194. His Mother's Joy (Short Story No. 8 from Marriage and Mutton Curry) by M. Shanmughalingam

BOOK REVIEW: His Mother's Joy (Short Story No.8 from Marriage and Mutton Curry) by M. Shanmughalingam

Of all the gifts that life has to offer, a loving mother is the greatest of them all. A mother's sacrifice has no limits and she is the proudest of everyone when it comes to a child's achievement. I know that for a fact as my mother has been the backbone of steel for myself in anything that I pursue.

But what happens when a Jaffna Tamil mother becomes too proud of her Malaysian Civil Service Officer son? a string of hilarity ensues in this short story written by the prosaic Dato' Dr. M. Shanmughalingam.

Mrs Kandiah is so proud of her son who has just become a Malaysian Civil Service Officer. In her joy, she gives thanks to Lord Ganesha before bringing over kolukattai (rice flour dumplings) oozing with palm sugar syrup to Mrs Chong, her neighbor. Its a customary practice among the Tamil community to share sweet morsels among close friends and family if good news was bestowed. 

As with all mothers, Mrs Kandiah brags of her son being in a much higher rank than his Office Assistant father. She expresses her sacrifice of sitting with her son since kindergarten right through school, going through every line of his homework. 

In the afternoon, Mrs Kandiah proceeds to the post office to complete a chore. Not satisfied with just sharing the news with Mrs Chong, she approaches a Malay woman who is also waiting for mail and begins her tirade of her son's achievement and position in the government sector. 

Without realizing that she was going a bit overboard, Mrs Kandiah even mentions to the unknown Malay woman that if she ever needed a hefty loan she could approach Mrs Kandiah's son for a word of recommendation. Little does Mrs Kandiah know that the Malay woman happened to be Puan Sri Salmah, wife to the Secretary General to the Treasury (who happens to be of all unfortunate circumstances, Siva's big boss).

One day as Mrs Kandiah and Siva are at the wet market, she is embarassingly confronted with Puan Sri Salmah. What do you think Puan Sri could have told Mrs Kandiah? What was Mrs Kandiah's reaction to that?

Feel like pulling out your hair in suspense? Before you go bald dear reader, grab a copy of Marriage and Mutton Curry off the shelves before it's sold out. The short stories in this book are bound to keep you entertained while learning on Malaysia's history, culture and also the Jaffna Tamil society.