Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
(Mother)
Tripuraneni Gopichand
Translator
GRK Murty
As Babji is getting ready to leave for Madras on some work, his three-
year-old son cries saying, “I will also come.” His wife says, “Take him with
you, he can see Chennapatnam.” But he has no interest whatsoever.
However, owing to the child’s crying on the one hand and his wife’s
suggestion on the other, he can’t but agree.
The train going to Madras comes to his town at 9 o’clock in the night.
Ensuring that his son has his dinner and after himself having dinner, he
and his son arrive at the railway station by 8 o’clock with minimum
luggage for convenience of the journey. That day the train arrives one
hour late… In the meanwhile, the child starts pestering him. He wants
him to buy everything that he sees. He just had dinner, yet seeing the
vendor, he insists on buying the tyrusadam1 packet. Despite his repeated
pleas, he doesn’t give up till he purchases. After purchasing, he says, “I
don’t want”. He does not keep quiet till it is thrown off. At last, the train
arrives. Taking the kid, Babji boards the second class compartment. The
lower berth is vacant. Another upper berth is also vacant. Spreading the
bed on the upper berth, he sits on the vacant lower berth with his son.
*****
Late in the night, he suddenly wakes up, feeling that somebody is pulling
his shirt. He peeps out with heavy eyes. The gentleman sitting in the
lower berth is pointing his finger towards the berth where his son is
sleeping. Babji looks. His son is not sleeping. Sitting in the middle of the
berth, he is weeping profusely.
Rubbing his eyes, Babji gets down and sits beside his son.
Rubbing his eyes, he says, “Amma too sleeps beside me.” It seems Amma
too was sleeping beside him. Perhaps, he meant that I should sleep
beside him. The way he puts forward his desire, makes Babji laugh.
“Alright, I will also sleep beside you, come on go to sleep”, says Babji.
His son lies down. By his side, Babji lays down. Piercing through the
darkness, the train is passing. Passengers in the compartment are all
swinging in sleep. Babji could not get sufficient space to sleep. Yet,
fearing that if he moves, the child may wake up, he manages somehow.
A station has come. Gone. Babji feels that everything is alright. Feels that
his son is asleep. He decides within himself never to entertain such a
relationship with him again. But in the meanwhile, Babji doubts that his
son is crying within himself. He turns to look at him. His son is not
sleeping. He is sobbing silently.
“What babu2?”
No reply.
But his son intensifies his weeping. Babji fears that the co-passengers,
being disturbed from their sleep, may despise him.
2
Babu—affectionate way of calling a son.
“Quiet babu, quiet!” he pleads with his son. After he cools down a little,
he enquires,
“Yes! Getting.”
“Sleep babu, sleep”, says Babji. He puts him on the berth and lay down
beside him. Lulls him. Yet, his son does not stop crying. Babji realizes that
the only thing left is to sing a lullaby. But how to sing a lullaby? Of course,
he has heard his wife singing lullabies, but…it immediately struck his
mind that if he stays awake for long his son might ask him to perform all
else that his wife was doing. He feels his primary duty is to put him to
sleep. He looks around the compartment. Everyone is sleeping. Even the
gentleman who awakened him is also sleeping.
Slowly, Babji starts singing:
jO achyutAnanda jO jO mukundA!
rAvE paramAnanda rAma gOvinda!
jO, jO…
*****