Love Scars by Kalai Selvi Arivalagan (100 best novels of all time .TXT) 📖

about doing our routine work. We never realize a change until we fall sick or grow old. Growing old brings in changes within our body and shows a change in the physical appearance also. The color of the hair changes, the brisk walk slows down and it takes at least a few minutes to get up if we sit down.  We prefer to sit on chairs and travel on vehicles instead of straining our nerves. Old age brings in all the changes; some maybe positive and some maybe negative.

 

One more strong truth strikes us; getting old means moving towards the end of life. We may not know when we will die, but a realization comes that reminds every day that getting old means meeting death at any time. Challenges of life didn’t bother old people and they go on with their routine work. Relaxing and remembering their young days, they tend to think about the moments that made them feel happy at the most and feel hopeful that they will reach their goals.

 

Seasonal changes affect our lives also. Though we accept the challenges the changing seasons may throw at us, we forget to understand that our lives are also in transitions. We keep moving from one thing to the another.

 

The transformation that plants undergo are much like transitions and not endings. Dormancy rules nature because a seed will not grow into a sapling until it finds all the conditions fulfilled. A seed must have adequate water, sufficient sunlight and air to germinate.  A seed will not die. It can be there in a dormant state for years and it will sprout immediately if it finds the suitable environment. There is no dormancy for mankind. Death brings an end to the struggles and challenges they face every day to lead a better life.  

 

Animals go into hibernation. For plants, the seeds go dormant. But for human beings, nature has given the rule of death. You are born, grow, live life to the fullest and finally has to accept death as it is the rule of the nature.  

 

Death can be a reliever of all problems in life. Death after a fulfilled life is always a welcoming one. But, if it happens at the prime of life shatters not only the near and dear, it also abruptly disturbs the number of young adults who will be shouldering the responsibilities in future. Matured, unmatured age old population may offer better advice or guide the younger ones at time of need.

 

“Akka, come here, there is a bunch of roses on your rose plant”. Preethi shouted with joy.

 

That is the first rose plant that Satish presented her on completion of 30 days of their married life. Though the nursery person told them that it will have red roses, there were white roses.   

 

“White is his favorite color.” Saranya murmured to herself. It was so painful to look at the white flowers and remember how she missed him who could not wait to see the blooming flowers.

 

“Akka, look at this new plant.” Saranya looked at the new tender sapling that waved in the morning breeze.

 

“What plant is this?” The tender leaves have just come out of the soil and enjoying the morning sunshine.

 

“This is Elephant-ear plant. We have it at home.”

 

“I planted the tuber with Satish uncle.” Preethi smiled at her.

 

Tears filled Saranya’s eyes. She ran her fingers smoothly on the sapling as if she tried to feel the presence of Satish there.

 

Saranya and Satish always spent more time in the evening on the terrace only. From the open terrace, the whole town could be viewed at different angles. If you sit on the chair and look around, the floating clouds drifted smoothly and went behind the tall peak of the mountains. If you lean on the grilled doors of the terrace, the lifted eyes will look at another stunning view where the tall trees waved in the breeze and blessed them with a mischievous wink.

 

When the twilight slowly faded into dark night, they could not see each other but feel their presence only. Saranya loved sitting closely and holding his hand tightly. She felt so relieved and happy in his nearness. On a sudden impulse, she remembered her only sister who took her life tragically a few years ago. That loss was irreplaceable for her, and it took time for her to come out of that. Saranya’s ongoing studies gave her the much needed diversion and that helped her to control her emotions and feel shattered with that loss. Saranya believed her parents now relayed mostly on her and she had to play the pole of support to manage their day-to-day life. Satish brought a ray of hope in their family. Three of them looked at him as the energy that will pull and push them ahead to live a normal life.

Chapter 7

 

It isn't possible to love and to part. You will wish that it was. You can transmute love, ignore it, muddle it, but you can never pull it out of you. I know by experience that the poets are right: love is eternal. E.M. Forster

 

“Why should I be blamed for things that are not under my control?” Meena wondered. The whole family sneered at her if anything went wrong either inside or outside their home.

 

“I think I am not fit to live here in this world.” But, she is not ready to give up. Her matured mind ignored all the pain she encountered on a day. She smiled and smiled to hide her pain and made it as a habit to laugh louder and be happy all the times.

 

“Who gave them the permission to talk like that?” Tears would stream down on her cheeks.

 

Meena looked plain and unattractive. “Never judge a book by its cover” may be a famous quote that asks everyone not to judge by looking at a person. Whatever it may be, the world never stops doing like that. Educated, literate, illiterate or a dumb person judges a person with the first look or appearance. The same person who feels low, with the complaint that he or she doesn’t look good, also judges a person from the way he or she looks at the first instance.

 

What does the world mean by looking normal? If knowledge is going to be secondary, how could one survive in this world? One need to be physically fit, mentally alert, and also know how to judge people around them.

 

Everyone at home treated her like dirt. She was nothing to her siblings. Even though she was doing her graduation, they expected her to do all the household chores. During exams, she could read her books only after 11 p.m.

 

The day started with sweeping the front-yard and then sprinkling it with water. Then, Meena would draw kolams of her choice. Within ten minutes, she would draw intricate designs with ease. Once completed, she will spend few minutes admiring its beauty and the message it carried to her. During festival days, she will take time to do her best by drawing new designs that will spring up at that moment and made her feel the warmth of love generating from the dots and lines to her heart. No one at home was ready to seize this opportunity from her as they all preferred to sleep and never wanted to accompany her early morning routines.

 

Next, Meena watered the flowering plants that lined the front-yard. She collected hibiscus flowers for the pictures of deities that lined the pooja space. After that she would spend few minutes praying to the Sun god. The morning rays of sun are usually warm and it helped her to absorb some positive energy for her day. She always loved to looked at the warm, nascent sun that did not irritate her eyes, but made her eyes shine bright. Then, started her usual household chores. After that she helped her mother in preparing the morning breakfast. She never failed to snatch few minutes to do her yoga and meditate for a while.

 

The same routine started in the evening also. Helping her mother to complete all the household chores, and after dinner, she would snatch some time to sit and read her text books. If not, she will read the books she took from the library. Next to books, she loved bird watching.

 

For Meena, birds are the blessed souls that are gifted with wings to fly and roam around the earth. They are the wonderful neighbors who coexist with human and their lives teach invaluable lessons to man kind. The birds teach us to be content, happy, and live comfortable in their nests. God has given them the power to build their own nests in the place of their choice.

 

Unlike humans, the birds never complain but they do have rivalry to establish their territory and win their love life. Every bird has an interesting history to observe and it is always worth watching them if we want to have peace of mind. Meena enjoyed their company though they don’t talk to her or they understand each others language. But the gestures between her and the bird that visit her backyard regularly built a bond of friendship. The birds that visited her home understood she will not do harm to them and she is only a silent observer of their activities.

 

The day birds and night birds are equally intriguing for they have different life-style, food habits, and even their courting rituals are different. Enjoying an avian orchestra during the day time or at night does not make much difference for they ultimately bring the peace at heart.

 

Bulbuls are her morning alarms. Until she hear them squeak, she will not be convinced that the Sun hasn’t risen yet. Much to her surprise, it became a ritual for the little birds to hold their morning get-together on the Papaya tree in her neighbour’s garden. Meena cherished the pleasure of hearing them engaged in animated bird banter. After the recent summer showers, the chitchat grew louder. Following the bulbuls, common Mynahs and a flock of yellow-billed babblers have become regular visitors to the tree. The elusive Asian Koel always kept her company in the morning that sings so loudly that fills the place with the music of love. If Meena, tip-toed into the backyard to see, it will disappear within seconds.   

 

After discussing with a birding expert, she planted flower-bearing shrubs along the compound wall that brought small nectar-feeding birds like purple, purple-rumped and Loten’s sunbirds. Very soon, she found that birds usually loved red-coloured flowers. The Hibiscus, the Indian Cork Tree (maram malli), Paneer tree, and mul-murungai or kalyana murungai produced bright red flowers. She felt proud to think that the birds that visit her garden ranged from the common crow and mynas to the Paradise Flycatcher and Rufus Treepie.

 

At times, Meena wondered is that only the human beings who lacked humaneness and compassion judged others from their appearance. If a person with all his senses perfect, his limbs strong, and with a sharp knowledge is judged under zero category, by his colour or appearance, she believed it will question his or her survival fitness also.

 

 She also believed that the ability to understand the deeper meaning in our lives is positively correlated with the amount