Kavipuyal Subbu

Imagination a feel panni elutha mudhiyathu, 
Aanal feelings a imagine panni elutha mudiyum, 
Athuthaan kavithai . 


Suriyan aal velitcham kudukka mudiyum aanal irutil uranga mudiyathu, 
Thatt aal saapadu pidikka mudiyum aanal sapida mudiyathu, 
Meenkal aal kulikka mudiyum aanal thorthikolla mudiyathu, 
Mirugangal aal vai naal saapida mudiyum aanal sirikka mudiyathu, 
Ithu yellam mudintha manithanukko valkayil nimmadhi kedayadhu . 

  
Mullai mullalthaan edukaventrum, 
Vairathai vairathaal thaan arukavendrum, 
Programmil ulla bugs ai agatra naam enna pootchigala  ? 

Mrs. Crowne the supercop (Short story)

It was 6 in the morning, the sun doing its routine, shining through the windows of her bedroom.
Miss crowne working for NYPD dressed up to do her morning routine exercise -- cycling 10 miles up north.

her boyfriend Smith was sleeping late. "better not disturb him he has a long day ahead of him".

by about 7.10 crowne returned home. when she opened the front door she was bewildered to find smith lying on the floor, face down with blood soaking the carpet by the bullet piercing his head from the sniper shot.the ominous silence of the room was destroyed by the creeking of a fan over his body.

crowne knew too well who did it.she was expecting this.

she immediately reached for her gun kept in the drawer next to the door. she knew that the killer was still in there from the fresh smell of cigarettes.

crowne inched her way to the corpse,  removing her shoes to keep out the noise, "he must have been alerted by the door knob anyway", she thought.

the only way out of the house was through the front door, so he had to pass through her to get out.

"i am going to kill him this time, that ..." her thoughts were disturbed by the apparent noise of vase breaking. "in the kitchen".

she jumped her way into the kitchen with the revolver aim following her vision. there in the far end she saw a man donned in black pullover. "it is you mark!... you, YOU  didnt have to kill smith."      

mark was a sniper shooting expert, the best in business, working for kingpin gerard. crowne was interfering too much with their dealings and they wanted to get rid of her once and for all.

she charged at him diving the whole length of dining table aiming the revolver at his forehead.



she fell on her back thrown back, by the bullet force piercing her heart. everything around her was dark and her ears still resonating the swift sound of bullet.

she was too slow for him.

"child's play" were the last words she heard as she saw him disappear through the front door.

laying down still in the last moments of her life she thought ,"this shouldn't be happening"
"where did it go wrong?" "am i not a hero?"
"this was how it always worked, heroes always worked their way through villains killing
hundreds of thugs and evading thousands of bullets effortlessly. That’s how they show in movies."

“but yes, this is reality. the movies fool people showing a super hero. There is no super hero. No super hero, no sup …” her mind failing her

 

"where am i?". "phone service in heaven?"

 

the voice became louder and louder as she regained her conscience. "am i not dead?"

"hello miss crowne. AJ here. director asked me to brief you about today's shoot"

"you enter your house, find your boyfriend dead, search for the killer, dodge his bullets, kill him, escape from 40 thugs surrounding you dodging their bullets and get out of the house before the whole place blows up".

"this is more like it", she said replacing the receiver.
  

My experiences with Thatha

Thatha had always been a man of few words. He was soft-spoken and concise. Thatha liked to be around family, loved his family, however he seldom expressed his feelings. He took pride in his roots and placed great value on matters of ancestral importance. He was quick to adapt to the new technologies. He carried a cellphone with him and was in sync with the internet age.

Thatha was very systematic in everything he did. He lived by the clock, but also had time for everything. He was punctual and most times early for his appointments.

Thatha loved his work. To say he lived to work is an understatement. From my experiences, Thatha would prioritize his work over family. Of course talking of Thatha’s professional success is not complete without mentioning about his wife, my grandmother. As a person as dedicated to work as Thatha was, he did not have time for family, and that is where my grandmother shined and still shines. My grandmother is to the family what my thatha is to his work and DLA.

Thatha did have a lot of respect for her. “She is like a mother to me”, he often told. Some years back my grandmother was admitted to the hospital. It was perhaps the only time I saw Thatha very upset. He would sit in the hospital corridor everyday waiting patiently for my grandmother’s recovery.

Thatha was not a typical grandfather. He did not shower me with gifts, but did instill values. From my very young age Thatha would emphasize on family values; teaching difference between want and need; importance of saving money and investing on land. If we walked to a place instead of hiring an auto, Thatha would give me the money and tell me I earned it. Thatha did not like borrowing money or taking gifts from others. He would often say that it would cause unnecessary obligation towards the giver. While I did not understand most of his ideals at that time, now as I grow older, I realize I learnt some of life’s important lessons very early, from Thatha.

Thatha loved to watch movies. Occasionally he stayed up late at night to watch a movie. He enjoyed the experience of watching the movie more than the movie itself. Thatha also liked to hike and explore the wilderness.

Thatha lived a simple life and was never attached to any material objects, unless it was of ancestral importance to him. He would not spend money on himself, but saved everything for this family. One cannot guess how much I achieved by studying his lifestyle. Thatha was actually an open book, an affable person by nature, who single-handedly handled many hardships to make sure his family was comfortable and successful.

I am blessed to have Prof. V. I. Subramoniam as my Thatha, and hope to make him proud one day.