On a fine morning she was walking though the coconut grove close to her house in the company of her husband who happened to be a journalist. Being enchanted by the coconut trees laden with green and ripe coconut bunches, adjoined by paddy fields full of lush green rice plants he commented saying " What a splendid sight ". She gazed at him and said "oh, you are thinking on these lines but I am now reflecting on what will be my situation if a coconut falls on my head ".
When her husband narrated this incident to her father, the latter tried to convince him that she could not be criticized for such a mentality since it is a question of "genetic disorder", because she had imbibed such a characteristic from her father only. She is , fortunately, an exact replica of her beloved mom in terms of her physical features or else it would have been rather hard for her parents to find a groom for her and her husband , a handsome gentleman, who has now tolerated her for a number of years, would not have accepted her as his bride. She should have inherited at least a little bit of courage and confidence from her mom and but has instead absorbed pessimism, anxiety and irrational fear straight from her dad, an epitome of such feelings. Her dad is so delicate and touchy that when there is a very slight leakage in the water tap at home he gets upset; when he goes meet a person he speculates that he will be absent ; when he drives his car he thinks that the car next to him is going to hit him; when he waits for some one he imagines that the person will never arrive; when he goes for shopping he expects that the item he is looking for will be out of stock ; when his children are late to reach home, he imagines that some thing wrong has occurred and so on , so forth.
He remains a passive spectator, let opportunities pass without seizing them and then cries over the spilt milk. He is aware of the fruitlessness and absurdity of such behaviour but cannot help it. He is notorious for his lethargy and laziness. His friends say that it is his wife’s dedication and loyalty that has made him so inactive since she spares no efforts to keep him healthy and happy. She does everything for him including those chores expected of him as a man let alone as a husband and when ever he extends a helping hand to her, she begs him not to do so since he never does anything properly and therefore her work load will increase and not decrease. Every day at 6 am his breakfast is ready on the dining table; she never forgets to remind him to take fresh gooseberry along with turmeric powder prior to his breakfast to control his blood sugar ; when he returns home from his office lunch along for with plates, knives, forks and bowls will be waiting for him, he has just to eat it and wash his hands and that too he does not do properly and the result is that she has to replace the towel hung close to the wash basin frequently as it is always full of oil and stains; his wardrobe is all the time full of ironed shirts and he is very often perplexed as to which dress he has to put on; when he goes out she ensures that has buttoned his shirt properly and advises him not to rush while driving .Last year when they were on vacation in Kerala, a doctor told her that her husband looks younger as she looks after him very well.
He always looks gloomy, moody and tense as if some misfortune is going to befall him. However he may try, he finds it difficult to smile at others when they smile at him .Though he has seen his friends patting and some of them even hugging their wives and children while coming home after a long absence he could never do so. He was shy even to kiss mother when she was alive. Only once could he do so, that too when she had been hospitalized during the last days of her life. But before kissing his mom, he remembers how he ensured that none was watching him and when he did it at last he behaved like a thief trying to steal something.
Once at Kochi airport while his wife and children were waiting to receive him, he came out of the airport, spoke a few words to his children , loaded the luggage in the taxi, got into to it and did not even bother to look at his wife who was there waiting for him . She was naturally very sorry and told her children that she should not have waited for him at the airport. Such a situation has the potential to provoke any women however humble and sincere she may be, but she continues to be loyal and serve him as if nothing unpleasant has happened..
While living as a bachelor , he used to tell his friends that he did not like to invite some one to join him in his life journey just to share grievances and suffer as he could foresee the trouble and turmoil in the offing. He knew that his cousins younger than him had already married. But he forgot the fact though he was physically fit for marriage, he was fiscally unfit for marriage especially his house at that time was an old one badly in need of urgent repairs. On the occasion of his sister’s marriage , a lady belonging to groom’s family who attended the function had pointed her finger to the wooden roof frame of his house being eaten by termites and announced that his home was unsafe. More over his mom was ill and it was very difficult and tiresome to look after her.
A couple of years after his arrival in Doha he traveled to Kerala after borrowing some money to get married at a time when he was drawing a low salary that could just support his parents at home after meeting his expenses in Doha . She should have had the common sense to think that marriage was not a joke and that he should not violate his own promise not to let any girl suffer by joining him as a life partner in such a situation.
His parents especially his mom used to pray to God in tears to take care of this timid toddler of hers as her maternal instincts would have told her that her son was so inept that he could be easily fooled by any Tom, Dick and Harry. Therefore God has been so benevolent to him and rarely does he face obstacles in his life save those created by his own thoughtlessness and stupidity.
Here he is celebrating the 33rd anniversary of his wedded life and living in peace and happiness with his loving and caring wife and children. What else doe he want and why he is restless? These are the two questions, he is yet to find an answer.
The Father
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