Change is possible if you decide to- PART 1

Kathiresan – A Story of Struggle and Reflection

In a bustling, fast-paced city lived Kathiresan, a construction worker. His wife’s name was Jyothi. Back in their native village, they couldn't find enough opportunities to fulfill their basic needs. Moreover, they wanted their eight-year-old son Anbalagan to receive a quality education. Since income in the village was not sufficient, they decided to relocate and settled in the city where they now live.

Now Anbu is fourteen years old and studying in the ninth grade. Jyothi took care of all the household chores. Kathiresan would leave for work early in the morning and return before nightfall. But how would he return? Not with a steady gait. His steps would falter, and his body wouldn’t stand firm. He would stagger home.

Sometimes, Anbu would go looking for him, fearing his father might have fainted somewhere and collapsed. In such cases, Anbu would support his father and bring him home. Kathiresan’s alcoholism was the reason behind all this. Once he had a drink, his mouth would move endlessly, uttering nonsense. Because of this, Jyothi and Anbu would only get peaceful sleep once Kathiresan had passed out. Sometimes, to calm him down, Anbu had no choice but to hit him with something. Witnessing this, Jyothi would silently shed tears.

Kathiresan had not always been this addicted to alcohol. He did not develop this habit in his younger days. After moving to the city, it wasn’t easy for him to find a job. He spent several months just searching. Eventually, when nothing worked out, he fell into a deep depression. The thought that he should’ve just stayed in the village haunted him many times.

During this period, they survived on the small savings they had brought from the village. Anbalagan, who was initially enrolled in a private school, had to be shifted to a government school within a couple of months. Whenever Jyothi needed money, she would pawn her jewelry to run the household.

After all these struggles, Kathiresan finally got a job through someone connected to a construction workers’ union. He became a permanent member of a group of four workers, and wherever work was available, he would go with them. Gradually, he began to earn a decent income.

However, after work, it became a routine for him to accompany his friends to the liquor shop before returning home. He would give a small portion of his income to his friends as a gesture and hand over the remaining amount to Jyothi. Despite being close with his friends and giving them money, he stayed away from alcohol for a while.

But as work pressure increased, his friends convinced him that alcohol was a kind of medicine too. To escape his pain, he began drinking — what started as an occasional indulgence turned into a full-blown addiction.

That day too, just like always, he went with his friends after work. As usual, they passed time by discussing gossip.

One of them suddenly said,

“Hey! Did anyone read today’s newspaper? I saw an article. In a village near Kanchipuram, a man’s wife and her secret lover tried to kill him and ran away. Now the guy has filed a complaint asking the police to find his wife!”

Another man responded,

“What must have happened? Maybe there was some issue between them, and she left him for someone else,” and laughed. Everyone else joined in.

Kathiresan interjected,

“No, it wasn’t like that. According to the news, the husband used to drink every day, didn’t earn properly for the household, and even used to beat his wife often. It wasn’t just for a day or two — this went on for many years. That’s why she couldn’t take it anymore and left with another man.”

After hearing this, each man sat silently, momentarily reflecting on their own lives. Despite that moment of unease, they soon resumed chatting about other topics and eventually headed home.

Kathiresan also returned to his house.