once during floods, everybody in our NGO decided to go by boat and distribute food in North Madras. Only when we reached there, we found out that in most areas drainage water was mixed with floods. All of us hesitated to get out of the boat and walk for a small distance towards those buildings. But Anna, didn't even think twice. He simply rolled his pants and started walking in the dirty sewage water. He went alone for two rounds and for the third round all of us accompanied him. He inspired us to be better human beings.

Jeeva Anna is with Communist Party of India and he doesn't preach Communism. He lives it. He doesn't own more than five pairs of dresses. And all of them are gifts from my Amma. He doesn't spend much for himself. As of now, he is a Graphic Designer and earns a good amount as salary. But, he is mostly broke by fifth of every month. He never thinks twice before giving money to anybody. In evenings, he takes art classes for under privileged children. He feels art is the best form to express their pain and anger. And yes, above all he is an over protective brother. I am an only child in my family. My cousins are all younger to me. He is the only elder brother I have. In fact even my parents treat him as their son. The only person to whom he listens to is my Amma. And he calls me Aaya because he says I keep on scolding him like his grandmother".

Salim gave a polite smile and I continued, "Once there was this guy, a son of a local politician who helped in relief activities. But, he was literally troubling me a lot. I kept away from him but he still sort of harassed me. My NGO couldn't kick him out because he brought in a lot of money. Even I was worried because I felt if I hurt him we may not be able to serve our cause. But, Jeeva Anna didn't worry about any of these things. He hit that guy so badly that he had to be hospitalized for a month. Jeeva Anna got arrested the same night. But, he being a Dalit no FIR (First Information Report) was filed against him. He was kept naked except for his briefs and everybody in the Police Station had hit him. Thankfully, there was this student journalist who had this video shot from his mobile phone of that Politician's son in compromising situations. We threatened to put it online. After too much of negotiations, Jeeva Anna was released. But two hours in jail was more than enough for our Police Officials to beat the pulp out of him. He was hospitalized for around ten days. Every now and then he still gets threats from Politicians. But, he sort of manages now."

I never spoke this much about Jeeva Anna to anybody. This guy is a great listener. I looked towards him when he suddenly asked me, "You never call any of your friends as brothers, but how come you are calling him as Anna"?

I had to smile at his curiosity. "Well, I don't think of him as my friend. Right from the first time I spoke with him, I used to call him as Anna only".

Salim again thought of asking something, but the driver stopped the vehicle and few members got inside. I knew why they were getting in. I am not sure, how Salim is going to react when we have to return in the same load auto. Within a few minutes, the load auto stopped again and everybody except us got down. Salim was shocked to see that they were getting down in front of a TASMAC shop. Yes, that is Tamil Nadu. There can be a scarcity for food, drinking water, milk etc during floods. But we never run out of liquor. TASMAC our state run liquor shop had a soaring business even during rains and floods. And its patrons were always happy customers.

After few minutes we reached the food stall and got the tiffen packets from the owner. We expressed a thank you to him. When I turned around to board in that load auto again Salim asked me, "Kayal, do you have any thing called as brain in your head?"

"Why Salim, do you need some? I thought you had enough."

Salim's POV

I was extremely pissed off. "If you have so much of brain, why don't you use it? We will have to pick up those drunkards while returning."

"I know. That's why I warned you that the journey may not be comfortable. I will sit in the front with the driver. You can sit in the edge behind. That is how we can manage. I don't have the energy to walk."

I very well knew that she didn't have the energy to walk. Today in the morning, while getting up I saw her taking that pink box which read 'Menstrual Cup' with her to the bathroom. Long back when it fell down from her bag in our college, I checked about it online. It seems women use them during Periods. I felt bad for her. She is already suffering from anemia, on top of it, she got her periods, when she is staying in such an uncomfortable place in this bad weather. Still, this is Kayal. I was looking out for other means of transport when I spotted a bike inside the food stall. I said, "Just wait for a while."

I went to speak with the owner of the stall and requested him to give me his bike. Alhamdulillah, he gave me the bike keys saying that bike belongs to his son who is now out of station. He asked me to use the bike, till we stay here. Allah(SWT) is definitely the merciful. I then took the bike and went near Kayal, she rode pillion saying, "Salim, how is it that the world thinks that you are an innocent and good guy? Both of you met only yesterday and today he gave his bike keys to you. Nobody has even given me a bi cycle like this."

I laughed, "A Muslim will always try to help his neighbor."

"Ha ha.You know what Salim, you hold a world record."

I was amused, "For what?"

"For yelling at me and getting away with it. After my parents you are the guy, who has yelled so much at me and still got away with it."

I smiled at her statement, while trying to balance the bike in the difficult road. "You also hold a world record, for making me the say the maximum sorry in my lifetime to you."

"Ha ha. It also means that you have done a lot of mistakes. Don't worry Salim. I have a big forgiving heart. Hey, that reminds me, say sorry to your Creator for falling into Haraam zone. I am sorry again for pulling you to it."

Only after a second I realized we were talking without any chaperone. My Haraam Police are in the camp. I nodded my head. They let me go because I told them that we will always be having company.

As soon as we reached our camp, we distributed the food. Thankfully the local Councilor and VAO(Village Administrative Officer) also helped us a lot by providing us with provisions. Suddenly there were heavy thunders and lightning. I have always read in romantic novels that women are always afraid of thunders and they seek support from strong men. But Kayal didn't bother about the thunder. She was helping a small child get into the rescue boat. It might rain heavily in few minutes.

Alhamdulillah, we reached our camp before heavy rains. Kayal then went in search of her bag and had some dates from a small container. I was happy that she takes proper care of her health. Men love to pamper women. But, it is also a relief to know that you don't have to baby sit for your wife. I may be biased because of my love towards Kayal, but I have learnt to accept my attraction towards her independence and self reliance.

We settled in for a tea after that in the small staff room. Rafi and Abdullah were engaging with small children in the other room. Anbu and Arugan were discussing about AIDS. Arugan was saying, "Thankfully, it is controlled now. The number of cases has drastically reduced, all thanks to our Government's campaigns."

Kayal said, "Are you telling me that all the lorry drivers who had extra marital sex with commercial sex workers and then had sex with their wife and donated HIV to them have become saints now?"

Anbu replied, "I don't think that is possible. It is just that awareness has increased among commercial sex workers as well, so they are forcing men to use condoms."

Kayal replied in her irritated tone, "That's so bad. Society should teach you, not to do anything wrong. Instead it is teaching them the correct way to do the wrong thing. Ithu Aram Illa(It isn't ethical)."

Arugan said, "I agree with your view about extra marital sex. What about people who have pre marital sex?"

I could sense the uncomfortable expression in Umar's as well as Mustafa's face. She said, "That is also equally wrong. We come from a culture of 'Oruvanukku Oruthi'(One man for one woman). So why not wait till marriage for sex? And another thing is what is the point in marrying if you finish everything before marriage? In that case, you will feel indebted to marry that woman because you had sex with her. And vice versa for that woman as well. You should marry a woman for love not because you feel indebted."

Ya Allah, I know all these things happen in the world. But, I have never heard or participated in such a discussion before. I don't know what Mustafa and Umar must be thinking now. Anbu said, "That's right. If you really love a woman, you can wait till marriage when she is completely yours."

Arugan replied, "Okay Anna. May be I can wait for sex. But, I am telling out of my own personal experience Akka, Love without Lust is like Curd Rice(Yoghurt Rice. It tastes bland). You can have it if you are suffering from Diarrhea. Otherwise it is such a tasteless thing to have daily. We need hugs, kisses, some touching etc from our women. That's what makes us men feel loved and trusted. And we men are not capable of expressing our love through any language other than our physical body language."

Ya Allah, I always wanted my brother to stay innocent. His innocence is gone with the wind now.

Kayal now gave out a frustrated sigh, "Arugan, never in my life I have felt this bad for being single. A small boy like you giving me advice from your personal experience about love and lust is a direct provocation for me to commit suicide by jumping into this tea cup."(In Tamil parlance, this is a sarcastic way of saying, I am insulted and I want to die right now).

Mustafa cleared his throat. Everybody had a weird expression on their faces. Kayal immediately changed the topic. "Hey, what do you think is the prospect of ruling government in the next election?"

Alhamdulillah, Alhamdulillah, Alhamdulillah.

Kothai replied, "I have lost all interest in politics Akka. What is the point in elections and votes?"

Kayal said, "It's okay to lose hope in politicians, but don't you ever lose hope in politics and democracy. We have come a long way only because of our political movements."

Anbu said, "Kothai, do you see that guy over there wearing his Thundu(A cloth worn on shoulders by men with Veshti) in his shoulders? Three generations before people of his caste were supposed to tie that Thundu in his waist as a mark of respect for upper caste. But, it was our Dravidian Political movements which taught us that, everybody is equal and everybody should wear their Thundu on their shoulders. Caste Discrimination still exists and we have a long way to go. But we cannot deny the fact that we have come a long way from where we were."

This is a topic where I can contribute, "Think about Education. Few decades back when our Ex Chief Minister Perunthalaivar Kamarajar was travelling in a car, he saw a poor boy looking after his goats. When Aiya(Aiya is a respectable way of calling an elderly man) asked him why he didn't go to school, that boy replied, 'how can I get food if I go to school? I have to work so that I can eat.' It was then Aiya introduced Mid Day Meal Schemes in schools guided by Ne.Thu.Sundaravadivelu Aiya. Later M.G.R. Aiya introduced the Nutritious Meal Programme in schools. A huge credit for our high literacy rates at least in School Education goes to these schemes introduced by our government."

Bharathi said, "You are a woman and you are studying in IIT Madras. Few generations back women weren't allowed to study above Primary level. You have reached where you are because of Political policies. These days scholarships are given to women to do their Post Doctoral PhD as well. Every educated woman in Tamil Nadu is indebted to Thanthai Periyar for that. He was the original feminist."

Arugan now joined, "Do you think all the changes which happened in our country is due to computer and software? It was our Government's policies of Globalization which paved way for these IT companies. Yes, Globalization has a lot of bad effects, but the good it has done to you is also there in the open for you to see. There is politics in everything. From the water we drink, to the mobile we use, the network we opt, news we read to every single thing we consume. As a woman you have to be more aware of Politics than men, because one day you will have to guide your family towards the right choices."

Kayal spoke now, "At any point of time, if you don't have any respect or hope for the candidates, you yourself should stand in the election. It is okay to lose in elections. But it is not okay to lose hope in democracy. If you still can't understand the value of our democracy, go and live in some countries under Dictatorship for a while, then you will appreciate Democracy."

All of us laughed at that. Samuvel called us to help in the kitchen. After preparing lunch, I saw Kayal silently observing us when we were serving food. I went near her, Umar was also with me. I said, "A penny for your thought."

She gave a small smile and said, "I was just thinking that food breaks all barriers in society, religion, caste, economic status everything. The farmer who might have sown this rice might be a Dalit, people who prepared this lunch belong to different castes and people who are serving belong to different religions. It will be really great, if we had community kitchens, it will constantly remind us that in society all of us are dependent on each other."

"Wishful thinking Kayal."

She nodded her head and smiled when Arugan called her and she left us. Umar was also looking at her with respect. I was happy to know that my future wife will not only be loved by my family but also respected.

After lunch, I saw Arugan leave with milk powder packets. We just finished our Asr prayers in the room when Bharathi rushed inside the room. She called me, "Anna, Kayal Akka called you. It is an emergency. Please come fast."

Meaning of Tamil names

Ponni – River Cauvery which flows through Tamil Nadu is also called as Ponni. In India it is common to name women after rivers.

Madheshwarn – Name of a Hindu God

Jeeva – Jeeva is a short form of Jeevan i.e.life. Vyasarpadi Jeeva was a famous communist leader who worked selflessly for people. The name Jeeva is common among communists in Tamil Nadu.

Ne.Thu.Sundaravadivelu Aiya is the architect of 'Mid day Meals'  Scheme for School children. 

M.G.R. is our Honorable ex Chief Minister.

I was inspired by a Tamil talk show, 'Neeya Naana' to write about the discussion on Politics. My heartfelt gratitude to Anthony Thirunelveli Sir and Gopinath Sir. Readers please vote, comment and share.

<