Unmai Sudum

'Unmai Sudum' is a compilation of rare literary gems by the celebrated author, Jayakanthan. Each of the contemporary short-stories included in this series reflects social realities of rural and urban South India.

A poor youth sees a young woman begging. He advises her to work for a living instead of begging. She admonishes him and tells him that she had tried but was not able to get a job. He asks her whether she would work if he gave her a job and she agrees. He then hires her as domestic help. She works for him for a few days during which both of them develop a liking towards each other. The liking soon blossoms into love and they end up proposing to each other.

Old man Vairam comes to meet his friend who is a Swami. He tells Swami how his son and wife ill-treat him because he is retired and has no money. A little while later, Swami has to leave for some reason, but before leaving, he cautions Vairam against consuming a paste that he has prepared as it is poisonous. However, a depressed Vairam consumes the paste as soon as Swami leaves. Meanwhile, Swami meets Vairam's son and asks him to take his father back home. The son takes Vairam home where he reveals that he had consumed poison. The son rushes to Swami for help. Swami arrives and reveals that what Vairam had consumed was not poison, but a medicine for his chest burn.

The year is 1965. Fed up of life, a youth relinquishes all worldly pleasures and adopts the saffron clothing. He lives and serves at a temple for food. One day, the temple head priest sends him to retired armyman Pallai’s house. The youth listens to Pallai’s discussions with his friends. Pallai’s talks inspire him and he goes back to the temple where the Guru’s discourse also inspires him. Suddenly one day, the youth disappears. He resurfaces a few days later in an army outfit. When asked by the head priest and Pallai, he informs them that he had joined the army and, in doing so, he has found meaning in his life.

Ramani complains to Sundaralingam that his tenant is of a bad character and that he has dubious intentions about his wife. Hearing this, Sundaralingam throws his young tenant out of his house. Having nowhere else to go, the youth goes to a restaurant and orders coffee. Ramani spots him and asks him why he was asked to leave the house. The youth tells him that he was not aware of the reason. Ramani realizes that the youth does not even know him although he used to live in the opposite house. He also realizes that his doubts about the youth and his wife having an affair were all his imagination. When he returns home, he learns that even his wife did not know the youth.

Gopalaswamy comes to the city from his village without informing his parents because his parents do not agree with his choice of girl for marriage. In the city, he roams around and enjoys himself throughout the day. However, he has trouble finding a place to sleep at night. Finally, he settles down outside a locked house. But suddenly, a police constable arrives and arrests him and puts him in jail under section 54. Not aware that he has been arrested, Gopalaswamy naively goes to the jail and sleeps, thinking that the police have given him shelter for the night.

Ponnamma works as a domestic help in her locality. Her husband was a freedom fighter and she loses him during the freedom struggle. After some while, she loses her son too. Now she has only her daughter who she gets married. Her daughter lives in the city and she longs to meet her as she has not met her for nearly 10 years. One day the local leader and people honor her husband, during the function she longs to ask the local leader for some monetary help to go and meet her daughter however; she is not able to, due to fear of losing the respect her husband has earned for himself and his family.

Andal wants to educate her son while her husband is against it. The husband however wants him to work to add to the monetary support of the family. Determined Andal sends her son to school. When it is time to pay the school fees Andal is unable to arrange the required sum. She skips her meals to save money for her son - an act that eventually leads to illness and her untimely death. Ultimately the son is forced to drop out from school and work with his father.

Andi works in a graveyard as a grave digger for children who die an untimely death. Least bothered about the nature of his job and of the sorrow of losing a child, he keeps on smiling - an act that makes others think of him as an imbecile. One day his wife gives birth to a child. Andi is overjoyed but his joy is short-lived as one day his son dies. When truth strikes home Andi realizes the pain of losing a child and he loses his carefree laughter and is crestfallen. Even after the smile is wiped of his face Andi remains the imbecile for others.

Somu is not very good in studies. He fails his 8th standard exams, due to which his father strictly instructs him to sit at home and study. His mother feels pity for him and tells him to go to the temple so that he can improve. At the temple, Somu attends a religious discourse which changes his thoughts. He starts thinking like a saint and decides to go to Himalayas for enlightenment. One day, he shaves off his head and heads northwards. Half way through his journey to the Himalayas, he feels tired and hungry. He sleeps on the roadside for the night. An old man and his son find him and they enquire about him. Somu starts crying and tells them that he wants to go back home. The next morning, he is back home.

Rukmani is a blind orphan girl who weaves baskets for living. She meets Kannapan who, too, is blind. He is a good singer and earns his livelihood by singing and begging. They interact without one knowing the disability of the other. Rukmani and Kannapan soon develop a liking for each other. However, when Kannapan comes to know of Rukmani’s disability, he leaves her and goes away as he feels that two blind people cannot lead a life together. What happens next?

Somanathan is a retired schoolteacher. His former student Parameshwaran has become a college professor. Somanathan gets Parameshwaran married to his niece Kothai who is 20 years younger to Parameshwaran. One day, Parameshwaran receives an anonymous letter saying that Kothai had an affair with a boy before marriage and that Somanathan had cheated him by getting her married to him. Parameshwaran is upset. He shows the letter to Somanathan who refutes the allegations. He asks Kothai about it and she says that it is true. This creates more confusion in Parameshwaran’s mind. What happens next?

Ambi is a naughty boy who enjoys killing animals. One day, he kills a rat in his neighbor’s house. In the same house, there is a cat which keeps troubling the residents by drinking up their milk. Ambi starts eying the cat for a kill. One day, he catches the cat, takes it to the local butcher and asks him to kill it. The butcher agrees to kill the cat if he or his friends are prepared to eat it. The boy refuses. The butcher then tells them that killing an animal just for the sake of it is a sin. The boy realizes his mistake and releases the cat.