UNCHAINED FROM VILLAGE TRADITIONS – (Memoir series – Story 12)

Great Expectations – Gone With The Wind

Wow, guess what? Today is the last day of school this year! Yippee! And that means I’m going to Granny’s house!

Mummy wants me to wait for a few days until Daddy is free to take us. But when Granny calls, she agrees! Mummy respects Granny’s wish to have all her grandkids spend our entire holidays with her. And I’m excited because I love the fun and freedom of being in my village.

And guess what I see when I get home? Sunnychayan, my amazing cousin, is chatting on the porch with Mummy. He has come all the way from Thiruvarppu to take me to Granny’s. That’s like a superhero rescue mission!

The Bus to Kottayam is super-fast. We’re sitting in seats where we can see the road ahead. And on the way, I point to the house where I left my slippers.

Sunnychayan smiles and reminds me that those slippers would probably be too small for my growing feet now. So some other lucky kid would be wearing them, and I should be happy about it. Oh my, I hadn’t thought about it that way.

From the Kottayam Bus Stand, we take this cool bus called Vijayalakshmi to Thiruvarppu. The bus conductor and driver and almost everyone on the bus smile at us. It’s like we’re famous or something! Wow! This feels so good to be with friendly people from our village.

As we reach Thiruvarppu, I’m expecting Pappachan-chettan to be waiting for us in Granny’s country boat. But Sunnychayan says that this time we are walking.

The first footbridge we must cross is a super long wobbly bridge high above the river.

Luckily, I have Sunnychayan to give me the courage to climb up the steps to the bridge. Sunnychayan is constantly reminding me not to look down into the water. How can I not look when there is a gap between each plank of wood that is tied together with rope?

We slowly reach the middle, and I am quite sure that the sway of the bridge is going to topple me into the water. I am catching my breath with every step I take. And my knuckles are going white while I grab the side rope.

But finally, we steady ourselves. And when the swaying of the bridge stops, we proceed to the other side. Phew!

No wonder Granny sends us the country boat every time. I had not expected so much thrill when Sunnychayan said we are walking instead of taking the boat.

Luckily, the other bridges are shorter and made of coconut tree stems. They shake a little when we walk, but Sunnychayan just ignores it like it’s no big deal. And I follow. Who needs balance when you have confidence in your elder cousin, right?

Good thing Sunnychayan is carrying my bag, so even if I fall into the water (which I didn’t, by the way), my stuff will stay nice and dry.

Finally, after all that bridge-crossing excitement, we arrive at Granny’s house.

And I collapse into Granny’s coziest hug ever. It makes me forget all about being tired from traveling and nervous about crossing those wooden bridges. Ah, Granny’s hugs are pure magic!

At Granny’s, it’s always a feast for our tummies! So much delicious food, yummy snacks, and lots of fruits. No strict timings. We eat whenever we want, and that’s the best kind of freedom. And no stinky and bitter blood purification drink like Mummy makes.

The next morning, as usual, all of us cousins rush straight to the super-duper huge backyard behind our house. It’s like a magical kingdom full of awesome trees and open grassy lands waiting for us to explore! We don’t use the fancy grown-up toilets, oh no. We have our special spot where we do our secret morning rituals. It’s our top-secret hideout!

We squat a little distance away from each other. And once we finish our important business, it’s time for the real adventure to begin. We run like lightning to the sparkling streams nearby to scrub ourselves squeaky clean. It’s like having our own personal spa!

My cool cousins wear waist strings (known as ” Aranjaanam ”) made of gold. They also wear gold chains around their necks.
Until we reach the stream, they hang their shorts onto their waist strings. Since I don’t have one, I have to hold my shorts in front of me to cover myself while we run to the stream.

You see, my cousins hardly ever wear a vest or shirt, and they’re always showing off their fancy gold chains on their bare chests.

And when they jump and do acrobatics in the water, they clench the dangling end of the neck chain between their lips. It’s so glamorous and exciting.

How I envy my cousins!

So finally, after waiting for what feels like forever, Mummy and Daddy come to visit.

I can’t wait to tell Mummy my important request. But, uh-oh, she doesn’t seem too happy about it.

Mummy thinks that having a waist string is just a silly belief to scare away bad spirits. And she feels that gold chains are for girls, not for boys like me.

She says I should ignore the chains and waist strings my cousins wear because they’re following old village customs. Since I live in a city, I need to think and behave differently.

It’s a disappointment. But as always there’s something about Mummy’s words that ring true and convincing.

On the way back to Ernakulam, Mummy and Daddy get prepared to listen to my usual cry-out to stop at the house where I left my slippers.

I’m about to tell them what Sunnychayan shared with me, and just then I see a boy of around my age standing in front of the house.

Are those blue slippers he’s wearing, mine?