My journey thru 60 years.........

Looking down the years that have gone by, I am amused ,amazed and all at once carried away by its flow, the gentle ups and downs that has perhaps led me to  believe that I’m in a deep stupor  until I realized that 60years have flown by……

As I sit to write down this memory card…I’m taken back, years  and years to the charming little town of Aruvankadu .This little town lies in a valley in one of the verdant Niligiris  mountains .Here it was ,that I walked first ,talked first and went to a school run by two English women called Mrs Y Robinson and Mrs M Robinson. I remember I went there always loving the sight of these two fashionably attired women , with lipstick, heels and a bob cut hair style…which was more than the  little village had bargained for…. The small Kindergarten school   KG school as it was called, was inside the Gate, and was in a charming low roofed building with a huge garden ,and I vaguely remember yellow ,pink, purple flowers all around . My closest friend of that age was Uma Ranganathan who lived a house away, and the Head Master of the Factory school, Mr Yagneswaran, whose wife was Channel mami to me  who lived a house away.

There was a channel of water running right below our house ,a few hundred yards below our house and this channel of water ran the entire length to a charming Ashram where we would often picnic, with whoever visited us.

The children’s park at our road’s end was a delight and I have spent most of my evenings there swinging high on the wooden swing there. We played seven stones to our hearts content with no pressures from home or traffic., and four corners till we dripped in sweat and ran home to heartily  gulp down  the simple arisi upma and some watery gothsu piping hot and hurriedly sat down with my grandma to listen in to the radio nadagam .

School was very cosy and rains were always a welcome distraction as the tin sheeted roofing made a noise and din that was above human sounds .I still remember the Catechism classes and the thin bearded man who I suppose must’ve been a preacher ,who stuck pictures of sheep and Jesus on a board and told stories.

I was soon upgraded to a bigger school which had dormitory facilities for foreign students, of whom I  vaguely remember Thelma, Fatima, Fredrica and Katie. I also remember my patti calling the school a mottachi school. Pardon the language but that was what it was called. So my interests were diverted to sports and plucking forbidden fruits. Our school was on a hillock which was itself an orchard full of plum and peach trees. Lunchtime saw us running down the hillsides to pluck these often unripe fruits.

Later I settled down to more serious sports and went in to train for inter school sports .The serious part of this was the inspection committee which came from Ooty and Keti to take our weight and height to put us in suitable categories. I remember wearing heavy coats to stand on the scale and also being reprimanded. I was to take part in high jump ,long jump and sprint .I almost won the high jump but  only almost ,I did come a panting third in a 400 metres race ,but still remember v fondly all my school sports days where I would collect more than one certificate or a small cup. I always belonged to the Blue house which went by a name Trutwin house.

Our assemblies were great fun  and we had to sing “All things bright and beautiful” loud and clear and all of us would look up so our voices were heard…maybe? We were often taken to movies to Coonoor Balaclava or some place, to see good English movies ,that is how I saw Mary poppins and many other good ones .Picnics were always a walk o Simms Park ,where we could buy big fat Plums. A slight thunder rain and lightning always made way for free classes as teachers couldn’t walk to and fro classes.

Well,… life at the small campus in Avk, as we fondly called it ,was very  interesting as the factory had a variety of communities living there .I remember the dance classes held by the Madhar Sangam or Ladies club and more than the classes we looked forward to the games we played as we waited for the dance Sir to come from Coimbatore. I think his name was Palaniyappan sir. I still remember the four corners we have played sweating and laughing and Oh so happily. The dance classes were fun and on a serious note we had an annual club day where we were all made to dance on stage …the best part being wearing the Haltha on our feet and   sitting in front of the professional makeup man and trying hard not to lick our lips …so we don’t eat up our lipstick .Oh that was fun.

The Bengalis celebrated their Durga pooja and it has been a pleasure taking part in their dance dramas as well . The Shyama by Rabindranath Tagore  was one such dance drama that I can’t forget even today . Shyama was played by a friend who is still in touch with me and lives in Mysore..Tara Pasupathi. well ..i played the Kotwal.

There was a very well run “Aruvankadu  Music Society” I think it was called…which celebrated Ramanavami with great aplomb with many Kutcheris of great singers .The main attraction was the mixture packets and sweets that we got to buy ,but sit we did ,with our parents till the end. This was held in the high school of Aruvankadu.

The small Pillayar koil was the center of most activities during festival times. Discourses by eminent scholars were held here of which we were all a part of ,as audience ,and as volunteers distributing prasadam and sometimes helping to clean the premises . The Archakar family was called Koil mama and mami. I remember the mama wearing a green shawl and his hospitality which was unparalleled.

Going to school in Coonoor was fun as we had to assemble in the MainGate for the truck. This truck would drop us in our respective schools and pick us up. We loved this truck ride because we all ate our lunch on our way to school, and played with our lunch dabbas, evenings we would wait for the truck and wait for the opportunity to see the Providence college, from where two girls would be picked up .A brief stopover at Wellington barracks was a huge diversion too.

Not to forget the inippu mittai , kuchi ice and the  kamarkat   that we bought just outside the school , which made the day more fun.

Navarathri was great entertainment and every house that I remember celebrated it,  carrying a basket for sundal collection I have walked every inch of that small town uphill and downhill, going to every house on a kolu visit ,dancing and sometimes singing horribly just to get that sundal and the dalia flowers that was given,

Diwali was memorable as the crackers would arrive a month before the festival and every house had a tray drying out in the sun or what little there was of the sun, with the crackers. I remember my dear friend Ashok and Bhaskar ,bursting crackers with me ,Oh that was Diwali, and fun and frolic with friends dear .Unfortunately every year diwali time was also annual exam time for me and I have vivid recollections of my mother sitting at the aattukal and grinding some batter and asking me questions , with a promise to let me go to play if I completed my lessons.

November 23^rd was our last day every year and the very next day would see me on the train to Madurai to my thatha’s house . Usually the escorts was some youngster working at the factory who my father and mother had taken under their affectionate care. Incidentally there were many of these boys (as my father called them) who came to join as bachelors with no lodge or an eating place. They often came home for dinner and later to have the warm milk that my mother usually heated and kept for them.

So one or the other young men would take me to Madurai and leave me there with my uncles and aunts.   Madurai to me was huge  with madi houses,  compared to the small town that I lived in.  I loved Madurai  , as my aunts were young ,energetic, fun loving and allowed me to do as I pleased .I danced for them , and loved the simple style of life there. My thatha would go to the shandy and buy vegetables and personally call the cook mami and tell her what to cook. On Fridays and Tuesdays my chithi would take upon herself the trying task of washing my hair and sheekaikai would be ground in the backyard aatukal and a family living in the outhouse would supervise this process and prepare the hot water after which my chithi would coax and apply oil on my hair and the bribe for this was  a “pal ice” that sold on carts at 10am.

The best part about washing my hair was that I could sit under the fan (the fan being a luxury and  new contraption to me) in my thatha’s office room in his chair. There I have pretended to be my thatha and spoken in stern tones to unseen  ,imaginary clients, imitating my thatha. Holding the turban was a very welcome activity for me as I would be paid handsomely with ten paise or two ten paises which was enough for me to get more than one ice bars (which I generously shared with my younger chithi). I will never forget the taste of those icesticks ,they were rich with milk and vanilla flavor.

A word about my chithis….the youngest was Vijaya….who loved me  so much that every time someone went to the temple (which was a ten minute walk )she would give them some hidden money and ask them to get me ribbons .I had all the conceivable colour ribbons  and all the latest fashion earrings, clips, bangles ….and Ahhh I cannot forget the famous cigarette mittai from the entrance of the Gopuram  which she got me each and every time . She played a major role in making my childhood so  much more delightful .She went to college like a princess .in starched sarees, with her books carried for her by the clerk ,in high heels and dark glasses .I was so much in awe of her……she would get up very early to beat the others at drawing huge kolams outside the house, and at the same time edge me on to ask my thatha for money to go to the movies at New Cinema. There have been times when my thatha has come to Sivaji movies with a palm leaf fan and a thin vest as the theatre was his friends and he was casual ,he just walked in casually and seated himself .We then had  “colour” as it was called …the fancy drink of bright colours.

I have to mention the Thiruppavai classes held by my chinna pati right opposite my thathas house in a choultry called Trust House .Come evening and I was sent there to sit for the classes and also give my pati warm water and kalkandu. The classes were crowded with children   ,once early morning when there was veedhi bajan and evenings when all kids were taught thirupavai thiruvenbavai.

We would go to Azhagar koil once during my holidays and stay   in a cottage and eat puliyodharai and dosai . That was a well remembered picnic. I have gone to Periyakulam with my thatha to his clients house and remember seeing huge deerheads and some bulls head all against a wall . This particular house had a verandah running through upstairs with many rooms opening from them….don’t remember who that big shot was but a very important person he was.

The Vaigai dam was a must, again, a most remembered outing. My very good friend Sarayu who lived in my opposite house was a welcome change for me from my chithis sometimes. Late nights my mama would go to the famous Delhiwala and get norukku like varutha payaru which was a big rave in those days, the sumuga vilas idlis and kara chutneys have never been  had anywhere else.

The late night visits to the Meenakshi temple can never be forgotten as we went around the temple always wanting to see the shadow play in the corridors, Meenakshi was then never in such a hurry ,she would always give us an unhurried dharshan. The huge Mukkuruni Pillayar was great fun as the wonderful Meenakshi kalyanam statue which held together only by the small pot in the hand of Vishnu. This temple had a unique fragrance which holds memories of my thatha   ,chithis, mamas and various patis and thathas, perimas and friends ,not only of the Gods there, but of many human beings, who have made my childhood more enriching than ever.

The EnidBlytons were all read there ,from Fatima college library and some children’s library nearby and many other books…..I have read ,written, drawn many pictures, learnt to draw ,to dance with gay abandon, there with my wonderful chithis and mamas. To them I owe most of my enthusiasm for life.

My college life has been another travel that is unforgettable  in all aspects .I learnt to  cheat ,lie but respect all my teachers here .I cheated on some classes with chits giving me permission to go out of college ,which said I was a Rotaract Secretary  which was all true, and sometime I went out on NSS work and if it was not all this it was always basketball practice ,or throwball. I grew vegetables in our college ground and sold them for the college. 

 have invited boys from other colleges  to talk in our Rotaract meetings ,have had my mother come to talk to the Principal Sr Donna to be  convinced that I had to be sent out side Trichy for matches. Organising meets were a great experience and I learned a lot from all the organizations  especially from the ten day NSS camp that we went to. There we learnt how to co exist with snakes ,rats, eat food prepared outside in the open and that life could be lived at many levels to suit each ones needs .I dearly remember the Mannavan vandhanadi dance that I did on a shaky stage fitted out of benches and a katha kalakshebam that I did with my friend Radha …who now lives in Bangalore.

Outside of college I went to work to appease a conscience that nagged me that I had to repay my parents, and after a difficult year and a half discontinued that and got engaged to be married. Marriage made me in some ways mature  and tolerant ,and gave me the best friend I would ever have .

My children have been the most understanding people in my life putting up with all my idiotic fanciful ideas , humoring me always, giving me the best of times always. I have to mention that my daughters have till now always made my birthdays a huge surprise for me  in everyway, they are a constant encouragement to me supporting me in all that I do applauding small things ,approving of even small victories that I have over the very unexplained technology.

As I see myself today …after about sixty years of life on this planet I have to say I have  had the best childhood ever, a strong relationship with my friends, an even stronger bond with my husband and children all thanks to the wonderful childhood that I had.

With a promise to myself to do a lot of introspect ion  I wind up this long but not yet completed journey record.