The lost mansion

Neeta walked out of the house. She did not know where she was going. It was just like an impulse from within. The sun has gone to his palace to take his kingly rest. Darkness has gulped the place. The cold breeze has started swiping the air. Neeta could feel her bones cling with chill. But she did not feel like walking back. She continued to walk. It was as if she is walking after a long time. She felt the place new and interesting. She noticed the newly painted pillar in the next house. The lime yellow has given it a fresh look. There is a new white car parked in front of it. Its presence raised the status of the house. She loved that house for the green lawn it had, for the trees surrounding it. Truly, it looked like a land of serenity. She had an urge to look back at her mansion. Something prevented her. She felt uneasy to twist her head. “No, I do not want to see my mansion!”

Neeta walked fast than ever. Her footsteps began running as if she wants to escape from something. The sea shore was nearing. She never wanted to run to the beach, but something dragged her there. Perhaps, the mind knows where we want to be than our brains. She felt colder, yet she felt some respite. She strolled through the shore. She could hear the loud talks of the fishermen families from the huts. She has always wondered how they live near to the deep monstrous sea. The sea was dark blue. It had a mystery in its calmness. She could sense its depth even in the darkness. She feared sea and that prevented her from walking close to the water.

A few boats rested on the shore. It looked as if they are tired after the long surfs in the sea. Neeta walked closer to them. She wanted to touch them and feel their wooden structure. She liked to smell that fish stink arousing from them. The yellow light from the streets was falling on the boats. They lit up the place a bit. The sand was shining like golden powder. Her footsteps were going inside the sand. It made her walk difficult.

Neeta reached closer to them. Suddenly, something tucked her feet. She was taken aback. She looked down with a panting heart. It was a maroon coloured blanket. She saw somebody was sleeping down the boat. She kept her steps backward and looked more vigilantly. It was a man. He was not alone. There were three children and a woman sleeping nearby. “It must be a family”, she thought. Neeta looked at their tired faces. All were fast asleep.

Neeta turned back and began walking. She walked pretty fast. She didn’t care to notice the surroundings. The breeze followed her. She clasped her hands to the body due to chillness. Nobody was coming opposite to her. Even if anybody came, they wouldn’t have noticed her. She was walking too close to the walls. She stepped onto the road. Lights were brighter there.

Neeta could see the yellow pillared house from distance.  It still felt to be brighter. She crossed that house and walked to her mansion. She opened the gate. There was no mansion. There were only broken bricks which fell down the ground when ‘they’ demolished the mansion. She stepped on them and found few pieces of glass. It could be that of the glass bottle which her mother used to store sugar. She remembered stealing sugar from it when she was small. There were some white pieces of plastic next to it. She could not recollect what they used to be.

“Neeta, come home fast. Where have you been?” Her mother came out of the shed behind and asked loudly. Neeta left the whereabouts and walked to the shed behind. The picture of the family lying on the shore lingered in her mind. She was not the only one left homeless. She felt happy, but tears were rolling down her cheeks. Her mind was indeed remembering the beautiful mansion she possessed till yesterday.

“My Right to Education”

This is about a little boy whom I met today. He is studying in 4th standard in a nearby school. His mother brought him to my home to make him sit and do his homework. I called him ‘Chottu’ because he was too small for his age.

And, there Chottu sat with a big bag that must have rolled through all sorts of earthly dirt.

“What homework do you have?” I asked him in a pampering voice. “Maths!” he replied in a tough voice with an implied face.

Chottu had no time to waste, so we began the chase.

His book was a priceless sight of how worst a study book can be kept, with plenty of red marks, pencil marks, sketch pens and many other sorts of unknown writing tools. The covers were torn to extremes and the book was three fourth uncovered.

I couldn’t resist asking him the reason behind the sketch pen marks in the notebook. Surprisingly, those were the contributions of his mentor. The teacher has used sketch pens as a substitute for red pens. Chottu too has contributed his creativity on them, giving the book a vibrant appeal.

I felt quite happy to do the divisions and subtractions after long years. Chottu too was happy because he understood that the Didi sitting in front of him knows to do his homework. The thought made him lazier and he began looking at me for every single digit. His pleading face or his cute little face, I did everything for him.

Homework got over in twenty minutes and Chottu was all set for the pack up. Like most of the elders, I advised him to study better and asked him to visit frequently so that I can help him out with his studies. Chottu doesn’t seem to be concerned. I decided to make him a little frightened. “You will fail next year if you go like this”, I warned him.

Chottu replied, “Didi, teachers won’t fail us. Government has said not to hold back any student in classes till he completes the 8th grade.”

I went speechless for a moment. While bidding him good bye, I was terrified of the knowledge he had about his Right to Education.

Will Kerala emerge or submerge?

For the past three decades, Government of Kerala had nothing to flaunt in the sector of industry and agriculture. Most of the projects undertook ceased at the brink where they begun. The corporate companies were not ready for investment on a land where most of the days are strikes. 

A matter of joy

Here we see a new dawn. With the global connect event Emerging Kerala 2012 occurring from 12th September 2012 to 14th September 2012, hundreds of conglomerates are showing their interest to invest in God’s own country. This will surely execute many of the abandoned, yet aspired projects of the state. A few of them will be Kochi Metro Rail project, High Speed Rail Corridor, Vizhinjam International Deep Water Seaport, IIT Kottayam, Power plant projects and Electronic Parks. 

The fear 

However, the joy also raises a few concerns. When the state heads to a multinational investment hub, it shows an equal chance of being susceptible to few hazards. The major one is the environmental impact. 

Kerala, the land which is known for its scenic beauty can never take the risk of being a land of concrete masses. Hence, the projects that bring fortunes must be executed with care without harming the godly land, protecting every inch of greenery it possesses. A special care may be requested in the case of Cochin because it is a city with innumerable infrastructural developments every day and more are in the offing. It also faces the issue of improper waste management.  

Another foremost issue is about the land transaction. The state with a small area of 38, 863 km2 has to be careful from blindly selling its lands to investors. It is already reported that the land mafias have buckled their shoes. This has to be taken care before the issue gets worsened into a state of social exclusion.

As far as now, the Chief Minister Ummen Chandi has assured that no land will be sold and only providing land for leases are in consideration. Even if those are leases, they have to be clear cut on the papers according to the norms of the acts like the Land Reform Act and Forest Act of 1980. Transparency in the dealings is what is expected out of the Government in such cases. 

Beyond these lawful issues, the government needs to guarantee that no citizen gets affected in the whole process of implementation. With multinational projects coming up, millions have to be rehabilitated and sheltered. Many road side markets and make-shift businesses will get affected. Their right to live can never be ignored. Although no talks are sprung from the part of the Government about this, the issue has to be discussed and get accomplished rightly. 

Above all, the Government must be careful that the weakest sector in the state will not fall back in the race of development. Multinationals come up with products and lifestyles suitable for the middle classes and the upper classes of the state. The employment opportunities which they now highlight as a prime benefit for the state may only cater for a few sector of people. There are high possibilities for the farmers to get expropriated leaving them deprived. 

Beyond making currencies, the prime policy of a state is to ensure its citizens a quality life safeguarding their rights. Let us hope Government of Kerala will remember this while executing the projects through Emerging Kerala 2012, making the state emerging and not submerging. 

The tale of a broken heart

There was a time she could recognise his smell, hear his footsteps and predict his mind. All those time she thought he is the only man who could make her mad, happy and sexy. The days scrolled fast than ever and one day she sensed something is going wrong. She stood up sternly to untangle the shackles, only to realise it is a gone story. 

The days bought another face to her life, where she felt comfortable with. But her mind had a naughty propensity to compare the latter with the former. Again things went off the beam because she made the smallest mistakes of the latter big and protruded them to huge fights. The time lapsed and her mind got the power to wake up from the past. She began a new life with all the love and prosperity the latter gave her.

The hidden cruelty of mind still sustained. This time it was not the problem of her mind. It was that of the latter’s. The hurts her fights gave him were not healed in his mind. They made him a brutal monster and he began reacting senseless. Demands were the prime tool, many times, perhaps all the time she failed to fulfil them. Things worsened as he warned her that she would lose him. 

However, her mind thought the latter totally as hers and she felt there is no need to act. And, there she was becoming a fool being herself thinking his love weighed equally as that of hers. She kept weaving dreams about ‘their’ beautiful life and that hope was the only factor that helped her to sustain. 

One day, she ran to him seeking protection from something unhappy. He reacted politely, yet sternly “Everything is over between us”. Amid the busy world she stood alone, begging him to come back to their happy days. He was firm and looked as if he forgot the past. He could only count her negatives and said she never made him happy. His sweet words-I am so lucky to get you, I will never leave you, all those reflected in her mind. They still sounded sweet, but as lies. 

Midst of the vast ocean, there she swims directionless. No hopes, no dreams. Her face reflects an unsaid strength - The determination of not getting cheated again. 

My memories at coffee plantation

It is another rainy day here. The sight of rain drops falling on the leaves reminds me the dew drops in Wayanad. Situated in north Kerala, Wayanad is one of the exotic destinations for travellers.  My relationship with this tourist spot is not that of a traveller. It is the place where I spent my childhood. The long 15 years, perhaps the most vital time in any person’s life span. 

Coffee plantation

My memories at Wayanad begin at my Dad's coffee plantation. Midst of coffee plants and pepper strings, the little me ran and played. I often got surprised with the varieties of plants and insects existed there. Several migrant birds visited the place and they rested on the Shatavari herbs (Asparagus) that my mother grew on the pillars of our house.

The surroundings always bore a heavy silence. The only time I found the place noisy was during the coffee season, from December to March. 

During this period, the labourers from Karnataka come to our place in abundance. Each estate has their own labourers to come every year and they have a master accompanying them. He decides the wages for them and brings more people if the owners demand. 

Paadi houses for labourers

The labourers are usually accompanied with their families. They have a fixed accommodation arranged within the estates itself, which is popularly called as ‘paadi’. This is nothing, but the labourer cottages.

The work time begins at 8am and extends up to 5pm. There is a person who is addressed as ‘Wrighter’ (hope the word emerged from the word Wright) or Mastery. He leads the work. Mostly, he is an appointed elderly person who lives within the estate throughout the year, irrespective of the seasons. 

Food habits of labourers

Ragi balls (Ragi mudde)

The food habit of the labourers is something I found fascinating. The main food was always Ragi (Finger millet), which they brought from their home town. The ragi is boiled in water and is made it into heavy balls. A curry of dal and onions is made as side dish. For spice, the people bite small green chillies grown in the estates. As a child who grew up by eating rice, this was anew to me. 

In addition, they fried ground nuts which were also from their native. The ground nuts were given as gifts to the owners, whom they addressed as ‘Sowkaar’.

The work

The first work in the estate is cutting of grass. This begins early so that the ground is cleaned before the coffee ripens. This is the only time in the year I could walk through the estate without the kisses of grass on the legs. Once cleaned, the place becomes a kingdom of mosquitoes. I can still feel the depth of the itch their bite gives. Perhaps, it is the toughest one I had ever experienced. 

Coffee Harvesting

The harvest of coffee is a memory by itself. The process is completed in three sections that begins in December. The first pluck is careful, in which the ripened beans alone are plucked. By January, all beans get fully ripened and it is plucked at one stretch. The workers strip the beans from the branches. The third pluck is a clean up. Women undertake this job. The fallen beans are picked from the mud. Those from the mud are found without the outer skin. The reason for this is the bats. Bats eat the red skin of the coffee beans and spit the inside kernels. 

Evenings are the time to count the filled sacks. The view of the labourers bearing the sacks and strolling up to the flat lands is captivating. One sack is approximated to sixty kilograms. That is a standard measurement defined. The sacks are weighed on machines only towards the sale. 

Coffee beans at Kalam

These plucked beans are laid on the flat lands called ‘Kalam’ and are allowed to dry. The red colour gives a stunning view and I used to skate on them. Every night people sit at the corners of the land with lighted camp fires. They sing songs throughout the night. These are the only nights in Wayanad which are fearless. 

Flowered coffee plant

Once the beans are plucked, the coffee plants get ready for flowering. The white flowers spread a fragrance in the aura. 

The coffee making

Dried coffee beans

A peculiar way is followed to test the dryness of the beans. The beans are taken in bunch and are shaken. The crispy sound indicates dryness. When dried, the colourfulness of the coffee beans vanishes and they turn dark brown. These dried brown beans are crushed and the white inner kernels are separated from them. The white kernels are fried later and grinded into coffee powder. 

White coffee kernels

The estates mostly sell the dark brown beans. The white kernels are expensive, yet only a few go for kernel sale. Perhaps it could be the difficulty existed in the conversion process that ceased them. 

The labourers stay till the sale period, which is often at the end of March. Their salaries were given weekly and their celebration were limited to a Sunday movie. The owners offer the labourers clothes and food as a sign of gratitude on their departure day. It marks sadness not only to the people, but also to the place. I always felt the darkness gulp the place faster on such days and the scary sounds fill the environment.