Tomorrow is Sunday, my daughter Shalini's birthday ..!
For the past four years, the birthdays we have been celebrating for her have, like my work, been very casual.
It's customary for me, my wife, and my mom and dad to start a birthday party in the evening, with a new dress for Shalini, a cake of half a kilo, a few chocolates, and simply a tiffin.
Since I got a promotion in my office last week, it seemed to me four days earlier that Shalini birthday should be set aside this year to celebrate, along with that. I also told my wife Akila.
"Do you have an easy budget .., what is my objection ..?" Said Akila.
Unusually not only for Shalini, but for all the family members to buy new clothes, I generously put a few thousand in my wife's hands and at the party after cutting the cake in the evening, I told her two types of menu, vegetarian and non - vegetarian for the convenience of friends.
Just telling Akila the plan is enough..she can do anything as best as possible without biting our hand.Otherwise can I keep what I earn and deal with a large family of seven ..?
When I left the office in the evening, Akila called. Fresh dress for everyone, vegetables for dinner, chocolate .. I bought everything, fresh chicken and birthday cake, you go and buy it in the morning .., then, when you get home at that bakery, good color creamy, Happy Birthday Do. Don't forget to write Shalini ..! ”
"Okay..okay .." I replied to her and cut off communication. My friends, however, would buy toys and toys as gifts for Shalini. But, I have to buy her something different. What can I buy ..? What does Shalini like ..? '
After thinking for a few minutes I could not come to a conclusion.
Can you ask Akila ..? As a mother, she knows all the likes and dislikes of the child .., I will be the father ..? ' It was embarrassing when I thought about it. It is difficult to suppress .. What is the test ..? What a shame that her father did not know what his child would like ..!
In the coming elections, which party will form an alliance with which party? Can Modi become Prime Minister? What has Rahul done so far? What must be done to make the Geneva Conference a success? What is the reason for Rajapaksa's arrogance? How to prevent global warming ..? I can discuss that with office friends .., but, what does the child like .. Butt Ten could not come to a conclusion ..? Say..I was a little disgusted with myself.Is it sad that we are so far away from our family ..?
Out of some disgust, I pulled over and stopped the two-wheeler without speaking. For a few seconds I heard chattering voices very closely. I looked back. A crowd of pilgrims on their way to Palani via Pollachi was passing me. One of them was carrying his baby girl on his shoulder. The child bent down and said something in the father's ear. He said something, and the others walked away laughing out loud. I was very jealous when I saw them. Have I ever spent such an intimate time with my baby ..?
The darkness was slightly poetic. On the vehicle's petrol tank cover, the remains of some bird fell and splashed. Reluctantly looked up. The birds were returning to their nests in flocks and alone.
Birds..oh..birds .., suddenly something trapped inside me. When I first saw Shalini in the wooden crib given to her by Aquila's mother, she remembered a plastic toy wheel in green and red with parrots and pigeons tied to the diameter of the cradle across the cradle. The child will stop. The smile and excitement on his face will come.
Even when she was a little older, she would point to pictures of birds in some of the weekly magazines I buy at home and tell Akila something.
With the pencil she later found in her hand, she would say in her nursery language that even the first tweaks she drew on the wall was a crow and a sparrow. Akila is also saying "Yes". I used to watch all this only as a fun, I have gone without noticing for so long that she likes birds very much ..!
It was as if a clarity had been born in me now. I finished the work that Akila had told me to do and drove the vehicle home with great happiness.
The next morning, I was very excited. I bought the chicken and gave it to the house, informed Akila that they had told me to come and buy the birthday cake at four in the evening, and I left immediately.
"Did you go back .., is there any urgent work ..?" Akila asked.
"Nothing important. Here I come now ..," I got out of the car fast.
I reached the Pollachi market within ten minutes. "Where is the Love Birds shop ...?" When the ironmonger asked someone, he showed his hand in an alley. When he went to the particular shop, it was locked. When should I open this shop ..? I asked someone nearby.
He looked me up and down. What doubt does he have on me ..?
"Are you from the Forest Department?"
"Here..I came to buy Love Birds to grow Wheatley"
He looked at me decisively for a few more seconds and said, "Love Birds should not sell everything. Forrester, my brother raided my mother and fined him. Myilsamy's brother told me to go and buy it. ”He gave me an address and cell number. I thanked him and left.
I went to the specific address and told the person there the details. He also took me to the back of his house.
There were four cages, a little too big. One of them was a very large cage, the size of my home kitchen. Inside were small pot pots and artificial twigs scattered in large numbers. More than a hundred lovebirds, of various colors and appearances, flew in and out of it, both parallel and alone. Some couples were gothic with each other. It was very beautiful to look at. In the other cages, large numbers of pigeons, white, black, and gray, were roaring strangely.
I pointed to two pairs of lovebirds and a pair of pigeons and asked for the price. The price he said, including the wire cages, was higher than I expected.
He tied the two cages with paper, as if to separate them after going home. I wondered, 'Is the sale of birds so secretive?'
When the cages were placed in the front of the vehicle, their height and width were slightly visible. Although it seems that I can manage and drive away .., I took it safely and left.
The joy on Shalini face, when he sees the birds alive, which he had hitherto seen as mere pictures, must be graciously admired. I want to fully enjoy the joy of being a father, to catch up with his child. All the way my idea was running like this.
Somehow I brought them home safely. The only surprise for Akila .. “What is this big parcel ..? Asked, she helped unload them.
"I said two..call the shawl. This is for her, my birthday present." Said.
Yeah All that sounds pretty crap to me, Looks like and for me either.
"Come here..to your birthday, look what Daddy has bought ..!"
“What..is this So big ..? Show me where. ”Longing flashed in the child's eyes.
Looking at her, I frantically split the papers around the cages.
Inside, the birds, which were yellow, black, and green in color, sounded louder than before as they watched the new space with horror. As well as the pigeons were walking fast cross-country into their cage.
I looked at the shawl.She was looking at the birds. "Dad..is this Love Birds ..? This is the pigeon itself ..? The joy of seeing the birds breed was in her voice. It was also the surprise of seeing the birds alive in the vicinity.
“Do you like it ..?.
"I really like all the birds ..!" She came as told and hugged me. Abba..now I was overjoyed. Yet her gaze was on the birds.
"Dad .. open it all ..!"
"Oops..everything will fly away when it opens..After our house, we can grow all these cages."
Akila was having fun watching us talk as she stood with her hands clasped.
Shalini was still looking at the cages. A few minutes passed. Shalini slowly released her hands from my hugged shoulder. She went straight to the cage where the Lovebirds were and looked back at me. "Daddy..you should not come next to me. That's where you will be." Sadar opened its cages. As if waiting for this, the lovebirds flew out of the cage in a row. At the same second, she opened the cages containing the pigeons. Before she could tell me what she was going to do, it happened.
"Day..day..what are you doing..is it open ..? Let all these Love Birds fly away ..! ” Just as I was saying that, all the pigeons that were hesitant to come out of the cage . They flew away to chase her away and disappeared in a few seconds.
She had planned and texted me so well now that the birds were all open. " do you like birds very much ..!"
“Yeah..I like it very much. That's why I opened it. ”I looked at what she said once more. I knew now that there was a lot of meaning in those words.
In the hands of Shalini, who had returned home in a few seconds, there was a small birch sapling, as if nothing had happened. "Dad..don't worry..let's plant this tree behind our house.Is it a little .., like a flying pigeon now, let a lot of birds come and gather here. Akila face lit up with pride.
Realising that children are not children at all times and adults are not adults, I was born again that day ..!
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Old house
Like a snail renewing its hole and a snake renewing its skin, Australians change the house in which they live once every seven years. So the houses they lived in would come to the market for sale once every seven years. Elderly people sell a big house and look for a small house. Similarly, houses change not only as the family grows, but also as the family splits. People who have come here from countries like Sri Lanka and India cannot believe this attitude of the Australians. They will live for many generations, until a hundred-year-old houses collapse in our countries. They will be proud to live for so many generations. What is right and what is wrong is not an argument here. The more people who work in the community, the more money there will be in the community. That money will keep the community spinning like a wheel. If an Australian had lived seventy-five years he would have lived in at least ten houses. How many home brokers, lawyers, would have benefited from those ten times? Why, only the banks would have benefited? Who benefits if you live, grow, mature, die, and go to the box instead of a home? The exchange of money does not occur much there. This money transfer is the fuel of the capitalist machine. From here, jobs are created and the country's economy thrives. We sold the big house we lived in for the last quarter century because it was no longer necessary. After coming to Australia and staying in five rental houses for five years, we bought a house of our own near a school for children. The children's grandson and granddaughter have said goodbye, and our need for the children to leave the nest has diminished. But we did not have the opportunity to comfortably buy a house that suited us. When we got the price of a house we wanted, we hurriedly sold the old one. Since we had already decided on the holiday by the time we sold the old house and bought the new one, we insured the new house we bought and went to India. Arriving by taxi directly to the new house we bought directly from the airport on our way back from vacation, it was midnight. We thanked the son who caused it when the scent wafted through his breath as he opened the house and cleaned the house for us who came in because we had the opening. The first week before we arrived our son was holding a cleaner and cleaning the carpet. Although newly purchased, the house is not brand new or refurbished. Sixty years old. Aged couple, house lived for forty years. He lived alone for a hundred years after the death of the householder's wife. He lived in a nursing home for six months and died last month. His two sons had sold that old house to us without making any repairs. The old house is located in a quiet suburb of Melbourne. Five kg to the beach. House on Branch Street coming from Small Street. Not much vehicular traffic. You can walk in and buy groceries. The old house had trees growing as an oasis around the house. The north-facing house where the awning does not come into the house in the summer. Small land around the house. It does not require much maintenance. I liked this house as soon as I saw it on the internet for so many reasons. The thought came that this should not be left out. When we found out that the house would be put up for auction, we knew for sure that many would come and that those who were more comfortable than us could come. And with good credit, you might find exactly what you need. So we caught an experienced professional system representative in the home auction for us and asked him to participate in this auction on our behalf. A home auction is a street play in Australia that takes to the streets and takes the stage without a hitch. The bidding protagonist will be specially hired. Five or six people around him will stand as assistants to that real estate agent and inspire listeners. Suppress the voice and slowly raise the volume for the bidders. Serious bidders will stand in the inner ring, those who think they will participate if the price comes to them will stand in the next ring, and those who leave will stand in the big ring. I remember one time in my thirties when I was about to participate in an auction like this. It was a time of clean blood and a healthy heart. But, in this day and age of medication for high blood pressure, I have appointed someone for us that is why unnecessary squeezing. My son and I decided to have fun watching the auction play. Summer is summer for us. The tree-lined road was only accessible by daylight in the afternoon. More than sixty people stood leaning against the surrounding trees and walls. When the auction started at exactly eleven o’clock my heart started in first gear and continued to climb. My heart rate also skyrocketed when more than ten people participated in this auction early on and the price of the house skyrocketed. My agent said nothing. Why is he silent? Is the money given to him worthwhile? I myself may have been participating in the auction. Unnecessary work. Already by my wife, ‘We can attend directly ourselves. The policy statement was that 'everything that catches an agent is a waste'. I scolded myself for thinking why I ignored it. Will it go up in price for us uncontrollably? I was in the mood to look at the picture of from the front door thinking that the house had slipped away. In the final round two middle-aged men competed with a small amount of tug-of-war. One of them seemed to be cheering with a young girl like her daughter in her arms. I thought he was the father bidding for the daughter. The other was a Chinese family standing in a crowd. It was a Chinese real estate agent who gave a voice in Tamil Nadu to actor to help the Chinese family. My heart raced like a Formula One race car but I was able to watch these scenes as well. Just as the United States ended World War II with the atomic bomb, so did those around me when my agent quoted the price in a single leap. Our swaying protagonist spun around the necks of those standing in the three rings to see if anyone else was increasing the amount. The bidders were excited by the word and body as they tried to keep the already standing supporting actors alive by giving oxygen to the dead in Corona. Everyone silently retreated successfully with a face of evening flowers. Auction amount , how he sees the final price of the Word with those who have face. The auction would have been even higher if I had said that amount was wasted. After a few minutes the bidder, after making sure that no one asked for a refund, said one, two, three and hit the refusal with the hammer in his hand and handed over the house as ours. My firm belief is that the house would not have been available without that agent. Another thing was not to take my wife to that auction. Home auction is often likened to the murder of criminals by guillotines during the French Revolution. Here too hundreds of people would have gathered to watch as the debt rope fell guillotine around one's neck. what will happen…? For the next twenty-five years, the bloodless man would have run around with a hammer tied to his nose. When he pays off the loan and owns the house, he is blind and stumbles to walk into the house. We bought the house and left because we had already made arrangements to go on vacation. The house in front has also been sold. We also sent home the bed furniture we bought. When I was temporarily staying somewhere else for a few months after selling the old house, many times my car went to the old house without me knowing. When I go to the door, I will look for myself. Once when I went there to pick up the letters, the Chinese woman who bought the house had completely changed the wooden floor of the house to black. I cursed the Chinese woman in search of the old floor in my mind, even though she said in words that it was good to see her. Twenty-five years of memories are indelible, aren't they? A pomegranate tree was planted by my father-in-law in the backyard of our old house. He will shed sweet fruits in every picture after he dies. Giving to friends and eating too. Similarly, a curry tree was planted by my father-in-law and flourished. For many years they were both self-sufficient for us. Although I wanted to record both of these in memory of my father, I called my friend because I did not know the technology of farming. But in the case of pomegranate, the texture was correct but not in the case of caraway. The Chinese woman who bought our house said that if you want, you can take the whole caraway tree with you. I did not want that. A vacuum appeared in my mind when I sold the house we had lived in for a quarter of a century. At the same time as leaving the country of birth, mother and father, the moisture for the feelings in my mind would easily dry up like rain falling on the sand dunes of . But since the wife's father and mother lived and died in that house with us for many years, their memories do not easily form a flood of rain falling on the clay floor. So at least before I went on vacation, I asked a friend to pour water on the pomegranate I had left in the house in memory of my father-in-law. I remember reading somewhere that the gods appeared in those days as a result of humans giving shape to whatever they wanted. Then the pomegranate tree, the father-in-law will stand outside our new home. After the holiday, we boarded a taxi from the airport, packed up, and headed to bed. Not hungry because I ate on the plane at night. There is nothing at home to eat even if you are so hungry. We emptied the refrigerator and turned off the electricity. I put a cup of water by the bed and left before going to bed. No sleep the first night in the new house. Having stayed in India for six weeks, the body clock was given the key to Indian time. She closed her eyes but refused to turn off the sleep. Slow, but never-before-heard rustling sound was heard. It was as if two small stones were touching each other and coming back. When we looked back it was like a sound we could only hear when the teeth were biting each other. At a young age, I heard Achi say, 'Potion smells like a tooth, like an insect in the stomach.' I also remember spending a night in Sri Lankan prairie, one night naked and gritting my teeth, as I went on duty without clothes. We can only hear if we gnash our teeth. But that night, as I lay in my new home, I heard a loud bang. Standing outside and brushing one's teeth with a loudspeaker can be described as lucrative. The ascendant continued to descend even as Osai left. That noise, that fear did not create something in me. I closed my eyes and listened as if enjoying a psalm of something. It's half past one. The house needs to be repaired anyway. Is the window not locked properly? Or is the air coming in through a hole? The sound of something coming off the roof tiles ..? I was left with many questions in my mind as to whether the surrounding trees were being knocked to the roof by any wind. When there is an illness it will be easier for the doctor to find the cause of the disease. I got out of bed thinking that I could easily find the bug when I saw the noise, just as the mechanic would easily detect when the engine noise is coming from the running vehicle. The wife nearby heard a slow snoring sound I picked up the phone without turning on the light and came out of the room with its light on and looked at the bathroom. Nothing is known. The glass window above was locked. I looked up at the toilet on the side. The cold air came in with small wire nets there and slapped him in the face. A strong wind blew outside. But summer in Melbourne. The toilet door slammed shut. In the rooms other than the bedrooms the unoccupied boxes were lying on the floor. I went to my classroom and pushed through the boxes lying there and pushed the closed window with my hands. I noticed something was coming up. I placed it near my ear and examined it as if the doctor were examining the chest. Nothing. Similarly, when I looked at the other two rooms, there were clothes, boxes and luggage in one room. In the last room the wife had pictures of the cat and her suitcase. There is nothing there. When I tapped the window of that room by hand , there was a slight vibration in the glass window. I tore up a small piece of cardboard box lying on the floor. I knocked on the other windows at the front of the house, thinking that the sound might have come from there. I saw the kitchen area and the door to the exit from there. For almost half an hour I saw a new house I had bought as an architect examining it before buying a house. We bought the house at auction on the basis of a certificate issued by an architect who had already paid and researched before buying the house. No matter what the housekeeper examines, the cause of the noise is not clear. I came to bed with satisfaction. Memories of the old house continued to linger. Immigrating to Australia and selling that house where life’s dreams have lived for a quarter of a century is no easy task for us. Not only do we currently not need a large terrace for the two of us to live in, but we decided to look for another house because maintaining a large house is not easy. The green memories of his wife and children growing up in that house and his parents living and dying continued to cast a shadow. For me there are no such big sentiments. The only idea was to make it easier to maintain a small house in a quiet place. I slept that night in that new home in the mental flow of wanting to live in a quiet place towards the end of life. I went the next morning and brought our pet dog Cindy. During our vacation it was maintained elsewhere. That eight-year-old Labrador is the next life living with us. Snoring at night as we lay on the ground next to our cot. Even if you hear some small noise, the selected guard will get up and go outside. The night it came home the next day it didn’t even sleep. There was a series of walks throughout the house. I thought the new house would have required him to marry places like us and harmonize himself. But, on some days the night has calmed down. I also fall asleep as soon as I get used to the Australian time. Again one night I was relieved to hear the sound of teeth brushing. Cindy also went to the back door as she collapsed. I got up and drank the water from the glass jar and looked at the cell phone. One o'clock at night. I also got up and stood in the back door as Cindy continued and collapsed. As well as its neck muscles bulging and hair pierced. The ears were also erect as a loudspeaker at the time. She looked at me as if she was pretending to open the door, stretching her forearms and twisting her muscles to get ready for the day. I opened the back door and put out the lamp, thinking that something might have appeared in its eyes. In the light the area became daylight. Nothing is known. Not even the trees danced to the wind. Cindy didn't mess up. Came outside and sniffed the back of our bathroom. He put his feet on the bathroom wall for a while and sniffed the wall again. As soon as I got out I looked out the windows and the house. Nothing is known. When I came around the house and looked through every window and door there was no sound coming from anywhere. When we went back inside the house with Cindy, our wife heard us and got up and inquired, “Nothing, Cindy is upset. That's what I saw. " ——– Again a few days later and one night Cindy was devastated to hear the sound of teeth grinding. Everything inside and out has been seen. The roof area is still there to see. I can't do that. The roof area was covered with dirt and moss. I called someone to look at the roof of the house and arranged to remove the moss by fitting the broken parts. The visitor washed the roof and sealed it with broken tiles at several points. When I was satisfied that I had inspected all the parts of the house, my wife and I decided to make some more repairs and repaint the interior. Corona came to Melbourne and made us stay at home. We forgot the sound that came at night because we could not call anyone for housework Two months later, again in the middle of the night, Cindy burst into tears. I looked out the window screen. The full moon shyly hid among the trees. It was winter and it was forbidden to go outside so we reached inside the house and forgot about the sky , the sun and the moon and stayed inside to warm the house. Cindy went back to the back door. Then when the door opened it bounced towards the fence. At that time we saw a giant jump from an electric wire to a tree. When , who was looking down from the branch of the tree, saw that in the moonlight, she ignored the and went back to the window and sniffed Cindy. This time the wife who came behind me " I think. It was as if the old man who had been in the house before was coming to the house from time to time. Who lived here for many years. We need to get this house repaired and repainted as soon as possible. ” I laughed without believing it. Although I woke up the next morning, I was still in bed reading until nine o’clock. When my wife yelled "Ginger buy… Ginger buy" I ran as I asked "What happened?" "Take a look at the incense," he said, holding out a red-covered plastic jar. “What? ” "Look, take this and throw it away." Two sets of teeth in it looked at me and smiled. The cavities in those teeth widened in my mind “Where were they? “ "Plate above the window" “Haven’t slipped in our eyes yet? “ "Sin, as if had been taken to an old age home without a set of teeth. He's looking for a toothpick to bite into. " I put it in the trash can of our new house, as I was told, "Most old people give me mashed potatoes at home." After that, we locked the house a couple of times and when we went out and returned the house was left unopened to open. Eventually those two times the door had to be broken. "It simply came to our notice then. The house needs to be fixed soon. “Let the corona end. Pulse is no more. Man will never come again. ”
By Zarinabanu Zarinabanu3 years ago in Fiction
Thirsty Crow in 21st Century
One day, in a city full of tall buildings and ringing phones, there lived a crow named Clarence who was always thirsty. He was the most exciting crow in town. He was not an ordinary bird from the early 1980s; he knew more about computers than you did. He was the only bird in the metropolitan area who used Twitter.
By Ameer Bibi2 days ago in Fiction
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