KARIKALAN AND THE TIME MACHINE
The people were very lucky. There were not any holes in the ozone layer then. Global warming and El Nino were matters unknown to them. The ordinary average commoner enjoyed more amenities like pure air to breathe, pure water even our Ambanis and their corporate equals could not have outside their home. Smog was not a problem known to them.
The common man did not have too many expectations. All expectations belonged to the King. He had to wage war with his neigbours and retain rein over his land. The common man lived a heavenly simple life like a sparrow. There were no many diseases. There were no Malls. Nor were there any factories emitting gases and smoke. The society created perfect young men and women.
When the three monks entered Manikkam’s house, there was a small boy. The grandfather had slipped away from his ochre clothes before entering the house and given it to Manikkam to be kept in his ochre colour bag. So the boy saw two monks and ‘his’ grandfather! The boy asked, “Grandpa, where are others?” and turned to the two ascetics and fell at their feet!
Our Super Star froze at the whole thing: the young boy looked exactly like the senior Manikkam in looks and gait. Only the boy was small in size. And his calling ‘their’ grandfather who belonged to the Kanji king, Mamallan’s time, as ‘grandpa’! This could only mean that he had a grandfather who looked like this grandfather. The Super Star had already known that the grandfather was his own self. Now Super Star looked upon the youthful or boyish Manikkam. So there were three Manikkams belonging to three time zones!
Moondru poli chaamigalum Manikkathin veettinul nulaiyum bothu chinna paiyan oruvan vandhu ththaa .. endru nammba thathaa va katti kondaan!
The grandfather and the small boy were conversing in a normal way. And that very normality put the fear of God in Super Star.
“Where are others, grandpa?” the boy asked Manikkam’s grandfather.
“They’ll come soon. Probably they are in the crowd surrounding the Chinese visitor. But I had some work here, so I came early. And on the way, I ran into these two holy monks and I invited them to our house to have some corn gruel. You go and bring some gruel for our holy guests,” grandfather of Manikkam spoke as though he were one of the family.
“O, I see!” the small boy said, “Ok, grandpa, you entertain them while I bring some gruel for the guests!” With those words, the small boy went into the house.
Manikkam and his grandfather looked at each other with unspoken understanding.
“I think you two have denied me knowledge about many things and kept me in the dark!” the Super Star said with real feelings.
“What happened to you sir inside the temple?” asked Manikkam. “The very same thing has happened to us here. The small boy is none other than me! My grandfather must have looked the small boy’s own grandfather. So he had no problem in conversing with him! Now can you understand?”
“You are to blame, Manikkam. Ok, I had my cup of sorrow full in Chennai. But now you have brought me to a land where many things happen to me. That Kumanan sees me as though I were an animal out of the zoo. And he has seen the new man, my look-alike and I don’t know what stake Kumanan could have. I am mortally afraid! What I would like to ask you now is if you had really brought me here on purpose!”
“If you would keep silent and pay me heed, sir,” Manikkam said in his earnest voice, “I could tell you something important. First of all, I didn’t bring you here to Karikalan’s chola country on purpose. Number two, you were in good measures, the reason as to why we have come to this country someone thousand nine hundred and fifty years back in time. I had programmed the time machine to go to my grandfather’s Kanji land. But you were responsible as to why we have come here!”
{Dear readers. Apart from this blog, I am writing four other blogs; they are as follows:
kaviriyinselvan.blogspot.com
myresourcefulaunt.blogspot.com
raguramkrishnabagavatgita.blogspot.com
raguramramayanaforchildren.blogspot.com}
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