Itipahan (Burly Lamp) Chapter - 10

by Sumithra RAHUBADDE

(Translated by Ranga Chandrarathne and edited by Indeewara Thilakarathne)

"I am a lamp burning on both ends

Known well that I cannot pass the night

Yet

See my friends

Foes

How powerful light

Burnt

To dispel the darkness"

Although Niyathapala had been studying with Soome in the same school, she never had any special reason to consider about him. Soome recalled that Niyathapala who was one year senior to Sirinatha in school as a quiet student. In her memory, Niyathapala was just an item because of his height equal to a Negro and innocent toddler's look when he smiled. Once Sirinatha told Soome that Niyathapala took long strides when he walked hurriedly, like bat in the village. Bats keep awake all night and munch cashew fruits.

Sirinatha had made an impression in Soome's mind that this village bat (Niyathapala) who keeps long strides may one day chew her up. At school, Niyathapala had no relationship with Soome. She could remember that one day, Niyathapala moved to a side and allowed her to drink water from the school tap and watched her quietly. Niyathapala waited until she finished drinking water using both her hands to quench her thirst. When she raised her head up, he looked at her and smiled innocently showing dimples in his cheek. For a moment, Soome was taken aback by that innocent smile and tender affection he displayed in his eyes. She thought for a moment that they two were the only the animated beings in the school premises.

"I was longing to meet Daisy", Niyathapala uttered with uneasiness. Soome was taken aback on hearing, for the first time in her life, that a fellow from the village being addressed her as 'Daisy'. For another moment, Soome who was 'Daisy' to school and Soome to the village was speechless watching the black giant-like figure before her.

"Why, what is it for?", Soome recognised a shiver in her tone as she spoke.

Though Soome had an intuition to understand why Niyathapala wanted to meet her, she was able to speak as if she did not understand anything.

"Oh, I wanted to talk to you for a long time. But I waited until I found a job. I applied for the Army. Since my brother is also in the Army, I shall get it", Niyathapala disclosed a secret that he had been waiting eagerly for a long time. Though he did not say anything about love, Soome realised that Niyathapala had expressed nothing but his love. Even Sirinatha had not expressed so clearly that he loved her. Though her young heart was tempted by Sirinatha who provided a delight that was associated with youth, he had never spoken a word or given her a clue about the future with her. But she could not give a word to anybody other than Sirinatha who had been with her since her childhood and help awake her heart like a flower blooms. Love is a fragrance that emanates from the inner heart. That fragrance of soul embraces another way and that union is forever.

"Niyathapala Aiyya, don't get angry with me. For the moment, I can't think about it. Your family may not like the idea", Soome said without revealing her dislike for the idea. Soome's mind did not want to hurt Niyathapala's feelings.

"Then, may I hope for it? Daisy, I am the one who is going to work not my family", said tanned Niyathapala expressing his white heart out. With a slant head, Soome looked at Niyathapala who showed kindness and affection for her. Thinking that she never had such a respect and love from a villager before, she developed a feeling of warmth for the village. Niyathapala was a fellow from the village. Sriyadari Akka always said that love, kindness and tenderness towards one another could be found amongst most people in the village. Though Soome was scared of accepting that she had never turned her ear and listened to villagers telling her 'Oh, poor girl'. One, who does not listen, will not hear. Soome, who loved flora and fauna in the village, the fish in the creek, water snakes as well as the fragrance of Vatakaiya flowers, had doubts that she had an unusual fear for the villagers. Soome raised her head and looked at Niyathapala. His love for her was one thing and villagers' attitude towards her was another. Thinking that the villagers' attitude towards her was different. Soome tried to live with her earlier opinion of the village.

"Daisy, I will be able to feed you without letting you suffer. I could cultivate father's turn for a season. Army will give me a good salary." Niyathapala submitted again as he did not receive a response from Soome. She suddenly feared that boys who were walking towards the water tap may spread rumours about them.

"Niyathapala Aiyya, do not keep hopes for me!" said Soome turning back while he looked on. Soome recalled that when he had talked with her on numerous occasions, each time she had noticed some special kind of a respect from him. Did that special feeling stem from a kind of silent respect for her? In her view, most of the villagers had a sense of disgust for her. It was difficult to figure out those who respected her. Sirinatha and Sriyadari Akka had links with her life as lifelong essential resources. Soome thought there was no one in the world who respected her as much as her mother.

However, there was a gap between her and the mother. She thought of the accusation of villagers that mother brought her up like a doll. There was a truth in that story. Mother still washes her clothes, boils water to wash her face in the evening and makes her tea. If rice is prepared in the house, it was her mother who cooked and not her.

"Duleena, you will be blamed for bringing up your daughter in this manner.

When she is married, mother-in-law would not spare a string of hair.

"Nanawathi Hamine who knew that mother did not get household chores done from Soome, complained frequently. Then Duleena would stealthily glance at her and would remain silence.

"Soome, wouldn't you think of working, using your hands and legs. Unlike you and us, the girls in extremely rich families do attend to some work at home", Nanawathi Hamine would complain frequently in the presence of Soome but Duleena turned her head the other way without uttering a word. Though Soome had a lot of answers for these accusations, she had never responded to Nanawathi Hamine. Soome considered the couple of weeks when Duleena got malaria as the period in her life that she had suffered most. Except some food items, there was not even sugar left in the house. Except the little leakish salts at the bottom of the salt-pot, there was nothing left in the house. Mother (Duleena) fell onto the mat with high fever in the night. She was weaving the mat until the last minute she could attend to the work.

"Today I feel sick. My entire body aches," said Duleena lying down on the mat. Throughout the night she heard mother whines. Mother who got a bottle of coconut oil, applied the last drops of oil on her head heated up due to high fever. Soome understood that the droplets left in the bottle were not enough to apply on mother's head as she saw the last few drops of oil in the bottle. Mother who could not cope with the headache whined painfully. Soome recalled how helpless she was watching mother without knowing what to do to stop her whining.

"Mother, how painful is it for you?", Soome enquired. Mother who raised her head slightly said that it was not so painful and waved that Soome should go and sleep. Soome could not bear up with the sight of mother stretching out on the mat, her thin body and her whines which she attempted to stop without success. Helpless, Soome who did not know what was to be done, stretched herself on the same mat with her mother. She was scared even to touch her mother's head. Soome screamed when she put the other side of her hand on mother's head and neck. Soome who was screaming knelt down before the mother and closed her face up with hands as she could no longer bear the pain her mother was undergoing. Assuming that it would be better to pour a cup of coriander for mother to take, Soome went into the kitchen. In addition to a couple of blackened pots and empty bottles, there was a bag of Veli Kos ata in a corner. She was able to find out some tea leaves from tea wrapped in a crumpled piece of paper, thinking that she could extract two tea spoons of from the sugar bottle. She kept a pot of water on the heath and used a few dry coconut leaves to light a fire to boil water. Soome recalled that she only managed to pour a little bit of tea after burning her hand twice. Mother drank a drop of tea whining and shivering. Soome had never seen mother shivering in that manner. Mother who dropped onto the mat whined throughout the night.

Unlike any other day, Soome hoped that Kumatheris Mahappa would visit them.

As the dense darkness in the rubber plot thinned out, Soome washed her face hurriedly. She should inform Sirinatha before he enters into the house lifting the reed curtain that mother was inside.

On the other hand, she should meet Nanawathi Hamine and ask for some sugar, tea leaves and ginger and coriander. Mother, who had been awake throughout the night, was shining when Soome put down the reed curtain and ran through the rubber plantation. Soome did not feel the cold morning breeze. She thought that the fire of her mother's illness would have chased the cold breeze away.

"Soome, why are you running?" Sirinatha who met her on the way enquired.

Soome was panting.

"Sirinatha, I am going to your place. Mother is shivering with fever. I wanted to ask for some ginger and . There is no sugar in the house" saidcoriander. Soome looking at Sirinatha sadly.

"Then, I am going to pick up fallen cashew nuts. Everyday Premaratne picks them up," said Sirinatha throwing his arms behind and went along the pathway. Soome looked with her eyes wide open at Sirinatha who was passing by as if something that could not happen had happened . Soome felt a sudden impulse on her upper cheek. Her lips and chin also began to shiver. For a moment, Soome looked at Sirinatha walking away from her to pick up cashew nuts, and then she continued her journey. Soome was surprised to find Sriyadari Akka who had woken up early sweeping the court yard. Snipping the fragrance of Sepalika flowers fallen onto the back yard, Soome walked up to Nanawathi Hamine who was lighting the hearth in the kitchen. On hearing the footsteps, Nanawathi Hamine stopped what she was attending to and looked back. She was curious when she saw Soome.

"Why, Soome you are here, early in the morning as never before?" asked Nanawathi Hamine, getting up from where she was and expecting a rapid response. Hamine saw the moisture in Soome's eyes which she had never seen before. Sriyadari also came up to the kitchen with a broom, on hearing the conversation.

"Hamine, Mother has fever. She whined throughout the night. I came to ask for some ginger, Kotamalli, tea and sugar," said Soome wiping her eyes.

Before Soome finished talking, Nanawathi Hamine wrapped sugar, ginger, Kotamalli with a couple of papers torn out of papers that hung onto the wall.

"Soome, do you know how to pour a cup of tea? Duleena did not teach you any work? You are a fool and your mother is also a fool", said Nanawathi Hamine offering Soome ginger, Kotamalli, sugar and tea leaves.

"Wait a while till I boil the water, I will pour a cup of tea for her. Then you can give it to her. Everything will be okay when body gets warmer", said Nanawathi Hamine and poured a cup of tea into a blue dotted metal cup.

Nanawathi Hamine felt sad for Duleena who had fallen sick as she did everything in their kitchen when she was fit.

"Tell mother that I would come in at noon. Now, go and give her a cup of tea. At the same time, put ginger and coriander on the hearth. Put a palm full of coriander i, a piece of smashed ginger; two cups of water and when that reduce to one, add some sugar and give it to her", Nanawathi Hamine instructed as Soome packed sugar and tea leaves into a paper bag that Sriyadari gave her.

"I will also go with Soome to see Duleena Akka," said Sriyadari walking out of the kitchen with Soome before Nanawathi Hamine responded. Until they reached the hut, Soome or Sriyadari did not speak a word. On hearing Duleena whining as they reached the hut, they both looked at each other.

Duleena did not sit on the mat to drink the cup of tea. She slightly raised her head. Sriyadari helped her to raise her head up. Soome brought the cup of tea closer to her face.

"Duleena Akke, are you feeling very bad?," asked Sriyadari propping up Duleena. Duleena tried to say 'no' as she was still whining. Sriyadari helped Soome to pour ginger and Kottamalli.

Having enquired from Sriyadari of Duleena's condition, Nanawathi Hamine visited her with a cup of Lunu kanda after attending to her household work. Seeing Duleena's cloth loosened below the hip, Nanawathi Hamine adjusted the cloth. Soome knelt down and looked at her mother who was still whining. Nanawathi Hamine thought that a smell of fever was lingering everywhere in the hut.

"Duleeno", whispered Nanawathi Hamine and cared her forehead. Duleena slightly opened up her eyes to see Nanawathi Hamine and closed her eyes and cried.

"This woman is seriously ill", said Nanawathi Hamine to herself and looked at Soome who had been sitting knelt down near her mother. As never before, Nanawathi Hamine felt very sad about the helplessness of Soome.

"Did you eat anything?" asked Soome. Soome had no time to think about food and beverage. She thought how nice it would be if mother would get up immediately and stop whining. Soome was sad that the hut which had sufficient light when mother was well, had now assumed a wretched look.

"Hamine, I do not feel hungry," murmured Soome. But Nanawathi Hamine knew that she was hungry. Nanawathi Hamine thought before attending to anything else, she should bring Vedamahattaya. to this woman .

With wrinkles on his forehead, Vedamahattaya checked the tongue, pulse and eyes of the patient. Kumatheris Mahappa had accompanied Vedamahattaya.

Soome sensed by the mannerism of Vedamahattaya that he had felt the fever of mother and the foul smell in her mouth.

Soome thought that everyone would be having similar symptoms when they develop high fever.

Kumatheris Mahappa gave the Kasaya prescribed by Vedamahattaya. It was Nanawathi Hamine who instructed how to prepare the concoctions by boiling them to reduce eight cups into one.

The two weeks during which mother fell sick, Soome experienced an intense physical and mental pain. Soome had no appetite to eat even the plate of rice and curry that she received from Nanawathi Hamine's house free of charge. She had never felt ashamed or experienced a lack of appetite when her mother bought a plate of rice and curry after her work. But Soome felt loathed to take a portion of rice and curry put into a Matti koppe from Nanawathi Hamine's kitchen, after mother lay on the mat due to illness.

On the other hand, she had to consult Nanawathi Hammine to learn how to boil Kottamalli, Kasaya or to do other essentials. On every such occasion, her help and advice accompanied the usual ironical remarks. Soome was sad as she could not express her anger towards Nanawathi Hamine whenever such remarks were made. There was no one to call for help as they didn't have relations.

Though there were relations, they were like strangers. The only relation she and her mother had was Nanawathi Hamine. She was a better woman than others in the village despite her ironical remarks and scoldings.

The villagers who said that mother brought forth her whilst on a spree, they looked down on them as a punishment for her action. Soome understood that the villagers' loathing, similar to that of a sordid leper, and these had embedded in her mind like a sharp weapon. As it sharpened and sharpened, her indifference to villagers became more intense.

Soome thought that she had been careful not to meet the villagers who would spit onto her face.

She only knew that she cried silently not to spit back on such people but to beat them up until she gave vent to her anger. If was only her mother who knew that she harboured that idea.

Soome hoped that a day would arrive when she could line up and ask for an explanation for punishing her for an offence that she had never committed.

Foot notes

Vatakaiya - A flowering plant which often planted as a bio-fence

Veli Kos ata - A method of preserving jak fruit seeds.

Lunu kenda - Porridge made mixing rice and salt with water.

Vedamahattaya - Ayurvedic physician.

Kasaya - Ayurvedic concoctions.

Mati koppe - An earthenware bowl.