The tamarind tree

The estate was divided into many sections,quarters for the tappers which were commonly known as 'layams'(lines),the temple area,which stood at the heart of the estate'hub', the Tamil school was beside the temple and the sundry shops were directly opposite the school,though at a discreet distance from it.The school field divided the upper part of the estate from the lowlands and those 'layams'.



The estate workers were from various ethnic groups,the Indians, Chinese and Malays,The Indian population dominated the estates in those days, followed by Chinese and Malays . Though they they were different by racial and religious aspects,the entire community lived in harmony and peace. The rubber tappers were simple people with simple needs and to them racial and religious factors were not the yardstick to measure human values and humanity.Here everyone was known to everyone else,and if Raman's child was sick,Ah Chong's wife made Chinese traditional herbs soup for him and if Ahmad's wife had migraine,Somu's mom made garlic paste for her and sent it to her together with brinjals from her vegetable plot......such was the unique lifestyle we all had during my childhood as an estate dweller.



My house was one of four special houses which stood just beside the sundry shops.These four houses were bigger,two bedrooms,one hall,a kitchen and a five foot(porch?)with wooden fencing and a rectangular bench taking up almost half the width of it.The bench had multiple purpose,it was where i conducted my 'gang' meetings with my friends and played 'thayam' ,'pallangkuli' and 'masak-masak',etc...etc..

At night,it was the platform where my father sat cross legged majestically and narrated tales after tales from the Mahabaratha and Ramayana.I used to sit cross legged with a sarong covering my entire form within its comfort ,both the ends of the sarong securely pulled over my head,displaying just a fraction of my eager face,listening to my father's storytelling. His audience were my mother's very close friends,Chinnathyee and Rukkumani ,both my sisters and sometimes when he was not already drunk and sleepy from the 'toddy',Chinnathayee's husband would also join us.Its was a bench with many silent tales embedded within its wooden planks,im sure! Also its where i practised my first scribbles and later drawings of 'orang lidi'(hihihi)



Beside my house was the estate's badminton court and at the back of my house,my mother had fenced off the huge vacant plot of land and had turned it into a vegetable garden . She had also grown guava,rambutan, mango and jackfruit trees along the edge of the entire plot.And the Tamarind tree stood directly behind our backdoor, only about 500 metres away and my mother told me it was a hundred year old tree and it had magic powers!It was a very huge, tall tree with branches spreading wild and rich with tamarind fruits!The tamarind tree was constantly under attack by the estate kids,who seemed to derive great pleasure in fighting imaginary owls,birds and even demons which resided on top of the tree !And the moment I relax my guard,they would not hesistate to take a shot at the juicy ,sour tamarind fruits,which stimulated ones taste buds whenever one lays his or her eye on them!



Whatever their intention,aim or wish,those who dared to come near my tamarind tree had to 'pass thorugh' me,the possessive owner,who guarded it like a jealous hen guarding her chicks!

Almost all my afternoons were spent around it,under it or near it,with my friends and I,playing 'hide and seek','theif and police' or 'uuulong' and the occasinal 'masak-masak'.



Everyday,after school and lunch,i would go to my tamarind tree and hug it,going around it in circles bcoz i couldnt reach its entire width with my hands.I inhaled its scent of bark and juice,tasted the peel offs and ate its sour young leaves and enjoy to squint my eyes and swallow the surge of saliva which dribbled from my mouth.(I wish i still had my tamarind tree with me!)



My father had put up a swing for me on one of its branches during one school vacation and it became an instant attraction among the young ones and also adults!I made sure i glued myself to my swing for a whole week,so much so that my mother had to feed me my meals while I was on it!

........"aaaahhh...new broom always sweeps clean....let the monkey enjoy it as long as she wants...for by next week,the swing would also be as lonely as the tamarind tree....." It was the old lady Maniamma,my staunch enemy,who made the comment while she walked past the tree.On a normal occasion,I would have retorted a very hurting insult at her but for now I was just happy swinging to and fro,enjoying the gush of the wind on my face,making me feel like the Princess I imagined myself to be...For now this bliss was enough for me.And old lady Maniamma had a right to dish out that comment i guess,as she was the victim of a very'sinister'theft of her ripe guavas which had mysteriously disappeared into thin air just that morning and I was the prime suspect! And i knew old lady Maniamma was only trying to dig my mouth,provoking me to let out valuable info as to the missing guavas...and I knew when to keep my shut tight as a purse,as to protect my own hide, as well as my friends. But i couldnt help myself from giggling secretly as i savoured the great moments of fright and thrill of that morning escapade with my friends at old lady Maniamma's guava tree!