I had work in Jamnagar and so landed up in Rajkot on 26th Oct morning at 7 AM.
I took a car at Rajkot airport for the 2 hour journey to Jamnagar.The road was good and the weather was balmy at that hour in the morning.
The car driver ( Zakir) stopped for breakfast at a roadside eatery--- it wasn't 5-star, I can assure you that.The tea stall owner was frying fresh ghatias ( something like our ompudi).This a favourite breakfast dish in Kutch and is meant to be eaten with onion smeared with red chili powder and raw green chillies---- yes, you got it right--- raw green chillies. I said no, thank you to the green chillies and proceeded toeat the ghatia with the onion masala.Truly enjoyable and then I topped it off with a glass of tea.
One would normally associate Saurashtra with dryness but the landscape was very green.The menfolk in this area wear a particular kind of dress.The upper portion is like a kind of frock and the chudidar is very loose and baggy.Both garments are usually in spotless white.
The common mode of public transport is a motorized tricycle fitted with a Bullet engine.The sides are very colourfully painted and the vehicle vies for attention with the riotous coloured clothes of the womenfolk.
Dwarka is around 140 Km from Jamnagar and another common sight in the area is the groups of people trudging on the road to these pilgrim destinations.It's not that they can't afford to travel by vehicle but a way of penance.Travelling in company probably eases the hardship.And then there are the camel driven carts--- Jamnagar is as different from Chennai as chalk and cheese.
Regretfully, I couldn't make the trip to Dwarka this time but I'll probably do this in my next visit.
Jamnagar was a princely state and there are vestiges of the old buildings still in sight.
The roar of fighter planes overhead reminds me that there is an airbase nearby.Remember that Jamnagar is a mere 10 minutes away from Pakistan and there are plenty of assets to protect.
The work has been satisfactorily completed and I head back to Chennai tomorrow.The car driver reminds me that Jamnagar is home to exquisite bandhini sarees and dresses but I'm not adventurous enough to buy.
Meanwhile I had a relaxing time watching "Khoon Bhari Maang" and a couple of meaningless Vinod Khanna movies and lots of songs from old Hindi films.
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Thursday, October 7, 2010
2 days in Bhopal---- 7th and 8th Oct 2010
Work has brought me to this lovely city of Bhopal. My colleagues and I arrived here on 7th Oct morning from Baroda by the Somnath Express.
We reached Bhopal by 9 AM and straightaway checked into Jehan Numa Palace Hotel which is situated on Shyamala Hills in Bhopal. We had to make a visit to Mandideep and were scheduled to leave the same evening for Mumbai.
I was actually feeling sorry that I would not be able to stay back and enjoy the lovely ambience of the hotel. As luck would have it, we were forced to defer our departure by a day and so I had the opportunity to explore this lovely place.
Jehan Numa Palace was built in 1890 by Gen. Obaidullah Khan,Commander-in -Chief of the Bhopal State Army and second son of Nawab Sultan Jehan Begum.The General died in 1924 and then the palace went through many occupancies before it was reclaimed and renovated by the grandsons of Gen.Obaidullah Khan in Sep 1983.
The hotel has many photographs of the late 1800s vintage as well as early 1900s and displays them proudly along with a display of weapons belonging to Gen Obaidullah Khan.
The structure is typically colonial with wide verandahs, cane chairs, trellissed doors etc etc.
The staff are extremely hospitable and rush to meet the whim of each guest.There is a general laidback atmosphere and one can put one's feet up and while away the day.
Definitely recommended for those wanting to de-stress and re-discover the meaning of life.
Bhopal is the capital of Madhya Pradesh and is accessible by air from Mumbai and New Delhi.
We reached Bhopal by 9 AM and straightaway checked into Jehan Numa Palace Hotel which is situated on Shyamala Hills in Bhopal. We had to make a visit to Mandideep and were scheduled to leave the same evening for Mumbai.
I was actually feeling sorry that I would not be able to stay back and enjoy the lovely ambience of the hotel. As luck would have it, we were forced to defer our departure by a day and so I had the opportunity to explore this lovely place.
Jehan Numa Palace was built in 1890 by Gen. Obaidullah Khan,Commander-in -Chief of the Bhopal State Army and second son of Nawab Sultan Jehan Begum.The General died in 1924 and then the palace went through many occupancies before it was reclaimed and renovated by the grandsons of Gen.Obaidullah Khan in Sep 1983.
The hotel has many photographs of the late 1800s vintage as well as early 1900s and displays them proudly along with a display of weapons belonging to Gen Obaidullah Khan.
The structure is typically colonial with wide verandahs, cane chairs, trellissed doors etc etc.
The staff are extremely hospitable and rush to meet the whim of each guest.There is a general laidback atmosphere and one can put one's feet up and while away the day.
Definitely recommended for those wanting to de-stress and re-discover the meaning of life.
Saturday, October 2, 2010
The Birth of Sandeep and later( 1981-1983)
The birth of my second child was due around Deepavali in 1981 and I decided to go to Jabalpur around that time.
Sudha's gynaecologist was Dr.Sarojini,a very old family friend of Sudha's parents.We celebrated Deepavali on 27th Oct and BVN's old friends, the Dwarkanaths had come from Nagpur to celebrate the occasion with us.
On 29th morning, Sudha developed labour pains and she was taken to hospital.There was a delay in the arrival of the doctor and she almost delivered right in the waiting room.
Anyway, everything went well and she delivered a healthy, bouncing 8lb baby boy at 9.15 AM.We were so sure that it would be a girl that it took some time for the fact to sink in that we had a second boy.
I reached the hospital around 12 Noon and there he was, cute and almost red all over.
My dad and mom got the news in KGF as they were about to leave KGF forever and settle down in Mysore.
Mrs.Dwarkanath was of great help during this time.
Finalizing a name for the child took all of 2 seconds.A son ( San) born on Deep(avali)day automatically became Sandeep.
OK, it wasn't actually Deepavali but Bhai Dhooj, it didn't matter.
The other notable event during that period was Sachin, Ravi and I going to see "Yaarana" starring Amitabh Bachchan and Amjad Khan. I had worn a particular coloured shirt for the movie and for a couple of years after that, Sachin referred to it as the Yaarana shirt whenever I wore it.
I returned to Madras soon after to resume my bachelor life. Dad and mom visited Jabalpur to see the child in Dec 1981.I remember mom mentioning that the child was trying to climb up her shoulder even when he was barely 2 months old.
I visited Mysore later in Dec 1981 and was happy to see my parents settling into their own home in Jayanagar Extension.
1982 dawned and this was the year of the Asian Games--- but a fairly momentous year for me.
Vasudha got married in Jan 1982 and I think Sudha missed this wedding.
Sudha returned to Madras with Sachin and Sandeep in Feb 1982.We were now in Teynampet in an independent house at the back of a main house.The owner was a Kannadiga, Dr.Srinivasan and the upstairs portion was occupied by Mr.Venkatachalam, his wife Meena and their two sons Mohan and Balaji.Mr.Venkatachalam was working in Best & Crompton Engineering.
Meena adopted Sandeep as soon as Sudha returned to Madras. He used to spend all his time in their house and called Meena "Amma".
March 1982 saw the first test for us as a family.The issue was school admission for Sachin.We had heard that DAV School at Gopalapuram,Madras was good and were determined that he would study only there.
The problem was that the admission was restricted to pupils whose parents were able to get an application form.
It was announced that applications would be distributed in Mar 1982 but the date was not announced.Sudha's brother Ravi was staying with us at that time and we took turns going to the school and waiting in a queue.The Principal ( Mr.Ram Kalia--- and a stricter disciplinarian I am yet to see) would come in the morning and say that applications would not be given that day and we would all disperse.
There were only 40 seats in LKG so the problem was to be among the first 40 in the queue.The queue started from 5 AM and slowly started going back to 4 AM, 3 AM and so on.By the 15th day, the queue started from 8 PM the previous day. Ravi was of great help to us during this time.
Finally, one day Mr.Ram Kalia announced that applications would be given and luckily we were among the first 40.
Nanjunda got married in Jun 1982 in Mysore and we attended the wedding.
In July 1982, my boss Mr.N.P.Shah who was the Branch Manager of Akay Industries resigned to start his own business. This was also the time when the office lease at Casa Major Road in Egmore had expired and we had to start looking for a new place.
Mr.Dewnany, a senior person from Administration in Bombay, came down to Madras and we finalized new premises at Hardevi Chambers in Pantheon Road at Egmore, not more than 500 metres away.
Around the same time, Sudha's brother Vinod was engaged to be married to Veena whose parents were also in Nagpur.The alliance was finalized thru the Dwarkanaths who knew both the families well.The wedding was finalized for Oct 29th, 1982---- Sandeep's first birthday.
Another significant event that took place was our Office Sales Conference in Lonavala in Sep 1982. My colleague Verghese and I attended and the employees from Hubli came by us with their families.We were put up at the Faryas Resort and had a lovely time. The icing on the cake was the China Silk saree that was presented to each spouse.Sudha got a nice purple one and liked it immensely.
Around this time, I had also enrolled for a Post Graduate Course in Marketing at the University of Madras and had to attend evening classes for 3 days in a week.
With Mr.Shah's resignation, I was made acting head of the Madras Branch and the office car ( an Ambassador) was given to me.
My parents in-law had shifted to Nowgong in Bundelkand region of Madhya Pradesh in early 1982 and BVN's driver Shiraz had taught me driving in BVN's office Jeep when I had gone there in May 1982.Therefore, I had no problems driving the car.I remember that our first car trip was from Teynampet to West Mambalam to visit our good friends Kiran Kumar and Shantha.
We shifted to the new Office during a weekend in Oct 1982 and this was my first test of leadership.We closed at the old office on a Friday and the shifting was done over the weekend and we were back in business at the new office on Monday.We had also managed to get our office phone connection on Saturday---- no mean feat considering that Telephones was still a Government monopoly at that time.
Oct 18th ( Mon) was when Veena together with her sister Nalini and her parents were passing thru Madras on their way to Bangalore for the wedding.It was raining very heavily but Sudha and I were there to receive them at the station and with food packets.
Soon after, we all went to Bangalore for Vinod's wedding.It was a nice affair, made doubly memorable with Sandeep's first birthday.
The boys were growing up nicely.No trouble ( at least that's how it appears to us now).
The Asian Games came up in New Delhi in Nov 1982 and saw the advent of colour television.
Sachin was going to school regularly now.I would drop him off in the morning and Sudha would pick him up in her TVS 50 moped which we bought in Sep 1982.
Sandhya delivered her first child ( a son ) in Mysore.Sunil was born on Feb 13th.Ravi had also bought his flat in South End Apartments and the Grihapravesha was held in Apr 1983.
I drove down to Mysore in the Ambassador ( my first outstation trip) and brought my parents and Sandhya and Sunil to Bangalore for the grihapravesha
I took Sachin on his first airplane trip to Bangalore in Aug 1983.I left him at Bangalore, went to Hubli on official work and then came back with Sachin in Brindavan Express.I remember getting Sachin some comics to read and he was immersed in reading about Kalia the Crow, Doob Doob the Crocodile, Chamataka the Fox etc etc.
My Doddappa A.C.Kanteeravaswamy passed away in Sep 1983.He was ill for a couple of months . He and Kamala Doddamma were childless but they loved children and had an open house for visitors.Dad was in Mysore at that time and I had to speak to his neighbour and ask him to convey the news to my dad so that he could rush to Bangalore for the cremation. Communication was a major problem in those days.
Our company was participating in the ChemAsia Exhibition in Singapore in Dec 1983 and I was chosen by my company to go along with two other colleagues.
I was pretty excited since this was to be my first overseas trip.I was given Rs.7500 and told to get a suit stitched and also buy some more new clothes.
I left for Bombay on 2nd Dec and we all flew out from Bombay to Singapore on 4th Dec night.At Bombay, my MD gave each of us US $750 for our expenses.We landed in Singapore on 5th Dec 1983 ( it was my parents' 35th wedding anniversary).
Singapore was like a wonder land and we were just gaping at the sights. We stayed in a house of one of my colleagues' friends.Next day, we went to the World Trade Centre where the Exhibition was to be held.We got our exhibits unpacked and set up our stall.
In the meantime, my colleague Sharma and I decided to go to Bangkok and come back after the exhibition and so we booked our tickets.We were booked to return from Singapore to Bombay on 17th Dec but our return ticket was not confirmed.
The exhibition was for 4 days and was a great learning experience.In the evenings, we went to all the malls---- Scotts, Far East, Takashimaya, C K Tangs, Centre Point, Yaohawn's--- we went to all of them.
I bought a Minolta camera ( which is still with me), a transistor cum tape recorder ( the ubuquitious 2 in 1), a watch for Sudha,another bracelet, sarees for mom and Sudha and shirts and shaving accessories for the gents. A toy train for Sachin and lots of clothes for both the kids. I also bought a lot of English music cassettes, a suitcase etc.
During those days, none of these articles were available freely in India.Of course, things are vastly different now.
We also went to Sentosa Island, the Haw Par Villa, Japan Garden, China Garden etc.
Singapore has always been one of my favourite destinations outside of India and its charm is evergreen.
We were told to stay in Patpong area in Bangkok and had no idea that this was a very notorious area.Barely 5 minutes after we checked into the hotel, one of the waiters appeared and asked " You want girl?" We said no. He said " Oh, you want boy?". It was taken for granted that we were visited Bangkok only for naughty purposes.
We made a one day visit to Pattaya and saw an interesting " show".
We returned to Singapore but found that our Bombay ticket was still not confirmed.
Meanwhile, the date of departure was drawing nearer and we were almost in a panic.On the 17th , we were told to try our luck in the Airport.We were really worried and didn't know what we would do if the ticket was not confirmed.Our money was running out and those were the days before international credit cards.
We went to the check-in counter and waited and waited. All the confirmed passengers were cleared and then the names of waitlisted passengers were called. The time of departure was nearing and we had lost hope.I started reciting the Gayatri Mantra. At last they called "Prasad and Sharma". We put our hands up, checked in and sprinted to the departure gate.
We landed in Bombay next day morning and then I caught the evening flight to Madras. My dad and mom were very proud that I had made a foreign trip and had come to the airport with a garland.
A couple of days later, I got a call from my Bombay office asking how much duty I had paid in Bombay airport. I said Rs.2000. A couple of days later I got an envelope containing Rs.2000.
That's it for now. My next blog will cover 1984 and later.
Sudha's gynaecologist was Dr.Sarojini,a very old family friend of Sudha's parents.We celebrated Deepavali on 27th Oct and BVN's old friends, the Dwarkanaths had come from Nagpur to celebrate the occasion with us.
On 29th morning, Sudha developed labour pains and she was taken to hospital.There was a delay in the arrival of the doctor and she almost delivered right in the waiting room.
Anyway, everything went well and she delivered a healthy, bouncing 8lb baby boy at 9.15 AM.We were so sure that it would be a girl that it took some time for the fact to sink in that we had a second boy.
I reached the hospital around 12 Noon and there he was, cute and almost red all over.
My dad and mom got the news in KGF as they were about to leave KGF forever and settle down in Mysore.
Mrs.Dwarkanath was of great help during this time.
Finalizing a name for the child took all of 2 seconds.A son ( San) born on Deep(avali)day automatically became Sandeep.
OK, it wasn't actually Deepavali but Bhai Dhooj, it didn't matter.
The other notable event during that period was Sachin, Ravi and I going to see "Yaarana" starring Amitabh Bachchan and Amjad Khan. I had worn a particular coloured shirt for the movie and for a couple of years after that, Sachin referred to it as the Yaarana shirt whenever I wore it.
I returned to Madras soon after to resume my bachelor life. Dad and mom visited Jabalpur to see the child in Dec 1981.I remember mom mentioning that the child was trying to climb up her shoulder even when he was barely 2 months old.
I visited Mysore later in Dec 1981 and was happy to see my parents settling into their own home in Jayanagar Extension.
1982 dawned and this was the year of the Asian Games--- but a fairly momentous year for me.
Vasudha got married in Jan 1982 and I think Sudha missed this wedding.
Sudha returned to Madras with Sachin and Sandeep in Feb 1982.We were now in Teynampet in an independent house at the back of a main house.The owner was a Kannadiga, Dr.Srinivasan and the upstairs portion was occupied by Mr.Venkatachalam, his wife Meena and their two sons Mohan and Balaji.Mr.Venkatachalam was working in Best & Crompton Engineering.
Meena adopted Sandeep as soon as Sudha returned to Madras. He used to spend all his time in their house and called Meena "Amma".
March 1982 saw the first test for us as a family.The issue was school admission for Sachin.We had heard that DAV School at Gopalapuram,Madras was good and were determined that he would study only there.
The problem was that the admission was restricted to pupils whose parents were able to get an application form.
It was announced that applications would be distributed in Mar 1982 but the date was not announced.Sudha's brother Ravi was staying with us at that time and we took turns going to the school and waiting in a queue.The Principal ( Mr.Ram Kalia--- and a stricter disciplinarian I am yet to see) would come in the morning and say that applications would not be given that day and we would all disperse.
There were only 40 seats in LKG so the problem was to be among the first 40 in the queue.The queue started from 5 AM and slowly started going back to 4 AM, 3 AM and so on.By the 15th day, the queue started from 8 PM the previous day. Ravi was of great help to us during this time.
Finally, one day Mr.Ram Kalia announced that applications would be given and luckily we were among the first 40.
Nanjunda got married in Jun 1982 in Mysore and we attended the wedding.
In July 1982, my boss Mr.N.P.Shah who was the Branch Manager of Akay Industries resigned to start his own business. This was also the time when the office lease at Casa Major Road in Egmore had expired and we had to start looking for a new place.
Mr.Dewnany, a senior person from Administration in Bombay, came down to Madras and we finalized new premises at Hardevi Chambers in Pantheon Road at Egmore, not more than 500 metres away.
Around the same time, Sudha's brother Vinod was engaged to be married to Veena whose parents were also in Nagpur.The alliance was finalized thru the Dwarkanaths who knew both the families well.The wedding was finalized for Oct 29th, 1982---- Sandeep's first birthday.
Another significant event that took place was our Office Sales Conference in Lonavala in Sep 1982. My colleague Verghese and I attended and the employees from Hubli came by us with their families.We were put up at the Faryas Resort and had a lovely time. The icing on the cake was the China Silk saree that was presented to each spouse.Sudha got a nice purple one and liked it immensely.
Around this time, I had also enrolled for a Post Graduate Course in Marketing at the University of Madras and had to attend evening classes for 3 days in a week.
With Mr.Shah's resignation, I was made acting head of the Madras Branch and the office car ( an Ambassador) was given to me.
My parents in-law had shifted to Nowgong in Bundelkand region of Madhya Pradesh in early 1982 and BVN's driver Shiraz had taught me driving in BVN's office Jeep when I had gone there in May 1982.Therefore, I had no problems driving the car.I remember that our first car trip was from Teynampet to West Mambalam to visit our good friends Kiran Kumar and Shantha.
We shifted to the new Office during a weekend in Oct 1982 and this was my first test of leadership.We closed at the old office on a Friday and the shifting was done over the weekend and we were back in business at the new office on Monday.We had also managed to get our office phone connection on Saturday---- no mean feat considering that Telephones was still a Government monopoly at that time.
Oct 18th ( Mon) was when Veena together with her sister Nalini and her parents were passing thru Madras on their way to Bangalore for the wedding.It was raining very heavily but Sudha and I were there to receive them at the station and with food packets.
Soon after, we all went to Bangalore for Vinod's wedding.It was a nice affair, made doubly memorable with Sandeep's first birthday.
The boys were growing up nicely.No trouble ( at least that's how it appears to us now).
The Asian Games came up in New Delhi in Nov 1982 and saw the advent of colour television.
Sachin was going to school regularly now.I would drop him off in the morning and Sudha would pick him up in her TVS 50 moped which we bought in Sep 1982.
Sandhya delivered her first child ( a son ) in Mysore.Sunil was born on Feb 13th.Ravi had also bought his flat in South End Apartments and the Grihapravesha was held in Apr 1983.
I drove down to Mysore in the Ambassador ( my first outstation trip) and brought my parents and Sandhya and Sunil to Bangalore for the grihapravesha
I took Sachin on his first airplane trip to Bangalore in Aug 1983.I left him at Bangalore, went to Hubli on official work and then came back with Sachin in Brindavan Express.I remember getting Sachin some comics to read and he was immersed in reading about Kalia the Crow, Doob Doob the Crocodile, Chamataka the Fox etc etc.
My Doddappa A.C.Kanteeravaswamy passed away in Sep 1983.He was ill for a couple of months . He and Kamala Doddamma were childless but they loved children and had an open house for visitors.Dad was in Mysore at that time and I had to speak to his neighbour and ask him to convey the news to my dad so that he could rush to Bangalore for the cremation. Communication was a major problem in those days.
Our company was participating in the ChemAsia Exhibition in Singapore in Dec 1983 and I was chosen by my company to go along with two other colleagues.
I was pretty excited since this was to be my first overseas trip.I was given Rs.7500 and told to get a suit stitched and also buy some more new clothes.
I left for Bombay on 2nd Dec and we all flew out from Bombay to Singapore on 4th Dec night.At Bombay, my MD gave each of us US $750 for our expenses.We landed in Singapore on 5th Dec 1983 ( it was my parents' 35th wedding anniversary).
Singapore was like a wonder land and we were just gaping at the sights. We stayed in a house of one of my colleagues' friends.Next day, we went to the World Trade Centre where the Exhibition was to be held.We got our exhibits unpacked and set up our stall.
In the meantime, my colleague Sharma and I decided to go to Bangkok and come back after the exhibition and so we booked our tickets.We were booked to return from Singapore to Bombay on 17th Dec but our return ticket was not confirmed.
The exhibition was for 4 days and was a great learning experience.In the evenings, we went to all the malls---- Scotts, Far East, Takashimaya, C K Tangs, Centre Point, Yaohawn's--- we went to all of them.
I bought a Minolta camera ( which is still with me), a transistor cum tape recorder ( the ubuquitious 2 in 1), a watch for Sudha,another bracelet, sarees for mom and Sudha and shirts and shaving accessories for the gents. A toy train for Sachin and lots of clothes for both the kids. I also bought a lot of English music cassettes, a suitcase etc.
During those days, none of these articles were available freely in India.Of course, things are vastly different now.
We also went to Sentosa Island, the Haw Par Villa, Japan Garden, China Garden etc.
Singapore has always been one of my favourite destinations outside of India and its charm is evergreen.
We were told to stay in Patpong area in Bangkok and had no idea that this was a very notorious area.Barely 5 minutes after we checked into the hotel, one of the waiters appeared and asked " You want girl?" We said no. He said " Oh, you want boy?". It was taken for granted that we were visited Bangkok only for naughty purposes.
We made a one day visit to Pattaya and saw an interesting " show".
We returned to Singapore but found that our Bombay ticket was still not confirmed.
Meanwhile, the date of departure was drawing nearer and we were almost in a panic.On the 17th , we were told to try our luck in the Airport.We were really worried and didn't know what we would do if the ticket was not confirmed.Our money was running out and those were the days before international credit cards.
We went to the check-in counter and waited and waited. All the confirmed passengers were cleared and then the names of waitlisted passengers were called. The time of departure was nearing and we had lost hope.I started reciting the Gayatri Mantra. At last they called "Prasad and Sharma". We put our hands up, checked in and sprinted to the departure gate.
We landed in Bombay next day morning and then I caught the evening flight to Madras. My dad and mom were very proud that I had made a foreign trip and had come to the airport with a garland.
A couple of days later, I got a call from my Bombay office asking how much duty I had paid in Bombay airport. I said Rs.2000. A couple of days later I got an envelope containing Rs.2000.
That's it for now. My next blog will cover 1984 and later.
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
The Joys of Parenthood ( Contd)-----------( 1978-1981)
I have a feedback from my son Sachin on my previous blog.He says that I have focused more on the agony of theatre than on the joys of parenthood.
Mea culpa, and I'll proceed to set right matters.
The most endearing thing about Sachin as a baby, apart from his marble-like black eyes, was the way he would suck his right forefinger and middle finger . This was heaven to him.
He was a late walker, only at around 11 months or so.He was also a very quiet boy--- absolutely no tantrums.When we were in Ashoknagar, Vasuki and Arathi had come to visit us. They took him outside the house in his pram and then tried to race the pram.In the process, Sachin fell off from the pram and sustained minor injuries.I was off at work then and these two were shivering in their boots wondering what I'd say when I came back home.They still remember the incident.
In May 1979, we went to Bangalore to attend Rajani's wedding.It was a gala affair and we enjoyed ourselves hugely.Sachin was just 9 months old then and really quite chubby. Sethuram called him "benne biscuit" and fussed over him a lot.
We celebrated his first birthday in Aug 1979 by cutting a cake and calling Prakash and Rosy who were staying in Besant Nagar then. I remember that they presented him with a copy of "Bala Ramayana".
Sandhya was extremely fond of him and used to call him Johnny boy.He used to call her Jujja and the name has stuck till this day.We had all gone to KGF for Janmashtami in Sep 1979 and Sachin was dressed up like a little Krishna.Very cute.
Sandhya would invariably take Sachin every date to Oorgaum Railway Station to watch the train passing by.
1979 was when we bought our first TV--- a black and white TV set called Bharath TV. Every day we would watch from 6.30 PM starting with the Doordarshan logo.Initially we had just the Doordarshan channel and then we had Doordarshan 1 and Doordarshan 2 where the second channel was a commercial one with advertisements etc.
Wimbledon was a great attraction and watching the epic final between McEnroe and Bjorn Borg made me feel that the TV was paisa vasool.
Gayathri got married in May 1980 to Vittal and we travelled to Bangalore for the wedding.
In September 1980, I made my second travel by flight from Madras to Bombay for a Sales Conference in Ankleshwar.
We stayed in Hotel Poonam International in Shiv Sagar Estate in Worli and travelled by bus to Ankleshwar.I bought a saree for mummy at Akbarally's and Bombay Halwa for everyone at Dadar.
By now, Sandhya had finished her B Com and my parents were on the lookout for a suitable groom for her.Sandhya's friend Shobha was the first to get engaged and the wedding date was fixed for 21 Mar 1981.Within a short while, Sandhya was engaged to Ravikumaraswamy who was a partner in a packaging industry in Bangalore.
Ravi's parents stayed in Jayanagar 1st Block and his father Prof S.Ramaswamy was a retired Professor of Physics in Central College, Bangalore.His grandather , Dr.S Subba Rao, was the palace physician to the Maharaja of Mysore and had travelled overseas in the 1930s .Ravi was the youngest of 5 brothers, all of whom were staying in Bangalore.
The wedding was fixed for 18th Mar 1981 at Prasanna Kalyana Mantapa in Jayanagar 1st Block near Ashoka Pillar.Sudha was now pregnant again. Her parents and Vinod and Ravi came down from Jabalpur where BVN was now transferred.
Sachin had high fever during the wedding but recovered soon.
We returned to Madras after attending Shobha's wedding also.
Meanwhile, Sudha was told that her iron content was low and was advised to take Fefol along with an oil injection which was a particularly painful one.This injection was to be taken once a week and she had to be under complete bed rest.
Mummy and Bhagya came down to KGF to look after her and we had to miss Nandini's wedding in May 1981.
Rummy, in the meanwhile, delivered her second child--- a boy--- in KGF on 1 May 1981.Aditya was born almost 8 1/2 years after Akhila. I conveyed the happy news to B S Nagaraj in Bangalore. He repeatedly asked me if I was sure it was a boy and I said yes, yes, yes.
Dad also retired from service on 31 May 1981 and was allowed to stay in the bungalow for another 3 months while Rummy was undergoing her bananthana( post natal care).
May 1981 was therefore a hectic month in many respects.
Sudha left with Sachin for Jabalpur in July 1981, but prior to that we shifted from Ashok Nagar to Teynampet.This was centrally located but the house was very small.Once again, I was forced to live the bachelor life.
The child was expected around Deepavali in 1981 and I planned my leave so as to be in Jabalpur around the time of the delivery.
Meanwhile, there was a Kannada drama called "Udhbhava" being staged and I was given a small role in it.Small means really small--- just one line of dialogue. I went for practice for one whole month.I had another friend called Srinivas who also had just one line of dialogue--- after mine.
On the day of the play, I was waiting eagerly to deliver my line. Srinivas was even more eager than me.He jumped the queue and delivered his dialogue before mine and thus I lost my chance. Such are the ways of theatre.
My next blog will cover the details of the birth of my second son.
Mea culpa, and I'll proceed to set right matters.
The most endearing thing about Sachin as a baby, apart from his marble-like black eyes, was the way he would suck his right forefinger and middle finger . This was heaven to him.
He was a late walker, only at around 11 months or so.He was also a very quiet boy--- absolutely no tantrums.When we were in Ashoknagar, Vasuki and Arathi had come to visit us. They took him outside the house in his pram and then tried to race the pram.In the process, Sachin fell off from the pram and sustained minor injuries.I was off at work then and these two were shivering in their boots wondering what I'd say when I came back home.They still remember the incident.
In May 1979, we went to Bangalore to attend Rajani's wedding.It was a gala affair and we enjoyed ourselves hugely.Sachin was just 9 months old then and really quite chubby. Sethuram called him "benne biscuit" and fussed over him a lot.
We celebrated his first birthday in Aug 1979 by cutting a cake and calling Prakash and Rosy who were staying in Besant Nagar then. I remember that they presented him with a copy of "Bala Ramayana".
Sandhya was extremely fond of him and used to call him Johnny boy.He used to call her Jujja and the name has stuck till this day.We had all gone to KGF for Janmashtami in Sep 1979 and Sachin was dressed up like a little Krishna.Very cute.
Sandhya would invariably take Sachin every date to Oorgaum Railway Station to watch the train passing by.
1979 was when we bought our first TV--- a black and white TV set called Bharath TV. Every day we would watch from 6.30 PM starting with the Doordarshan logo.Initially we had just the Doordarshan channel and then we had Doordarshan 1 and Doordarshan 2 where the second channel was a commercial one with advertisements etc.
Wimbledon was a great attraction and watching the epic final between McEnroe and Bjorn Borg made me feel that the TV was paisa vasool.
Gayathri got married in May 1980 to Vittal and we travelled to Bangalore for the wedding.
In September 1980, I made my second travel by flight from Madras to Bombay for a Sales Conference in Ankleshwar.
We stayed in Hotel Poonam International in Shiv Sagar Estate in Worli and travelled by bus to Ankleshwar.I bought a saree for mummy at Akbarally's and Bombay Halwa for everyone at Dadar.
By now, Sandhya had finished her B Com and my parents were on the lookout for a suitable groom for her.Sandhya's friend Shobha was the first to get engaged and the wedding date was fixed for 21 Mar 1981.Within a short while, Sandhya was engaged to Ravikumaraswamy who was a partner in a packaging industry in Bangalore.
Ravi's parents stayed in Jayanagar 1st Block and his father Prof S.Ramaswamy was a retired Professor of Physics in Central College, Bangalore.His grandather , Dr.S Subba Rao, was the palace physician to the Maharaja of Mysore and had travelled overseas in the 1930s .Ravi was the youngest of 5 brothers, all of whom were staying in Bangalore.
The wedding was fixed for 18th Mar 1981 at Prasanna Kalyana Mantapa in Jayanagar 1st Block near Ashoka Pillar.Sudha was now pregnant again. Her parents and Vinod and Ravi came down from Jabalpur where BVN was now transferred.
Sachin had high fever during the wedding but recovered soon.
We returned to Madras after attending Shobha's wedding also.
Meanwhile, Sudha was told that her iron content was low and was advised to take Fefol along with an oil injection which was a particularly painful one.This injection was to be taken once a week and she had to be under complete bed rest.
Mummy and Bhagya came down to KGF to look after her and we had to miss Nandini's wedding in May 1981.
Rummy, in the meanwhile, delivered her second child--- a boy--- in KGF on 1 May 1981.Aditya was born almost 8 1/2 years after Akhila. I conveyed the happy news to B S Nagaraj in Bangalore. He repeatedly asked me if I was sure it was a boy and I said yes, yes, yes.
Dad also retired from service on 31 May 1981 and was allowed to stay in the bungalow for another 3 months while Rummy was undergoing her bananthana( post natal care).
May 1981 was therefore a hectic month in many respects.
Sudha left with Sachin for Jabalpur in July 1981, but prior to that we shifted from Ashok Nagar to Teynampet.This was centrally located but the house was very small.Once again, I was forced to live the bachelor life.
The child was expected around Deepavali in 1981 and I planned my leave so as to be in Jabalpur around the time of the delivery.
Meanwhile, there was a Kannada drama called "Udhbhava" being staged and I was given a small role in it.Small means really small--- just one line of dialogue. I went for practice for one whole month.I had another friend called Srinivas who also had just one line of dialogue--- after mine.
On the day of the play, I was waiting eagerly to deliver my line. Srinivas was even more eager than me.He jumped the queue and delivered his dialogue before mine and thus I lost my chance. Such are the ways of theatre.
My next blog will cover the details of the birth of my second son.
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
The Joys of Parenthood( 1978-1981)
I forgot to mention in my earlier blog that Thammayya ( Saraswathi's son) got married in June 1978.
I returned from Jagdalpur in Oct 1978 and continued with my bachelor life.Sudha stayed back in Jagdalpur and was expected to return to Madras sometime in Dec 1978 but no date was set.
One fine day in Dec, I returned from Office and found they were already home!! No phone call, no telegram --- nothing.Her parents had accompanied Sudha and Sachin and they had made the journey by car.
I used to normally give the house key next door to the Gopinaths so that the maidservant could finish up her washing and cleaning, so Sudha and her parents had no problem getting into the house.They were surprised to see the house spic and span even without any notice of their arrival.
Rama Aunty straightaway took charge of Sachin.The regular oil bath and massage and looking after him when Sudha was having her bath was all taken care of by Rama Aunty.
As Sachin started his baby steps and then the running around, Sudha used to tie him to an immovable object---- the dining table or the sofa--- with enough length to enable him move within a confined area.
Around this time, relations sarted to sour between our landlady and us.The landlady was jealous of the increased friendship between the Gopinaths and us on the first floor.
Finally, matters came to a head in March 1979 and we were told to vacate.We looked desperately for a house in T'Nagar but didn't anything suitable.We finally moved to an independent house in Ashok Nagar ( rent Rs.500 per month).
The house was very nice with 2 bedrooms and a lawn but it was too far from Mount Road, my Office and all our usual haunts.The house was owned by the brother-in-law of one of my friends G.Jayaraman.Sudha was very unhappy with the move but soon settled down.
Miraculously, we found another Maami at the back of our house.The lady was a widow and was staying with her 2 sons and 2 daughters ( all in their teens and early twenties). Straightaway they adopted Sachin and made life easier for us.
I know I'm writing about the joys of parenthood and it isn't as though the joy comes from having other people take care of your kid--- but still, it felt good to know that there were others to take care of Sachin when things became a little too much.
Meanwhile our activities in Kannada theatre increased.There was one drama to be done for the Sourabha program of Doordarshan and we all practised hard. Sudha would carry Sachin on her hips and do the rehearsals at Karnataka Sangha.
There were plenty of others to look after Sachin also.
In May 1979, I got a chance to make my first trip in an aeroplane and also my first stay in a 5 star hotel. A business visitor had come from Malaysia and I was told to accompany him to Bangalore, Manipal( where the visitor's son was studying at Manipal Medical College), Hubli and back to Madras via Bangalore.
We were booked in Hotel Ashok at Bangalore and caught a flight from Bangalore to Madras.
In May 1979, we also attended Rajani's wedding with Murali at Bangalore. This was a gala affair with all uncles and aunts in attendance. Anti's Navilu dance was one of the highlights of the entertainment program.
Sachin was properly fussed over and Sethuram used to call him "Benne Biscuit".
In June 1979 we visited Bhadravati for the Grihapravesha of Seethakka's house.Sudha was keen on going to a Kannada movie " Hombisilu" and went with Shashi and Chaya.She left Sachin behind at home and as usual he cried because his mom had left him.
Sudha was met with accusing stares when she got back from the movie and promptly burst into tears, especially when Seethakka told her how "poor" Kesari was left alone to manage the kid.
In October 1979, we travelled to Bhadravati again for Chaya's wedding.Good fun as usual.
Kittu Maava ( my mother-in-law's brother) came down to Bangalore in November 1979 and we had a pleasant meeting with him.
In November 1979, we were invited by the Karnataka Nataka Academy to the Horanada Kannadigara Drama Festival at Ravindra Kalakshetra in Bangalore.Our Director was H.N.Srinivas, a HR professional with United India Insurance at that time.The play chosen was a Kannada translation of a Sanskrit play called "Bhagavathachukeya" and the Kannada name of the play was "Soole Sanyasi". It was a play about a prostitute and an ascetic and the transmigration of souls.
It involved songs and dances and the subject was esoteric, to say the least--not the kind of story that could be understood by the common man.
We practiced the dialogues and dance in our drawing room which was no more than 12ft x 10ft.Since all of us were working, there were always one or two people absent during every rehearsal.
Our drama was to be staged on a Sunday.It was a double header with the first play being "Jokumaraswamy" --- a very famous one being staged for the 50th time by a professional drama troupe and was already making waves in the theatre circuit.
We travelled on a Friday night from Madras to Bangalore and rang up all our friends and relatives to come and watch our performance on Sunday.
We met up on the Saturday evening for a rehearsal and this was in fact the first time that all actors were present.We had to wait till the featured play got over and the stage was given to us at 12 midnight.
Our first surprise was the stage.It was huge-- at least 40ft x 40 ft.By the time we went one round of the stage, we were breathless.The play also involved intricate lighting where there would be two groups of actors on the stage.One group would talk among themselves in one part of the stage and the other group would stand in darkness in another part of the stage.The dialogue would then switch to the other group and the previous group would stand in darkness since they were not supposed to know what was being spoken.Srinivas called one of his theatre friends in Bangalore to watch the rehearsal and make notes in the script on the lighting changes to be done.
It was 4 AM by the time we finished the rehearsal and went home.We came back to the venue by 3 PM.There was a huge crowd and a big clamour for tickets.People came to me and begged for tickets but I shrugged them off imperiously."Jokumaraswamy" got over and was a huge success judging by the audience applause.
And then our play started.Things started to go wrong right from the beginning.One of the actors said " Huli Banthu! Huli Banthu!!" ( The tiger is coming!!) and a cat ran across the stage.This was actually supposed to be a serious situation , but the audience roared with laughter.
One of the actors forgot his dialogue midway, so he started all over again.Another actor spoke a dialogue of the 8th scene while doing the 3rd scene and the play carried on from there.A couple of people were supposed to die in the 4th and 5th scenes but they never got the chance and so continued living.
One actress was playing dead and suddenly relaized that she was not supposed to be on stage.She just got up and walked away.
The lighting specialist was so confused by all this that he forgot to control the lights. The result was that there were two groups on stage with the lights focused on both.One group mouthed the dialogues and suddenly went silent and then the other group mouthed their dialogue and kept silent.
The audience had no clue about what was going on ( and neither did the actors, for that matter).Mercifully the play came to an end and all our relations and friends came and said what a wonderful performance it was . We knew better.
Next day, there was a review of the play by a Kannada paper.
The reviewer wrote:" We have seen some pretty bad plays in our journalistic career but yesterday's play staged by a Madras troupe takes the cake. We had no clue about what the play was all about and neither did the actors.People came on to the stage and went out of it at will.The actors were mouthing their dialogues and then standing there like dumb puppets( this was when the lighting was not done as planned).
The only comforting factor is that this was a brave attempt by a Horanada ( out of State) troupe and therefore we must commend their bravery in trying out a complicated drama".
( to be continued)
I returned from Jagdalpur in Oct 1978 and continued with my bachelor life.Sudha stayed back in Jagdalpur and was expected to return to Madras sometime in Dec 1978 but no date was set.
One fine day in Dec, I returned from Office and found they were already home!! No phone call, no telegram --- nothing.Her parents had accompanied Sudha and Sachin and they had made the journey by car.
I used to normally give the house key next door to the Gopinaths so that the maidservant could finish up her washing and cleaning, so Sudha and her parents had no problem getting into the house.They were surprised to see the house spic and span even without any notice of their arrival.
Rama Aunty straightaway took charge of Sachin.The regular oil bath and massage and looking after him when Sudha was having her bath was all taken care of by Rama Aunty.
As Sachin started his baby steps and then the running around, Sudha used to tie him to an immovable object---- the dining table or the sofa--- with enough length to enable him move within a confined area.
Around this time, relations sarted to sour between our landlady and us.The landlady was jealous of the increased friendship between the Gopinaths and us on the first floor.
Finally, matters came to a head in March 1979 and we were told to vacate.We looked desperately for a house in T'Nagar but didn't anything suitable.We finally moved to an independent house in Ashok Nagar ( rent Rs.500 per month).
The house was very nice with 2 bedrooms and a lawn but it was too far from Mount Road, my Office and all our usual haunts.The house was owned by the brother-in-law of one of my friends G.Jayaraman.Sudha was very unhappy with the move but soon settled down.
Miraculously, we found another Maami at the back of our house.The lady was a widow and was staying with her 2 sons and 2 daughters ( all in their teens and early twenties). Straightaway they adopted Sachin and made life easier for us.
I know I'm writing about the joys of parenthood and it isn't as though the joy comes from having other people take care of your kid--- but still, it felt good to know that there were others to take care of Sachin when things became a little too much.
Meanwhile our activities in Kannada theatre increased.There was one drama to be done for the Sourabha program of Doordarshan and we all practised hard. Sudha would carry Sachin on her hips and do the rehearsals at Karnataka Sangha.
There were plenty of others to look after Sachin also.
In May 1979, I got a chance to make my first trip in an aeroplane and also my first stay in a 5 star hotel. A business visitor had come from Malaysia and I was told to accompany him to Bangalore, Manipal( where the visitor's son was studying at Manipal Medical College), Hubli and back to Madras via Bangalore.
We were booked in Hotel Ashok at Bangalore and caught a flight from Bangalore to Madras.
In May 1979, we also attended Rajani's wedding with Murali at Bangalore. This was a gala affair with all uncles and aunts in attendance. Anti's Navilu dance was one of the highlights of the entertainment program.
Sachin was properly fussed over and Sethuram used to call him "Benne Biscuit".
In June 1979 we visited Bhadravati for the Grihapravesha of Seethakka's house.Sudha was keen on going to a Kannada movie " Hombisilu" and went with Shashi and Chaya.She left Sachin behind at home and as usual he cried because his mom had left him.
Sudha was met with accusing stares when she got back from the movie and promptly burst into tears, especially when Seethakka told her how "poor" Kesari was left alone to manage the kid.
In October 1979, we travelled to Bhadravati again for Chaya's wedding.Good fun as usual.
Kittu Maava ( my mother-in-law's brother) came down to Bangalore in November 1979 and we had a pleasant meeting with him.
In November 1979, we were invited by the Karnataka Nataka Academy to the Horanada Kannadigara Drama Festival at Ravindra Kalakshetra in Bangalore.Our Director was H.N.Srinivas, a HR professional with United India Insurance at that time.The play chosen was a Kannada translation of a Sanskrit play called "Bhagavathachukeya" and the Kannada name of the play was "Soole Sanyasi". It was a play about a prostitute and an ascetic and the transmigration of souls.
It involved songs and dances and the subject was esoteric, to say the least--not the kind of story that could be understood by the common man.
We practiced the dialogues and dance in our drawing room which was no more than 12ft x 10ft.Since all of us were working, there were always one or two people absent during every rehearsal.
Our drama was to be staged on a Sunday.It was a double header with the first play being "Jokumaraswamy" --- a very famous one being staged for the 50th time by a professional drama troupe and was already making waves in the theatre circuit.
We travelled on a Friday night from Madras to Bangalore and rang up all our friends and relatives to come and watch our performance on Sunday.
We met up on the Saturday evening for a rehearsal and this was in fact the first time that all actors were present.We had to wait till the featured play got over and the stage was given to us at 12 midnight.
Our first surprise was the stage.It was huge-- at least 40ft x 40 ft.By the time we went one round of the stage, we were breathless.The play also involved intricate lighting where there would be two groups of actors on the stage.One group would talk among themselves in one part of the stage and the other group would stand in darkness in another part of the stage.The dialogue would then switch to the other group and the previous group would stand in darkness since they were not supposed to know what was being spoken.Srinivas called one of his theatre friends in Bangalore to watch the rehearsal and make notes in the script on the lighting changes to be done.
It was 4 AM by the time we finished the rehearsal and went home.We came back to the venue by 3 PM.There was a huge crowd and a big clamour for tickets.People came to me and begged for tickets but I shrugged them off imperiously."Jokumaraswamy" got over and was a huge success judging by the audience applause.
And then our play started.Things started to go wrong right from the beginning.One of the actors said " Huli Banthu! Huli Banthu!!" ( The tiger is coming!!) and a cat ran across the stage.This was actually supposed to be a serious situation , but the audience roared with laughter.
One of the actors forgot his dialogue midway, so he started all over again.Another actor spoke a dialogue of the 8th scene while doing the 3rd scene and the play carried on from there.A couple of people were supposed to die in the 4th and 5th scenes but they never got the chance and so continued living.
One actress was playing dead and suddenly relaized that she was not supposed to be on stage.She just got up and walked away.
The lighting specialist was so confused by all this that he forgot to control the lights. The result was that there were two groups on stage with the lights focused on both.One group mouthed the dialogues and suddenly went silent and then the other group mouthed their dialogue and kept silent.
The audience had no clue about what was going on ( and neither did the actors, for that matter).Mercifully the play came to an end and all our relations and friends came and said what a wonderful performance it was . We knew better.
Next day, there was a review of the play by a Kannada paper.
The reviewer wrote:" We have seen some pretty bad plays in our journalistic career but yesterday's play staged by a Madras troupe takes the cake. We had no clue about what the play was all about and neither did the actors.People came on to the stage and went out of it at will.The actors were mouthing their dialogues and then standing there like dumb puppets( this was when the lighting was not done as planned).
The only comforting factor is that this was a brave attempt by a Horanada ( out of State) troupe and therefore we must commend their bravery in trying out a complicated drama".
( to be continued)
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Life in Madras(1976-1978)
After this adventure in Madurai, life became more normal.
In Sep 1976, Sudha and I made a trip to Jagdalpur.My father-in-law had been posted to Jagdalpur as Superintending Engineer in the PWD .
We travelled to Vizag and he had come there to pick us up by car.It was an 8 hour journey from Vizag to Jagdalpur, much of it through forested area. We passed through Sunabeda, Koraput and the Dandakaranya forest of Ramayana lore. In fact,there is a common perception in these areas that the Lanka of Ravana is from this region and not Sri Lanka as is commonly believed.In fact, all these places have a suffix Lanka after their names eg Kanker Lanka, Dantewada Lanka etc.
Anyway, we reached Jagdalpur in the evening.BVN had a huge bungalow with 6 bedrooms, 6 dressing rooms and 6 atached bathrooms.There was an army of retainers waiting to receive us.The house also had a table tennis table.
Jagdalpur was a small town and the capital of Bastar District which was bigger in area than the state of Kerala.
During our trip, we paid a visit to Kutumsar caves which have stalactites and stalagmites.On the way back,we came through Bhadrachalam to Vijayawada and returned to Madras.
After we returned from Jagdalpur, Sudha and I moved from Annanagar to Chetput so that I could be closer to my office in Egmore.This move was made in Sep 1976.
In Oct 1976, we again went to Mysore for Rosy's wedding and , on the way back, we attend Venu's sister Vani's wedding at Bangalore on 13 Oct 1976.Vani's husband G.V.Sukumara was my senior in Hassan.
Our weekends were spent in going to Balu's house or Bhagavan's house to watch movies on Doordarshan.We also went to a lot of movies, prominent among them being "Kabhi Kabhi", "Khel Khel Mein", "Karz" etc.
In Feb 1977, Venu's father A.N.Anantharamiah passed away and Venu and Jayalakshmi had to be in Bangalore for the ceremonies. They left behind their children Vagdevi,Abhaya and Prasad at our house.
I thought I was the only one who hated cream ( kene) in milk and curds, but Abhaya went one better than me. He always used to carry a filter in his pocket. He would use this to filter the coffee and curds and ensure no cream.
In March 1977, we moved to another house in Kamala Bai Street in T'Nagar. How we got there is an interesting story.
Balu had told us about a portion of a house being vacant in Kamala Bai Street near Vani Mahal.We went to the place and started looking for the house.It was night and we heard some music emanating from one of the upper floors of a house.We went and found that there was a group practising Kannada songs.On further enquiry, we found that the house we were looking for was in another portion of the same building.
The head of the family was introduced to us.He was Mr.M K Gopinath and the family including his wife Rama, sons Mohan and Prabhu and daughter Sheela.One of the guests there was Girija Vishwanath who was born in Chitradurga and knew Kanthu.We straightaway knew that this was the place we wanted to live in.
The building was split into four portions. The two portions on the ground floor belonged to two brothers who were not on speaking terms with each other. Mr.Gopinath was the tenant on the 1st floor in one portion and the other portion on the first floor was the vacant one which we had come to see.
We took the house on rent ( Rs.300 per month) and moved in on 1st Mar 1977.This house was centrally located; Pondy Bazaar was just a street away and Panagal Park was also within walking distance though it had not yet gained its fame ( notriety??) as a shopping centre as it has now.The only problem was that Kamala Bai Street was a low lying area and used to get flooded if there was rain.Friends and relatives visiting us would joke that what we needed was a boat, not a scooter.
Balu's house was less than a kilometre away and we went to their house frequently.
Venu and family had moved to Hyderabad meanwhile so that was one house where we stopped our visits.
In Oct 1977, Dad, Mom and Sandhya went on a trip to Kashmir.Kanthu and Venkatesh were in Srinagar and the plan was to visit Delhi and Bombay on the way back.Tragically, Ramanna( mom's father) passed away in Shimoga when they were all in Srinagar, so Mom and Kanthu caught the next flight from Srinagar to Bangalore.
In Dec 1977, Sudha and I got the happy news that she was pregnant.
Meanwhile, Sudha and I had become members of Kannada Balaga and took part in our first Kannada Drama in Feb 1978 for the Ladies & Gents program.We had a brother and sister role and it came out fairly well.
Dad and Mom arranged the Shreemantha ceremony at KGF on 20th May 1978, a couple of days ahead of Sudha's cousin Viju's wedding on 25th May 1978 at Bangalore.
Sudha's parents were in attendance as also her brothers Vinod and Ravi.They had all come down from Jagdalpur by car.
From KGF all of us went to Bangalore for Viju's wedding. I remember that 25th May 1978 also happened to be the 25th wedding anniversary of Chandu Mava and Prema Atte.We had a grand time during the wedding.
From Bangalore, Sudha proceeded straight to Jagdalpur with her parents and brothers for her confinement.
I was back to living a bachelor's life again.Rama Aunty and Gopinath became my foster parents and took care of me well whenever I was in Madras. Otherwise I plunged myself into tours just to avoid being in Madras.
The Gopinaths were avid cards players and I would usually spend some time after dinner playing with them.
It was when I was having one such cards session on the evening of 22nd Aug 1978 that I got a telegram which said that Sudha had delivered a baby boy at 1.15 PM that day.
I immediately made preparations to leave for Jagdalpur and also bought a nice white and blue saree for Sudha.She maintains that this is the best saree of all the sarees that I have gifted her.
I reached Waltair a couple of days later and then caught a bus next day for the 8 hour journey to Jagdalpur.I reached at night and went to the maternity hospital next day.There was this child all wrapped up and the only thing I can remember was his marble like eyes peeping out at me.It was such a lovely experience holding this cute baby in my arms.
As usual , Sudha had a story for me about the delivery.
Her dad had checked out the delivery room of the maternity hospital a month before the delivery and found that it badly needed a coat of paint.He couldn't obviously get one room painted so he got the whole maternity hospital a new coat of paint.
A week before the delivery date, there was a new crisis.The lady doctor had received her transfer orders and the replacement doctor had not yet arrived.BVN was very worried that there would be no doctor available when the need arose.
So he delayed providing the required transport for the doctor to move out of Jagdalpur and thus the situation was saved.The PWD engineers gave the reason for non availability of transport as flooding of the bridges and roads and miraculously everything became OK as soon as the baby was born.
In October 1978 ( 2 months after the baby was born), my dad, mom, Sandhya, Rummy, Nagaraj, Akhila and I went together from Madras to Jagdalpur for the Namakarna ( Naming Ceremony).
We went by Coromandel Express from Madras to Waltair and reached there in the evening.We were to take a taxi from the station to the hotel for an overnight stay before catching a bus next morning for the 8 hour trip to Jagdalpur.
A person met us on the station platform and offered to take us to the hotel.We followed him and sat down in what must have been a 1930 model taxi.I sat in the front seat next to the taxi driver and he gave me a small plastic pipe to hold.
As soon as he sat, the driver took the pipe from me and put it somewhere close to his leg.The taxi moved in fits and starts and soon the driver pulled up near a petrol bunk.He have me the plastic pipe again and then took a plastic jerry can from near his leg to get the petrol filled. This was the petrol tank!!!
Incredibly, we engaged the same taxi again next morning to take us to the bus-stand and got there without any mishap.
The Namakarna ceremony went off very well and the baby boy was named Sachin. This was the name of a popular film star those days and the most romantic star pair those days was Sachin-Sarika.A lot of boys and girls born in 1978 were called Sachin and Sarika respectively.
There was a huge party arranged in the evening on the lawns of the bungalow.Everybody spoke only in Hindi and tis was a bit of a problem for us. Anyway Rummy decided to try out her Hindi on a small boy by calling out to him " Udhar Aao, Udhar Aao"--- instead of "Idhar Aao". The boy wa ssuitably confused and wondered whether he had learnt his Hindi properly.
We spent around 3 or 4 days playing cards ( Rummy) and Ravi made a neat Rs.150 which was a lot of money those days.
After a pleasant stay, we all returned to Madras .
My next blog will dwell on the joys of parenthood.
In Sep 1976, Sudha and I made a trip to Jagdalpur.My father-in-law had been posted to Jagdalpur as Superintending Engineer in the PWD .
We travelled to Vizag and he had come there to pick us up by car.It was an 8 hour journey from Vizag to Jagdalpur, much of it through forested area. We passed through Sunabeda, Koraput and the Dandakaranya forest of Ramayana lore. In fact,there is a common perception in these areas that the Lanka of Ravana is from this region and not Sri Lanka as is commonly believed.In fact, all these places have a suffix Lanka after their names eg Kanker Lanka, Dantewada Lanka etc.
Anyway, we reached Jagdalpur in the evening.BVN had a huge bungalow with 6 bedrooms, 6 dressing rooms and 6 atached bathrooms.There was an army of retainers waiting to receive us.The house also had a table tennis table.
Jagdalpur was a small town and the capital of Bastar District which was bigger in area than the state of Kerala.
During our trip, we paid a visit to Kutumsar caves which have stalactites and stalagmites.On the way back,we came through Bhadrachalam to Vijayawada and returned to Madras.
After we returned from Jagdalpur, Sudha and I moved from Annanagar to Chetput so that I could be closer to my office in Egmore.This move was made in Sep 1976.
In Oct 1976, we again went to Mysore for Rosy's wedding and , on the way back, we attend Venu's sister Vani's wedding at Bangalore on 13 Oct 1976.Vani's husband G.V.Sukumara was my senior in Hassan.
Our weekends were spent in going to Balu's house or Bhagavan's house to watch movies on Doordarshan.We also went to a lot of movies, prominent among them being "Kabhi Kabhi", "Khel Khel Mein", "Karz" etc.
In Feb 1977, Venu's father A.N.Anantharamiah passed away and Venu and Jayalakshmi had to be in Bangalore for the ceremonies. They left behind their children Vagdevi,Abhaya and Prasad at our house.
I thought I was the only one who hated cream ( kene) in milk and curds, but Abhaya went one better than me. He always used to carry a filter in his pocket. He would use this to filter the coffee and curds and ensure no cream.
In March 1977, we moved to another house in Kamala Bai Street in T'Nagar. How we got there is an interesting story.
Balu had told us about a portion of a house being vacant in Kamala Bai Street near Vani Mahal.We went to the place and started looking for the house.It was night and we heard some music emanating from one of the upper floors of a house.We went and found that there was a group practising Kannada songs.On further enquiry, we found that the house we were looking for was in another portion of the same building.
The head of the family was introduced to us.He was Mr.M K Gopinath and the family including his wife Rama, sons Mohan and Prabhu and daughter Sheela.One of the guests there was Girija Vishwanath who was born in Chitradurga and knew Kanthu.We straightaway knew that this was the place we wanted to live in.
The building was split into four portions. The two portions on the ground floor belonged to two brothers who were not on speaking terms with each other. Mr.Gopinath was the tenant on the 1st floor in one portion and the other portion on the first floor was the vacant one which we had come to see.
We took the house on rent ( Rs.300 per month) and moved in on 1st Mar 1977.This house was centrally located; Pondy Bazaar was just a street away and Panagal Park was also within walking distance though it had not yet gained its fame ( notriety??) as a shopping centre as it has now.The only problem was that Kamala Bai Street was a low lying area and used to get flooded if there was rain.Friends and relatives visiting us would joke that what we needed was a boat, not a scooter.
Balu's house was less than a kilometre away and we went to their house frequently.
Venu and family had moved to Hyderabad meanwhile so that was one house where we stopped our visits.
In Oct 1977, Dad, Mom and Sandhya went on a trip to Kashmir.Kanthu and Venkatesh were in Srinagar and the plan was to visit Delhi and Bombay on the way back.Tragically, Ramanna( mom's father) passed away in Shimoga when they were all in Srinagar, so Mom and Kanthu caught the next flight from Srinagar to Bangalore.
In Dec 1977, Sudha and I got the happy news that she was pregnant.
Meanwhile, Sudha and I had become members of Kannada Balaga and took part in our first Kannada Drama in Feb 1978 for the Ladies & Gents program.We had a brother and sister role and it came out fairly well.
Dad and Mom arranged the Shreemantha ceremony at KGF on 20th May 1978, a couple of days ahead of Sudha's cousin Viju's wedding on 25th May 1978 at Bangalore.
Sudha's parents were in attendance as also her brothers Vinod and Ravi.They had all come down from Jagdalpur by car.
From KGF all of us went to Bangalore for Viju's wedding. I remember that 25th May 1978 also happened to be the 25th wedding anniversary of Chandu Mava and Prema Atte.We had a grand time during the wedding.
From Bangalore, Sudha proceeded straight to Jagdalpur with her parents and brothers for her confinement.
I was back to living a bachelor's life again.Rama Aunty and Gopinath became my foster parents and took care of me well whenever I was in Madras. Otherwise I plunged myself into tours just to avoid being in Madras.
The Gopinaths were avid cards players and I would usually spend some time after dinner playing with them.
It was when I was having one such cards session on the evening of 22nd Aug 1978 that I got a telegram which said that Sudha had delivered a baby boy at 1.15 PM that day.
I immediately made preparations to leave for Jagdalpur and also bought a nice white and blue saree for Sudha.She maintains that this is the best saree of all the sarees that I have gifted her.
I reached Waltair a couple of days later and then caught a bus next day for the 8 hour journey to Jagdalpur.I reached at night and went to the maternity hospital next day.There was this child all wrapped up and the only thing I can remember was his marble like eyes peeping out at me.It was such a lovely experience holding this cute baby in my arms.
As usual , Sudha had a story for me about the delivery.
Her dad had checked out the delivery room of the maternity hospital a month before the delivery and found that it badly needed a coat of paint.He couldn't obviously get one room painted so he got the whole maternity hospital a new coat of paint.
A week before the delivery date, there was a new crisis.The lady doctor had received her transfer orders and the replacement doctor had not yet arrived.BVN was very worried that there would be no doctor available when the need arose.
So he delayed providing the required transport for the doctor to move out of Jagdalpur and thus the situation was saved.The PWD engineers gave the reason for non availability of transport as flooding of the bridges and roads and miraculously everything became OK as soon as the baby was born.
In October 1978 ( 2 months after the baby was born), my dad, mom, Sandhya, Rummy, Nagaraj, Akhila and I went together from Madras to Jagdalpur for the Namakarna ( Naming Ceremony).
We went by Coromandel Express from Madras to Waltair and reached there in the evening.We were to take a taxi from the station to the hotel for an overnight stay before catching a bus next morning for the 8 hour trip to Jagdalpur.
A person met us on the station platform and offered to take us to the hotel.We followed him and sat down in what must have been a 1930 model taxi.I sat in the front seat next to the taxi driver and he gave me a small plastic pipe to hold.
As soon as he sat, the driver took the pipe from me and put it somewhere close to his leg.The taxi moved in fits and starts and soon the driver pulled up near a petrol bunk.He have me the plastic pipe again and then took a plastic jerry can from near his leg to get the petrol filled. This was the petrol tank!!!
Incredibly, we engaged the same taxi again next morning to take us to the bus-stand and got there without any mishap.
The Namakarna ceremony went off very well and the baby boy was named Sachin. This was the name of a popular film star those days and the most romantic star pair those days was Sachin-Sarika.A lot of boys and girls born in 1978 were called Sachin and Sarika respectively.
There was a huge party arranged in the evening on the lawns of the bungalow.Everybody spoke only in Hindi and tis was a bit of a problem for us. Anyway Rummy decided to try out her Hindi on a small boy by calling out to him " Udhar Aao, Udhar Aao"--- instead of "Idhar Aao". The boy wa ssuitably confused and wondered whether he had learnt his Hindi properly.
We spent around 3 or 4 days playing cards ( Rummy) and Ravi made a neat Rs.150 which was a lot of money those days.
After a pleasant stay, we all returned to Madras .
My next blog will dwell on the joys of parenthood.
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Grihastashrama( Married Life)---- 1976 to 1978
My first day in Madras as the head of a household was a bit of a disaster.
As I've mentioned earlier, my dad and mom and Sethuram and Seetha accompanied us to Madras.
We were staying in Annanagar West which was just on the edge of civilization.My scooter was the only mode of conveyance.To top it all, Sudha didn't know a word of Tamil.
We didn't have a gas connection and we didn't have a sofa set or dining table.A fridge was out of the question.
The first thing we did was to hire a small girl ( maybe around 10 years) as a servant maid.We called her Ponnu.
Next was to register with Aavin for daily milk supply.
As soon as we landed in Madras, I went out and made a phone call to Venu to tell him that we had come.Somewhere during the conversation, I invited Venu over with his family for dinner that night and Venu promptly accepted. This was around 1 PM. I came back and told Sudha and my mom that Venu and his family were coming home that evening for dinner.
They looked at me in horror and gave me a look that indicated that I must have gone out of my mind.After she recovered her wits, my mom asked me whether I knew that we didn't have enough plates and glasses, we didn't have chairs to seat any guests, we didn't have a dining table to dine on, we didn't have any milk and curds, we didn't have enough dishes to cook a decent meal and we didn't have enough vegetables etc etc etc.She also reminded me that all cooking was to be done on a single electric stove since we didn't have cooking gas.
After having delivered that royal firing, mom, Sudha and Seetha got down to prepare something. I'm sure their simmering anger against me helped speed up the cooking.
I went crazy with fetching things from the Chintamani Supermarket on my scooter for the dinner.
After this notable event, things settled down somewhat and we made a few trips in 7C Bus Route to Parry's Corner and Evening Bazaar to get some essential household stuff.
We also made a bus trip to Adyar Gate to visit Venu's house.It was a long bus ride and all of us , barring Sudha, went off to sleep. She didn't know where we should get off and was hesitant to wake us up. Anyway, I woke up in time and we had no mishaps.
My parents-in-law visted us and gifted a dining table set.
My company managing director gave me a gift of Rs.1000 and we bought a sofa set with this money.
We were staying in a portion of a house which had two other tenants, both of them sisters.They were Sindhis and Sudha felt very comfortable talking to them in Hindi
I used to be off to work by 8.30 AM and returned in the evening.Sudha took stenography and typing classes to while away her time.Her teacher was a retired Legislative Assembly Stenographer and his wife was a typical Madras Maami who would give Sudha Arashina + Kunkuma on festival days etc.
In the evenings, Sudha and I would go out shopping and buy things to furnish our house.Grocery and provision purchase was at the nearby Chinthamani Supermarket where I would stand in one queue to buy Kerosene and Sudha would stand in another queue to buy Aavin Butter or some such scarce commodity.
I had applied to the Park Town Co-Operative Society for an Indane Gas Connection but it normally took 3 years to get a connection. I had a friend in Indian Oil who helped me get an out of turn connection in May 1976.
In the same month, Rajani, Nandini,Anil and Badri came to spend a couple of days with us.We had no extra cots and all of us would sleep in the drawing room.We had good fun.
I had gone on a tour of Andhra during May and I visited places such as Sirpur Kaghaznagar and Bellampally where the weather was extremely hot. I caught a fever in Sirpur but decided to continue with my visit to Bellampally and then return to Chennai. This was my first to Bellampally where coal was being mined.I reached there with a high fever around 8 PM and checked into a dingy hotel.The air was thick with coal dust.There was no decent food available and I had to manage with Fanta Orange.
The next morning, the sun was bright and shining by 5.30 AM and it was already hot.I went to the Office of Singareni Collieries and the person there was shocked at seeing me. He asked me whether I had been asked to come. I said no, I came on my own.He told me never to come unless I was called and also said that, in that case, the company would make arrangements for transport and stay in their guest house.
I finished my work by 10 AM and scooted out of the place.
In June 1976, I went on a tour of Trichy, Madurai and Tuticorin and took Sudha along with me. We went to the Rock Fort Temple in Trichy, Srirangam, Madurai Meenakshi Temple and also to Kanyakumari.In Sriangam, I paid Rs.12 and bought a colourful saree for Sudha.
In August 1976, I went on a tour of Southern Tamil Nadu and almost got married a second time. Here's how it happened.
I had gone to visit a company called Kothari Phytochemicals which was on the outskirts of Madurai. I had gone there by a mofussil bus.After I finished my work, I came out and was waiting at a bus stop for a bus.I had a newspaper with me and was busy reading it.A few minutes later a woman in her twenties came and stood next to me.After some time, she asked me " Are you coming from Palani?"I did not want to enter into a conversation by saying yes or no, so I buried my face in the newspaper and gave a grunt.She took this as a yes and then asked " Are you going to Madurai?" Grunt.
"Weather is very hot , no?" Grunt.This went on for quite some time--- she asking questions and my replying with grunts with my face buried in the newspaper.
After some time, I realized the incogruity of the situation and thought I would get rid of her by walking up to a nearby teashop. She came behind me. I asked for a cup of tea and she said " One for me also". The shopkeeper looked at me and I nodded yes since it would be churlish to refuse a cup of tea to a lady.
The bus came and I got in and sat in the back seat.In Tamilnadu, the entire left side seats of any bus are usually reserved for women and a few seats were empty. Still the lady came and sat next to me.By now, alarm bells were ringing in my mind.
The conductor came around and I bought one ticket.The woman immediately said "One more ticket for me".The conductor looked questioningly at me and I shrugged my shoulders indicating I did not know who she was.Surprisingly, he did not ask the woman for any money but gave her a ticket anyway.
By now I was certain that something funny was going on.As the bus neared Madurai bus stand, I casually got up and edged my way towards the exit.The lady immediately got up and came behind me.
As the bus slowed down near the bus stand, I got off and ran to the nearest cycle rickshaw and told the driver to move.He asked me where to go.I told him to just start and get away.
The lady ran hard behind the cycle rickshaw and caught hold of a bar at the back and did not let go. I kept urging the driver to cycle faster but she did not let go.By now, we were going through the main street in Madurai and a crowd was looking on.In between gasps of breath, the lady kept shouting " Enne vittitu povadeengo"--- Don't leave me and go.
I asked the rickshaw driver to stop near a traffic policeman.
By now a big crowd had gathered. I went up to the policeman and told him that the lady had followed me all the way from the suburb.The policeman asked her why she was following me and she replied" En purushan saar. Enne vittitu poyitanga"--- " He is my husband.he has left me and gone".
I told the policeman that I was already married and from Madras and produced my visiting card. He took one look at it and asked me to get away as soon as possible.I got into the rickshaw again and told the driver to move fast. The lady broke away and again started running behind me but we had already covered some distance.I was staying at The New College House and decided to cut short my Madurai visit and proceed to Tuticorin. The problem was that I had to catch a bus and therefore would have to come to the bus stand again.
I changed my clothes, put on my sunglasses and very warily came to the bus stand.Fortunately, the woman was nowhere to be seen and I made a smooth getaway.
End of story.
As I've mentioned earlier, my dad and mom and Sethuram and Seetha accompanied us to Madras.
We were staying in Annanagar West which was just on the edge of civilization.My scooter was the only mode of conveyance.To top it all, Sudha didn't know a word of Tamil.
We didn't have a gas connection and we didn't have a sofa set or dining table.A fridge was out of the question.
The first thing we did was to hire a small girl ( maybe around 10 years) as a servant maid.We called her Ponnu.
Next was to register with Aavin for daily milk supply.
As soon as we landed in Madras, I went out and made a phone call to Venu to tell him that we had come.Somewhere during the conversation, I invited Venu over with his family for dinner that night and Venu promptly accepted. This was around 1 PM. I came back and told Sudha and my mom that Venu and his family were coming home that evening for dinner.
They looked at me in horror and gave me a look that indicated that I must have gone out of my mind.After she recovered her wits, my mom asked me whether I knew that we didn't have enough plates and glasses, we didn't have chairs to seat any guests, we didn't have a dining table to dine on, we didn't have any milk and curds, we didn't have enough dishes to cook a decent meal and we didn't have enough vegetables etc etc etc.She also reminded me that all cooking was to be done on a single electric stove since we didn't have cooking gas.
After having delivered that royal firing, mom, Sudha and Seetha got down to prepare something. I'm sure their simmering anger against me helped speed up the cooking.
I went crazy with fetching things from the Chintamani Supermarket on my scooter for the dinner.
After this notable event, things settled down somewhat and we made a few trips in 7C Bus Route to Parry's Corner and Evening Bazaar to get some essential household stuff.
We also made a bus trip to Adyar Gate to visit Venu's house.It was a long bus ride and all of us , barring Sudha, went off to sleep. She didn't know where we should get off and was hesitant to wake us up. Anyway, I woke up in time and we had no mishaps.
My parents-in-law visted us and gifted a dining table set.
My company managing director gave me a gift of Rs.1000 and we bought a sofa set with this money.
We were staying in a portion of a house which had two other tenants, both of them sisters.They were Sindhis and Sudha felt very comfortable talking to them in Hindi
I used to be off to work by 8.30 AM and returned in the evening.Sudha took stenography and typing classes to while away her time.Her teacher was a retired Legislative Assembly Stenographer and his wife was a typical Madras Maami who would give Sudha Arashina + Kunkuma on festival days etc.
In the evenings, Sudha and I would go out shopping and buy things to furnish our house.Grocery and provision purchase was at the nearby Chinthamani Supermarket where I would stand in one queue to buy Kerosene and Sudha would stand in another queue to buy Aavin Butter or some such scarce commodity.
I had applied to the Park Town Co-Operative Society for an Indane Gas Connection but it normally took 3 years to get a connection. I had a friend in Indian Oil who helped me get an out of turn connection in May 1976.
In the same month, Rajani, Nandini,Anil and Badri came to spend a couple of days with us.We had no extra cots and all of us would sleep in the drawing room.We had good fun.
I had gone on a tour of Andhra during May and I visited places such as Sirpur Kaghaznagar and Bellampally where the weather was extremely hot. I caught a fever in Sirpur but decided to continue with my visit to Bellampally and then return to Chennai. This was my first to Bellampally where coal was being mined.I reached there with a high fever around 8 PM and checked into a dingy hotel.The air was thick with coal dust.There was no decent food available and I had to manage with Fanta Orange.
The next morning, the sun was bright and shining by 5.30 AM and it was already hot.I went to the Office of Singareni Collieries and the person there was shocked at seeing me. He asked me whether I had been asked to come. I said no, I came on my own.He told me never to come unless I was called and also said that, in that case, the company would make arrangements for transport and stay in their guest house.
I finished my work by 10 AM and scooted out of the place.
In June 1976, I went on a tour of Trichy, Madurai and Tuticorin and took Sudha along with me. We went to the Rock Fort Temple in Trichy, Srirangam, Madurai Meenakshi Temple and also to Kanyakumari.In Sriangam, I paid Rs.12 and bought a colourful saree for Sudha.
In August 1976, I went on a tour of Southern Tamil Nadu and almost got married a second time. Here's how it happened.
I had gone to visit a company called Kothari Phytochemicals which was on the outskirts of Madurai. I had gone there by a mofussil bus.After I finished my work, I came out and was waiting at a bus stop for a bus.I had a newspaper with me and was busy reading it.A few minutes later a woman in her twenties came and stood next to me.After some time, she asked me " Are you coming from Palani?"I did not want to enter into a conversation by saying yes or no, so I buried my face in the newspaper and gave a grunt.She took this as a yes and then asked " Are you going to Madurai?" Grunt.
"Weather is very hot , no?" Grunt.This went on for quite some time--- she asking questions and my replying with grunts with my face buried in the newspaper.
After some time, I realized the incogruity of the situation and thought I would get rid of her by walking up to a nearby teashop. She came behind me. I asked for a cup of tea and she said " One for me also". The shopkeeper looked at me and I nodded yes since it would be churlish to refuse a cup of tea to a lady.
The bus came and I got in and sat in the back seat.In Tamilnadu, the entire left side seats of any bus are usually reserved for women and a few seats were empty. Still the lady came and sat next to me.By now, alarm bells were ringing in my mind.
The conductor came around and I bought one ticket.The woman immediately said "One more ticket for me".The conductor looked questioningly at me and I shrugged my shoulders indicating I did not know who she was.Surprisingly, he did not ask the woman for any money but gave her a ticket anyway.
By now I was certain that something funny was going on.As the bus neared Madurai bus stand, I casually got up and edged my way towards the exit.The lady immediately got up and came behind me.
As the bus slowed down near the bus stand, I got off and ran to the nearest cycle rickshaw and told the driver to move.He asked me where to go.I told him to just start and get away.
The lady ran hard behind the cycle rickshaw and caught hold of a bar at the back and did not let go. I kept urging the driver to cycle faster but she did not let go.By now, we were going through the main street in Madurai and a crowd was looking on.In between gasps of breath, the lady kept shouting " Enne vittitu povadeengo"--- Don't leave me and go.
I asked the rickshaw driver to stop near a traffic policeman.
By now a big crowd had gathered. I went up to the policeman and told him that the lady had followed me all the way from the suburb.The policeman asked her why she was following me and she replied" En purushan saar. Enne vittitu poyitanga"--- " He is my husband.he has left me and gone".
I told the policeman that I was already married and from Madras and produced my visiting card. He took one look at it and asked me to get away as soon as possible.I got into the rickshaw again and told the driver to move fast. The lady broke away and again started running behind me but we had already covered some distance.I was staying at The New College House and decided to cut short my Madurai visit and proceed to Tuticorin. The problem was that I had to catch a bus and therefore would have to come to the bus stand again.
I changed my clothes, put on my sunglasses and very warily came to the bus stand.Fortunately, the woman was nowhere to be seen and I made a smooth getaway.
End of story.
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