{"id":10157,"date":"2021-12-24T23:12:13","date_gmt":"2021-12-24T17:42:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tamizhini.in\/?p=10157"},"modified":"2021-12-24T23:12:15","modified_gmt":"2021-12-24T17:42:15","slug":"appatha-sureshkumara-indrajith","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tamizhini.in\/?p=10157","title":{"rendered":"Appatha – Sureshkumara Indrajith"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Rathnakumar was getting ready to go to the Bharathanatyam performance. The programme included a felicitation speech by Vyjayanthimala. His friend Selvin Rajadurai was a fan of Vyjayanthimala. They had both viewed the film Sangam starring Raj Kapoor and Vyjayanthimala several times.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

After his wife Lalitha\u2019s demise, Rathinakumar realized how complicated it was to live alone. He realized that Lalitha had mediated between him and his sons and that her absence had further deepened the rift and sense of emptiness between them. He had a foreboding that this would only continue to widen with the passage of time. While his wife was alive he hadn\u2019t thought of her existence as something indispensable to him. But now, when she was no longer there, he felt utterly helpless. His elder and younger sons lived with their families in Chennai and Kovai respectively. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He was repeatedly assailed with old memories. While riding a two-wheeler or some other vehicle his mind was consumed by the irrational fear of getting into an accident. In addition, he was also affected by the fear that his lonely existence would be dogged by sudden illness. Often, he entertained the thought of renting out his house and moving into an old age home. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Examining his past, he felt he had treated his sons fairly. But for some reason both viewed him merely as someone duty bound to bail them out in their hour of need. Rathnakumar was aware of this as well. Right from their childhood it was Lalitha who had catered to their needs and they too went to her exclusively to voice their needs. Rathnakumar had always been distant. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When his wife was still alive they tried staying with their sons, alternating between the two. But they were not happy about it. Though both their sons were well educated they preferred running a business to getting employed. Rathnakumar had sold his land in order to give them seed money and was constantly apprehensive of their financial demands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Both sons had no children yet. Rathnakumar himself had fathered his sons when he was getting on a bit in years. Temptation reared its head when he saw his elder son Suryaprakash\u2019s wife Periyanayaki. Periyanayaki\u2019s physique and her face were to his liking. Even when they had visited Periyanayaki\u2019s house for the first time on a traditional bride-seeking visit he was troubled by her physical attributes and her face. He was morally confused and wasn\u2019t sure if he should choose a woman who attracted him as his daughter-in-law. But Lalitha and Suryaprakash liked her looks. This and the confluence of other aspects made the marriage inevitable. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When he was staying at Suryaprakash\u2019s house Rathnakumar would avoid speaking face to face with Peryianayaki. He was particularly troubled by his instinctual arousal at the sight of Periyanaki after her bath, a towel wrapped around her wet hair. \u201cLord, you are testing me\u201d he would mutter to himself and attempt to divert his attention elsewhere. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lalitha was always careful on financial matters. It was her thriftiness that enabled Rathnakumar to accumulate wealth. At the time of Suryaprakash\u2019s marriage Lalitha was very stubborn on matters related to dowry, particularly money and jewelry. Periyanaki loathed her for this. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018If my husband asks for money to expand his business why can\u2019t they sell their land and give him the needed money? In any case after their demise wasn\u2019t all their wealth going to be inherited by my husband and his brother. What is the use of having wealth if one can\u2019t use it when one needs it? Instead of this, what is one to do if one were asked to seek money from one\u2019s father. Didn\u2019t they know about my family\u2019s financial situation at the time of our marriage? Weren\u2019t they the ones who begged for this marriage because they were bowled over by my beauty?\u201d Periyanayaki indulged in thoughts like these that made her hate Lalitha more. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The younger son Chandraprakash\u2019s was a love marriage. Rathnakumar and Lalitha didn\u2019t like his wife Senthamarai. They felt that she put on airs, considering herself well educated and superior to them. Having sacrificed wealth for beauty in the case of her first son\u2019s marriage Lalitha had plans to seek a bride for her second son from a wealthy family. But distressing circumstances forced her hand and she had no choice but accept Senthamarai as her daughter-in-law. The marriage itself was conducted in a fashion that was completely different from what Lalitha had in mind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When Rathnakumar and Lalitha stayed at Chandraprakash\u2019s house for a few days they didn\u2019t like the way Senthamarai treated them. Senthamarai thought that indifference and haughtiness towards one\u2019s in-laws was the best way to prevent them from lording it over their daughters-in law and she put that into practice. Her husband\u2019s infatuation devolved his power to her and she had the smarts to wield it over him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat a boy he was and yet now he runs after this dark sorceress and does her bidding. God knows what magic potion she has! We don\u2019t matter at all; she has become everything to him\u201d. Lalitha lamented to her husband often. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rathnakumar on the other hand was alienated by the fact that his daughter-in-law once gave him money in front of guests and asked him to go to the shop to get milk and snacks. One needs to have something in store for visitors and guests. Milk at least or else the ability to manage the situation and see them off. Instead, he was called to go to the shop and he too had obliged. On his way back from the shop he felt that Senthamarai had insulted him. But Senthamarai was not one who would give it much thought.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On being informed by his sons that they were both going to visit them with their families for the Vinayaka Chaturthi festival Lalitha and Rathnakumar had a hunch that they were up to something. They were a bit confused as to how they would handle the situation if their sons importuned them to sell their property and give them money. Lalitha was adamant that her grandchildren, not her sons, should be the ones to inherit their wealth and that it should be protected at all costs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the evening of Vinayaka Chathurthi, while they were sitting around talking, both their sons informed them that they needed additional capital to expand their businesses. As they did not have the necessary cash on hand they suggested that property should be sold and proceeds invested. \u201cThis property belongs to our grandchildren. If we sell it we won\u2019t be able to repurchase it. Moreover, this is not ancestral property, it has been acquired solely with your father\u2019s earnings. If you need money, maybe you should both try asking your respective in-laws\u201d Lalitha said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou very well knew of my family\u2019s financial situation when you asked my hand in marriage. It is you who should help your son.\u201d Periyanayaki retorted. Rathnakumar felt she looked very beautiful in profile. His only complaint was that she had cut her long braids short. He interjected diplomatically \u201cWhat your mother said was very correct. Indeed, we should preserve the property for our future generations.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAre you implying that we are not capable of leaving an inheritance to our children?\u201d the elder one asked. Silence ensued.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cParents who don\u2019t love their own children, this is the first time I have encountered this\u201d, Senthamarai said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI don\u2019t need a lecture on love from you\u201d. Lalitha responded. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

They both continued to argue heatedly. Next morning the two siblings departed with their families to their respective places of residence. \u201cThink about it\u201d, the elder one requested as he was leaving. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rathnakumar too didn\u2019t like the idea of selling their property. But fully knowing that Lalitha would be unwavering he tried hedging his stance and deliberately said to her, \u201cMaybe we should sell the property and give it to them\u201d. Although he didn\u2019t mean it he felt that these words might come in handy at a later time. But the need never arose. One month after this incident, Lalitha didn\u2019t get out of bed in the morning and Rathnakumar frantically tried to wake her up. He was shocked and perplexed by the fact that life had ebbed away from a body that had laid just a few paces away from him without him having an inkling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The funeral rites were over. Both sons requested their father to come and stay with them. He was aware that staying at his younger son\u2019s house, especially with Senthamarai would humiliate him. Yes, he could perhaps stay with his older son, but staying alone in the same house with Periyanayaki while his son was away might result in mental distress and confusion. He was averse to it and decided to stay alone. He informed them diplomatically that he didn\u2019t like the idea of leaving his hometown and promised to come and stay with them if his health deteriorated. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of late he dined at a \u2018Mess\u2019. It was difficult for him to shuttle between his house and the mess for each meal. Sleeping alone at night was difficult too. Even before Lalitha\u2019s demise he had written and registered a will bequeathing all his wealth to his grandchildren. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Presently he was waiting for Selvin Rajadurai to go to the Bharatanatyam performance. Rajadurai parked his motorcycle at the gate and said \u201cIt\u2019s time to go\u201d as he entered looking at his watch. He was excited about the prospect of seeing Vyjayanthimala. They both left for the auditorium. It was very spacious and could probably seat a thousand. Only two hundred were seated there today. Prior to the start of the programme Vyjayanthimala arrived and sat in the front row. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Remembering a scene from the movie Sangam in which she danced riotously atop a bed Selvin Rajadurai remarked \u201cHow old she has become\u201d. Memories of that dance from Sangam and of Vyjayanthimala\u2019s performances in several Tamil movies flooded Rathnakumar as well. At a particular angle, her profile reminded him of his Appatha. He couldn\u2019t say why and felt a bit shocked. He had not thought about Appatha for a very long time. Vyjayanthimala\u2019s profile resurrecting Appatha in his memory was a mystery to him. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

At that moment he also realized that he was unaware of his own aging but only aware of others\u2019. Appatha\u2019s memory kept coming back to him. During his childhood Appatha was the only person who had showed him love and affection. He had felt secure whenever he got to lay his head on her lap. He remembered that now. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vyjayanthimala morphed into Appatha before his very eyes as she was getting on the stage. Appatha gave the felicitation speech. After the speech, as she got off the stage, Appatha who was Vyjayanthimala or Vyjayanthimala who was Appatha was surrounded by a few from the audience with whom she proceeded to have a conversation. He saw her up close. \u201cSee you all\u201d Appatha took leave and walked towards her car. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Selvin Rajadurai was in a different frame of mind. Rathnakumar was in a totally unrelated one as well. As they headed home Rathnakumar told Selvin Rajadurai about his decision to cancel his Will, sell his property and hand over the proceeds to his sons. Upon Selvin Rajadurai\u2019s question as to why he had suddenly changed his mind Rathnakumar answered that Vyjayanthimala had changed his mind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

*<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Note:<\/strong><\/em> Certain regions of Tamilnadu distinguish between paternal and maternal sides of the family using specific vocabulary. Appatha is a compound word from Appa (Father) and Aatha (Mother) literally meaning Father\u2019s Mother and hence Grandmother.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

*<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Tamil Original-<\/em> \u0b85\u0baa\u0bcd\u0baa\u0ba4\u0bcd\u0ba4\u0bbe<\/em><\/strong> by Sureshkumara Indrajith<\/em>. Nakul Va\u0304c’s translation originally appeared in Sahitya Akademi’s Indian Literature journal (Issue 317).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

*<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Brief note on Sureshkumara Indrajith’s short fiction:<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Sureshkumara Indrajith once described his authorial intent succinctly: \u201cI try to write stories that are different, non-traditional and fresh, in a way that affords, as much as possible, sufficient space for the reader.\u201d Although these words could easily have been the manifesto of any Tamil modernist it is not easy to pigeonhole Sureshkumara into the usual categories used for classifying Modern Tamil short story writers. Certain recurrent qualities uniquely distinguish him and the stories called out below attempt to highlight these.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The short story \u2018Let Down Hair\u2019 reminds the reader of certain mythical constructs that are very natural to the Indian and specifically the Tamil subconscious (a specific instance from the Mahabharatha provides the mythical reference for this story). But even those who are not intimately familiar with Indian culture might recall the women of Vichy France who indulged in liaisons with German Soldiers and ended up being disgraced at the end of war when they were forced to march in public with shaved heads. Or they might even recall the tragic ending of the Euripidean Greek hero Hippolytus to whom his beloved goddess Artemis promises him a posterity where \u201cUnyoked girls before their marriage \/ Will cut their hair for you\u201d. Such a recollection might highlight for them the importance a woman might attach to the idea of her hair being let down or bunched up and the intricate connotations such constructs have for her and the wider society of which she is an integral part, especially with respect to her \u2018agency\u2019. For a woman\u2019s hair is not only an attribute for her beauty but also a potent weapon that excites the libido of men and threatens them with its overt sexuality. So, in a sense the hair is an uber-metaphor for all the variegated situations of Sureshkumara\u2019s stories in which for manifold reasons men and women are thrown in disarray when confronted with their own sexualities. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The story leverages the mythical undercurrents of the Tamil subconscious very subtly. Tamil culture has a tradition of emphasizing long braided hair as an attribute of beauty. As part of their upbringing girls are usually admonished for letting their hair down. Loss of control is deemed dangerous, throwing the very thing that was beautiful into disarray and rendering it into something terrible. It is no wonder then, that in such a milieu, a Tamil reader naturally recalls Bharathi\u2019s Panchali Sabatham (The Vow of Panchali) wherein Panchali lets her hair down and vows not to bunch it up until it gets drenched with Duryodhana\u2019s blood. Such a dramatic gesture and the attendant imagery of let down hair seems commensurate to her anger at her life thrown into disarray and the ensuing clan destruction that follows. From here the startled Tamil reader might traverse centuries and recall the great Tamil Epic Silappathikaram (The Tale of the Anklet, which proclaims magnificently that \u201ceven kings, if they break the law, shall have their necks wrung by Dharma\u201d) and its wrathful heroine Kannagi (whose statue he might even encounter in his evening stroll at his local beach) who let\u2019s down her hair and avenges the wrongful death of her husband by burning the city of Madurai. It is in the context of such a literary tradition that women like Panchali and Kannagi threaten him with their let down hair and their capacity to wreak havoc with righteous destruction. The anxiety of Sureshkumara\u2019s protagonist which might be puzzling for a Western reader comes pre-loaded with a traditional sub-context for an Indian one and is fairly straightforward for him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The detritus of shattered intellectual concerns washed ashore by the ebb and flow of petty day to day concerns is yet another important feature of Sureshkumara\u2019s stories. While, in some cases, this results in stories that are very self-aware of their overt intellectualizations, there are other instances where such concerns end up leading the reader through a maze of coincidences, accidents and ambiguities. Sureshkumara once remarked in an interview that some stories do get out of hand, exceeding the intentions of the moving hand of the writer, luring him into unchartered territory that he hadn\u2019t envisioned before. Sometimes the over enthusiasm of such \u2018volitional\u2019 texts results in a loss in conciseness which is the hallmark of most of Sureshkumara\u2019s stories (which usually do not extend beyond eight pages). But this over enthusiasm never devolves to melodrama. Instead, it is modulated into an ironic register that carries the writer and at times even the reader in its satiric upsurge. \u2018The Postmodernist\u2019s wife\u2019 is a great example of this. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Eluding all critical categorizations, the stories proceed with their deliberate wry tone, eschewing excessive emotion to wend their ways towards a sort of muddled wisdom amidst the confounding true\/ false, dream\/ reality, illusion \/ Truth dichotomies. One can sense these traits adumbrated in the story \u2018Appatha\u2019 (translated above) even though that story doesn\u2019t attempt to embody them overtly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The cognitive world is perceived in Sureshkumara\u2019s stories after being refracted through the prism of mediated intelligence. Immediate experience by some weird magic or fault in perception emerges a bit off-kilter or skewed. Such refraction is aptly counterpointed by a neutral emotionless tone and a narrative that deliberately avoids melodrama. Niceties of style, poetic language and other literary gentrifications are deliberately set aside. In fact, they go even further and adopt the style of newspapers to narrate an incident that ends up as something more in which upto date biographies of the characters are revealed. The greatest challenge for a translator is avoiding the temptation to \u2018spice\u2019 it up, so to speak, and resort to clever phrasing in an attempt to relieve the neutrality of tone. Most of the stories relate entire biographies within the succinct space of just four to eight pages. For instance, the story \u201cPlants and brilliant flowers of a new kind\u201d narrates the biographies of four individuals in single paragraphs, each one spanning a page and a half. \u2018Transporting to another realm\u2019 a feature which occurs in many of the stories, is re-jigged in this one, using a romantic and affirming perspective (an unusual one for Sureshkumara) that transcends the story into an almost perfect metaphor. Even for an oeuvre that is as distinctive as Sureskumara this story stands out even more distinctly. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNot a single story has evolved in the way I envisioned for it. Imagine water spilling to the floor, can you predict the course it will take? It has a mind of its own and seeks it own way in search for lower ground. Writing is similar, once you begin, no way to predict how it will evolve. Barring a few, most of my stories have no pre-determined endings.\u201d Sureshkumara Indrajith once remarked in an interview. But we as readers find that hard to believe. Like water finding its natural level on land, the intent of his writing seems to have sought out the perfect form in which it is expressed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

– Nakul Va\u0304c<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Rathnakumar was getting ready to go to the Bharathanatyam performance. The programme included a felicitation speech by Vyjayanthimala. His friend Selvin Rajadurai was a fan of Vyjayanthimala. They had both viewed the film Sangam starring Raj Kapoor and Vyjayanthimala several times.   After his wife Lalitha\u2019s demise, Rathinakumar realized how complicated it was to live alone. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":104,"featured_media":10160,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[9,30],"tags":[1063,493,1065,1066,1055],"class_list":["post-10157","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-english","category-reviving-the-classics","tag-appatha","tag-nakul-vac-2","tag-sureshkumara-indrajith","tag-1066","tag-1055"],"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1947,"url":"https:\/\/tamizhini.in\/?p=1947","url_meta":{"origin":10157,"position":0},"title":"A Window To The World – Isaac Bashevis Singer","author":"\u0b95\u0bcb\u0b95\u0bc1\u0bb2\u0bcd \u0baa\u0bbf\u0bb0\u0b9a\u0bbe\u0ba4\u0bcd","date":"17.02.19","format":false,"excerpt":"Some writers begin to write with talent, quickly earn a reputation among readers and critics, and then are suddenly silenced forever. We had two such men at the Yiddish Writers\u2019 Club in Warsaw. One, Menahem Roshbom, had managed, before he was thirty, to publish three novels. The other, Zimmel Hesheles,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "English"","block_context":{"text":"English","link":"https:\/\/tamizhini.in\/?cat=9"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tamizhini.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/singer_122812_620px.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tamizhini.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/singer_122812_620px.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tamizhini.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/singer_122812_620px.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2238,"url":"https:\/\/tamizhini.in\/?p=2238","url_meta":{"origin":10157,"position":1},"title":"The Ba in the Bapu (Part 4)","author":"\u0ba4. \u0b95\u0ba3\u0bcd\u0ba3\u0ba9\u0bcd","date":"18.03.19","format":false,"excerpt":"To Read: First Part:\u00a0https:\/\/tamizhini.in\/2018\/11\/14\/the-ba-in-the-bapu-kannan-t\/ Second Part:\u00a0https:\/\/tamizhini.in\/2019\/01\/13\/the-ba-in-the-bapu-part-2-kannan-t\/ Third Part:\u00a0https:\/\/tamizhini.in\/2019\/02\/17\/the-ba-in-the-bapu-part-3-kannan-t\/ (12) A few days before his death, Vallabhbhai Patel said, \u201dThe love that Ba bore me I never experienced from my own mother. Whatever parental love fell to my lot, I got from Bapu and Ba\u2026\" This was not an isolated remark\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "English"","block_context":{"text":"English","link":"https:\/\/tamizhini.in\/?cat=9"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tamizhini.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Gandhi-with-his-wife-Kasturba1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tamizhini.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Gandhi-with-his-wife-Kasturba1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tamizhini.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Gandhi-with-his-wife-Kasturba1.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tamizhini.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Gandhi-with-his-wife-Kasturba1.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1777,"url":"https:\/\/tamizhini.in\/?p=1777","url_meta":{"origin":10157,"position":2},"title":"The Ba in the Bapu (Part 3)","author":"\u0ba4. \u0b95\u0ba3\u0bcd\u0ba3\u0ba9\u0bcd","date":"17.02.19","format":false,"excerpt":"To Read: First Part :\u00a0https:\/\/tamizhini.in\/2018\/11\/14\/the-ba-in-the-bapu-kannan-t\/ Second Part :\u00a0https:\/\/tamizhini.in\/2019\/01\/13\/the-ba-in-the-bapu-part-2-kannan-t\/ (9) After a long period of personal and political transformation, the Gandhi family left South Africa in July, 1914. While the rest of the party went to India directly, Gandhi and Kasturba first went to England, along with Kallenbach, to meet Gopal\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "English"","block_context":{"text":"English","link":"https:\/\/tamizhini.in\/?cat=9"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tamizhini.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/GettyImages-3317941.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tamizhini.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/GettyImages-3317941.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tamizhini.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/GettyImages-3317941.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tamizhini.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/GettyImages-3317941.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tamizhini.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/GettyImages-3317941.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1042,"url":"https:\/\/tamizhini.in\/?p=1042","url_meta":{"origin":10157,"position":3},"title":"The Ba in the Bapu (Part 1)","author":"\u0ba4. \u0b95\u0ba3\u0bcd\u0ba3\u0ba9\u0bcd","date":"14.11.18","format":false,"excerpt":"(1) Gandhi\u2019s relationship with various women associates from Mira Behn to Manu Gandhi has become a major talking point of biographies, novels, gossips and take-downs. Gandhi\u2019s brief relationship with Saraladevi Chaudhurani is pitched as a major selling point for new biographies on Gandhi. But his most remarkable relationship with a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "English"","block_context":{"text":"English","link":"https:\/\/tamizhini.in\/?cat=9"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tamizhini.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/thequint2F2018-022Fd9ed97a4-3bc7-4925-8a47-f2f459923d3f2Fkasturba-hero-image.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tamizhini.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/thequint2F2018-022Fd9ed97a4-3bc7-4925-8a47-f2f459923d3f2Fkasturba-hero-image.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tamizhini.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/thequint2F2018-022Fd9ed97a4-3bc7-4925-8a47-f2f459923d3f2Fkasturba-hero-image.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tamizhini.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/thequint2F2018-022Fd9ed97a4-3bc7-4925-8a47-f2f459923d3f2Fkasturba-hero-image.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tamizhini.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/thequint2F2018-022Fd9ed97a4-3bc7-4925-8a47-f2f459923d3f2Fkasturba-hero-image.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1614,"url":"https:\/\/tamizhini.in\/?p=1614","url_meta":{"origin":10157,"position":4},"title":"The Ba in the Bapu (Part 2)","author":"\u0ba4. \u0b95\u0ba3\u0bcd\u0ba3\u0ba9\u0bcd","date":"13.01.19","format":false,"excerpt":"Part 1 : https:\/\/tamizhini.in\/2018\/11\/14\/the-ba-in-the-bapu-kannan-t\/ (5) Manilal, the second son of Gandhi and Kasturba, also had a strenuous apprenticeship under his father. More than Harilal, it was Manilal, who had often been at the receiving end of Gandhi\u2019s experiments. Harilal was away from Gandhi for long periods during his formative years.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "English"","block_context":{"text":"English","link":"https:\/\/tamizhini.in\/?cat=9"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tamizhini.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/9_Gandhi_Kasturba.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tamizhini.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/9_Gandhi_Kasturba.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tamizhini.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/9_Gandhi_Kasturba.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2376,"url":"https:\/\/tamizhini.in\/?p=2376","url_meta":{"origin":10157,"position":5},"title":"The Ba in the Bapu (Part 5)","author":"\u0ba4. \u0b95\u0ba3\u0bcd\u0ba3\u0ba9\u0bcd","date":"20.04.19","format":false,"excerpt":"To Read: First Part:\u00a0https:\/\/tamizhini.in\/2018\/11\/14\/the-ba-in-the-bapu-kannan-t\/ Second Part:\u00a0https:\/\/tamizhini.in\/2019\/01\/13\/the-ba-in-the-bapu-part-2-kannan-t\/ Third Part:\u00a0https:\/\/tamizhini.in\/2019\/02\/17\/the-ba-in-the-bapu-part-3-kannan-t\/ Fourth Part:\u00a0https:\/\/tamizhini.in\/2019\/03\/18\/the-ba-in-the-bapu-part-4-kannan-t\/ (15) Gandhi later headed off to the round table conference at London. When he returned as a disappointed man to Bombay on 28 December 1931, more arrests were awaiting him and the nation. He was arrested on January 4th, 1932.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "English"","block_context":{"text":"English","link":"https:\/\/tamizhini.in\/?cat=9"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tamizhini.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/BN-MC287_IGANDH_GS_20160114004934.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tamizhini.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/BN-MC287_IGANDH_GS_20160114004934.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tamizhini.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/BN-MC287_IGANDH_GS_20160114004934.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/tamizhini.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/85a3c4a0ce5095c0c78c4c109b36c15b.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tamizhini.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10157","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tamizhini.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tamizhini.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tamizhini.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/104"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tamizhini.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=10157"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/tamizhini.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10157\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10300,"href":"https:\/\/tamizhini.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10157\/revisions\/10300"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tamizhini.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/10160"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tamizhini.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=10157"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tamizhini.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=10157"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tamizhini.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=10157"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}