Yong Selvam lived in a village in Tamil Nadu. One day, his mother said,” your aunt has not seen you for many months now. Why don’t you visit her?”
Selvam was excited. ”yes, mother!” he said. “I’d like that!” so his mother packed him some food for lunch. Then she showed him the way. His aunt lived in the village across the stream. “Just follow that narrow path that leads to the stream,” selvam’s mother told him. “Then jump across the stream and follow the path again. You will come to the village where your aunt lives. Don’t stray from the path.”
Selvam waved goodbye and skipped away happily. He was soon at the stream. He felt hungry. He sat near the stream, with his feet in the water, and ate his lunch. Then he got ready to jump across the stream. “Athirimakku!” he yelled and jumped! He landed on the other side safely and soon reached his aunt’s house.
“My, look at you! How you have grown!” said Selvam’s aunt, who was very happy to see him.
Selvam’s aunt was a good cook. She made delicious things for him to eat everyday. One day it was idiappam, another day, masala-dosai, and a third day, it was payasam. Selvam enjoyed himself.
Soon it was time for Selvam to go home. That day his aunt made a sweet dish that was wonderful. It was a lovely, soft and white dumpling. He bit into one the sweet coconut filling simply melted in his mouth. Selvam was thrilled. He had never eaten this delicious sweet before
“This is really scrumptious. What is it called?” he asked.
“It’s called kozhukottai”, she replied.
“I must tell mother to make some for me!” said Selvam as he ate the kozhukottai.
Selvam are all the kozhukottais that his aunt made. Then he set off to walk home. All along the way he muttered,” kozhukottai, kozhukottai…” he wanted to remember the name to tell his mother.
Soon he came to the stream. He took a deep breath and got ready for the leap. “Athirimakku!” he shouted and leapt. He landed safely on the othe side. Selvam got up and dusted himself. Then he found that he had forgotten the name of the sweet he racked his brains and bit his lips and tried hard to remember. But the only word that he could think of was “athirimakku.” “That must be the name of that sweet!” he thought. So he said, “Athirimakku, athirimakku” over and over again till he reached home.
“Mother!” he cried, hugging his mother. “Mother, will you make me some athirimakku?”
His mother was puzzled. ”what is that, Selvam?” she asked. He tried to explain to her: “It is sweet inside. It is white on the outside. It is round and very soft”
But his mother did not understand. “Sweet and white and round and soft and called athirimakku?” she asked. “There is no such sweet!”
“of course there is, mother. Aunty made some for me!” replied the boy. “will you make some athirimakku?” His mother got irritated. “I don’t know what it is,” she told him impatiently. “now go and play”.
But Selvam could not forget that wonderful dish and kept coming back to his mother to say, ”mother, make me some athirimakku.” At last his mother got angry and said, ”stop troubling me. Go away!” and she gave him a push. Selvam fell against a shelf. His head hit the edge of the shelf. “Ooowww!” he cried. Very soon a round swelling appeared on selvam’s head.
Just then selvam’s father walked in. “what is the matter, Selvam?” he asked. ”why is there a swelling like a kozhukottai on your forehead?”
Now Selvam remembered the name of the sweet! He forgot his pain and the swelling. Kozhukottai! Yes! “Mother! That’s what I want-kozhukottai, not athirimakku! Will you make me some?”
“Of course!” answered his mother hugging him.
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