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The Mush Register

LOVE IS BLIND Jyothi and Murugan

Murugan

Our petty trade did not thrive, for want of sufficient capital. We can't sit twiddling our thumbs and hoping for a miracle — we have to go out and earn to support our two small children.

She has a voice that can carry any tune and we give `light music concerts' on the train for a living. We wanted to be as professional as we could, and spent Rs. 1,000 for a customised mike-and-amplifier unit that contains a radio set as well.

She can sing over 70 film songs, which she picked up by listening in to the radio. She would have learnt to sing more if we owned a record player.

There are people who ask either of us why we did not marry someone with eyesight. To such questions, we have the same answer — "We can't be sure that someone with normal eyesight will not desert us.

Since both of us have the same problem, there is no room for condescension, only understanding."

Jyothi

We depend completely on each other. On the platform and the train and just about anywhere else, I hold his arm so that we don't go our separate ways.

He uses a stick and knows the exact distance from one compartment to another. On rare occasions, both of us have slipped and fallen. We avoid the early morning rush, because entraining at such a busy hour is next to impossible. Our day starts at 11 a.m.

We detrain at every station and hop on to the next compartment. On an average, each compartment fetches Rs. 3. Since we work till 9 p.m., we manage a daily collection of Rs. 150. There are lean days when we barely manage a hundred rupees.

Generally, people are more generous at the beginning of the month.

(As told to PRINCE FREDERICK)

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