Mother's rice

Dhanu is the eldest of Dharshani, the mother of three sons. They came to stay in Colombo and Dhanu was sent to an international school. Dhanu's father was away from home as he was in the tourism business that earned him heaps of money.

Dhanu's mother was unhappy about her elder son's progress in education. Dhanu, though attended the class riding a motor bike for the most part, was seen playing about with his friends - they too came from well to do families.

This worried Dharshani being a woman descending from a village family lineage. She had to reluctantly succumb to some of her son's misdeeds. He demanded so much money to look like other boys in his class.

Once she had to give money to buy an electric guitar, as Dhanu wanted to learn it soon. Once again he wanted a laptop and a component to download material off the Internet. For Dharshani all this was a waste of money hard earned by her husband. When everything mounted up, one thing that disturbed her was the son's attitude towards the domestic food habits.

"How can I eat this crap?"

Dhanu commented on his mother's food. She was cooking early in the morning.

"What kind of food do you like?"

"I'll eat the food in the nearby snack bar, it's so delicious."

"But that's junk, bad for your health."

"But I like the taste and all my friends enjoy them."

She felt sorry at this remark; she went to a corner and cried in solitude.

The following day the parents wanted to know about her son's education progress. They raised it when he was home.

"How are your studies? Exam is around the corner."

"Mother, we got a very nice young teacher. She thinks I'm clever."

"What more did she tell you?"

"She asked me where I take my lunch."

"What did you say?"

"I said form the nearby snack bar."

"What did she say then?"

"Like you she wanted me to stop eating that junk, and wanted me to take rice prepared by you. A batmula."

"That's great!"

"She is indeed, mother. She is my favourite in fact. She says I will have to be a great man in the society and she will help me achieve that."

Darshini sensed pride and happiness for a moment.

"So you want me to prepare a batmula for you tomorrow?"

"Yes mother, but make it delicious. Please!"

Dharshani was up in the small hours the following day. That was the most delightful morning she had ever seen. She cooked the best lunch with five dishes, all vegetables. Dharshini wrapped it in the traditional village style and handed the parcel to son.

Unlike other days Dhanu knelt down and worshipped the mother. It was a pleasant surprise for Dharshini. When the son left home tears rolled down her cheeks.

The son came back rather early that afternoon.

"Did you enjoy your lunch?" She asked.

"Yes mother, it was the best I ever had for ages."

"So what did your teacher tell you today?"

"She asked the same question."

"Can you do something, son?"

"Yes mother. Tell me."

"Tell your teacher how grateful I'm for what she has done. I'm going to drop in on her for sure."

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