Soda Shop Bhai, the man who owned the soda shop, always told every boy who started working for him, ‘Dey! Don’t ever underestimate the soda bottle. Why do you think rowdies throw soda bottles whenever there is a riot? Each soda bottle is like a small bomb. If it explodes, you won’t know what happened. Each shard of glass will pierce a different part of your body. Always remember that our work is like playing with bombs.’

Kumaresan understood what he’d meant only now. The wound on his right wrist was so big that it needed three sutures. He didn’t need any stitches on his legs, but there were gashes in five or six spots. Bhai bore all the expenses for the treatment. Eager that Kumaresan should heal soon, he began sending him biriyani and kari kozhambu from his home once in a while. Kumaresan had not eaten biriyani before. When he mixed the kozhambu and rice together and ate it, he could not believe that anything could be so tasty. The rice was so well-cooked! He devoured the meal without wasting even the smallest grain. Since he had come to Tholur only to make and save money, he was always very careful about how much he spent on food. Whenever Periyasami invited him to eat out, he refused. Now he wondered if getting hurt was a blessing in disguise.

Bhai even suggested Kumaresan go home to his village until his injuries healed fully, but he refused. If his mother saw his wounds, she wouldn’t let him return to Tholur. So he told Bhai that he would stay in the shop and keep doing what work he could. Bhai arranged for him to go to a little restaurant not far away and drink some soup every day. It was soup made with the meat and bones from goats’ legs. At the shop, they filled a bowl to the brim with the soup. Kumaresan loved it. Periyasami was gladdened by the fact that Kumaresan was sharing his goat-leg soup and biriyani with him. He told him that Bhai paid for it directly.

He said, ‘These days, who spends their own money to take care of someone else? Other employers will say, “You weren’t careful at work. What can I do about it?” and deduct all the expenses from your salary. But Soda Shop Bhai is not like that. If he was, would you be eating fish and meat like this? If anyone ever gets hurt, Bhai doesn’t ignore it. Even I am tempted to wish that the bottles had exploded in my hand instead!’

Kumaresan replied, ‘If you want, I can give you a bottle with a crack in it. Fill it up with soda, and take it. It will explode.’

‘If the crack is a big one, it will explode right inside the machine. It is only when it is a hairline crack that it takes time to burst. We cannot arrange for that to happen, da!’ said Periyasami expertly.