Rowdy.

I always conjured up a vision of a rowdy as one who was tall , hefty, rude and fierce.But the one I was pointed at as Rowdy of the locality clearly didn't fit the bill.

He is thin , short, narrow shouldered and very polite! He drops his children at their 'convent' school daily by his scooter. Takes active part in the affairs of the temple nearby , is very busy during election times and oversees all Annadhanam ---to the locals on festive occasions.

He even felt ashamed when I and several others peeped out of our windows , disturbed by the altercation between him and his comrades in high decibel in the road below, over a betting on a, cricket match [ Indo-pak], gone awry .He dispersed the crowd and sheepishly slunk away.

In pre- DTH times , he used to collect the dues for cable connection. He didn't raise even an iota of fear in me. His manner and demeanor most humble and polite. I wouldn't say that about his brother though, the kingpin. Also small statured .His eyes , burning in their sockets , quite terrifying to meet, is a dead give away.

One day the hero of this piece chased another [ rowdy] , in our flats compound with a knife and inflicted some injuries.Several months later he was walking around looking even more frail. On enquiry about his health,he candidly admitted that he had just been released, after doing 'time' and that the food served in the cooler upset his delicate constitution!

Apart from that knifing incident I have no clue to the nefarious activities that would qualify him to the currently exalted title of 'rowdy' in the city tenements

I last spotted him on the street as pious looking as any other Ayyappa devotee .Wearing black dhothi, dark blue shirt, a muffler wound around his neck, chandan and kumkum thilak on his forehead , and walking barefooted.