A Heart-warming party

The other day, Ghootam and Anu, a married couple working at Vijnana Kala Vedi, moved into a new house and threw a housewarming party. The first thing that must be known about Ghootam and Anu is that they are the cutest couple I have ever seen, in cinema and out. They even share a banana leaf at meals. There was a great deal of curiosity among the students at VKV about whether they were a love match or had had their marriage arranged. Finally, someone simply asked Anu straight out and she replied that yes, she and Gautam are a love match. This left me somewhat worried because sometimes love matches lead to strained relationships with other family members and I really wanted them to have entirely happy lives because they are such loving, kind people. The housewarming party laid all my fears to rest.
Ghootam’s parents are wonderful, intelligent, loving people. If any couple could contest Ghootam and Anu being the world’s most adorable couple, it’s them. They seem to be constantly aware of where the other is in the room and will occasionally shoot a smile to them that would bring joy to the heart of any who witnessed it. The intensity of the loving glances they exchanged was so intense I almost felt as though I were eavesdropping on a private conversation.
This couple is so full of love that it has spilled out in an amazing way to encompass a large number of people. They are both teachers and taught in the government schools for a while, but they realized that something was missing there. While schools in Kerala are some of the best in India and Kerala has the highest literacy rate, students are not taught how to use their knowledge. Ghootam’s father said that schools merely taught criminals how to read and write. So they left the public school system and designed their own, one based on studying the arts and promoting a loving family atmosphere as well as learning the standard subjects of education.
There are eleven students at present; the youngest, little Aku, is just six and the eldest, Harish, is twenty-one. All of them live in the same house with their teachers. I was fortunate enough to share a meal with them. Everyone had left the party to go home except me, two other girls from VKV, and this extended family of students. Even though I couldn’t follow the conversation, I laughed at all of the jokes because their laughter was so infectious. I probably even laughed at the “why is that silly American girl laughing, she doesn’t speak Mallayallam” joke.
After the meal, we talked about various things, looked at photos of their recent trip to Rajasthan, laughed a lot, and played music. All of them sing, Harish plays tabla quite well, and there is a violinist and two flute players. I also witnessed and participated in a Bharatha Natyam mini-performance.
I was loath to leave such a happy home, to say the least. The children ran after the rickshaw waving and I shouted “Naleh Karnam” (see you tomorrow) with the best of them. (Actually, I think I mispronounce it because they laugh every time I say it.) When I arrived home, I was already nostalgic and regretting that a week was all the time I had left here. At the same time I was wildly happy, slammed the door as I ran in, and was practically bubbling over with joy as I recounted the night’s events to Mom. What other response is possible in the face of such love? Jannet, one of the other girls, and I already have plans to ask Gautam if he will adopt us into his family as well.