Stories / Novel – The Halo Reams      
Philosophy
by TA Ramesh

Outside the Pudhu Town limit there were a lot of coconut trees and green rice fields. With the modern electrification facilities, installation of motor pump sets, small lathe work shops, etc. the out skirts of the town appeared to be a developing satellite town of a metropolitan city. Throughout the year there was no scarcity of water as it was a wet area. Still further out, the green fields, the tributaries of distant river, the blue sky and the other colorful accessories had made the place a fine spot for leading a pastoral life there. In fact the foreigners who had come in pursuit of spiritual attainment were interested in settling themselves in such a location. There were a few yogis to encourage such people to come to that place and learn the art of yoga in that beautiful and serene town.

The time was approaching one O’clock. There was a small house situated a little bit away from the town, in which a small family was living. Vaithianathan was the second son of that family. His elder brother had got married and had settled in Salem. After finishing his Degree Course in science, Vaithianathan was intending to employ himself in the government office.

He was lean and tall in stature. He was always so busy that nothing could stop him or distort him whether he was at station or out of station, whether he was in the circle of his friends or foes, everything was one and the same for him.
Though he looked to be a humorous person, he was serious in thought about everything. He wanted to become a philosopher one day. After going through many books in a local library he arrived at the conclusion that philosophy was nothing but an aid to find out the truth or the cause of everything. Under this assumption, he was doing research on the things or persons he was encountering.

It was the lunch time for him. He tiptoed down the stairs from his room to the hall. His brother was seen engrossed in reading a novel. He was unaware, when Vaithianathan came there and sat on a chair opposite to him. Vaithianathan too without disturbing him started reading the passage found in the coverless first page of the novel. Before he had finished glancing through the page his brother gave a passionate sigh and was at the verge of rolling over the easy chair.

Without the rescue by Vaithianathan he would have not only fallen down from the easy chair but also would have bent the steel tubular structure of it as he was heavier than the poor furniture which was holding him.

“Thank you very much, my brother. You have saved me from the ribs fracture I was about to have sustained. All because of your knack to knock my neck as a counter measure to avert my fall on the ground at the flicker of the moment!”

“That is all right bloody fool!” said Vaithianathan to his brother, “what is the name of the novel you are reading?”

“Hot Love,” replied his brother.

“What! Hot Love? Then is there anything like Cold Love?”

“Just like summer, winter is there,” said he in reply to Vaithianathan. “Day and night are also so. In the same way Cold Love is also available just like Hot Love, brother.”

“What a companion, what a logic and what a philosophy, my brother!”

Their conversation was abruptly stopped as the servant maid appeared before them and informed Vaithianathan that a friend had come to see him.

Vaithianathan looked at his watch and it was showing 1.10 p.m. He walked across the hall and received his friend.

“Hello! How are you Selvam?”

“I am so, so…and I think, you are fine,” said he as he was being escorted to the dining room.

“What is your point of visit here, Selvam?”

“There is a special meeting tomorrow evening and a wonderful dinner party tomorrow night. You are going to meet a wonderful guest tomorrow! The meet is arranged by Balu and the dinner party is by me.’

Selvam looked at him for his response.

“Then sure I will be attending both,” replied he.

The lunch was served to them. They tasted the food appreciating the cook’s hand work. Then their talk turned to the day’s affair.

“Vaithianathan, it is very difficult to make the people understand what we speak. They talk what they know. They never listen properly and so, they cannot think well and give a good answer. It is difficult to manage with elders and the common men. Unless the mentality of the people changes, no progress can be made.”

“What is the way to solve this problem, Selvam? It is a big problem. I was also thinking about it. Only when we find out the causes for this sorry state of affair, we can think about any change for them.”

“The root cause for this problem is lack of education. We have to educate them. Then only they can understand us, respect us and follow what we speak to them. I feel I have to become a politician. After I become a politician this state of affair can be well changed to a tolerable position.”

“To become a politician, you should know how to give a speech on the stage before thousands of people. You should learn how to talk and cover the people.”

“Yes, Vaithianathan you are correct. I shall learn to give a speech to the audience. That is why I like to be a friend to Balu or Kannan. They are capable of enriching our mind with good ideas and knowledge and making us to put forth our matters in a good manner. See one day I shall become a politician and set right our people.”

With that resolution their characteristic discussion over lunch came to an end. They washed their hands and moved on to a room in the upstairs.

Then Vaithianathan’s brother came there with a tray full of grape fruits. He said to his brother, “I am going out to participate in a cricket match today with my friends. So, I won’t be available till the night. Our mummy has also gone out to purchase some provisions in our grocer’s shop. You have to look after our house and see your brother, and see you Mr. Selvam.”

He left the room and disappeared from the house within a few seconds.

“Let him go,” said Vaithianathan to Selvam, “I have a subject to study in hand always. I spend my time on philosophy, friend.”

“It will be sheer waste if you spend your time on philosophy,” said Selvam.

“No man. We should know the truth of things. Then only we can become a proper person. Otherwise we shall be vague and don’t know where we are going. I am not an expert in any line. I want to know about our religion. I want to know about the essence of Vivekananda’s speeches. It is about our religion. I have a lot of books sleeping in my mummy’s room. This is the time to read them. Once I go through them, I think, I can lead a morally up right life. That is one of my wishes. Let us see how far I shall be successful in this venture.”

“So, you are having an aim like that. Then let me hear how far you have studied in this line.”

For about an hour or so Vaithianathan talked on his own theory of life and about philosophy in particular. Selvam, who had been listening with some interest, did not know with what words he could appreciate his friend for his wonderful philosophical ideas.

Selvam looked at his watch. It was time for him to go and attend to his special engagements. He wound up his talk with Vaithianathan by getting up from the chair.

“Vaithianathan, you are a great philosopher and I don’t have time to talk to you now. I hope you will be meeting us tomorrow evening.”

Selvam left the place. Vaithianathan did not know what he had to do as there was no one in the house. He kept on walking round the hall in the downstairs musing over the “Hot Love.” Suddenly a knocking noise was heard from the back door of the house. There was no possibility for anyone to knock that door when his mother was out of the house. That was something strange to him. And so he doubted who could be disturbing anybody in the house at that hour of the afternoon.

He silently went to the back door, waited there for a moment and suddenly opened the door. The waiting dame also exactly at that moment tried to give another knock at the door. But the knock fell on the face of Vaithianathan. Before Vaithianathan managed himself the dame requested him to pardon her for the accident.

“All right,” said Vaithianathan, “may I know who you are?”

“If you kindly hand over this book to your mother, she will tell you who I am,” said the dame and ran away from the place.

Every thing took place in such a haphazard way that Vaithianathan did not understand anything. He simply took the book inside and started reading the contents in a blind manner. It was terrifically hot in that hour as it was a summer day. So, he simply succumbed to a sound sleep.

– Continued

September 16, 2007

The Halo Dreams : A Novel 
Writing a Novel | The Park | Philosophy | The Confusion | The Conversation
The Appointment | The Journey | The First Publication | The Change
The Secret | The Painted Veil | The Halo Magazine | The Debts | The Break
A Letter | A Surprise Letter | The Literary Muse | The Souvenir | The Questionnaire
The Reconciliation | The Lake | The Final Meets | The Surprise | The Settlements
The Result 

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