Here's a list of KGF shafts that I remember:-
Edgar's Shaft
Henry's Shaft
Bullen's Shaft
Tenant's Shaft
Gifford Shaft
Oriental Shaft
Golconda Shaft
McTaggart's Shaft ( I think there was one by this name)
Am inviting people to add to this list.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Friday, January 14, 2011
1989 & 1990-- You never know what fate has in store for you
The start of a new year-1989. Little did I know that by the end of the year, I would be contemplating purchase of an apartment--- but I'm getting ahead of my story.
Meanwhile, let me rewind a little bit back to 1988.When I joined Xomox in 1987, I was clearly told that I would have to shift to Trichy in 1988 for the new school year.
After I returned from Bangladesh in Feb 1988, I even visited some schools in Trichy to enquire about admission for Sachin and Sandeep. Sudha and I had by now become active members in Kannada Balaga and the thought of leaving all our friends behind was gut-wrenching.The Ladies program of 1988 was very poignant as everyone thought it would be our last program with the Balaga.
By a remarkable stroke of luck, there were some changes in the Organization and the idea of my relocating to Trichy was given up. So that was that.
In April 1989, we planned a trip to Delhi, Dehra Dun, Hardwar, Rishikesh, Mussoorie and Agra.Mummy and Sunil came along with us.We travelled by Tamilnadu Express to delhi and Prasanna Uncle had very kindly arranged our stay at the ONGC Guest House at the Asiad Games Village in Delhi.We left straightaway for Dehra Dun and spent a very pleasant time with Prasanna, Lambi and Prasanna's mother who was in her sprightly eighties.They took us to Rishikesh and Mussoorie.The dip in Kempty Falls and the splashing about in Sahastradhara are unforgettable.
Back in Delhi, we did the rounds of Red Fort, Qutub Minar, Connaught place and Pragathi Maidan.The kids got into the dashing cars in Pragathi Maidan.The going got a little rough and the car which had Sunil got into a violent collision with another car and Sunil lost two of his teeth in the process.
We travelled to Agra by the newly introduced Shatabdi Express and it was a very pleasant experience.We saw Taj Mahal, Agra Fort and Fatehpur Sikri and returned to Delhi. We then took the K-K Express to Bangalore and deposited Sunil back.
In 1988, our apartment owner Mr.M.A.Krishnaswamy had passed away and his wife was now our landlady.In October 1989, Mrs.Krishnaswamy also passed away.The apartment had been willed to the three married daughters of the Krishnaswamys.In Nov 1989, the three sons-in-law ( all of whom were living outside of Madras) came to me and told me that they were looking to sell the apartment.
This was already our 6th house in Madras and the thought of moving out once again was too horrible to contemplate.Moreover, the children were already going to school and we had to keep in mind the convenience for bus transport. Then the other mundane stuff like new milk card, new postal address, new servant maid, new newspaper guy, telephone shift....... I had nightmares thinking about this. I had just bought a flat in Bangalore in 1985 and we had no intention of buying a property in Madras. After much thought, it occurred to me that the only way to avoid all hassles of shifting was to buy the Madras flat.
It was convenient in all respects.Where to get the money? I didn't even start thinking on these lines.I didn't even know whether I could get another loan from HDFC when I already had one loan going.
Then I had a stroke of luck. My company entered into an agreement with HDFC ( Housing Development Finance Corporation) and they extended a line of credit to my Organization whereby an employee could avail a loan up to Rs.3 Lakhs.I applied to my company and was informed that I could be granted this facility.
The next step was to start negotiations with the owners.They quoted Rs.6 Lakhs and I started at Rs.4 Lakhs.I had one advantage. I was already living in the place and had physical possession of the apartment.As far as they were concerned, this was inherited property and any sale proceeds would be split 3 ways.We finally closed the deal at Rs.4.3 Lakhs. For a 1350 sq ft flat with a garage thrown in, it wasn't a bad deal. How this 1350 sq ft stretched to 2440 sq ft is another story that I'll relate later.
Together with the lawyer's fees, registration charges and other sundry expenses, the total amount came to Rs.4.8L and I stretched all my resources to come up with the amount.
The registration date was fixed for 21st Mar 1990 ( my 39th birthday). We completed the formalities and then I had to leave the next day for Ooty for offical work.
My next problem was to how to repay the loan.The EMI was Rs.4173 per month and I was already paying Rs.679 per month for the earlier loan I had taken for the Bangalore flat. I was earlier paying a rent of Rs.1200 per month for the Madras flat, so this was straightaway an increase of Rs.3000 per month ( a very big sum in those days). But we managed. When I now think about it, I wonder why I was worried over such a small amount..... but there's a lesson in this for all of us.Especially in India where inflation is relatively high, it's good to invest in property at a young age. Someone once said" The earth is not going to expand" and I've remembered this to this day.
The rest of 1990 passed off peacefully. I was busy in my work and travelled frequently within India.
My next blog will cover the tumultuous political events in India including the economic crisis, Rajiv Gandhi's assassination, the general elections and then the economic liberalization measures--- a watershed year in India by any yardstick.
Meanwhile, let me rewind a little bit back to 1988.When I joined Xomox in 1987, I was clearly told that I would have to shift to Trichy in 1988 for the new school year.
After I returned from Bangladesh in Feb 1988, I even visited some schools in Trichy to enquire about admission for Sachin and Sandeep. Sudha and I had by now become active members in Kannada Balaga and the thought of leaving all our friends behind was gut-wrenching.The Ladies program of 1988 was very poignant as everyone thought it would be our last program with the Balaga.
By a remarkable stroke of luck, there were some changes in the Organization and the idea of my relocating to Trichy was given up. So that was that.
In April 1989, we planned a trip to Delhi, Dehra Dun, Hardwar, Rishikesh, Mussoorie and Agra.Mummy and Sunil came along with us.We travelled by Tamilnadu Express to delhi and Prasanna Uncle had very kindly arranged our stay at the ONGC Guest House at the Asiad Games Village in Delhi.We left straightaway for Dehra Dun and spent a very pleasant time with Prasanna, Lambi and Prasanna's mother who was in her sprightly eighties.They took us to Rishikesh and Mussoorie.The dip in Kempty Falls and the splashing about in Sahastradhara are unforgettable.
Back in Delhi, we did the rounds of Red Fort, Qutub Minar, Connaught place and Pragathi Maidan.The kids got into the dashing cars in Pragathi Maidan.The going got a little rough and the car which had Sunil got into a violent collision with another car and Sunil lost two of his teeth in the process.
We travelled to Agra by the newly introduced Shatabdi Express and it was a very pleasant experience.We saw Taj Mahal, Agra Fort and Fatehpur Sikri and returned to Delhi. We then took the K-K Express to Bangalore and deposited Sunil back.
In 1988, our apartment owner Mr.M.A.Krishnaswamy had passed away and his wife was now our landlady.In October 1989, Mrs.Krishnaswamy also passed away.The apartment had been willed to the three married daughters of the Krishnaswamys.In Nov 1989, the three sons-in-law ( all of whom were living outside of Madras) came to me and told me that they were looking to sell the apartment.
This was already our 6th house in Madras and the thought of moving out once again was too horrible to contemplate.Moreover, the children were already going to school and we had to keep in mind the convenience for bus transport. Then the other mundane stuff like new milk card, new postal address, new servant maid, new newspaper guy, telephone shift....... I had nightmares thinking about this. I had just bought a flat in Bangalore in 1985 and we had no intention of buying a property in Madras. After much thought, it occurred to me that the only way to avoid all hassles of shifting was to buy the Madras flat.
It was convenient in all respects.Where to get the money? I didn't even start thinking on these lines.I didn't even know whether I could get another loan from HDFC when I already had one loan going.
Then I had a stroke of luck. My company entered into an agreement with HDFC ( Housing Development Finance Corporation) and they extended a line of credit to my Organization whereby an employee could avail a loan up to Rs.3 Lakhs.I applied to my company and was informed that I could be granted this facility.
The next step was to start negotiations with the owners.They quoted Rs.6 Lakhs and I started at Rs.4 Lakhs.I had one advantage. I was already living in the place and had physical possession of the apartment.As far as they were concerned, this was inherited property and any sale proceeds would be split 3 ways.We finally closed the deal at Rs.4.3 Lakhs. For a 1350 sq ft flat with a garage thrown in, it wasn't a bad deal. How this 1350 sq ft stretched to 2440 sq ft is another story that I'll relate later.
Together with the lawyer's fees, registration charges and other sundry expenses, the total amount came to Rs.4.8L and I stretched all my resources to come up with the amount.
The registration date was fixed for 21st Mar 1990 ( my 39th birthday). We completed the formalities and then I had to leave the next day for Ooty for offical work.
My next problem was to how to repay the loan.The EMI was Rs.4173 per month and I was already paying Rs.679 per month for the earlier loan I had taken for the Bangalore flat. I was earlier paying a rent of Rs.1200 per month for the Madras flat, so this was straightaway an increase of Rs.3000 per month ( a very big sum in those days). But we managed. When I now think about it, I wonder why I was worried over such a small amount..... but there's a lesson in this for all of us.Especially in India where inflation is relatively high, it's good to invest in property at a young age. Someone once said" The earth is not going to expand" and I've remembered this to this day.
The rest of 1990 passed off peacefully. I was busy in my work and travelled frequently within India.
My next blog will cover the tumultuous political events in India including the economic crisis, Rajiv Gandhi's assassination, the general elections and then the economic liberalization measures--- a watershed year in India by any yardstick.
Friday, December 31, 2010
1988--Foreign Trip and what my bags contained
I was by now settling into my job. As a Sales Manager, I was required to travel frequently to Bombay,Baroda,Delhi and Calcutta and also the occasional trip to Viralimalai.
By now, I was playing tennis regularly at our R K Nagar colony.My colleague Mohan at Trichy was also a regular tennis player.I used to pack my tennis kit even for a one-day visit to Trichy. We used to stay at Hotel Sangam in Trichy and the Officers' Club ( where Mohan was a member) was close to the hotel.It had floodlights so we could play after dark.
I used to return from the factory to the hotel around 6 PM, change into my tennis gear and be in the club by 6.30 PM. We used to play till 8 PM, then rush back to the hotel, have a quick shower, change, gulp down dinner and be in the Railway Station at 8.55 PM to catch the Rockfort Express back to Madras at 9 PM.
Mohan was in Operations and I was in Marketing and we used to have a lot of arguments in Office on customer priorities for shipments, early deliveries etc. All this used to be forgotten on the tennis court and I got him to agree to many things in the tennis court which he would have vehemently refused that morning!! This is the power of sports, I suppose.
In February, the President of Xomox,USA came visiting and he wanted to visit the Taj Mahal on his way back. I was asked to accompany him on this visit.I had last visited the Taj Mahal in 1958 and this gave me a good opportunity to visit the monument again. From Agra, I went to Calcutta on my way to Bangladesh on a business trip.
I had to apply for the Bangladesh visa in Calcutta. I went to the Consulate and after handing over the papers, I was asked to come back in the evening.It was pouring heavily and we were all asked to stand on the other side of the street while the Consulate officials bellowed out the names thru a loudspeaker. Everybody collected their passports and I was the last one left.
I asked why my name was not called and the official replied in his thick Bengali accent," Of course we called your name Mr.Arkalgud".
I collected the passport and was on a Biman Bangladesh flight the next day to Dhaka.I visited Dhaka and Chittagong during this trip.Dhaka is like any other Indian city, but I've never seen so many cycle-rikshaws anywhere else. The commercial areas are crowded and the posh residential areas are very quiet. My host took me for dinner to Dhaka Club and it was no different from any of the British-era clubs in India.
I shopped for a Dhaka muslin saree for Sudha. The material is reputed to be so fine that you can pass an entire saree through a ring.I also bought a bright yellow wall clock that stayed with us for a very long time.
On my return, I plunged into my work and was constantly on the move. I stayed in some very good hotels--- Sea Rock at Mumbai, Hyatt and Maurya Sheraton at Delhi, Oberoi at Calcutta. The Sheraton group offered Welcom Awards during our stay and I collected enough Welcom Awards to be able to take Sudha and the kids out for dinner to the Residency at Park Sheraton frequently.
Sachin ( or was it Sandeep?) still remembers one of these dinners and you can ask them why!!
I remember that I spent Mar 22nd ( the first anniversary of daddy's death) in a hotel room in Hyderabad.I was on my way to Vizag.If you remember, I had mentioned that I didn't shed any tears when daddy died.On that day ( one year later), I remembered daddy and the good times we had and it all came out. I shed copious tears alone in the hotel room and finally achieved closure.
In May 1988, I was inducted as a member of the Madras Boat Club.Straightaway I felt at home in this Club since the ambience was so similar to that of the Clubs in KGF.MBC still has a drink called Cricket.One sip of this and the taste would take me back to the days of Shankar the barman mixing an Orange Squash in Nundydroog Club. The MBC even today organizes Tombola evenings on Sundays and mom was very happy to be able to attend this whenever she was in Madras.
One day in May 1988, I was called in by my boss and asked to be prepared to visit our Joint Venture partner's factories in Cincinnati( USA), Barnstaple (UK) and Lindau ( Germany). I was pretty excited since this was my first opportunity to visit Western countries.The visit was scheduled for sometime in Sep/Oct 1988 and my colleague K.S.Ravindran was to accompany me..
A couple of weeks before the visit, I was playing tennis in Trichy when I slipped and landed heavily on my left wrist.Straightaway I knew that I had broken a bone. I went to a hospital in Trichy and they reset the bone.Next day, I took a flight back to Madras.My left arm was put in a cast and the physiotherapy started when the cast was removed in a couple of weeks.
I even made a trip to Delhi with my cast. Talk about dedication to work!!
The foreign trip was postponed on account of this and then finally the program was made. I was determined to make the most of this trip and visit as many of my relations as possible.I spoke to Omprakash in New York and to Bharathi ( Appaji's daughter) in Chicago.I was also determined to visit Papachi and
K S N Swamy in Geneva though I had no idea how far Lindau was from Geneva.I also wanted to visit Disneyland in LA or Disneyworld in Orlando.
Looking back on my program now, I see that the personal component of my visit was more than the business component and I must really thank my stars that I had an understanding boss who agreed to my requirements.
Travel Corporation of India were our travel agents and I was personally co-ordinating with them for all my travel within the US.Those days,there was a scheme called VUSA ( Visit USA) where you could get a certain number of flight coupons for a fixed sum of money.My plan was New York-Cincinnati-Chicago-Orlando-New York.This involved 4 flight coupons but TCI was offering me only 3 coupons and wanted me to pay for the extra flight coupon that I required.I discussed with the TCI manager in the morning and he asked me to come back in the evening and collect the VUSA ticket after paying for the extra flight coupon. I went to the TCI office in the evening.The Manager did not see me come in since he had his back to me and asked his assistant " Has the Xomox "fellow" come?".He then turned around and blanched when he saw me. I told him that he was referring to one of his customers as a "fellow" and said that I would report this to my management.He profusely apologized to me and finally offered to give me the extra coupon at no extra charge.
Ravi and I finally left on Nov 4th by a British Airways flight to London.We left at 9 PM from Madras and landed at Heathrow at 6 AM after a brief stop over in Kuwait.It was bitterly cold , but I was well prepared.I had borrowed a jacket and gloves from my friend Gurushankar and this served me well.
We freshened up at Heathrow, had a good breakfast and then caught the 11 AM flight to New York JFK.After a 7 hour trans- Atlantic flight during which we had lunch and slept well, we landed at New York at 1.45 PM local time on Saturday 5th Nov.We were fresh as a daisy.
Omprakash met us at the airport and wanted to know whether we should go home to rest or whether we could visit Padma, Ravi and Gowri ( Anti's family-- they had emigrated to USA after Anti's death) in New Jersey.We opted to go to NJ.We had a nice visit and a good dinner at Padma's house.They gifted me a Van Heusen white shirt ( Palmgrove Hotel in Bombay lost it after 8 years, but that's another story).
We finally reached Omprakash's house in Staen Island at 11 PM on 5th Nov after seeing the World Trade centre and Empire State Building on the way back.
Sudha and the kids ( Anand and Aamod) had gone to Philadelphia and had returned by then, accompanied by Sudha's brother. Ravi stayed with me and we spent the night at Omprakash's house.
This was my first visit to USA and I was gaping at the sights and sounds of New York.Next day morning ( 6th Nov, Sunday), we got up and made a trip to K-Mart. Ravi and I then took the ferry and came over to Manhattan. We visited Battery Park and strolled down toWall Street and the New York Stock Exchange. I'd never seen such thick,fat squirrels before.There was no crowd and we practically had the place to ourselves.
Omprakash then took us to Jackson Heights in Queens.This seemed like Little India with lots of Indians walking around and Indian stores all over.I bumped into my Executive Director there.This was the first of such incidents where I bumped into my colleagues /relations in outlandish places.I bought a coral chain for my mom and lots and lots of Pampers for Swathi and Shruti.
I think I bought enough to last them for about 5 years and I lugged this all over America, England,Switzerland and Germany. So this explains the title of this blog.
We caught the evening flight to Cincinnati.Del Wahlert met us at the airport and took us to the company guest house.I was flabbergasted when I saw the TV and remote.We were making do with Doordarshan 1 and Doordarshan 2 at that time and here we had a choice of 62 channels, all of them running for 24 hours!! Man , this was paradise!! It took me an hour to figure out how to operate the remote.
The kitchen was another wonder for us.The variety of knives in that special knife scabbard amazed me.We spent 4 days in Cincinnati( 7th to 10th Nov). During this time, I visited Jayashree and Ramdas's house.Both were related tome from my dad and mom's side respectively.I remember they had this huge teddy bear for their daughter.Ramdas already had a car phone installed so this was another source of wonder for me. Will we ever be able to experience all this in India was the question that came to my mind in 1988.Now we have the answer.
On 10th Nov evening, we flew to Chicago. Bharathi and her husband were on hand to receive me at O'Hare Airport. Ravi flew on from there to Minnesota to spend the weekend with his relative. Chicago lived up to its reputation as a windy city.The wind chill factor was very high but Bharathi said that I had come well prepared for the weather.
Next day ( Friday 11th), I went downtown and took a city tour of Chicago.This is the city of Frank Llyod Wright, the famous architect and I saw many fine buildings.I visited the Chicago Museum and also went past Mohammad Ali's house.I saw the Sears Tower and the John Hancock Building, both fine specimens.
The day after that, Bharathi drove me to the Aurora Temple.It felt strange to be given ಗೋಡಂಬಿ and ದ್ರಾಕ್ಷಿ and ಬಾದಾಮಿ as ಪ್ರಸಾದ .She then got me a yellow full sleeved shirt . Their house was a magnificent mansion in an exclusive locality called Oakwood.It was reputed to have cost over 100,000 $ way back in 1988.
Their son Ravi was a Chicago Bulls fan and regaled me with stories of their baseball and football teams.
My colleague Ravi returned from Minnesota the next day. We met up at the Airport and took the next flight to Orlando. We stayed at a Days Inn hotel. We bought a 3 day passport to Disneyworld.We saw the Magic Kingdom, Epcot Centre and a few other attractions.Unfortunately, it was the Thanksgiving weekend and there was a huge crowd with long lines for every ride.
We went to the French border,a drive to Lake Geneva and visit to some of the UN Buildings such as the Red Cross, WHO etc.The air was fresh and crisp.Everything in Switzerland is neat and orderly.
( Please note that all this while I was carrying nearly 2 suitcases full of Pampers for Swathi and Shruti. I think they still have some left!!)
The next day was a Monday and we caught the 6 AM train from Geneva to Zurich.The plan was for us to get down at Zurich.Someone from Lindau was to meet us and take us by car across Lake Constance ( ferry service) and into Lindau in Germany. I had heard about the famed Swiss habit of punctuality and I was watching the large clock close to our compartment on the railway platform.As the needle hit 6 O'Clock, the train silently steamed out.
We passed thru Lausanne, Bern, Interlaken and the scenery was like a picture postcard with huge cows grazing contentedly with their huge cowbells ( it hadn't started snowing yet).We got off at Zurich but missed the person who was supposed to come and pick us up. After some frantic calls to Lindau, we caught another train to St.Gallen and the person received us there and took us by road via Austria.
I was afraid that we would get stuck because I didn't have an Austrian visa ( this was before the days of Schengen) but surprisingly our passports were not checked in Austria as well as at the German border.I don't remember much of Lindau--- it was snowing and we couldn't move around much.
We spent 2 days in Lindau and then came back to Zurich to catch a flight to Gatwick.We spent the next 3 days in London--- a hotel called Commodore close to Queensway and to Marble Arch.Hyde Park was just across the road.
We took a London Tour and did Buckingham Palace, Harrod's, The Tower, Trafalgar Square, the Embankment, Houses of Parliament etc. I had always been a student of British history and it was fascinating to see many of the places I had read about come alive before my eyes. We also went to Madame Tussaud's and shopped at Oxford Street.Piccadily Circus was a riot of colour and I remember we also took in a movie there.I bought a Prince tennis racquet for 19 Pounds, a real steal.
Finally it was time to return to India and we caught the BA flight from Heathrow to Madras via Kuwait.We landed in Madras on 30th Nov.
By now, Sudha had learnt car driving.The other remarkable thing about 1988 was how tall Sachin grew in this one year.he was barely 10 years old but he was almost reaching up to my shoulder bythe end of the year.
Oh yes, Pampers wasn't the only thing I carried back in my bag.There were backpacks for Sachin and Sandeep and a pair of jeans for both of them.
I forgot to mention--- before I left on the tour I had to visit the Reserve Bank of India and explain to an official there as to why I needed 2100$ for my 21 days trip.He asked me a lot of questions about the purpose of my trip and even told me to send a visit report to RBI and , if possible, to save some of the 2100$ and remit it back.
Those were the days!!!
As I come to the close of my story for 1988, here's wishing all readers a Very Happy and Prosperous 2011.
By now, I was playing tennis regularly at our R K Nagar colony.My colleague Mohan at Trichy was also a regular tennis player.I used to pack my tennis kit even for a one-day visit to Trichy. We used to stay at Hotel Sangam in Trichy and the Officers' Club ( where Mohan was a member) was close to the hotel.It had floodlights so we could play after dark.
I used to return from the factory to the hotel around 6 PM, change into my tennis gear and be in the club by 6.30 PM. We used to play till 8 PM, then rush back to the hotel, have a quick shower, change, gulp down dinner and be in the Railway Station at 8.55 PM to catch the Rockfort Express back to Madras at 9 PM.
Mohan was in Operations and I was in Marketing and we used to have a lot of arguments in Office on customer priorities for shipments, early deliveries etc. All this used to be forgotten on the tennis court and I got him to agree to many things in the tennis court which he would have vehemently refused that morning!! This is the power of sports, I suppose.
In February, the President of Xomox,USA came visiting and he wanted to visit the Taj Mahal on his way back. I was asked to accompany him on this visit.I had last visited the Taj Mahal in 1958 and this gave me a good opportunity to visit the monument again. From Agra, I went to Calcutta on my way to Bangladesh on a business trip.
I had to apply for the Bangladesh visa in Calcutta. I went to the Consulate and after handing over the papers, I was asked to come back in the evening.It was pouring heavily and we were all asked to stand on the other side of the street while the Consulate officials bellowed out the names thru a loudspeaker. Everybody collected their passports and I was the last one left.
I asked why my name was not called and the official replied in his thick Bengali accent," Of course we called your name Mr.Arkalgud".
I collected the passport and was on a Biman Bangladesh flight the next day to Dhaka.I visited Dhaka and Chittagong during this trip.Dhaka is like any other Indian city, but I've never seen so many cycle-rikshaws anywhere else. The commercial areas are crowded and the posh residential areas are very quiet. My host took me for dinner to Dhaka Club and it was no different from any of the British-era clubs in India.
I shopped for a Dhaka muslin saree for Sudha. The material is reputed to be so fine that you can pass an entire saree through a ring.I also bought a bright yellow wall clock that stayed with us for a very long time.
On my return, I plunged into my work and was constantly on the move. I stayed in some very good hotels--- Sea Rock at Mumbai, Hyatt and Maurya Sheraton at Delhi, Oberoi at Calcutta. The Sheraton group offered Welcom Awards during our stay and I collected enough Welcom Awards to be able to take Sudha and the kids out for dinner to the Residency at Park Sheraton frequently.
Sachin ( or was it Sandeep?) still remembers one of these dinners and you can ask them why!!
I remember that I spent Mar 22nd ( the first anniversary of daddy's death) in a hotel room in Hyderabad.I was on my way to Vizag.If you remember, I had mentioned that I didn't shed any tears when daddy died.On that day ( one year later), I remembered daddy and the good times we had and it all came out. I shed copious tears alone in the hotel room and finally achieved closure.
In May 1988, I was inducted as a member of the Madras Boat Club.Straightaway I felt at home in this Club since the ambience was so similar to that of the Clubs in KGF.MBC still has a drink called Cricket.One sip of this and the taste would take me back to the days of Shankar the barman mixing an Orange Squash in Nundydroog Club. The MBC even today organizes Tombola evenings on Sundays and mom was very happy to be able to attend this whenever she was in Madras.
One day in May 1988, I was called in by my boss and asked to be prepared to visit our Joint Venture partner's factories in Cincinnati( USA), Barnstaple (UK) and Lindau ( Germany). I was pretty excited since this was my first opportunity to visit Western countries.The visit was scheduled for sometime in Sep/Oct 1988 and my colleague K.S.Ravindran was to accompany me..
A couple of weeks before the visit, I was playing tennis in Trichy when I slipped and landed heavily on my left wrist.Straightaway I knew that I had broken a bone. I went to a hospital in Trichy and they reset the bone.Next day, I took a flight back to Madras.My left arm was put in a cast and the physiotherapy started when the cast was removed in a couple of weeks.
I even made a trip to Delhi with my cast. Talk about dedication to work!!
The foreign trip was postponed on account of this and then finally the program was made. I was determined to make the most of this trip and visit as many of my relations as possible.I spoke to Omprakash in New York and to Bharathi ( Appaji's daughter) in Chicago.I was also determined to visit Papachi and
K S N Swamy in Geneva though I had no idea how far Lindau was from Geneva.I also wanted to visit Disneyland in LA or Disneyworld in Orlando.
Looking back on my program now, I see that the personal component of my visit was more than the business component and I must really thank my stars that I had an understanding boss who agreed to my requirements.
Travel Corporation of India were our travel agents and I was personally co-ordinating with them for all my travel within the US.Those days,there was a scheme called VUSA ( Visit USA) where you could get a certain number of flight coupons for a fixed sum of money.My plan was New York-Cincinnati-Chicago-Orlando-New York.This involved 4 flight coupons but TCI was offering me only 3 coupons and wanted me to pay for the extra flight coupon that I required.I discussed with the TCI manager in the morning and he asked me to come back in the evening and collect the VUSA ticket after paying for the extra flight coupon. I went to the TCI office in the evening.The Manager did not see me come in since he had his back to me and asked his assistant " Has the Xomox "fellow" come?".He then turned around and blanched when he saw me. I told him that he was referring to one of his customers as a "fellow" and said that I would report this to my management.He profusely apologized to me and finally offered to give me the extra coupon at no extra charge.
Ravi and I finally left on Nov 4th by a British Airways flight to London.We left at 9 PM from Madras and landed at Heathrow at 6 AM after a brief stop over in Kuwait.It was bitterly cold , but I was well prepared.I had borrowed a jacket and gloves from my friend Gurushankar and this served me well.
We freshened up at Heathrow, had a good breakfast and then caught the 11 AM flight to New York JFK.After a 7 hour trans- Atlantic flight during which we had lunch and slept well, we landed at New York at 1.45 PM local time on Saturday 5th Nov.We were fresh as a daisy.
Omprakash met us at the airport and wanted to know whether we should go home to rest or whether we could visit Padma, Ravi and Gowri ( Anti's family-- they had emigrated to USA after Anti's death) in New Jersey.We opted to go to NJ.We had a nice visit and a good dinner at Padma's house.They gifted me a Van Heusen white shirt ( Palmgrove Hotel in Bombay lost it after 8 years, but that's another story).
We finally reached Omprakash's house in Staen Island at 11 PM on 5th Nov after seeing the World Trade centre and Empire State Building on the way back.
Sudha and the kids ( Anand and Aamod) had gone to Philadelphia and had returned by then, accompanied by Sudha's brother. Ravi stayed with me and we spent the night at Omprakash's house.
This was my first visit to USA and I was gaping at the sights and sounds of New York.Next day morning ( 6th Nov, Sunday), we got up and made a trip to K-Mart. Ravi and I then took the ferry and came over to Manhattan. We visited Battery Park and strolled down toWall Street and the New York Stock Exchange. I'd never seen such thick,fat squirrels before.There was no crowd and we practically had the place to ourselves.
Omprakash then took us to Jackson Heights in Queens.This seemed like Little India with lots of Indians walking around and Indian stores all over.I bumped into my Executive Director there.This was the first of such incidents where I bumped into my colleagues /relations in outlandish places.I bought a coral chain for my mom and lots and lots of Pampers for Swathi and Shruti.
I think I bought enough to last them for about 5 years and I lugged this all over America, England,Switzerland and Germany. So this explains the title of this blog.
We caught the evening flight to Cincinnati.Del Wahlert met us at the airport and took us to the company guest house.I was flabbergasted when I saw the TV and remote.We were making do with Doordarshan 1 and Doordarshan 2 at that time and here we had a choice of 62 channels, all of them running for 24 hours!! Man , this was paradise!! It took me an hour to figure out how to operate the remote.
The kitchen was another wonder for us.The variety of knives in that special knife scabbard amazed me.We spent 4 days in Cincinnati( 7th to 10th Nov). During this time, I visited Jayashree and Ramdas's house.Both were related tome from my dad and mom's side respectively.I remember they had this huge teddy bear for their daughter.Ramdas already had a car phone installed so this was another source of wonder for me. Will we ever be able to experience all this in India was the question that came to my mind in 1988.Now we have the answer.
On 10th Nov evening, we flew to Chicago. Bharathi and her husband were on hand to receive me at O'Hare Airport. Ravi flew on from there to Minnesota to spend the weekend with his relative. Chicago lived up to its reputation as a windy city.The wind chill factor was very high but Bharathi said that I had come well prepared for the weather.
Next day ( Friday 11th), I went downtown and took a city tour of Chicago.This is the city of Frank Llyod Wright, the famous architect and I saw many fine buildings.I visited the Chicago Museum and also went past Mohammad Ali's house.I saw the Sears Tower and the John Hancock Building, both fine specimens.
The day after that, Bharathi drove me to the Aurora Temple.It felt strange to be given ಗೋಡಂಬಿ and ದ್ರಾಕ್ಷಿ and ಬಾದಾಮಿ as ಪ್ರಸಾದ .She then got me a yellow full sleeved shirt . Their house was a magnificent mansion in an exclusive locality called Oakwood.It was reputed to have cost over 100,000 $ way back in 1988.
Their son Ravi was a Chicago Bulls fan and regaled me with stories of their baseball and football teams.
My colleague Ravi returned from Minnesota the next day. We met up at the Airport and took the next flight to Orlando. We stayed at a Days Inn hotel. We bought a 3 day passport to Disneyworld.We saw the Magic Kingdom, Epcot Centre and a few other attractions.Unfortunately, it was the Thanksgiving weekend and there was a huge crowd with long lines for every ride.
We took a flight to La Guardia and then a BA flight to London.The return flight was terrible.All too soon we were in London and I was still groggy with sleep.We took a bus to Reading and then an Inter City train to Exeter St George.Barnstaple is a small town in the south-west of England, no bigger than a village actually.We spent 3 days in Barnstaple. On one of the days, one of the employees who had spent some time in our Indian facility took us pub-hopping.English pubs have a unique local flavour.It's almost like a club and every person has his favourite "local". "I'm going down to the local for a pint( of bitters) " is a very common English expression.These pubs have board games such as darts and skittles.Some of these pubs date back to 200 or 300 years and each pub has its own traditions which are very fiercely guarded and handed down from generation to generation.
One of the Xomox employees was Derek Lathwell who was a very keen cricketer.His son Mark Lathwell later played for Somerset and for England.After 3 days in Barnstaple, we caught a flight to Geneva.We landed there on a Friday with the intention of spending the weekend with Papachi and K S N Swamy.They received us at the airport and took us to their apartment. The first thing that struck us was the total absence of noise in spite of heavy traffic.Honking was an absolute no-no.Papachi told us that even in the apartment, flushing the toilet in the night was taboo. I wondered how people manage when they get ಔಸರ .
We went to the French border,a drive to Lake Geneva and visit to some of the UN Buildings such as the Red Cross, WHO etc.The air was fresh and crisp.Everything in Switzerland is neat and orderly.
( Please note that all this while I was carrying nearly 2 suitcases full of Pampers for Swathi and Shruti. I think they still have some left!!)
The next day was a Monday and we caught the 6 AM train from Geneva to Zurich.The plan was for us to get down at Zurich.Someone from Lindau was to meet us and take us by car across Lake Constance ( ferry service) and into Lindau in Germany. I had heard about the famed Swiss habit of punctuality and I was watching the large clock close to our compartment on the railway platform.As the needle hit 6 O'Clock, the train silently steamed out.
We passed thru Lausanne, Bern, Interlaken and the scenery was like a picture postcard with huge cows grazing contentedly with their huge cowbells ( it hadn't started snowing yet).We got off at Zurich but missed the person who was supposed to come and pick us up. After some frantic calls to Lindau, we caught another train to St.Gallen and the person received us there and took us by road via Austria.
I was afraid that we would get stuck because I didn't have an Austrian visa ( this was before the days of Schengen) but surprisingly our passports were not checked in Austria as well as at the German border.I don't remember much of Lindau--- it was snowing and we couldn't move around much.
We spent 2 days in Lindau and then came back to Zurich to catch a flight to Gatwick.We spent the next 3 days in London--- a hotel called Commodore close to Queensway and to Marble Arch.Hyde Park was just across the road.
We took a London Tour and did Buckingham Palace, Harrod's, The Tower, Trafalgar Square, the Embankment, Houses of Parliament etc. I had always been a student of British history and it was fascinating to see many of the places I had read about come alive before my eyes. We also went to Madame Tussaud's and shopped at Oxford Street.Piccadily Circus was a riot of colour and I remember we also took in a movie there.I bought a Prince tennis racquet for 19 Pounds, a real steal.
Finally it was time to return to India and we caught the BA flight from Heathrow to Madras via Kuwait.We landed in Madras on 30th Nov.
By now, Sudha had learnt car driving.The other remarkable thing about 1988 was how tall Sachin grew in this one year.he was barely 10 years old but he was almost reaching up to my shoulder bythe end of the year.
Oh yes, Pampers wasn't the only thing I carried back in my bag.There were backpacks for Sachin and Sandeep and a pair of jeans for both of them.
I forgot to mention--- before I left on the tour I had to visit the Reserve Bank of India and explain to an official there as to why I needed 2100$ for my 21 days trip.He asked me a lot of questions about the purpose of my trip and even told me to send a visit report to RBI and , if possible, to save some of the 2100$ and remit it back.
Those were the days!!!
As I come to the close of my story for 1988, here's wishing all readers a Very Happy and Prosperous 2011.
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
1987-----Annuser More Horribliser
1987 was even worse than 1986 in terms of personal tragedies. But then again, there were some good events also----- nature's way of balancing out things.
Daddy had continued to experience some problems with his heart even after the installation of the pacemaker.Since Dec 1986, he had been in and out of hospital.Since he and mom were staying with Rummy and Nagaraj at that time, he was admitted to Chaya Nursing Home, run by Dr.Ramu Nadig.
In Jan 1987, he was once again taken ill and was admitted to hospital. Towards the end of the month, Chubbadi and Sethuram suddenly landed up in our Chennai house.They had received information that Anti Chikkappa had died of a heart attack while he was staying in Om Prakash's house in Staten Island,USA.
Anti was working in Korba ( Chattisgarh) but he had gone to USA to try for a job there since he was planning to emigrate with his family.His wife Padma and children Ravi and Gowri were in Korba at that time.
Chubbadi was informed that Padma, Ravi and Gowri were on their way to Bangalore and had come to Chennai to meet them and take them to Bangalore.
I went with Chubbadi and Sethuram to Central Station.We had no idea which train they were coming in .Just when we had given up all hopes of meeting them, we bumped into Ravi.
Ravi and Padma were not aware that Anti had passed away.They had only been informed that Anti was serious.When we told them the sad news, they broke down.We took them all home and then began a round of hectic trunk calls to Om Prakash and to Srinivas, Padma's brother--- who was living in Texas, as to the arrangements to bring Anti's body back to India.
Please understand that this was 1987 and telephone facilities were primitive, to say the least.Anyway, they all left for Bangalore after making all the arrangements.Daddy was still in hospital and was not informed of Anti's death.
Among all this, we learnt that Sandhya was expecting again. I remember telling daddy that he should now be looking forward to the birth of one more grandchild in the family.
Lambi was rattled by all this and came down from Dehra Dun to look up daddy in Jan.His condition worsened in March 1987 and I again rushed to Bangalore on 18th Mar. It happened to be Sandhya's wedding anniversary but we were maintaining a vigil at Chaya Nursing Home.On 20th Mar, the doctor told me that it was now a matter of days but one couldn't say when.
I returned to Madras on 21st Mar ( it was my birthday).On 22nd Mar morning ( it was a Sunday), I got a call from B S Nagaraj at 4 AM that daddy's condition had worsened and I decided to leave immediately for Bangalore. Just as I was getting ready, I got another call that he had passed away. We then decided that all 4 of us would fly to Bangalore immediately. I spoke to Venu and gave him the news and he and Chikkamma came down immediately to take us to the airport.Venu had always been close to daddy and was affected by daddy's demise.
We reached Bangalore by 8 AM and drove down immediately to BSN's house where daddy's body had been brought.He looked peaceful in death.A doctor was called in to remove the pacemaker and then a priest came for the ceremonies.I was made to don a simple white dhoti and an upper garment and went thru the preliminary rituals.
The good thing about these rituals is that it takes away one's mind from the immediate bereavement. Perhaps that is one intent of these rituals!!
One thing that remains in my memory of that day is that I did not shed any tears.That came later and I shall describe it when I come to it.
All that I felt was genuine sorrow at the premature passing away of a good man ( he was just 64 years old).The best gift that he gave to my mom, Rummy, Sandhya and me was that he had lived to see us grow and live our independent lives.He had provided well for mummy and did not leave us with any debts.
I have seen many families grieving when the head of the family passes away.They are basically grieving for themselves because of either financial issues or because some family commitments still remain unfulfilled.
This was not the case with my dad. I genuinely grieved for him and wished that he was around to enjoy life a little more. I had heard that he danced for joy when India won the Cricket World Cup in 1983 and wished that he was around for a few more similar occasions.
The cremation was at the Srirampura Crematorium and 2 days later, accompanied by my uncles, I went to Paschimavahini in Srirangapatna to immerse the ashes.The other ceremonies were gone through in the following days at another place in Bangalore and ended up with the Vaikuntasamaradhane on the 14th day. Did I ensure that my dad really went to heaven by doing these ceremonies? I don't know--- but at least I was satisfied that I had performed the duties expected of a son .
Sudha and I then went to Dr.Ramu Nadig's house and offered to pay for dad's hospitalization expenses but he refused to accept any payment.This was a measure of the respect in which he held daddy and BSN's family---- a debt we'll never be able to repay.
In April 1987 I got a call from Kanthu with the joyful news that Sandhya was expecting twins. The twins gene was running thru Ravi's family. How happy daddy would have been !!!
In May 1987, Sudha and I accompanied by the kids went on a trip to Pune and Bombay. We stayed with Veena's parents in Pune and with MSK and Chambi in Bombay.
Swathi and Shruti were born on 6th Jul 1987.There's an interesting story about Sandhya just before she delivered. A couple of days before she went into labour, Sandhya suddenly got the urge to go to MTR on a Sunday evening and eat some snacks.Sunday evenings in MTR is just crazy--- there are queues a mile long and it takes hours just to get a place to sit.As soon as the staff saw her distended figure, they went into overdrive and probably created a record in customer service, just so she out of there quickly and didn't create "labour" problems.
Around this time, I was looking around for a change of job since I knew that I would need to work in a Corporate Head Office if I were to move up in any Organization. The Head Office of Akay Industries was in Bombay and I didn't fancy shifting to Bombay. So I was looking out for a job in a company that was headquartered in Madras or for a job in the Gulf.
I applied for a job in Muscat and even travelled up to Bombay for the interview but nothing came of it. I went again to Bombay for another interview with an industrialist who was keen on setting up a unit in Bangalore but I wasn't satisfied with the terms offered and turned down the offer.
I then got a call from S.Thiagarajan of Durametallic India Ltd whether I would be interested in a job as Sales Manager in Xomox India Ltd. He however told me that the factory was located in Viralimalai near Trichy and I might need to shift to Viralimalai.
I went for the interview.This was a mere formality since I knew the company and the people already. Sudha and I thought long and hard on the decision to shift to Trichy since we were already well established in Madras, but she finally said yes.
I finally joined Xomox India limited on 5th Oct 1987.All Saturdays were working days ( full day) except the 3rd Saturday of the month.This was in contrast to the 5 day week that I enjoyed when I was working in Akay.
I was part of a pool car system. I had to be ready by 7.45 AM with my breakfast finished and my lunch packed. I would normally return by 6.15 PM. The work was fun and the people were nice so I soon settled in. Very quickly, I was off on visits to Bombay, Calcutta, Baroda and Delhi, apart from my usual trips to Viralimalai. I enjoyed these trips since I had not been to these places before.
I had surrendered my office car given to me by Akay and I had to wait for 6 months before I was eligible for a loan from Xomox to buy a new car.We managed these 6 months by travelling around on the TVS-50 Moped---- all 4 of us on some occasions!!!
Rummy and family and Sandhya and family had planned to spend Christmas and New Year with us.They all landed in Madras on 24th Dec morning and that was the day MGR died. We barely made it back to our house from the station before the entire city shut down. All the sighseeing and shopping programs were cancelled and we settled down to watching programs about MGR on Doordarshan TV.The funeral was held a couple of days later and normalcy returned only after this. By that time it was time for them to return to Bangalore.
My next blog will cover 1988.
Daddy had continued to experience some problems with his heart even after the installation of the pacemaker.Since Dec 1986, he had been in and out of hospital.Since he and mom were staying with Rummy and Nagaraj at that time, he was admitted to Chaya Nursing Home, run by Dr.Ramu Nadig.
In Jan 1987, he was once again taken ill and was admitted to hospital. Towards the end of the month, Chubbadi and Sethuram suddenly landed up in our Chennai house.They had received information that Anti Chikkappa had died of a heart attack while he was staying in Om Prakash's house in Staten Island,USA.
Anti was working in Korba ( Chattisgarh) but he had gone to USA to try for a job there since he was planning to emigrate with his family.His wife Padma and children Ravi and Gowri were in Korba at that time.
Chubbadi was informed that Padma, Ravi and Gowri were on their way to Bangalore and had come to Chennai to meet them and take them to Bangalore.
I went with Chubbadi and Sethuram to Central Station.We had no idea which train they were coming in .Just when we had given up all hopes of meeting them, we bumped into Ravi.
Ravi and Padma were not aware that Anti had passed away.They had only been informed that Anti was serious.When we told them the sad news, they broke down.We took them all home and then began a round of hectic trunk calls to Om Prakash and to Srinivas, Padma's brother--- who was living in Texas, as to the arrangements to bring Anti's body back to India.
Please understand that this was 1987 and telephone facilities were primitive, to say the least.Anyway, they all left for Bangalore after making all the arrangements.Daddy was still in hospital and was not informed of Anti's death.
Among all this, we learnt that Sandhya was expecting again. I remember telling daddy that he should now be looking forward to the birth of one more grandchild in the family.
Lambi was rattled by all this and came down from Dehra Dun to look up daddy in Jan.His condition worsened in March 1987 and I again rushed to Bangalore on 18th Mar. It happened to be Sandhya's wedding anniversary but we were maintaining a vigil at Chaya Nursing Home.On 20th Mar, the doctor told me that it was now a matter of days but one couldn't say when.
I returned to Madras on 21st Mar ( it was my birthday).On 22nd Mar morning ( it was a Sunday), I got a call from B S Nagaraj at 4 AM that daddy's condition had worsened and I decided to leave immediately for Bangalore. Just as I was getting ready, I got another call that he had passed away. We then decided that all 4 of us would fly to Bangalore immediately. I spoke to Venu and gave him the news and he and Chikkamma came down immediately to take us to the airport.Venu had always been close to daddy and was affected by daddy's demise.
We reached Bangalore by 8 AM and drove down immediately to BSN's house where daddy's body had been brought.He looked peaceful in death.A doctor was called in to remove the pacemaker and then a priest came for the ceremonies.I was made to don a simple white dhoti and an upper garment and went thru the preliminary rituals.
The good thing about these rituals is that it takes away one's mind from the immediate bereavement. Perhaps that is one intent of these rituals!!
One thing that remains in my memory of that day is that I did not shed any tears.That came later and I shall describe it when I come to it.
All that I felt was genuine sorrow at the premature passing away of a good man ( he was just 64 years old).The best gift that he gave to my mom, Rummy, Sandhya and me was that he had lived to see us grow and live our independent lives.He had provided well for mummy and did not leave us with any debts.
I have seen many families grieving when the head of the family passes away.They are basically grieving for themselves because of either financial issues or because some family commitments still remain unfulfilled.
This was not the case with my dad. I genuinely grieved for him and wished that he was around to enjoy life a little more. I had heard that he danced for joy when India won the Cricket World Cup in 1983 and wished that he was around for a few more similar occasions.
The cremation was at the Srirampura Crematorium and 2 days later, accompanied by my uncles, I went to Paschimavahini in Srirangapatna to immerse the ashes.The other ceremonies were gone through in the following days at another place in Bangalore and ended up with the Vaikuntasamaradhane on the 14th day. Did I ensure that my dad really went to heaven by doing these ceremonies? I don't know--- but at least I was satisfied that I had performed the duties expected of a son .
Sudha and I then went to Dr.Ramu Nadig's house and offered to pay for dad's hospitalization expenses but he refused to accept any payment.This was a measure of the respect in which he held daddy and BSN's family---- a debt we'll never be able to repay.
In April 1987 I got a call from Kanthu with the joyful news that Sandhya was expecting twins. The twins gene was running thru Ravi's family. How happy daddy would have been !!!
In May 1987, Sudha and I accompanied by the kids went on a trip to Pune and Bombay. We stayed with Veena's parents in Pune and with MSK and Chambi in Bombay.
Swathi and Shruti were born on 6th Jul 1987.There's an interesting story about Sandhya just before she delivered. A couple of days before she went into labour, Sandhya suddenly got the urge to go to MTR on a Sunday evening and eat some snacks.Sunday evenings in MTR is just crazy--- there are queues a mile long and it takes hours just to get a place to sit.As soon as the staff saw her distended figure, they went into overdrive and probably created a record in customer service, just so she out of there quickly and didn't create "labour" problems.
Around this time, I was looking around for a change of job since I knew that I would need to work in a Corporate Head Office if I were to move up in any Organization. The Head Office of Akay Industries was in Bombay and I didn't fancy shifting to Bombay. So I was looking out for a job in a company that was headquartered in Madras or for a job in the Gulf.
I applied for a job in Muscat and even travelled up to Bombay for the interview but nothing came of it. I went again to Bombay for another interview with an industrialist who was keen on setting up a unit in Bangalore but I wasn't satisfied with the terms offered and turned down the offer.
I then got a call from S.Thiagarajan of Durametallic India Ltd whether I would be interested in a job as Sales Manager in Xomox India Ltd. He however told me that the factory was located in Viralimalai near Trichy and I might need to shift to Viralimalai.
I went for the interview.This was a mere formality since I knew the company and the people already. Sudha and I thought long and hard on the decision to shift to Trichy since we were already well established in Madras, but she finally said yes.
I finally joined Xomox India limited on 5th Oct 1987.All Saturdays were working days ( full day) except the 3rd Saturday of the month.This was in contrast to the 5 day week that I enjoyed when I was working in Akay.
I was part of a pool car system. I had to be ready by 7.45 AM with my breakfast finished and my lunch packed. I would normally return by 6.15 PM. The work was fun and the people were nice so I soon settled in. Very quickly, I was off on visits to Bombay, Calcutta, Baroda and Delhi, apart from my usual trips to Viralimalai. I enjoyed these trips since I had not been to these places before.
I had surrendered my office car given to me by Akay and I had to wait for 6 months before I was eligible for a loan from Xomox to buy a new car.We managed these 6 months by travelling around on the TVS-50 Moped---- all 4 of us on some occasions!!!
Rummy and family and Sandhya and family had planned to spend Christmas and New Year with us.They all landed in Madras on 24th Dec morning and that was the day MGR died. We barely made it back to our house from the station before the entire city shut down. All the sighseeing and shopping programs were cancelled and we settled down to watching programs about MGR on Doordarshan TV.The funeral was held a couple of days later and normalcy returned only after this. By that time it was time for them to return to Bangalore.
My next blog will cover 1988.
Saturday, November 27, 2010
1986-------Annus Horriblis
1986 was a very forgettable year--- a year of tragedy, health problems etc but also good in some ways.
We had been living in the Teynampet house since 1981.In the beginning of 1986, the house owner informed us that we should vacate since her daughter and son-in-law wanted to shift to this house.
We had already moved 4 times in 8 years and were quite fed up with the constant shifting.We now had to look for a new place all over again.
Sometime in January 1986, we saw an advertisement in "The Hindu" for a flat available for rent in Ramakrishna Nagar,Mandaiveli.I was already familiar with R K Nagar since Sachin's class mate Ashish Mangnani was living there and I used to drop him for birthday parties etc.
Sudha and I saw the house and liked it a lot.It was a 2 bedroom flat, spacious, with a verandah, a balcony, a spiral stairway at the back, a garage etc.The asking rent was Rs.1500.The owner was an elderly gentleman named Mr.M.A.Krishnaswamy who was running the M.A.Krishnaswamy Group of educational institutions.
We were paying Rs.550 per month for the Teynampet house and felt that Rs.1500 was too steep a jump.Sudha and I met Mr.Krishnaswamy in his office and told him that the flat was extremely good and worth Rs.1500 but we couldn't afford more than Rs.1200.Mr.Krishnaswamy regretted his inability to reduce the asking rent.We bid a pleasant goodbye and forgot about the matter.
Around Feb 15th, I got a call from Mr.Krishnaswamy asking me to meet him in his office.Sudha and I went there again.Mr.Krishnaswamy said that he liked us and would be willing to give it to us for Rs.1200.Sudha and I were overwhelmed.The only condition that Mr.Krishnaswamy put was that we should pay the rent regularly. Apparently, the previous tenant was irregular in paying the rent and hence this request.We assured him that we will be very prompt in paying the rent and even touched his feet while taking leave of him.
We moved into R K Nagar on 1st Mar 1986.This house was really good.It was south facing, had good ventilation and , best of all, there was a tennis court in the colony.There was a lovely playground and the compound made the colony safe and secure.The icing on the cake was that the DAV school bus was stopping right by the compound.
Our block had 6 flats--- 2 flats on each floor.Our neighbours were two brothers , Mr.Ramanathan with his wife Uma and Mr.Vaidyanathan with his wife Viji.Both of them had two sons each and the grandmother was also staying with them.They were a very lively family and Sudha soon became good friends with Uma and Viji and Sachin & Sandeep became friends with the 4 boys. Sachin also had his friend Ashish staying in the same colony, though in a different block and they settled in very quickly.
Meanwhile, I joined the tennis group.I used to play from 6 AM to 7 AM daily and then leave for the Office. I also used to represent the R K Nagar Colony in the Chennai City Inter-Club Tennis matches.
In May 1986, I took my annual 15 day vacation and went to Bangalore with the family.My Dad and mom were also there, but dad looked very tired. I took him to Dr.Shivaram for consultation.The X-Ray showed that daddy's heart had enlarged and Dr.Shivaram suggested that he be implanted with a pacemaker.
The operation took place in June 1986 in Dr,Jayadeva Institute of Cardiology which, at that time, was in Chamarajpet.
Meanwhile, we decided that dad should sell the house in Mysore and move to the Bangalore flat.
This was what was happening to daddy.Simultaneously, Sudha's brother Vinod was suffering from fever in Kanpur.He was staying there with Veena and his son Vinay.The fever did not go even after a month and BVN ordered Vinod to come down immediately to Bangalore with his family.When Vinod landed in Bangalore, we were all shocked because he looked so wasted and thin.He was straightaway admitted to Ratnam Nursing Home in Jayanagar and subjected to a battery of tests.Finally, he was diagnosed with meningitis, an inflammation of the membrane surrounding the brain and the spinal cord.
Vinod spent most of May 1986 in the Nursing Home.We used to visit him regularly and there was a slow but gradual recovery.Vinod was finally discharged in June 1986, just around the time my dad had to undergo his pacemaker implantation.This was a pretty horrible time for all of us and we were doing the rounds of various hospitals.
In September 1986, my company gave me a white Maruti Omni and I sold the Ambassador Car.
In October 1986, we travelled to Mysore by car.Dad and mom were in Bangalore and we picked them up on our way to Mysore.We stopped at Ranganathittu on the way but dad was too tired to come out of the car.
Meanwhile, Vinod had again suffered complications since the spinal fluid was not getting drained. So the hospital had put a tube in his brain to drain out the fluid.He was admitted to Ratnam Nursing Home again in Oct 1986 .
We returned to Madras on 10th Oct 1986 and I had to leave for Mettur Dam immediately on official work on 11th Oct.I returned on 13th Oct, only to learn that K.N.Manjunath, an industrialist, a Vice-President of Kannada Balaga and , above all, a terrific human being had died in a car accident on 12th Oct while driving back to Madras from Bangalore.He was travelling with his wife Prabha and young daughters Ashwini and Archana.Ashwini and Archana escaped with minor injuries.
It was around this time that R.N.K.Prasad of Kannadigara Koota, Besant Nagar mooted the idea of celebrating Rajyotsava jointly by all the Kannada Associations.Each association was asked to present a program and Kiran Kumar of Kannada Balaga decided to present K.S.Narasimhaswamy's poem "Rayaru Bandaru Maavane Manege" from "Mysore Mallige" in the form of a playlet. I was the Rayaru and Shantha, Kiran Kumar's wife, played my wife.
We almost decided to drop our program in view of Manjunath's death but finally decided to go ahead. On 27th Oct, Venu's brother Vijayasimha met with an accident at Tirusoolam Railway station ( opp: Madras Airport) and died on the spot.He was around 45 and left behind his wife Rama, a young daughter and a son.
As if this was not enough, dad fell ill again .He had finally managed to find a buyer for the Mysore house and had to do a bit of running around in Mysore to get various document copies and fix up the registration.He was admitted to Jayadeva Institute again and I rushed to Bangalore to meet him.I had barely reached Sandhya's house when I got the shocking news that Vinod had passed away in the Nursing Home.I immediately rang up my neighbours in Madras and asked them to convey the news gently to Sudha and also requested them to arrange for a car to bring Sudha and the kids to Bangalore.
I then went to the Nursing Home where Vinod's body was lying and then also went to see my dad in Jayadeva since he was asking for me.Of course, I didn't mention about Vinod's passing away to him.
It was pathetic to see Veena and her young son Vinay who was just 31/2 years old.BVN took the news bravely.Vinod was just 32 years old and in the prime of life when death snatched him away.He was a handsome guy and he did superb sketches of buildings as a hobby.
Dad recovered and came back to Sandhya's house.But he still felt very weak.
In hindsight, I'm not really sure whether the pacemaker helped him since it is basically meant for arrythmia( irregular beating of the heart) whereas his problem was that the heart muscle was weak and the pumping efficiency had come down.
I'll cover 1987 ( a year of mixed fortunes) in my next blog.
We had been living in the Teynampet house since 1981.In the beginning of 1986, the house owner informed us that we should vacate since her daughter and son-in-law wanted to shift to this house.
We had already moved 4 times in 8 years and were quite fed up with the constant shifting.We now had to look for a new place all over again.
Sometime in January 1986, we saw an advertisement in "The Hindu" for a flat available for rent in Ramakrishna Nagar,Mandaiveli.I was already familiar with R K Nagar since Sachin's class mate Ashish Mangnani was living there and I used to drop him for birthday parties etc.
Sudha and I saw the house and liked it a lot.It was a 2 bedroom flat, spacious, with a verandah, a balcony, a spiral stairway at the back, a garage etc.The asking rent was Rs.1500.The owner was an elderly gentleman named Mr.M.A.Krishnaswamy who was running the M.A.Krishnaswamy Group of educational institutions.
We were paying Rs.550 per month for the Teynampet house and felt that Rs.1500 was too steep a jump.Sudha and I met Mr.Krishnaswamy in his office and told him that the flat was extremely good and worth Rs.1500 but we couldn't afford more than Rs.1200.Mr.Krishnaswamy regretted his inability to reduce the asking rent.We bid a pleasant goodbye and forgot about the matter.
Around Feb 15th, I got a call from Mr.Krishnaswamy asking me to meet him in his office.Sudha and I went there again.Mr.Krishnaswamy said that he liked us and would be willing to give it to us for Rs.1200.Sudha and I were overwhelmed.The only condition that Mr.Krishnaswamy put was that we should pay the rent regularly. Apparently, the previous tenant was irregular in paying the rent and hence this request.We assured him that we will be very prompt in paying the rent and even touched his feet while taking leave of him.
We moved into R K Nagar on 1st Mar 1986.This house was really good.It was south facing, had good ventilation and , best of all, there was a tennis court in the colony.There was a lovely playground and the compound made the colony safe and secure.The icing on the cake was that the DAV school bus was stopping right by the compound.
Our block had 6 flats--- 2 flats on each floor.Our neighbours were two brothers , Mr.Ramanathan with his wife Uma and Mr.Vaidyanathan with his wife Viji.Both of them had two sons each and the grandmother was also staying with them.They were a very lively family and Sudha soon became good friends with Uma and Viji and Sachin & Sandeep became friends with the 4 boys. Sachin also had his friend Ashish staying in the same colony, though in a different block and they settled in very quickly.
Meanwhile, I joined the tennis group.I used to play from 6 AM to 7 AM daily and then leave for the Office. I also used to represent the R K Nagar Colony in the Chennai City Inter-Club Tennis matches.
In May 1986, I took my annual 15 day vacation and went to Bangalore with the family.My Dad and mom were also there, but dad looked very tired. I took him to Dr.Shivaram for consultation.The X-Ray showed that daddy's heart had enlarged and Dr.Shivaram suggested that he be implanted with a pacemaker.
The operation took place in June 1986 in Dr,Jayadeva Institute of Cardiology which, at that time, was in Chamarajpet.
Meanwhile, we decided that dad should sell the house in Mysore and move to the Bangalore flat.
This was what was happening to daddy.Simultaneously, Sudha's brother Vinod was suffering from fever in Kanpur.He was staying there with Veena and his son Vinay.The fever did not go even after a month and BVN ordered Vinod to come down immediately to Bangalore with his family.When Vinod landed in Bangalore, we were all shocked because he looked so wasted and thin.He was straightaway admitted to Ratnam Nursing Home in Jayanagar and subjected to a battery of tests.Finally, he was diagnosed with meningitis, an inflammation of the membrane surrounding the brain and the spinal cord.
Vinod spent most of May 1986 in the Nursing Home.We used to visit him regularly and there was a slow but gradual recovery.Vinod was finally discharged in June 1986, just around the time my dad had to undergo his pacemaker implantation.This was a pretty horrible time for all of us and we were doing the rounds of various hospitals.
In September 1986, my company gave me a white Maruti Omni and I sold the Ambassador Car.
In October 1986, we travelled to Mysore by car.Dad and mom were in Bangalore and we picked them up on our way to Mysore.We stopped at Ranganathittu on the way but dad was too tired to come out of the car.
Meanwhile, Vinod had again suffered complications since the spinal fluid was not getting drained. So the hospital had put a tube in his brain to drain out the fluid.He was admitted to Ratnam Nursing Home again in Oct 1986 .
We returned to Madras on 10th Oct 1986 and I had to leave for Mettur Dam immediately on official work on 11th Oct.I returned on 13th Oct, only to learn that K.N.Manjunath, an industrialist, a Vice-President of Kannada Balaga and , above all, a terrific human being had died in a car accident on 12th Oct while driving back to Madras from Bangalore.He was travelling with his wife Prabha and young daughters Ashwini and Archana.Ashwini and Archana escaped with minor injuries.
It was around this time that R.N.K.Prasad of Kannadigara Koota, Besant Nagar mooted the idea of celebrating Rajyotsava jointly by all the Kannada Associations.Each association was asked to present a program and Kiran Kumar of Kannada Balaga decided to present K.S.Narasimhaswamy's poem "Rayaru Bandaru Maavane Manege" from "Mysore Mallige" in the form of a playlet. I was the Rayaru and Shantha, Kiran Kumar's wife, played my wife.
We almost decided to drop our program in view of Manjunath's death but finally decided to go ahead. On 27th Oct, Venu's brother Vijayasimha met with an accident at Tirusoolam Railway station ( opp: Madras Airport) and died on the spot.He was around 45 and left behind his wife Rama, a young daughter and a son.
As if this was not enough, dad fell ill again .He had finally managed to find a buyer for the Mysore house and had to do a bit of running around in Mysore to get various document copies and fix up the registration.He was admitted to Jayadeva Institute again and I rushed to Bangalore to meet him.I had barely reached Sandhya's house when I got the shocking news that Vinod had passed away in the Nursing Home.I immediately rang up my neighbours in Madras and asked them to convey the news gently to Sudha and also requested them to arrange for a car to bring Sudha and the kids to Bangalore.
I then went to the Nursing Home where Vinod's body was lying and then also went to see my dad in Jayadeva since he was asking for me.Of course, I didn't mention about Vinod's passing away to him.
It was pathetic to see Veena and her young son Vinay who was just 31/2 years old.BVN took the news bravely.Vinod was just 32 years old and in the prime of life when death snatched him away.He was a handsome guy and he did superb sketches of buildings as a hobby.
Dad recovered and came back to Sandhya's house.But he still felt very weak.
In hindsight, I'm not really sure whether the pacemaker helped him since it is basically meant for arrythmia( irregular beating of the heart) whereas his problem was that the heart muscle was weak and the pumping efficiency had come down.
I'll cover 1987 ( a year of mixed fortunes) in my next blog.
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Sandeep's admission to School & Other Lesser Events (1985)
I'm reminded by my nieces that I had forgotten to mention the
Gruhapravesha of Rummy and Nagaraj's house in June 1984, so I've added it here.
1985 dawned bright and clear with Rajiv Gandhi at the nation's helm after the tragic assassination of Indira Gandhi.
The young PM brought a breath of fresh air to the nation.I remember a Doordarshan TV program where he interacted with a group of young school children.He was absolutely at ease with them and answered their most inane questions.His Hindi wasn't as good as that of his mom's.I remember us mentioning that , under Rajiv, India had become a banana republic.That's because all his speeches were laced with " Hum yeh banana hai. Hum woh banana hai".
I had by now completed my Post Graduate Diploma in Marketing Management from Madras University and was now doing my Diploma in Management from AIMA.I had to attend classes 3 days a week and also manage my official tours.
I had my final exams to complete and I had got the timetable.I had kept the exam timetable in the car and the guy who came to clean the car every day thought it was some scrap paper and threw it out.I didn't know if the exam the next day was Management Accounting or Business Law and I had no way of checking with my batchmates.Anyway, I thought it was Management Accounting and so went early to the exam hall so that I could check with the other candidates as to what the subject really was .
I had carried my Management Accounting Text Book and was pacing the corridor.One guy came in and nearly fainted on seeing my text book.He broke into a cold sweat and almost started crying.I asked him what's the problem.He said that he had though that day's subject was Business Law and didn't know it was Management Accounting. I said," Relax, you're right" and then went ahead and wrote the Business Law exam and --- wonder of wonders--- actually got the highest marks out of all subjects!!
That was around Feb 1985.The next major hurdle was Sandeep's admission to DAV School.I had nightmares at the thought of standing all night in a queue all over again.
In March 1985 , I was travelling to Hubli.Sudha made some enquiries and learnt that, since DAV School was run by Arya Samaj, it would help if we knew some senior members of Arya Samaj.She immediately rang up Jayalakshmi Chikkamma to ask if Chikkamma knew anybody in Arya Samaj.
Just at that moment, a person who used to sell Jewellery stones to Chikkamma for over 20 years was visiting her house to show her some diamonds.His name was, I think, Mr.Pillai. He overheard Chikkamma talking to Sudha and the words Arya Samaj and DAV School being bandied around.He asked Chikkamma what was the problem.Chikkamma dismissively told him," No, it's just my niece on the phone and she wanted to know whether I knew anybody in Arya Samaj for help in getting admission to DAV School and I said I don't know anybody." Mr.Pillai said , " Maybe I can help". Chikkama asked how and he said " Because I'm the President of Arya Samaj. Ask her to send someone to the School after a couple of days and I'll see that she gets the application form."
Sudha told me all this when I was in Hubli ( Oh yes, the other big event of 1984 was that we got our telephone-- No.453691--- on 18 Dec 1984 after 2 years of waiting---- a remarkably short waiting period for those times, I might add.).
The earth stood still for a couple of minutes while I digested this information.However,ever the cautious person, I still told Sudha to stand in the queue since Mr.Pillai had said that he would give us the form after the general public got it.Our heart was not in this and so we missed out on getting the form in the regular manner. On the appointed day, I went to the school.Mr.Pillai was there and gave me the application form. I'm pretty sure that half of our punya acquired in our previous janma was used up for the purpose of getting this application form.But it was worth it.
My father-in-law, in the meanwhile, had found a house in Jayanagar 8th Block and had set about constructing a new house on the 80ftx 50 ft plot.The Gruhapravesha was held in June 1985.
Thammiah, Saraswathi's son, committed suicide in Sep 1985. This was a major blow to me since he and I were very close from childhood.I got the news on a saturday when I was working in the Office. I immediately rushed to Bangalore and broke down on seeing his body. Such a promising life cut short in the prime of youth!! He left behind his wife Leela and a son ( Bharath) and a daughter.
The other notable event was the Gruhapravesha of Sethuram's house ( an addition to Sathya Chikkappa's house on the same plot of land) in Oct 1985.
Sudha, Sachin, Sandeep and I went from this function to Hubli. We stayed in the Akay Industries Guest House and the Khimjis were most gracious hosts. From there, we went to Goa and stayed there for a couple of days before returning to Madras.
Vinod was now working in Kanpur with J.K.Cements.He had come to Bangalore on an official trip and stayed with us for a couple of days in Madras on his way back to Kanpur.
The rest of the year passed off uneventfully and I'll cover 1986 in my next blog.
Bye for now.
Gruhapravesha of Rummy and Nagaraj's house in June 1984, so I've added it here.
1985 dawned bright and clear with Rajiv Gandhi at the nation's helm after the tragic assassination of Indira Gandhi.
The young PM brought a breath of fresh air to the nation.I remember a Doordarshan TV program where he interacted with a group of young school children.He was absolutely at ease with them and answered their most inane questions.His Hindi wasn't as good as that of his mom's.I remember us mentioning that , under Rajiv, India had become a banana republic.That's because all his speeches were laced with " Hum yeh banana hai. Hum woh banana hai".
I had by now completed my Post Graduate Diploma in Marketing Management from Madras University and was now doing my Diploma in Management from AIMA.I had to attend classes 3 days a week and also manage my official tours.
I had my final exams to complete and I had got the timetable.I had kept the exam timetable in the car and the guy who came to clean the car every day thought it was some scrap paper and threw it out.I didn't know if the exam the next day was Management Accounting or Business Law and I had no way of checking with my batchmates.Anyway, I thought it was Management Accounting and so went early to the exam hall so that I could check with the other candidates as to what the subject really was .
I had carried my Management Accounting Text Book and was pacing the corridor.One guy came in and nearly fainted on seeing my text book.He broke into a cold sweat and almost started crying.I asked him what's the problem.He said that he had though that day's subject was Business Law and didn't know it was Management Accounting. I said," Relax, you're right" and then went ahead and wrote the Business Law exam and --- wonder of wonders--- actually got the highest marks out of all subjects!!
That was around Feb 1985.The next major hurdle was Sandeep's admission to DAV School.I had nightmares at the thought of standing all night in a queue all over again.
In March 1985 , I was travelling to Hubli.Sudha made some enquiries and learnt that, since DAV School was run by Arya Samaj, it would help if we knew some senior members of Arya Samaj.She immediately rang up Jayalakshmi Chikkamma to ask if Chikkamma knew anybody in Arya Samaj.
Just at that moment, a person who used to sell Jewellery stones to Chikkamma for over 20 years was visiting her house to show her some diamonds.His name was, I think, Mr.Pillai. He overheard Chikkamma talking to Sudha and the words Arya Samaj and DAV School being bandied around.He asked Chikkamma what was the problem.Chikkamma dismissively told him," No, it's just my niece on the phone and she wanted to know whether I knew anybody in Arya Samaj for help in getting admission to DAV School and I said I don't know anybody." Mr.Pillai said , " Maybe I can help". Chikkama asked how and he said " Because I'm the President of Arya Samaj. Ask her to send someone to the School after a couple of days and I'll see that she gets the application form."
Sudha told me all this when I was in Hubli ( Oh yes, the other big event of 1984 was that we got our telephone-- No.453691--- on 18 Dec 1984 after 2 years of waiting---- a remarkably short waiting period for those times, I might add.).
The earth stood still for a couple of minutes while I digested this information.However,ever the cautious person, I still told Sudha to stand in the queue since Mr.Pillai had said that he would give us the form after the general public got it.Our heart was not in this and so we missed out on getting the form in the regular manner. On the appointed day, I went to the school.Mr.Pillai was there and gave me the application form. I'm pretty sure that half of our punya acquired in our previous janma was used up for the purpose of getting this application form.But it was worth it.
My father-in-law, in the meanwhile, had found a house in Jayanagar 8th Block and had set about constructing a new house on the 80ftx 50 ft plot.The Gruhapravesha was held in June 1985.
Thammiah, Saraswathi's son, committed suicide in Sep 1985. This was a major blow to me since he and I were very close from childhood.I got the news on a saturday when I was working in the Office. I immediately rushed to Bangalore and broke down on seeing his body. Such a promising life cut short in the prime of youth!! He left behind his wife Leela and a son ( Bharath) and a daughter.
The other notable event was the Gruhapravesha of Sethuram's house ( an addition to Sathya Chikkappa's house on the same plot of land) in Oct 1985.
Sudha, Sachin, Sandeep and I went from this function to Hubli. We stayed in the Akay Industries Guest House and the Khimjis were most gracious hosts. From there, we went to Goa and stayed there for a couple of days before returning to Madras.
Vinod was now working in Kanpur with J.K.Cements.He had come to Bangalore on an official trip and stayed with us for a couple of days in Madras on his way back to Kanpur.
The rest of the year passed off uneventfully and I'll cover 1986 in my next blog.
Bye for now.
Thursday, November 4, 2010
The Story of My Life ( 1984 )
1984 was a momentous year in more ways than one.
It was the year when the World Heart Congress was held in New Delhi and the conference decided that salt was the single largest contributor to heart disease.
On reading this, I decided to stop having extra salt at the dining table---- a decision that I've stuck to till now.
I was 33 years old now and had not had much opportunity to indulge in physical exercises. I decided that I would touch my toes a 100 times in the bathroom before my bath and straightaway started.
Sudha and I were now looking at buying an apartment in Chennai though we had no idea how we would rustle up the money.We saw one 1000 sq ft apartment on Coats Road in Chennai ( near the Raghavendra Mutt). The going rate was Rs.140/sq ft, making the flat value Rs.1,40,000.We decided this was too expensive. We saw another apartment on TTK Road ( then Mowbray's Road), just behind Palki Restaurant.The going rate for a 1000 sq ft apartment was Rs.240/sq ft and I had even gone and paid the advance of Rs.10000.Then I had second thoughts and went to the builder and took back my advance.
Dad and mom were by now settled in Mysore and would occasionally drop in to Bangalore and to Chennai.Sometime in early October, dad woke up sweating.He immediately called Nagaraj and Ravi and they rushed to Mysore and brought dad and mom back to Bangalore with them. Dad consulted a doctor and was told that he had suffered a mild heart attack.
We immediately decided that dad and mom would shift to Bangalore. I rushed to Bangalore to see dad. Around this time, there was a vacant flat in the 3rd floor of South End Apartments where Ravi and Sandhya were staying.Before I went to Bangalore, Ravi was trying hard to contact the owner.On the day I landed, he managed to speak to the owner who told him to talk to a person in Bangalore and gave the contact number.
After seeing dad, Ravi and I met this person.Ravi said we were interested in buying the flat ( though I had no intention to buy a flat when I left for Bangalore). We struck a deal at Rs.225/sq ft and the person said " Hand over the money and take the keys".
I was in a daze.I said we would need to prepare an Agreement and another 3 months after the Agreement to take a loan and then do the final purchase.
It was agreed that I would pay Rs.30000 in 10 days time and then we would have the Sale Agreement.I didn't have Rs.30000 with me.Nagaraj, Ravi and my father -in-law helped out and the Agreement got done. Next I wrote to my company and they were kind enought to sanction an interest free loan of Rs.50000. I approached HDFC and got another loan of Rs.50000 and drew out whatever was eligible from my PF account.
We signed the documents in December 1984 and I was now the proud owner of a 820 sq ft flat in Bangalore.
Meanwhile , more momentous things were happening in the country.I was travelling in Trichy on 31st Oct 1984 when I got the news of Indira Gandhi's assassination.By a curious coincidence, I happened to be in Trichy when Sanjay Gandhi died in an airplane accident in June 1980.
All hotels immediately shut down and train and bus services were withdrawn.
There were no services to Madras and so I took a decision to travel further south to Tuticorin .Wrong decision.Things were equally bad here too.Thankfully, I got a room in a hotel but no offices were open.On 2nd Nov evening, I caught a train back to Madras.This train came up to Chingleput and was then detained again since the mmob would not allow the train to proceed till the funeral was over. The funeral got completed on 3rd Nov evening and then the train was allowed to go and I reached Madras on 3rd Nov night.
Sachin was now going to school regularly. I would drop him off in the morning on my way to Office and Sudha would pick him up in her moped in the afternoon.
My father-in -law had retired from service and had moved to Bangalore.He was staying temporarily at his ancestral house in Srirampuram and was looking to buy land and build his house.
Sudha and I were gearing up to now admit Sandeep in the same school ( DAV) as Sachin.This was another challenge and I had nightmares about spending another 10 nights in the queue as I did for Sachin.I was , in fact, dreading March 1985 when this exercise would commence.
What really happened? Watch out for my next blog which will detail the events of 1985.
It was the year when the World Heart Congress was held in New Delhi and the conference decided that salt was the single largest contributor to heart disease.
On reading this, I decided to stop having extra salt at the dining table---- a decision that I've stuck to till now.
I was 33 years old now and had not had much opportunity to indulge in physical exercises. I decided that I would touch my toes a 100 times in the bathroom before my bath and straightaway started.
Sudha and I were now looking at buying an apartment in Chennai though we had no idea how we would rustle up the money.We saw one 1000 sq ft apartment on Coats Road in Chennai ( near the Raghavendra Mutt). The going rate was Rs.140/sq ft, making the flat value Rs.1,40,000.We decided this was too expensive. We saw another apartment on TTK Road ( then Mowbray's Road), just behind Palki Restaurant.The going rate for a 1000 sq ft apartment was Rs.240/sq ft and I had even gone and paid the advance of Rs.10000.Then I had second thoughts and went to the builder and took back my advance.
Dad and mom were by now settled in Mysore and would occasionally drop in to Bangalore and to Chennai.Sometime in early October, dad woke up sweating.He immediately called Nagaraj and Ravi and they rushed to Mysore and brought dad and mom back to Bangalore with them. Dad consulted a doctor and was told that he had suffered a mild heart attack.
We immediately decided that dad and mom would shift to Bangalore. I rushed to Bangalore to see dad. Around this time, there was a vacant flat in the 3rd floor of South End Apartments where Ravi and Sandhya were staying.Before I went to Bangalore, Ravi was trying hard to contact the owner.On the day I landed, he managed to speak to the owner who told him to talk to a person in Bangalore and gave the contact number.
After seeing dad, Ravi and I met this person.Ravi said we were interested in buying the flat ( though I had no intention to buy a flat when I left for Bangalore). We struck a deal at Rs.225/sq ft and the person said " Hand over the money and take the keys".
I was in a daze.I said we would need to prepare an Agreement and another 3 months after the Agreement to take a loan and then do the final purchase.
It was agreed that I would pay Rs.30000 in 10 days time and then we would have the Sale Agreement.I didn't have Rs.30000 with me.Nagaraj, Ravi and my father -in-law helped out and the Agreement got done. Next I wrote to my company and they were kind enought to sanction an interest free loan of Rs.50000. I approached HDFC and got another loan of Rs.50000 and drew out whatever was eligible from my PF account.
We signed the documents in December 1984 and I was now the proud owner of a 820 sq ft flat in Bangalore.
Meanwhile , more momentous things were happening in the country.I was travelling in Trichy on 31st Oct 1984 when I got the news of Indira Gandhi's assassination.By a curious coincidence, I happened to be in Trichy when Sanjay Gandhi died in an airplane accident in June 1980.
All hotels immediately shut down and train and bus services were withdrawn.
There were no services to Madras and so I took a decision to travel further south to Tuticorin .Wrong decision.Things were equally bad here too.Thankfully, I got a room in a hotel but no offices were open.On 2nd Nov evening, I caught a train back to Madras.This train came up to Chingleput and was then detained again since the mmob would not allow the train to proceed till the funeral was over. The funeral got completed on 3rd Nov evening and then the train was allowed to go and I reached Madras on 3rd Nov night.
Sachin was now going to school regularly. I would drop him off in the morning on my way to Office and Sudha would pick him up in her moped in the afternoon.
My father-in -law had retired from service and had moved to Bangalore.He was staying temporarily at his ancestral house in Srirampuram and was looking to buy land and build his house.
Sudha and I were gearing up to now admit Sandeep in the same school ( DAV) as Sachin.This was another challenge and I had nightmares about spending another 10 nights in the queue as I did for Sachin.I was , in fact, dreading March 1985 when this exercise would commence.
What really happened? Watch out for my next blog which will detail the events of 1985.
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