Plot Overview
The Quarrel & Escape
Balu comes home from college to find the house in complete chaos: his elder sister Gayathri and brother-in-law Nagaraj are having a huge fight over their daughter Shalini, while their parents try to calm everyone down. Balu, used to staying out of it, quietly accepts the usual ₹500 "go-away money" from his sister, turns on his phone's voice recorder, and slips out of the house.
At midnight his mother Lalitha suddenly wakes him, packs a small bag, and drags him onto the night bus to Tharapuram, desperate to get away from the "demon sister" drama for a few days. On the bus she admits the marriage is hanging by a thread. Balu sulks ("I could've just gone to uncle's house"), then falls asleep on his mother's shoulder.
Arrival & Simmering Tensions
The narrow lanes of Tharapuram look exactly the same. Aunt Manjula opens the door in a thin cotton saree that clings to her sweaty body, pallu hastily tucked, hips swaying as she walks. Uncle Arumugam has been bedridden for years after a stroke—paralysed below the waist and barely able to speak. The entire household burden falls on Manjula and her two daughters (Ruthra, 17, and Harini, who is away in Coimbatore for studies).
Balu is given the tiny guest room. His mother bathes in the backyard while he changes. Filter coffee is served in heavy silence; money is tight, the pension is delayed again, and Manjula earns a little extra by doing "packing work" at neighbour Abu's house. Balu can't stop stealing glances at his aunt's full figure.
Voyeuristic Games Begin
Ruthra pulls Balu to her laptop to play games, but within minutes the talk turns to shocking secrets. She whispers that last week she saw Abu (a muscular widower in his forties next door) wearing only loose shorts with nothing underneath. While Manjula was bent over in the kitchen doing "packing work," he pressed himself fully against her from behind for a long minute and finished inside his shorts. Manjula pretended nothing happened.
Balu admits he once noticed Abu's hand lingering far too low on their aunt's back when they had come to fix a pipe. The cousins nickname Abu's manhood "ting-ting bell" because of how it moves when he walks in a lungi. They decide to become full-time spies.
Escalating Temptations
Ruthra ropes in her friend Ishwarya for the mission. The three of them secretly follow Manjula when she goes to Abu's house saying she has "urgent packing." They hide behind coconut trees. They hear nothing, but Manjula stays inside for almost forty minutes—far longer than normal work should take. Ruthra swears she once saw suspicious wet patches on Abu's shorts afterward.
Night-time gossip sessions grow wilder: endless descriptions of Manjula's curves, Ruthra demonstrating the grinding motion with a pillow, Ishwarya giggling about old cushions at Abu's place that have strange stains. A late-night call from Harini in Coimbatore ends with her teasing, "Wait till I come next week—double trouble starts."
Taboo Crossings
The next afternoon they peep through a gap in Abu's compound wall and see Manjula on her knees "packing" while Abu stands behind her, his hand openly inside her blouse. She never protests.
That evening at dinner Manjula herself feeds Balu pieces of mutton, letting her fingers linger on his lips, eyes locked on his with a knowing half-smile.
Climactic Indulgences
All boundaries collapse:
- Manjula gives Balu an "oil massage" for his "shoulder pain" that quickly turns into something far more intimate, her hands guiding his.
- Ruthra starts secret nighttime games with Balu in the store room; Ishwarya joins and it becomes a heated threesome.
- Lalitha, sensing the charged atmosphere, shares a midnight bath under the open water tank with her son—tears, confessions, and forbidden closeness.
- Abu is revealed to be the neighbourhood "helper" who accepts sexual favours instead of cash from women who can't afford his services; Manjula is a regular visitor.
Side twist: Uncle Chandran's own secret visits to a widow down the outside are accidentally exposed.
Resolution & Afterglow
Gayathri suddenly arrives to "bring mother home." The usual shouting turns to tears, then to loud make-up sex that the whole house can hear through the thin walls.
The holiday ends. Back in Chennai the house feels strangely peaceful—shared secrets have bound everyone closer. Balu sits on the balcony sipping filter coffee, replaying every moment, already counting the days until Harini's next college break. What once felt wrong now simply feels like family.
Beginning of First Chapter
The ceiling fan whirred lazily and one earphone was still playing music, but nothing could drown out the shouting that had been going on for the past half hour.
Balu pulled the pillow over his head. His mother, father, elder sister Gayathri, and brother-in-law Nagaraj—everyone was yelling at once.
Whenever Nagaraj raised his voice, Dad tried to calm him down while Mom begged Gayathri to stop. Balu couldn't follow the exact reason, only that it was about little Shalini again.
Summer holidays had just begun that morning. He had spent the whole day at Marina Beach with friends and reached home only by six—straight into a war zone.
Quick family introduction:
Chennai, Thiruvanmiyur.
Father: Manickam. Retired from BHEL. Spent his youth driving Bangalore–Chennai buses until his back gave up, then took voluntary retirement. Now all he wants is peace.
Mother: Lalitha. Originally from Trichy. The queen of patience and adjustment.
First child: Gayathri. Finished women's college, now works in Chengalpattu. Married Nagaraj in an arranged match that quickly turned sour.
Second child: Prem, a lawyer with his own office near Velachery Vijaya Nagar. His wife Divya talks big outside but becomes completely obedient the moment they're alone with the family.
Then, after a long gap, the surprise latecomer—Balu.
That evening:
"When did you reach, anna?" Balu asked Nagaraj.
"Around noon, da," Nagaraj replied without looking away from the TV.
"You have the patience of a saint, anna. But Gayathri akka turns into a complete demon."
"Where's Shalini, then?"
"Mom said no and took her away."
At that exact moment the bedroom door burst open and Gayathri stormed out.
"Welcome! When did you come?"
"Just ten minutes ago."
Gayathri pulled five hundred rupees from Nagaraj's purse and pressed the notes into Balu's hand—the standard bribe whenever she created chaos at home so the younger brother would disappear for a few hours.
Before leaving, Balu casually placed his phone on charge near the television, quietly started the voice recorder, and announced loudly, "Someone switch it off after an hour or two, okay?" Then he vanished.
He returned only at 9:30 p.m.
"Did you eat?" Dad asked.
"Yes, Pa… pizza, dosa, everything."
The last sentence he had heard before leaving was Gayathri screaming at Mom: "Mind your own business!"
At midnight his mother shook him awake.
"Get up. No questions now. Pack two sets of clothes—we're going to your periyamma's house in Tharapuram. I'll explain on the way."
Next stop: Tharapuram.
Awaiting for my Next chapter of Holidays