A Onam feature- Return to the native Place
Return to the native place
The cool evening breeze was slowly getting colder, heralding the advent of another winter. North India enjoyed beautiful weather for around 5 months from October to March with mild winters even in most other parts of the country. While most people welcomed winter, those hailing from other parts of the country like South India but living in the north, dreaded the winters, especially the severest stints in December and January with attacks of asthma and other debilitating illness.
The elderly group sitting around a fire in one of the better maintained colonies in Baroda hailed originally from Kerala but had taken up jobs with the govt. and other companies in Baroda in the 1960s and had settled there, with their children growing up with the locals, studying in local schools and colleges. While the children got completely integrated with the local culture, the elders missed their homeland Kerala.
As they were all doing well in their respective jobs, and knew they were in for a long haul in Baroda, a resolution was passed in the local Malayali Association to float a housing project for Keralites. And so came about the ‘Adarsh Housing complex’ in a prominent part of the city, with 12 buildings with four of them in a secluded area consisting exclusively of Keralite families. Well planned landscaping ensured playgrounds for children, a community hall that doubled as prayer halls for important occasions and a large terrace where the women maintained kitchen gardens. In due course of time, the compound boasted of mango trees of every variety, jack fruit and coconut trees, each contributed by residents on their return from their annual vacation to their native Kerala. The local football team made up of youngsters from the colony soon became famous all over the state; so did the cricket team and the girls’ volleyball team. The ten years after the families moved to the colony were the best years in all their lives, with a number of activities keeping everyone occupied.
While Christmas, Idd and local festivals of Deepali and Ganpati were celebrated, the best was reserved for Onam when everyone irrespective of their faith or religious leanings, came together to celebrate with abandon, with cultural programs and other activities to keep everyone engaged. The highlight of course was the big ‘sadya’ or festival lunch on the main Onam day when everyone in the colony and their friends were invited to a sumptuous lunch, in the best Kerala tradition. An expert cook was brought all the way from Kerala, the men and women in the colony took turns to cut and prepare the huge quantities of vegetables required for the feast. Young girls prepared elaborate floral patterns for the rangoli; boys decorated the place with plantain trees and leafy thorans while the men had their fill of liquor, sourced far in advance from the military canteens and other places as Baroda is a dry city with prohibition in force in the state of Gujarat. Dance items, various games for women and children with attractive prices, all added to the glamour of those four days of festivity.
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The years went by, the children grew older with their acquaintance with the land of their fathers, restricted to the one month or so in a year that they spent when visiting Kerala. Around the last years of the last century, the first signs of getting old struck with John chettan, the senior most member, retiring. Soon others followed and over the next 15 years, most of the original owners of flats in the Adarsh colony had retired. Some had their children take up jobs with their previous companies. Thus John’s son was recruited in the Railways, Thilakan’s son and daughter joined the Refineries while many more of the daughters joined local schools and colleges as teachers. Many of the second generation continued to stay in the same colony, some having married within the same locality, the result of childhood romances. A few of the more adventurous went abroad, some to the Gulf and others to the US following their Gujarati friends. The elders found a lot of comfort in each other’s company, free after retirement and more time was spent in the small library or in someone’s house playing cards. It was a regular practice for many to get together in the evening and chat, over a fire in winter.
One constant worry all of them had was regarding the properties in their names but kept back in their native places. Most of them, male members, having left their native villages in their youth to take up jobs in Baroda, did not have much say in the manner in which their properties were being handled. While everything was fine as long as their parents were alive, once they departed, troubles began, generally from own siblings. Thus, John Chettan, the elderly gentleman, had around 10 acres of rubber plantation in a prime locality in Kottayam which he entrusted to his younger brother to run. Some income used to come regularly for the first few years, then came his brother’s childrens’ wedding, more domestic expenses and the monthly income started drying up. Any questions used to elicit tales of heavy expenses and promise to pay the entire amounts within 6 months which never happened. The brother and his family were most hospitable when the Baroda guys visited on annual vacation, even giving some money when they returned. Slowly these visits also became difficult, especially for the wives till they decided to stop these annual visits altogether. John also learned from others in the village that his brother was earning good income every season with rubber prices hitting the roof.
The story had echoes in every other household in Adarsh colony.
“I have three sisters”, Samuel said. “I worked hard, many a time doing extra shifts to get them all married off decently. Though the one-acre plot with the ancestral house was bequeathed to me by my father, I could not go down south to stay in the house. One of my younger sisters offered to stay and maintain the house. Soon I realised that her husband, a lawyer had, citing some recent judgments, cleverly arranged for the property to be divided among all four of us including my sisters. Now I have a small plot in one corner of the compound and of course the house and surrounding plot has been registered in my sister’s name. My wife and children have not set foot in that house for the last 10 years. I went once for the marriage of my niece.” He said a little agitated.
Most complaints related to land and property usurped by immediate family, as none of the Baroda guys had the time to look after their property. Antony turned out to be the smartest of all.
“I sold off my portion even when my father was alive and bought a large estate which is being looked after by a caretaker who by God’s grace has turned out very loyal. I really have no such headaches and my families, especially the kids love to stay in the estate as the weather is cool and they enjoy the wilderness around” said Antony cheerfully.
All these tales would come up in their evening meetings in the colony, especially after most of them retired.
It was at one such meeting in winter that the idea of moving back to Kerala and staying together in another similar colony was mooted by one of the members, quite active since retirement with a real estate company as its Accounts Head.
“We need to have land, a builder and of course the funds and the colony can be a reality in just under two years” said Samuel, the builder’s man.
“Seems a good idea, but will need a lot of thought and discussion’ said Warrier, for long, the secretary of the local Ayyappa sangh.
“I had a similar thought when I went down to Kerala last month” mentioned Antony, who had some landed property in Kerala and used to go there every month, since he had retired.
“We need to decide on a location, work out the estimated expenses and then put out to the members who may be interested.” Continued Samuel who then volunteered, with help from Antony, to get back within two weeks with more details.
They were all for the new location to be away from their ancestral villages offering painful memories; and the decision to be away from all relations and be on their own, with the same group as in Baroda was therefore unanimous. Most were happy that their dream of spending their last days in the land of their birth was going to be a reality.
Almost on the dot, Samuel and Antony came back within the allotted time with details. All interested were called for a meeting that weekend. The hall was full with old and young couples and some of the grandchildren too, eager to hear the new plans.
“The plot we have identified is about two kilometers from Trichur town, a fully developed area, with a large tract of land of around 5 acres, sufficient for at least five buildings of 5 stories and a total of 50 to 70 flats depending on the size of each flat. The cost could be around Rs. 1800 per sq. ft. or a little more if one wants expensive fittings. Enough space for a garden, walking track and a small playground. We have identified an architect who is confident of getting a reputed builder to complete the project within these costs, and be ready in 2 years.”
“The costs may vary a little depending on how soon we start as land and material costs may go up” Added Antony who had seen the location.
Heated discussions followed and then John chettan, the acknowledged senior in the group stood up and everyone listened.
“This is definitely a very good move. Many of us have been missing our native Kerala for long and may be this is the best opportunity to get back to our roots” he said as many nodded.
“Our children will not be keen to come and live with us in Kerala, spread as they are here and all over the world.” Said Samuel.” We will leave these flats for them and may come to visit once a year. They and their children can visit us, during the vacations.”
And so it was decided to go ahead with the Kerala project with almost all the families opting for a flat in the new colony which was named “Vadodara Complex’ to remind them of their work place. The children who were all well settled now, agreed to help out those who did not have enough funds of their own. So quick was the response that the project with sufficient money upfront, was completed in 18 months, just after the second monsoon from the start of the project. The occupants had a grand, joint housewarming with the entire colony from Baroda being present, along with some local bigwigs who termed this as a unique initiative of people who valued their roots.
Life was exciting once more for the older generation. They replicated a lot of practices from their Baroda colony; thus all provisions were bought in bulk once a week for the whole colony, festivals were celebrated enthusiastically with Onam once again getting celebrated in their unique style with a lot of locals invited. Soon the Media started giving publicity to their unique style of living, the absence of any major differences due to religious or other community related issues. All in all, the locals described Vadodara complex as an ideal township.
Eager to be back in their homeland, all were happy when their relations came calling and invited them to all the functions in their houses. However, the initial warmth faded when the relations realised that they all had come to stay for good in Kerala. In the olden days, they used to visit for a week or two, spend money lavishly and even bring presents for all in the house. Living close by and meeting more often, the spending pattern changed and even the children who used to anxiously wait for their uncles from Baroda who gave them money when they left, were no longer thrilled when these same uncles bumped into them in some movie houses or supermarkets. Soon the invitations dried up, the visits became less frequent and some close relations even refused to acknowledge their presence when running into each other at some location or function. The Baroda crowd just sighed, thinking this was the real colour of relationship in their homeland.
Some of the families also started feeling that they were being given a raw deal by the local vendors when compared to others in the locality. Thus the fish vendors who came to sell fish in the colony charged around 30 per cent more than what they charged others. Similar was the case with domestic help and any other assistance by way of plumber, carpenters etc. Soon it dawned on all in the colony that they were getting systematically fleeced.
“They have the money, so they can afford to pay” said a contractor when asked in the nearby tea shop as to why the Baroda people were being charged higher by everyone.
“Just because they pay much less in Baroda should not be a reason to pay us less. Let them know of the dignity of labour here where wages are the highest in the country. We provide the best of service too.” Said one of the carpenters, famous for arriving late for work and slinking away for long breaks without much output.
“yes, they have been away for too long from here to notice the major strides we, the working population has achieved” said yet another, the leader of the ‘Attimari’ gang that demands money from anyone who does business in their area, without actually putting in any work.
“They have worked all their lives in an organised manner and is it a crime to demand some proper service now?” asked the man reading newspaper before everyone else shouted him down, labeling him antiworker.
Most of the residents put up with the inconvenience of paying more for goods and services, trying to reduce the occasions when they would have to depend on local help. So some of the men started going to far off places where they could buy fish in bulk, following the auction system, others learned to do simple tasks of plumbing, masonry and carpentry so as to avoid getting poor help for more money. Many restricted visits to their brothers and sisters living in their native villages as the experience was not very pleasant. But the last straw was when they held their annual Ayyappa Puja for three days when even the poojary charged them an exorbitant amount, something much more than when they got a poojary all the way from Palghat to Baroda when such annual pujas were conducted in Baroda. They had enough and were just waiting to get away from all these.
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It was now three years since the Vadodara colony was in full bloom; the children used to visit during the holidays, visiting as many families as they possibly could, their parents would invariably visit Baroda for any special occasion, be it even the arangetram of a little girl or the first communion, each of which was celebrated by the entire colony in the days gone by. A few used to go back to Baroda for Onam, after they found the local celebrations not as exciting as their Baroda days. Many who had hoped to celebrate festivals with their loved ones in their native villages were disappointed when no one bothered to invite them. By the third year, almost the entire Vadodara colony was empty during Onam as they all went back to Baroda for that unique feel they missed in Kerala, ironically the birthplace of Onam.
Johnchettan died of a massive heart attack, brought on, they say by news of his grandson who was kidnapped when on a school tour to Mount Abu. The boy of course was rescued but the loss had already occurred. Having lost their senior most member who died with no children being around, set the others thinking. They realised that they had nothing to hold them to their colony in Kerala; everything they held dear was in Baroda. Slowly, families started moving back to Baroda, some selling their flats to locals or relatives while others kept them hoping the children may like to come for a vacation. In another two years, the entire colony was deserted except for a few flats bought by locals. Slowly they too left, leaving the Vadodara colony barren and forlorn.
It was the smart Antony who came to the rescue of the flat owners. His son had set up a flourishing travel agency in Trichur and seeing the potential in the well maintained Vadodara colony, roped in two of his Guajarati friends from Baroda and together developed the colony as a resort for families with modest budgets. He promised to reach a fair amount every month to the owners, now living with their children in Baroda. Happy at getting a regular income from their Kerala property, the experiment turned some success with Antony sponsoring occasional visits for the Baroda families to Kerala.
But the entire batch of those who returned to Baroda after their misadventure in trying to settle down in Kerala, had vowed that they would die in the land of their children; not their ancestors.
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One short story which is apt for the Onam season as it talks of the longing of a Keralite to return to his native roots.A short story forming part of around 13 other stories ( all based in Kerala)forming the book ‘Karimeen’ available for download at Pothi.com. Most of my books are now available digitally on pothi.com.Just look for books published by Job Xavier. Most are very reasonably priced.
Job Xavier