A murder in our family

A murder in our family

It was a Friday and a very hot day in the year 1958 in the month of May. Thirumalachari went to bed after finishing his daily cores. He was priest in the Sri Ram Mandhir at Bistapur, Jamshedpur. He and his wife were sleeping in the one bed room quarter allotted to them by the temple committee. It was too hot and he was perspiring even though he was covering him with a wet towel. He got up and came out and lied down on a rope cot that he kept outside in the open near the Thulasi madam. After some time he fell asleep. He never knew that he was going to sleep for ever. A rogue for whom he had given shelter and just a few hours before his wife had fed curd rice, came with a knife and stabbed him in the shoulder and the chest. He started shouting and before his wife came running, his voice died and he also died. His wife started shouting and wailing and people came running. By this time the culprit had fled away. People lifted Thirumalachari, put him in a taxi and took him to the hospital and there he was declared ‘brought dead’ by doctors. Being a murder case the body was kept in the hospital for postmortem.
His son was working in TELCO Company and was staying there itself with his cousin and used to come home only at weekends. He was to come home on Saturday afternoon, but the tragedy happened on Friday night. On the early hours of Saturday someone went with a taxi and broke the news. The young man was shell shocked to hear the news and started weeping. Only for the last few months he had the fortune to live with his parents. His parents had left him with his maternal grandmother and came to Jamshedpur to take up the priesthood of the temple due to some family problem. Though they owned fertile lands, dew to family feud he discarded everything and went to Jamshedpur to join the temple as for his father in law’s advice.
His son was left under his granny’s care and was put in school at Kancheepuram. So he was deprived of his parent’s love and nearness at childhood itself. After finishing his Intermediate, he went to be with his parents. By chance he got a job and he discontinued his studies also to be with his parents. And Lo! His destiny did not allow him to enjoy his father’s love. His happiness was short lived.
The name of the person who committed the murder was Ramamurthy. He was a lad of twenty years. His father was from Andhra and doing small errands at the temple. Both son and father used to stay outside the temple. Just a day before this incident a theft took place in the temple. The temple committee had suspected the youth and his father and they warned them. They also told them not to loiter near the temple any more. That night he came to the temple and told Thirumalachari about the temple committee’s warning. But Thirumalachari told him not to worry and that he would take care of the matter. His wife fed him curd rice and Thirumalachari told him to go away and come in the morning. The boy was having a lover, who was a Tamilian. His father was against the marriage. Hence Ramamurthy sought the help of Thirumalachari in his love affair. Thirumalachari told him to wait for some time and he would try to convince his father. The boy got frustrated and in the mean while this new problem of theft also cropped up. Perhaps the temple committee might have told Thirumalachari to pressurize the youth and find out about the theft. As he died instantly due to the stab injuries, the truth got buried with him. Any way as there was a curfew imposed in the area due to industrial disturbance, the police were patrolling and the boy was caught red handed with blood stained clothes. His lover also gave a statement against him. A case was registered and within a year judgment was given and the boy got life imprisonment.
Thirumalachari was very highly respected by all walks of people in the city and all thronged to pay him homage at the funeral. Thirumalachari was none other, he was my father in law, but this happened before our marriage. My beloved hubby lost his beloved father under unknown circumstances! An unforgettable and violent death that left an indelible scar in the mind of my mother in law and my hubby for everL
Life is stranger than fiction. Our life is filled with incidents that happen only in fiction!

Oh my!

Dear Pushpavalli, you write so well. I honestly thought that I was reading an excerpt from some book.
You are right, life is often stranger than fiction. It must have been really hard on your mother in law and husband to lose your Fil in such a brutal way. So sorry.
May Peace accompany you all .

L, Kamla

dear pushpa,
the heading itself revealed a shocking news in the wait, still to read it one finds at a loss and no words of consolation is going to help anyone, even if the incident had been a long one, it is still raw each time we read or think about it..may god give you all the strength to come out of it with a cool mind..as mind never forgives any..sunkan

Dear Pushpa Ma'am,

The title to this thread made me wonder what it was about. Some people become blind with rage and they do not know whom to show their frustrations on, like the youth in this incident. What a shock it must have been to all the family members when the murder took place.

Dear Pushpavalli,

A murder in our life is something we just cannot imagine. Though we see lot of movies filled with murders and arrogance, we tend to or like to forget things once we get back home. It is very hard to carry this type of arrogant murders even for seconds.

I could totally understand yours, your husband's and mother-in-law's feelings towards that incident. This incident proves that Life is stranger than fiction.

Hello Pushpa maam,
I was really shocked by the title.
And you had written so nicely that I couldn't take off my mind without finish reading it.
to you.

~Punitha

Dear Pushpa,
It was very disheartening to read about the murder! How much your MIL and hubby would have endured. I am sorry for them.

Dear Puspa,
It is really like fiction. Its hard to imagine that these things happen unless it happens to one who is close to you.
We could not get over an incident where my husband's friend's wife lost her life because she happened to get up to drink water in the night when the robbers had entered her house. It was really shocking and sad.
uma

hello pushpa

varudangal urundodinaalum
aaratha ranangal
vaazhkayil irukkathaan
seiginrana...
thalaippe.. sent
shokking waves...
recentaga irukkumo enru
padippatha vendama enru thayakkam
you wont believe it
i just scrolled down
in the hope that if will be
an imaginary write up
and got down to read kamalas reply....
nadungavaikkum sambavangal
nallavargalukkum sothanai...
no words to express

sathya

Originally Posted by Kamla

Oh my!

Dear Pushpavalli, you write so well. I honestly thought that I was reading an excerpt from some book.
You are right, life is often stranger than fiction. It must have been really hard on your mother in law and husband to lose your Fil in such a brutal way. So sorry.
May Peace accompany you all .

L, Kamla

Dear Kamla,
My hubby longed to be with his parents as he missed that opportunity in his childhood. But destiny had snatched away one of them from him in a brutal manner. My mil was staying with us until her death, but the incident had affected her very much. She was a person who used to control her emotions and it affected her deeply. Last few years before her death she was off her mind on and off. So we had our difficult times with her. Yet we both and our children managed with patience.
Love,
Pushpavalli