Question

“A sharp V shape line formed between her eyebrows.” What does it suggest to you about Rukku Manni’s mood?

Answer 1

Hint: The context of the above question is given in the chapter ‘A gift of chappals’ written by Vasanth Surya and taken from Mridu in Madras: Goruchaka Turns Up. It's a story of three children who are friends, they give away someone else’s slippers to help a beggar and then get scolded for the same.

Complete answer:
The scene is set in a situation where the three children - Ravi, Mridu and Meena get emotional seeing the blisters on the wounded feet of a beggar. So, they decide to give him footwear so that the beggar does not have to walk on the tarry road in the scorching heat.
They think of giving their own slippers but realize that those slippers would not fit the feet of the beggar. So they start looking for slippers of appropriate size for the beggar in and around the house. Soon enough Mridu points out an old pair of slippers of the right size and they give it to the beggar.

Later, they realize that the slippers belonged to Lalli’s music teacher. And then, when everyone in the house is helping him find his slippers, the three kids sit quietly under the neem tree where the beggar sat barefeet some time ago.

When Rukku Mani sees them sitting quietly she enquires if they know who took the slippers and that is when “A sharp V shape line formed between her eyebrows.” This suggests that she was curious to know the answer and somewhere instinctively knew that the kids were at fault. Along with curiosity it can also suggest an angry mood.

Note: The story has beautifully depicted the message of helping those who need it. The story also mentions King Karna who helped the needy as an example for children to learn from Indian mythology.