Ammu had no expectations from her married life; just relieved that her parents
would be free from shouldering her responsibilities. However, marriage to Narayanswami was nothing like what she thought. A gentle and educated man with good upbringing, Narayanswami treated Ammu with the kind of love and respect Ammu was not used to hitherto. There was never a word of pity or disgrace for Ammu. He encouraged her to complete her education and also helped her with studies at home. Since, Ammu grew up in a village atmosphere, adjusting to the town life proved to be a task. Narayanswami would hold her hand as one would with a child and taught her to handle basic tasks like buying groceries, calculating the bill, counting change and verifying the balance that would be returned to her. He made her self-sufficient in handling finances by taking her along when he had to visit the bank. He’d also discuss office, work and current affairs with Ammu.
Slowly Ammu began to emerge out of her fantasy world and started
to take interest in the worldly matters. She learnt all that her husband diligently and patiently taught her and also took initiative to read the local newspapers and small magazines to keep abreast of the current affairs. She
continued to weave magic in her mind, graduating to stories about people she
met and saw in her daily life. Human behaviour, in its various dimensions,
fascinated her as much as nature. The anecdotes and stories that appeared in
the weekly magazines enthralled her and she nursed a secret desire to write her own stories one day.
Since Ammu was not so fluent with her writing, she
hesitantly approached Narayanswami for help. She had begun to grow fond of him
despite a 10 year age difference; she had immense respect for the man
who saw her beyond the superficial flaws and gave her wings. As expected,
Narayanswami jumped at the opportunity and encouraged her to share her stories.
The dam was let loose. The stories were just waiting to be
told and how! The imagination, depth and beauty of each tale left Narayanswami awed
and wanting for more. His respect for Ammu grew manifold and thanked his stars
and parents for having chosen such a sensitive and perceptive person as his
partner. He subscribed to more weekly magazines to help Ammu broaden her
horizons and sharpen her mind. Ammu got hooked on to the additions in her
reading kitty and devoured each issue like a child would an ice-cream.
One day as Ammu flipped through the pages of her
favourite magazine, a story caught
her eye. Her eyes grew wide at the author name beside the title-by Ambujam Narayanswami. She looked up
at her husband with surprise, confusion and happiness as he recounted how he
caught hold of the editor of the magazine through a colleague at work and requested
her to look at Ammu’s work.
Overwhelmed, Ammu bent down to touch her husband’s feet out
of gratitude and respect when
Nayaranswami held her back and handed her an
envelope. Ammu opened it to find a letter from the same magazine asking her if
she’d be a regular contributor to their weekly column. The cocoon in which Ammu kutty had lived broke finally and she had blossomed into the butterfly that was Ambujam. It was now a beginning of a new and exciting journey as the latter.
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