On Diwali day, as usual, several cultural programs aired on Tamil TV channels. In the morning, Vijay TV featured a ‘Kavi Sammelan’ (poets’ gathering), which I missed. However, at the end of the program, the well-known poet and film lyricist Vairamuthu shared a story worth retelling.
In a village school, there was a Tamil teacher named Raman. His wife had fallen seriously ill and was bedridden. During this time, another teacher named Mary joined the school. Since she too had a keen interest in Tamil literature, Raman and Mary spent much time discussing and enjoying conversations about it. Seeing how much her husband enjoyed Mary’s company, Raman’s wife realized that he was drifting away from her, feeling that she was no longer of any use to him. One day, she decided to leave him, and they got divorced.
After the divorce, Raman married Mary, and they had two children, a boy and a girl. Mary named their son ‘Alex Pandiyan’ and their daughter ‘Andal Mary’—the latter name inspired by Andal, the famous Vaishnavite poet-saint from Tamil Nadu.
Years later, Raman learned that his first wife had passed away. Though they had divorced, he still felt that she had been his wife, so he attended her funeral. Upon returning home, however, he was shocked to find the house locked and his wife and children missing. Stunned, he said, “Now she too has left me.” Just then, Mary returned with the children, their son with a shaved head. Seeing this, Raman was even more shocked. Mary explained, “According to Hindu tradition, the first son must shave his head when his mother dies. That’s why I took your son to the funeral and shaved his head.”
Then, Vairamuthu said, “This is not the climax of the story. The author wrote: ‘When Raman listened to what Mary said, he knelt before her, and Raman said Amen.’”
DB
10-11-15
Sudheer added, “I’m eagerly waiting to understand what exactly Mary said that made Raman say ‘Amen.’”
Sudheer
10-11-15
The story ended there. Vairamuthu, narrating a story he had read, mentioned that he was overwhelmed by the way the author concluded it, leaving him spellbound. Vairamuthu, an atheist, did not view the climax as Mary shaving her son’s head for her former co-wife. Instead, it was the moment when Raman knelt and said “Amen” that captivated him. As readers, we have the freedom to interpret this in our own way.
DB
11-11-15
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