A spontaneous smile is something unknown to Rani. Uncles jump and make gimmicks to make her laugh. Rani cannot laugh because she understands that her dad has left her mother. One of her uncles, Mr. Subbu comes through the backdoor to meet his mother. He has married a South Indian girl belonging to other caste. Tensed grandfather, Rangesh stops arranging bhajans because people will comment on inter caste marriage. He has to get his son, Seshan working for Mactos Ltd. married. An alliance is materialized by aunt Maya who lives in Barona. She engineers meetings between Savithri and Seshan several times and inducts interest in them. Savithri speaks good Hindi.
Rani’s sister Uma has mucus running from her nose. Weaned from her mother, Uma disengages herself from reality by repeating the first line of a popular song, ‘Kanja pee chudiyan……’ She uses ‘pee’ instead of ‘kee’ and the Hindi song gets a weird meaning. Cousins laugh because they know both Hindi and Tamil. The sight of a chubby, fair and fat child going round and round reciting the line of a song seriously makes one laugh. Uma’s face resembles her grandmother who takes care of her.
The brothers in father’s family have a straight fight. Rani is frightened when the youngest of all uncles takes an umbrella to beat her father. Father beats him. Abuses and threats are a part of the brawl. Maya aunt makes a comment that quarrels take place because of Lord Karthikeya’s photo which has a trident reaching above Lord karthikeya’s head. Maya aunt’s personality is fabricated by such beliefs.
Dad is infuriated. He packs all the clothes of his children and himself in a suitcase, takes all his children in a hired rickshaw to reach Shimpli station. Picchu uncle comes running to stop the rickshaw. He asks for forgiveness and falls at the feet of dad. Dad cools down and backtracks to Asthanagar.
Marriage mood is on. Uncles are cheerful. They persuade Rani to sing. Rani feels shy and is not used to singing in front of others. She sings a popular boat song in Hindi from a Hindi cinema. ‘Sawan ka mahina pawan kare shor…..’ Uncles clap their hands. Picchu uncle is working for Sona Glass Ltd. He dances and plays because he wants Rani to be in a happy mood. The family heads towards Barona to attend Seshan uncle’s wedding. Dad is not interested in the happening. He worries because he has lost his house and getting another house in Sagarpur is a far fetched dream. His attention is withdrawn from baby Mohan who is in his hands. The six month babe slips down from his arms. Rani screams when the babe is about to come under cycle rickshaw wheels. Dad halts the rickshaw and Hari picks the baby from the road. The family reaches Maya aunt’s house.
( Video can be viewed on You tube by typing, ‘Ripples Roping Memories’)
