A Pampering Ride

It was after a tiresome day in office. It was the delivery date and somehow managed to squeeze the application through. Was longing to be at home. I always feel so, but without exception when the work load is too much. Call it my laziness or whatever else, but who won’t desire to fall into safe hands at such needy times? Though the level of desperation may vary.

Instead I fell into the front seat of my friend’s car. I was too tired to take my bike that day. I switched on the music system. The speakers blared off some heavy metal songs. I was feeling dizzy and navigated through the playlist to change the music. I was so happy to find a folder ‘Malayalam’ and played it. I wondered if the player is smart enough to sense my mood when it played ‘Olathumbathirunoonjalaadum chella painkili..’ from Pappayude Swantham Appoos.

I was falling through the tunnel of time to my Second Standard days. My father used to sing that song while bathing me. My mother had stopped bathing me as she was too busy in the kitchen to manage my giggling prone to tickling in the busy morning hours. He would sing the lines ‘..Ente bala-Gopalane enna theppikumbam padadi..’ repeatedly. Not that he singed extremely good, but I loved it very much because I thought he was singing for me. It made me feel very special and in the centre of the universe. He called me Gopalaa, so I deluded myself into believing that he made the lyrics for me. I was never tired of those same lines every morning. It never occurred to me that it could be a movie song even when I heard it in Anand-ettan’s auto rickshaw on my way to school. Its true that we see only what we want to see as we are blinded in love. But I did not know then that it was equally applicable o the sense of hearing as well. It was only when I saw it in Chithrageetham – a music programme in DD4-Malayalam Channel did it dawn on me that such a possibility exists. It was a shock not so mild and also a disenchantment not so grave. After this episode of edification, the song did drop a few places from my popularity chart before it soared back to the top in a week’s time.

I was feeling so light and soothed and pampered by the time it played the umpteenth time that night, still was missing home, even more this time. My friend was snarling at me and I was grinning, as broad as the Cheshire cat.