Appu and his family.

No, I am not talking about the character abhoooooo from SIMPSON’S.
There was a house opposite to where I lived when I was a kid, which was empty for sometime. Then Appu came there to live with his family, he had three daughters and two sons. I don’t remember the sons’ names. I became friends with the daughters so, I remember their names. Elder one was Manju, second one Usha also called as 'uchakkanni' (because she had cross-eyes), sometimes, by her whole family. Youngest was Bindu.
My sisters called their mother,Alamelu. She was a sight to be seen . A little on the heavy side, she would walk, making sure that her silver anklets were making all the necessary sounds it is supposed to make. She would wear mundu, blouse and a towel in front. She kept aluminum pots in all of the neigbourhood houses. They had two or three cows. We were supposed to throw, leftover rice, the water we use to wash rice, every left over vegetarian food items, in to that pot. She would get out of her house at around 5 pm, with a huge aluminum pot on her hip to collect this from the houses, and give it to her cows. We can hear the sound of the anklet,from far away. The way she walked and the sound of it, all reminded me of an elephant walking. No, not in a funny way. It was an elegant walk, it was a sight. She would be on the road, at the time when the people working at the nearby offices would be returning to their homes. She would walk left and right with that pot on her hip and everybody on the road would have their eyes on her. It was almost like she is putting on a show for all who wants to see. Most of the time she would be humming a song. There was a lodge nearby; where there were a few young, men lived. They would stand near the wall during these walks and she would walk with a smile especially for them. At night, things sometimes could change, if Appu comes home with staggering legs. Then there will be crying and banging and sometimes people running out of the house.The neighborhood was a very calm one, with their arrival it became active. I was all for it. For me,everything looked like characters out of comic books,so i enjoyed all that. With their arrival,my summer time became enjoyable again.
I became friends with these kids pretty soon. Most of the daytime they would be alone in their house. On weekends and holidays, we would play together sometimes. They had a shop adjacent to their home. .They had one more shop at the next street .(this one belonged to my father and Appu was a worker there, then he bought it from my father). The kids takes care of this shop and father takes care of the main one in the next street. Father, mother and two elder brothers would go to the main shop in the mornings and mother comes back around noontime. Sometimes Appu comes home to check on the kids ,sometimes he don’t. As soon as they make a sale, the kids would run to a nearby shop to buy chocolates and whatever edible things they feel like. Sometime they share it with me too. One day, when they were gone to buy chocolates, I saw the shocking sight. Appu coming home, riding his cycle! He used to sit so upright in his cycle, you would think he is riding a king’s chair, and he himself, the king. He looks a little bit scary, with big dark marks all over his face. I could not imagine what would happen next. He came, put the cycle aside and called Manjuuuuuuuuuuu. No signs of Manju. He called Binduuu. Again no answer. Usheeee.. she came running from inside the house. 'Where are the others?'. She started stammering. She said some lies I guess. But he did not believe her. Then he saw his other two daughters laughing and running towards home with handful of eatables. They went straight to their house and bumped in to their father. Firecrackers before Deepavali. That is what it was after that…
They came out without much injuries…those were good simple girls. Later on, when I went that way, I saw Usha in a sari, with a kid on her hip. She did not look much different…