The Library

The library. The great Trichur Town Hall. Smell of books, endless number of them. Sign boards and flex boards of various programmes around. The great people reading books and newspapers. Altogether a reading atmosphere.

Reaching upto Trichur because of the Library, Ittikuru thought, and not going to the nearby Ollur. Ollur was Ittykuru's house. That house does not belong to Ittikkuru. It belonged to his father who is no more. Then it seemed to be home for a while when mother was alive. Her health slowly deteriorated and ultimately she was bed-ridden with side paralysis and then came the innevitable departure for her heavenly abode. She went smiling and peacefully. But those around her, including Ittikkuru felt the loss. She was a gentle soul always asking about the welfare of Ittykkuru and asking for nothing.

Mothers are like that. They never make any demands. From the very beginning they give. They start with their body and soul. Then anything coming to them are shared with their children. Ittikkuru felt like sobbing. But no, nobody cries out openly these days. That was all in the olden days. Now people are ashamed of every thing.

Ittykkuru came to the present when the Librarian smiled at him and said “Oh..you there..!” The Librarian is always like that. He worked for a small allowance, but for the love of books and the reading public. He always encouraged people to read. He never considered about himself. The books smelled of old paper. Many of them required re-binding and re-covering. But the books were lively from their titles and subjects. Ittikkuru felt happy among the books. Many people in this country do not get to read books. Many getting the chance also do not read. Now it has become more difficult with the onslaught of the TV, Cell phone and Mobile phones. A great number of other playing objects. Future generation has to take care of this. Ittikkuru's generation has already passed that period.

He excused himself from the Librarian to move forward to the racks to meet his favourite and and new authors. OV Vijayan, Madhavikutty, PK Narayana Pillai, Dr. Kunjabdullah, Vaikom Mohmmed Basheer et al were there.  Great writers who felt the pulse of the masses or their contemporary souls.  Many new authors mingled with the old time great names.  The people frequenting the library was few compared to the population and literacy of the place.  The Library culture is slow to get into a people who had been seen too few opportunities to learn at a not so recent past. 

The old system of the place was farming and life was generally feudalistic.  It was the nuns of the convents and the fathers in the churches who made an awakening in the masses inducing them to learn and acquire knowledge and to free themselves from the bondage of ignorance!  They did a marvellous and selfless work to see those who reached them opening up to knowledge and freedom and doing good to those around and becoming a blessing to all around!

Those were the old times.  Education was not seen as a business in those days. Education in smaller classes were free.  But to send their children to school, in a farming and bullock cart period, parents found it difficult.  Without fan fare and inaugurations, the schools gave midday meal to children which held a number of children to their classes.  Even then, some of them fell off, due to calamities in their houses.  Ittikkuru remembered his friend Chandran whose father died when he was in class IV.  Chandran was a studious and pious boy but after the funeral of his father, who used to drive a bullock cart, never returned to school.  Ittikkuru's enquiries with friends brought the reply "Oh, he has taken up his father's work!"

 

Ittikkuru was nine years at that time, studying in Class IV along with Chandran who was of same age.  After a few days one day Ittikkuru heard the shouts of his friend Chandran "Voowh vaah...idede kaale.."  Ittikkuru was coming from the market and on turning his eyes in the direction of the sound from his right, he found his dear friend, on top of the driver seat of his father's bullock cart with the drivers stick in one hand and the two controlling ropes of the two bullocks in his right hand!  The bullocks were coming close to Ittikkuru and he was skillfully controlling them with his 'voh....vahs' which he did with great skill. That was the end of his school education and reading. Now studies will be to his next generation!

When in the library Ittikkuru always had the problem of choices.  There are too many great books, but one can only borrow two books at a time.  This is again a hindrance.  Once the books are taken and if they have to be returned Ittikkuru has to spend half the day to travel and get it done.  He never minded it in his thirst to read his great masterly authors!

Diggin to the past

Digging to the past

The 'karu' that came out was dark in colour with a piece of mud stuck to its bottom. This is a piece of smoothened black cement! I was trying to dig a small pit to plant a banana plant, I mean the usual sprout of a banana plant. The karu had the black smoothened surface which I could instantly connect to fifty years back when as a small child I had helped my mother and sisters in smoothening it with a smooth stone. The floor was of mud which was beaten with a hard wooden piece with a handle called the 'nilamthalli' to make it good in level and smoothness. Then cement mixed with the kitchen soot was mashed and spread on the floor with trovels and allowed to dry for a day or so. Then was our hard work of smoothening it with the little round stones which we enjoyed like Tom Sawyer. Mother, brothers and sisters all took part in the work and all of us kept on talking, joking and laughing all through! At times we took a break to wash and have some food and went straqight back into smoothening of the floors! After years later we leaned that this is quality time we spent together as some of the sisters have left for their heavenly abode and some are not available to meet or speak.. Time flies fast and changes every thing!

Mother always worked along with us, led the team, and enthused us..! We thought we were making a palace for ourselves as the canopy was already there! Only the floor was to be readied. Those were the days! The climate was according to its cycles, shine and rain to measure. Most of the people around were good but poor and we believed that better houses are for the rich! For the poor and the commons if at all they had something to slant their heads in extreme climate, that itself was too much. And we thought we were rich in that. We had nine people around in Pop, Mom, brothers and sisters, our lovely dog called Brownie and ofcourse half a dozen cats. A parrot we had in better days had once flew out from its cage and of course succumbed to its natural end at the hands of one of the pious cats.! My brother was in mourning for a few days after that as he loved it a lot. Once the operation was over from the cat's side, the only thing left was the green feathers to give us a chance for the forensic enquiries and decision making.

But the death of the parrot had something portenting in it as the better house we were living in broke down before long and we had to mak a shed house quickly to save ourselves from the impending rains of Kerala which are severe in the monsoons of those days. A high thinking low caste gentleman came to our rescue and told father that he can fix a house in three days. He worked along with all of us as assistants and lifted a long structure with the left over bamboo materials from the cracked house. We had to procure six mountain bamboos for supporting the structure on pillars. The mountain bamboos are huge in size compared to the smaller bamboos near all the hedges.

Once the structure stood, then half walls were made with mud bricks. After this was our operation of leveling the room floors and smoothening the black cement top of the floors.

Now that time is up and I am at the archeological excavation mode with my pick axe and spade.

We had a coconut tree with few coconuts on them and a mango tree which rarely gave any fruits. But we planted many small time plants and got good fruit and seed from them. One of the plants which we always remember with gratitude are the large bananas from the plantains, which we relished in those days as directly from Paradise..!

Times changed...!