KOCHI: A mango tree on the school campus welcomed us, swishing its branches in the wind. My team got down from the bus, carrying the electronic voting machines and other electoral materials, a day before the polling day.
A presiding officer’s duties include responsible documentation of official forms and smooth conduct of the poll. A polling team has a lot to do on those two days. This includes the paperwork, careful practice of the dos and don’ts on pre-poll and polling day, meticulous handling of the voting machines, timely reporting to the authorities and monitoring of the activities inside and around the booth.
In between getting ready for the tough task ahead, I spotted a cat which was walking around the building, restlessly. At night the meowing grew so loud that it was difficult for us to ignore her anymore. One of the polling officers told me that the cat was trying to communicate something. Well, being more of a dog-lover than a cat-lover, I found it difficult to understand her language.
Around 11 pm, we heard a faint ‘mew’ from behind a large almirah in the classroom. Very soon that faint mewing grew into a chorus. Three heads popped out — two jet-black and one white. “Ah, no wonder the cat doesn’t leave the campus,” pronounced another polling officer.
Now the mother cat’s mewing was getting louder. There was no peace until the cats rested. So a cat-loving polling officer somehow cajoled the mother cat into the room.
We had thought that she would pick her kittens by their necks and leave the scene. The moment the little ones spotted their mother, they cuddled beside her, suckling happily. There was peace for some time. All of us tried to get some sleep before the poll began. The lights were switched off. A few minutes later, the kitty-mews restarted. Well, lights on again. Now what? It was playtime for the little ones. So, they were not leaving. We sighed. Lights off again.
A frog which had stationed itself in the opposite corner of the classroom croaked. “Hope its family doesn’t start croaking!” someone chimes in. Early morning, I woke up and checked behind the almirah. The mother and her kittens had left with no ink on their toes.
The writer is a poet , translator and assistant professor of English at BCM College, Kottayam.