Hullo! have a great time, all of you. Here is the third video on chapter seven of ‘Ripples Roping Memories’
Dad does not accompany his family on a trip to Thepi. Rani does not like Revathi’s behavior during train journey to Thepi. The family has railway pass and is seated in A.C. chair car. Mom has prepared sandwiches and many other eatables for the train journey. Before leaving the house, mom makes it sure that her children’s hunger is sufficiently satiated. Revathi sees someone opening a packet of food in the train. She nudges mom frequently asking for sandwiches. Mom has to attend Uma who has cough and cold. Revathi starts crying because she is not able to get the sandwiches. Rani is surprised to see that Revathi is hungry so soon. Rani thinks that people in train will laugh at the family. Rani has the view that one must conform to the refined behavior of the society. Mom is irritated and scolds Revathi, ‘You are interested in eating always. You greedy girl! ‘
Chandinagar is the place where Rani’s maternal grandparents stay. Uncle Sudesh is an officer in a Government Department. Rani’s aunt, (mami) is always in the kitchen. She runs the kitchen as per the instructions of grandmother. She does not have time to talk and laugh with children. Hari sits on the parapet of the balcony and jumps on the asbestos which is the roof of a house. The house belongs to a Punjabi family. They complain about Hari. Hari runs away quickly. Grandfather runs after him calling out his name. Hari goes round and round a pillar. Grandfather runs round and round after him. Sometimes, he dodges the grandfather. Grandparents praise Hari for his looks but they regret his naughtiness.
In Shimpli, Hari has a friend called Arul. Both join hands together and jump on asbestos roof throwing ball and hitting bats on asbestos sheets. Rani accompanies her grandfather, Rangesh to Prashant Baba hall in Shimpli. People belonging to all faiths are present in Prashant Baba hall for a spiritual treat. Rani hears a bhajan sung by a veteran Hindustani classical music singer, Pushpa devi. The song goes like this. ‘ Bhagatan ke hitkari, Prabhu tuma bhagatan ke hitkari, Bhakt Prahalad ko Hiranyakashyapaney kashta diya jab bhari, Narasimharupa banayi asur ki, Sab key man bhar aayi rey, Bhagatan key hitkari………’
Picchu uncle is working as a manager for Radcliffe Electricals in Shimpli. Nisha Joshi is working as a receptionist for the same company. Both fall in love. The families are opposed to their marriage. Days pass. While walking to school, a crow swoops down and hits the middle of Rani’s head very hard. People generally believe that such an incident forebodes a death in the family. Rani’s mother has a dream of a giant tree being uprooted. After a few days, the family gets the news of Bimala ajji’s death. She has been treated for Meningitis in a hospital for nearly a month. Months before, Ajji tries for Hari’s admission in schools. Hari could not get admission in any of the schools because he scored miserably in Math. Grandmother considered Hari as a brave lion. Hari took great care of ajji (grandmother) in the hospital. He performed all the errands. Now Hari is blamed for pilfering gold chain which belonged to ajji. No one knows who pilfered it. Rani resents it. The family goes for ajji’s funeral. On the thirteenth day the marriage of Picchu uncle and Nisha Joshi takes place.
Suburban Sagarpur is rocked by a maniac, a dark man of South Indian origin, having a beard. Ratanam Velayudan is killing people because Goddess Kali appears in his dreams asking for Bali or sacrifice. There are several rumors about him. One of the rumors is he kills a person by putting a sharp instrument into one side of the head and removes it through the other side of the head. The pavement dwellers are affected by it. People catch anyone who resembles Ratanam Velayudan and they thrash the man mercilessly. Rani’s dad is dark in color and has a beard. Colleagues in dad’s office ask him to remove the beard. Dad comes home without beard. Rani is happy to see her dad without beard.
So much for this video. Thank you for listening. We meet again for the next video. Goodbye, till then!
( Video can be viewed on You Tube by typing ‘Ripples Roping Memories’)
