There’s a saying in Malayalam which goes, ‘Kuntham poyaal kudathilum thappanam’. It means that if you happen to lose a spear, search in the pot (and here I mean the one used for cooking) too. Obviously, a spear won’t fit into a pot, unless someone, for reasons unknown, has cut the spear into bite-sized pieces and stuffed them all in said pot. Now who would do such a thing? Certainly not anyone I know. If you know someone like that, do drop me a line.

Until such time as that we’ll have to assume this business of looking into pots for lost spears is a totally lost cause. You know you are not going to find it there. So why say such a thing? I’ll tell you: It is merely to emphasize the fact that you should leave no stone unturned when you are looking for something. It tellingly tells you, your mantra should be, look everywhere, even the most unlikeliest of places.

All very well. But, when a spear is lost, metaphorically speaking, and people make straight for the cooking pot instead of first checking likely places where a spear could have been hidden, it is bound to annoy the hell out of you. Whether you admit it or not, you come very close to pulling out handfuls of your crowning glory or even banging your head against a convenient wall.  I myself come very close to doing just that whenever I see it happening, but stop myself just in time at that point where I am looking my patient best.

The dear L&M is the last word in finding things that are lost. Darling, I can’t find x, y,  z or whatever. It could be something important like an ID card that I have put away safely somewhere (Surprisingly, I am someone who always, but always, puts back things where they belong) but can’t seem to find in the present. At other times it would be be something minor like the leftover from last night’s dinner, packed into a smaller container which I have somehow managed to lose in a 300 ltr refrigerator.

I know I left it here. I have looked for it everywhere. I just can’t seem to find it! That’s all what’s needed from me.  The L&M takes over from there. Move aside, he’ll say and start searching and believe me you, like the terrier who goes after a rat, he will not give up until and unless what’s been misplaced has been found.

‘So what’s the problem, Shail?‘ you ask. You have the best Finder of Misplaced Things at your command. And you talk of banging heads against walls and pulling out hair. Tch, tch, tch.

I know, I know, I know. You are right, of course, about me having the best Finder of Lost Things. But what you don’t know is that as soon as he is on the scene the L&M immediately makes first and foremost for the proverbial cooking pot to look for the lost spear. But don’t worry, I don’t discourage him or go aaaaaargh (except in my head), because he’s my best and only bet on finding things that I somehow cannot.  Patience is the key even if sometimes I have to watch the pot getting broken in the search for a misplaced spear and have to pick up the pieces later.

See ya people. For now, I have a muddled drawer that needs my attention badly. 😉

©Shail Mohan 2018