On a rainy day, at Azhagappapuram, more than four decades ago, my friends and I played various water games to our heart's content. As it was a Saturday, we were at liberty to spend the whole day the way we pleased. Later in the evening, after taking a warm shower and changing into dry clothes, I ate dinner and went to sleep straight because of exhaustion. While in deep slumber, I had a strange dream.

In my dream, Yeman, the lord of death, with a glittering crown on his head and carrying a rope lasso, came to me riding a fierce black buffalo.  He said, "OK, Vensuslaus, your time is up here in this world. You are now in line to come to mine, Yemalogam, very soon - in a week's time, to be precise. Be ready. I shall come again to take you." I was rattled.
I implored, "My lord, I am a little boy. I have to go to school, pray, play with my friends, go for swimming in the bunds here in this village and so on. Besides, I'll miss my parents, friends and relations. Please spare me so I fulfill my obligations in this world. There are many others who have lived up their lives and want to quit. If you wish you could pick one from them, please."
Yemenrebuffed my entreaties, "Sorry, young man, true it's too soon for you to be taken away to my world depriving you of the roses and raptures of life here. But then that's the natural order; it's all predisposed. No one could do anything about it." After saying these words with a sort of finality, Yeman rode away into void.
All of a sudden I woke up sweating. Sitting in the bed I kept staring at the darkness a long time. Since I saw the dream in the wee hours, the words said had registered in memory indelibly. I dozed off again making up my mind to speak to my parents about it. After being up in the morning, I duly recounted the dream to my parents, who had a hearty laugh. At our home, no one believes in dreams, demons, superstitions and any such false notions. We don't read much into these. Yet, this particular dream kept playing on my mind. I had decided to be a bit more careful in my routine activities and cut down on risky businesses.
A week later, I had gone to Nagercoil riding a bicycle on some important work. After finishing my work, I started returning home. After passing the Kottar police station, my bicycle gathered speed on the downward slope. I did not curb the pace as the sky was overcast and it looked as though it would rain anytime. I wanted to reach home before the rain came down. I had already overtaken many vehicles. After again riding past a hand-pulled cart, I was faced with an onrushing Plymouth car with great speed. Surely, it was Yeman in the form of a Plymouth car head-on, I surmised! I had no time to apply brake and stop my bike as the incoming car would have easily knocked down and run over me. The driver of the Plymouth slammed brakes suddenly with all his might. But the momentum of his car was such that I was going to be hit fatally anyway. I was snared.
Incredibly, I had the presence of mind to jump and dive to my left out of the harm's way in a fraction of a second. Since the spot I landed had been littered with cast away stalks of plantain trees, dried and discarded lotus leaves, bare banana bunches, cow dung, etc., the impact of the dive was absorbed and I escaped with minor bruises. From the place where I lay sprawled I saw with dismay the mangled remains of my bike. Soon I was up and about, with passersby lending me a helping hand.
In my as well as the bystanders' opinion, I had had a miraculous escape. It could have been mortal then and there. I had prevailed over a gandam (Yemagandam?)
Although four decades have passed since I saw the strange dream, Yeman's words have not come to fruition. On the contrary, I am going big guns, barring a few close calls, including the one narrated above. Have I proved a tough nut for Yeman to crack, or has some invisible force been protecting me from the noose of Yeman? I can't say what.