THE RAVING OLD MAN

THE RAVING OLD MAN





August 23, 1990.



My Dearest Diary,



I will not describe myself as a coward and am not afraid of most things that girls are afraid of. But he scared me to death. Had it been any other day, perhaps, I wouldn’t have been this frightened. If I had been at my home, maybe, I wouldn’t have been scared. Well, I can think of thousand and one instances when I wouldn’t have been scared if I had seen him. But that is of no use. The truth is that I was sacred when I saw him today.



I still cannot erase out that sight from my mind – those dirty teeth with which he smiled at me, red eyes that rolled at me, shabby clothes – better not to think of it. I will shut my eyes tight and will that image out of my mind.





“Who are you”, asked a very aged voice. I immediately shut my diary and looked up into a face filled with wrinkles and a toothless smile. “I have never seen you child, here.” continued the voice. “I am Ramya”, said I, “and I have come to that house for Onam vacation. It is my Valiyamma’s* house”, and pointed out my mother’s sister’s house. “What is your mother’s name?” “Savithri” “O you are Savithri’s daughter. Oh my dear, I used to take care of your mother. Ask her about Kannamma Muthi and she will tell you all about me”, so saying she hugged me tight. It may have been due

to her happiness at seeing her beloved Savithri’s daughter, that she hugged me so tight that I was almost breathless and it is with great difficulty that I made myself free without offending her.



Later from my mother I learned all about Kannamma Muthi. By position she had just been the house maid. But for the family she was more than that. She had helped my grand mother with all the household chores; whenever she fell ill, my Grandma had taken care of her. She was a part of the family. In spite of all the loving descriptions about her, I decided I will avoid her henceforth, just to escape her “asphyxiating hug”.



I walked to the village pond, nearby which stood the village well. But not many used it and so I sat by its side and continued to scribble in my beloved diary.







The bridge, when I had initially started walking on it, looked deserted. Since I am new to the place, I didn’t want to wander too far from home, so I went back and asked Nisha to accompany me. She agreed and we both went on the bridge. It was fun to watch the river flowing down and the huge fishes splashing around. Since it is summer, there wasn’t much water in the river. We walked on and then from out of the blue came that old man. And his sudden appearance startled us. He made strange noises to us. But both of us were shocked by his sudden appearance that we didn’t listen. Our instincts told us to run and we ran until we reached the village.



Ramya.



I closed my diary. Walked back home and had my dinner. But I was preoccupied with the thought of who that person was and what he had been trying to tell us. Somehow, I simply couldn’t make myself believe that he was insane or was just blabbering. As I sat wondering about this, my mother came into the room and asked me to go and sleep. And thus, the first of my holidays in Palakkad – in my mother’s ancestral home – came to an end.



The image of the man haunted me and I could not sleep. I walked out of the room and on to the verandah of the house. It was a beautiful night. The entire countryside was draped in a shimmering black gown. The sky was studded with small bright diamond-like stars; and adding style to the night sky was the half moon peeping out of the sailing clouds. There was a breeze and from the verandah I looked at the deserted bridge. It was at a great distance from the house and only its silhouette was visible. Finally, I gave up thinking on that and started thinking about all my cousins who will be arriving the next day. That is when I remembered, that few of them will arrive early in the morning. If I don’t sleep now, I will miss all the fun. I went back to my bed.



“Hoooooo….” the noise jolted me from deep slumber to find my cousin Raju, looking at me and winking. They had arrived that morning and the first thing that he did as soon as he reached was to wake me up. We both were of the same age and had spent many a holiday together having loads of fun. His favourite hobby, though, is to tease and irritate me. Though, we ended up fighting, we have always been good friends. Soon his sister Swathi also joined us in the room. She was still a toddler and it is fun to hear her lisp.





August 24, 1990.



My Dearest Diary,



We – Raju and me – spent the day eating chips and “sharkkara varattu upperi *”, being busily prepared my valiyamma, chitta and my mom, for welcoming the Demon King, Mahabali. Morning, I helped in decorating the Athappoo *.



I heard that the other chitta* from Madras has cancelled her trip since Malu has fallen ill. It would have been fun if she too had come. There is already a festive mood all around. Every household in the village is bustling with active men and women - women chatting and cooking, men bragging and playing and kids running around.



At this point, Raju silently came behind me to peep into the diary. I immediately shut it and placed it in the cupboard and locked it.  The day passed on with both of us updating each other of the pranks we played in our school, eating hot banana chips and other Onam special goodies busily being made by all the women of the family. The legend goes that King Mahabali used to rule Kerala. Though he was Demon king, unlike the others, he was a very righteous and honest and ruled impartially. During his reign, the entire Kingdom enjoyed, peace, prosperity and joy and there were no instances of violence, thefts or riots.  Lord Vishnu was so impressed by him, that he came down from the heavens to shower blessings on him and his Kingdom to grant him “moksha”. Before leaving the earth, King Mahabali asked just one boon, to be allowed to visit his Kingdom once every year. To this day, the return of Mahabali to see his subjects is being celebrated as Onam and Mahabali is often referred to as “Onathappan”.  That evening we all went shopping to buy “Onakkodi” – new dresses purchased for the festival Onam, to welcome the King – for everyone in the household.





August 25, 1990.



My Dearest Dia,



Today, Raju and I had a good time playing. I told Raju about that old man who scared Nisha and me. He laughed at me saying I was a ninny. I felt very bad. How could he be so mean!! Even he would have been scared, had he seen that old man. He told that tomorrow we will go there. But I don’t want to! What if the old man is still there? But now I don’t think Raju will agree; he is always so stubborn. O why did I ever tell him about the incident. Now he will insist we go and explore the bridge. He was always the adventurous type. I better ask Nisha also to accompany us.

Feeling very sleepy, Dia…



Ramya.



August 27, 1990.



Dear Diary,

Yesterday!!! I do not know how to tell you what happened yesterday. Was it just yesterday? Seems a log time to me!!! It was day of excitement and exploration. Even now, thinking back of the events, I get goose bumps. What happened was not very scary, maybe a bit strange – definitely not something to scare one out of her wits. But our overworked imagination painted such grim and scary picture of the diminutive incident that we were frightened to the core!!! Thinking back, the whole thing looks so funny. But our fear at that juncture did prove useful, for it led us to our discoveries. My parents and Raju’s were very much worried about us. In the end our escapade did turn out to be a boon in disguise to the whole community!!!!!



On the day of Onam (August 26th), after having Onasadya* – complete with kaalan*, oolan* and paayasam* – Raju cajoled me into going to the “Polinja Palam” – the dilapidated bridge. This is seldom used these days since a new bridge has come up now. Initially I was very much reluctant, but Raju coaxed me into it!!!! It was by sheer luck that Kannamma Muthi found us in time, otherwise who knows what Fate would have had in store for us – for how long we would have kept running!!



I went and called Nisha but she refused saying her mother had scolded her for having gone to that place once. In a way, it was good she hadn’t come, for she was the person who informed the household where we were headed, when our families found out that we were missing. Now I truly believe in the adage “Whatever happens; happens for a reason”.



Since Nisha refused, we both moved on to the Polinja Palam, with Raju literally dragging me along (since I was still a bit hesitant about this whole odyssey). As we walked along the pond we saw Ravunni Menon – who is one of the teachers in the village school – he peered at us through his thick lens and told us not to wander around. We nodded our heads, waited till he went out of sight and then moved on, giggling!!



We walked on, I slowly becoming apprehensive. Soon we saw the bridge standing at a distance – it was decrepit and looked like a structure from a completely different era!!!



As we approached, I started getting uneasy – worried as to what we will find there. Raju was very bold and excited – confidence was literally oozing out of him. Finally we came to the bridge. “It looks like a normal bridge. What is so frightening about it?” asked Raju to me. It looked quite normal to me too, but I noted that it was deserted and except for Raju’s voice, there was no other sound – not even the crows crying! “Isn’t it a bit too silent”, whispered I, “and it is deserted”. “We already know that, nobody uses this bridge nowadays”, hushed Raju arrogantly. I did not know what to reply to that.



We walked through the bridge. I stooped from the railings to see the river flowing below. Raju came and joined. My fear was now slowly receding, since nothing untoward had happened so far. Raju looked a bit disappointed since he had anticipated a lot – I don’t know exactly what he was expecting – and didn’t find anything. To be honest, diary, he was a bit annoyed with me also, for I was the one who had told him that this bridge was a bit weird. “You and your fables”, muttered Raju, “come we will go back”. I was almost into giggles but controlled myself and acting very timid, agreed to his suggestion.



I was terrified, when, on turning to leave I found the same old man standing behind us. I screamed and Raju immediately turned. Even he let out a scream of fright and took my hand and started running to the other end of the bridge. I still cannot figure out what spurned him to run in that direction. We could as well have turned and ran from the direction we came, thus returning home. But that was not to be – God had greater plans for us!



The old man just looked at both of us and stood smiling. In the short glimpse that I had, I noticed that he looked exactly the same – those red eyes, torn and dirty dress, a big bag on one shoulder and big staff on the other hand. He had overgrown hair and beard. He looked the typical beggar, but there was something very frightening about him; it must be his eyes – they were round, and there was a strange fire burning in them.



We soon reached a point on the bridge, where the bridge actually divided into two paths. We both looked at each other. Initially we had not seen this division. It looked as though this split had happened just now! The other ends of both the paths were not visible – it seemed to extend to eternity. We were confused and fear catching in. We looked back the old man was still there, but he was slowly walking towards us, waving his hands at us. “We have to take one of these paths now”, said Raju. “Which one?” I asked. “No time to think. We don’t know where both will lead. It is all the same for us. Lets take the one to the right”, said he. I nodded in agreement. It wasn’t us choosing the paths that day, it was Destiny leading us. But at that point we did not know, where we were heading and what awaits us at the other end.



We ran through that road for some time, each time I looked back the old man was still walking towards us, waving his staff, and laughing out loud. He looked quite insane. After having run for quite a long time, I became tired and breathless and told, “No more… I can’t run anymore, Raju. I’m too tired”. He too was tired and panting and he said “Ok. We will hide somewhere here”, and looked around. Further down, the bridge was ending and just by the side of the bridge railing, was a small depression. I pointed it to him. He nodded his head and we walked up to it. I again turned back; there was no sight of the raving old man.



We reached… Just then my mother came with a glass of milk. “Drink this and go to sleep. What do you keep scribbling in that diary all day long?” she asked, rolling her eyes. I shrugged and then gave her a sweet smile which always worked. “Put off all your adventures and get some sleep. You must be very tired, dear”, said she. I was indeed tired, I shut my diary and hid it under the pillow and fell into a deep slumber.



The next morning brought with it the farewell of Raju. He and his parents were planning to leave on the day after Onam; their departure got delayed because of our little adventure. Raju got additional scolding for this .We murmured our good-byes and waved to each other. “Hoping to see u for Christmas hols. Lets hope we have a greater adventure then”, said he laughing. His mom rolled her eyes and his father smiled. I winked at him, bid him adieu and went back to the solace of my diary.



August 28, 1990



…the depression. It was quite low from bridge path surface and at an angle so that it was not easy to notice it. I saw it only because I was leaning on the railing due to my tiredness. We slowly climbed down into it. It was much wider and larger than it seemed from the distance and quite spacious too. There was enough space for both of us to sit comfortably. Both of us sat there panting, sweating, our faces flushed with excitement and fear. Our throats were dry and we badly wanted something to drink. Near us the river was flowing and so full of water but we were too petrified to go and take a gulp of water. Our fear overruled our thirst!!!! We both kept quiet and were keenly listening for any approaching footsteps. Soon we heard it – the “Tuk tuk tuk” of a stick hitting the road. It was initially a faint sound suggesting that the old man was still quite far from us. Both of us looked at each other, not knowing what more to do. Each time we heard the sound, our hearts filled with more fear and we sat their huddled, feeling trapped, not knowing how to escape this dilemma. Just then Raju pointed to me a small rabbit coming out of a hole, further down. We had failed to notice this hole since it had been hidden behind a bush. The hole seemed large enough for us to crawl and go in. He pulled me towards it, but I was, again hesitant since who knew what this new hole had in store for us!! “Coming to this bridge in itself was a big mistake”, thought I, “and now crawling into this hole. We both could die there and no one will even find us”.



Soon we heard the sound of the staff very near to us, almost above us. Panic struck us, and pushing all my misgivings aside, Raju and I rushed to the hole and squeezed into it. Raju looked back, and to his horror, he saw a small piece of the rag of the old man descending to this depression. It seemed as though this man knew exactly where we would hide and where we were headed. “Does he have any magical powers? Is he some kind of sorcerer, who wants to catch and sacrifice us to his evil Gods”, I whispered to Raju. "You are getting too carried away”, replied Raju in hushed tomes and shrugged his shoulders, though doing that while crawling did look funny. We continued our travel slowly, since it was quite dark inside, on all fours; I was very much dejected, as now it looked as though the old man was bound to find us. He knew exactly where we would have gone once he comes down to the depression. “So we are trapped!” said I, not caring  to lower my voice. Suddenly the sound seemed to reverberate through the entire place.



Raju simply pulled me on and we continued crawling. Soon the roof grew higher and we could actually stand. The hole had actually led us to a small cavern. The soil was a bit damp here and air also had a musty smell. By now, we both were dead tired. We didn’t know what time it was. We were hungry and thirsty. We both sat down. “I am famished”, said I. “So am I”, admitted Raju, “don’t worry”. And so saying he produced chips and bananas from his pockets. This was the first time I thanked God for his habit of stowing away goodies in his pocket, so that he can sit and eat without others seeing it!! For a few moments we forgot about the raving man who was the reason we were here, and we enjoyed the food.



After having our fill, we walked on. Our hunger slightly abated, we were still thirsty, and now our travail was more in search of water rather than running away from the old man. In fact, our fear had considerably come down now, and Raju started wondering why we had run away from him. It seemed quite irrational now. “We could have just listened to him or simply walked back”, said Raju. Though I nodded my head at that time, to be very honest, Dia, I was still slightly nervous. Maybe he never meant any harm, but his disheveled appearance in itself will alarm one!!!!



We walked further down the cavern, it seemed to go on without an end and ground was quite irregular. We trudged on for maybe another hour or two when finally we felt a small breeze caressing us. My legs were aching now, my knees bruised with the crawling and my throat felt like a parched land. I initially though that the breeze was a figment of my imagination and that I had started hallucinating. But when Raju commented on the breeze, I knew that this was real. The sense of the cold breeze on our body gave us a new energy and we walked on, expecting to find the end of the cavern very soon. Somehow, finding the end of the cavern had now become the uppermost thought in our minds. Not that we knew where this cave would lead us to or what was in store for us at the end of this dark tunnel, but somehow, the end of the cavern had started to symbolize liberation.



And true to our guess, we did find the end. The cave ended in a small path, which led to a big wall – which we later learnt was the wall of the dam. It was very dark, and we guessed it must be quite late and we must be very far from our house, away from the village. We were very tired, didn’t muse on all this but simply fell asleep beside a few bushes.



I was the first to wake up the next morning and looking around let out scream which woke up Raju. For sleeping at some distance from us was the old man. My scream woke up him as well and seeing us he smiled and started waving his hand and the staff. “He is trying to tell us something”, said Raju. But I was too scared and urged Raju to run away. He was also making some weird noises and then started to take Raju by hand and drag. At this point even Raju felt afraid, and shook him off, and we started sprinting and collided with someone. Looking up I saw Kannamma Muthi with her toothless smile. I felt so relieved at the sight of her that I couldn’t stop smiling at her. She looked at me and recognizing me said, “My dear child, what are you doing here, early morning. Everyone at home is so worried about you”. I pointed to her the old man who was following us, and seeing the fear in my eyes, she hugged me tight. I thanked God for her “asphyxiating hug”.



She then went to the old man. He made many sounds and pulled her, she went with him, and so did we. It was then that we noticed what he had been trying to tell us all this while. There was a big crack in the wall of the dam, and water was leaking. All of us looked at the crack and at the old man. He smiled at me and again pointed to the crack. We all nodded our heads, and Kannamma Muthi said she will tell the villagers about it. This calmed down the old man and he sat down there. How badly had we mistaken the good intentions of this old man!! I had even branded his as the “Raving old man”!



We were then taken back to the village. On our way, we narrated the whole story to Kannamma Muthi.  From the distance itself I saw the ladies of the house sitting outside, in the portico. As we reached nearer, I saw my mother and Raju’s were crying, and our Valiyamma trying to console them.

Soon our mothers saw us coming. They came running to us, hugged us, kissed us and then of course came the questioning session and the scolding session. The news immediately spread in the village that we had returned and our fathers also came back from their search. We must have repeated the entire incident some thousand times on that day.

Ramya.





“You know that old man is dumb”, said my mother. I closed the diary and looked at her questioningly. “The police found that just now. He lives in that cavern; the poor thing can’t speak, but wanted to tell about that crack to someone. It is then that you kids went on that bridge. He was just trying to tell you about it, but you got scared and ran away”. “He looks very scary, Ma”, replied I. “At least from now on you children will not wander around, will you?” “No, Ma. I promise. I will not”, said I.  I jotted down this piece of info also into my diary





PS:

I later learnt that Nisha had informed my parents about our plan to visit the bridge. Our fathers had gone around looking but couldn’t locate the depression .I also learnt that Kannamma Muthi had come there, by chance, looking for some herbs for her knee pain.

I was also told that the area near the dam is a thick forest, frequented by wild animals, and that I was lucky to be alive after spending a night there. I haven’t fully believed this latter piece of information, though I do think I am lucky to be back. The old man lives in the cavern, getting his food from the forest and sleeping inside the cavern at night. They have taken him away to some shelter. Raju and his parents have left for their home today. We said ‘bye to each other.



We left Palakkad the next day, for my school was reopening on 1st October. We bid good bye to all our relatives. It was indeed an eventful holiday, one that forever will be etched in my memory. While in the train my father told us that if we had not found the crack, it could grow, resulting in the fall of the dam wall, and 8 villages including ours in the vicinity could be wiped out. “Whatever happens; happens for good”, said my father, stroking my hair, and I smiled up to him.



By Lakshmi Ananthasubramanaian





Valiyamma – Mother’s elder sister

Onam – Harvest festival of Kerala.

Chitta  - Mother’s younger sister

Onasadya – Feast served for Onam

Sharkkara varattu upperi, Kaalan, Oolan  - Typical delicacies of Kerala made for Onam.

Paayasam – Porridge

Athappoo – Floral design prepared during Onam.