Wilson, above 50, runs a vegetable store. In a side-room with direct access from vegetable store he manages to sell live-chicken and dressed chicken. For vegetable sales his wife Omana helps him.

In vegetable store there is handsome sale on village parameter and chicken sales shoots up in Sundays, holidays and festival days. From both the outlets fair daily income derives. Yet, he appears pauper. He can (or will) never pay ready cash for purchases from farmers who bring various produces. At-least a dozen of farmers have blacklisted him for want of timely receipt of price for produces sold.

This correspondent too has had such experience with him against the sale of banana, taro and yam. At one stage supply was discontinued and resumed on consideration of his better behaviour.

It is hard to see Wilson non-drunken. He is always with swollen face and red eyes as he is a chain-drinker. The other day this correspondent asked his wife the exact location of their house. She said, just behind the toddy shop which is near their shop. Hearing this I humorously commented that is why Wilson is always seen red-eyed. In approval of my comment she smiled and added his father too was a non-stop drinker. She did not stop there. She continued, Chetta (oh, elder brother) if he had limited his drinking to 7 or 8 bottles (a bottle of 24 ounces) a day we could have earned millions of rupees from here, but what to do he drinks 20 to 25 bottles a day minimum. She betrayed no disappointment on her face, but concealed it in heart.

An old man bite a barmy dog for attacking his duck at a small village near here. Pappan, who became a hero in his Village after the incident. The rabid dog had been frightening the residents of a small village here for the past few weeks. The dog strayed into Pappan''s compound yesterday and took away his duck. An angry Pappan sprang on the dog and they were fighting each other for some time.

While the man bit the dog''s throat, the animal held the man''s palms firmly in its mouth. After a while the spectators put him away and killed the dog. Pappan was first taken to a local hospital but was later referred to the big hospital for treatment of rabies.

Jose who has just passed 30 finds pleasure in others’ misery.  He excels in sowing the seeds of suspicion in others.  After causing an undesired event-blast from behind the scene he silently watches its impact or side effects on the target.

Few weeks back his dirty play was rebound on him.  At around 9 in the night he along with his cronies was killing time at a by-lane junction near his house.  He passed a seemingly innocuous comment which inadvertently hurt one of his cronies.  He turned against him and pushing and pulling followed.  Ultimately it led to a full scale skirmish.  Most of the cronies stood against Jose to have him a treat of worse.  His mother sitting on the verandah of his house close-by intervened in support of the son.  She too got a bruising in the melee.  The issue became a police case following Jose’s complaint.

Police investigation turned the table against Jose.  To extricate himself from the fix he spent a handsome amount.  Not that alone.

Jose learned a lesson.  He has stopped engineering skirmishes among co-villagers.  The talk of the village is what he got he deserves.

Antony of Kattoor village was an engineering workshop worker in the nearest town.  He was getting weekly payment in parity with his skills.

Antony is a strong sympathizer of a leftist political party.  His political leaning motivated him to organize all workers in the workshop to form a union.  The union formed by all the workers numbering eight was kept a closely guarded secret from the workshop owner.

After 8 months of forming the union Antony as the convener of the union gathered strength to talk to the owner for 50% wage hike.  The owner heard the demand patiently and said he needs a month’s time to take a decision.  This one month time he cleverly utilized to convince the district leaders of the left party of which he was a cadre and Antony a mere sympathizer the non-viability of the demand.  He got the support of the party to his stand.  Antony and other workers were not known the owner Mohamed was a party cadre.

Well before the expiry of one month Mohamed called Antony and told him that his firm is running in loss and it can be sustained only if the workers agreed to slash the wages by 25 percent.  Antony opposed it.  Pat come the reply, if he cannot agree he need not come from next day.  Antony rushed to the local leaders of the party who opened up the palms.  Poor Antony landed in doldrums.  Other workers still work at existing wages.

Minus the job, the only income to the family of Antony is from two milking cows. He is now struggling hard to push the days.

Antony has now realized the political support is always to the best of the lot.

 Basheer, 28, is an 8^th standard drop-out.  His father, a casual labourer, is a liquor-addict.  He spends for liquor whatever he gets.  The stove in the kitchen burns from the income of Basheer’s mother who does sundry works at homes and paddy field works.

One fine morning Basheer disappears from the house.  Nobody knows where he went.  Mother wept for weeks.  Finally, she resigned to fate.  Three months passed, no news of his whereabouts.

Four days back a police team raided their house and questioned the parents about Basheer and took away a copy of his photograph.

A police team again visited their house the other day and informed the parents that one of the two terrorists died in the army en-counter in Kashmir in the last week is Basheer.  The police said if they want to bring his body home the army and police will render all help.  The mother boldly said we do not want the body of an anti-national.  All her relatives, including husband, endorsed the stand.

The whole village is in fears now.  There are few more youths whose whereabouts are unknown to the families and the village.