Archive of An Unknown

“I can't think of marrying anyone else. I will stay unmarried forever then. Leave me alone.” This was my grandfather yelling at his favorite aunt.  “Don't talk like that, dear. Your dad can’t take it. I will ask your uncle to speak with him. I’ll speak with your mom too. One of you should come down. If both of you stay where you are, there is no end to this. Don't be adamant,” she tried to reason her brother’s point of view to her nephew.  “She's not an alien. Mathalapuram is just here. Just one and a half miles from here. Why is he this adamant for that? Let’s see. If a 45 year old man is so stubborn, a 20 year old young man, how stubborn will I be? I don't want you to speak with him for me. I'll take care of my problem. Leave it to me. Thank you.” “No, dear. What’s he saying? Isn't there a single girl in this entire village that you like? Nobody in this family has ever married anyone from outside. He wouldn’t mind a girl from a different caste. But he won’...

While entering the palace, the king turns to his chief minister Iyer, “Mr. Iyer! Do you have any details around why the Pandyas shifted their capital from Korkai to Madurai? Why did they move from Madurai to Tenkasi again? Would you be able to do some research tonight and come back to me with the details tomorrow?” “Sure, Your Majesty! I did hear about the confusion that is bothering you these days. It’s a good idea indeed. We don’t need to do everything in one shot. We can have two capitals for now,” suggested the chief minister.   “Wow! You got to know about that as well? What sharp ears you have!”   The chief minister smiles.   ***   The palace in the town has given a feeling to the people of the town that they have an illustrious history. As Nagalapuram was on the northern border of the country, the Ettayapuram King built a palace here as well. He wanted to have dual capitals initially. That’s why he built a palace here. He built a tunnel connecting the two towns...

  “When I don’t like someone, I don’t like to see them ever again in my life. That’s how I am. That’s how I would ever be. That’s how everyone should be. How can people smile at each other knowing that they hate each other? I am not used to this culture.”   “Why do you have to be so stubborn? We are all human beings. Everyone makes mistakes. You make mistakes. I make mistakes. What’s the point in being in denial about it?”   ***   I must be seven or eight years old then. I still remember this conversation with dad.   “Dad, whom do you like the most in this world?”   “Anbu uncle,” he said.   Anbu uncle is not his uncle. He is my uncle. That’s how dad used to talk about everyone with me. He would say uncle if they were uncle to me, he would say aunty if they were aunty to me, and so on. Anbu uncle is dad’s only brother. Younger brother.   “Will you do anything for him?”   “Yes.”   ***   It was early morning. Like 7 o’clock. We were ju...