A little poorer village. The people who travel nearly one and half kilometer to reach a hospital, the one of the essential needs. Exactly thirty years ago, a pregnant lady is admitted to the hospital in December cold air. Father, mother,four brothers who won in the birth-race and some relations are waiting very anxiously and a boy baby is born as the fifth child to share the rest sources of this earth. Although he has born in a culture which is always happy about a birth of a male baby, he is not celebrated because of another belief existing that if the fifth child is a girl baby, it would make fortunes to the family. 'Again another boy baby!' All get upset and leave to village. His great uncle, had come from lot of miles away goes back to his place not seeing the baby. They had already a name to be named as 'Lucy' a Christian goddess whose festival is celebrated on the same day to his birth. Fortunately or unfortunately they can not use it. The names of the baby's father, brothers have 'seelan' at the end of them. Therefore, a name is looked according to that rule and finally it is named as 'Vasanthaseelan'.
My father is a government officer. There is an assurance that he can be given a certain amount of money at the end of every month. So, there would be no deficiency to eat something daily. He was one of the thousand mechanical hands of government. Even though he had excellent command in three languages used in the country, He was very illiterate in the national language,'flattery' .
My mother is a home maker, the real ruler of our home. She is the best economist to manage our financial needs within the minimal amount of salary from my father's respectable job. but she had stopped school studies at her age of eleven. While 'Pappa'(Father) was working for eight hours, 'Mammy'(Mother) was working for 24 hours. Additionally, She had a sewing machine and earned some money. Thus we did not have to worry about the money for our dresses and school uniforms.
While I had got consciousness about this world, My eldest brother had joined with Catholic church in Jaffna and was trying to be become a priest to save the sinners. My second elder brother had joined in the hostel to study at St.Xavier's boys' college in Mannar. My 'historical important' life started with next two elder brothers, Pappa, mammy in a 'better' beautiful village,Vidataltivu....
First let’s enter into my village. Full of bloomed garden and greener fields…ops! Although I could not describe in phrases like above, it is a different village. It is located near a beach which is about fifteen miles away from the town of
I could remember the very first incident of this life. I come out of my house and sit down on the steps of the front door. Then I hear my mother's voice from inside of the house. It warns me not to sit down out without wearing any dresses. It is the first time I understand what nudity is and go to wear shorts.
Our house has a small balcony. When I was born, the house had already celebrated its fortieth birthday. It has antique pillars and designs. If we see a person coming to our house through our glasses of our windows from inside of the house, we can see him as four or five people as glasses have many folds. Looking objects through it, swinging on the gate and standing on the balcony and looking walking people along the road were my favorite hobbies. Sometimes we used to play ‘bus game’ arranging chairs one after another with the next door children.
My second best memorable event is my attendance of nursery school. But I could remember that our village children used to go to a sand house where a woman lived and taught alphabet and numbers before nursery school. I don’t think I went there.
