Chapter Seventeen
At Home in Bombay
1958 was a very eventful year. One of my earliest memories of the year was associated with a postcard I received from my younger brother Achu. He was in college in Alappuzha and he wrote to me out of the blue. It had rained heavily in Bombay and I guess he was concerned about how I was coping in the torrential rains. He didn’t say as much though. Instead, he composed a humorous poem in Malayalam enquiring about my whereabouts and whether the heavy rains of Bombay had washed away his diminutive, thin ‘eerkal’-bodied sister with scarecrow arms and spare, brown hair till her chest. At the end, he added that if anyone should find her, they should inform her brother who lived at the address given below. The card contained nothing else. Neither news about him and his life at college nor about the family. He didn’t ask me anything either. I think he was trying to provoke me into a response by creating a caricature of me in words. I didn’t let myself get annoyed and sent him a matter-of-fact letter asking after him and telling him about what was happening in Bombay. When I got a detailed response to my mail, I wrote to him again pointing out that by penning such a description about me on a postcard, he would lessen my chances of ever finding a suitable groom.
1958 was also the year I moved out of O1 and went to live in Malad, a suburb of Mumbai. Amma’s younger sister who we knew as Ammuchitta lived there with her brother Ramendran, his wife Sarojini and their children. Ammuchitta was unmarried and was employed in Mumbai as a teacher. She longed to live independently but did not want to live by herself. Seeing me live with Vallyettan’s family in a very small space, she offered to set up a separate room for the two of us in one part of the large house in which they currently lived.
In February of that year, I contracted chicken pox. I was 21 years old and like most cases of adult chickenpox, it was very painful but Ammuchitta looked after me very well. Sarojini Ammai, Ammuchitta’s sister-in-law, said that the illness was an omen and only good would come out of it. She was right. Immediately after I had recovered and had the customary ‘kuli’ or bath, which would indicate that I was no longer infectious, I got a job offer from the state government with the Andheri Presidency Magistrate court. The salary was Rs 120 and I was thrilled. The raise in my salary meant increased food in the household. In the morning, before I left for work, I would help Chitta to cut vegetables and grind the spices, and in the evening, I would grind the mixture for the dosa batter for next day’s breakfast. These were my chores. I also had to wash my sarees and I learnt to starch and iron them like Chitta did. Ammuchitta would use my salary to buy cotton sarees for herself and nice, voile sarees for me from a branded company called Khatau, so that I could dress better in keeping with my new job. I would hand over my entire salary to her and just ask that she send thirty rupees home to Amma.
My work in the court brought me in contact with the local police. On Republic Day when we went to see the famed lighting in the city, I was greeted along the way by policemen who knew me. As a result, we were given preferential treatment. Sarojini Ammai’s young sister, Sumati also made this trip with us. She was about my age and lived with her sister’s family in the main house, but would sleep on a mat in our room at night. We travelled together for work and had a lot to talk about at home too, especially if Ammuchitta was not around.
Sumati and I were not the only additional Warriers who lived in the Malad household. In 1959, Gopalakrishnan a cousin of Amma and Ammuchitta came to live with us and soon after, we were joined by another young Warrier named Chandran. Chandran used to live and study at Kalarcode Warriem and had come to stay with Ammuchitta in Bombay on her older sister’s behest. We only had a small room so while these two young men would have their meals with us in our tiny kitchen, they would sleep in the main house with Ramendran Ammavan’s family.
But going back briefly to 1958, one of the best things that marked my life in that year was in September when I got called for a job opening with the Central government. I had to give an exam for Maths and English in the Income Tax Department. The next stage was a typing speed test which I cleared as well. I passed the medical tests and finally on November 7th I got an official appointment with the Income Tax Department. I knew that I had now arrived in my career and that I would not be looking for another job ever.
My monthly income had now increased to Rs 140. After sending thirty rupees to Amma, I had a fair bit of money in hand. I could now spend on the small pleasures of life and I had plenty of new clothes. My days were indeed passing in great joy. Ammuchitta gave me preferential treatment when the young Warrier men came to stay with us as I was the only additional earning member of this family. I remember how she sent me to participate in the traditional ‘kaikotikali’ dance in the Malad Malayalee Samajam programme in 1959. She also took me to Kerala with her in the summer of 1960.
Of course, for me going to Kerala meant going home. Though we travelled to Kerala together, I went to Kottathala and spent my vacation at the Warriem with my mother and sisters. It was a great holiday and I enjoyed myself thoroughly. I got all my sisters to dress up in my sarees and we walked to the city and had a picture of us women of the house taken professionally at a photo studio Of course, the whole neighbourhood came to meet me while I was home. I had such a great time that I extended my holiday by four days and though I lost my salary for that period, my happiness knew no bounds. We were only women at home at that time. Kochettan was now sending home a fixed income and life had become much easier. I ended up spending a month at home, with Amma truly pampering us and showering us all with her love.
In 1961, my youngest sister Radha came to Bombay and stayed with us at Malad. I had a good job now, so Ammuchitta did not mind having the extra mouth to feed. Around this time, Vallyettan asked for a job transfer and moved to Nagpur with his family. Kochettan visited us at Malad soon after and asked me to move back to Borivli so that we could retain possession of O1 or the house in New Colony, which Vallyettan had now left to us. Since Vallyettan had originally rented the house from LIC, Kochettan suggested that I try to transfer the rent agreement to my name. The idea was that we would use O1 as base for the rest of the family, if they chose to come to Bombay. His advice was that I move there with Radha immediately and he soon brought Subhadra from Kerala as well. A year later, Acchu finished his graduation and joined us in Bombay too.
Before I could formally apply to LIC to get the house transferred to my name, someone informed the LIC office that we had illegally occupied the place and that the original tenant had left. An official eviction notice was sent to us. Though we were very worried when this happened, it turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Kochettan asked me to meet the officer and plead my case saying that my older brother had been transferred and that we had need of this house. I trusted Kochettan enough to do as he said and replied to the officer who had issued the notice, saying that my dad was no more, that my brother had got a transfer, that I was the only earning member here and that my family was dependent on me. The zonal manager of LIC, one Mr. Dalal asked me to meet him and I kept the appointment, accompanied by a friend called Kunjiti. My application was in his hands when we entered the room. I was a little worried and took my time to think and answer but my friend seeing my hesitation, quickly stepped in and spoke on my behalf. Dalal was convinced that Kunjiti was speaking the truth and he was happy to see that she was confirming all the statements I had made in my letter. Reassured that we were honest people, he congratulated us and sent us home.
Within the week, the name on the lease was changed to mine and the person who had come earlier with the eviction notice, himself came with the good news that that the house was now ours. The eviction notice was torn up in front of us. The person who had made the complaint had tried to play mischief, but it had worked in our favour. That was how O1 officially came into my possession and our nightmare ended. Additionally, both Radha and Subhadra found small part-time jobs. We lived together in great joy and harmony and life was beginning to look just great. My happiness quotient more than doubled however, and for me, both the house and New Colony completely lit up when Amma arrived to visit us in Bombay for the first time.