Three Books and Three Wishes

Malathi Ma’am was narrating the Ramayana. The bell was about to ring, but she concluded with a curious detail:

“Did you know that whenever people talk about the Ramayana, Hanuman is always standing outside the door, listening?”

6A sat in rapt attention.

Knock! Knock!

Every head turned towards the door.

“Ma’am, it must be Hanuman!” exclaimed Yogesh.

Ananth, the class leader, dashed to open it. Forty pairs of eager eyes waited to see—was it really Hanuman?

It wasn’t. It was Lohith from 6B, returning a book.

It was about 4.30 PM and they were at the Thiru Vi Ka park, Menaka listened to her grandson Rahul narrate the incident.

“And what happened then?” Menaka asked.

Rahul chuckled. “The whole class hooted so loudly that Lohith was stunned. He handed the book over and ran out, all embarrassed. We had such a good laugh, Paati!”

Menaka and Rahul sat on a bench which had a beautiful mural of the scholar Thiru Vi Kalyanasundaranaar  painted on the wall behind.

“Remember Thatha was talking about this great man Thiru Vi Ka that day, Rahul said. “I am planning to do a school project on him. And I am researching more about him for a presentation”

“That’s good”, Menaka smiled. “He was indeed a great man. Finish it, I can check it for you when it’s done.”

Rahul nodded. “There is another project coming up about countries and I plan to take up the Vatican City, the smallest country in the world, ruled by the Pope.”

Menaka’s eyes lit up. “Rahul, that reminds me of one great man, G.U. Pope. Since we are sitting near the mural of Thiru Vi Ka…It’s interesting! Did you know that these two great people are connected in a way?”

Rahul’s eyebrows shot up. “You mean the Pope of Vatican?”

“No. No”, Menaka laughed. “This was George Uglow Pope, a Canadian who later migrated to England. What’s remarkable is that he mastered a language that wasn’t  his mother tongue and became the first person to translate great literary works into English.  He was the man who took The thirukural, the Naaladiyaar and the Thiruvasagam to the world. So we owe a lot to this great man. He even has a statue at the Marina Beach…did you know that?”

“Really! Was he part of the East India Company?” Rahul asked.

“No”, Menaka replied. “He came as a missionary to spread Christianity. He started learning the local language so that it will be easy to communicate with the people. But became so fascinated by our literary works that he translated them with passion”

Rahul’s eyes gleamed. “I must ask Tamilselvi maa’am whether she knows G.U. Pope.” he said thinking of his beloved tamil tuition teacher.

“Well, Of course she will know.”, Menaka smiled. “But she may not know the relationship between G.U.Pope and Thiru Vi Ka.!”

“Tell me Paati…Did they both meet?” Rahul leaned forward eagerly.

“Wait..I will come to that soon”, Menaka said, her voice dropping to a story teller’s rhythm.  . “When Pope started reading the Thiruvasakam, he was so deeply moved that when he went to England he spoke about this to a scholar. He said, ‘If you place all the scriptures of the world on one side of a balance, and on the other side you write just one single line from Saint Manickavasagar’s Thiruvasagam, the side with that one line will outweigh the rest”.

Menaka paused for effect, “The line is, “Imaipozhudum en nenjil neengathaan thaal vaazhga”

Rahul’s face lit up. “I know that line paati…I have heard you sing it…”

“Yes, It comes in the Sivapuranam. Meaning Long live the one who never leaves my heart even for an instant. The scholar insisted that Pope must translate the Thiruvasagam into English. G.U. Pope hesitated as he was already 73 years old. But the scholar assured him that when the mind is busy on such a lofty project, the Lord will give him long life so that his project will be fulfilled.”

“And true enough”, Menaka continued. “He completed the translation in his 80^th year of life. And very soon The Thiruvasagam was translated into other western languages as well. The Society of Jesus took offense—they said Pope had been sent to India to spread Christianity, not to learn Hindu scriptures and translate them. They even filed a case against him.”

Rahul’s eyes widened. “Oh dear…then what happened..”

“Pope was unshaken. He calmly gave a translation of the Thiruvasagam to the Judge and told him to read it. The Judge took a week to read and came back and fell at the feet of G.U.Pope calling him a True Christian. The depth and beauty of the work had touched him so much that he realized the mistake—and he dismissed the case.”

Rahul let out a slow whistle. “Wow…The songs are that good?”

“Yes…One day you will learn the meaning of all 658 songs. For now focus on singing  the verses. You need to be older to truly understand the depth of meaning. I hope you are attending your Thevaram classes regularly?!”

“Yes Yes, Paati. I am regular.… but where does Thiru Vi Ka come in this story?” Rahul asked as he stood up. “Come, let’s walk towards the stadium. I want to see if my friend Sashwath is there—he’s joined the roller skating class in this park.”

As they walked, Menaka continued, “In one of his letters, Pope mentioned three wishes. The first was that, when he died, his tombstone should bear the words: ‘A student of Tamil.’ The second was that the cost of constructing his tomb should be borne by Tamil-speaking people. And the third—” she paused for emphasis—”was that the three works he translated—Thirukkural, Naaladiyaar, and Thiruvasagam—should be buried along with him.”

“Paati, when did G.U. Pope die?”

“On 11th February 1908,” Menaka replied. “When the news spread, many schools, colleges, and other institutions began collecting money for his tombstone—just as he had wished. In one primary school, a teacher was going around collecting small donations. Most children gave four annas or less—four annas was worth just 25 paise in those days.”

She smiled, her voice softening. “Then, one little boy walked up and placed five whole rupees in the teacher’s hand. The teacher was stunned—five rupees was his own monthly salary! He asked the boy how he had so much money to give.”

“The child replied, ‘Sir, my father has taught me the Thiruvasagam and I know its value. I wish to donate to the great man who brought this treasure to the English-speaking world. These five rupees are all the coins my relatives have given me over the years. I’ve been saving them, and I want to give it all for G.U. Pope’s tomb.’”

Menaka’s eyes glistened. “The teacher was deeply moved. And do you know who that little boy was, Rahul?” she asked, her tone tinged with anticipation.

“I know…It must be Thiru Vi Kalyanasundaranaar…Now I get the connection. What a great family he must have come from..But Paati…if I were in his shoes, I would have also given whatever money I had..”

Menaka smiled warmly. “I know Rahul…You are a generous soul…just like how your mother is! Has Sashwath come yet?”

“Nope. He will come soon. Paati, were G.U. Pope’s 3 wishes granted?”

“Actually no!”, Menaka said, her voice softening. “He was buried in Oxford in England in the Sepulchre Cemetry. Many Tamil scholars went to England just to pay homage to G.U. Pope and there is a video too of the tombstone. Will show you. Wait”

She took out her phone, opened the video, and handed it to Rahul. The camera panned along a quiet path before stopping.

“That’s his tomb—sixth one on the right from the entrance,” Menaka pointed out.

Rahul leaned closer, eyes scanning the inscription, and began to read aloud…

“”George Uglow Pope D.D. of South India sometime lecturer in Tamil and Telugu in the University and chaplain of Balliol College, Oxford, born 24th April 1820. Died 11th February 1908. This stone has been placed here by his family and by his Tamil friends in South India in loving admiration of his life long labours in the cause of oriental literature and philosophy”

“So, Paati, his first wish wasn’t fulfilled—it doesn’t say ‘Student of Tamil’ on the tombstone. I suppose his second wish, about collecting money from Tamils in India, must have been granted. But what about the third wish—burying the three books with his body?”

“I hope it was. But there are no records to confirm whether the books were buried with him,” Menaka replied.

“Maybe Tamilselvi Ma’am will know. I’ll ask her tomorrow evening.”

Just then, Rahul spotted his friend. “Shashwath!” he called out, dashing towards him.

“Rahul, I’m heading home,” Menaka called after him. “Play with Shashwath, but come back within an hour—your amma is coming at 6 p.m. to take you home.”

“Sure, Paati, I will. Thanks for telling me that awesome story. See you soon!”

Menaka smiled as the boys ran into the mini stadium, their laughter echoing in the late afternoon air.

“I must take Rahul to the Marina to show him G.U. Pope’s statue…” she thought, as she crossed the road and stepped into her apartment building.