**From & To Satish **( New Pictures Pl see pg 163) - Page 142

Hi everyone,
I am writing a short story and the hero's name is thambu.I am posting the first part and will follow with other chapters.

satish

Long shadows in the twilight


Many a year ago,in the village of kandapuram there lived a boy thambaiya who was lovingly called thambu by all the villagers.Thambu lived with his uncle for he had lost his parents in a fire when he was just a child of two years.The fire that had claimed his parents had also destroyed most of his farm and the only thing that remained from those days was a black mangy dog who was supposed to have come to their farm as a two month old puppy and he came just before the fire that destroyed thambu's life.This was told by raman an old servant who lived with his daughters in the village.Since thambu had become an orphan he was handed over to his uncle who spent most of his time being drunk and fast asleep.It was said that losing his brother had broken his heart and he had taken to drink and was always lost in his own private thoughts.


Thambu was now ten years old but had the mindset of a twenty year old.Although life had given him a bad twist it never could break his brave and loving spirit.The house in which thambu lived with his uncle was about a twenty minute walk from the village and between his house and the village there was a thick forest.Thambu had heard many rumors that the forest was filled with strange spirits and some even said that it was haunted by some deadly demon.But this did not deter thambu from going to the village everyday by seven am and he would be back home by five in the evening.So thambu had never ventured out of the house after dark and felt safe in the house with his mangy old dog suppan.There were two reasons as to why thambu went to the village diligently for he not only got food from the temple but also basic education from the temple priests who used to take classes for the village boys.Thambu was treated well by all the villagers for they had held his father in great respect.And though thambu and his uncle still owned large tracts of land,no one felt the compulsion to help them cultivate it.Maybe the tragedy that took place still haunted them or they secretly felt that thambu's uncle had gone mad.


So everyday thambu left home at about 6.30.am and reached the village temple just in time to get a small bowl of pongal and a few bananas.With his tiny stomach full,he would then proceed to walk around the village greeting people and wishing them a good day and finally used to reach the small school under the tamarind tree in the centre of the village.The old priest didn't mind him being there for it was thambu's father who had given him money to get his daughters married and so he thought he could pay him giving thambu at least a decent education.For lunch thambu went back to the temple,where the priests wife gave him some curd rice of which thambu ate some and ket the rest aside for his dog suppan.The days went on peacefully thus and thambu was happy to flow with it for he did not know better or want anything more.The only action that thambu indulged in was collecting flowers,that bloomed in plenty around the village and sometimes he used to pluck some water lilies from the pond near the temple.Thambu collected all this flowers for a god he secretly worshipped and that god had his abode in an old abondoned temple which was deep inside the forest near thambu's house.On his way back from the village carrying his curd rice for suppan and flowers for the lonely god in the abondoned temple,thambu used to reach home and after feeding suppan he used to proceed to the temple which was a few minutes walk from his house into the forest.He had no knowledge about the temple or why no one did pooja for this three-headed god but thambu felt lot of love for this entity.The remarkable fact was that suppan the old mangy dog who never went anywhere apart from walking around the house compound,followed thambu to the temple daily without fail.So every evening just before it became totally dark thambu with suppan went to the old derelict temple and placed flowers to he god who stood there with three heads.Thambu did not know much about rituals or tradition and just removed the old dried up flowers and placed the freshly collected flowers and then would stand there and look into the statues eyes.The statue never said anything or did anything and neither did thambu who then would return home with suppan.Now there were many a days when his uncle never came back home even in the nights and thambu slept alone in the house but without much fear for he did not much to fear.But deep in his instinct he knew it was not safe to venture out in the night for that was the time when strange things happened and weird creatures walked around.

To be continued

This is the actual radio conversation of a US naval ship with Canadian authorities off the coast of Newfoundland in October 1995. Radio conversation released by the chief of naval operations, 10-10-95.
CANADIANS: Please divert your course 15 degrees to the south to avoid a collision.
AMERICANS: Recommend you divert your course 15 degrees to the north to avoid a collision.
CANADIANS: Negative. You will have to divert your course 15 degrees to the south to avoid a collision.
AMERICANS: This is the captain of a US Navy ship. I say again, divert YOUR course.
CANADIANS: No, I say again, you divert YOUR course.
AMERICANS: This is the Aircraft Carrier US LINCOLN, the second largest ship in the United States Atlantic Fleet. We are accompanied with three Destroyers, three Cruisers and numerous support vessels. I DEMAND that you change your course 15 degrees north. I say again, that's one-five degrees north, or counter-measures will be undertaken to ensure the safety of this ship.
CANADIANS: This is a lighthouse. Your call.

A young man hired by a supermarket reported for his first day of work. The manager greeted him with a warm handshake and a smile, gave him a broom, and said, "Your first job will be to sweep out the store." "But I'm a college graduate," the young man replied indignantly. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't realize that," said the manager. "Here, give me the broom -- I'll show you how."

Little Johnny came downstairs bellowing lustily. His mother asked, "What's the matter now" "Dad was hanging pictures, and just hit his thumb with a hammer," said Johnny through his tears. "That's not so serious," soothed his mother. "I know you're upset, but a big boy like you shouldn't cry at something like that. Why didn't you just laugh?" "I did!" sobbed Johnny.

A missionary suddenly realized that the one thing he hadn't yet taught the natives he served was how to speak English, so he takes the chief for a walk in the jungle. He points to a tree and says to the chief, "This is a tree." The chief looks at the tree and grunts, "Tree." The missionary is pleased with the response. They walk a little farther and the missionary points to a rock and says, "This is a rock." Hearing this, the chief looks and grunts, "Rock."
The missionary is really getting enthusiastic about the results when he hears a rustling in the bushes.

As he peeks over the top, he sees a couple of the natives in the midst of heavy sexual activity. Flustered, the missionary quickly says to the chief, "Riding a bike." The chief looks at the preoccupied couple briefly, pulls out his blowgun and kills them. The missionary goes ballistic and yells at the chief that he has spent years teaching the tribe how to be civilized and kind to each other. "How could you kill these people in cold blood that way?" he demands. "My bike," the chief replied.

An atheist went to the governor's office to ask about holidays. His complaint was that why does everyone else have a holiday. For example, Christians have Easter and Christmas. The Jewish Have Yom Kippur, etc. The Governor replied "You really want a holiday just for atheists?", "Yes, absolutely!" was his answer. The Governor replies, "Ok, your holiday will be on April 1st".

I may be Schizophrenic, but at least I have each other.

A defendant was on trial for murder. There was very strong evidence indicating guilt, but no corpse had been found. In the defense's closing statement the lawyer, knowing that his client would probably be convicted, decided to try a trick. "Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I have a surprise for you all," the lawyer said as he looked at his watch. "Within one minute, the person presumed dead in this case will walk into this courtroom!" He looked toward the courtroom door. The jurors, somewhat stunned, all looked, eagerly. A minute passed. Nothing happened. Finally, the lawyer said, "Actually, I made up the previous statement. But you all looked on with anticipation. I therefore put it to you that there is reasonable doubt in this case as to whether anyone was killed and insist that you return a verdict of not guilty." With that, the jury retired to deliberate. But after only a few minutes, they came back and pronounced a verdict of guilty. "But how?" the lawyer asked. "You must have had some doubt. I saw all of you stare at the door." "Oh, yes," the jury foreman replied. "We all looked - but your client didn't!"