I was watching a TV show. Mr Innocent and some others were talking of the childhood days. Especially the child in those days who will fail to go the school without throwing a stone at a wayside mango tree. It took me years back.
We were a small group of boys. my parents went to work. and it was holidays. What else we have to do than roaming here and there. sometimes it was fishing. We had a "thorthu" and we will spread it under the water and we can see any fish because of the white background. As fish is used to squibble out between the fingers, it was a difficult task of catching fish by hand and we will usually get "manathu kanni" There will be a golden eye on the top of the head. The fish is then transferred to the bottle and carried all the way to a fish tank.
One day we jumped a 5 feet compound wall. We need climb only 4 ft because somebody had removed some one or two stones here and there. It was easy climbing because someone else had earlier made holes for stepping. Some stones were kept at the bottom as stepping stone also. It was the big backyard for Mr Muthunayakam, where he cultivated different varities of mango trees and jackfruit trees and many fruits. We were interested only in mango trees.
I never made it to get the mangoes. I never was good at aiming. I closed my one eye and threw the i ft long log which will hit the mangoes on my fifth or sixth throw but the mango bunches will not fall. The friends laughed at me calling "pachakari"(meaning vegetables..i am a strict vegetarian) Ponnappan, my neighbour was very good at throwing. He never missed any hits. He uses only stones with sharp edges. Let the mangoes be at any height his stone is sure to hit and when he is throwing it rains mangoes. we will run helter skelter to pick the mangoes. We shout "oh there oh here.There are "kilichoondan", vellayani, honey mangoes One of them is Karpoora mangoe..it smells camphor. When we are satisfied of showing our skills we will take the mangoes and luckily for us there was a cooperative store which kept the salt bag. During those days there was no packed or iodised or refined salt. We know only of one kind of "Uppu". The mangoes are made to pieces not by knifes. but it is smashed on the stones and the pieces are eaten with some salt. even now it waters the mouth just to think of it. A little water after the manogo treat from the public water tap.. and we can go for some rest.
r Mutunayakam it seems was worried of where the mangoes go. So one day he decided to deal with a firm foot.
We jumped and as usual we threw the stones. But suddenly a boy shouted. Oodikko Patti varune..(Run the dog is coming) Mr Muthunayakam released his big alsatian dog and i didnt know how it all happened. I ran and jumped at one shot over the wall..and thanked God..
we never ventured into Muthunayakam's backyard.. We ate mangoes from other trees somewhere else.
