A Brother Indeed Story by Kadayam Balan

A Brother Indeed Story by Kadayam Balan Translated into English by MiniMohanraj

20-72020

கடையம் பாலன் எழுதிய “அண்ணனா அவன்” என்ற சிறுகதையை சகோதரி மினிமோகன்ராஜ் ஆங்கிலத்தில் மொழிமாற்றம் செய்துள்ளார்.

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There was only one more week for the wedding and plenty of work to be done. And, moreover, the parents were deep in thought as to how they were going to complete everything within that short span of time. Natarajan had extraordinarily framed in his mind as, how to conduct his only daughter’s marriage with great pomp and show. Similarly, his wife Rangammal ‘s desire was to marry her daughter into a well to do family. But “Marriages are made in Heaven” and will all our desires come out true?

Natarajan called his daughter Rekha (the to-be-bride) and told her to write the names of the invitees in the wedding card. She brought the bunch of wedding cards and sat writing the names as her father dictated. She even reminded her father of some names like Murugan, Ganesan….etc., that he had forgotten and in the process of writing , she even thought about the next door uncle, Paramasivan, who was actually her paternal uncle.The thought of inviting him for her wedding send shivers down her spine whereas Natarajan’s facial expression changed. Hence, they decided not to continue with the work at the moment, but would carry on with the work later. Natarajan who was exasperated got up and wiped his face with a towel.

“This evening we will go to your brother’s house and invite him for the wedding……..” said Rangammal to her husband. Immediately Natarajan losing his temper said,” what did you say……whom…? Did you mean him….? Have you gone mad….?” But Rangammal continued with a tinge of hesitation, “whatever it is, he is your elder brother…what will the society say if we don’t invite him?” “Why should I bother about the society? Did anyone come forward to help us in our times of difficulties?”, shouted Natarajan, with his face red with anger. Now like adding fuel to the fire, Rekha counterreacted to her mother’s opinion by telling, “ Mother, what is wrong with father’s attitude towards his brother? Uncle…..it seems…..uncle……you always have in mind how he treated us and tried to push us deep into hell when we approached him during our time of crisis.”

Soon after Natarajan’s marriage, the family property was equally divided and given between the two brothers by his parents. Natarajan’s elder brother, Paramasivan, had already many businesses like lending money on loan, chit fund..etc., Hence Paramasivan’s business flourished and made him more prosperous even after the partition of the family property.

Natarajan ,who also wanted to flourish like his elder brother, engaged himself in business. In a period of time he boomed in his business and achieved moderate heights in life. Normally when successful businessmen face a set back in business, they never expose it, instead they strive hard to restore it. Natarajan ‘s desire was also the same. Hence he borrowed money on loan. But, unluckily, his income did not mount high as his debts had.

Natarajan’s comfort in life could be compared to the waning of the moon, while Paramasivan’s to the waxing of the moon. Hence , inorder to survive situations in life, Natarajan started borrowing money on loan from outsiders . While he, on the other hand ,considered borrowingmoney from his own brother as below his dignity.

Life is always unpredictable. This came out to be true in Natarajan’s case also. Unfortunately, he was pushed to the situation of being financially dependent on his brother. When Natarajan approached Paramasivan for money, he said, “ Brother, I know very well your helplessness in repaying the debts of other people. See, eventhough you are my younger brother, we are individuals with different characters, feelings, desires etc., But I possess that brotherly affection towards you. Hence, I will lend you money at a lower rate of interest on the condition that you mortgage your fields to me .”

This stringent rule of his brother did not send any shockwaves to Natarajan for he was that desperately in need of money. He was perplexed. He did not know how he was going to repay the money borrowed as loan from his brother, when he couldn’t find a way to give back the huge amount borrowed from outsiders. He felt Fate was very cruel to him. One after the other he had to mortgage all his property to his elder brother for now and then he was in need of money. He lost his fields, his house etc.,

Years rolled by…….debts also skyrocketed. One day his brother asked him if he would repay the entire loan taken or vacate the house he lived in. This startled everyone in his house,especially his daughter Rekha. Natarajan was distressed. His eyebrows were deeply twisted in thoughts. He settled down to a decision. He said to Paramasivan, “ Ok , I will sell the house and fields and repay everything I owe you. Give me the documents I had given you as mortgage security.” Paramasivan in alarm said, “ what …….. the mortgage deed?” and he continued…….” You see……the money you get from the sale will not be enough to pay even the interest on the loan you have taken from me. It is beyond your limit…….why don’t you calculate and check it out for yourself? “

Natarajan was shocked and couldn’t check his tears. He pleaded with his brother to consider his pitiable state but Paramasivan refused to change his mind. Finally Natarajan had to give up everything, his fields….his house…. He vacated his big house and settled down in a small tiled , rented house on the outskirts of the village.Like the bygone days he couldn’t succeed in his business. However , using his family’s goodwill he managed to enter into business with a rich merchant and bought and sold goods on a commission basis and with that minimal income , he ran his family.

Time teaches us to overcome the difficulties experienced in life and continue…….with a smile…… . Tough times passed….. He got a suitable alliance for Rekha . When compared to Natarajan’s present standard of living, this alliance was far better. The groom was from a well to do family, owned a house and also a hard worker.He belonged to the neighbouring village. Natarajan couldn’t think of a suitable one than this. The groom’s family who had voluntarily approached Natarajan with this alliance said, “ welike your daughter. You do whatever is within your means for your daughter. We have no demands.” Natarajan was only too happy to hear this. Immediately he nodded his consent and started making the arrangements for the marriage.

It is very much true that “Marriages are made in Heaven “. Natarajan also felt so because it was the divine will that his daughter should get such a good match but ,at the same time, another stark reality is arrangements for marriage should be made only on earth. Natarajan had only limited cash with him to perform the marriage. At the same time , he desired to arrange a decent feast for the wedding. He went to the stores and handed over a big list for the groceries. He assured them that the cost for the groceries would be paid when he got the cash gifts during his daughter’s marriage ceremony. Hence, the shop owners decided to provide him the necessary things needed for the occasion.

The wedding took place in a pompous manner. Only his brother’s family did not turn up for the wedding while everyone whom he had invited attended the wedding .Natarajan ,even during his times of financial crisis ,had never failed to attend any wedding that he was invited for. He was happy to see the entire village community there to shower their blessings on his daughter.

After tying the knot, the couple , according to their traditional custom, came round the sacred fire thrice. They were ready to get blessings from elders and relatives and also the wedding gifts. Many guests came to the dais ,blessed the couple, gave gifts, etc., Simultaneously, in another part of the mandap, the feast was being served and many guests who were buzzing like bees to hand over the gifts to the couple, moved away to the dining hall to partake of the feast. So there was no one near the bride and groom for sometime.

At that instant , a car halted outside the wedding hall and out stepped Paramasivan and two other able- bodied men. Paramasivan entered the hall. Eventhough many relatives welcomed him, there was seen a tinge of fear on his face, as to anything unusual would happen there in connection with his arrival. An air of tension prevailed in the mandap. Natarajan was informed of his elder brother’s arrival. He became aggressive.

“What is it now…..has he come here to create a furore?” screamed Natarajan in anger and folding his dhothi , tried to rush to the dais, but his relatives forcefully held him back. They said,” Be calm…… we will wait and see.” Paramasivan who had entered the mandap, hastily went to the dais where the newly wed couple were seated. On seeing Paramasivan, the groom stood up and took the dust of his feet (blessings),while Rekha, under the pretext of adjusting her saree turned towards the rear of the mandap, unwilling to face her uncle. Paramasivan took two covers from his bag and gave one each to the groom and the bride. But Rekha turning her head away,refused to accept it.

Paramasivan raised his voice in anger and said, “Rekha….” . She retorted, “ why are you shouting…?”

Everyone crowded over there with an intense fear of something dreadful going to happen. Paramasivan caught hold of Rekha’s hand and dragged her to an adjacent room and warned others, “ Nobody should come here.” Meanwhile Natarajan , who reached there in anger , asked his other relatives, “ why has he dragged my daughter to that room?” and he was about to pounce on his brother, but all his relatives stopped him saying that Rekha was a daughter to his brother also.

In the meantime Paramasivan was engaged in a conversation with Rekha. He said, “ Rekha, you are angry with me because your father has told you undesirable things about me…..” She retaliated, “My father hasn’t told me anything against you……but I know very well about you….” “ Okay, do you know the in and out of your father’s life …… better than me? You see…. I have known him since his birth. I agree that I have amassed wealth by lending money on interest. I have actually never loved my profession…. but I had no other choice for I was not acquainted with any other occupation. You see my child…..eventhough I am a moneylender , nobody has been affected because of my occupation. “ Hah…. Is it not enough that we have suffered much because of him…….” thought Rekha to herself.

Paramasivan continued using all his efforts to make her understand the true situation. He said, “ You see here …Rekha, soon after your father’s marriage he set up a business of his own . I was very happy to see his development in life . He flourished in his business but soon he became an alcoholic and also developed bad friendship , which spoiled his life. He , who was not ready to give up his friends’ circle, had to face a set back in business and life. His expenditure surpassed his income. He found it difficult to manage situations. There are very many people in this world who calculate the profit in business but at the same time are least bothered about the expenditure and your father belongs to that category. He reaped good profit in his business , so he thought that he was prospering in it. But , at the same time , he failed to realise how his debts were skyrocketing. Awareness dawned on him only when his business crashed. Atleast then your father should have closed down his business and taken care of his property. It did not happen in his case. His urge to reestablish himself made him take more loans. He could not reimburse the money…..and finally only did he approach me. In such a situation if I had not transferred his property into my name, either the moneylenders would have taken it from him or your father would have sold it. It was only after I took possession of the property and the house, he realized the situation and started a small business. After that his life was somewhat smooth, otherwise, he would not have transformed himself into a new person. Now you have got a good life. Whenever it is , your father’s property always belongs to you. Here are the documents of your father’s property which I have converted to your name. Nobody can sell this property , even in your grandson’s period , because I have written the document in such a manner.” On hearing her uncle’s words….. she lifted her head and looked up. With eyes filled with tearsRekha said, “ Please forgive me, uncle…..we mistook you…..” Paramasivan’s happiness knew no bounds. He continued, “ It is alright….. hereafterwards atleast we should be united.” He turned towards the groom who was witnessing the scene and said,” My son-in-law , you should take good care of my daughter.” The groom replied, “ Uncle, since you told only did I agree to marry her and not only that….the entire expenses for the marriage was spent by you….” Paramasivan said in reply, “ I have done all these only for my daughter.” Natarajan who had been listening to the entire conversation ,ran towards his brother and fell at his feet,crying. At that moment , to Natarajan, Paramasivan appeared as the Lord Almighty himself. Rekha who was literally in tears fell at her uncle’s feet and said, “ Uncle, my marriage did not take place in your presence…..atleast now you forgive and bless me…”Paramasivan said, “ Rekha, if I had come here before the wedding ceremony , then, my younger brother, that is , your father, would have created such an uproar and turned this place into a battlefield. Hence, I did not make an early appearance. But do not worry, I will visualize your wedding ceremony in my mind’s eye and bless you.”

Thus both the families reunited and even participated in all the wedding rituals that followed.

Brotherly love, fundamentally, is a sense of responsibility, care, respect, knowledge…..etc, of each other and also based on the experiences shared that helpto unite them.

Long live brotherhood !

Translated into English by MiniMohanraj