For You - M.T.Vasudevan Nair
‘For you’ speaks about a child’s feelings with regard to the happenings at home, the whole story with a child’s perspective. Vasu remembers his step sister, Leela who gifted him with a toy owl that he beheld with pride among his classmates and felt himself becoming important.
The narrator (Vasu himself) tells about his parents who wanted to have a girl child after having three sons. They were disappointed on the birth of another son instead. This disappointment of the parents was vented out on Vasu in the form of negligence and resentment. This affects the child who is filled with fear about the mother and brothers since they always silenced him and beat him.
He misses having a sister when his friends express experiences with their sisters fondly- wrapping their books, their beautiful handwriting, the brother-in-law to boast of, the wedding, etc.
He always waits to see and longs to be with his father who is away in Ceylon, doing business. Once when he comes home, he brings a little girl with him who happens to be Leela, herself. There is a quarrel about her coming home as Vasu’s mother does not agree to the illicit relationship of her husband bringing forth this girl. Vasu is disturbed by this, as well as by the fact that the girl is closer to his father than himself. But at the same time, Vasu is pleased to have a sister. The toy-owl with Leela attracts him and he gently asks her for it, though he cannot directly communicate it to her as their mother tongues differ. She exhibits her affection and greatness by gifting the owl to Vasu while she leaves his house - A small girl parts with her favorite toy, when she herself could have retained it.
Vasu gets to have only a short association with Leela, and even though it is short, it leaves a treasure of memories with him to linger on although his life. The narration moves back and forth, taking the reader to what happened in the past and that of the present. All that he mentions...