Wednesday, November 5, 2008

A GREETING FOR APPU – Part 1

“All passengers to Krishnapuram to alight here!!” , shouted the bus conductor at the top of his voice. Half-drowsy I strutted about my way to exit and alighted down to confront the mild welcoming morning breeze. This along with the excitement of getting back to Krishnapuram, my native place, after a gap of 7 years was pumping adrenaline down my viens. “Namaskaram……Saar!!”, saluted a rather stout looking, dark, lungi clad man heading straight towards me. “Saar…Vandi (Malayalam for vehicle)” , barely had he uttered these words that he had snatched my baggages from my hand and was directing me towards his bullock cart. I followed him blindly like a man in spell. Krishnapuram, a sleepy village in Kerala, was a good 30 kms away from this city and one had to take a path through the forest to reach there. Once I got seated comfortably (not on par with the comfort of motor vehicles), Vasu, the cart owner, gently tapped his buffaloes and we were on our way. The morning breeze along with Vasu’s humming of an old Malayalam song was creating just the right atmosphere for me to relax.

My first glimpse of what lay ahead was when, on the outskirts of the town, a swarm of butterflies fluttered across the road to create everchanging patterns of rippling colours. A dramatic welcome like that is a hard act to follow, but Krishnapuram did not disappoint. The jungle was filled with a deafening void and only the occasional twitter of a bird nibbled at its fringes. As I sliced through this quiet on the cart I started to understand the potency of silence; it is the code of the wild, the invisible fabric behind which the predator hunted and the prey hid. Yes…….this was Krishnapuram; my soul, my great escapades after a torrid year of academics in the concrete jungle of Mumbai, year after year after year. How I simply loved to reach here everytime in my vacations, to run along the river banks that skirts this lovely village chasing a host of colourful birds with my dearest friend Appu. Appu……….my fellow adventurer, a total freak.

To be continued...

28 comments:

Usha Pisharody said...

the potency of silence; it is the code of the wild, the invisible fabric behind which the predator hunted and the prey hid


My my my... this vivid glimpse is so very evocative.. almost got goosebumps.. :)

Looking forward to meeting Appu.. :)

Good strong, interesting start to the narrative!

Sandeep Balan said...

@usha

Oh oh oh....an almost goosebump is my failure...i was betting on u getting goosebumps....he he....will personally make u meet appu...hey appu...this is usha...say hiiii....he is waving daa....wave back....see....now u both r friends...cheers...

Usha Pisharody said...

Hi Appu... :) :) Sandeep's a real zany nut, alle??? ;)

Heheheh.. now it's ok.. I only have to talk to him.. :)
Thanks Sandeep.. :)

Me said...

I miss the serenity in this urbane life so much :(

Ah! the last time I saw a butterfly near my house was some 6 yrs back.

Loved your post. :)

Tara said...

Waiting to meet Appu! Vegamakatte...(before you think I know Malayalam, I wrote this from a language translation book, I hope I got it right?;) When will we reach Krishnapuram? :)

P.S. "seldom had he uttered these words"
I am not sure if seldom is the correct word here? May be it could be barely? Or may be I need to improve my vocabulary? :?

Sandeep Balan said...

@usha

Hey usha...grrrr...sandeep is not a madcap! he is my best friend....but wait...on second thoughts...hmmmm...yes...i think you are bang on...he is a zany nut! Crazy dumb homo sapien! I have doubts whether he belongs to this race! He he...pleased to meet you usha...we will talk soon...appu n usha....wow....wht compatibility....four letter names both of us have....looking forward to talk to you...to hell wid sandeep...;)

Sandeep Balan said...

@harshita

Welcome to my world yaar....pleased to see you here....i agree with whatever u said...its something we all miss....we live in concrete jungles....thanx a ton for ur encouraging words dear....honoured!

Sandeep Balan said...

@tara

Bang on....bang on....your translation book is worth the penny...he he....oops...hey tara....sorry....appu is fuming at not being introduced....hey appu...meet tara...he is saying hiiii....say hi tara....dont blush appu....he has never met so many gals from d city you see...thts why he is blushing tara....hey appu....its fine daaa...get over it....he is smiling now tara...yey! Appu is waiting at krishnapuram to meet you....we will reach krishnapuram soon daa....this bullock cart naa...ufffff!! Vegamakkate....vegamakkate....appu is getting restless...he wants to meet his new friend tara....good....nooooo dont crack your whip...gently tap them....yes....see....we have picked up pace daaa...will reach soon...

Yup...you right...barely is the correct word....will change it....ooops...tht was a glaring error....thanx daa...the mistake has to do wid the fact tht i wrote this story 10 yrs back....my first short story....havent edited it since....its way too close to my heart.....

Anonymous said...

Hello Appu...sukhamano? Namaskaram, ente peru Tara! Evideyanu Krishnapuram? Ethra dooramundu adhe? ;D Enikku manasilayi Appu's feelings ;P I am eagerly waiting to meet Appu too....God, I am blushi/ng...uff! I have never met any villager! Yaay! Faster Vasu faster! Writing Malayalam is fun! Addressing me as daa is so sweet, liked it :)

The Solitary Writer said...

good finally u r back to u+r blg

good.....waiting to see more of appu.........obviosly it wud be a different feel when one returns to their home twn after a long time.......i last went to my h t 11 yrs back......

Usha Pisharody said...

Appu, all best friends are the nicest nuts too, alle? Paavam, aalu koode vannotte... heheheeh.. Sandeepe, saaramilla tto... Sheri,Appu, ennal kaanaam.. kaananam.. :D!!

Blogger said...
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Sandeep Balan said...

@tara

Mole....vasu here...am trying my best to go as fast as i can....tap tap...hurrrrrrrr....tap tap...hurrrrrrrrr....please make yourself comfortable n chat with sandeep saar...

Make urself comfortable daa...it will be sometime before we reach krishnapuram...its a sleepy village far away from the hustle n bustle of the city daa...ohhh my god....i can visualise appu blushing too....ohhhhh...he has turned purple....he he....wht daa...u have put appu in a spell...he is getting desperate to meet this gal...irrinollu...vegam etthum ketto...(sit...will reach soon)....i will give u good company till appu jumps in...hey tara...see elephants there....click snaps...wait...take a close up of mine as well...plzzzz....wow...see butterflies over there....click click...

P.S. : krishnapuram is an imaginary town somewhere in kerala....its as beautiful as u can imagine :-)

Sandeep Balan said...

@stephen

Thanx bro....you bet...nothing beats going to ur hometown after a looooooooong gap.....appu is pleased to meet you as well....friends?? Waise he is getting so many friendship request from gals that if you dont accept his request quickly, he may decide against it...he he....

Sandeep Balan said...

@usha

Grrrr...nee kannanda appu ne...grrrr...forgot his best friend for a girl....nanni undu ketto ushe...nee undayirilanengil njaan ee forest til thanne enganne!? Ohhhh...even the thought sends shivers down my spine....appu...ninakku vecchitundu njaan

Sandeep Balan said...

@priyanka

Twin....finally ur comment...soooooo late....grrrrrrr....appu has been waiting for sooo long...and you r joining in now...not done...not done....both me n appu are angry....he he...

Thanx a ton yaar...yup...this being my first short story is really close to my heart....my first attempt at fiction years ago....even i consider this my best piece....nothing can beat this one ever.....

Blogger said...

sorry appu!! i will b d first one from now on...tu bas dekh..... ;)

The Mind Bedouin said...

this story has also begun on a very promising note.. i love the pictures ur pen(or in this case,the keyboard of ur comp!) paints.. ur language is so full of images that it is quite enjoyable to sit back n conjure it in the mind...lookin forward to the rest..

jus one ques..."..it is the code of the wild, the invisible fabric behind which the predator hunted and the prey hid.." - lovely way of puttin it, but (i don kno if i m bein dumb..) y did u say it in this context?

The Mind Bedouin said...

hey actually forget the last line of my last comment... didnt kno this was ur first story.. :) and hey... wow!!! u did a great job for ur first one... but i guess ill refrain from commenting more till i read the rest of it... :)

Sandeep Balan said...

@priyanka

Yup twin....u better be....or else....grrrr....

Sandeep Balan said...

@the mind bedouin

Wow....honoured....honoured....honoured....feels great to learn tht yaar...i am glad to know tht i can paint with my words....n yaaa...i had decided to elaborate on the jungle bit coz i had landed after 7 long yrs...n u tend to notice n appreciate natural beauty...i hv tried to capture tht state of mind assuming tht no one wud pass through a jungle without some thoughts creeping in their mind...hennce included it as a part of the narrative yaar...n yaaa...probably the fact tht i wrote this 10 yrs ago also plays a major role...he he...these were my baby steps in story telling....cheers....keep coming back....the encouragement u gv cant be expressed in mere words....cheers!

Geetika said...

beautifully written! :) i feel like going there already.. is this the way the place actually looks balu??

Sandeep Balan said...

@geetika

lizzzzzzyyyyyyy....wow....so nice of u to drop in from singapore dear....u r a total sweetheart....thanx a ton....well yaar, krishnapuram is an imaginary town in kerala to be very frank....it has been conjured up by me yaar....bt yaaa...kerala is beautiful...n i hv described things as i hv seen them all these years....so yes...its as beautiful as described...jaldi waapas aao india...

Kartz said...

:) Neat! Loved the imagery...

Peace.

---
Thanks for the comment, dude. But personally, I rated this (http://kartzonline.blogspot.com/2008/09/religion.html) a shade above the one you just read. And I love discussions /debates on Religion/Philosophy... :)
---

Blogrolling you (for the articles) and Priyanka (for the poetry). Hope you won't mind.

Peace.

Sandeep Balan said...

@kartz

thanx a ton dude...hope i dont dissapoint you in the future parts...n thanx for blogrolling...cheers!

Mona said...

aah... truly classic... i could actually feel the soothing village breeze on my face wen i went thru this piece...some heart warming writing here with nature described at its very best... i fell head over heels in love with this description... another one of your masterpieces to relish... excellent work mister...!!!! keep writing... its always such a pleasure to read ur stuff..!!

Anonymous said...

I have been wondering for so long that if you have put this story in parts, and if i am reading the first part, how could i know the end? how could i know already?

Just remembered how :)

You emailed me this one... amazingly lovely!

Anonymous said...

wow Sandeep.. i was almost there going through the forest.. thank you for drawing such a perfect picture..

and thank you for sharing this one with me.. :) loved it!