Sitharaam Jayakumar's Blog: http://www.jaisjottings.com, page 6

The (V)anara Bhaktas

The (V)anara Bhaktas

Udayashree Patti sat on her chair rocking back and forth. She looked at them and asked, ‘Well dears, what do you want to know about our quiet village? I guess you know by now that during the times of the British Raj, it was called Aravankolom. Even now old people like me call it by that name. I am 92 years old now. I was born and brought up in this village. I can’t read or write as women were ne...

(U)dayashree Patti, The Grand Old Woman of Aravankolom

(U)dayashree Patti, The Grand Old Woman of Aravankolom

Aravankolom or Narnommalporom proved to be a quaint little village with a beautiful river in tow. Varun had already been there and seen the place, so he knew something about it. During the times of the British Raj, there had been severe caste discrimination in this quiet little village. But over time there had been several inter-caste marriages and caste bigotry...

At Narnommalporom Village In (T)irunelveli District

At Narnommalporom Village In (T)irunelveli District

Gayatri and Varun had booked their flight tickets to Tuticorin which was the nearest city to Tirunelveli with an airport. From there they planned to go by car to Narnommalporom village. They boarded the flight at Shimla airport and relaxed in their seats. They had booked business class as the constant travel over the past 4 or 5 days had really taken a toll on both...

At (S)himla

At (S)himla

Varun woke up in the morning at 7.30 AM. When he went to Gayatri’s room, he found she was wide awake. Her eyes were slightly reddish as if she had been crying. The moment she saw Varun she gave a ghost of a smile and tried to grin. Varun remained noncommittal though every nerve in his body strained to pull this lovelorn girl into his arms and comfort her. But he realized he could do without more complica...

(R)ehman And (R)ani

(R)ehman and (R)ani

Varun opened the car door quickly and said to the guide, ‘Would Rs 75 be of any use to you? If it is, get in and tell us all about it.’

The guide’s face brightened, and he got in. Once the guide was inside Varun shut the door quickly. He asked the driver to drive for ten minutes along the road and stop. The driver was looking frightened and seemed to be relieved when he was told to drive away fr...

Monkeys At (Q)utub Minar

Monkeys At (Q)utub Minar

When his eyes opened the next morning, Varun found that Gayatri had already left his room. Varun felt extremely guilty about what had happened the night before. He had acted like a fool. He had allowed a moment of weakness to land him in a mess. He dressed up and went over to Gayatri’s room and their eyes met briefly for a few seconds. But neither spoke about the previous night.

They had br...

A Night Of Guilty (P)leasure

A Night of Guilty (P)leasure

Gayatri and Varun got back to their hotel at 7 PM. There was a restaurant attached to the hotel and they decided to have dinner there. The place was well maintained, and the ambience was excellent. There were several people seated on the tables and there was also a dance floor. A few couples were dancing. A woman wearing a mini skirt was singing one of Tracy Chapman’s melodious numbers. ...

St Olivier’s College

St (O)livier’s College

The next day Gayatri and Varun caught the earliest available flight to Nainital. It was a two-hour trip and they landed at Nainital by 9 AM. They found the scenic beauty of Nainital breath-taking. For Gayatri, it was her first visit to the place, but Varun had visited Nainital with Anandi as part of the shooting team just the month before. Again, the attraction between them was evident to both...

Over To (N)ainital

Over To (N)ainital

Varun protested as the two of them left the gypsy’s hut. He said indignantly, ‘That voice talked a lot of mumbo jumbo. I wanted to find out what it meant.’

But Gayatri quietly led him back to their hotel. She opened her mouth only after they were back in the hotel room. She said, ‘I don’t think she was talking mumbo jumbo Varun. I don’t think she was doing any talking at all. Didn’t you notice sh...

(M)onkey Hair And (M)oving Backwards

(M)onkey Hair And (M)oving Backwards

At around 5.20 PM the ward boy who was assigned to Anandi’s ward came up to where Gayatri and Varun were seated. He looked at Varun and said, ‘Sir, are you Mr Varun?’

Varun nodded and the boy said, ‘Dr Peter wants to meet you immediately. Please hurry.’

Varun and Gayatri walked over to Dr Peter’s room and entered without waiting for the secretary to usher them in. Dr Peter told...