I AM A TEACHER....FEEDBACK !!

I am a teacher ! I am a human being too ! In traditional Indian household,  by and large teachers and  police men get same respect. If any child behaves badly they are told they would be handed over to the policemen or a complaint shall be lodged with the teacher. By and large children develop a sort of negative feeling towards these professions. Imagine in a class of thirty odd students everyone's future goal is to become a doctor, engineer, software expert, scientist even Non Resident Indian but no one wants to become a teacher.That is the level of social respect attached to this profession.

Despite this there are some very pleasant moments when the students past as well as present along with their parents or close family members interact with you on a one to one basis.

Take my own case, after choosing to accept my job in Coimbatore, I travelled from my native place to seek the blessings of my teacher Ganga. She was my role model as she used to be a strict but  affectionate teacher who showed great deal of empathy to under privileged and downtrodden in the class. At the same time she as well made each one of us very comfortable in her class and wherever we went along with us.

Our meeting took place in her home in a very posh area near sector seventeen in Chandigarh. As her husband was a senior administrator in the government she had that quarters allocated to their family. She could sense that I would be intimidated by such a grandiose set up. So I was welcomed extra warmly and made comfortable. She went through my appointment letter which I offered voluntarily to show her. She was happy which I could see from her facial reaction as there were frequent smiles. Then she offered me a valuable suggestion. She advised me to make the class room teaching from being monologue to dialogue. She also advised me to be a seeker of feedback frequently !! After she wished me well, I took leave of her fully satisfied.

Coimbatore, despite an alien environment for a Punjabi girl like me became a cake walk with Ganga Teachers blessing. I made it a point to talk to as many students as possible in English and Hindi. In that process picking up Tamil words !

Tina was one such student who was the darling student in my class 4 standard. The other day there was some discussion of local food and children's preference etc. Most of the boys and girls started telling Idli, Dosa, Uppuma, Parotha, Poori etc. as their favourite food. When the turn of Tina came she told " Bholi". I was not aware of that dish. I asked Tina to describe the dish. All that I could learn from her was that it was a sweet dish and flat like " roti" in shape. I could not persuade her to elaborate the same further. I left it like that and left as the class for that day ended.

Three days latter, I was sitting in the staff room correcting some assignments. I saw a shadow and Tina was standing near the door. She came to me and handed over a foil roll. She told me that she had asked her mother to prepare Bholi for me. There was a small note from her mother Mrs. Shantha narrating that Tina always narrated all that transpired in the class and she requested me to accept the snacks Bholi. There was another page the method of preparation.

Who told that teaching is a dull monotonous profession. With good students like Tina everyday is an interesting experience !!

I AM A TEACHER..... ADDICTION TO ELECTRONIC GADGETS

This is the age of electronics !! World has shrunk on account of world wide web ! We have I Phone, Android phone, I Pad, Tablet, smart phone and what not to keep everyone glued on to the screen. We wake up looking at the screen and doze off staring the same. There are households where parents, grand parents are glued to TV / Laptop screens and children are glued to their cell phones or I pad . There is a common joke that to make the family to assemble for a Pooja (prayer) or lunch or dinner the best mode of action is to stop the Wi-Fi immediately.

As a teacher, I always have an issue with children who are heavily addicted to the Screen. By and large all of them suffer from serious attention deficiency disorder !! As the screen shots on every electronic gadgets including TV change so fast may be a fraction of a second. This happens all too fast for any of us to even understand and react. Whereas, whatever is written on a black board  or modern white boards which adorn the class rooms or books which are expected to be read by the students are static images. They will change their form, shape, design only when someone puts in efforts to understand and assimilate to move further.

This frustrates the child and they become bored with the assigned work in class room, while doing home work. This makes progress of cognitive skills to get stunted  resulting in poor class room participation, lower academic scores and what not.

Children who are stuck to their play stations and who fail to show up in the play ground have obese physique. Due to non participation in games they have poor interpersonal skills as well as lower team spirit. They are bound to become loners as they grow up in life. Their ability to comprehend and appreciate art and culture too becomes a question mark !

Last week we had a departmental meeting. One of the suggestion was to go for various WhatsApp groups in each class for assigning home work, house activities, art & cultural activities. As the idea came from the computer science teacher every one was growing over board and agreeing to the same in order to avoid too much writing work in students diaries. I put my foot down and told those present that a teacher was expected to write in the diary and parents are expected to check the diary. I also pointed out that rather than weaning the students away from cell phones WhatsApp groups would encourage them to use more cell phones.

Principal understood my point and shot down the suggestion. Don't you agree with me !!!

Please keep all these gadgets away from your children. Let them read books, play real physical games and meet one another in person not through smart phones !!

I AM A TEACHER....WALK THE TALK !!

" Parents are the first Teachers and Teachers are the first parents ! " Thus goes an old saying ! How true it is !

I often get to meet parents who have issues with school timings, attendance, health issues of their wards, domestic issues,  marks & grade on a few tests or project, as if their ward's life depends on that eternally and what not. All issues have direct or indirect effect on the students and their performance in school. This directly has a bearing on their wards long term performance. All issues can be solved by mutual discussion. But generally this is not the case. Parents choose to compare and try to make every thing a bitterly fought out battle. This naturally puts every teacher off.

Take the typical case of Pink's mom who has issues with Chintu's mom as both of them are in the same kitty and party circle. They have ego issues which they try to bring and project the same on their children. Whenever we have parents teachers association ( PTA) meeting Pinky's mom would not be satisfied with seeing Pinky's progress card, project works, school works etc. She would want to see all of that of Chintu. When objected she would accuse the whole teacher fraternity of partiality, nepotism, favouritism and what not ! During one of the PTA we had to seek the intervention of the Principal who had to show her place firmly but politely !

Another serious matter is parents telling lies to save their wards. Many a time they oversleep due to late night parties, gambling sessions or some issues at home. On account of that the children would miss school. Next day we would get letter declaring the death of grand mother or grand father or beloved pet. Rupal once brought a note from her father stating that she missed her class as her pet parrot had died. I just forwarded the note to Principal's office.

I took time to meet Rupal during lunch break. I told her that I felt very for her pet's death. She did not react and kept staring at the floor. I told her to not to neglect her food and keep going ahead with her lunch. Then casually I asked her whether I could visit her home during weekend to see the parrot's photos. Rupal burst into tears and told me not to do so. She also told me that she had no pets at home. Her parents had gone for some party the previous night and returned home late. They did not get up early to prepare Rupal for school as the servant maid too was absent that day.

The letter of excuse was a blatant lie to cover up !!!

I AM A TEACHER....RESPECT FOR ELDERS !!

" Children are reflection of parents " can anyone deny this ! Children have very impressionable minds. Their minds absorb both good and bad with ease and reflect the same at their own convenience whenever they want. As I told you earlier, I have children come and talk to me during the class as well as during lunch breaks. Sometime Parents Teacher meetings too give me a chance to interact with the whole family. I cherish these interactions as I feel them as the icing on the cake of my profession which is very noble !

Kumaresh was one such boy who happened to be in my second standard class. A prankster who chose to sit in the back benches. He was naughty to the core. To control him was a nightmare. He was always up with some prank or the other. In a class of 35 students with even six to rows were needed to accommodate the entire strength. Good or bad Kumaresh used to be in the last bench of any line. I talked to their class teacher Kamala who taught them English. She also had the same feeling as in one of her class Kumaresh was found to make cat calls which was beyond anyone's imagination.

As an International school, caning and other physical punishments were big NO NO in our school. So with Kamala's tacit approval, I moved Kumaresh to the first row. Thus most of the class questions were directed at him. This put him into alert mode all the time though, he always failed to answer. But over a period of time he started paying attention to the class activities. With Kamala's help, I started checking his class as well as homework note books routinely.

It was found that most of the pages were either left blank or had unwanted doodle in them scribbled without any aim or motto. I took this up with Kamala and started writing on the Diary which Kumaresh was expected to show his parents. That too were never checked by parents or corrected. Then I took the matter up with Principal. As advised by him Kumaresh parents were called for a meeting.

Meanwhile, one day Kamala came to see me in between the classes and told me that she wanted to talk to me alone. We took time out and met in the canteen. I was told that Kumaresh's mother had called and she was abusive during the telephonic conversation. She also told me that I was being referred by their family in their household as "Hindi Wali" a form of derogatory reference especially about someone speaking Hindi language. I told Kamala to ignore that and asked her when they would visit the Principal. For that Kamala told me that they were avoiding the meeting.

But the visit to meet the Principal could not be dodged more than a week. On a Friday the whole family of Kumaresh were in school. His mother decked up in Kanjeevaram saree and heavy perfume was present. She was looking more like a walking jewellery shop. Kumaresh's father was there following her behind. He was also seen wearing thick bracelet, a few chains, ring in every finger and his safari suit buttons were left open intentionally probably revealing his broad chest and thick hair on that.

I was in my class and could not avoid watching them from a distance on account of the heavy and eddy perfumes. Kumaresh was looking jittery as he would be called to the Principal's office. As anticipated a few minutes later there was a slip brought in by the peon asking me and Kamala to attend the meeting in the Principal's office. Kamala was in the staff room so she had seen the slip as she had initialled on that.

I marched to the Principal's office and proactively taken Kumaresh with me. I reassured him not to worry and cry.  I asked him to wait outside the principal's office. As I entered the office Kamala was already there seated. I greeted the parents with Namasthe and sat there in one end of the table. The initial conversation was in English for my benefit as I did not understand Tamil. Then the talk moved in Tamil despite frequent interruptions by the Principal to speak in English. Then Kumaresh's mother started in Tamil and repeatedly stated Hindi Wali twice. I got up and told the Principal that I neither get to understand anything spoken in Tamil nor get to contribute. I wanted to be excused from the meeting.

The Principal told me to wait for a minute and asked to me usher in Kumaresh. Kumaresh walked in reluctantly. He was asked by The Principal what was the issue and why was he making mischief in the classes. Kumaresh said that he had no issues and stated that after moving to the front bench he was enjoying the classes and school better. He was asked to leave and The Principal told the parents to keep their mouth shut and listen to her advice.

The Principal told in very strong manner that they could keep their political ideology at home. But should not play a bad influence on the child's psychology. As they were referring to a teacher
as  " Hindi Wali" the child lost respect for the teacher and started misbehaving in the class. Once the teacher reached out to the student there is a drastic change in his behaviour and he was trying to become a better student. But the political ideology of parents, hatred for a language at home was not giving encouraging signal resulting in disturbances in the child's mind !!

Words big or small, good or bad have great influence in Child's mind. Let us inculcate respect, affect and empathy in them !!

   

I AM A TEACHER.....NUTRITIOUS SNACKS / MEALS !!

I am a teacher ! It is not destiny that brought me to this profession. I am genuinely interested in Children and their welfare. Therefore, when I got a chance after a M.A in Hindi to teach in a school in Tamil Nadu to be precise Coimbatore  I jumped at that opportunity. I hail from Punjab and used to live in a place near Himachal Pradesh. That area is supposed to be most beautiful and known as Shivalik Range on account of the mountainous terrain ! To move from that beautiful place to Coimbatore was a tough decision. I was many a time having second thought. But situation at
home and bleak chances of getting a good teaching job in my home town made me to grab this opportunity !

Here I am in an INTERNATIONAL school. In India anything and everything with a tag...NEW, IMPROVED and INTERNATIONAL sells. Be it Shampoo, Snacks or Biscuits. School is no different. But our school is indeed a international one with students from all over the world staying in a hostel of world class. The environment is maintained well with good manicured lawns, kitchen gardens, flower beds, shrubs which are periodically trimmed and pruned to make them appeal to every visitor's eyes. Probably one of the few educational institutions campuses which can boast of such a variety of trees apart from usual banana coconut trees which are native to Coimbatore.

I have been assigned to teach Hindi language from class one to five. Thus, I do not have any assigned class exclusively for me. So I move from class to the other every fifty minutes. I teach tiny tots to fairly grown up students of approximately twelve to thirteen years age. As this is a Co-educational school, I have both boys and girls in my classes. Though we have residential hostel facility mostly nearly 60% of our students are day scholars. They get picked up dropped by the school buses.

As a language teacher, you get to communicate with students very intimately and as people's rather pupil's person I get better chances to interact with students. In our school I have been assigned art activities. I train the students in Dramas and one act plays. Last Children's day my drama titled CHACHA NEHRU was an instant hit with all parents and students alike.

One of the duty assigned to me was to supervise children especially day scholars dining hall. They all get lunch break from 12 noon to 12.30 PM. Later for 30 minutes they get to visit library or meet any teachers in case of any doubt to clarify in the staff room. Therefore children tend to rush their lunch time and want to leave the food without eating the same fully, make the areas messy, try to snatch each other's lunch if they find anything interesting in other's lunch box. As a responsible teacher caring for the child's nutritional need as well as welfare I advise them to bring local snacks like Idli, Dosa, Parothas, Roti, Sambar Rice, Dall Rice etc. But I find most of the children bringing in their lunch box Bread & Jam, Extruded Heavily Flavored of a popular international brand, potato chips in pouches which has nothing but a few gram of chips and plenty of Nitrogen gas, left over cakes from birthday parties. I have no problem with any of these items. But the issue is all these sugary substances like cakes, jam etc.when fallen on the floor attract lot of flies. Our janitors have a nightmare latter.

Children without proper nutrition get later tired and fail to focus in class rooms. Another issue is mothers who are advising their children to take food from hostel as they are busy or preoccupied with other work like visiting gym, arranging kitty party at home at the neglect of their wards. Children come and confide in me as they can not cope up with hostel food when they are routinely used to domestic food.

So if you are sending your children to school please pack them nice power packed lunch full of nutrition. Your all other works can wait. Your child's future and health is in your hand !!

                                               I as a teacher have more to share    .......To be concluded ....

FAREWELL....

"Life is a series of meetings and partings!"

WOW what a philosophical statement ! But to live by this is too difficult. After all, one's emotion takes its toll. We all at times, get too attached to a place, people, life style & living conditions. Therefore moving out becomes all too difficult. Life has to go on and we certainly need to move on !

Farewell meetings are one way of making these partings less painful. It is a time to catch up and make any amends, if one wants to make for any errors committed, repair any damages committed to the way we have dealt with something or someone and to move on! One also gets to know the strength of the bondage one has formed over the years.

As someone, who has always believed in moving in and out of jobs, I have had the fortune of attending to many farewells. Farewells hosted by directors, managers, various departments and intimate friends. In some places the occasion would be used by colleagues to indulge in all and sundry food & drinks which one may not even like to see, leave alone tasting. Thus in one such farewell for me, I was forced to eat only fruits and drink some juice.Whereas my hosts had the fortune of starting with avian soup, followed by crab, shrimp, chicken, mutton and ended with beef.... accompanied by liberal dosage of drinks.

All at the cost of company money claiming that the party was for me to farewell elsewhere !

Recently, I had an unique farewell, hosted by my colleagues in Madagascar. In all, I had spent with them about twenty eight months. I had the fortune of recruiting, training and grooming most of them in their present job. Thus my bonding with them was unique. Despite a sever language
handicap , I could reach out to them because of the sincerity of my approach and fair dealing with one and all.

My departure, though planned and organised well by me was not informed to one & all down the line. It was kept as a closely guarded secret. Nearly a week before my departure, I had put up a notice announcing my departure as well as thanking everyone of them including union leaders, committee members and others. This came as a shock to most of them. The notice was put in Malagasy, French as well as English courtesy google translation !!

Whatever surplus to be disposed off, like plastic containers (which could be used as lunch boxes, a proud possession of most of the Malagasy workers), mugs, woolen clothing were handed over to a few of the workers. All other clothing, sweaters, caps, shoes, were also distributed to our gardeners, house maids and others. We wanted to travel lean, mean and hungry !

Two days before my departure, I saw committee members of my workers walking around with a bucket collecting money. A usual sight as the money used to be given out for any funeral expenses etc. As a token of involvement with them, I used to drop a few small notes in the bucket, probably only Indian doing out this among the dozen in our company.  This time around they did not come to me.I thought the Malagasy people have decided not approach me, as I was leaving them shortly !

The day before my departure, I was told by the HR head to be available around 3.30 PM in my office. By then my wife had come in the morning and took a round in the factory along with me in different sections to bid good bye to most of the staff as she knew many of them. When some of these girls become pregnant and want to eat something tangy like mango pickle, lemon rind, tamarind etc. they used to visit her without informing me. She always had ready pickles in our store room. Apart from sparing some, she would give them a few bananas and chocolates !!!

On the penultimate day by 3.30 PM when the production was going on in full swing and the Production Manager was under tremendous pressure to avert any disturbance to production, most of the workers joined in the packing hall. The Managing Director was called. In his presence glory of mine was told in Malagasy. The same was translated by one of the staff to my understanding !

I was immensely happy that a simple gesture on mine to greet each one in Malagasy by saying "Salama" was noticed and appreciated as an unique quality of mine. This would help me to do M.B.W ( Management By Walking around) and assess the situation of the work spot first hand !

A big memento was handed over to me highlighting Madagascar's mineral wealth with specimen pieces and past Kingdoms ! This was made possible by the contribution of every single worker who had placed four or five rupees per person. This now finds a proud place in the display shelf of my drawing room.

It was my turn to acknowledge and thank them.I thanked them for their co-operation, courtesy, contribution. I also requested them to be vigilant on keeping quality of the products.

I had a unique quality of being strict and tough on disciplinary issues. This non compromising nature  had hurt someone who was upset and not in talking term with me. Though the same would matter little to me on leaving Madagascar, I was not prepared to leave on that acrimonious note as I was always appreciative of her good contribution to work. I also wanted an harmonious departure by being good to everyone in the end.

I had a thank you note, greetings card for that person and the same were handed over to her in the presence of  all workers and management ! Every one became jubilant and happy on that gesture of mine! They all clapped  so loudly, In the end all is well that ends well !

I was glad that I had won the hearts of all the workers, staff, supervisors, Managers and Directors !!

ROLE OF ONE'S PLACE OF BIRTH & DOMICILE !!!

Does one's intelligence get affected by his / her place of Birth & Domicile ? Call me clannish, parochial and what not, but I firmly believe that the place of one’s birth, growing up, location of domicile all have great influence on his / her intelligence! Though I may not have necessary statistical data, analysis of variance to study and prove my hypothesis. But I firmly believe in this assumption.

It is not uncommon in Southern India, to hear commonly people talking about the higher level of intelligence of those who hail from the districts irrigated by rivers like Krishna, Godavari, Cauvery and Tamirabharani. It is a well known fact that civilization of human beings evolved and nurtured along the banks of perennial rivers.  All river valley civilizations whether it is Nile in Egypt, Sind river in India & Pakistan they nurtured great river valley civilizations. In the same manner Krishna, Godavari and Cauvery nurtured civilizations in South India.

These delta regions proved to be the cradle for arts, culture, science and what not! Fortunately, I had the opportunity to live as well as travel in this delta for a long time. After that I, have confidence to conclude, without an iota of doubt that one’s intelligence certainly gets affected by his / her place of birth and area of domicile.

There used to be a folk tale in Thirunelveli district. Kattabomman who was a king in the district wanted to build a palace. He wanted to choose a suitable place. He was going in the forest along with his hunting dogs which were chasing one hare. At a particular place the hare stopped. Turned back and stared at the ferocious chasing dogs. It stood to its ground. Kattabomman was impressed with what was happening in front of him. He chose that particular spot as his palace ground and constructed his palace. He was undefeatable by the British against whom he waged a war. He fell to them because of the betrayal of his brother. His palace can be found in a village known by the name Panchalamkurichi.

This story proves the point that a location and its soil have much more to offer in terms of valor as much as it has to offer in terms of intelligence.

If you travel along the river Cauvery or Tambrabarani in Tamil Nadu or along the river Krishna or Godavari in Andhra Pradesh you will encounter villages which have consistently produced some of the best brains in terms of academic achievements, artists, writers, philosophers, scholars and even industrialists. Some of the leading Industrial houses in Tamil Nadu like TVS, India Cements, Royal Enfield, Dinathanthi, Saravana Stores etc. all have their humble beginnings from the banks of the river Tambrabarani. It is not a tall claim to say that Godavari and Krishna banks in Andhra gave birth to many stalwarts in the field of arts and culture.

Though a vegetarian, I had the bad experience of shopping for vegetables in Talatamaty, Antananarivo markets in Madaascar regularly during my stay in Madaascar.  It was a common scene to find birds like Chicken and ducks getting slaughtered on the road side by vendors. The birds used to be allowed to stand without getting tied up or tied to one another. The birds would be so docile and waiting for their end without even fluttering their wings.

When we used to live in Malawi, we used to keep the frozen sachet of milk to get thawed.  There were days, when I had seen a cat sitting on the rocking chair relaxing. As soon as it saw me in the morning, it used to escape via the kitchen window which inadvertently was left in open condition. Not a single day it had attempted to touch or spill the milk from the sachet left for thawing.

I used to extrapolate and wonder what would have been the fate of the pack if it was an Indian cat!!

There are towns in India associated with tricky and naughty individuals who are known for their criticism, sarcasam & caustic commnets...probably because of the water they drink, air they breathe make them to inherit these traits!!

Let us choose our place of domicile with great care as we have no role to play in the place of birth  !!!

MILK............

MILK ………..

Probably most of our days start with the very first activity of cutting open a pouch or sachet of milk and then setting it to boil. This is followed by the preparation of a sweet, strong coffee or tea to set the mood for the day right! Like it or not milk has been associated with our live from a long time. Whether one is vegetarian, non-vegetarian or vegan…lacto or what not…. everyone needs the morning shot to set the tune right!

In India mostly everyone depends on pasteurized milk and packed in sachet of polythene ( LDPE) to start their day! This milk is Toned milk with 3% fat and 8.5% Solids non fat. People who are health conscious go for low or no fat skimmed milk. Others who have large families and want to set good curd or want their coffee / tea to be thick with rich body want to use full cream milk!

There used to be days when buffaloes used to be brought right in front of the house in Chennai. A decoy calf used to be carried by the cattle owner on his shoulder. The decoy used to be made with the skin of a calf generally male calf and stuffed with straw or some lighter material. The dummy calf used to be placed in front of the buffalo and salt water would be sprinkled on its skin. The mother buffalo would start licking the calf. It would be thinking that it is in the company of its calf and it would be milked by the Sheppard fully.

The buyer of the milk would think that he is getting a great deal as he is getting fresh unadulterated milk, but he would not know that the milkman who had brought water in the pretext of washing udder of the buffalo had passed more than 50% the same to the milking pail !

In other parts of India people visited “ Thapela” cattle sheds to collect fresh milk.

Milk is given by the cow to feed its calf. But mankind has created “milk replacer “which is much cheaper than fresh milk and started feeding the calf with the same. Even in developing countries calves especially the male ones are sent to slaughter houses giving much trauma and shock to the cow.  In theory “Surplus Milk” which after feeding the calf should come to our dining table. But in actual practice what is looted from the rightful share of the calf reaches our dining table!

When a baby is to be weaned from his / her mother in about six or seven months of age the first and probably the best alternative for him / her is cow’s milk. This Milk sustains the growth of the baby till he / she graduates to solid food and supplements the solid food when he / starts growing.

When a boy gets married under Hindu tradition the couple is fed milk and fruit as welcome gesture by the bride’s mother when they step in as couple in her home.  Milk which indicates the well being and surplus nature of economy is used ceremoniously to wash the groom’s feet! On the first night the bride enters the chamber of bride groom with a special vessel containing milk and offers the same to the groom before the consummation of marriage!

In rich households in Northern belt of India-in states like, Punjab. Haryana and UP it is common to find people indulging in hot Milk with dry fruit in night which helps in the consumer to have good sleep. Milk also acts as a convalescent food when one becomes sick.

In Southern India, when someone dies after the mortal remains are offered to flame for cremation. The next day milk is taken to the cremation ground and bones are collected in that vessel. In certain communities of South India when a lady becomes vidow because of the death of the demise of her spouse, she would remove her manalsutra on the thirteenth day. The mangal sutra would be on removal immediately dipped and left in Milk !!

Thus Milk from our birth to death has become an integral part and parcel of our life!!

 

KALLIDAIKURICHI……THEKKATHI KOMA….(SOUTHSIDE GOMATHI ):-

When we moved to Kallidaikurichi in 1972, we children made plenty of friends in the street where we lived, as well as in the school we used to attend. My father was busy with his work and he was mostly confined to his office. He had an old friend who used to work with him elsewhere, when he started his career. They became constant companion. My mother was all by herself and had a genuine need for a good company. The same was needed to go out for shopping of groceries, vegetables, to visit temples as well as to get accustomed to the local customs, traditions and manners. One might wonder what is so special for a Tamilian to learn about special traditions and manners in a village. Kallidaikurichi was way different from other places as people communicate in very different manner. One need not say “YES” or “NO” everything had special nasal sound emanating from the lips. People were addressed according to their caste and community. Always one needed to keep special distance to maintain. If you are naïve you would be taken for a toss in a bargain!

This void was filled up by Thekkathi Koma. She was, may be a decade younger to my mom! She was fair, tall, slender in built, had long jet black hair. Her face was lit with two big eyes and big Kum Kum on the forehead. God had blessed her with good figure but forgotten to take good care of when he went to make her teeth. Her front top three teeth were badly formed. They were protruding like a coconut grater. She was probably god sent gift to my mother, as she used to accompany her whenever my mother had to go to the river, temple, shopping as well as to visit others to develop common friends by calling on new people etc.

My mother has a unique quality which we admire. Anyone who becomes her friend confide in her everything, personal, professional, serious matters, trivia all come to her knowledge in no time. In the case of Koma it was no different. Soon Koma started confiding in my mother all about her childhood, marriage, family life, financial condition of family etc. Thus my mother became de facto counselor for Koma .

Koma’s father was a professional cook who used to live in a village ten kilometers away from Kallidaikurich known as Veervanallur. He was blessed with four daughters. He had to arrange and settle the marriage of Koma with Shankararaman though he had no regular income, profession or occupation because of Koma’s family’s poverty. Shankarraman was totally dependent on his widowed sister for day to day existence.  The sister was married into a rich family in Sengottai .On the demise of her husband; the sister became a rich widow and started living with her brother supporting him. Shankarraman’s only occupation was producing babies.

Thus the household had nearly four children, I am saying nearly because one was in Komu’s stomach and ready for release.  Shankarraman had a face with big birth mark on his left hand chin and fore head which was in dark pink color. The same used to give a cruel appearance to him. But he was told to be very kind and courteous to his wife, sister and other family members.

Komu’s famous pass time was to prepare delicious food for the entire family and serve the same to their delight. Then visit our family. If my mother was available she would persuade my mother to accompany her for a film show. If my mother did not oblige there would be someone else to oblige and she would visit the tent theatre and return home. Thus the household was surviving by selling old brass vessels, some silver ware, some time some jewels etc. Thus the family had little realization that they were sailing in a sinking boat.

My mother slowly started counseling Koma and advised her to go for family planning as soon as she gave birth to the baby which was on the way anytime in the next three months. Koma was reluctant as they were longing for a boy. The family already had three daughters.  As luck would have its way the fourth issue was a son and the family agreed to go for family planning. Though Shankarraman was reluctant, he had to sign the papers as the doctor told categorically that Koma can longer withstand another child birth on account of precarious condition of her health.

Birth of a child, other growing children who were all entering school one after the other , false social commitments all were taking a toll on the families finance which was based on liquidating all that was available. Thus slowly all the vessels made up of brass, bronze etc. were moving out of the home in front of our own eyes.

Shankararaman was not having any inclination to work or venture into any business. His sister was also pampering him to glory. Thus the sole bread winner’s responsibility would at any time fall on Koma. My mother advised her to look for avenues to increase domestic - income by doing small and odd catering arrangements within the village. There was tough competition but her commitment to quality and service stood by her side. Shankarraman had now no other way other than helping her with small errands to begin with which later became full- fledged involvement.

For that year Diwali she made a lot of sweets and savories which started selling like hot cakes. This was followed by other orders like catering for Rotary International weekly meeting etc. Thus the family got stabilized.

We moved out of Kallidaikurichi and after my father’s retirement settled in Chennai. Once we had to attend a marriage event in Kodambakkam. As the groom was family friend for us for years we had to honor the invite and landed for the evening reception. There was a welcome banner pasted by KOMA SHANKAR Caterers. My mother was certain that the same must be Koma of Kallidaikurichi. We went to the dining area and there she was. Now an entrepreneur with gold rimmed glass, Kancheepuram silk saree, Dyed Hair neatly pleated, with Jasmine flower, her big typical kumkum on her forehead and bunch of gold chains on her neck, Titan Raga watch and all that. She came and hugged my mother and touched her feet. Explained that she moved to Chennai a decade back as Kallidaikurichi was not for growth she felt suffocated. In the city she was known for typical Thirunelveli style catering and a small mess catering exclusively to IT crowd attended to by her husband. 

Children were sent to the best colleges and life for all of them were made by the initiative of one single enterprising lady!!

PERSONAL TOUCH

PERSONAL TOUCH :-

Earlier days every family function was done with a difference….The difference of PERSONAL TOUCH!

 Our family marriage functions are all conducted mostly in very personal manner with each and everyone attending to the other person’s needs with a” personal touch”. Thus whether it is breakfast or lunch or dinner there would be someone personally going around the hall inviting both bride and bridegroom’s side repeatedly. The same person would ensure that elders are walked to the dining hall with proper escorts so that they do not trip or miss any step and fall. Once seated everyone would be served not just by the caterer in an impersonal manner, but personally attended to by some of the responsible group so that everyone’s need is attended to. Coffee with sugar, without sugar, tea, green tea, people who do not take tea or coffee they are given a choice of Bourn Vita or Horlicks etc.

There are Uncles who are called as “Santhegathu Sambar”..I mean someone who serves Sambhar so that in case of doubt the diner can have the same for idli in breakfast or with rice in lunch or dinner. There is a person called Ganga jalam mama (Jalam means water in pure elitist’s Tamil).One who serves drinking water. Now a day instead of jug full of water he places mini mineral water bottles. For elders  he helps them to pen the water bottle as their right hands may be dirty smeared with idly and chutney as they may be eating their breakfast.  

After they finish their breakfast/ lunch or snacks sessions there are family members to remind them to have their medicines. Some families even keep Para- medics in standby mode to help people to take insulin shot!

In Thirunelveli district of Tamil Nadu there is a saying in Tamil “Oil applied without proper pressure of the hand and the feast served without proper personal attentions both go waste”!  So every event be it small or big always happen with proper personal invitation, repeated welcome smile and attention by specially deputed family members.

In my family, my father being the youngest among all his siblings had the unenviable job of inviting every family member with invitation, gifts etc. by personally visiting all the family members. He used to take my mother and us to these sessions. Therefore I had learnt this from my childhood. My uncle would depute children like us to attend to all the guests need. I always used to get the dining hall duty and my brother used to be in charge of serving the “Thamboolam Bags” ..A bag containing a coconut, sweets, beetle leaves, supari (areca nut), Haldi( Turmeric)  and Kumkum.  Thus these values got greatly embedded in us.

Another important feature was seeing the guests off. We had the unenviable job of ensuring that the guests leave with proper escort, driver in a pooled manner so that no one was in any sort of trouble due to delayed departure. We used to even seek help from known people so the guests volunteer to drop one another. Thus optimization of limited resources was the order of the day. We used to get special pat from my uncle for that!!

We were also to ensure that the snaps of key family members with the groom and bride were shot with neglect so no one’s presence was missed!

The other day we travelled to attend a wedding from Hyderabd to Chennai. There were girls looking like some “cyclone victims” all uniformly dressed in the same color sarees, leaving their hair in a free falling style. As we approached the hall one girl came and gave us an unimpressive Name Sake” Namasthe” welcoming us. Then another took us to the dining hall and third served us snacks. Everyone was smiling with their teeth and not with their “hearts”!

There was a reception session and all family members were dancing to the tunes of some nondescript band! The family members were waving to us to join the dance. But we waited for the main event to commence. We waited for pretty long time and lost our interest in the event. Then we chose to hand over the gift to one of the “Cyclone Victims” as she was the one who come to accompany us to dining to the dining hall and came to portico to see us off !!!!   

In these days of Whats app invites and e-invites what more can one expect! I think we should also make our presence felt by some Laser Show!!

KALLIDAI KURICHI---NAMES

KALLIDAIKURICHI---NAMES:-

There are many interesting names associated with Kallidaikurichi. These names are very interesting and certainly make you nostalgic when you hear them being sounded in close friends circle. These names more over are used all over officially and unofficially without any inhibition. Some names are primarily used to differentiate between two persons with the same name to avoid confusion, some emerged out of affection for the individual, some emerged due to circumstances and location where people were residing etc.

KIMOO MAMA:- Kimo mama is an interesting name and this is to address a person by name Krishna Murthy who was working as village Karnam or Village officer. He had no children and was fond of all the children in his street & town.

BROKER CHIDAMBHARAM IYER:-  One of the most perspicacious personalities of his generation. He was everywhere and every time. He was involved in real estate, grains like Paddy etc., textiles and what not. Wherever there was an opportunity to bring two parties together Broker was there to get his brokerage and vanish looking for the next deal !  

KOTI NANA:- Narayanan is an interesting and nice sounding name. In Kallikadikurichi unfortunately the name would be immediately mutated into NANA.” Koti” in Thirunelveli district’s Tamil means “mad”. I do not think there is any need to elaborate this name further.

PICHANDI:-  Pitchandi was a very common name and we used to think that the name was to represent Lord Shiva as he was known to be begging for living as per old legends. But in this case the name is given to a child which survived after the death of many of his siblings or survived after a serious health complications etc.

MOOKANDI:- Mookandi is a name given to someone with a prominent nose! There were a couple of Mookandis whom I knew and one was a bank manager.

AMBI :- Ambi is a common way of addressing a young Brahmin Boy in Kallidaikurichi. But sometime this name can get stuck and the boy may be addressed as Ambi even when turned 80 !

KOMA:- Gomathi is a very common name and the same is linked to Parvathi wife of lord Shiva. However who has got the time and energy to call someone with such a full name. So Gomathi became “ Koma” in short. Nothing to get confused with "Coma"!  This Koma can have prefix like “North”, “South”, “East” or “West” depending on the location where the person lived.

KAMU:-  The name Kamakshi a beautiful name of Parvati, Shiva’s consort. This got twisted and turned into Kamu.

KICHHA:-   The name Krishna gets twisted and mutated into Kitcha. There are many Kitchas in one street so identify them they may be called as MUYAL KITCHA…one who had rabbits as pet as Muyal in Tamil Means Rabbit. Mudukku Kitcha one who resides near the entrance of the street is called so and so on.

KULATHU MANI:-  This is a very common name in Kallidaikurichi.

CHATHU :-  The very nice name of Mahavishu Sahasranamam got turned into Chathu.

VICHA…VICHU:-   Viswanathan is a unique name and the same undergoes various transformation and a few of them are Vicha and Vichu !!

ISHTA:- All friends are called “Ishta”. Ishta meaning “dear”.

There are some more names which are used very discreetly and cannot be typed and published !!

AFRICA & HUNGER

 AFRICA & HUNGER:-

African continent and hunger are intertwined so much so that it is not uncommon to find one getting images of malnourished children, who are nothing but skeletons with bloated stomachs, so thin and frail looking women, utterly anemic, with match stick hands and legs. With such a naturally blessed countries, rich in flora and fauna why should any individual starve herein Africa! But reality is something very different. Sometime back there was an image circulating in social media of a child which was about to die and a vulture eagerly waiting to devour the same! It is such a pathetic plight in African continent though blessed abundantly by nature and its precious resources to suffer and stay in such pitiable plight all these years.

Improper distribution of resources, lack of political will& straight forward leadership, greed and avarice of the ones who are rich, exploitation by so called investors who come only to exploit the resources and leave the people in same old pitiable plight… all contribute to this sad state of affairs!

It is not uncommon to find the rich enjoying every single day evening choicest of richest single malt / blue label / black label whiskey served by local servant in tattered cloth. The rich then enjoy their drink with roasted macadamia / cashew nuts. Poor servant may go to sleep without his simple dinner, as he cannot afford the maize flour whose price has hit the roof!  

For the sake of a bag of Maize flour, staple food of many Africans, murders do take place as day do common resources due to hoarding go out of the market as traders want to make most out of the price hike which used to happen invariably every year when there is an acute short fall in rain fall or due to excess rainfall due to a storm or cyclone! Thus a commoner’s life so precariously balanced on natural vagaries goes haywire every year leading them to a debt trap from which they never escape!

Having associated with food industry and spent considerable part of my life in African continent I find their life style appalling due to poverty. Most of them travel long distance to attend to work. By and large the common mode of transport is their own feet which takes them to 5 to 10 KM everyday one way ,mostly commuted by running to reach their place of work in time. Most of the companies do not have facility for subsidized food as found in other developed countries.

 One has to carry lunch along with him.  To reach the work spot at 7 AM one should leave home by 5 AM. Thus after finishing breakfast at such an odd hour one runs to reach the factory. On reaching the work spot they rush to locker room to change and straight away hit the work spot. It is not uncommon for a worker to consume on reaching work spot sugar / milk powder/ biscuit powder etc. to get himself / herself charged to start his work. If caught by any supervisor they are dismissed immediately. The cold insipid lunch shall be the sole source of food to satiate the hunger prangs in lunch time and till he reaches home by night travelling another grilling 5 to 10 KM by foot.

This is the same with women who are pregnant. They too undergo the same ordeal everyday and are expected to take care of the life growing in them. It is not uncommon to find someone falling flat on account of hunger as mostly they start the day without any breakfast.

 In some of the African countries children are found to masticate wrappers used in food packaging as the sole source of something to keep chewing. Some of the workmen just bring an avocado as lunch as this fruit is found to sustain them for long duration!

Some companies in their wisdom provide free food to retain labor as the food provided is the sole motivator for them to come and work regularly. But such facilities are available in a very few establishment. By and large people come with their own Tiffin filled with rice, maize meal, fish or a few vegetables to satiate the hunger. One good custom among Africans is to share the food whatever little they have with colleagues.

The other day, I had to visit my director’s office. As I was about to enter the chamber I was stopped by a tall lanky worker who used to work in the packing hall. He was coming out of the director’s office. He was in tears. His gestures, garrulous sounds and body movements indicated that he was cursing and doing so vociferously.  As I could not understand some of his utterances, I called the security to avert things getting out of hand. The security officer then translated the story.

 This worker was fired, summarily dismissed because he was found eating some biscuits by a supervisor. The worker was claiming that if someone had eaten a food, made right in front of his eyes to satiate his growling hunger, was that a big crime in this developed world! My heart skipped a beat and I was also cursing mentally the man who went and complained this matter to a director as well as the director who had no empathy! I was reminded of the National poet who wanted to burn the world if one soul went to bed without food!  

 

HUNGER:- HOME EXPERIENCE:-

HUNGER:- HOME EXPERIENCE:-

We are fed by our parents for plenty of time. One may not even have a count of the number of days one had dined out of the hands of once mother. A man can take liberty with his mother and demand food at any time because he is fully aware that his requests or demands would always be honored. If he is lucky to have a good wife and the understanding with her is good then he can make same demand with her. As of now under Indian culture his requirement for food at any time would be met. Beyond that one’s demand need not necessarily fetch any food at all the time even sometimes in restaurants.

I can never ever remain hungry and my energy level goes for a toss when hungry. Irritation sets in , concentration vanishes and I need to necessarily stop the work on hand and take a good break to fill my tummy. This was the condition even before I turned diabetic. With present diabetic condition the situation has worsened and I have little control over this biological need.

My mother always knew this and would treat me with “kid’s glove” approach all the time when it came to the question of feeding me in time. It was in 1995 and my father was admitted in a hospital for a surgery. His surgery was about to take place in a day or two and he was under observation. Those days I used to work in Cadbury’s Chennai branch in sales. My father was being attended to by my mother in the day time. I used to be with him in the night and in the morning would get relieved by my mother.

I was that day on a field visit and was returning to home for lunch. On the way, I thought I should peep into the hospital just to take a look at my father and mother. It was past two PM and my father was in deep slumber. My mother was reading some magazine as she used to be always glued to some printed matter to pass time. As soon as I entered the room, very first reaction of my mother was to open the tiffin box in which two idlies were there with liberally smeared “gun powder” ( Milagai podi ) ! It is probably the best meal I have ever had from her hand as the same was so thoughtfully preserved and served by her when literally rats were roaming in my stomach !!

In good old days in villages people used to wait for guests to come home and feed them before retiring to bed. Thus rice was left on the pot waiting for guests to come. When the last train or bus left the town / village then water was poured on the rice to let the same ferment to be consumed the next day. In our generation we have got Daughters-in-law and daughters who ask how many Rotis or Dosa one would consume to prepare required number of Rotis or Dosas. I always used to be perplexed by this question. If the prepared food is tasty one may end up having one or more. If the server’s love and persuasion is more same would be result.    

My mother’s youngest sister, my aunt has always been living in Trichirapalli. We always used to pay her a visit as her home is always open with a warm heart for all of us. During one such visit we learnt that she was hospitalized and undergoing some surgery. We a family of seven or so chose to visit her in the hospital. It was around 1.30 PM in the afternoon. My aunt was safely operated upon and was moved to the ward. She was recovering from the effect of anesthesia.

 As we entered her room with a flask full of milk for her, she woke up and on seeing us her first question was did we have lunch in her home !!!  

HUNGER:- TEMPLE TOWN TIRUPATHI EXPERIENCE :-

I still recall the day so very vividly, it was 25^th May’1985. Just three days after my marriage. We were in Tirupati hills to perform Kalayana Ustavam( Performance of Celestial marriage function for the presiding deity and his consort) as per the owes taken by my parents. Jayashree my better-half was with me by my side, my parents and three younger brothers were with me too. Those were the days with little communication facilities like cell phone, e-mail, fax etc. Therefore everything was done through written letters posted in local post boxes. There would be no acknowledgement for those letters as before the acknowledgement reached you would reach the destination for your work!

I had written to our mutt for accommodation, food informing our itinerary etc. But there was no acknowledgement received. With great hope in our minds and prayers on our lips landed we in the Mutt’s boarding and lodging facility. We got one room for all seven of us. We had taken bath and got dressed for the occasion. These Mutts generally do not provide any breakfast and generally serve lunch around noon after their scheduled Pooja”s completion. Therefore we had to skip breakfast and rush to the function. Before leaving my younger brother approached the cook cum manager and confirmed with him that as soon as we return from the function we would be served lunch in piping hot condition. The assurance from my brother was enough for us to forget the hunger pangs and sit quietly for the Kalyana ustavam.

Tirupati abode of presiding Lord Sri Venkaesa always remains temple of eternal celebration. With speakers blaring religious songs, TV screens displaying the events going inside the temple, devotees in their anxiety and hurry rushing towards the queue complexes, shuttle buses ferrying devotees from one corner to the other, street vendors nicely lined up in both sides of the road soliciting customers for their wares, multi- cultural, multi- ethnic crowd speaking different languages, representing different cultures but all eagerly awaiting a simple glimpse of the main deity add to the divine atmosphere !

The celestial marriages is performed almost daily in elaborate style involve by bringing the deities called Ustavar ( In temples there are two deities Moolavar who is a statue of stone and immobile and Ustavar smaller statue made up of special alloy who can be moved around for processions etc.) and decorating them as bride and Groom. After that welcome ceremony for the groom, garlanding of Bride & groom and all other marriage ceremonies like tying the mangalya sutra, going around the holy fire etc. all done with piety and patience elaborately. Accompanying music from Nagaswaram, Ladies singing, Vedic chanting all add up to the holy atmosphere. It is worth sitting for such a long duration to get immersed in the holy environment!

The functions finished around 2 PM and we rushed to the Mutt for the Piping hot lunch. We were welcomed and made to sit on the floor as per tradition, to be served. We were waiting for the food to be served. By then another family of five six people landed into the dining hall. The cook came to my father and asked my father’s name. My father politely told him his short name “ V T CHARI”. The cook wanted with expanded initials and full name. My father told him the same politely.

By then the other party who had just landed were getting impatient and started shouting at the cook. The cook asked the other party to remain quiet and asked the person’s name and details. He also told his name as “CHARI” which is a common community surname.  By then we understood the cause of the commotion.

The other party had made arrangements for the lunch etc. but failed to turn up to confirm the same as they had directly gone to the temple for the function. The cook had prepared meals only for our family. We were very hungry and getting terribly disturbed. The other party was roasting the cook alive and dropping names of all big shots in Chennai to scare the cook. The cook had by then became too stubborn too and told them to go to hell! This provoked the patriarch of the family who must be in his seventies. He was becoming abusive and started shouting and lifted his walking stick and pounced towards the cook. He hand was raised above his shoulder with the walking stick and he was about to hit the cook. His wife and other ladies in the family started crying loudly. His children were dumb stuck!  

 By then my father who was watching the whole scene very patiently got up and grabbed the old man’s hand in time to stop the walking stick from hitting the cook cum manager. He spoke to him in an authoritarian tone and told him what his problem was. Then my father politely told him that we would give up having the food in the mutt and move out immediately. This would help the old man and his family to have the lunch without any itch. Though they did not confirm the reservation or arrangement with the mutt in the morning they would be obliged when we moved out. We were very hungry but did not open our months in front of our father. The old man felt ashamed of his behavior in the temple town that too in a sacred Mutt meant for its devotees. He profusely apologized to the Cook cum manager. 

Then a compromise was worked out. All the elders from both families would dine in the mutt. Youngsters would go out and have food in nearby hotels. Thus we al youngsters moved to a nearby restaurant for lunch and returned in time for the elders to a stuck a very close bonding made out of hunger and its outburst!!

HUNGER...KALLIDAIKURICHI COMMUNITY FEEDING

HUNGER......KALLIDAI KURICHI COMMUNITY FEEDING:-

In Kallidaikurichi death of elders was celebrated with great enthusiasm. These functions attract all relatives and friends of the same community who dine together and enjoy a sumptuous spread of delicacies. These functions were looked forwarded to and people organizing these functions feel that mass feeding give lot of good “Karma” leading to salvation of the soul. They encourage all to come and enjoy the feasts.

It was one such occasion the person who had breathed his last was an illustrious banker who had a bank known as Hundi Shop typically catering to merchant bankers who trade in commodities. He used to discount bills and pay cash to traders instantly. On account of his fair dealings he was very popular among the trading community in that area. His children were married into big industrialists families like Amalgamation group, Shankar Cement group etc.

We were living right opposite to his house and we used to admire the gentleman’s taste. He was a widower and had very clean habits. Around 9 PM in the night after the English news his bedside transistor used to be on and he used to listen to Carnatic music and go to bed. Mornings were devoted to visit to Tambarabarani for bath followed by Pooja and then go to his bank which was across the street.

When this Gentleman passed away the functions were held in a grand scale. The last day known as Shubhaseekaram marking the end of mourning period and beginning of regular normal life was celebrated on that day. People from the community from the entire village were invited for lunch. People belonging to other communities stay away from such functions as per tradition as they may not be able recite specific prayers and adhere to such customs.

We children were watching the whole event from our house and were awaiting our call for lunch which was supposed to be the next batch. We saw one gentleman from a minority community rushing towards the house where the function was being held. He removed his lungi in a hurry and changed into a white dothi. Put a sacred thread on his shoulder in the wrong direction initially and then on seeing others changed it in the right direction.

Applied the specific religious mark of holy ash on his fore head and was trying to sneak into the household. By then my younger brother had gone to inform one of the organizer of the function.

He rushed to the front yard confronted the man and asked for his name and Gothra etc. This poor man was unable to answer anything correctly and confessed that he was very badly in need of food as he was hungry and starving for the past two days. He was politely taken to the back yard and served the full spread to his complete satisfaction and seen off with   all respect and gifts!

Though the person was pushed to his limits to satiate his basic human need HUNGER, to conceal his religious identity, he was treated with respect and helped to get going in his own way!!!

HUNGER....VIJAYAWADA RAILWAY STATION:-

HUNGER:-VIJAYAWADA RAILWAY STATION:-

In the eighties, there were no courier operators in India for local dispatches. Everyone was dependent on Indian Postal Service which virtually had monopoly on communication business. I was managing an Ice cream business for someone in Guntur and we were the official suppliers of Ice cream for South Central Railways. Vijayawada happened to be the headquarters for South Central Railways. I used to frequent to Vijayawada Railway station to meet their catering department personnel, have meetings with Divisional Railways Manager (DRM) a very powerful position. Another important activity apart from these, was meeting railway guards who used to travel from Mumbai to Vijayawada and bring along with them important chemicals, flavors, cheque books etc. which used to be handed over to them in Mumbai by our head office. Though officially forbidden this was the only way to get things faster and safer in 24 hours. As we had a stall in platform No. 8 they would be treated with delicious goodies for their help!

On a sunny day afternoon, I was in platform No. 8 awaiting Konark Express from Mumbai. The temperature in the town was in 40 C ranges and the platform was further hot because of radiation. On platform No. 7 there was another super fast express awaiting signal. These platforms were the nerve centers of this station and always humming with serious activities. To stand and watch people scurrying, pushing and surging ahead was my great pass time. The whole stretch of platforms used to be an amalgamation of humanity. People from different walks of life all eagerly awaiting arrival of some dear ones or waiting to bid good bye to some other dear ones, people looking forward to their imminent journey in joy, sorrow, expectations, anxiety and suspense all have some hope or lost some hope await the arrival of a train which would take them in the journey of life !

My eyes caught the sight of one beggar. He was puny with a slight hunch back, stomach which had gone virtually to size zero, why zero we can even attribute negative as the skin of his stomach was almost entangled with his spinal column indicating that probably he had not tasted anything for nearly a week. His walk was wobbly; he was sweating profusely in the armpits as sweat was literally pouring like a water fall on his rib bones. His hair was totally matted, beard was free flowing almost touching his chest. There was a loose trouser which he had tied using a black thread tightly around his size zero hip. A few plastic twine were also used to reinforce the knots as the trouser which was neatly torn and hanging loose near his knee cap one side.

He had no shirt or vest on his chest. A a torn shawl was hung loosely on one of his shoulder which was being dragged wherever he went like bride’s veil. He was asking for alms from one and all, whomsoever he encountered on this path where he was walking aimlessly. I could see that he was not successful and like a hero hanging one extra minute to achieve his goal, he did not give up. His aimless wander in platform 8, where I was standing, was about to end. He did not reach our Ice cream stall probably thinking that the place was too posh for souls of his nature!

Then he moved to the middle of platform 7 passing near the telephone kiosk. The telephone attendant shooed him away shouting choicest Telugu cuss words. That did not have any impact on him probably he did not understand the language. As he entered plat form 7 I was a bit curious and followed him in to platform No. 7. Godavari Express in platform No. 7 was hissing with anger to leave the platform as there was delay in its departure. The signal was on by now and I could see the guards exchanging signals and getting into their coaches. Travelling Ticket Examiners after striking deals with eleventh hour travelers were also moving towards their compartments.

The train was picking up speed and on account of this dust from the platform was also slowly raising like a storm and moving along with the train. I saw the beggar too started running in sprint. As he gained speed he picked up packs of Snacks, Indian Railway Restaurant vendors Curd Rice and Pulihora packets, Bourbon Air Tight Carton packs from Biscuit stall and Chocolate bars from a hawker. All these in a matter of second.The booty was bound securely using the shawl and in the last unreserved compartment he managed to hold the door and barged in!

Hunger made him to take such a mad risk which would have made him to lose precious life if he was hit by any pillar or post. If he had lost the grip of the door handle in the last compartment!! 

KALLIDAIKURICHI……CINEMA & SLEEP:-

KALLIDAIKURICHI……CINEMA & SLEEP:-

Kallidaikurichi despite being a citadel of art and culture was lagging very much behind in patronizing cinemas. The reason for the same was primarily due to the fact that the population density was very sparse. As people are by and large dependent on agriculture for their livelihood were not very keen on visiting cinema halls frequently. More over cash circulation which was very critical to entertainments like cinema was always under pressure. Thus it was not uncommon in Kallidaikurichi, which had one touring talkies as the tent was called to find ladies exchanging paddy for a ticket on the floor which used to be spread with sand. There was segregation for men and female seating. In the men’s seating it was a common sight to find people smoking and putting of their beedies (Indian form of Cigar, tobacco powder hand rolled into tandu leaves!) in the sand to extinguish the same!

The tent used to be the only source of entertainment for the entire village of Kallidaikurichi and the same used to screen 16 mm movies. On weekends there used to be system of screening two movies back to back in the nigh shows. The same was a trick used to attract huge crowd but due to limited population the tent used to remain empty. To lure people from nearby villages they used to tie up with private bus operators to arrange for drop facility in respective villages!

Nearby Ambasamudram had two theatres one Kalyani theatre which was on Vickamasignapuram road and another was Krishna Theatre which was near Tambirabarani river on its left bank. Krishna theatre had a rice mill and the theatre was used for rice mill activities like drying paddy, winnowing etc. in day time. In the evening ,after Sun sets, thorough cleaning of the floor film would be undertaken. And screening use to resume. But people who had taken floor ticket to squat on the floor used to complain of itching due to dust from paddy. But they would stop complaining on getting deeply engrossed in the movie!

Mostly by the end of fist show that is after 9 PM there would be no bus service to Kallidaikurichi from Ambasamudram. People would walk the two Kilometer distance discussing the movie in animated conversation and reach their homes for hearty dinner and retire. People who are night owls would take to second show 10 PM to 1 AM. The show was not patronized by ladies as they would not want to take a risk at late night. There used to be system of going in doubles in bicycles. Those days it was forbidden as per law and the cycle should have a lantern or dynamo light to illuminate the road. By and large the rule was only on paper and generally ignored. Sometimes local police constables in their over enthusiasm would catch a boy and his pillion only to let them go with a warning as everyone was known to each other in the village !

We were taken for some “good movies” as certified by our parents and not Indian Censor board by our parents. Some religious pilgrimage stuff or family oriented movies. All four of us along with our parents would march to the theatre and enjoy the show and return walking.

There was a very interesting episode that happened with cinema! One day our parents had gone to a movie leaving all four of us at home. We were advised to lock the home, have dinner and await their arrival. Due to some vague reason one after the other all four of us had hit the bed and fell asleep. Our parents on arrival were banging the door and could not make us to get up. In the end they had no choice other than calling a Nadhaswaram player who was hired  to perform in neighbor’s wedding function. The piped instrument, along with Tavil (a type of drum) were played loudly to wake anyone of us. But to my parents dismay none of us stirred out of the bed. Then with the help of a speaker and mike volume was amplified to make us get up and we at last got up to open the door after thirty minutes of their struggle! 

We had a neighbor by name Store Rajamani Iyer. He used to run a provisional store. He had been to a movie along with his wife and youngest daughter as all other daughters were married and settled elsewhere. After the second show they settled and slept over. The next day morning when they woke up they found the house was burgled completely. The movie they had witness was PUGUNTHA VEEDU a Tamil Movie which means… “Entered House” indicating the entry of a bride. But here the house was entered by a thief. Believe me the burglars had entered and looted without any noise or trace. But when police came to take a finger print the whole street was turned upside down with the noise made in turning a steel cupboard upside down!

KALLIDAIKURICHI STORIES…….KALYANAMS….MARRIAGES:-

KALLIDAIKURICHI STORIES…….KALYANAMS….MARRIAGES:-

Marriage in Kallidaikurichi is a great event and celebration for one and all living in the street.

 As soon as a date for the marriage of a girl is announced, the girl becomes daughter of the entire street! Everyone starts showering extra care and love on her as the girl would eventually part ways from the village and get transplanted elsewhere! This sort of affection is genuine and not just lip sympathy! You should see how two more people from Kallidaikurichi meeting in a different place New Delhi or New York interact. They do not shy away from displaying their affection for their village clan without any inhibition!

Marriage is generally a three days affair. On the day one Bride groom arrives to the village with his friends and family. They are housed in a nice accommodation. As there are no hotels there, every household in the street voluntarily vacates a room or two to accommodate the guests. As they accommodate the guests obviously, they all would dine together along with the guests.

On the same day evening there is a Mappillai Azhaipu…Bharat…receiving the bride groom after taking him procession from a local temple to the venue of marriage. Next day is marriage held with great fun and frolic. In the evening of marriage there are some games played by the groom and bride to the accompaniment of songs sung by ladies. These songs are more or less folklore in nature and have lot of meaning. On the third day after a special feast for the bridegroom’s party and bride’s family which is called as Sambhandhi’s feast the girl is seen off with the bride groom’s family. In order to meet the food needs on the way special food parcels are made and shipped along with the wedding party. This food is called as Kattu Sadam !!

There are people who wait for any household to decorate their front yard with mango leaves, Plantain plants and they would land up into that household from far and wide and claim relationship with the family through some distant cousin. They would stay with the family and dine. These sorts of guests rather Pests are too common. They would travel thirty forty Kilometers and stay for a period of three to four days. Apart from nuisance value they were also known to decamp with valuables from marriage household!

In a street with approximately fifty houses in each side one can find that all the houses are interconnected by a common door. This door always remains closed during regular days. As the date of the marriage approaches these doors are opened to ensure inter connectivity. Therefore if one has to serve food or refreshments! This door is called as “EDDA KADAVU” (Middle Door).

In the middle of the street marriage is held. Therefore three days before the event traffic in the street is blocked. A Pandal (sort of tent) is erected with special shamiana (sort of tent with covered top made up of decorated clothes), decoration etc. Festoons are made with freshly cut leaves from Banana and Coconut trees. Ladies take special interest to make Rangolis in front of their household! That adds to the decoration.

Catering is done not by professionals but by in house personnel. Almost all the ladies volunteer to prepare special Appalam, Murukku and other seer Patchanams . Appalam is a snack made with Urad Dall and it is fried and served during lunch, dinner etc. Murukku is a fried snack made out of rice and urad dall powder. Murukku made with hand is very famous in Kallidaikurichi as the same is fried in Coconut oil due to Kerala influence! Seer Patchanams are set of sweets and savories that are handed over to bride groom’s family after the marriage to be distributed in their village or town among their friends and relatives! There are set numbers to be given specially packed in bamboo basket!

Preparation of these dishes, keep the women folk huddled together in one or two houses for a week or so! They get enough time to catch up and chat with old friends and relatives who have landed in the marriage household!

As the day of the marriage approaches faster, bride’s father becomes a bit tense and anxious. There are elders who are ready to offer him free and fair counsel. They step in to take control of the events. At times, it may even involve doling out money or lending out money on interest to ensure that the event gets completed without an itch! Story of this money lending etc. leak out only after the end of the marriage, giving commoner an idea of the set back in status of the family in local standing!

There is a unique custom in Thirunelveli district. Under which ladies shall attend the wedding event only if they are specifically invited. So it is not uncommon in some communities to find it written explicitly written on the invite “Please do bring all women members of the family!”. Similarly in Kallidaikurichi during the wedding function for every event girls goes around the street with Silver cup containing sandol wood paste and Kum Kum and invite every member of the family for every event!

Guests whether they are local or outsiders are taken great care off. Lavish food us prepared and dishes are served repeatedly and everyone is specifically asked whether they need anything more! It is also not uncommon to find children carrying Appalam, Vadai and sweets which were served on the plantain leaf neatly tucked in and taken to home to eat later!!

As the function progresses the dishes in the menu too take different style to accommodate the guest’s need and physical condition. Thus it is not uncommon to find Inji Puli (Ginger & Tamarind Mixture), Special pickles, special Rasam which aid digestion towards the end of the marriage function! As these preparation, serving and winding up take toll due to day and night work after the departure of guests there are champions who sleep for one or two days at a stretch !!

Oh however much I describe the wedding function, you will never believe and get the actual fun only by attending one in Kallidaikurichi. The whole thing should be enjoyed with Nagaswaram in the background, singing by ladies and sound made of children.

 If you ever get an invite to attend a wedding in Thirunelveli district any town or village think that it is a God given blessing and do not miss. You will never return with any disappointment !!

TOLL GATE SIVARAMAN IYER:-

In every village, there is someone who knows all the secrets of every household! He has the knack of collecting sensitive, not so sensitive, relevant, irrelevant, trivial details with great ease and stores the same in his hard disc. He becomes important in that area as he is the walking encyclopedia. He may collect information from Barbers, Dhobis and every available source!

Toll Gate Sivaraman  Iyer was one such speciman and he had his house in the first block of Veerappapuram Street  and Mudaliappapuram Street. Therefore, he had the advantage of knowing all details of both the streets!

The lane abutting his compound was used by people from Pillaimar street to go to Canadaian canal for bathing, washing clothes etc. On account of that, nearly half of the details from that street and the adjoining Muslim street were also in his constant survey!

Sivaraman Iyer was a very non descriptive man but for his nose which would sense all sensitive news from a distance.  We used to joke that if any news was brewing he would start sweating in his nose until and unless he got full information into his system.

His routine was very simple. He would be the first one to take plunge in the Canal early morning around 5.30 AM. He would survey very discreetly and take attendance of all the Mamis who were present in the canal for bathing. He would then hurriedly go to the Pillayar temple. Go around the temple once like devout disciple, not to pay reverence to God but to collect any information in the air! Then he would sit in his reclining chair in the Thinnai (front yard of the house) and wait for his coffee and news paper. Then he would enter into his house only for lunch which should be served to him by 10.30 AM.  

Afternoon siesta and evening coffee cum snacks everything would be served to him in the reclining chair. After that when the night falls he had to make a hasty retreat to the house as by then the mosquitoes would become unbearable.

It was my father who gave him the title honorary title of TOLL GATE as he had seen him sitting in his reclining chair and sniffing around for information. My father was returning from work one day and he got down in front of Sivaraman Iyer as there was some marriage in our street and the jeep could not get inside. Sivaraman Iyer made my dad to sit in his Thinnai (front yard) and spoke to him for nearly ten minutes to elicit the weekly news from him. My father did not like his style of conversation and took leave of him abruptly.

Sivaraman Iyer was so busy with these Toll Gate activities; he forgot to take care of his own children. His daughters were past their prime of youth and were remaining spinsters when we started living in Kallidaikurichi. His eldest son was married and the youngest one was busy with all unwanted activities like smoking etc. Sivaraman Iyer who even knew the menses cycle of every woman in the street, did not get information about this son and his activities. This was a big surprise to all of us. Someone told that he was very much aware but because of the pampering he had given to his kid did not want to take any action! 

   

A few years back, I heard that Sivaraman Iyer had become quite indisposed and he was lastly known to be busy watching TV channels inside the house. I was also told that the front yard and reclining chairs were mostly empty these days!! It was very sad news for me as the Icon of Veerappapuram Street had given up his one and only avocation!!