Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Chillie baby

Jos is a man with lot of problems. He is a good cook. He has nothing, not much education, and no relatives except two friends. They are totally numbskulls. Asokan knows only to fry chicken, provided masala is put by Jos. Suraj is an expert in cooking biriyani rice and he knows only that. (Provided Jos give measurements) Faithfulness is his biggest enemy. Jos has only two cents of land in the junction where he runs a hotel. He is loved by the local people as he gives them good food. Mathaayi muthalaali is a miser and blade from the locality. Is funny that he is the ward member. Still he comes to have good food from Jos. He is asking for porotta and curry only. But Jos gives him some small pieces too. Mathayi muthalaali has a daughter who has an eye on Jos. He doesn’t care her even though he has some feelings toward her. Asokan gives her chicken fry secretly telling that it is send by Jos. Jos has good business even though his items are costlier than others. As the road widening going on, he loses his one and only asset his two cents and his hotel. He is not interested to work in any other hotels. He has to clear the previous debts too. So he and friends work for grameena thozhil daana padhathy. There they were running a moving canteen as they had lot of time to spare in parallel. But he loses that too because his friends who try to make union there to avoid the corruption of ward member Matthayi Muthalaali. He tries to collect pagidi from the workers. Jos loses his love from Muthalali’s daughter. Mathhayi muthalaali forces Jos to enter into catering business. He tells this only because he can have food on no expense. When Jos gets the amount from government, Mathayi Muthalali gets him an order for a rich marriage. Mathayi muthalali cleverly avoids the money deal as he is aware of the financial position of Jos, even though he has faith on him. When he collects the money from the bank, ill luck comes in the form of a pick pocket in bus. He is coming back with 20000 rupees collected from the treasury. He wakes up as an old Muslim loses 20000 in bus. He cries out as the money he lost was for his daughter’s nikah. Then the bus is taken to a police station. Policemen examine everyone and take out 20000 from him. Policemen and the mob cruelly dehumanize him. When the inspector hands off that 20000 rupees of 1000 rs notes, the old Muslim Man rejects the money. He says that that money doesn’t belong to him. His money was of 500 rupee notes. Dileep gives that 20000 to him because he saved his prestige even though he is completely aware that his life is gone. He needs money very badly now as he had got a contract for catering for a posh marriage through Mathaayi muthalali. The guy who gives the order to him is very rich. But he doesn’t believe Jos completely, even though he is aware of his cooking skills. If Jos tells out that he has no money, his life will be in dare straights. He approaches several banks as he needs money to conduct the catering. Mathai muthalali may give the money, but he is reluctant to approach him. But all deserts him as he has nothing to give as a guarantee.

He tries to contact several banks employees for some money, until he meets Meera, who is working in a new generation bank. Meera is a rude woman who is 8.5 months pregnant. She has no connection with her family as she had eloped with a guy named Johny, a Christian, a software engineer. Johny vanishes when she is three months pregnant. She is rejected after his sexual joys and he flies off to US as a permanent resident. She had no legal marriage with him as they were living together. Her mother is planning to come down to Kochi thinking that Johny is with her, when the birth of her grand child nears. Meera is a victim of co-habitation. Jos needs a loan and Meera needs a man to act like Johny in front of her mother. They make an agreement and he gets his money. So Meera shifts her apartment and Jos starts living with her. She doesn’t believe men now and she tries to harass him every chance she gets. Jos cares her well as she is on leave suffering from gestational diabetes. In that flat there is another pregnant woman named Shalini, whos husband is an NRI. She got pregnant after a lot of treatment. Jos befrends her and he takes care of her matters too as a brother. Meera is bit envy. She doesn’t allow his friends to come nearby. But he is missing them very badly. He gives her insulin injections painlessly. He washes her clothes. He even cleans her vomiting. Then she remembers one scene when she was two months pregnant. She vomited in the wash basin and it was full. Water doesn’t flow down. She tries to open the passage with a sharp knife. But Johny grabs it and throws away telling that it is German Knife. He knits small clothes for the child. He says the child will be a baby girl. This makes her crazy as she doesn’t want the same to her daughter.. He makes her happy every moment. He sings a song for the child when it is kicking Meera from inside. He even chants mantras to protect the child. The child keeps quite when he is singing. During this time, they understand well. He takes her to hospital, where the doctor fires him left and right for not accompanying her in the previous sittings. She advises him to be with her from now on always. His loan is passed as she is the guarantee. In the mean time Shalini delivers a boy and that boy got kiled when his slipped down from the hands of the nurse. Shalini is in despair. But jos manages her from not coming back to the flat before Meera delivers. Her delivery date is approaching and his day for catering also approaching. So the day for proving his expertise in cooking comes. He arranges all cooking materials in the middle even though his mind doesn’t allow leaving her. She is feeble now and he goes away in the afternoon and then the baby starts kicking her from inside. He keeps her mobile completely charged beside her. In the kitchen his team is there. Jos is a different man in kitchen. He marinates masala for the cut chicken pieces. Asokan and Suraj are busy with him cutting vegetables. Marriage reception will start at 6PM. They are busy working. Mathaayi Muthalaali is there being all in all. Pickles sides dishes are ready now. Asokan starts his duty of frying chicken. Suraj, though poor in mathematics, is ready to cook rice. 25 kg rice is to be cooked. It is washed and kept in a chemb. Now water has to be added and kept. Suddenly Jos gets a call in feeble voice from Meera. Then she loses her consciousness. Jos tries to call her back. But no response. He gives orders to Asokan and Suraj and tries to sneak away from there without the notice of Mathaayi muthalaali. While he is escaping from there, Suraj calls him from back and asks him how many kilograms of rice is kept, Jos tells thirty. Suraj adds water and keeps the fire. When Jos reaches home, Meera is unconscious and the child is kicking her like anything from inside. Jos admits her at the hospital where she is doing her weekly check ups. Doctor scolds him outright for delay. Back in the wedding house, Suraj shows the complete chicken fry, pickles, salads, hot water, and papads to Mathai muthalaali. He tastes the chicken and is happy. When he opens the biriyani chemp, he goes mad. Biriyani rice became biriyani kanji. Asokan and Suraj run away from there. Jos is standing out the labor room with the new born. It is a baby girl. She smiles after listening to his voice. Then the mother of Meera arrives at the scene. She is happy seeing Jos. He acts as Johny in front of her. Then he gets a call from Mathai muthalaali telling that he will not get even a single paisa from him. Jos is completely lost, but he is happy as the child gives him innocent smiles. Next day, Meera is brought to the room. Her mother is taking care of the child. Nurse asks the Mother to bathe her. She goes out with the child telling Jos to bathe her. He is in trouble. Asokan and Suraj tries to contact him. When the call comes, Meera picks up the phone as Jos is standing outside with the child. Suraj and Asokan ask for forgiveness. Meera’s mother is about to leave. She tells Jos that she has no hard feelings towards them. She invites them to Bangalore as her husband is alone there, who is not well now. Now Meera is brought back to the flat. Jos helps her to settle down. The child sleeps all the day and wake all nights. Jos is having a tough time. He only bathes the child, cleans her nappies. When Meera suffers from a fever, her milk supply nearly ends. Now it is very difficult to manage the child. There in Shalini’s house, she is suffering from the excess milk production. So Jos brings her bach to the flat. Now, he is tensed much now how to find a job for a living and pay back. He is holding the child now. He tells Meera that he has to go to the bank and pay the first installment from the profit he got from the catering. She says profit is there is in Mathayi muthalali’s pocket as he made alternate arrangement for biriyani rice. Rest everything was made by Jos. She tells him that she will repay his debts herself. Jos cannot accept that. But she persuades him and wins at last. He is about to leave now. Now the child is sleeping in his hands. He keeps her in the bed and gives a kiss on her forehead. He blesses her. When he is about to leave the child grabs his finger. They both look at each other. He goes away without any idea of future. He is walking down the steps. Then Shalini calls him from back. She hands over an application for birth certificate for signing at the place of father. He puts his signature there. She tells him that he is a fool who cannot understand a woman’s heart. She tells him that now Meera understood that education without love is meaningless. So he is there to stay. The child smiles………..

Dr.Preetha