Growing up on a rubber plantation was, for the three boys and their two sisters, a constant stream of adventures. Their father was in charge of running the plantation and the British Sahib, who only visited occasionally, was a kind master.
Acres and acres of rubber trees stood in line like well behaved children at assembly. The air was cool and wildlife abounded. In the morning, the tappers would go from tree to tree making their spiral incisions on the bark and the trees would bleed their white sap into the coconut shells strapped around them.
The children roamed wild and free among the trees, far away from their parents' watchful eyes. Their father ruled the household like a dictator. Their mother was their protector but there was little even she could do if they made their dad angry.
Three young boys can get into all sorts of trouble and if they did, they would be soundly beaten by father.
One of their favourite games was racing their cycles down a slope. Of course this often ended with the rider crashing into something. Unfortunately for Thankachan, the middle brother, the thing that broke his fall one day was a barbed wire fence at the bottom of the slope.
Like a knife, the wire cut a deep line on his belly wall. Thankachan's shout of pain brought his older sister Thankamma running. They stared in horror at the gash. Blood streamed out.
Thankamma was frightened by the amount of blood and how deep the cut seemed, but she was even more frightened by the thought of what her father would say. She was sure Thankachan would get a terrible beating for having played such a foolish and dangerous game.
Suddenly, she had an idea. She ran to the nearest rubber tree and scooped up the latex from the coconut shell cup. Then she smoothed it over the wound. The gooey sticky mess stuck to the skin and the wound and the bleeding stopped!
Sneaking back home, they made short work of hiding Thankachan's bloodied and torn shirt. They managed to keep the wound hidden from their father and in a few days it had healed completely!
Nowadays, doctors commonly use skin glue instead of stitches to hold wounds together. I will always say that it was Thankamma Aunty who invented the idea!
Needless to say, Thankachan's sisters loved him very much and probably spoiled him a bit. When older sister Kunjamma got married, it was to a very wealthy man with his own plantations, a car and a horse-drawn carriage. The new brother in law was very kind to the younger boys. He would send them the princely sum of Rs 100 as spending money, thereby sealing his popularity.
Soon it was time for Thankamma to marry. When the 'boy' Georgekutty came to see Thankamma, the brothers climbed up a tall mango tree and lay in wait to see what he looked like.
They didn't like what they saw at all. Georgekutty was clearly not a millionaire like their brother in law. He didn't look like the kind of person who would send them pocket money.
They scrambled down the tree and ran to warn Thankamma where she was getting dressed up to meet her future groom.
'Thankamma! Don't marry that guy!' they said to her. 'If you marry him, we will never speak to you again!'
Thankamma calmly carried on dressing. 'If my father tells me to marry him, I will marry him', she said.
And so it was that Georgekutty Uncle became a part of the family. Whether he knew about the younger boys' objections or not, when Georgekutty uncle married Thankamma Aunty, he adopted the boys as his own flesh and blood. He may not have had money to give them but he was always there for them.
When Thankachan and his friends got caught for sneaking a pitcher of toddy into their hostel room, it was Georgekutty who came to meet the principal. When they did it again and got suspended from college, it was again he who posed as Thankachan's guardian. This was a service he provided for Thankachan's roommates too!
Over the years, Georgekutty uncle, the rejected suitor, became the favourite brother in law.
Acres and acres of rubber trees stood in line like well behaved children at assembly. The air was cool and wildlife abounded. In the morning, the tappers would go from tree to tree making their spiral incisions on the bark and the trees would bleed their white sap into the coconut shells strapped around them.
The children roamed wild and free among the trees, far away from their parents' watchful eyes. Their father ruled the household like a dictator. Their mother was their protector but there was little even she could do if they made their dad angry.
Three young boys can get into all sorts of trouble and if they did, they would be soundly beaten by father.
One of their favourite games was racing their cycles down a slope. Of course this often ended with the rider crashing into something. Unfortunately for Thankachan, the middle brother, the thing that broke his fall one day was a barbed wire fence at the bottom of the slope.
Like a knife, the wire cut a deep line on his belly wall. Thankachan's shout of pain brought his older sister Thankamma running. They stared in horror at the gash. Blood streamed out.
Thankamma was frightened by the amount of blood and how deep the cut seemed, but she was even more frightened by the thought of what her father would say. She was sure Thankachan would get a terrible beating for having played such a foolish and dangerous game.
Suddenly, she had an idea. She ran to the nearest rubber tree and scooped up the latex from the coconut shell cup. Then she smoothed it over the wound. The gooey sticky mess stuck to the skin and the wound and the bleeding stopped!
Sneaking back home, they made short work of hiding Thankachan's bloodied and torn shirt. They managed to keep the wound hidden from their father and in a few days it had healed completely!
Nowadays, doctors commonly use skin glue instead of stitches to hold wounds together. I will always say that it was Thankamma Aunty who invented the idea!
Needless to say, Thankachan's sisters loved him very much and probably spoiled him a bit. When older sister Kunjamma got married, it was to a very wealthy man with his own plantations, a car and a horse-drawn carriage. The new brother in law was very kind to the younger boys. He would send them the princely sum of Rs 100 as spending money, thereby sealing his popularity.
Soon it was time for Thankamma to marry. When the 'boy' Georgekutty came to see Thankamma, the brothers climbed up a tall mango tree and lay in wait to see what he looked like.
They didn't like what they saw at all. Georgekutty was clearly not a millionaire like their brother in law. He didn't look like the kind of person who would send them pocket money.
They scrambled down the tree and ran to warn Thankamma where she was getting dressed up to meet her future groom.
'Thankamma! Don't marry that guy!' they said to her. 'If you marry him, we will never speak to you again!'
Thankamma calmly carried on dressing. 'If my father tells me to marry him, I will marry him', she said.
And so it was that Georgekutty Uncle became a part of the family. Whether he knew about the younger boys' objections or not, when Georgekutty uncle married Thankamma Aunty, he adopted the boys as his own flesh and blood. He may not have had money to give them but he was always there for them.
When Thankachan and his friends got caught for sneaking a pitcher of toddy into their hostel room, it was Georgekutty who came to meet the principal. When they did it again and got suspended from college, it was again he who posed as Thankachan's guardian. This was a service he provided for Thankachan's roommates too!
Over the years, Georgekutty uncle, the rejected suitor, became the favourite brother in law.
Sooooo very endearing ...wish achachen were here to read this...
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