Two sets of eyes, ears, nostrils, hands and legs. When he was created, 5 years later, her parents conceived her, just for their happiness. One lived in the obscurity of a little, smudgy, polluted, and violent place in North Chennai. Where all the rowdies lived and came out in the night to take in ganja. But he grew to be unpolluted. Like a clean, crisp paper, folded for her to unfold. He was quite, calculating his every move or just thinking when to swallow the rice ball his mother placed inside his mouth. Christianity's strong hold held his movements tight but his spirit free, inside him, flying about everywhere, with a smile, loud laughter every now and then. Even when he swung controllably on the tiny yet beautiful (for her, after 20 years) gate, there was this kind devil inside him that kept pushing the door open, an inch greater every time.
The one question her Sanskrit sir asked, 'who created all of you'? with a roaring response, 'God!' escalated her fear of how her dad might be wrong about the non-existence of god. 'Mmm..So, who created God?' her Sanskrit sir continued with happiness, and excitement on his face to be shown roughly about 40 empty faces, with no expressions, thats when she reached for the answer that was about to set her paradigmic evolution in life. There is no God! Indeed there is no God! If god existed, who created him? Ha! What a clever logic...Dad was indeed right! I am an atheist! She became free at the age of 8. 8 years was a long time to hold that question in her growing brain - "God is there or not there..."
School was just to attend. Nothing more to it than the cycle rickshaw ride, when once the little boy did potty and kept quite. The little dark face went so still and tensed. To his shock the rickshaw man asked him to get down, as the other kids could not, well, withstand the smell. And this kind devil, who was probably 5 or 6, got down without a word, and began his journey back home, preparing himself for a sound thrashing. Only, an empathetic lady saved him. Washed him and put on his clothes back on the dark skin that was extremely, extremely innocent.
As much as she was wide eyed and rebellious, the little demoness changed places with an angel. Sometimes it bit angry family members and other times, covered their ears with pillows at nights, so that insects would not enter. Having very few friends at her age did not matter. College boys opposite her house was with whom she hanged out regularly to be thrown and caught by them between two very closely built hostel buildings. She even had movie night outs, because they were all annas who wouldn't mind the company of a 8 year old sleeping on their shoulders.
Life has to go on and so it did, from Nagercoil to Cuddalore to Chennai. Innocence and love intact. But with only one set of organs.
Houses had to be shifted, sometimes across state borders, because it had to. Gullibility too shifted. Where ever the furniture went. With it went, the other set of organs.
One heart beat normally, 72 beats per minute. The other beat a bit faster. One's eyes was large but observant, the other small and jumping into conclusions.
Schools, got over. 10th and 12th had been passed. One set of everything finished college and the other just joined.
If not for her father who made her always strong, she would not have accompanied the family to the wedding reception. She was having her mood swings. Any girl would do, at that time of the month. She only showed her swings to herself so when dad asked her to go, she did. Tired and heavy footed in the front seat. Pretty unusual for December 3rd to have been hot, soggy and thick. When one set of everything entered the wedding reception being held in a playground, she was oblivious to that approaching single instant in life which was about to change every damn thing in her, of her, around her, on her, and inside her. Both she and her sister nodded, smiled and were kissed by their father's childhood friend's family members. Father was jubilant. These were people who he had lived on the same street and ate the same food. These were people who had nursed him when his father punished him. Everything danced around her. But when she got to see that one image, that one defining image, everything stopped. What was this smile? Where has she seen it before? She had seen it. Plenty of times. She had smelt this very innocence, this very love, all along for 20 years. But it did not have a face. And now there it was. The dark skin, the heart that beat normally, the soiled clothes, the stiffled movements, the kind devil and the other set of everything was there. Talking to some one else with a smile only Gods could do of. With a face that only heaven could own. Not that belonged here.
Smile exchanged itself. Joshua anna...'how are you?' Enna marundhiteenga illa...? 'Illa da kuty....' Words became honey. A comforting hurricane blew inside her. 'Here, give me your number, I will call you...sariya kuty..?' 'Where can we go, for a paper now...'? 'Joshua anna..ponga, joshua anna...' 'Seri, seri..indha don't worry. Write it here on my hand...' ' 42176173'. A dark skin, a fair skin touched. There was no sexual current. There was no electricity. What flowed was love. And awe. Only for a fleeting moment. And then, her body had to be removed from there, but her heart stuck. Her thoughts stuck like a piece of cloth to a nail in a merciless wind. 'Bye, kuty...I will call you, k va...' She had no dreams that night. That's because she did not sleep. Her Sanskrit sir had been wrong about God.
Relationships have words. That do not ever make sense. When he stayed over one night and they started talking, they held their hands together. And looked at each other. Trust me when I say this, no words came out for long moments. But tears streamed down. He became her brother, her twin, her lover, her mother, her father, all at the same time. That's all had happened that night. Two sets of everything finally greeted each other.
When he was created, 5 years later, her parents conceived her. For his happiness. One set of eyes, ears, hands and legs. And another set of each. Two sets of eyes, ears, hands and legs. One dark and the other fair. One unpolluted and the other gullible. One free spirited and the other rebellious. One heart that beat normally and the other a bit faster. One set of large observing eyes, and one jumping into conclusions. Two sets of everything.
He swung on the tiny yet beautiful gate (for her, after 20 years).
