200. Free and Freed (Short Story No.14 in Marriage and Mutton Curry) by M. Shanmughalingam

BOOK REVIEW: Free and Freed (Short Story No.14 in Marriage and Mutton Curry) by M. Shanmughalingam

Oh! Doctor/engineer/accountant mappilai (groom)! Praise be to god! These are the things normally uttered by the elders of an Indian family not excluding the Jaffna Tamil society. Highly looked upon till today, most of the Indian families purposely weedle their sons into furthering their studies to become one of those mentioned above, whether they like it or not.

So what do you think happens when the daughter of someone in a Jaffna Tamil community is seen gallivanting with a guy who doesn't seem to look right in the eyes of the elders in the community, but who is actually a doctor, is confronted? In this hilarious short story written by the laughter-inducing Dato' Dr. M. Shanmughalingam, the tables are turned on the elders, putting them in a tough situation.

Mrs Kandiah (due to her sharp sword of her tongue, she is nicknamed Kaiser Kandiah) and Mrs Chelliah (Chatterbox Chelliah, way too much talking and gossiping) are talking to each other one day. Gossip is travelling among the folk that Muthiah's daughter is hanging out with a man who is out of the community. It is uncommon for well brought up daughters to elope with men from outside the community who don't have proper education and no finances.

Mrs Kandiah gets worked up into a frenzy and intends to teach the young man a lesson. She goes to the stage of telling she would show him a slipper to signify that he is nothing more than the filthy slipper and that she has trodden more miles in life than him. So Mrs Kandiah and Mrs Chelliah hatch a plan to confront the boy and Muthiah's daughter in the cinema.

Do you think the confrontation led to the silverscreen-worthy breakups as seen in the Tamil films? Or perhaps an unexpected switching of sides take place? I don't want to be the spoiler to this story, dear readers. The ending of this story had me in stitches and I know it will leave you in such a situation as well.

For more hilarious, tear-wrenching and altogether interesting short stories, Marriage and Mutton Curry is definitely a book that deserves applause for its literary work. It's already on the shelves of most good bookstores so getting your hands on one is going to be easy peasy lemon squeezy!