Short Stories by Malathykutty

  This  elderly person , whom  every one  calls by the  name ;Koya ’   was known  to  us from the  first day I reached  REC Campus  after   our wedding in 1969. He was  ready  to offer any type  of help to any one  or family in the campus and hence  called  public service  koya.  He was  willing  to help anyone, rich or poor, Keralite  or non-keralite,   any type  of help for a reasonable  charge. When  he is entrusted  with  buying  any item   from the  nearby   township or city, he was  meticulous  in keeping the  accounts without  any slip and at the  end of the  job collects  his labour charges and leaves  happily  for him and the  person who entrusted  the work with him. He was staying about 5 kMs away from   our campus and everyday he ...

  I n our house, our mum   used  to have  a few  chicken grown  mainly for eggs for the children. She  was   very fond of feeding the chicken. In her   leisure time,   she used   to caress   them and   give them   food remains from the   kitchen. The   cock, hen and small   chicken   used   to get into our verandas and sometimes defecate on the veranda. On many days, we   woke   up hearing her caressing lovable words   to these   tiny birds in the   morning. Our   dad   on the   other hand never liked these   creatures but had   to   tolerate   with a grin.   One day   as we   woke   up, we   heard our dad shouting   at the   top of his voice and   was   unusually   angry. As our dad   was   a mild person who rarely get   provoked   or shout at   others,  ...

  There   was   only one vacancy for a teacher in the   school. My dad   also   applied for the   post. He   was   one among the   twelve   called   for the interview. Among the twelve, my dad   was the only   person outside   the   community that was   running the school. Till   then,   all   posts were   being filled   by   candidates   from their own community. Dad   had   little   hope   but was   not ready   to accept defeat without a fight. Naturally, he   was   the   last person to be interviewed. He   could   answer   all the   questions   very well . Finally, the   Chairman of the   interview board asked. So, you have   come here   as   the twelfth   man, right? Dad replied : Yes   , but   I am not Judas. When he   got the appointment  ...

They were just two cats. I rarely liked cats until that day. One fine day, they appeared outside our house as uninvited guests. I kept my kitchen door firmly shut to prevent them from getting inside. Even after two weeks, they remained near our house. Over time, during my spare moments, I began to watch them play in the open. To me, they seemed to be demonstrating a martial art like our Kalari Payattu. Both of them would approach from two corners, leap into the air, collide with each other, and fall down in a heap together. They repeated the same game every day. Slowly, I started liking them. I began feeding them kitchen scraps and leftovers after cleaning fish.   The he-cat among the two was very smart and used to eat more food, even what was given to the she-cat. Many days, she would survive on whatever he left behind. Whenever she approached her food, he would frighten her away by lifting one paw. Seeing this, I started placing their food in two different spots. But he would...