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Generation Shadows

A Story

By afreethaPublished about a year ago 9 min read
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Generation Shadows

It was snowing in London. Ramanathan was lying cross-legged with his right hand on his cheek. His face showed the difficulty he had to lie down. He thought that he should not have come to London when his son called him. The climate of London made him bitter. Hoarseness in the throat if the wind blows too much; Sneezing when it rains; Twitching when cold; If you get hot, you get a headache.

Ramanathan arrived in London in the month of March. The first problem he had with his hand was that the skin started peeling on both hands. Later, the skin fell off all over the body. He was scared. 'It is a disease that affects everyone who eats,' said the son indifferently.

London has become like a second country for Sri Lankan Tamils. But everything felt foreign to him. As soon as his son was about to call him to London, he was honored in his hometown Puliankulam.

It was a matter of pride when people of his age asked him, 'What next, is Ramanathan going to live in London?' It was painful for him to see everyone singing and running and working in London. He longs to talk with his son, daughter-in-law and grandchildren. But, there was no chance.

The son owns a large four-bedroom house in the City of London. He had five petrol stations. Son and daughter-in-law in a room of the house. A child in the next room. Another child in the other room. Box Room to Ramanathan. A box room is just big enough for a small bed to get on and off. The son thought that was enough for the father.

Grown-up grandchildren do not stick with him. Same with 'hi grandpa'. They go to see work. Sometimes 'Grandpa' is missing and it's okay to say 'Hi'. They do not know how to speak Tamil. He doesn't know English.

He thought that if his wife had been alive, he would not have come here. He remembered how he and his wife worked hard to raise their two children with the farming income that came to him. After the Sinhalese attack on the Tamils in 1983, Ramanathan sent his son alone to London in January 1985 because he was afraid to live there. The daughter got married in Batticaloa and is staying there.

"Father did not lie down and put you in the community center for an old man's speech. Go and buy" - the son said and took the car and left. The son could not even think of leaving his father at the street price. Sons and daughters here have no time to think about anyone, not just their old dad. Every minute they think about work.

The community center is here to support the elderly. Without these centers, half of the elderly people from Sri Lanka would have no entertainment and no entertainment.

White people have an order in the country. Those who have worked till the age of sixty-six can retire and stay at home. After working for them, they will divide all the tax money deducted from their salary every month. However, if the body is unable to do so, it may go to a nursing home.

Sons and daughters come and go only on Father's Day, Mother's Day and birthdays. Old white people are used to it. But Tamil parents are to adopt children and raise them so that the children will help them later? Tamil children call their old parents from the village to see them. But, that is a great pain for the elderly.

There were 25 elderly people in the community centre. The announcement read, 'Today, Dr. Sasi is coming to talk about stress.' Ramanathan had come to this center for the first time today. A stranger was approaching him.

"Is my name correct... you?"

"I am Ramanathan."

"Where's the village?"

"Puliankulam."

"Puliankulam means..."

"Otusuttan Puliankulam."

"with whom are you living there?"

"with Son..."

"You?"

Chellaiya's eyes froze as she said "Daughter".

"Why don't you feel better?"

”No… just worry. Grandchildren don't care. Since Ginger was born, they thought 'they are white people'. Our’s Tamil community

I am worried that our village will be destroyed," said Chellaiya.

"Why did you think that?" Ramanathan asked.

"No Ramanathan, my daughter is a dentist. Nephew is a heart doctor. They have only one baby boy. Just fifteen years old. She goes white and hangs out with her boyfriend. She is my blood and my granddaughter and I have no right to question her. Will this happen if I leave the village?” – He was confused.

The fear that the next generation will leave the Tamil community has come to the elderly. Germany, Canada, London, France, Australia, Holland, Belgium are everywhere, this is the problem. We cannot control the young generation through school and pub culture.

They also say that white people should look like this. When the elders ask, they say you don't know anything.

They served tea, biscuits and bananas in the evening at the community centre. Everyone came and introduced themselves. Probably everyone's faces were filled with concern as to why they had left the land of their birth to call their children.

Ramanathan was staring intently at Chellaiya saying, "Last Monday, my granddaughter went with her and came home with her friend."

"What's more surprising is that when my daughter came home, she didn't hear a word from her."

"Then you didn't tell the girl about this..."

He asked. Will you not listen?”

"What did the daughter say?"

” Be even more surprised to hear that. Inga children should not be questioned. If asked, the children would leave the house.”

"Can the little children do anything?"

"This is the essence of individual freedom."

Having two grandchildren and the fear of not being able to save Tamil culture, Tamil life, temples and ponds ran through Ramanathan's mind.

Our children are forced to live with the culture of white people in a white country. A few parents try hard to follow the Tamil culture. But Tamil children tend to forget Tamil.

Temples have arrived in London. In the festivals held here, white men wear silk vests and white women wear sarees. In the streets they pull chariots and break coconuts. White people like to eat Tamil soup in food shops. But, the Tamil people insist that the white culture is right and they cannot leave it.

At the community center, when Dr. Sasi talked about how the foreign country, the incomprehensible language, the exclusion of children, the alienation of the grandchildren, the climate allergy, the condition of having no one to talk to, all the old people here, probably all burst into tears.

It was raining outside. Ramanathan came out from the community center holding an umbrella.

An elderly white couple walked hand in hand at the bus stop. A short distance away two young men stood kissing. When he saw them, he thought how to protect the Tamil children in this white country.

When he thought what it would be like if all the Tamils left behind this loss and went to live in Urodai (city), he felt happy.

Bus number 237 stopped. He boarded it and showed his ticket at the machine. The machine gave way to him with a squeak sound.

When he came home, there was no one at home. He went into the kitchen and saw that his daughter-in-law had cooked. There is no food. He automatically poured the tea and touched the biscuit and ate it. He felt like an orphan in that big house.

He put on Tamil TV. Someone was interviewing without salt. Here Tamil radio and television do their business of sensitizing Tamils to injustice.

Can't live here among mechanical humans. No seasonal food. No lunch. Dinner at 11pm. What world is this? Everyone is running around locking the wheel. Ramanathan thought that it would be better to go to the city and breathe peacefully in that land than to stay here.

Daughter-in-law had bought dinner from the shop. The food was placed on the dining table without any joy. Ramanathan went to the dining table.

As he said, "Buy... stay here, father," the son pulled a ray. Daughter-in-law and children saw him.

"Brother, I am going to town."

"Why dad?" – Only the son asked. Daughter-in-law and grandchildren were eating as if they had nothing to do with them. They don't care about him. For them, one is at home… and that's it.

"No brother... I can't be alone. You have a son and you are not at home, but I am alone.”

The grandchildren could not even understand what the father was saying. They do not know Tamil.

"This is how Dad's life is. Manisi (wife) and I want to go to work. The only way to get a mortgage on this big house is to go. I have a status in society. It needs to be protected.”

"But there is no peace, brother. All of you are running around with money. When was the last time you were alone, talking peacefully, eating, and feeling refreshed… tell me?”

The daughter-in-law was watching what the uncle was saying and did not reply. She had nothing to say. The pip that the grandchildren get up after eating is gone.

"What are you going to see by working like this? Get tired for a while. Why is Tamil life like this?” – Ramanathan sighed

"Dad, is everyone living abroad like this? Nothing can be done about it.”

"That's why I can't exist without you brother. Give me a ticket to town. Put as much as you can. I am going to Uroda (city).”

The father's situation has become clear to the son. We can't keep him here any longer.

"Brother, I am worried because I think of the Tamils in India. They wander about without life in the village, and here without life."

The son finished eating and tapped the horn. I had a flight ticket to Colombo the very next week.

Ramanathan went into the box room and lay down. The whole body ached. The mattress on the bed pressed in some places.

Even though his mind was thinking of the village, he thought of his grandchildren. If they had been born in the village, they would have been lying in their lap saying 'Daddy' with affection. He condemned himself as a sinner who did not have that gift.

The TV was loud in the big room next door. The grandchildren were watching. It was like patting their heads and talking to them lovingly. They say that their grandchildren will never come near their father. He was sobbing. Relationships are lost and alienated. Affection is dead. From now on there will be no connection between the town and here. The next generation has forgotten their hometown.

"Dad will book a ticket to Colombo for next Monday at 9.30 pm!" the son said and left.

'I want to be away from this unattainable town for one more week...' my heart felt heavy.

"Everything is gone!"- he said with a sigh.

I couldn't sleep...water was pouring from my eyes!

Fantasy
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