Kalkandu thatha

An old man in mid sixties was walking down the street. A tall and lean man, he somewhat resembles our gandhiji . He had a vesti and a towel tied to his waist.His looks indicate he was straight from temple and he doesn't wear a shirt.The kids playing in the street stopped their play. They all surrounded him and he said "one-by-one" . The kids started to recite a below song 
கல்விக்கடலே சரஸ்வதியே 

கல்வி அறிவினைத் தருவாய் சரஸ்வதியே 

....

After every kid recited such song, he opens his yellow bag(the famous manja pai in tamil). There is a small box and he opens the box. The box contains kalkandu and he counts them one,two. he awards them 2 small pieces of kalkandu . He gives it for all the children who recited and he walks away.The kids continued their play. End-of-Story.

       This story continued for a couple of decades. This old man is known as "Kalkandu thatha" in our neighbourhood. Nobody knows who gave him that name.I recited similar songs for a whole decade. Everytime, he crosses the street he would carry his yellow bag. He religiously followed this process. How he started this and why he started this, god only knows.

   Children in our street simply loved him. On margazhi months,the entire street will wake up to put Kolams .Kalkandu thatha will be returning from nearby temple and some kids who just woke up and yawning nearing the Kolams will run to him and recite. With a gentle smile, he will award them 2 small pieces of kalkandu. Rarely, he hands out 3 pieces of kalkandu.

  Once i grew up and went to teen age, i learnt that he was a former tamil teacher.He owned a 2 storied residential building and tenants would complain he was very strict person who would not tolerate if the residents dried clothes on the wall.

 But for us, he was just Kalkandu thatha.  Just like any person in teen age, out of sheer shame for reciting songs on street, i would try to bypass him . Once, he called me and said "won't you tell song if you grow up? Thatha is telling songs even in this age"

  I had moved out of the town and happened to return a couple of years later. I came to know Kalkandu thatha  is dead. The irony  is till date, i don't even know his name.There are some persons in your life who would leave a lasting impact and he is one of them.The next generation will grow up without ever knowing such personalities. I was sure everybody would have such person in their lives. I was staring at the empty street and i could still hear the song in the air

கல்விக்கடலே சரஸ்வதியே 

கல்வி அறிவினைத் தருவாய் சரஸ்வதியே 

....