This is a true love story of Samy, who lived on Northam Road, Penang about 50 years ago. Names have been changed to protect the privacy of the individuals.
Picture taken from the internet
Samy looked down from the telecommunication pole and saw her, washing clothes at the common washing area. It was large bathroom with half covered zinc roof and a cement tub in the centre in which water flowed from the tap. The squatter house residents had an hour per day each to do their laundry here. When he was looking down, in that exact moment, she looked up at him and boom, there was an electric shock and a love story was destined to begin. He stayed up there for a while trying to fix the line while she continued washing and went off.
Samy’s assignment that week was to fix wires at the squatter area in Sungai Pinang. She lived in one of the squatter houses there and worked at one of the cottage factories, peeling prawns. Neela had many siblings so the parents had no choice but to get financial help from the older children. Neela and her older brothers and sisters stopped school and went to work. The next day, Samy climbed the pole further away from the first one and out of curiosity, searched for her but there was no sight of her. He was a bit disappointed.
Neela had gone to work early that day, so there was no chance of meeting her. He finished his work and loitered around in case she showed up. There was something about this girl which made his heart beat a bit fast. She was simple, short haired, not very tall but she looked intelligent. She was different from his wife, Letchmi. His marriage to Letchmi had been arranged by his paternal uncle. She was from an estate in Taiping, illiterate, quiet and dark skinned. They had been married for about 2 years and had a son together. His mother was stern and gave his wife a hard time but Samy did not interfere with the home affairs. He went to work, came back late from overtime, did what he had to do and slept. He had no feelings whatsoever for her. After their son was born, his mother started her physical abuse and when Prabu was about 6 months old, his wife ran away leaving the child behind.
Samy was alone again while his mother took care of the infant. He was free now so his eyes searched for love and all of a sudden were set on Neela. He had to find a way to get close to her. The next day passed and the day after, he waited and waited. Then on one fine day, she walked back from work and saw him. He smiled at her and she gave a shy smile back as she remembered him as the lineman. This was his chance, he crossed the road and went to her. He introduced himself, “I am Samy” to which she replied “ I am Neela”. Little did he know she was only 16 years of age but she looked matured enough to marry.
He went home and slowly told his mother about Neela. She asked him if he was interested to marry her. Of course, he was! After giving clear directions to her house, his mother visited Neela’s parents. She asked for their daughter’s hand in marriage but her request was rejected due to her age. Furthermore, they were of a different caste from Samy’s so his mother was not very happy about it.
Samy’s mother returned home and that evening had a heart to heart talk with Samy. Why did he fall for a child when he was 12 years older than her? Samy stood there shocked but he just liked this girl and wanted to be with Neela. While talking with Neela, he had never asked for her age or if she went to school. Now, Samy had to wait for 2 years until she turned 18 as it was illegal for child marriage. After much persuasion, Neela’s parents finally agreed as they learnt Samy was a government servant and their daughter’s future was secure. One Sunday morning the families gathered at Sivan temple and got them married, the parents of Samy and Neela as their witnesses. Samy brought Neela home to his family.
Picture taken from the internet
After about 6 months living together, Samy’s mother took Prabu and her other children and left for India. Samy and Neela lived in that house with Samy’s father who was a gardener at the tycoon’s bungalow. Samy was happy with Neela, they went for movies, ate at the coffee shops and visited her parents when Samy had time. Life was becoming interesting for both of them. Soon after, Neela gave birth to a son and from that moment, Samy showed signs of change. He started coming home late!
A year later, Neela had a daughter and two more daughters after that. Samy just looked at them without any emotion. Neela did everything including take care of her father-in-law. When the third daughter was born, Neela found out that Samy was seeing a young girl who worked at the factory in Bayan Lepas. She left the baby at a neighbour’s house and went to the girl’s house in Rifle Range, Air Itam. She pleaded with the girl and her mother to set her husband free but the girl was adamant as she had found a gold mine. Samy was giving her money and gifts but there was nothing for Neela. After some time, they broke up but things did not back to normal. Neela had to fend for herself and her kids, she started washing clothes at the towkay’s house. Later she went to wash their aquarium, ironing clothes and washing their dogs. Money was not much, so she decided to go around the neighbourhood for household chores. Life was hard, sometimes there was no money for the children’s milk, she cried and borrowed money.
On paydays, Samy would stay out all night, drinking and gambling. When he returned home the next morning, his pockets were empty. Neela was devasted and talked this over with her neighbour but refused to leave him. She loved him with all her heart and she said he never physically abused her, so why break the family.
The children grew up, Neela continued with more houses and was making enough to sustain herself and her children. After finishing secondary school, they started working and by this time, Neela was exhausted. Her feet hurt from walking all around town, her hands worn out from washing clothes. From a beautiful young lady, she had turned into a rounded woman. Her hair was turning grey, she looked dull and withered. Samy had no interest in her, he still went to work, went to meet his friends for drinks and stayed that way.
One day, Samy came back in the evening, earlier than usual. He threw a set of keys at her and said, “ these are your flat keys”. She was sitting on the floor and bent forward to pick up the keys. He had not told her anything about buying a flat. In that instant, Samy collapsed and was unconscious. She ran out not knowing what to do but managed to get the neighbours. All came to help and sent him to the general hospital.
The doctor examined Samy, it was bad news. His lungs had been affected by too much of drinking. A few days later, he passed away leaving Neela with her children. He was only 50 years old. Till today, Neela has not found an answer to why Samy’s behaviour changed. He looked like a smart and educated man, responsible enough to come forward to marry her. What went wrong? She felt she had given too much attention to her job and children and had neglected him. She cooked and washed for him but did not have time to sit and talk with him and he too, was busy with his friends instead of his family.
Neela left the kampung at Sungai Pinang and went to live in the flat with her children. Today, with some difficulty she still cooks the best briyani rice with red sauce chicken and the delicious salted fish curry. I have met her twice on my trip back home but trust me, her love story will stay with me forever.
