Love Transit by Kalai Selvi Arivalagan (desktop ebook reader .TXT) 📕

Vinay has watched hawk sparrows near the well at the backyard of his house.

Hawk sparrows usually avoided human beings, and they usually flock the backyard after residents of homes locked the door at the backyard and moved to the front portion of the house. The hawk sparrows hopping here and there eating scattered food waste or rice.

“Hi, Vinay.” Someone called him. Vinay turned around to see who called him.

“Hi, Vel, How are you?” Vinay replied with a cheer. Vinay and Vel are classmates right from the school to the college. After graduation, Vinay went to do his diploma course in automobile engineering and Vel started to hunt for government jobs.

When Vinay joined the famous bus building factor as an apprentice, Vel joined the metro transport corporation as a trainee. Their jobs occupied most of their time and they met rarely. Both of them to gether in the park at that time happened to be mere coincidence. Yet, both of them felt happy to meet after a long gap. Vinay hugged Vel and patted on his back with a laugh.

“Hi, young man, you are here at this time”? Vel questioned Vinay with a twinkle in his eyes.

“The same question to you. How come you are here at this time?” Vinay asked him with a cheer. Their laughter filled the place and made some mynahs to fly away from the place.

“Fine. How is your married life?” Vel asked Vinay with a naughty smile.

“Good. When are you getting married?” Vel replied back.

“Not yet. I have not met my angel.” Vel answered him back.

“Oh, you still believe in that?” Vinay could not control his laugh. Both of them remembered their conversation they exchanged during their college days. While talking with Vinay, Vel noticed his slightly swollen, reddened eyes.

“What happened?” Vel sounded with care. Vinay explained what happened and told him that he is back to recovery.

After talking for a while, Vel and Vinay moved toward the entrance of the park. Vel promised to keep in touch with Vinay. Yet, unaware of one fact, the bus that Vinay has been assembling will be playing a main role in Vel’s life.

Chapter 3

Vinay returned to work after one week. When he reached the shed, the chassis has been built completely and his colleagues were busy attaching all accessories. The completed chassis with the attached engine along with the petrol tank has cleared the test ride and it waited for the attachment of seats, doors and windows. Vinay started to attach the front seats from the morning he joined duty.

“Hi, Vinay, Are you back to work?” Vikram called him.

“Yes.” Vinay replied back with a cheer in his tone. “This bus looks great. Isn’t it?” With admiration in his voice, Vinay looked at Vikram.

“This is the tenth bus you are working after you joined as an apprentice. What is there to admire.” Vikram replied back Vinay with a chuckle.

Without replying Vikram, Vinay continued with his work. After fixing the front seats, Vinay joined Vikram to check if the floors are joined together properly. In the next ten days, they finished attaching seats, windows and doors.

In the next week, the painting session started. As the doctor advised Vinay not to work in the welding section at least for six months, he started to work along with Vikram in the assembling section.

Every day before he started to work, Vinay fondly touched all the seats in the bus. He will sit at the steps of the bus and would touch the doors with love. His entire heart filled with love for Saranya sent its vibration all around him.

Vinay will go into a deep trance of love and feel that he lived in the floors of the bus along with Saranya, and every space inside the bus has watched his vibrant love for Saranya.

Vinay started to work on the chassis of the bus just two months before his marriage. Before starting to build the chassis, the management people at his factory checked for some auspicious day to begin the work. After conducting the usual poojas, they commenced their work. Whatever it may be, they all strongly believed that the building work must start after a New Moon day.

Vinay’s native town has weavers as the maximum population. Every house had a handloom weaver that can be operated manually. Vinay had seen people preparing the thread for weaving the sarees and other materials. Every New Moon day, they will not run the handloom.

One day when Vinay asked his friend’s father why it is so, he replied to him that it is not auspicious to weave a cloth on a New Moon day.

The thread that is used to weave a cloth on a New Moon day will not be blessed and it is not auspicious to wear the clothes woven on that day. They followed this practice with much attention and also believed they should never start a work on New Moon day also.

Vinay has read in books about ship building. While building a ship also, they took care to start the work on an auspicious day. The ship that started or completed building on an inauspicious day carry the curse with it and it will never cross the waters safely.

Vinay has also read about ill fated ships that met with accidents or disappeared in the middle of the sea. People believed that it was due to the curse incurred by starting to build on an inauspicious day.

Vinay has developed a liking for the bus. Even after it went for registration, he kept on checking where it went and in which bus depot it got deployed. Curiously, he checked every thing and felt happy to know details about his favorite bus. One day when he learned that his friend Vel has been deputed for that bus on the first day, he felt cheerful and happy.

Vinay went to meet Vel and see him working on his favorite bus. So, Vinay went to the bus depot to greet him.

“Hi, Vinay, You are here at this time. No work today.” Vel asked his friend with surprise.

“I came to meet you only.” Vinay climbed into the bus and looked around. Vinay can feel a rise in his emotional level and his eyes brimmed with tears of happiness.

Where are those thoughts which would link you with me! Where are those dreams which would link you with me! Where is the link which would link you with me! where are those twilight rays far above the bright horizon which would link you with me! The link which linked you with me Has it lost its identity? Every hour dies that link and resurrects itself in another - A link with the nature's link may strengthen your link with me for that link lingers for ever.

Vinay can link everything to something that is destined. Seeing Vinay in such a state, Vel exclaimed.

“Hi, what happened? Why are you so emotional?” Vinay did not answer his question. Shaking Vel’s right hand, he added, “All the best.” When Vinay narrated the whole thing about the bus and how he got attached to it, Vel could not reply back.

Vinay has been like this right from his school days. Small things that escaped from the eyes of other people, mattered much to him, and he gave importance to such things only.

Vinay always use to tell Vel that in life only small things count much than bigger things. Vel can relate that to the present situation and his heart softened towards Vinay wondering how he can be like this at a young age.

Even during college days Vinay wrote and recited beautiful Tamil poems in all cultural gatherings. Some times Vel has helped Vinay by reciting and recording the poems in a cassette. Without any background music, Vel brought life to Vinay’s poems. His voice mesmerized the listeners and made them to ask once more.

Chapter 4

Vinay reached home early on that day. Saranya wanted him to come along with her to the nearby temple. Vinay rarely goes to temple. On special days, when his mother compels him to go, he will go to the temple.

As that day turned out to be one month after their marriage, Saranya wanted him to accompany her to the temple and then take her to some good restaurant at their place. Vinay wanted to take her to one of the best restaurants in the city.

Both of them reached the temple around 5 p.m. in the evening. Kasi Viswanathar temple is one of the famous Shiva temples in the area and it was built in the year 1860. The temple was built with the lingam brought from Kasi by two Gujarathi women.

The temple stood on a sprawling area full of trees. Whoever visited the temple felt the ambience and beauty of the temple surrounded with green trees. As the temple stood away from the city, one could breathe in fresh air and enjoy the fresh breeze from the trees. The four walls that enclosed the temple stood tall and protected the people who believed in Sri Kasi Viswanathar. Goddess Visalakshi reigned there along with the God to bless the people who came with their belief.

As it is away from the sea shore, one may not be able to enjoy the sea breeze. But, the area being located in the outskirts of the city does not have the ill effects of city pollution and with pure air to breathe. During his college days, Vinay met all his friends in this temple only. They will sit there and talk for hours about their dreams, aspirations and every kind of stuff on this earth. Now he has come to this temple after a long interval of more than five years along with his newly married wife.

Saranya asked him to wait at the sanctum and went to get the ticket for doing archanai to the local deity. The cool breeze that blew from the nearby trees made Vinay feel happy and relieved.

That is the charm of temples which were built more than one century ago. So many religions may be there for the people to follow. But a very few has the charm to bring peace and prosperity into the lives of people. And Vinay believed that temple to be the one.

During his school days, Vinay will always play there with his friends and he loved to watch the fish in the temple tank. Every one will buy rice flakes to feed the fish. Vinay and his friends will sit on the steps of the temple and will talk for hours. Vinay has seen so many colorful birds at that time. But now things are different.

The tank is there but it is not without water. Several people took steps to clean the tank and make it was before. But things did not happen, and whoever came to the temple looked at the sorry sight of the temple and murmured to each other.

Vinay wanted to do something to uplift the look of the temple. He decided to ask his colleagues to spare some time and money to do that job. Every year around Diwali celebration, one took the responsibility to collect the money and donate it to some orphanage or get some school books and uniform