At that time, we considered the Brahmins as outsiders. The Tamil they spoke was different. However, they treated us students like their own children. There was only one exception—our maths teacher, whom we called Arkay Saar. Despite being fond of us, on Mondays and Thursdays, if anyone hadn’t done their homework, he would grab his bamboo wand and beat the boy severely.
When someone commits harakiri, he tears his stomach open with a dagger. A trusted man should stand by, to swiftly cut off the head in a single stroke. This is done as soon as he has made the initial incision. Mishima’s military coup failed miserably, and he proceeded to rip open his stomach.
My mother and Naina treated me like an emperor; there was no scolding or reprimand. My mother often remarked that I should have been born in a mansion, but instead, I ended up being born in that slum. Education was nowhere to be seen in her family – only one brother among my mother’s eleven siblings received an education.
The Asian Review 