An Analyst

 A few days back, my father introduced me to one of his “public park” friends — let’s call him Vaidyanathan (not his real name). After the usual pleasantries, my father felt obliged to mention, “You know, he’s from our ooru ” (my father’s hometown, Kanniyakumari). My heart raced a little. Even though I don’t identify much with the place since I grew up in a metropolitan city, I couldn’t stop myself from asking, “Where in Kanniyakumari?” He replied, “Nagercoil, Vadiveeswaram (வடிவீஸ்வரம்).” My mind silently yelped, Oh god…  Hiding my reaction, I asked, “So do you have anyone still living there?” He replied, “We used to own an ancestral house until a few years ago, but we sold it. There’s no reason to go back.” “Oh, why would you do that, uncle? It’s in the heart of the town.” “Yes,” he said, “but a lot has changed. Vadiveeswaram was originally a thriving agraharam when I was a boy, but over the years it gradually lost its originality. Our (Brahmin) community moved to citi...