My school friends chapter 4

“Hay, — onnum illa, nothing- much, nothing— important.” With these words, manicured meticulously to appear as a musing but clearly intended to be heard by his wife, Madhava Menon Masher ( for Master ), my class teacher was pacing the polished floor of his bedroom,  when his wife was reading the Ramayanam book, with utmost … Read more

My school friends chapter 3

    Back to Govindan’s dad.  Nair, in the cash counter could hear the dough maker’s taunts and shouted, ” I will come now to mash your head “. Then he thought for a moment, realized that it was too harsh  a punishment, which the defaulter didn’t deserve. Then he thought for another moment when … Read more

Bye, Nair. 'kaanam' we'll meet – an obituary

E.P. Balakrishnan Nair, my bachelor room -mate and an ex-colleague passed away yesterday , I was sad to learn. We lived under the same roof , for ten years, along with a few  more  boys, all from Kerala and worked in the same  Research Institute, at Hyderabad. I named the house as ‘ Panchavady’, not because it was a hermitage or any … Read more

My schoolmates- chapter 2

Autumn leaves . ‘Karuppu’ is dark shade. My friend’s name too was that. Probably he would have been named after his skin color. His face was defaced by the imprints left by the havoc of small pox; his one eye was short and one foot unsteady. He was short, shapeless. Despite all these physical deformations, … Read more

My schoolmates chapter 1

My schoolmates -part 1. The breeze created waves on the fully-grown, ready to reap, glistening golden paddy ears, grown abundantly in the vast expanse of land, towards my left, towards my right, wherever my eyes turned to. I was on my way to my school,’ Municipal Elementary School’,  ‘padathil’ school for all of us, as … Read more

The Golconda Hakim

Due to the last- minute booking, I could get only a top berth in the Cochin mail. There were two ‘pious’ people on the lower bergth, middle aged, healthy; pious, going by the parallel and horizontal marks on their foreheads! Their topic of discussion hovered around the food offered as prasadam and I could safely … Read more

My friend Govinda, Govinda

Govinda, Govinda! From my Blog – the story of a friend. “Don’t forget God,” while leaving for Vaikuntom, the abode of a Lord Vishnu, my friend’s father advised his pet son, “utter always the divine name of Govinda. That will do you good” A simple advise, well-intended. But my friend , ‘Govinda, Govinda’ took his … Read more