Friday, January 4, 2008

Basanthi ::::::::::::::::::: A Real Story :PAST 1

The year 1969..One of the most beautiful Universities of Tamizh Nadu peacefully located near a magnificient temple town .I joined engineering. I am Selvaraju alias Chinna Zamin (Younger Zamindar). I was also called Chinna Pannai (CP).Belonging to the Zamindar family on the banks of river Cauvery and 18 villages under us,of several thousand acres employing over 14000 farmers in the field during the peak harvest season.The only son,my father ,a benevolent dictator, ran the Zamin in a most effficient manner.A forward thinking man,wanted me to study so that I could incorporate the latest technology in the Zamin.

While I kept a low key profile never bringing in my background among my friends,slowly most of them started talking about the power we wielded in the district ,in a hush hush manner.Always a top ranker in the class ,Engineering fascinated me since my maths was exceptionally strong.A typical research person my professors used to comment !!In my fourth year,my friends forced me to contest an election for Mess Secretary post.Just no one contested against me and won it unanimously.

The location of the hostel was close to the railway station and bordering the campus and railway station was a no mans land,occupied by GYPSIES,popularly known as Nari Koravas .Generally nomadic in nature,they had set up tents and for reasons best known to them ,had settled down there for a few years now.The men folk carrying guns perhaps junks from First World war .Hunting around in the bushes for birds and small animals one could see them around our campus in their loin cloth and varieties of beads around their neck.Their language sounded totally alien to us.The women folk very good in making colourful bead malas used to sell them on the roads.
The hostel mess used to be one source of food for them and the left overs were generally distributed to them.

It was Hostel Day celebrations.There was competition between various hostels as to who did the function in the grandest fashion..no awards,only prestige at stake !!
One visit to my zamin ensured my fathers promise to under write the total expenses besides 100 sacks of rice,pulses etc etc,500 poultry,150 goats......This would have been sufficient just not for our hostel but several hostels put together.But I could never convince my father since he wanted his son to show his might !!
The hostel day went off with the pomp which perhaps the college had never seen ever.The food was so much in surplus and so we decided to call the representatives of the korava community and take the food .

Around 10 pm ,as the function and dinner came to a close,we opened the rear gate of the hostel mess to allow the Koravas to cart away the food.Some of them drunk were making so much noise and I got furious and went out to shout at them.As I came out,a group of 10 koravas I could spot and slightly away below the street lamp,there she was,breath takingly beautiful girl belonging to the korava group.Very tall as she was,with the head lowered,perhaps due to the behaviour of others in the group.As she gently lifted her head and locked her eyes with mine,I found myself mesmerised by the vulnerabilty of her looks,a divinity and an aloofness which made her look distinct and regal in her traditional clothes.I became numb and didnt know what took over me in the midst of the chaos there..BASANTHI,shouted one elder in the group and she rushed towards him...So she was BASANTHI,perhaps my Basanthi !!

PART 1 of 3

TC
CU

57 comments:

Joy said...

Hi CU,


Is that CP u??? Wonderful narration.Waiting eagerly for the rest of the parts...

Take care.

aMus said...

Basanthi!!!i'll be waiting for te tonga now :)

hmmm..koravas...i've heard this te first time...

is there a jhalak of you in CP :) do tell?

Compassion Unlimitted said...

@Joy
Welcome..Who me ? LOL..Am I not known for twists ans turns !!This is going to be a pretty straight forward story..
The next one its at least 10 days away
TC
CU

Compassion Unlimitted said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Compassion Unlimitted said...

@Thinking aloud
You Too Suma..Was sholay before 1969 or afterwards ..lol.

The only Jhalak I can see at this point of time between CP and CU is..C..lol

TC
CU

Preethi said...

Reminded me of Ruskin bond's 'Time stops at Shamli'
i can almost see basanthi's face. Although i had to struggle to get hema malini's face out of the way first ;)

Compassion Unlimitted said...

@Preethi
Hmm..as said earlier,Sholay,and the dream girl are creating an identity crisis here for our Basanthi !
Thanks for passing by
TC
CU

aMus said...

definitely time for a name change...:)

just read ur comment and u getting more and more humorous...i think this is going to be a great year!!!

Compassion Unlimitted said...

@Thinking aloud
Between the years,its past 1230 there,dont you remember my story on moondram pirai..lol
TC
CU

Preethi said...

Basanthi... hahaha.. You are brining back images of Sholay!!
I am waiting for Part 2 now!! You are so good.. I really do hope you make a book of your lovely short stories.. I sure would buy the book

Compassion Unlimitted said...

@ Preethi
Hmm..book on short stories..now lets name it..could it be ..Yarns of the twilight days..Or any other suggestions from BLOG MATES welcome too !!
TC
CU

Sairekha said...

I could picture the whole story in my head! Like a Tamizh movie..:) Would really like to see where you take this..:) Wondering... Why did you decide to go with Basanthi and not a name closer to a tamizh name? :)

I must admit, I'll go with the crowd.. sholay has literally taken jai, veeru, basanthi and gabbar to immortality!:) So Basanthi does throw you off track... but why not? She could be named so coz her mommy is a north indian korathi? :)

Compassion Unlimitted said...

@Ziah
Welcome..Hmm..looks the story is having a great begining !!Contoversies.I mean..lol..
Honestly I was wanting to your help as a Lawyer when Mr Sippy filed the case on me !!!
Well,the name Basanthi needs to be jettisoned..looks like !!
Man proposes Jantha disposes

I will go back to Basanthis original name in next episode...
tc
cu

Sandhya said...

Quite interesting tale...........

so, when we can expect the 2nd part....

Compassion Unlimitted said...

@Sandhya
Hi welcome..May be 10 days !!
TC
CU

Kavitha Jay said...

hey very good start...seekaram next podunga :)
i like how u choose names that r very uncommon unlike me..hehe..

Compassion Unlimitted said...

@ Mystery
nalla idea..Name seems to be taking our basanthi to fame..mystery surrounds Thee !!lol
Amendments of name permitted in blog ???
TC
CU

aMus said...

so basanthi is going to get rechristened!!! hmm good...

Compassion Unlimitted said...

@Thinking aloud
Welcome..I am confusion personified now..To Do or Not to Do..The Story name Basanthi or her actual name M.....a ?
Any suggestions..LoL
TC
CU

ceedy said...

What a teaser.....this was like a movie trailer....everything in the right place and right script....

anxiously waiting for the next part.....

I really hope she is YOUR basanthi - but the directorial scissors are in your hand ;)

Compassion Unlimitted said...

@c e e d y
Welcome c e e d y..Thanks for the nice words..Good you didnt have any comments on the name Basanthi!!
A story of over three decades to be condensed in 3 parts..thats going to my pressure..keep passing by
TC
CU

Anush said...

i am impatient.

Compassion Unlimitted said...

@crazyBugga
LOL..what can I say..Patience pays !!
TC
CU

Keshi said...

nice CU :) Im bak for good hehe.

Keshi.

Compassion Unlimitted said...

@Keshi
Welcome Back Keshi ..Hope you had a great Holiday !
TC
CU

durjoy datta said...

waiting for part two!
150 goats??????

Compassion Unlimitted said...

@durjoy datta
Welcome..That was a good one and gives me an idea too !!
TC
CU

anits said...

hi CU...interesting cant wait for part 2 ;) tcare

m.flowerr said...

Basanthi??? haha.....welcome back on blog!
Am eager to know what wud happen in part 2:))

Compassion Unlimitted said...

@ anits
Welcome..the pressure is on me now to write the next one..hopefully by the weekend !!
TC
CU

Compassion Unlimitted said...

@m.flowerr
Welcome..I am also thinking hard how to take it along in part 2..lol
TC
CU

Prats said...

Seeing that Sholay has gotten embedded into my system, this story of yours perks up my interest, even through foggy goan spirited heart of mine....

Waiting for Basanthi to take over..... :)

And i've posted!!

Sameera Ansari said...

Your way of storytelling seems as good as Ruskin Bond/R K Narayan!

As for the story,was Basanti as beautiful as the one in Sholay? :)

Devilish Angel said...

Appuram enna achu?

The Artist said...

Thodarum....when is the next episode?

Sairekha said...

Dear CU! Sippy cant sue you Sir. [If he does, I'm here no?:) Oru kai paarthuduvom? LOL] The name is a common Indian name and your Basanthi is very different from Hemamalini. Though I had pointed out the striking ability to connect the two thanks to Sholay, I also mentioned that going by that name is certainly your creative prerogative. Basanthi is a gorgeous flower and fairly symbolic of revolution.

Controversy also brings with it interest. I suggest, you stick with the name no matter what we bloggers say..:) I would.

So, whenz chapter next?

Compassion Unlimitted said...

@Ziah
AAhhaaa...engeyo poiteenga..what a statement..oru kai paatthuduvom..//Basanthi is a gorgeous flower and fairly symbolic of revolution// wonderful
should be out in a week I guess
TC
CU

Compassion Unlimitted said...

@The Artist
SOOOOOOON i guess
TC
CU

Compassion Unlimitted said...

@ Mythily
Welcome,First time I guess..
Yosikka vidunga..donno how to take it further..any ideas ?
TC
CU

Compassion Unlimitted said...

@*~*{Sameera}*~*
ASK chinna pannai( CP)..He will ask ..Who is Hema Malini !!lol

Compassion Unlimitted said...

@Prats
Foggy Goan spirit...wonderful..will go to see if your blog is on that!!
TC
CU

Vidya said...

Thanks for your wishes and wish you too a great year. Am curious how you found me :)

Your Basanthi reminds me of Sholay. Is she as talkative and beautiful as the one in Sholay? (hema)... Yet to read your other posts.

Compassion Unlimitted said...

@Vidya
Oops..Ddnt I tell you..Sorry about it..landed up on your blog drifting from Dheekshanya/Keshi..
As I said earlier,If you ask CP to compare between his Basanthi and Hema,the obvious answer would be Basanthi..As far as I am concerned Silence is golden !!
Please keep passing by when you have the time
TC
CU

Gayatri Bhadran said...

i brightened up the minute a potential love interest came into the scene, i AM a self confessed sucker for mills and boons types :D

looking forward to the sequels!

Compassion Unlimitted said...

@ Gayatri
Hmm.that makes it interesting..I am sure if you will not be disappointed since its a straight forward real/reel life story !!
TC
CU

Aarthi said...

So after remix..trying out a revolution...love between a korava girl[ aren't they called korathi???] and a zamindar's son...wow...awaiting the twist in the story..if any...:)

Compassion Unlimitted said...

@ Aarthi
What a dissection of whatever matter left in my brains !!
You are right.She is callaed Kuratthi

TC
CU

UL said...

Love struck? :) Look forward to the next pieces, happy 08 to you and yours, CU.

Compassion Unlimitted said...

@ UL
Hi..Welcome UL..long time..Love struck..that was the end of part 1..tormented would be the part 2, I guess !!Who can escape once struck..lol
One more thing,how do I reach your posting..if I click on UL,I do reach your blog site but not to posting..pls suggest !!
tks
TC
CU

Compassion Unlimitted said...

@ UL
Belated wishes for a happy New Year UL..Tks
TC
CU

ceedy said...

dear CU....

are you going to do aamir and take three years to make the next story or you are waiting for basanthi to grom a little older to understand the nuances of life :)

i did not comment on basanthi bcos everyone else is doing it :)

get it - ab public is waiting for your next realease :)

Compassion Unlimitted said...

@c e e d y
Great guess,how did you know she was below 18 !!
Will upload on saturday positively
Thanks for the pressure..I am a lazy guy,as it is..lol
TC
CU

Preetilata【ツ】 said...

hey! wen r u going 2 mk a movie...A Block Buster.. :)

really fren..what a storyteller u r. can actualy visualize the who story...n ur Basanthi...she is a real beauty on earth..that 2 a rare 1 :P.

thnx 4 ur wake up call fren. have updated my blog. plz ck out d 7th jan's post. i hv 2 awrds 4 u. i hp u will lik thm. i wud b more thn happy if u accpt thm 2.

bhalo theko.
:) :) :)

Compassion Unlimitted said...

@preetilata
Spinning Yarn seems to be running in my blood,from whatever you are telling me !!
Will definitely go to your site soon..
Abaar esho !!
TC
CU

Compassion Unlimitted said...

@ வேதா
Nalla velai..Baasanthi nu potta enna panni iruppengalo..Nandri
TC
CU

Sudha said...

Basanthi (i think you have seen Sholey).Hey where do you get the names for your characters .Nice selections.Let me read your next post.

Compassion Unlimitted said...

@Sudhakar
Sholay..what Sholay ?Which sholay?
All that I know Is Cholay Bhature !!
TC
CU