Forever Friends

 

They were the best of friends
Kodhanda Raman was the bright one
Venkata Raman was the muscle
Pattabi Raman was the clown
And Janaki Raman……, well he was what he was

They have known each other for all their lives
Growing up in the squatter houses in Bukit Chagar
Nothing could come in between them

Not food,
They loved sharing Dawood’s roti canai with dalcha
Not football,
They adored Kevin Keegan and were staunch Liverpool fans
Not school,
They hated Sekolah Dato Jaafar and homework even more
Not money
They hardly had enough to make it an issue

Nothing could come in between them
Well, almost nothing

Vinodhini!
She of the almond eyes, that blurred their vision
She of midnight black hair, that cast a shadow in their burning hearts
She of honey lips, that sweetened their thoughts
She of sultry voice, that was music to their ears
She of dainty footsteps, that had their hearts thumping

Kodhanda tried to impress by helping her with homework
Venkata thought his footballing skills would interest her
Pattabi made her laugh with his pranks and antics
And Janaki, well he told her outright of his interest in her

The lass, however, was non-committal
She basked in the adoration of all four
But was steadfast on being evasive
And so, the once bosom buddies were now rivals in love

No more of sharing roti canai
No more football
No more walking to school together
Only resentment and jealousy

Weeks passed by
The four newly minted rivals were still in their pursuit of love
Sneered the others’ presence and treated each other in disdain
But just it seemed destined that the friendship was doomed forever
Truth set them free

For their subject of adoration was a cunning little fox
As beautiful as she was, she was also deceitful
While busy playing with their emotions, she was also busy courting
Courting the Headmaster’s son, Moses Masilamoney
Moses of the rich baritone voice

Kodhanda recognised his stupidity
Venkata understood his vanity
Pattabi grasped his foolishness
Janaki, well he realised it was time to move on

The friendship was resumed without a second thought
As if nothing really happened in the preceding weeks

Back to Dawoods for their share of the roti canai with dalcha
Back to supporting Liverpool
Back to hating their school and homework
Back to being poor together
And now regretting deep in their hearts of the girl that almost tore them apart

Nothing could come in between them
Well, almost nothing
Until the Nachiappan family moved in to their neighbourhood

Janshiranee,
She of the ………………………….!

– S.T. Arasu