My Memoir

“”அற்றார் அழிபசி தீர்த்தல்; அக்தொருவன்
பெற்றான் பொருள்வைப் புழி.”"

Yes, charity is what I am talking about !! I hardly had any idea of a big mafia abusing the fact expressed by the above kural , until I read ezham ulagam by Jeya Mohan !!
He is one of the best writers in Tamil who is able to write deep and wide!! Every word he writes to emphasize the undeniable truth comes as a bullet!! If you expect heroism, twists and big surprising events racing like a Bond movie then this may not be the book of your choice. The story flows like a stream, every now and then strikingly portraying a totally different world which we often ignore.

The story revolves around Velu Pandaram and many temples in South India(especially the ones for Lord Muruga)where his begger mafia operates.He buys and sells beggars and calls them “urupadi”. He treats them worse than cattle,but he still claims “நாம ஆருக்கும் ஒரு தீங்கும் செய்யல்ல”. The more physically and mentally challenged they are the more they survive in his beggar mafia.

Muthammai a lady with a single arm and a single leg is forced to mate with other physically challenged people to give birth to malformed children , who are sold at a very high price!! She says “எனக்க பிள்ளைய பதினெட்டாக்கும், பதினெட்டு , சப்ரிமலை படிபோல பதினெட்டு.’ கண்ணில்ல, கையிலயும் காலிலயும் ஒரோ விரலு மட்டும்தான், கூனுமுண்டு, மாறிலயும் வயித்தலயும் அடிச்சுட்டுல்லா கரைஞ்சேன்”. Ahmed, reading news paper while begging and informing fellow beggars about the recent events , erukku a girl who loves perumal (person who is like a watchdog for the beggars) madly just because he tied a nuptial knot to steal her away from a hospital, muthammai ,her son rajini kanth(a kid as physically challenged as her),kuyyan who claims to kill himself if he doesn get to eat “payasam” are all beautifully portrayed.

There is a mild humour that runs through out, among the beggars.That makes us feel that though they are “urupadis” to the world above them , they live their life as full as every other human being. Slowly we begin to feel like a part of their world enjoying their company.
unni aachi whose primary job is to gossip, kochan , Nayar stand as symbols for some evil characteristics that have been a part of man’s primitive behavior ever. The author has also mastered in nagercoil-tamil dialect.
‘Uripadi’s don’t have an assurance of the next meal , things that bother the middle class and upper middle class like pride , money , god , religion, society etc etc .. don’t even exist in their world !!! They live outside every temple,but the “deity” inside doesn’t attract them. They have their own deity “maangadi saami” , again a physically challenged beggar who sits amidst them and sings.

The author has also depicted their view on the world above them , how they look at us and even make fun !!
Survival is the only force that drives the ezham ulagam just like it drives every other life!!
The book also talks about the ill effects of institutionalizing “religion and god” and in turn commercializing devotion which is yet again a pure form of love. Pothi who is a priest in the temple says “இங்கே பாருடே பண்டாரம், இது ஆறடி கல்லு, பத்து நானூறு வரிசமாட்டு பலரும் கழுவி சந்தனம் போட்டு பூ போட்டு கும்பிடுதானுக. நமக்கு இது தொளிலு. உனக்கு முத்தம்மை, எனக்கு இது. “

The success of the novel is clear when you finish it , you feel like every other character in the novel is questioning you how far you have understood mankind and life’s longing for itself !!!