When Ram helped his father to the rear seat of the cab, Kumar held the old man on the other side. “Appa, you board in front,” Kumar said as he sat left to his grandfather. “Mount Elizebeth hospital, please.”
Ram texted his son a frisky message in WhatsApp: How I love such rare chances of long rides when I don’t need to be at the wheels, thanks to the delay at the service station.
After smiling at Kumar through the rear view mirror, Ram looked keenly at the beige coloured bust figurine that dangled above the dashboard and then gave an intrigued smile. The driver said, “He is lucky for me.” The name card stuck on the interior of the window shield said he was Derick Tan. He drove northeast.
“But do you know who this is?”
“Ya lah. Gandhi. An old friend who visited India a few years back brought back this souvenir.”
“He not only preached nonviolence but lived his ideology to show the world. My dad, though a critic of Gandhi, is his namesake.”
‘Vaishnava Jana thothenekahiyejhe, PeeDparaayijaaNere’
Derrick looked a little inquisitively at the reclined wrinkly figure through the rear view. “That’s the favourite song of Gandhi,” Ram tried to explain. “It means – he and he alone is the man of God, who knows the pain and the misery of others.”
“Shall I switch on the 96.8fm?”
“Sorry but we’re not interested in Tamil FM.”
“Kiss 92fm?”
“Yes,” said Kumar and, “No,” said Ram simultaneously in a hurry. The driver laughed courteously. “Switch off?”
“Thanks.”
“Is your father unwell? Do you want the air con reduced?” he asked prudently.
“Used to air con that he is, he should be fine. He is mostly reminiscing. We are on our way to walk him through his annual health check,” Interestingly, Ram started liking Derrick.
The temple, hundreds of years old, with a couple of large Marutham[1]trees, with buttressed trunks, a male and a female said to cure heart diseases, stood one each on north and south banks of the Varaha river.
After the Perumal temple, North agraharam[2] and the South agraharam, both reasonably wide, ran parallel to each other and towards. As we walk a few kilometers past the bus stand in the main road we can reach the temple, and down the steps, one can touch the gently flowing waters of the big river.
Since early morning jubilant celebrations of independence were in full swing all over the town. Most of the households had simple payasam, a sweet pudding made out of the British rationed rice and some simple floral decorations within their means.
The auspicious music of the nadaswaram[3], along with the heavy rhythms of the drums from the gramophones blasting in the loud speakers in the open ground added to the austerity. One-sided papers crudely stuck together and circumspectly painted with watercolour and colour pencils to form tri coloured flags adorned the front of the houses. Joyful excitement and undefined expectation filled the air.
***
Turning left at Bukit Panjang Road, the taxi went straight first and swirled to slide around into the BKE that stretched about two kilometers.
As if half asleep, the grandfather murmured, “Lakshmi, can you give me my small pillow?” Kumar asked very softly, “Thaathaa[4], are you okay?” Slightly opening his eyes, the old man gave a very slight affirmative nod and a crooked smile. Ram turned to look back. “He is reminded of my mother. But wonder why all of a sudden after so many years?” he said with a tone of concern to his son in Tamil.
“Do you understand Tamil?”
“No lah,” Derrick laughed loudly. “I wish I could.”
“My son speaks Mandarin fairly well.”
Kumar gave a deliberate cough to indicate his displeasure, for which his father scorned mildly with a contrite grin.
“Oh, that’s very quiet good. Young people, these days are smart. I have heard my father talk Tamil. My grandfather came from China in his teens, worked as coolie for an affluent merchant who had a big shop near the Singapore River. Father had a childhood friend called Kuppu, who joined the INA[5].
“Bose called it Azad Hind Fauj.”
“It seems father missed him so much but never heard of him after that.”
“Oh how sad!”
“My dad used to work as a janitor in Cathay Cinema hall. I heard that’s where Netaji proclaimed the provision of ‘free India’ and after two days declared war on the US and Britain and with the help of the then ruling Japanese. He went on a recruitment drive. Those days Cathay Cinema hall, one of the tallest of buildings in Singapore, was the center for the British colonial as well as the Japanese rule.”
Pointing at the dangling Gandhi with the toothless and hence innocent smile he asked Derrick, “What else do you know of him?”
“Oh, not much, Sir,..”
“My son here would not know even what you might know,” he interrupted to tease. Kumar gave a pugnacious glare at his father.
“.. except that he brings me good luck,” Derrick completed.
“Like the laughing Buddha, you mean?”
“A sentiment of that kind, you can say. Gandhi said, ‘Nature and the greens are not our inheritance from our ancestors, but they are on loan from our future generations, right?”
“Oh! So, you watch Channel New Asia.”
“Ha, ha, ha! Once in a while,lah. When I rest at home, I like to watch ‘The family affair,’ ‘A house of its time’ and such series.”
“It’s amazing that almost a century back Gandhi was so clear about the importance of using our natural resources wisely.”
Kumar’s WhatsApp said: ‘Appa, as always you have forgotten your promise that you won’t indulge in any conversation with the taxi driver.’
Ram made an amused eye contact with him on the rear view.
The taxi sped under the Eco Bridge, the first connecting biodiversity in South East Asia, connecting the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve to the catchment Nature Reserve.
“Isn’t it beautiful!”
“Yeah, at 16 million dollars!”
“But every single sapling nurtured is for the future.”
“Varaha, the third incarnation of the boar faced Lord Vishnu could not possibly happen in this era to save his consort, mother Earth,” The old man murmured in Tamil.
“What’s he saying?” Derrick asked a little serious faced.
“Oh, the importance of saving our Earth.”
***
A cool breeze brushed the body. Along the banks of the Varaha with the slowly setting sun, the silhouettes of those clad in dhoti, men of all ages with forehead tonsure and tufts of various sizes at the nape of their necks, engaged in their daily ritual of evening sun salutation, made a picturesque sight. With the holy threads across their torsos, they offered the river water with both hands, with chants, facing the sun.
Amongst the young children playing around merrily, only a few infantile girls were seen. Some children played with sand. They let the fine, slightly moist, soft and sand from their palms through the fingers as they talked, watched. There were no female adults.
“Madras Presidency of British India, they say, would be split into different states. Will Periyakulam taluk remain in Madurai District after that?”
“I will badly miss my boss, James Prescott. What a gem of a person he is! He says his young children are not willing to migrate to Birmingham. They are begging to stay.”
Men of all ages sat in groups mostly talking about politics. “Right from ‘June 3 plan’ the astrologers across the country were outraged because 15th August for them was an unfortunate and unholy date.”
“But Lord Mountbatten has been adamant on that date. They say it’s his lucky date.”
“That’s why the astrologers suggested the midnight hour between Aug 14 and 15 because as per the Hindu calendar, a new day starts only at sunrise, you see.”
“Nehru delivered his speech exactly between 11:51 pm and 12:39 am last night.”
“To mark the independence of the nation, the holy conch was blown at the strike of twelve. Did you tune your radio?” boasted a young man from an affluent family. His six-year-old daughter went round and round to watch her bright blue ankle silk skirt with golden brocades swell balloon-like. “Sit here, Lakshmi. The sand falls on everyone, can’t you see?”
“Oh, the valves of mine have given away weeks back. I need to get them fixed,” said his friend.
“Why don’t you accept that you don’t have the power supply?” he laughed.
“Then, why did you come here for the news?” teased the other. “Mohan, instead of sitting here watching the elders talk, why don’t you go and play with her?” he asked his son.
“Of course, to talk with you all.” There were cheerful chattering and laughter all around.
“Getting independence the day before the new moon day bothers Sasthri, our neighbour. He strongly believes it would have been much better if the big day was tomorrow instead.”
“But look at Ibrahim Ravuthar, the tailor there! He is happily wearing the tricolor flag on his shirt rushing to the mosque for his Friday evening prayer.” Salim, his puerile son, waved happily to his classmate Mohan.
‘Aaduvomepallupaaduvome’ [6]The group discussions subsequently stopped when the Municipality loudspeaker started blasting national songs one after the other for the next half an hour. The ebullient atmosphere set many of them to join in singing.
Before the sunset, the news broadcast. “Sir Archibald Edward Nye stepped down as the Governor of Madras yesterday, and O.P. Ramaswamy Reddiyar takes office as the first Chief Minister of the state.”
When the taxi exited at Whitley Road, Ram asked, “Do you know that Gandhi stayed years in South Africa?”
“No,” Derrick said shyly.
“The seed of freedom fight was sowed in him when he was there.”
Appa, will you stop boasting your knowledge of your high school history? Regret coming with you. Now, stop being so coltish.
Putting away his mobile into his shirt pocket, Ram asked, “How long have you been driving a cab?”
“For about five or six years.”
“And before that?”
“I did nothing much actually, despite my business degree. I have been in and out of jobs. All thanks to the wrong company at my younger age, addictively, I gambled away for many years until I lost everything inherited and earned,” he said without any sign of remorse.
“Which part of the island do you reside in?”
“I live in Whampoa.”
“Children must have grown up.”
“All three are grown up. My youngest girl should be about your son’s age,” he pointed to the back seat.
How could you assume so shamelessly, pa? What if he had no kids? I won’t board a taxi with you ever again my life, I swear.’
Politely Ram nodded to his right and then turned to his left to watch the roadside through the window.
“Are you from India, Sir?”
“Oh, we came here before this guy was born, that’s about 22 years back,” he waved his hand backward.
“Then you are a local already.”
“Yeah, you could say that.”
“But you don’t look or talk like one. I thought you had migrated recently to Singapore.”
Pride written all over his face, Ram smiled at Derick with gratification.
Happy? Accomplished your triumphant target of having preserved your identity and the roots?
They turned into Stevens Road after Whitley Road when Ram asked, “Is your wife also employed?”
“My ex-wife, I hope she is employed.”
“Oh…”
“We are divorced.”
This century’s biggest divorce is happening in Europe, and here you are talking about the story of one of the millions of common divorces. And an Empire that so firmly believed in dividing and ruling is on the verge of a division.
“Sorry.”
“That’s okay. It’s been more than a decade now, since the year I went to prison for causing severe hurt to a guy in a loan shark-related fight. All that I earn so hardto go for the alimony and the endless debts. I get to eat my simple meals.”
A tense silence fell for the next few minutes. Gliding out of Scotts Road, the taxi turned left into Orchard Road. ‘I have a question for both you men;do you know the name of our senior Lee’s mother?’ Reading WhatsApp, Ram turned to look searchingly at Kumar, who with pressed lips widened his eyes. As he paid in cash for the taxi fare, he asked Derrick, “Do you know our LKY’s mother’s name?”
The driver looked blank for seconds before twisting to stretch out his right hand to give the change, “Thanks, Sir. It was great talking to you.” He smiled.
Controlling his laughter, Kumar said looking first at the driver and then at his father, “Chua Jim Neo.”
“Oh, okay.”
After getting out Kumar called out, “Thaththaa, we have reached.” There was no response of any kind. Attempting to shake him gently, Kumar touched his arm. It felt icy cold and lifeless. With a clouded face, he looked up at his father skittishly.
Ram asked, “What?”
[1]marutham -Terminalia Arjuna tree
[2]agraharam – was the Brahmin neighbourhood of a village and consisted of continuous row houses on either side of the road.
[3]Nadaswaram– an ancient double reed wind instrument from South India. It is used as a traditional classical instrument in South India.
[4]Thaathaa – grandfather
[5]INA – Indian National Army
[6]‘Aaduvome pallu paaduvome’ – Lets dance and sing to celebrate, one of the many Indian national song in Tamil, written to celebrate Indian independence by the great poet Bharathi long before the big day.
