Podi Baby's best friend

by A.F. Dawood

One morning when I was walking to school, I saw a man seated by the step of a kiosk. His face was familiar to me. I stopped near him and at once recognised him. He was our gardener in our old walauwe in the village. My mind raced back to the carefree days in the village when as a girl of seven years. I and my younger brother had played hide and seek with him in the vast garden of the walauwe. Appuhamy had worked in our house as a gardener from the day I was born, my parents called him Appuwa and we children were told to call him Seeya Appu, may be because of his age. "Seeya Appu", I told. "You remember me?" He looked at me for some time trying to search my face. He smiled at me, the same smile that I had got used to in the village. He was still trying to recollect.

"You remember Dias Mudalali in Ratnapura?" At once he flashed a smile. "Ah! you're podi baby, no?" After how many years I'm seeing you. "Podi baby, you have grown big." "Seeya Appu, what're you doing here?" "I'm going to see my daughter. What're you doing 'podi' baby?" "I'm studying in the O/L class." "Then your brother 'Chandi' malli?" "He's also studying Seeya Appu, he's very big now, bigger than me." I relapsed into the past. In the village, many a time I had pestered him to make rag dolls (cloth doll). And when the Vesak was around my brother would ask him to make Vesak lanterns. On Vesak nights Seeya Appu used to light many oil lamps and place them in a line on the parapet surrounding in the garden. "Ranga, we'll tell Seeya Appu to take us to see the pandals." "Chandani akke, first we'll have to go to the temple." "That's the correct thing, first to the temple and then to see Vesak. "Seeya Appu said.

"My daughter is also studying in the O/L". Seeya Appu broke my reverie. "Where Seeya Appu?" "In Dehiwala." "Seeya Appu, why did you leave us? After that you never came." "I had a problem 'podi baby." A tear drop streamed down his cheek. I remember the day Ranga and I were playing in the swing (onchillawa) which Seeya Appu had made on a branch of the jak tree that was behind our house. Ranga and I were taking our turns in the swing and Seeya Appu pushed us up and down singing - "Onchillawa, onchillawa, ehaata gihin mehaata varen, oncillawa kurulekumen vijaata varen." From the swing I saw the postman ringing the bell and my father went to the gate. Then I heard my father's voice. "Appuwa, there's a letter for you." Appuwa ran immediately to father and we too followed him. Appuwa opened the letter with trembling hands and read it. His face became pale. "Loku mahattaya, I want to go to village immediately my wife is serious." That is what he said and left our house. Thereafter, he never came. "After my wife died, there's no one to look after my daughter.

She died of cancer. So I brought her to Colombo and entrusted her to a girls' orphanage." "Even my mother died three years ago." "Aney podi baby, your mother was a generous lady. So podi baby, you're studying in Colombo?" "My uncle and aunty went abroad. After mother died father sold the walauwe and came here, to Dehiwela."

I rushed to school as it was a test day. As I entered the gate Rasika came running to me. Ever since I joined this school, I had been cultivating a friendship with Rasika. We were thick friends.

"Chandi, I was waiting to meet you. You help me on some problems on Pythagoras Theorem, there's more than half an hour for the first paper." "What's the first paper, Maths or Science?" "Maths. I can manage the Maths problems except trigonometry and quadratic equation."

"Tomorrow the first paper is English." Chandani said. "Ah! Chandi, you'll score the highest marks in English. Every test you come first, no?" "Rasika, shall we go to the tuck-shop? There's still fifteen minutes more," "Yes Chandi, I'm hungry also." I always helped Rasika because she was not a rich girl. I knew she attended school from a boarding house. The first bell rang and all the students marched to their respective classes. Rasika sat at the head of one row and right behind her I sat. The test progressed amidst pindrop silence. At the end of the three hour paper, Rasika and I were in the canteen eating and discussing the paper, when a school prefect informed Rasika that someone had come to see her. We both ran to meet the visitor. It was a wonder of wonders to me to meet Appuwa there.

"Podi Baby, you're in this school?"

"Yes" I said and looked at Rasika, who was wondering how I knew Appuwa.

"Thaathie, she's Chandani, my best friend."

Appuwa smiled complacently and asked.

'Podi" babys best friend Appuwa's daughter?"