Life in this globe and space is a mystery and a marvel of the divine. He creates, cherishes and brings them together from different corners of land. People are born in different homes, different zones, to different couple and different families, yet they come together in their lives some time. This is what we call destiny. I would call it the super program of the super programmer the CREATOR. India was ruled by the British Empire in mid 19th century around 1886 AD. The British were called Goras [whites]. Villagers stayed away from them. They were considered white demon who spelled evil.
In a small village known as Bandipur, a beautiful robust and a strong son was born to the village Chief and his wife. The couple was in seventh heaven rejoicing their luck. The young and strong couple saw their future bright and beautiful in the care of this baby, when he grew up to be the dynamic and powerful youth. They named him ManiRathnam, meaning the most precious jewel. They webbed all their dreams around this baby. In no time at all the baby turned into a robust toddler, into a teenager and a young boy. Utmost care was taken in his upbringing; his diet was prepared with all the best nutrition to take care of his health. This boy was trained in all the martial art by the best trainers available, he was introduced to the mysteries of soil, tilling and which soil grew what crops to reap the best yields of that part of the year. The whole village doted on him. They knew when he grows up he would steer the village out of trouble in times of famine, drought or attach from a neighbor jungle dacoits. Manirathnam’s intelligence was beyond the comprehension of the simple village folks. The village poured out all the knowledge they possessed. Manirathnam’s thirst for knowledge was insatiable; his hunger for more knowledge would urge him to go beyond the boundaries of the village. Manirathnam’s father sensed his lust for knowledge. His fears that the boy would run away one day in his quest for knowledge, made him very insecure about Manirathnam as he was growing up. He started getting very vigilant about Manirathnam’s whereabouts, his motive and his actions and thoughts. Unfortunately he could not penetrate the barriers of thoughts.
Alas the village Chief could monitor every action of Manirathnam, what went on in Manirathnam’s brain was beyond his comprehension after all, the boy had a mind of his own. Manirathnam’s hunger for western knowledge made him very restless. He had mastered all the knowledge the village had to offer him, now he wanted to taste Goras knowledge. He wanted to know the secrets of their inventions. How do the metallic monster known as train run on metallic tracks carrying passengers. How do they talk on telephone from unimaginable distance? How do they listen to music and human voice from a disc rotating on a box known as gramophone? How do they illuminate their homes with a glass bulb? To know and understand these mysteries he had to learn the Goras language. To achieve this he had to befriend the Goras. This was a forbidden act. To convince his father about the legitimacy of this act was an impossible act. Time was running out he would soon be put on the task of tilling the farms, taking care of farm animals and come home to the village home lit by an oil lamp. Maniratnam repelled against the thought of doing manual labor which required no brains. Tilling the fields and raising cattle was not his cup of tea. He was meant to do more important task in his life. He wanted to be the architect of his own destiny. He had to expand his horizon of knowledge. He had to act now and act fast. One night when the whole family was in deep slumber, Maniratnam slipped out of the house very quietly. He walked miles, surviving on wild berries and wild fruits, avoiding all known people and familiar faces. After all he could not risk being recognized and transported back to the village and his father’s home. After days of travel he finally reached Madras now called Chennai. He had to reach the center of western knowledge. In his own way he gropes through the streets of Madras for days. His will power is stronger than his wits. One morning he wanders through the streets of Madras when he comes across tennis courts. A couple of Goras playing the game of tennis. It was fascinating watching a green ball being hit across a net with the help of a tennis racket by the two Goras standing on each side of the net. The racket looked more like a fishing net a little flat on the surface. This game fascinated Maniratnam. For the next few weeks he would reach the tennis court before the game started. He observed the intricacies of the game. He mastered all the techniques of the game by observing. One morning Maniratnam reached the tennis courts ahead of time. He observed the key player waiting for his partner. Maniratnam could not let this opportunity go wasted. He approached the player and offered to play the game opposite him. The key player happened to be the principal of the European school. The principal could not contain his laughter, all the same he agreed to humor the boy and play the game. Maniratnam picked up the spare racket and started playing. His game impressed the school principal so much that he started playing the game regularly with him. Very soon the School Principal got him some European clothes; Manirathnam’s complexion was fair so his appearance in western clothes could be passed off as one of them. All he needed now was to speak English. For smart and intelligent Maniratnam this was a child’s play. In a few months European school principal was sent back to England. As a parting gift to his little tennis partner he gave him admission in the school. Manirathnam’s dream of access to the western knowledge was a reality now. He could not let this Key to success be wasted. He put all his energies to use and mastered all the knowledge the school had to offer. Very soon he graduated from the school with flying colors. His success in academics of the school was the stepping stone to the entry into the world of Gindi engineering college Madras. This was the only Engineering college in south India those days. Maniratnam soon became a successful civil engineer.
After completion of his studies he returned to his village Bandipur to meet his old parents and seek their blessings. Old parents outwardly showed their displeasure initially, for running away but could not contain their joy of having him back. Now Maniratnam was not a little boy who could be bullied to take care of the farms. He was a big Afsar [officer] He had to be respected; after all he was a powerful man. He had a status in the Goras office. He had a few peons, clerks and other office bearers working for him He owned a horse cart for his travel. He had reached a status far beyond a village chief’s son.
Maniratnam had his own share of affection and love for his parents. All this show of power and pomp was in its place, He was a big shot for others but when he came face to face with his father he felt like a vulnerable kitten, his head bowed with respect he could not voice his views openly. He felt humbled at the very sight of his father out of sheer respect. Manirathnam’s father had his own share of fears which he could not voice openly, but fears that haunted him were real as far as he was concerned. His greatest fear was that the boy had grown up, he was independent, he was capable of taking his own decisions, if required without consulting him. Education, western style of dressing and socializing and dancing western ballroom dances with the Goras and Goris was tolerable to certain extent. Trouble would be if he decided to bring one of those Goris as a bride. These fears started consuming the old man. These fears started keeping him awake at nights. Nights were spent tossing and turning and counting stars. His wild imaginations threw him in the oceans of imaginary problems. What clothes would a Gori bride wear how would she touch the elders feet with respect every morning, how would she eat vegetarian food, what if she decided to cook non-vegetarian food in their vegetarian cooking kitchen. Kitchen the most sacred place in the house, even the fire was lit by praying to the fire god and food was cooked by praying to the food goddess, so on and so forth. From time immemorial and from generations their ancestors had only eaten vegetarian food. He loved his meals prepared by his wife. Those same meals became his enemies, his appetite left him. He had to act and act very fast. He decided to meet the neighboring village chief and ask for his daughter as the bride for his son. This work was of utmost importance and urgency. Next day He looks for an auspicious time and sets course to the neighbor village. Both the friends meet and decide the day, venue and auspicious time for the marriage after consulting a learned astrologer, who calculated the position of the stars and tallied it with the date of birth of the prospective bride and groom and found a suitable auspicious day and time for the betrothal. Consulting the bride and the groom was not considered necessary. Their part was only to make themselves available to complete the ceremony. All the ladies of the village and relatives and friends poured in. Turmeric, rice and other powders were pounded in the pounding stones. Sweetmeats and other delicacies were prepared in kitchens in small scale industry level. Jewelers bring the best of jewelry home for selection. Silk saris and brocade zari [gold embroidery] saris pour in from all the best sari stores. When Maniratnam comes home from his tour to the bridge construction site on the nearby river he is surprised to see so many activities in his house. All his aunts and uncles look at him with strange and mysterious looks. Children run around playing their carefree games. He knows some major event is taking place in the house but does not know what? Maniratnam tries his best to contain his curiosity. He wants to know the cause of of all these activities. But he is at a loss, whom should he ask. Nobody had the courage to inform the bridegroom the cause of these activities. Maniratnam is too shy to ask anyone.
He retires to his room. The bridge of communication is very fragile. His father is the only one who has the courage to approach the Sarkari Afsar [government officer] Maniratnam and inform him about his betrothal to his friend’s daughter. Maniratnam is taken-a- back. This sure is news. Sharing a life with unknown life partner? Who is she? How does she look? Where does she come from? So many questions, and no one to answer. Now there was no time for questions and answers. Maniratnam could not risk displeasing and hurting father’s feelings a second time in his life. So he resigned himself to the act. On the prescribed auspicious day he gets dressed in the groom’s attire and obliges his parents to proceeds for the betrothal ceremony to bride’s village. The ceremony takes place with all the pomp and splendor. Festivities last for a month. Bride comes home in the best silks and jewelry. Maniratnam waits for days at end to have a close look at his life partner. She is surrounded by the elderly ladies at all times trying to introduce the new bride to the ways of Ratnam family tradition. At last a month later all the relatives leave for their homes. Finally he gets a chance to meet his wife. After all she is not bad; on the contrary she is quite beautiful. For the first time he is very proud of his fathers choice of a bride. New bride and the Groom meet for the first time without any one monitoring them. They are a little awkward in each others presence at first. Slowly they manage to break the barriers of communications and start communicating to each other. Love is the miracle they have suddenly become aware of for each other. Cupid hits them and they finally fall in love.
News of the wedding spreads far and wide. Jungle dacoits are also aware of a large amount of wealth available in the village chief’s residence. They want to try their luck at looting the wealth. One night they have faith in their strength and attack the village with the sole aim of laying their hands on the bridal dowry, which was a substantial amount of wealth, worth taking the risk. Now is the time to put Manirathnam’s knowledge of martial art which he had learnt as a child, to good use. He has the task of protecting the village, protecting his wife’s dowry, and standing up to his parent’s expectations. He uses his loud voice strong enough to compete with a bugle and commands the women and children to go inside and close the doors. Villagers are surprised; they had never heard Manirathnam’s voice. All they had ever seen was a permanent polite smile on his face. Listening to his voice the dacoits start having doubts on their own ability to pull off the act of looting. Having come this far they could not run back. Their prestige was at stake. They could not let the people living in civilized villages believe that they need not fear the fierce dacoits, all the same they were a little shaken up. They started doubting their ability to pull off this act. If only they had not become so greedy, they could have been more successful in looting a weaker village, maybe compromised a little on the looted wealth. Now their very existence and success was at stake. If caught they would have to forget their freedom and spend the rest of their lives in prison cells and grinding stones. In the past they had always been sure of their success. But now?
Maniratnam Asks the villagers to hide behind their shields till the dacoits are exhausted of their stock of stone pelting. He takes a strong and long bamboo stick, holds it in the centre, comes forward and starts rotating it at a phenomenal speed, dispelling all the stones pelted by the dacoits. Strength, courage, personality and knowledge of martial arts were on his side, he had nothing to worry. When the dacoits were exhausted of their stones and energy, Maniratnam invites all the villagers to thrash the dacoits. Now is the villagers turn to worship him as a hero. His parents are proud of him; his wife can’t stop admiring him. News of his courage spread far and wide. The British local resident honors him by gifting a pistol. The weight of the pistol is so heavy that it can be handled by a very strong man only.
Very soon Maniratnam and his spouse are blessed with a beautiful daughter followed by a son after a few years. The daughter is so precious to the Ratnam family; they treat her like a precious flower. They name her Ratnakumari in all the festivities. She is not allowed to touch the floor at all with the result the child becomes three years old but does not know how to walk. Her maternal grandmother notices her shortcomings. She has to correct the situation in time before it’s too late. She starts making her walk. Makes her do all her personal chores herself. Maniratnam finds this treatment very harsh, but does not know how to cross the barriers of respect and put a stop to all this. Result is Ratnakumari become independent, learns to walk and become independent. She inherits her father’s intelligence, zest for life and looks and her mother’s pleasing personality. Very soon she wins the heart of the whole village along with her families. She grows up to be a beautiful damsel.
The son is named Mahabali [meaning most powerful] among grand festivities. The boy grows up very fast but his personality could not match his name. He looked frail and fragile. He loved to be pampered. His world revolved around his own comforts. Studies was his favorite past time, He did not have to use physical strength to learn the matter in the books. As far as studies were concerned he could master it. But when it came to use of physical strength was concerned he would really chicken out. He would imagine a kitten to be a lion and would not hesitate to faint with fear. One day he was sleeping at home when the petty burglars entered the house and started taking away all the goodies they could lay their hands on. They took away the heavy pistol too which his father had earned for his bravery. Mahabali started shivering like a leaf, covered himself with the bed sheet hoping to hide himself from the burglars and waited till burglars were out of the house and then comes out of the bed sheet. Burglars are also are amused at the sight and see no threat to their action. Mahabali is ashamed of his cowardice, so he imagines him self to be a brave knight in armor. Very soon he starts believing himself to be a knight in shining armor. He becomes a qualified civil engineer professionally, a coward in his private personal life and a knight in shining armor for public view.
