When Telegrams Were Bad - B A English RTMN University

 

When Telegrams Were Bad – Sudha Murty B A English RTMNU Nagpur University

 

About the Author

Sudha Murty was born in 1950 in Shiggaon District in North Karnataka. Today she is the chairperson of Infosys Foundation. Sudha Murty is an author and philanthropist. She is a prolific writer in English and Kannada. Her books are translated into all principal Indian Languages’. She has received several awards, like Padma Shri in 2006, R k Narayan award for Literature, the Attimabbe Award from Karnataka government for her excellence in Kannada writing in 2011.

About the Story

The short story When Telegrams Were Bad  is taken from the book Wise and Otherwise – A Salute To Life by Sudha Murty. Her focus in this story is every word in a message and communication  is important and essential and that omitting even a small word two-letter word can create a terrible situation. Clear thinking and clear communication are very essential in life and can reduce many misunderstanding in life.

Summary

Sudha and Lata are close friends and  lived in a small town.

Probably people from small towns are close to one another and depend on each other more. The culture is different from a big city. Sudha Murty and Lata her friend enjoyed closeness and visited each other’s houses and new each  another’s families very well.

After completion of her degree Sudha went to Pune for a job and got involved in her career. In those days Telephone was a privilege of rich people. If anything was urgent Telegram was the only channel of communication.

One day Sudha Murty received a telegram, FATHER EXPIRED START IMMEDIATELY sent by Lata. Sudha was shocked, her colleagues were kind, one of the colleagues booked a ticket on the next train to her home town. The other applied for leave on her behalf. Sudha was crying and remembered her father. He was more than a friend to her. Both used to talk a lot and discuss many things. She remembered her mother and though how difficult it would be for her.

One of Sudha’s colleagues every year once used to receive similar kind of telegram, GRANNY EXPIRED START IMMEDIATELY. He would tell Sudha that was the best method to get leave. He asked Sudha did she have enough leave.

Sudha’s journey back home was unbearable. She remembered her childhood and college days, when her father was part of everything. First he was her role model but later he became more of  friend than a hero. Sudha had many dreams of travelling with her father, reading many books and discussing things. When Sudha reached her home town she was surprised there was no one from her family to receive her. She was upset and consoled herself that how would the family members know about her train details.  She took a auto and reached home. She noticed the house was quiet and calm and no sign of people inside. She was surprised  as her father was a popular doctor and a professor. She thought people would come to give respect. The house was white washed decorated with flowers and mango leaves and looked it was a happy occasion.

Just then she heard noise coming from her father’s room. Sudha could not believe when she saw her father standing and smiling. He said he knew that she would come for her cousin Lata’s engagement somehow. She was Sudha’s favorite cousin. Sudha asked about whom he was talking.

Father replied saying Lata’s marriage is fixed and today evening is her engagement. The boy is in Delhi. Sudha stopped him and enquired who had sent the telegram and why did he wrote a lie to her. Father asked about the telegram as he could not understand. Sudha was upset and agitated and father replied that he had not sent that telegram. Suddenly he said that Sudha’s friend Lata’s father had expired as he was sick. Lata may have sent the telegram. Lata could have sent a telegram, MY FATHER EXPIRED. The word my was missing in the telegram which created a havoc. Sudha understood how an incomplete message created havoc in her life. Sudha was wondering how her colleagues would feel after receiving the other telegram.