Uplifting Aquatic Journeys

Summer vacation to the village was a double bonus for us children who stay in Kumbakonam  with our parents for our schooling. Our hearts would jump with joy  just with the  imagery of the trip. The delight of living in a big team  for a whole month and a half  and enjoying the waters was the high light of the vacation.

 At Kumbakonam the bath from the well was an effort and unless dad volunteered to hoist the bucket through the pulley and drench us with a copious 'water fall' of buckets. Otherwise  it was a monotonous obligation.

The vacation started in right earnest as we cross the river Kollidam. Amma would make it interesting by preparing tamarind rice and curd rice with potato fry and pickles very early in the morning. A short journey by bus (whose sides would be drenched up with our 'family vomiting spree') would land us on the banks of the river and to our waiting bullock cart. The bullock cart filled with hay and covered with a mandatory old bed sheet was capable of  bringing out any left overs in the stomach. The only advantage was that unlike the bus the person can jump down and vomit to his heart's content and run along the vehicle! The coracle (a small round boat made of wickerwork covered with a watertight material, propelled with a paddle) would be missing during the summer when water just flowed to allow the children unattended to drift along. Sitting in the knee deep cool waters and relishing delicious rice in the palms was  an ecstasy! And this was the first part of the double bonus! The empty bullock cart accompanying us through the waters made it a happy occasion for the bulls too sans the  human load.

The moment  we approached  the village  we jumped off the cart and  join our cousins, the welcome party waiting right at the little dried up Ponnaru river and  ran  behind the cart in gay abandon  along with them till we reached the home. The second part of the double bonus was our grand group trip to the Pappakulam( our village tank) waters!

During summer when water was scarce the tank was a protected area. The pond water was utilised not only for bathing but cooking  and other purposes too. There was a separate tank from where we could bring the drinking water even though the colour of the water resembled a light variation of  South Indian coffee! There were separate guards for both the tanks. The bathers who use the Pappakulam tank were warned not to dirty the water and clear out as quickly as possible. Every day around eleven when  we plan the bathing trip our grand mother would warn us to use the toilet and never ever to urinate while bathing. " If ever you do it the Lord will reprimand you on the Great Judgment Day and order you to separate the urine from water which you can never do. And Lucifer who is waiting in the wings will  take you straight unto the depth of hell."

 The fear of Lucifer rather than that of the Lord made us use our gully (no toilets then! Thank you!) before we entered Pappakulam. The guard usually was a known person. As he reached our steps of the tank he would enquire about  our arrival and the general welfare of the family and smilingly warn us to bathe quickly and not to play in the water to which we would nod with great reverence. But the moment he was out of sight the brass pots brought in fill the water on return trip home would be turned upside down to become the learner's  swimming floatation device! Pushing the ten pots into the water with both hands on it, the twenty  free legs  readily  struck the water with great vengeance  competing for the maximum sound! The little girls formed another group and fought for the biggest bubbles with their skirts!  From the reeds the small fish would join the game with their tiny little bites into the flesh! From the  nearby steps my uncle would perform the magic of floating in the waters folding both his hands in a 'Namaste' posture ! From there he would reach the other end and  pluck a single pink lily and holding it with both his hands  would float again back! He deserved a big clap and we indeed did it with great gusto! The guard would rush from the other end and would threaten us in his raised his voice to clear out of the waters failing which we had to face of the dire consequence of getting scolded by the elders! But we knew that this was for a public show to prove that he was not partial to any one in particular. Heart in heart he knew that these were the ones who would coax their mothers to give a  good meal  for his night dinner! A great example of a symbiotic relationship!!

Even though Kollidam was not far away from our village the visit was a rarity since the unwritten rule was that at least a few adults should accompany this care free group. But with Pappakulam  at your beck and call  for hours together no one was ready to request the elders for the river trip since they had to abide with their 'unethical' rules and conditions  especially the timings!

Even today  the temptation  to get into this Pappakulam waters is great but the avaricious Panchayat (the village admin committee) sort of negated the lure by converting it to a tank to grow fishes and make money. The stench of decaying vegetable and other feeds and  keeps you off!  I wish and hope that some good soul would bring  back our beloved Pappakuam tank to its past glory!

 It was destined that for all the atrocities committed in the Pappakulam tank  that I should go solo into the waters. There was no mud in these waters, no small fishlings  biting your flesh. It was a  sanitised and chlorinated one (on a day to day basis.) Yes the swimming pool at Singapore was my monopoly since I was the jobless person around the four apartment block where we lived. Even though I could do the magic of floating in the water with folded hands like my uncle the ache for the claps and adulations and laughter of the village tank .....continues to sit stubbornly at a corner of my heart!

It is a very rare spectacle to see the seventy plus passionately to get together every year. The PSG 1965 batch does it very religiously every year! These accomplished engineers make sure they are accompanied by their spouses and sometimes their children and grand children too! The annual event for this year was at  Mysuru  arranged beautifully by  a colleague and his whole enthusiastic family! The first day's morning programme was a visit to Thala Kad where we were promised a good bath in River Kaveri. I was overjoyed. Alighting from the bus the  gang walked to the river. I threw my  towel and slippers at the bank and right royally walked into the waters! It was only after some time I realised that I was alone and none of the ladies were into that game! They were watching the river from the banks as if it was a rare exhibit! I turned around and looked. There were just a measly number of men who could be spotted in the waters!  Though it was bit of an embarrassment  to start with I promised myself a good time what come may and there I was floating around folding my hands to my heart's content!!

One among the gang was commenting that soaking too much into the water was not good for the muscles at the old age but the rustic Pappakulam  swimmer cared a heck and her mind was all set to maximise the joy  in the cool sparkling  Kaveri water!!