Bravoo! Thazhathathu Manni

Bravoo! Thazhathathu Manni
(I would like to take you all to a small lovely village in Kottayam,
near Pala. This real story happened some 45 years back when I was not
even born. Once you go through this story, I am sure you will
understand why this incident is imprinted in my mind, and now
seeking an outpour.)
The day was almost dry after a week's continuous rain. But still the
grounds were wet and water pooled here and there. People were moving,
hands free of umbrellas The nature was glowing with her beauty, tree
leaves dazzling with water drops and wet grounds warmed by sun rays.
But as it was a Monday morning all were in a hurry to catch up with
their daily works. So only very few stopped a while to feast their
senses with what nature offers for free. Schools were closed so
children were at their best of moods.
Ours was a joint family, as during 1950s and 60s nuclear families
were a very rare phenomenon .Only my two elder brothers of mine were
born then, Balan and Babu aged 5 and 4 respectively. Now we are five,
three more girls added. Just few steps down from our home, we would
reach our neighbour's house, we called it "Thazhatham' as it was low
lying from our ground. But people living there are very high in
thoughts and deeds (still they are there living in the same house)
Ours is a very close knit friendship, never it got stained till this
date
As they have nothing much to do my brothers dressed themselves in
some new outfits. They not even spared the pair of shoes our Bhilai
athai bought for them. But they couldn't escape form our grandma's
sharp eyes
"Why u go out in shoes, you may get slipped as the ground is wet" she
warned
But before she could come out to grab them, they were running towards
their aim
It is their habit to show to Thazhathathu manni (our heroine) what
ever new things they get. We all use to call most of the elders as
Anna and manni, same practice followed here also. At least our
parents we should have excluded, we call them only as anna and
manni .Now feel bad but too late to change.
Now Thazhathathu manni and anna have three sons and two daughters but
then she had only one son and was carrying the second one. Her way of
tackling all, especially kids is really amazing, never we feel
outsiders in her company.
"Manni, how is our dress" kids were in great cheer. With same amount
of mirth she too reciprocated "wow, first class, looks like princes".
She was seated in their sit out and it is almost ten steps up from
the ground. Every year we have unprecedented floods there, so as
precautionary measure all houses were constructed far above from the
ground level.
She called them inside, but they were attracted by the near by pond
which was brimmed with water. After the morning work she was taking
rest for a while so naturally she was hesitant to move down.
"Bala, don't go there, will fall down" she was screaming
The pond was very deep and the surrounding area was in real mess,
very muddy and slippery. But the kids were too small to foresee the
danger. Someone had left their fishing rod near the two visible steps
of the pond. Balan took it and as if well versed in fishing told
Babu. " Wait and see, I will catch at least 5 fishes today and will
give to the dog"
Both sat n the first step and hold the rod inside the water and
waited for the fish to get hooked. As the rod was not lengthy enough
to reach the depth, Balan took one more step down, suddenly lost his
balance and straight away fell into the water. Babu stretched his
hand to lift him up but he too lost the grip and plunged in to water.
Both were sinking gradually as they didn't have even a basic
knowledge of swimming.
Manni could hear the sound of the splashing water when they fell in
side. She was in a dilemma, for an instant. It was her sixth month of
pregnancy and so she should not indulge herself in any hazardous
actions .But then the mother in her was inspired than anything else.
She is an expert swimmer, no second thoughts, just dived into the
deep depth. By that time both the boys were almost sunk, and with no
one near by at her call she herself had to drag them outside. Not
even thinking of her baby growing inside or her son who was sleeping
upstairs she was into the whirling water. Thus her brave and fervent
action saved two lives and thus the very future of our family.
We didn't show our gratitude to them through gifting any rewards, as
it is indefinable inexpressible through such materialistic
things .We all are obliged to her life long and she occupies a
special place in our hearts . Nothing else she also asks for.
May be a small incident, but its impact is immense. Women like her
many times affirms that, women is God sent angels on earth, where
ever they are or whom ever they are , basically they are loving so
itself daring. This rare feeling of mother hood is unconditional not
limited to their own blood and breed, it is universal and unique.

"What will not woman, gentle woman, dare when strong affection stirs
her spirit up? Robert Southey
Hats off Manni!!!
From my childhood recollections
Santhi Muthukrishnan
a forward worth reading...regards sunkan