I wonder what memories people have of achi/thatha's house.
For me-
Spending holiday in a huge house with garden to play cricket, mottai madi for flying kite,dining table for playing table tennis,whole house for ice boys(have i spelt it right?).
Getting up early in the morning to play cricket ,playing table tennis very late at night annoying thatha.
Yogan anna's nellikai/sorbuth sale.
Prem's heroics with kite and manja.
Card games.I can't remember but someone used to cry for not being included.
Atleast one person getting hurt during the holidays.
Missi amma's house/dog.
Watching Bioscope without thatha's permission and being chased back to the house.
Breakage of things due to our naugtiness.For example we broke the light while playing cricket(i think it was prem) and achi tried to defend us against thatha by saying that it fell on it's own.
Thatha's way of buying things-ball,pencil,dress wholesale and cutting costs.
Hindi classes somewhere nearby, dropped by dhanam periyamma( I guess she was the brightest of the lot).
Also coached by dhanam periyamma the day before my entrance exam at PS school,Mylapore.
Bangalore periyamma's arrival (usually after our arrival) and the Arun ice cream treats(chocobar on special occasions).
Yogan anna,sujju bringing latest posh things like skate shoes.
Renuka akka getting special attention(eg. going to movies) from everyone as being the only female child,I guess it didn't bother me unlike Yogan anna.
Bangalore periyappa sitting in the front room lecturing about burma bazaar.
Egmore periyappa bringing tv when the one at thata's house broke down.
Lunch served by bangalore periyamma with competition for the special plate.
"Namam" ritual for people guessing the wrong sex for the news reader on tv.
Yogan anna and rajkumar anna forming an alliance and talking about "adult" things
Mama's treat of taking us to cinema(Rajnikanth starrer-Thaivedu )followed by balu hotel parotta.
Crying in the stairs when everyone leaves at the end of holiday, .
Final goodbye at Parrys bus stand when we take the 21 N bus to mylapore and others taking bus no 9,10 or 17 to egmore.
No feeling of discrimination and a sense of one big family.
I hope our next generation will grow up with such positive feelings and experiences.
Ezhil Anand
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Obama
People all over the world talk about a black president in a white majority country,which has a negative history of slavery and skewed civil liberties.
But I always argue that in india, inspite of it's negatives, had at one point a Muslim president and a sikh prime minister in a hindu majority country.
But I always argue that in india, inspite of it's negatives, had at one point a Muslim president and a sikh prime minister in a hindu majority country.
Hello
Hi Arun
Well done and hope we can continue the good work you started.Good to see big brother Yoganna and Raj's posting.
I haven't seen the photo displayed and can't recognise the girls!!
Will post in detail later.
Ezhil
Well done and hope we can continue the good work you started.Good to see big brother Yoganna and Raj's posting.
I haven't seen the photo displayed and can't recognise the girls!!
Will post in detail later.
Ezhil
Saturday, November 8, 2008
Friday, November 7, 2008
Black Dog and New Mohan
This is not Led Zeppelin's Black Dog or about the old actor Mohan.
It's about the "Black Dog" we consumed in a place called "New Mohan". An interesting name for a place so old. It all started when Yoga, Sujju, Ezhil and I decided to go for "a tipple" on a quiet Saturday night, just when all bars close for the day.
Sujju at the driver's seat was "hell-bent" on getting to an "ambi-place". A term we'd coined on the fly to describe places that are plush, where the waiters greet you to your seat and serve food with garnish. It was past 11 and I said "Sujju, forget it, just go where Yoga is asking us to"; and Sujju obliged.
New Mohan was not bad from outside, the inside was a different story. We were guided through a small space open to the sky and then to a stairway (to heaven ?), the entire place was kind of slippery because of rain (or someone's puke ?), though I still hope it was the former.
I carefully climbed up the stairs, taking special care not to touch anything around. We were on top and were greeted by a cat munching some chicken bones left over by other "tipplers". The place had some kind of a courtyard and we could feel the mild drizzle. Surrounding the courtyard were wet tables and chairs with a lot more chicken bones and left overs from other "guests". To top things up there was a clothsline running on top of most tables with underwears and baniyans fluttering in the breeze. I was searching for Sujju to tell him how wrong I was to urge him to dump the "ambi-place" hunt, and how right he was in being obstinate about finding one. But Sujju was not following us, he had apparently got a call from office and was attending it below.
It's about the "Black Dog" we consumed in a place called "New Mohan". An interesting name for a place so old. It all started when Yoga, Sujju, Ezhil and I decided to go for "a tipple" on a quiet Saturday night, just when all bars close for the day.
Sujju at the driver's seat was "hell-bent" on getting to an "ambi-place". A term we'd coined on the fly to describe places that are plush, where the waiters greet you to your seat and serve food with garnish. It was past 11 and I said "Sujju, forget it, just go where Yoga is asking us to"; and Sujju obliged.
New Mohan was not bad from outside, the inside was a different story. We were guided through a small space open to the sky and then to a stairway (to heaven ?), the entire place was kind of slippery because of rain (or someone's puke ?), though I still hope it was the former.
I carefully climbed up the stairs, taking special care not to touch anything around. We were on top and were greeted by a cat munching some chicken bones left over by other "tipplers". The place had some kind of a courtyard and we could feel the mild drizzle. Surrounding the courtyard were wet tables and chairs with a lot more chicken bones and left overs from other "guests". To top things up there was a clothsline running on top of most tables with underwears and baniyans fluttering in the breeze. I was searching for Sujju to tell him how wrong I was to urge him to dump the "ambi-place" hunt, and how right he was in being obstinate about finding one. But Sujju was not following us, he had apparently got a call from office and was attending it below.
Yoga tried to make things better by pushing the bones off the table and wiping the chairs dry. And so we sat down - just teasing Yoga about the kind of place he's got us to. But deep inside I knew that this feeling of unease would not last long.
Finally we were settled and decided to go for the costliest they had there, just to avoid any kind of discomfort the next day. The "child laboured" kids who served us for that night got us something called as Black Dog. We "downed" a few glasses and in the state of euphoria induced by the Dog we discussed world politics, Richard Dawkins, etc. The euphoria made me completely oblivious to the surrounding ambience. In fact, I was so "comfortable" with the place that I started to contribute to the mess by throwing a few chicken bones and stuff over my head and behind. What happened next is a little hazy, but I know we reached home at about 3:30 AM(thanks to Sujju's skillful driving). Only to wake up with a splitting headache the next day. Black Dog was Bad Dog.Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Yoo Aroon ... Way to go...
that was great aroon.... ( As per numerology ) great thought from a great guys...
lets keep this place rocking and pour in lots of our positive achievements and feelings....
lets keep this place rocking and pour in lots of our positive achievements and feelings....
Saturday, November 1, 2008
The Triumph !
What are these kids here celebrating ? Victory ? . Of LIFE over death, GOOD over bad, JOY over sorrow ...or maybe... all of these. LIFE has indeed been GOOD and JOYous !. Considering that we were a bunch of cousins born during the semi-socialist India of the sixties and seventies, I'm sure we were lucky too. In a country where human life is abundant and hence dispensable, we were the lucky ones that survived(so far) all forms of "casual terminations" that happen all the time.....from the millions of road fatalities, the quick and easy electrocutions during rain, the sudden floods, the unexpected tsunamis, the ever threatening bird flues, the current terror attacks, etc.. The list goes on and on. This blog is not about the frail nature of life but rather the Triumph of life itself. About life which had its origins in "36 Venkatachalam Street", a place where we'd spent our childhood holidays, a place that brings forth fond memories of innocent, unforgettable joy.
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