Pathemari Page #6

Suleiman'ikka has gone home

Ashraf has been told everything

My brothers-in-law are

pestering me to help them

It will be good if you can

Physical labor is a bit

difficult for us in future

Opening a cafeteria

is not so easy

All I have is a little gold

belonging to Suhra

And that too, they are pavmed

All that will turn out right

Money will come in somehow

Why don't you also pitch in?

To meet the expenses of

Smitha's wedding and VISA renewal...

...I'll have to continue here

for the next 3 years

After that I must lay the stone

for a house on that 8 cent plot

Suhra also called to say

there was an upcoming wedding

Even if they are well off

back home, the expenses...

...are always dumped

on our heads

I have to buy tea and sugar

It's only the 20th and you are

already running short of stuff, eh?

Whose turn was it to clean

the room yesterday?

Suresh for cleaning

and Yusuf for cooking

I knew it must

have been Suresh

Why this hesitation to

keep our domain clean?

The biggest relief

when back home...

...is that we don't have

to Q~up to use the toilet

Some people have

houses with 3-4 toilets

But must come back

and stand in queue here

The contractor is planning

to put in another cot here

It's quite congested as it is

What will we do

with one more cot?

It will become

a wagon tragedy

If we don't agree

he'll hike the rent for sure

This time Suhra and the kids

insisted they want to visit Dubai

Just bring them here

Talk of pot calling

the kettle black

We at least go

once in 3-4 years

How long was it since

you last went home?

Actually we must

bring them here

Only then will they

understand our difficulties

If so, then Mammal'ikka's

sons-in-law must come here first

You not only got 4 of

your daughters married

Now you must take care

of their husbands also

- Is Narayanan there?

- He's here

Narayana, it's Chandrettan

- How are you'?

- I'm fine

What's happening there?

All fine

Smitha is with Arun

at Trivandrum

That's good

They are planning

to take Nirmala with them

Nowthey are looking out

for a convenient house

That's great!

She's never knovm

happiness in life

Arun is a good boy

Arun says the rent of houses

in Trivandrum are very high

It's the same here

Rises every other day

Arun suggests why not

rent out the house back home?

But Arun's parents

live there, don't they?

Not that house, Narayana

Our house

But what about Nalini

and the kids...?

It's their house and ifthey decide

to rent it out what can we say?

That's right

Just ask around will you?

I'll pay Arun whatever

is the rent in market

What is it?

Nothing at all

I am a tenant

in my own house

Didn't a Malayali guy

die here today?

Yes, go upstairs

Somebody died

here today, right?

Yes

Narayanafletan

But the body has

been taken away

E:

E:

E:

E:

Can I see any one

of his roommate?

Jose'eta

You can speak to him

Him

H:

Can you give me the phone

number of your house owner?

Okay, note it dovm

I have been here for very long

but not been able to anchor myself

I stay at Sharjah with a friend

The line seems to be busy

Would he have allotted

it to someone else?

What's it?

When Narayanan'etan

passed away...

...a cot would have

become free, isn't it?

'Thought I can shift over

Nowit's ringing

If I'm lucky I'll get it

What audacity!

Like Nero playing the fiddle

\M1ile Rome was burning

I'll blow my top

if I stay there any longer

One guy has come to shift

into the dead man's cot

When did you

begin day time duty?

You look better after your

daughter-in-law started cooking

All your imagination

It's only because you're

seeing me after along time

I do get my meals on time

after Najeeb and his wife came

Why don't you

come over on Friday?

Hows your house

construction coming along?

They've begun the final touches

All the workers are from Bengal

Kerala is their gold mine now

Our own people are too lazy

Tunes have changed

It's 6 years since

Najeeb came here

In the time I took to build one

cafeteria, he has opened 8 of them

The small house I built

back home took me 15 years of toil

But in this short time, he has built

a palatial house on the same premises

Sometimes I feel, our efforts

were just a waste of time

We paved the way

for them, didn't we?

They don't have

any hurdles to cross

So success comes faster

I have a wish to fulfill

before I return home for good

I want to step on the soil

of Khorfakkan once more

They've come to meet

you, Narayanan'etan

Being a Friday

I knew you'd be here

I am Manoj

Satheesh's friend

Where are you from, son?

I am from Triprayar

We want an interview

from you for Gulf News

Interview me?

On the occasion

of celebrating 50 years...

...of expatriation we've heard

plenty of success stories

But we are making a program

on people like you mo...

...have not succeeded

in spite of so many years here

Did Satheesh say

my life was a failure

I did not mean that

I was just joking

Ask me whatever you want

How did you come

to this desert in the 1960's?

We came in Velayudhan's launch

and reached Khorfakkan

Wonder who the first Malayali

was to have stepped on this land?

Whoever it was it wouldn't

have been for sight seeing

Must be someone like us

on the brink of poverty...

...and with many sisters

to be married off

It looks like just yesterday

we swam across this ocean

'l'lme passed by

in the blink of an eye

At least we touched shore

Wonder howmany people who

came for livelihood sank in this sea

50 years

What did we achieve?

Our homeland prospered

when our people migrated here

Our hard work and toil

helped this country prosper

What about us?

But wasn't it this land that

fulfilled many of our desires?

Yes... and thus tomorrow

I shall leave this place forever

The days you spent with Nalini...

...or those I did with

Suhra comes nowhere...

...near the number of days

we spent together my friend

We've always been together

ever since we remember

Wind up your stay here and...

...return home as soon as possible

Must be dad

Tell him I'm asleep

He never stops talking, mother

Wants to know every

single event happening here

E:

Em

What took you so long?

I was washing vessels

Where are the others?

They slept

E:

E:

What did you make?

Satheesh insists on meat

There was chicken in the fridge

and I made fish curry for Kuttan

There was chappati and puttu

Moreover left over

sambhar and rice was there

Moideen is coming home

What shall I send you?

One of your shirts

you wore for a day

Can you send it

without laundering it?

What is all this, Nalini?

Nothing! Forget it

Have you eaten?

I was having dinner

I'll call you later

I got in simply

just to look around

- How much does this one cost'?

- 500 Dirhams

Don't look at

the exchange rate

I'll come just before

I go back home

I'll get you a special discount

It's a general habit

with Malayali's

They convert Dirhams into

Rupees before buying anything

Rate this script:0.0 / 0 votes