It was through some common friends that my father first met him and slowly they both became friends. I remember the day when my father first told me about him. Even though it was difficult for me at that time to understand his bussiness, I was able to catch up that he was the captain of a ship that sailed all around the world through out the year.
'Kappithan'. That was what they used to called him.I was doing my pre-degree at that time and was still a very much confused teenage boy about the 'what why where how' etc of life.
Sometimes I dreamt myself in place of Yuri Gagarin, the Russian cosmonaut who first went to space, the very next moment I wanted to be a play back singer like Yesudas and then I imagined myself to be in the Indian cricket team. Naturally the prospects of sailing through the vast ocean, facing the unknowns, and the risks associated with it interested me and this person became another cult figure for me.
And one fine day we met.
He was our guest during an Onam holiday. A man in his early fifties who did not look that old for his age. He gave the impression of a gulf returned malayalee with his golden wrist watch and clean shave. He was very cheerful when he spoke and yet I could sense a very good commanding power in him.
"And why not, after all he is the captain of a ship", I told myself.
We did not talk much as I was not sure about what to talk. Just a few sentences and I retreated back to the kitchen as if to help my mother. That was an old but very effective trick which I always used to my benefit whenever I found myself uncomfortable in front of guests.
"Cm'on, sit with me", he asked me several times during the lunch, but I did not.
I was nervous.
"I will sit later along with my sis", was my polite reply but in reality was just another of my highly effective tricks. I feared the questions he may be asking during these times.
Finally after another hour or so, he left the house thanking my Dad and Mom for the excellent lunch. He gave me special thanks for serving him the dishes. Yea, to avoid sitting with him, I had taken up that role.
While leaving he gifted me a cool t-shirt and an expensive scent. I was thrilled at the very thought of wearing the new t-shirt and going to my college spreading the rare male fragrance.
"Tomorrow I will take my seat beside Reeba", the silent decision was quick and I thanked him.
Days passed by. The t-shirt became old, the scent dried up and his memories started to fade. Occassionaly my dad used to tell something about him and that was the only time when I used to remember him.
From my father I came to know that he had built a very huge house somewhere near to his ancenstral property and was planning to quit his job. He showed me the photos of his bunglow and it was really impressive, complete with a glass dome at the very top. Was it three storeyed? I dont remember now.
"That is where he would sit and drink whisky all the day", my father pointed to the dome and said. And We both laughed.
For another year I did not hear much about him and I had almost forgot him.
One day, my father told me that kappithan was left with a very huge debt and he was once again going to join the same company which he had left few years back. I just nodded and did not pay much attention. I had other cult figures by then.
And the next news that I heard about him was that he was dead.
"He was in Mumbai for almost a year waiting for some shipping companies to hire him, but it did not work out", my father said.
"And so he had to return jobless?", I was curious.
"Yes."
"What about his debt? His family"?
"He sold his house for a good amount and with that he managed to settle most of his debts. He was in his ancestral home with his family when he suffered his second heart attack and yesterday he is gone."
I looked at my father. For a moment, the old memories came flashing up in my mind. The handsome face, his confident attire,everything. And of course, the t-shirt and the scent.
I was having a bad feeling about the whole thing. I could not imagine that he would suffer such a miserable end. This was certainly not like my hero!
"You did not recognize him when he came to see your father last time, didn't you?", my mother asked me in a very sad voice.
"When? We met only once and that was.........", I stopped in between as the shocking reality hit me hard.
"It was him??", I couldn't believe myself.I stared at her in doubt as the images of a man started flashing in my mind....
The images of that man, who smiled at me when asking for my father,
That man, in wrinkled shirt and dirty pants,
That man, whom I had asked to wait outside and closed the door before going to call my father,
That man, who had disappeared when I came back with my father.......,
That man was............?????
Then, at that moment I could clearly make out why his smile slowly started to fade as I was closing the door. At that moment, I could clearly make out why he was not there when I came back. At that moment, I had answers to all those mysteries related to that stranger whose thoughts were puzzling me till then......
The answer was simple and made perfect sense.
That man was Kappithan!
From heaven if you could look down to earth, then please see me, hear me,
"I am so sorry......."
Signed:
Sreeram R Warrier :(
