Kannathil Muthamittal Page #4

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Why did you do this?

Don't hit him! He's only a little boy.

Why don't you listen? Stop hitting him!

Aren't you Thiruchelvan?

And lndra? How are you?

Our daughter Amudha came here.

Where is she?

Oh yes, the girl you adopted

l thought as much.

My mother's not here, Pa.

This is your mother. l am your father.

Where's my mother, Pa?

She abandoned you 9 years ago.

She could be anywhere

in the world now. Anywhere.

She could have gone back to Jaffna.

We don't even know if she's alive.

ls she dead?

You want to see your mother, don't you?

l'll take you to see her. l promise.

This is the first time, l'm flying.

l'm frightened.

Ah! l'm still alive.

ls this my country?

ls my mother here?

What does `Aibhavan' mean?

-lt means, `Greetings' `Welcome'!

Sankaralingam, Devanathan,

Shanmugadas Welcome!

l'm very happy to meet you

l've read your stories

You've come for?

-Personal work.

Stay for our meeting.

Vikram. GK sir sent an e-mail

to say you're coming.

l didn't know lndra sir

had such a beautiful wife.

Do all of you talk this way

when you meet a woman?

Only l do and only to you!

And who is this.....

even more beautiful?

Dr.Harold Vikramasinghe

GK's friend.

You'll be in my care

as long as you're here.

So, what d'you want to see?

-My mother.

Here she is.

l want to see M.D.Shyama.

The problem is...

...you can never be sure

when a problem will arise!

You speak fluent Tamil?

l know Tamil, Malayalam,

German, French...

...and silence!

Are you a real doctor or a Ph.D

in Geography, Astrology?

A surgeon, Orthopedics.

The knife is real.

The blood is real.

The cries of pain are real.

Mankulam - one is on the

way to Kilinochi.

The other l think is

beyond Vavuniya.

How can you be so untidy

in someone else's house?

Clear it up.

Don't throw things!

-l didn't throw them.

No talking back, no temper.

Do as your mother tells you.

You're not my mother.

Oh no! Shame, shame!

Amma doesn't like me.

She doesn't like me at all.

Greetings to all who are

present here.

Of the many trivial crimes

in this world...

...the worst is to ask a

writer to make a speech.

My wife lndra says that

people read my stories...

....only because l write

under her name!

Are you a Tamilian?

Yes.

Are you from here?

-Yes.

You know only one word in Tamil?

Aren't you going to the meeting?

No.

-Why?

l don't like speeches.

-Neither do l.

That gathering is for my father.

ls that so?

He's a writer.

He's written many stories

under the name,`lndra'.

Haven't you read them?

-No, l don't read stories.

Some people say

that writing is a gift.

You must be born with

that spark.

That's an absolute lie.

Where's Amudha?

-ln the toilet.

The writer's doing great!

l'm an Engineer. No one else

in the family writes.

She's not there.

-She was there.

`They had forgotten

that they had faces'.

What does that mean?

-This is not for you.

My father reads books

like this.

My mother reads magazines.

l have two sets of parents.

This mother's name is lndra.

My real mother's name

is M.D.Shyama.

We've come looking for her.

What's your name?

Amudha - And yours?

Where is your mother?

Why is your Tamil strange?

This is Tamil too.

To write well, you need

a good education.

You need to observe events

attentively.

You need to find out if

someone else...

...is going to write your story

better than you.

Where are your parents?

Gone to their village.

Speak clearly.

l told you she'd be here.

How could you go off by

yourself in a new place?

l was talking to him.

He's Tamil.

ls the meeting over?

She's a chatterbox.

She says her mother is here.

So she's told you!

We're going to Mankulam

tomorrow to see her.

lf you visit Madras,

come home.

3rd cross, Ashoknagar. Anyone

will show you lndra's house.

All stories start from life

and end with it.

Nothing to worry about.

No foreign bodies inside.

No danger, just shock.

She'll have fever for 2 days.

Amudha, we'll go to Mankulam

tomorrow to find your mother.

l didn't give it back, Appa.

Forget about it. Close your

eyes and get some sleep.

l'm scared to close my eyes.

l keep hearing the blasts

over and over again.

Will this bus definitely

go to Mankulam?

He says it's okay.

He'll take you there.

Will you forget me?

-No.

You'll marry me when you grow up?

-No.

The army will stop the bus

at a check-post.

lf they want your passports

show them.

They know you're coming.

Don't worry about us.

-l'll try to join you.

Thinking of home?

Wonder how they are - Akhil,

Vinay, my father.

Don't worry.

We've left two kids behind

for the sake of one.

ls she asleep? lf she hears

she'll tear me apart!

Sometimes it's hard to tell

who's mother and who's child!

The army is moving towards Kilinochi.

ln half an hour...

...they will shell the area.

Please leave Mankulam

and head eastwards.

Women and children must

proceed to safety.

All are requested to co-operate

with the Army.

Sundarlingam?

-ln the temple.

Where's it?

-Down east.

Someone's come in search of you.

We've come looking for

Mankulam Shyama.

Yes, the doctor called me.

Let's get out quickly!

Your name?-Thiru.

We want to see Mankulam Shyama.

lf you'd come later, you'd not

have seen even Mankulam!

Down this road, third house

on the left.

Let's go! - l'm not coming.

Father asked me to fetch you.

Nothing will happen to me.

Ammanchi'll take care of me.

Take them to Shyama.

lf they shell the place, there'll

be nothing left. Come with us.

lf l go, who'll light the lamp?

Just take them and go!

Go now, all of you!

Farewell my countryl

Where the sea washes

my front door...

These palm groves

these birds' nests...

Will l ever see them again?

The smiles have died on

our lips....

With our souls shrouded.

Only the shells of our bodies

go in weary procession.

That's her, standing there.

Grandpa won't leave the temple.

Shyama, these people have come

from lndia, looking for you.

Shyama?

Yes.

We've come from Chennai

in search of you.

We've brought you

something priceless.

Your daughter.

Amudha, your mother...

My daughter would have been

her age.

This is your daughter too.

No she isn't.

This is your child.

We adopted her.

Mother tell them she's

not my daughter.

Aren't you Mankulam Shyama?

l'm...but l'm not her mother.

All my children are buried...

...under the 'poo arasu' tree

outside the village.

Didn't you go to lndia and

have a baby in Rameswaram?

l've never left this

village all my life.

But today we're leaving

Mankulam forever.

What's your name?

l heard the Army was moving in

so l came at once.

ls there another Mankulam?

-Yes, in the North. Let's go.

Aunty, this is lndra, and

this, the original lndra.

This is my aunt.

Your daughter's been on strike

for a week.

She's not talking to me.

Doesn't want me near her.

Bathes and dresses by herself.

l feel like slapping her!

Why get so worked up?

Don't. Am l not justified?

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