Synopsis: Munni Goes to Detroit for Thanksgiving Holidays. Meets Oksana. Helps out Benny and answers questions.
Munni's LIA - Episode 14
Thanksgiving - Pilgrims are Indians, immigrant serves the bird
"Did'ju drop something?", asked Benny.
"No…no…no" said Reddy straightening up from his attempt to touch Benny's feet at the Detroit airport luggage claim area.
Later, when the twosome were going to the parking lot, Reddy said,"…as you advised, I brought everything". Reddy had only a few clothes, but mostly all his certificates and papers in his suitcase. He didn't leave anything back in his california flat, where everyone lived out of their suitcase, and slept on bedrolls on the floor.
"Good..good" said Benny. Reddy was very surprised to see an old Econovan and the mess within, and the poor clothes of his uncle, and wondered if his uncle was a destitute, and whether the conditions in Detroit would be worse than California. When they finally arrived at the house, he was pleasantly shocked to see a nice big house in a quiet neighborhood, well maintained gardens and a shiny new BMW in the garage.
Then he met Kamla auntie. And, understood why cousin Sheila looked as pretty as she did. Kamla said,"..welcome..welcome…did you have a good flight ?". "yes..yes..very nice", said Reddy. Then Benny took him upstairs and showed the room he'd stay and the bathroom. No more bedrolls as it was in his California flat.
There were three rooms on that floor. After Benny left him, Reddy went to the bathroom; enroute, he opened a door of another room, and looked in. The bed had some stuffed toys and there was a poster of John Abraham on the wall. In the bath room he found some bras, slips and panties hanging out to dry over the bath tub. Later that evening he met Oksana. His first conversation with her was typical: explaining his name !!
"….this is Ana...from Russia ..and this is Benny's nephew from India…Reddy", introduced Kamla that evening, when the three of them were at the dinner table. Benny was reheating some left overs in the kitchen. Reddy wondered if this is some foreign exchange student his aunt and uncle were hosting. But he decided not to pry and wait for someone to volunteer the information.
"..ready ?", asked Ana.
".no no..no..reDDy", said Reddy laying down the d with emphasis.
"…really ?..then what is your full name ?", Ana asked.
" Munagala Gengu Reddy", said Reddy and explained what each piece stood for….
"..neat..", smiled Oksana, then after a long pause,"then, what would be my name in Talugoo ?", she asked
"So... what is your hometown, and your father's name ?", asked Reddy.
"Novosibirsk and Otkupschchik", said Oksana
"easy for YOU to say…", said Kamla and started laughing and Oksana winked and joined in the laugh.
Reddy didn't quite hear what Oksana had said or why Kamla and Ana were laughing.
Benny called in from the Kitchen,"…what is the big laugh ?"
Kamla called him back," our Ana is explaining her old name ..", and got Benny laughing in the Kitchen.
Oksana repeated much more slowly," Novo..si..birsk….and then, Ot..kupsch…chik"
Reddy asked," what is Ot kup shik ?"
Oksana said," farmer …or…..may be…peasant ….and what does reDDy mean?"
Reddy said," village chief or head guy"
Kamla added," Shah means king "
Reddy derived:"….Soooo…that would make you ... Novobrisk Oksana Oktopush …..in Telugu"
Oksana laughed gently, giving Reddy a very kind look in order not to offend. She was amused at the troubles Reddy had with her names: the skipped syllables and how he mangled it to making her a marine animal: Octopus.
She said,"…no…no…no..that would be Novo-si-birsk-aya Oksana Ot-kupsch-chi-kova", adding the proper russian gender endings to her first and last names and enunciating the syllables.
Reddy couldn't repeat that, even if that could save his life. He said,"…that is soooooo difficult", making a sad face.
" you can call me Ana", said Oksana immediately, in a musical sing-song; and both Kamla and Oksana fell into a titter. Reddy was confused.
When they both settled down, Kamla said," …then the locals would insist on calling you by your first name, and call you, Nosi..".
Oksana twisted in her seat, put her arms around Kamla, kissed her cheek and said,"... we both know who is nosy".
Then, Oksana noticed Reddy's confusion, and explained how the names of females are different from males in Russia: "…so..you know…Sharapova….and…Kournikova ?"
"..Russian Tennis players….no ?", said Reddy.
Kamla leaned to Ana's ear and whispered (rather loudly, so Reddy too heard it),"…all guys…know them".
" ..their fathers' names are..Sharapov and Kournikov…that is how the names are…", Ana explained with a smile. Reddy nodded tentatively, as if he either understood that or he'd had enough of that.
Oksana got up to help Benny in the kitchen. Reddy saw Ana take out rotis from the fridge and re-puff them on the range. She chatted with Benny in the kitchen. Kamla sat at the table with him and asked him some banal questions about California and his college study. Oksana brought all the dishes to the table. They had some generic red wine with the dinner. That was the first time Reddy had wine with a dinner at home in America.
After dinner, Oksana took Reddy down to the family room and they watched a hindi movie DVD. Once in a while they asked each other something and continued watching that movie. Reddy learnt that Ana went to college in Ann Arbor, a computer science undergraduate-senior. And that she had lived with his aunt & uncle for five years. Then Reddy was less surprised about how well Ana fit into that household. He would soon learn quite a lot more about Ana.
Ana found out that Reddy came from a city populated more than 10 times as her hometown in Siberia, and nobody went hunting in Chennai; but then they had the ocean and beaches. She had noticed Reddy's face and especially how Benny and Reddy were both tall and had the same nose and facial features; then wondered if he could be the younger version of the nice, hard working, kind person that Benny had talked about.
Neither Reddy or Oksana were following the movie; once in a while, some group of boys and girls would suddenly break into a group dance on the screen and jolted them back to reality. When Oksana switched off the TV and said she is going to bed, Reddy got up and they both went upstairs to their rooms.
In the ground floor of the house, in bed, Benny and Kamla were having a quiet and serious discussion about Ana and Reddy. On that subject, their opinions were not exactly the same; however, over the years Kamla had come to trust Benny's instincts. She knew that when all was said-and-done, Benny was looking out for just one person: herself, Benny's Doll. He kept the promise he had made to her, when they were locked in a room for three days in Kampala. His post-marital vow from a shotgun marriage.
---*o*---
On thanksgiving day, Ana cooked. Kamla helped her in the kitchen. In the morning, Benny asked Reddy to wear some old clothes and took him in the van to some rental properties. Reddy helped, carrying tools and parts in some minor plumbing work in some apartments. It was amusing for Reddy to be called "bhoy…get me the..". Benny never directly addressed Reddy as anything, but just talked to him when he was in earshot.
On the drive, Benny told Reddy that the California University he had joined does not have a good reputation, or value for its degrees. Some lawyer friend had done some inquiries for him. He asked Reddy to consider moving to Detroit and go to a Michigan college. Benny also asked Reddy a lot of questions about his studies before coming to USA and the jobs he had in India. To Reddy it all seemed like a job interview. Then, Benny asked questions about young people in Chennai, did they have a good time, had parties, went out on dates, got girls into trouble, got beat up by rivals etc..etc.. Reddy wondered if the old uncle was trying to catch up to all the things he had lost by running away. Listening to Reddy's answers about young people in India, Benny came to this conclusion,".a big city of..only..good boys…eh ?"
Then Benny asked about the family in India, and about the old house.
"So..how is the old house in Egmore ?",
"After father died, we sold that house to a developer….now there is a mansion there.."
"mansion ?"
"apartment building"
"the mango tree ?"
"cut down by developer…"
"ohhh…", Benny seemed to wince in pain,"it was a great kite trap; all the cut kites came to it. We used to climb and get those down…because we had compound wall…nobody can come for it…........mmmm the compound wall….that wall would be very green with moss after the rains…then in summer it will dry up and turn black …..in summer holidays , we could easily draw anything we want on it…..we drew stumps on it….and played cricket with tennis ball…"
"…and we are using some of the money from sale of the house in my college fees now…", continued Reddy.
"…are you going to study, work and save money and rebuild a new house like that ?", Benny turned to him and asked.
As Benny had that perennial smile on his face, Reddy couldn't tell if this was a serious notion or just sarcasm.
" ….may be a different house…in a different place", Reddy said.
"….build your house ….here….in america .." said Benny.
That seemed like an opening for Reddy to ask his uncle,"…uncle, can I live here and go to college at Wayne State ?"
Benny was quiet for a while. Then,
"……first we have to talk seriously about it…may be at the house….when Kiran comes….Kiran knows a lot of ins and outs of such things…procedures..business..."
"…Kiran ? "
"…yes..yes…He is a family friend....lawyer…he always comes for Thanksgiving dinner…we'll see him in the evening.."
They went to an empty apartment. Benny speckled the holes in the walls and Reddy watched Benny use the caulking gun. Then Benny asked him to remove and renew the chauk in the bathroom: Reddy scraped off the caulk around a bathroom sink-vanity and put some new caulk and shaped it with the plastic tool. Benny came, looked at it, and said,"…well…bhoy…good job there... that...you keep at it, you'd soon have money for that big house..". Reddy was happy to get that compliment. He said,"…thank you…uncle". Benny broke into a big laughter:"….we are family…bhoy…no need for that..". Reddy, peeled, cleaned and renewed all the sealants in that bathroom. Benny was filling the holes in the other rooms. When he was done, he gave Reddy a tour of the whole house: Kitchen, dining nook, living room, two bedrooms and a bathroom. Reddy thought, good sized apartment for several people. Benny told him,"…need to paint the whole place …dry clean the curtains before we can rent this out …may be you help ….old Benny…". Reddy was very pleased at this request. He said,"I'd be so pleased", with a smile. Benny looked at him, and broke into a big laugh, with,"…you are funny….bhoy ….you talk like that at home to your mother ? ".
After they returned home, they went to take showers and get cleaned up. When Reddy went down to the dining area, he saw Kamla and a new visitor at the dinner table. Kamla introduced the new person, "….oh..you are back….Kiran Bhaiya…here is Benny's nephew…Reddy..". Kiran turned his head a bit, and said,"….hello Reddy ….how are you ?"
Kiran was a little chubby, probably in his mid to late 30's, handsome guy with a five o'clock shadow. He wore a nicely laundered shirt, sleeves rolled up, a tie and had his suit jacket draped over the back of the chair. He didn't get up or come around to shake hands with Reddy. Reddy seated himself across from Kiran.
Reddy was very glad, that he didn't have to go over the name discourse again with a new person: "Hello Kiran, I have heard about you from Benny "
"…oh really….nothing bad, i hope...hehhehee"
"…no..no..no…just saying you are good friend …that is all"
"…good…good.. how is college in california ….studying hard ? or hardly ?…hehhehhehh "
Reddy produced a weak smile for that joke and said, " ….good…studying OK…"
"….so what have you done so far in California…did you go out and see things…girls ?."
" …no..no…no…nothing like that…"
Oksana came in from the kitchen,"…here is your beer, Kiran….and your wine, Kamla ….Reddy... you also want a beer?…"
"…yes..yes…that would be nice..", said Reddy, and Oksana went back to the kitchen.
" ….so ….you never went anywhere…just house…then college ..…then house ?"
"….coming from India….only three months now….but once I went to restaurant with Sheila…."
At that, Kiran seem to perk up as if he was suddenly prodded. Oksana came back with a beer and gave it to Reddy.
Kiran raised his beer bottle and said," ….here is to absent Sheila…", and took a sip. Reddy sipped his beer.
Kiran went on,"….so tell us…where did you go, what did you eat and what did she talk about…."
Kamla interrupted,"…Kiran bhaiyya also wants to know what she wore, how she looked…and did she say Kiran's name …"
Kiran put his arm around Kamla's shoulder with,"…Ben…Ben..please don't torture me ….already….hehhhee"
Reddy couldn't quite understand what was behind all this banter…but went on,"…no..no.....we went to italian restaurant nearby only…and ate pizza with wine "
Kiran egged him on:"…and then..?"
Reddy continued,"…we talked about various family branches…in India…Georgia…Missisippi…and about parents…"
At that, Kiran seemed to have lost interest. Reddy decided not to go into the staying-in-hotel segment. It was obvious to him that Kiran liked Sheila and staying in a hotel with her overnight may be the kind of news that has to come directly from Sheila.
Benny had cleaned up and came in to the dining room in sweat pants and a Detroit Tigers T-shirt, said hello to Kiran. Kiran called into the Kitchen," Aaa...Naa….Benny is here..". A few minutes later, Ana came out with a cocktail of some sort, ice cubes tinkling in a squat tumbler for Benny: "….Here Benny, …your drink"…She gave the glass to him, and as he took it, she put her arm around his neck, kissed him on his smooth dome and said, "Happy Thanksgiving".
"….no sugar for anyone else ?" Kiran asked, faking a sad expression.
"….aren't you on a diet ?…..", winked Oksana in return.
Kiran laughed out loud. Kamla smiled at Oksana, obviously pleased with that come-back. Benny smacked his lips after the first sip of his cocktail.
Reddy blinked in confusion.
They started dinner early. Kamla sat at the head of the table, with Ana and Benny to her right, and Kiran and Reddy to her left. Ana set the table and filled their wine and water glasses. When they all sat down, Ana wanted a prayer. This was very new to Reddy. He followed what the others did. Ana put her hands together in a namaste, put her chin down and closed her eyes. Then she was quiet for about 30 seconds. All of them did the same. Reddy opened his eyes a bit, and peeked at Ana. Tear drops were seeping out of her closed eyes. Soon, Ana straightened with, "Oookkkayyy…", wiped her eyes with her napkin and said,"…Happy Thanksgiving …everyone..". Kamla reached and patted Ana's back gently and said," …Happy thanksgiving….". Kiran raised his wine glass and took a sip; Reddy followed Kiran's example. Benny tinkled his cocktail tumbler.
A cold soup, caesar salad, game hen with a masala stuffing inside, basmati rice, green beans with mustard seeds and grated coconut, and pumpkin pie. The traditional turkey, cranberry sauce and stuffing were absent. Kamla explained,"…Sheila'd have made it american….now Ana decided what we'll have…". Ana got up and served soup for everyone, saying," soup is Russian, salad is Italian, game hen is african, rice and green beans are indian and pie is american". All the serving bowls were at one end: Benny served himself first and passed the dishes to Ana, Ana to Kamla, then to Kiran and finally to Reddy.
After dinner, Benny and Reddy loaded the dishwasher and cleaned up the table and counter tops. Kiran, Kamla and Ana had gone to the basement where the big screen television was. Soon Reddy heard some bollywood song playing. After the dishwasher started, the countertop and dinner table were cleaned, Benny told Reddy,"…you can go down to join them now…". Reddy went down and sat in a lazy boy chair. He couldn't quite follow what was on television. After some time, Kamla asked Kiran to go upstairs with her.
After they left, Ana looked at Reddy and said," …they'll talk business……" and smiled. After about 10 minutes, they heard Kamla's voice, "..AaaNaa…Could you come up here ..". Ana jumped off the sofa, gave Reddy the remote, and ran upstairs. Reddy looked at that TV remote: more complicated than the one he was used to. The others upstairs were planning something even more complicated for Reddy.
No comments:
Post a Comment