Saadhveeka

Coach S2, Seat Number 23. Beautiful evening! Mild drizzles, which showered as a panacea for the hot month of May! I boarded the train and it was just leaving the station.

I looked around. Nobody seemed interesting to talk with – A couple talking to each other; an old man noting down something in his torn diary and a mid-age woman reading a novel. So, I continued with Chapter 4, India Unbound. So much information in that book that I had never thought of thinking! Huge price for hating history in school days!

Kreeechhhh…. The train stopped at Thirumangalam, a town near Madurai. It was still drizzling. The evening had almost bid adieu and the night baby was ready to smile with its white teeth, moon.

Perfect setup! A young & beautiful gal boarded the train. Silently, I prayed “Oh, God! Save me from this boring crowd around. Please let the girl come and sit near me.” God wasn’t deaf that day! Wish granted!! I felt heavenly.

She said “Berth number 18”. I thought “Good number”. She sat next to me. She was simply gorgeous! I couldn’t believe my eyes – She was wearing capris a.k.a pedal pushers (For tam guys: Mukka-Kaal Panttu) with clean shoes and a nice sleeveless t-shirt. I wondered how come such a gal from a village. We remained silent for few minutes, but I couldn’t control the excitement and eagerness to know more about her.

I began with a pretty mild voice -- “Hi, Are you from Thirumangalam?” She gave a wired look and replied “No, from Bangalore.” I felt a little awkward, but didn’t bother too much. Quite liked talking to her, so didn’t feel like stopping. Continued “Where in Bangalore?” I think she felt a bit comfortable now. In her sweet voice, she replied “Padmanaba Nagar.” I knew the place but looked a little baffled. She clarified “It’s the place near the famous house of Mr. Kumaraswamy.” Then, I shook my head, as if I understood things. I replied “Oh, Great place, it is! How come in this village?” She was quick to reply - “Came to visit my Grandpa.”

She gave a very brief intro about her. The most striking part was her name – “Saadhveeka”. It was unique and sounded blissful. Fell into love with her name immediately. She explained, “It derived from Sanskrit – It means Some one who is very peaceful and will get everyone’s respect” I was in a double-mind to tell the meaning of my name, since it sounded a little scary, but continued and proclaimed “My name in Sanskrit means Six-Face!”. (My parents were generous enough to add more stuff to my name, which I simply ignored for the sake of simplicity.) She sounded excited (Not sure whether she was surprised or scared! ;))

I was thinking what to talk next. Came in handy, the usual-but-never-boring “What’s your hobby?” I thought I should ask it in a different way and asked “So, what are your interests other than your studies / work”. 1000 watts bulb in her eyes and teeth (We probably could have turned off the lights in our compartment). She talked in-length about her interest in oil painting, glass-painting and some other craft which she does with mud and beads.

During the conversation, I realized she didn’t seem to know much about Tamil Nadu, not even the places near her grandfather’s village. I thought that was my chance to strike the chord. When asked about the places she had visited in Tamil Nadu, she listed few places and narrated random descriptions about each of them in her melodious voice.

When my chance came, I started telling about the places. She listened with keen interest, occasionally blinking her beautiful eyes. We crossed Thiruparankundram. I moved back to show her the temple and the enchanting view of the near by hill, unfortunately it wasn’t visible because of poor lighting. She seemed to enjoy the history & mythology behind the place.

We were crossing the Vaigai River, which to my surprise, was over-flowing with water on that particular day. I explained her some stories behind it esp. about “Aathula Alagar Eranguthal” (Lord Vishnu getting into River) – She got excited and jumped from her seat to get a glimpse of the river.

Lots of conversation and I thought she was pretty comfortable talking to me – Felt happy. I thought, time for some personal questions to her. I didn’t want to jump into very personal questions abruptly – I wanted the conversation to flow smoothly. Since the conversation was on Gods, I asked her “Who are your favorite Gods?”

Was quite surprised and laughed at the response!

“Bal Ganesh, Hanuman and Hanuman Returns”

I told myself “This is the digital age of internet and animation. This is what you should have expected, when you asked the question to a four year old sweet little girl”

No Wonder why the Indian Animation Industry is on a Roll.

:)