She was there, with us, in the family when I was born, when my siblings were born and also when our children were born; she was there with us through the vicissitudes of life for over 50 years, when our parents and a few others passed away, when we got married and when some of … Read more
“Ellam Avan thalaile podu’ was an oft- repeated catch phrase of Kunju athai, who was neither ‘kunju’ petit nor my ‘athai’, aunty. . It was her colloquial way of expressing ‘leave everything to God’ or “unload all your burden on him” though the literal meaning is ‘throw everything on His head’. Here “HE” for her, … Read more
Fear and suspicion strike and strangulate weak minds, effortlessly. ‘Banian’ uncle came for night halt, a month after Kakkamma’s stealthy disappearnce with Kunjunni and looked hear and there as though she was still hiding,somewhere in a corner. ” I will not go near the backyard, to be on the safe side” he said thrice voluntarily, before … Read more
Kakkamma and Kochunni “Amma! Don’t hand over my baby sister to her” I yelled springing from the bed, glancing with half-opened eyes the huge woman standing in a corner, ready to grab the baby from my mother’s hands. “She is Poothana who has come to kill babies, crossing the hillocks and railway track” “You … Read more
“Oru oorilea oru kuruvi irunthutham” “Hmm” “Antha kuruvi enna sethutham?” “Kuppaiyai kuppayi nontitham.Appoa ? —” Patti, an expert story teller, makes a pause. The child’s anxiety is awaken and its luminescent eyes open wide gazing eagerly at the old woman’s tooth-less mouth. “Appoa?’ The sweet little one echoes grandma’s question, in its inimitable style: Patti … Read more
Chapter 1 Those of you who are elderly gentlemen ( all old men, including me of course, are gentlemen!) would have heard about delirium and dementia, the mild and chronic forms of organic disorders generally found in older people. I have none of these problems, although, at times , I pretend to suffer from … Read more
Sulaiman was my father’s cart- man. His association with my family started in a dramatic way, when he was caught red handed by one of our hotel employees, while trying to jump over the compound wall, to escape from the punishment for non-payment of his hotel bill. He was then a lad of ten or … Read more
– A hilarious story on a sleeper- class journey As young ones enjoy disobeying their parents, we too derive pleasure in doing exactly opposite to what our children want us to do. Otherwise why should I prefer to travel by sleeper class, despite my children’s standing instruction to travel by air, wherever feasible, otherwise by … Read more
THE TRUTH ‘Anna, Anantha kodi namskaram’. I heard someone greeting from behind, while boarding the aircraft at London’s Heathrow airport. Anantha kodi is a huge figure. How to handle such large number? I turned back to find a middle aged man with a pumpkin head and drumstick body, glittering from top to toe coming … Read more
asn’t he got up from the bed yet, your dull-headed son?’, enquired Dr.P.G..Iyer for the fifth time, since morning but his wife Kunja didn’t care to reply. The ‘dull-head’ was none other than his eldest son, Dr.P.G.K a senior geologist, with more than 100 papers in leading scientific journals, to his credit. It was … Read more