Old man and a Black Cat
“Grandpa! Two green bulbs” screamed little Kausalya.
Her Grandpa, Jegatheesan, glanced indifferently at the right corner of the house.
The two green bulbs disappeared instantly.
“Black cat” murmured grandpa. The cat disappeared through the narrow lane on the
right side of the house in the night.
“Black cat? Why it disappeared?” queried Kausalya.
“It is frightened of your scream” said Jegatheesan.
Next day also it appeared. Kausalya whispered into the ear of her grandpa.
“Get a bowl of milk from your mom” whispered back her grandpa.
Kausalya came back with a bowl of milk followed by her mother Amutha.
“Black cat?” shouted Amutha.
“Don’t shout” said Jegatheesan with a sense of irritation. As he approached the cat,
it again disappeared but he placed the bowl at the right corner of the house and
reclined in his chair.
“Will it come, Grandpa?” queried Kausalya. “If you don’t shout, it will come” he
replied while glancing at Amutha. After a brief pause, two green bulbs peeped from
the corner and the cat walked timidly towards the milk, licked it and disappeared.
The same incident continued for three days.
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Now it is imperative for the readers to know a little bit of Jegatheesan and his
background. Nobody in the home called him by name Jegatheesan. His son
Chandran always addressed him as Appa. Kausalya also called him Grandpa. If she was angry, she would yell with a long Grandpaaa.. During the first week of the month, Jegatheesan would hand over Rs. 800/ from his monthly old age pension of Rs. 1,000/ to Amutha who would call him fondly “maamaa, maamaa “for two days. This respectable word would be found
missing till the end of the month. When she was under stress or angry over anything
or anybody, Jegatheesan would be a Kizhavan* or Kizhadu. His monthly schedule could be described in one para. In the morning he should get Kausalya into the school bus and in the evening he should bring her back to home from the school bus. He should procure monthly provision from government fair piece shop, pay electricity bill once in two months and occasionally buy vegetables from the local shop. Loneliness was his only companion after Chandran and Amutha left for their work place. He would read the Tamil daily newspaper from the first page to the last page with interest in global news, central and state government news, editorials and then would glance with an air of indifference the sports and games news. He never skipped even advertisements. Maamaa is the English equivalent of father –in-law. Appa denotes father or daddy in Tamil. Kizhavan or Kizhadu* is a derogatory term to address an old man in Tamil
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Last but not the least, he would read the obituary column. If the person was found
dead at the age of 80 or above, a sigh of relief would comfort his heart. “I am 11
years younger than him” his subconscious mind would murmur automatically.
If the person died at the age of 68, he skipped and stared at the next in queue.
When he was fifty, he used to enjoy old songs and movies in the black and white TV
as they helped him recreate nostalgic memories. But all his known yesteryear silver
screen stars had now been dead and the very thought of death used to send a chill
of panic along his spines. Hence he avoided such TV shows now in LCD colour TV
screens. He would either lie down in the bed staring at roof top or sometimes fall into
sleep. His lovely angel Kausalya used to bring him back to life in the evening. She
was the only meaning to his life.
One week passed since giving milk to the black cat regularly in the night. It was no
more timid and shy. It used to sit down calmly till the old man and his granddaughter
close the door.
One morning when he was reading the newspaper, he heard a faint meow near the
door. The black cat was staring at him with a hesitation whether to enter or not. Pity
might have impelled him to go into the kitchen, took up two big spoonful of rice and
mixed fish curry with it. After a brief thought, he broke his share of a loaf of fish into
two and mixed it with the rice. When he placed the rice in the right corner of his
house, the cat made a different meow that carried a tone of gratitude.
Next day, while he was reading the newspaper, a furry thing was rubbing his left leg
followed by a friendly meow. Oxytocin or some other hormone might have
segregated in his brain. He felt the same electrifying sensation when the six month
old Kausalya clutched his hair and made a noise. He caressed the side of the face of
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the cat with his finger. The cat continued rubbing its right side of the face against his
finger to convey a message of dependency on him for its livelihood. When he
withdrew his finger, it started rubbing its face against the thumb of his left foot. He
felt a sense of relief that a companion joined his lone long journey.
Now there were five members living in the house. One day his granddaughter asked
him “Grandpa, shall we give a name to this cat?”
“Blacky” came an instant reply from Jegatheesan. Now it was no longer an animal. It
had a name like others in the family. But Amutha considered it as black potta. Yes! It was a female black cat. Still she tolerated the black cat as it was the playmate for Kausalya in the evening and in holidays. One more schedule joined the daily routine of Jegatheesan. He provided a sumptuous midday meal with fish – he sacrificed his one piece of fish forever- and in the night he would collect the leftover of the dinner and fed Blacky. But Jegatheesan was condemned to swallow the insult thrown on him whenever Amutha was troubled by debt or other family problems. During such time, he would be degraded from maamaa to Kizhavan. “This Kizhavan is not worthy of one rupee. He eats three times and gives feast to the potta “poocha”. It was not actually meant for him but Amutha required an outlet to
vent out her fury or helplessness.
*potta is also a derogatory term to address all female species in Tamil. *Poocha is
local slang for cat.
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Only when his father was insulted, Chandran would interfere with the same dialogue
for the 108 th time. “Amutha! He is your Father- in –Law and he is father to me. Give
him due respect and don’t insult him in front of me”
Amutha would also retort back the same reply for the 108 th time; “all the guys who
studied with this Kizhavan, were employed in government departments and are now
earning five figure pension and they own cars and big bungalows. Can I build a
castle with the 800 rupees?” Jegatheesan was insensitive to such insults as if his
heart was made of stone. He consoled his bleeding ego with such self-comforting
words; “who will provide three meals, a bed room, medicine while in sick and dress
during festivals for a paltry sum of Rs. 800/ per month.”
His greatest comfort in life was between 4 pm to 9 pm and week end holidays.
Jegatheesan, Kausalya and Blacky had been a world apart in the tiny remote and
superstition ridden hamlet called Anaikuzhi. Whenever Kausalya stooped down and
sang ‘Blaackkyy’, it would strike the locket dangling from her chain with both hands
and play. “Grandpaaa! See Blacky!” Kausalya would make feigned complaint with
fake anger.
Both the grandfather and granddaughter enjoyed the child like cheerful games of
Blacky every day. They both laughed together and played with Blacky. When Blacky
made a fake bite in the finger of Kausalya, she would cry with feigned anger;
“Grandpa! Blacky is biting” Once again a roar of laughter would burst out.
Every day after the parents and daughter have left the home, it was no longer empty
to Jegatheesan.
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While he was reading the morning newspaper, his *lungi or leg fingers were the
playing objects for Blacky.
It would bite the tip of his lungi and roll in the ground. Jegatheesan would chastise it
with feigned anger and a joy soaked voice “you dirty girl, tearing my cloth”. If he
raised his hand to strike, Blacky would look at the hand with curiosity. Whenever he
removed the claws from the tip of the cloth, it would catch his fingers with its claws
and bite them. But it was very cautious not to hurt him.
After the lunch, it would jump over his bed and sleep with him, touching his body with
its back so hard but so soft. His wife died ten years ago. His agonising loneliness
seemed to be over as the very thought that a living being was beside him comforted
his heart. At times, his hands covered its furry body during the sleep.
One day, Amutha noticed it. “Maamaa look! The belly of Blacky is very big”
“Yes! May be conceived,” replied Jegatheesan, without knowing the tragedy awaiting
it very soon.
After that, he looked after Blacky with maternal care. She was then a mother. When
he conveyed the glad news to Kausalya, she was also overjoyed. Every day she
started sharing half cup of milk and two biscuits with Blacky.
“Don’t tell this to your mom?”
“Why Grandpa?”
*lungi is a long piece of cloth worn by males while at home.
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“Your mom will drive Blacky away from home. Milk and biscuits are costly. She may
not like it”
Startled Kausalya replied instantly “no Grandpa!. I won’t tell”
After a few weeks, Jegatheesan noticed it. The belly of Blacky was normal.
“Blacky delivered babies” he murmured to Kausalya.
“Where Grandpa?”
“Somewhere. I don’t know”
There was a sudden shift in the behaviour of Blacky. It spent very little time with
Jegatheesan or Kausalya. It would enter out of the blue with a loud blare of meow
and devoured whatever given to it and leave. “It should give milk to its babies
frequently and protect them” he explained the long absence of Blacky to Kausalya.
He no longer looked at Blacky as a cat but a mother. He appreciated the maternal
responsibility of Blacky. Deep in his heart, he was looking forward to the advent of
the family of Blacky. So also the little girl. Every evening Kausalya would give three
biscuits soaked with milk, touch its belly and ask “where are your babies Blacky?” It
was a routine affair but filled with expectation.
One day Blacky sneaked out from the rectangular corner of the stair case and raised
a meow to attract the attention of Jegatheesan. He instantly switched on his mobile
torch and peeped into the dark corner of the narrow rectangular end. His heart was
filled with joy when he noticed four tiny kittens jostling with each other. Suddenly they
stared at the mobile torch with astonishment.
He whispered unto himself; “one is black, one brown, may be the DNA of
neighbour’s brown male cat, two are ash and white dotted”. He tried hard to
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remember the male father but in vain. He caressed very softly the kittens from head
to tail with Blacky looking at this gesture with concern. It looked at its kittens and the
old man with a sense of satisfaction.
Kausalya was excited to see the new arrivals. She selected the brown kitten which
was fatty with more furs. It looked like fur toys in the shopping malls. It was her pet to
play with every day evening. She got a living toy and loved its innocent and lovely
pranks. During the holidays when Chandran and Amutha were cleaning the small
backyard poultry shed, the grandpa and granddaughter would play with the kittens.
One Sunday, Amutha was lost in deep anxiety as she saw new baby chicks hatched
by a hen. She asked with concern “will Blacky catch the chicks?” Chandran allayed
her fear “no, no, it won’t. The mother hen won’t allow it. Blacky is now a member of
our family. You need not fear”
However, as Kausalya was very happy and playing joyfully with the kittens, Amutha
had no options but to tolerate Blacky’s family. But she would spew venom
occasionally towards her maamaa. “Some lazy guy picked a reptile and placed it
inside his lungi. Then he was crying aloud as it was running inside. This Kizhavan
should have driven out the black cat in the beginning itself. It is my fate that my child
is wasting her time in playing with kittens instead of studying.
Jegatheesan could not retort back with “why you should not have driven it back?”. If
so, she would start her song starting with 800 rupees per month. In spite of that
Amutha would at times join her daughter in enjoying the defensive and attacking
games of the kittens. The entire family, at times, lost in the pranks of the kittens and
Blacky. The favourite kitten of Kausalya one day took a small piece of stick in its two
front paws and stood on its back legs, balancing both the stick and its upright stand
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before it fell down. The entire family roared into laughter and Kausalya took her pet
and hugged it.
It was the dawn of the day of disaster for Blacky and her kittens. It was a Sunday.
When Amutha was cleaning the house, she stood near the beginning of the staircase
and said” it is smelling bad. Something rotten must be around here”. Then she called
Chandran to verify it. He also waved his head vertically and said “yes”. Jegatheesan
and Kausalya also joined the investigation and confirmed the bad odour.
But Jegatheesan experienced a sense of uneasiness and a sense of helplessness
gripped him. Amutha grabbed the mobile from Chandran, switched the torch on and
searched the corner. Her inquisitive countenance changed into red with anger. “It’s
all shit and urine. Is my house a toilet for these animals? This Kizhadu has turned my
house into a filthy gutter”. She started beating the kittens and chased them away
with the broom. Blacky was in state of agitation, meowing loudly and running after its
babies and in the process it also received two blows.
Horror was writ in the face of Kausalya as she had not seen her mother in such a
state of fury in her life time. She hugged the thighs of her grandpa and whispered
feebly “why Grandpa?”
Jegatheesan could not control his temper furthermore. He cried out in anger
“Amutha! Stop it. Why are you beating the small kittens?”
“Aaahaa! Kizhavan is angry! Remove the shit and clean the floor with Dettol. If it is
repeated again I will kill all the animals and send you out” roared Amutha.
Jegatheesan was an asthmatic patient. Still he sat down in the ground, removed the
shit, scrubbed hard to remove the dried shit. He had to stop a little to breath heavily.
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Chandran was so moved by the plight of his father and stepped in to clean the
shelter of the Blacky family. He ignored the murmuring protest of his wife.
The old man was reclining on his chair and Kausalya, as usual, lied over his belly
,sank her head on his hairy chest and queried in a feeble voice “why mom is
behaving like this?”
“We are not rich. We can rear hen or cow. They yield egg or milk. But potta poocha
gives shit and urine. We can’t hire a worker to care for them. You will know this when
you are old like your mom” There was a sense of helplessness and disappointment
in his tone.
“Grandpa! I will clean the shit and urine every day. Ask mom not to beat Blacky and
pushies”
The old man struggled hard to control his tears and patted gently the back of his
grandchild. He could only do that. That’s all.
In the night, Amutha murmured with a determined voice to Chandran “next Sunday
we should dispose of Blacky and the kittens” Chandran did not want to pick up a
losing argument with her.
Next morning, Amutha served tea to Jegatheesan with a plastic smile and talked
very softly “maamaa! Out of the four kittens, three are potta and one is *kaduvan.
After six months, three kittens and mother Blacky will deliver another 16 kittens and
our house will be a zoo for cats. I will canvass for kittens and next Sunday in my
work place in Vaniakudy. We shall transfer them to new houses.”
*kaduvan is the slang for male cat or dog.
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Though the voice was soft, the old man sensed the steely determination in her tone
with an aversion.
The relationship between the old man and Blacky for the next one week oscillated
between agony and ecstasy. The three sisters and the brother, unaware of their
uncertain future, revelled in running, fighting and biting each other with joy. At times,
one of them would bite the tip of the lungi of the old man and draw it. He enjoyed
everything with painful pleasure. In the evening, Kausalya joined the revelry and
transformed the little house into a paradise.
Next Sunday was the black day for Blacky, her babies and the old man. Amutha sent
her daughter to the house of her aunty to spend the daytime there. Amutha
requested her father –in- law with a fake concern for the welfare of the cats
“maamaa three families have asked for three potta poocha and the ice plant owner
will accommodate Blacky and the kaduvan kitten. They will get a lot of fresh fish
every day” and she giggled. The old man felt an aversion in her giggle. She
continued, “Maamaa! Your son will hold the mouth of that sack open. You catch
skilfully all the five cats one by one and put them in. if we catch them, they may bite
us”
Then she asked very politely “maamaa do you want one more cup of tea”?
With irritation writ large in his face, the old man murmured harshly “let me give them
a last supper”
Without expecting her permission, he scooped two large spoonful beef and some
cooked rice. He mixed the recipe and placed it before Blacky. The entire cat family
jostled with each other to taste the delicacy. He experienced the torment of Judas
before betrayal.
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He carried them softly by the back of their neck as if carried by mother cat. Neither
Blacky nor the kitten showed any resistance. They felt highly secure in his lift. Once
they were inside the sack, Amutha tied the mouth with a rope and said, “Thanks
maamaa”.
Evening Kausalya made a lot of noises over the absence of her living playing toys.
When chocolate failed, cane silenced her protest. She sobbed and found refuge in
the hug of the old man.
Next day morning, once again Jegatheesan found emptiness and a sense of guilt
and pain unsettled him. He took his free bus pass and proceeded towards
Vaniakudy. He got down from the bus and enquired the petty shop owner, “is there
an ice plant here?”
“Yes” he replied and pointed his right hand towards the south and continued “can
you see a yellow board? That is it.” Sensing the hesitation of the old man, he queried
“whom do you want to see?”
“Do you know anybody there?”
“Know anybody?” he laughed. “Everybody from there come here for tea and
cigarettes. Okay! Whom do you want to meet? ”
“No! They asked for a Black cat and a kitten. I want to know whether they received
it.”
He strived to recollect and asked “Is it a black cat and four kittens?”
The old man nodded vertically.
He continued “Yesterday a husband and wife came here in a bike with a sack in
hand. They dumped a black mother cat and four kittens over the garbage waste piled
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over there” He stopped and pointed out at a solid waste disposal tank covered on all
sides with garbage. The old man stared at the place with panic in his face. The petty
shop owner continued” it’s a pity sir! The local families dump the leftovers of their
food in and around the solid waste tank. All the stray dogs have their lunch and
dinner there only. Yesterday noon two stray dogs first emerged and barked at the
cats. The mother cat made a ferocious stand to protect its babies. The bark invited a
host of other dogs. The mother cat found it impossible to fight with eight dogs. It
jumped over the fence and escaped. The fury of the dogs then turned towards the
kittens…” He continued the event as if it was a thriller movie.
A huge weight descended on the heart of the old man. The petty shop owner justified
his humanity. “I shouted at the dogs and called the boys to throw stones at the dogs.
Nothing worked. Finally the dogs butchered the kittens. Poor kittens!”
Seeing the heaviness in the countenance of the old man, the shop keeper asked in a
low voice, “they belonged to you, sir?”
He did not answer but walked towards the garbage. The very first sight froze his
heart. The bushy playing toy was brutally mauled and was sleeping with heavy
frozen bleeding wounds. His sisters were no less fortunate. They lied at various
places with the same fate.
The old man looked at his palms. He could see the blood of the kittens.
Some days later, somewhere in a household, in the night, a small child yelled
“mummy, two green bulbs”
The old man did not hear the voice.