It was meant to be a daddy-daughter day out. Both of us had got out early from office for just this (with my ML giving me the weirdest face when i said the guy i was going out was my dad).
And the special occasion - mom was getting back after a whole month and a half and 14 stitches down.
We met five minutes behind schedule and a mere flick of the eyebrow acknowledged the presence of the other. We'd gone through this ordeal the weekend before, with little success. A heavy sigh and both walked into the showroom.
One generation believed that no hifi could beat the good old cassette player, with that bumper offer of a built-in FM, that made sure it worked perfectly well when oriented somewhere between nnw and nww, and all you needed to get it playing again was a good hard slap, to bring it back home like your prodigal son; that all of today's sci fi gadgets were a mere eye wash and nothing worked wonders like the age old spool tape player; might be we should just get that one thatha has and present it to your mom!; It and all its antique values you know...
While the other generation was still mulling over the recent Bose experience, that made all other players look like a tricycle in a mercedes showroom; was still sulking at the inability to afford its 6 digit price tag; was out with a resolve to get something as close to reality as possible and ensure that music filled the whole room..the whole house?..yeah, what the hell..! filled the whole society up!
And a compromise it was when we finally narrowed down to a Sony dz120k,850W RMS(140W*5+140W), with a built-in S-Master Digital Amplifier and the option to play DTS, Dolby Digital, Dolby Pro Logic & Dolby Pro Logic II, DVD-R/+R/+R DL/+RW/-RW/-RW (VR) Playback, CD-R / CD-RW Playback/ J-PEG Playback/ MP3 Playback, DivX Playback, and exorbitantly priced at 15,990/-*.
The disaster could wait till tomorrow, for we were hungry at the end of the whole getting in and out of the finalisation process. We exchanged our niceties with the utterly saccharine salespeople, yes we would surely come back first thing tomorrow morning and get it. Yeah we know your showroom is the best in the neighbourhood and offers the best price for the best Sony all over India. Good Bye..!
Walked straight into a eatery next door. As we ordered our respective Jaipuri Sev Puri and Bhel Puri, it dawned on me that one of the few things that bridged any generation gap was this mundane delicacy, made mostly out of what looks like junk and is aptly called Chat. We stood at a table at the center, surrounded by chairs, all occupied by families eating their hearts out.
Both of us stared into our own nowheres, in our own quest to find those eluding answers. Our thought processes would have been something like,
Him: Damn that guy in Bihar man, else my all India sales would have been up by 30%...and that car, bugging me again as usual...wonder if H will top her class this time too...hmmm and poor narain is getting no visibility at all yaar...and the amma thinks she can telecast crap and get away with...oh gotta get up at 6 tomorrow morning and run to office...if i leave well before 8, am sure i can beat that traffic jam at Uncle's Kitchen...and why the hell did that cheque bounce man..
Me: What an excuse for a home theatre man...we should get all these guys to visit that Bose store once..so they know where they're heading..even their sales guys looked hot right.?? but why is that damned exe not running..with all my F8ing too..!!Will my accepting to Evolv really help.??Hey when was the last time I listened to that real cool song..!Man I wanna get out...Oh tell that fat lady to stop screaming now..I need sleep...loads of it...
At the end of all of that, both of us turned quietly, yet together, to look at the family sitting closest to us. The little daughter wailed into the night, while the mother fed little morsels of food between munching down some for herself. The older one, she was eight or nine, had been a victor in wiping out her plate of bhel completely and was looking greedily at the menu for the next on her list. The father and the mother exchanged intermitten conversations about her father coming over, and him forever complaining about the weather out here..Oh! not that your mother is a big blessing anyway..!! Beta, dont spill your food.
We continued to stare...Daddy can we have ice cream after this, please ??waaoohhaa.!!! Amma why cant we get ice cream after this..?? Oh darn those neighbours..waaahhaaaghhhhh.!! Lets go to Lonavla this weekend na...waaahhh..!!! I want a balloon if not an ice cream...Should we buy a diamond earring instead.?? waaagghhh..!! Whatever you want to buy dear, lets go to Lonavla...Where did you go away last night after sending that courier ??
Me: So when's amma coming?
He: This Friday..
Me: Hmm...Long time right..??
He: Yeah...Long time...
*Inclusive of all taxes
13 September 2006
11 August 2006
Goad's own cundry !
Have heard them over and over. And it has become a second language now, with twenty odd years flooded by acquaintances with a similiar tongue walking in and leaving an impression. I dont remember when the initiation really happened. But the Mallu english does not bother me any longer. Most of the times, I barely note the difference. Quite similar to the Western American drawl or the Engligh polishness to the language having become a part of the everyday corporate lifestyle.
The oldest memory of the accent striking a mark was in school.
Dhe egzpanzion of dhe gayses in dhe bodle, coses dhe volyoom of dhe cundainer to be debled. Dhe sayme would happen if dhere was ya ligwid in dhe bodle.
The first time I heard that, I feared Chemistry would remain a mystery all my life. Unfortunately for the antagonists, that was not to be, and I eventually managed to put the Mallu ears on. So much was I atune to it, that when that same teacher, Ms Indira, I remember, asked me in a more lighter mood, 'des my Ohful mellu agsent bodher you yin underrstaynding Volyumedric Analysis?', I was quick to nod a stiff No.
Then it was the frequent visits to neighbouring Guruvayoor and Trissur vadakkunaathar, that ensured that the prodding 'marikko marikko' and 'nadakkatte' were as much a part of the dictionary as the typical tamilian 'vazhi vazhi'. 'Pazhampuri' and 'Puttu kari' were as much a delicacy as 'pathirpeni' or 'kuzhi paniyaram', thanks to the mallu tongue that stuck along for good. And who can forget the lazy afternoons at home, with Mohanlal in Baratham or His Highness Abdullah and some coconut stuffed 'unni appam' ?
The oneness with the neighbours was one of the reasons why classmates in High school, with bredders in dubei, and sisters werking in cole cendres were ones that really stuck for days to come. That one was a real test to my mallu know how though...A Cherian at school came up and flaunted her cuzzin sister. 'Oh no! note the doter of the ungle who werks in de coal fields. Its dat wun who fayled toice in cat last ear. She's joined a cole cender and yearns twendy dhousand a menth. I spent a day contemplating my chances of moving over to Kolar to make a quick buck, before I found out the coal cender was in Gurgaon instead.
None of this abridged or conveniently transformed version of the Queen's language could deter me from enjoying the onam saddi and the janda vadyam; we always celebrated vishu kani and made the pookolam. Goddess wore as much of the mundu as the madisaaru on festivals.
And thats why it was no big surprise to find an adipoli mallus union in coaledge as well. The agsent was obviously masked under a whole lot of coconut ego and lungi vanity. But who cares ? The tambis and the kandoos and the ghatis and bhaiyaas had their own smells and sounds too. And who said anyone was perfect !
Today, despite being in a global IT company, with a clientele spread across the globe, when I hear the local announcement system blaring, 'ol embloyees who wish to tayk dhe ohfis bes to anushekdhi neger, pleaz proceed to dhe baysment', in an english unmistakably overflowing with mallu, I simbly smile and remember Goad's own cundry !
PS: If this whole thing made only half the intended sense to you, you surely have missed a lot in life !
12 July 2006
The blasts..
It has happened once again...It had in the past..and now a repeat..for many it was a deja vu...For all those who've lived through the serial blasts in '93..all those who survived the floods on 26/7....This was a repeat...a chill that run through their veins...bringing back home the point that they weren't that mighty after all...
The ones dead at the end of a tragedy were still the luckier ones..For the rest have to live through the trauma of waking up each night having been blown apart all over again...Watching themselves live the life of a defective...The dead are better in more sense than one in this case.
Moreover, to be helpless and watch all the scene unravel infront of your eyes is a bigger trauma than to be there...All of us have that urge in us to get out and do something when we watch injustice rule around us...But very few can let the frustration within us find a vent...Very few can really make a difference..There are a few,like me, who had to depend on their more mobile counterparts to inform them that the bomb scene was as close as a few kilometres away from them...That bombed a second time in the deep hollows of the heart...
I left for home earlier than usual, because of a concerned company that wanted to make sure that their labourers were not compromised in such acts of terrorism..True many were dying out there..but the little we can do for the safety of our employees, we shall make sure its done...they said...This humane endeavor saw me stuffed into a cab with many others of my kind...as we rode the city, ensurig we'd reached home one after another...
It is a fit of fate or what you may call...But I seem to complain the least about being the last one to reach home always...There I sat that day, riding to another colleague's home, when a huge traffic snarl waited ahead of us..All we could see ahead of us was a sea of bumper lights and the Mumbaikar's patience of waiting at a jam for hours without a single sign of complaint...I sometimes wonder if they ever knew where the existence of a horn in their vehicles...Not that it made any difference though...Smart I should say...
We seemed to move at a snail's pace...with cars and truckers acting like carts...Life seemed to stand still...move backwards at some moments...And then I saw it happen...He looked like he had returned from from his evening prayers...I'd seen him before...The typical cap and long trailing robe..that has been, more often than not,misused in today's movies to signify the quiet bomber, who lives amidst us, manufactures destructives like they were biscuits and throws them around like farmer and his manure...I couldnot mistake him for sure..It had to be a terrorist and he was running towards us..with great agility..and a valor i saw in those eyes...
News had beamed all morning about grenade attacks in Jammu...Innocent unsuspecting tourists brought down by pieces of scientific innovation that ensured that your family remembered you for good...Quick memories of mine lashed through my mind...Distant thoughts of friends from school and college ran past...the face of my dear computer science teacher laughed at me mockingly....
Through all of this the man had almost reached my window...I turned to my driver, in search of someone who would share a similar fear...foolish..like looking away would make matters easier.!!I should listen to people when they say i needed to grow up...This was it...I saw the end...I would be blown apart too...If only I had insisted that I wanted to go home first.!! If only i hadnt left office at all...It felt like heaven now...in the final moments of my life...and...
Mam...please have some water...long traffic jam...will get late...the bomb blast you know..everybody is scared...and tired...here..some parle g for you...
What...? I turned to the face that had mouthed it...It was the same bomber...He pushed a dirty Bisleri bottle into my hand..the other held a huge plate overflowing with biscuits...In a state of shocked, I nodded a No Thanks...he vanished as quickly as he had appeared...I quietly watched him in my rear view...as he moved from one stalled vehicle to another...offerred his treasure..and moved on...
I looked ahead and saw many more...there were older ones on the divider who ensured that these delivery boys were stacked all the time...And these little angels ran to every new vehicle that inched forward..and gave their bit of service...I was more ashamed of myself than shocked...A thought that hit me for long was the smile they left on the faces as they moved on...
At that stretch in time, we all might have been sharing the same feeling of insecurity...a thought of doom would have run through all our minds..Yet a few decided to let their fears rest and make sure they made a difference to someone's life...Kudos to them for their presence of mind...Cheers to the sense of brotherhood that still exists amidst us....
The ones dead at the end of a tragedy were still the luckier ones..For the rest have to live through the trauma of waking up each night having been blown apart all over again...Watching themselves live the life of a defective...The dead are better in more sense than one in this case.
Moreover, to be helpless and watch all the scene unravel infront of your eyes is a bigger trauma than to be there...All of us have that urge in us to get out and do something when we watch injustice rule around us...But very few can let the frustration within us find a vent...Very few can really make a difference..There are a few,like me, who had to depend on their more mobile counterparts to inform them that the bomb scene was as close as a few kilometres away from them...That bombed a second time in the deep hollows of the heart...
I left for home earlier than usual, because of a concerned company that wanted to make sure that their labourers were not compromised in such acts of terrorism..True many were dying out there..but the little we can do for the safety of our employees, we shall make sure its done...they said...This humane endeavor saw me stuffed into a cab with many others of my kind...as we rode the city, ensurig we'd reached home one after another...
It is a fit of fate or what you may call...But I seem to complain the least about being the last one to reach home always...There I sat that day, riding to another colleague's home, when a huge traffic snarl waited ahead of us..All we could see ahead of us was a sea of bumper lights and the Mumbaikar's patience of waiting at a jam for hours without a single sign of complaint...I sometimes wonder if they ever knew where the existence of a horn in their vehicles...Not that it made any difference though...Smart I should say...
We seemed to move at a snail's pace...with cars and truckers acting like carts...Life seemed to stand still...move backwards at some moments...And then I saw it happen...He looked like he had returned from from his evening prayers...I'd seen him before...The typical cap and long trailing robe..that has been, more often than not,misused in today's movies to signify the quiet bomber, who lives amidst us, manufactures destructives like they were biscuits and throws them around like farmer and his manure...I couldnot mistake him for sure..It had to be a terrorist and he was running towards us..with great agility..and a valor i saw in those eyes...
News had beamed all morning about grenade attacks in Jammu...Innocent unsuspecting tourists brought down by pieces of scientific innovation that ensured that your family remembered you for good...Quick memories of mine lashed through my mind...Distant thoughts of friends from school and college ran past...the face of my dear computer science teacher laughed at me mockingly....
Through all of this the man had almost reached my window...I turned to my driver, in search of someone who would share a similar fear...foolish..like looking away would make matters easier.!!I should listen to people when they say i needed to grow up...This was it...I saw the end...I would be blown apart too...If only I had insisted that I wanted to go home first.!! If only i hadnt left office at all...It felt like heaven now...in the final moments of my life...and...
Mam...please have some water...long traffic jam...will get late...the bomb blast you know..everybody is scared...and tired...here..some parle g for you...
What...? I turned to the face that had mouthed it...It was the same bomber...He pushed a dirty Bisleri bottle into my hand..the other held a huge plate overflowing with biscuits...In a state of shocked, I nodded a No Thanks...he vanished as quickly as he had appeared...I quietly watched him in my rear view...as he moved from one stalled vehicle to another...offerred his treasure..and moved on...
I looked ahead and saw many more...there were older ones on the divider who ensured that these delivery boys were stacked all the time...And these little angels ran to every new vehicle that inched forward..and gave their bit of service...I was more ashamed of myself than shocked...A thought that hit me for long was the smile they left on the faces as they moved on...
At that stretch in time, we all might have been sharing the same feeling of insecurity...a thought of doom would have run through all our minds..Yet a few decided to let their fears rest and make sure they made a difference to someone's life...Kudos to them for their presence of mind...Cheers to the sense of brotherhood that still exists amidst us....
They expected this...I dint...
4th July, 2006
It was a fever I was avoiding to the best of my effort....I did not want to do anything close to what they wanted me to...I had won the day before..But today looked like one of no return...Having made sure all the precautions were taken, I was ready for the worst...Goddess made sure that my young eyes hadnt missed anything mandatory...With all my straps up tight, I ventured out into the unknown...As I descended from my haven I realised that I had made the worst mistake of my life...I should have let go of any positives I held about myself and stayed behind...What if the mass treaded on.? But here I was repenting every minute...
It would have been two micro seconds into my venture, when I was wet from tip to toe...As I stood there waiting for my carrier to transport me to the battle field, my mind raced...It longed for brighter pasteurs...Yearned for the comfort in the breeze...No I had made the mistake of my life...I repented every minute...
In the vehicle....My fellow warriors seemed well equipped...The lashes all around seemed not to worry them...One even spoke of her exploits last time the war was on...She seemed content with the learnings...Why was it only me who looked inadequate for this..? And I knew there was no turning back the minute I stepped foot on base camp...
I could see a sea of trouble (pun intended!!) lie ahead of me...Other warriors quietly treaded forward, protecting themselves from the wind that razed past...As I hopefully looked at the other option available, any remaining hope left me...The only way available was what had left me here and that sure dint want me back...Not many want to tread the path once done..and I was that same person now....Turned my back to it and sent out a silent prayer to the heavens...
With no choice at hand, I lept into action...My guard in position, I lurged forward....A chill ran down my spine when the water touched my feet...As i moved ahead, more of it went under water...My nerves needed warmth now...The water gushed like a convict on his last run for life...The barricade we had built to protect us gave up within minutes of being put to use...We were out in the open at the enemy's mercy now...All I could see ahead of me was water and more water...memories of nights when i woke up with a chill, having dreamt of drowning in the raging waters, flooded back on me...The calmness of the people around me irritated me all
the more...I felt like jostling each one of them with my force and forcing them to return to comfort....This test was fruitless...Why take it...?
I saw water everywhere...and i wondered what creatures might quietly rule these territories...I didnot belong here and I knew it all the more when in it...The end seemed nowhere near and I kept heading forward....I waguely remember a piece of respite somewhere midway, when my feet touched dry ground...only to be flooded by an inundation caused by the red vessels...all the small pleasures in the world are volatile...Leave you craving for more...A fellow companion offered a word of comfort...encouraged me forward...I felt like giving her the smirk and questioning, 'for what purpose, mortal..?'..Thought better of it and smiled on...
At one point I felt I had no hope of looking up at all.....my eyes lay rooted to the bed, to ensure I wasnt sucked in by a whirlpool of sorts...I had heard of many heros who had to give their lives up to these terrors that loomed deep under our feet...At places, the snail would've been faster...for he wouldnt have to worry about drowning am sure...It was after almost an hour of this endeavour that I looked up to see light...A dry patch of ground...and the same continued henceforth...
Did it mean the end was near..? My legs hurried through the remaining and Yes..! I was through...I stopped, took a deep breath and looked back at what had been me for a long time now...Yes, the floods in Mumbai were taking a toll on normal life...
With thoughts blaming the stars, the BMC, my maid's kid's school principal, that lady in red in the news yesterday and a million other things, I entered office...drenched to the tip..and the AC dint help either....
It was a fever I was avoiding to the best of my effort....I did not want to do anything close to what they wanted me to...I had won the day before..But today looked like one of no return...Having made sure all the precautions were taken, I was ready for the worst...Goddess made sure that my young eyes hadnt missed anything mandatory...With all my straps up tight, I ventured out into the unknown...As I descended from my haven I realised that I had made the worst mistake of my life...I should have let go of any positives I held about myself and stayed behind...What if the mass treaded on.? But here I was repenting every minute...
It would have been two micro seconds into my venture, when I was wet from tip to toe...As I stood there waiting for my carrier to transport me to the battle field, my mind raced...It longed for brighter pasteurs...Yearned for the comfort in the breeze...No I had made the mistake of my life...I repented every minute...
In the vehicle....My fellow warriors seemed well equipped...The lashes all around seemed not to worry them...One even spoke of her exploits last time the war was on...She seemed content with the learnings...Why was it only me who looked inadequate for this..? And I knew there was no turning back the minute I stepped foot on base camp...
I could see a sea of trouble (pun intended!!) lie ahead of me...Other warriors quietly treaded forward, protecting themselves from the wind that razed past...As I hopefully looked at the other option available, any remaining hope left me...The only way available was what had left me here and that sure dint want me back...Not many want to tread the path once done..and I was that same person now....Turned my back to it and sent out a silent prayer to the heavens...
With no choice at hand, I lept into action...My guard in position, I lurged forward....A chill ran down my spine when the water touched my feet...As i moved ahead, more of it went under water...My nerves needed warmth now...The water gushed like a convict on his last run for life...The barricade we had built to protect us gave up within minutes of being put to use...We were out in the open at the enemy's mercy now...All I could see ahead of me was water and more water...memories of nights when i woke up with a chill, having dreamt of drowning in the raging waters, flooded back on me...The calmness of the people around me irritated me all
the more...I felt like jostling each one of them with my force and forcing them to return to comfort....This test was fruitless...Why take it...?
I saw water everywhere...and i wondered what creatures might quietly rule these territories...I didnot belong here and I knew it all the more when in it...The end seemed nowhere near and I kept heading forward....I waguely remember a piece of respite somewhere midway, when my feet touched dry ground...only to be flooded by an inundation caused by the red vessels...all the small pleasures in the world are volatile...Leave you craving for more...A fellow companion offered a word of comfort...encouraged me forward...I felt like giving her the smirk and questioning, 'for what purpose, mortal..?'..Thought better of it and smiled on...
At one point I felt I had no hope of looking up at all.....my eyes lay rooted to the bed, to ensure I wasnt sucked in by a whirlpool of sorts...I had heard of many heros who had to give their lives up to these terrors that loomed deep under our feet...At places, the snail would've been faster...for he wouldnt have to worry about drowning am sure...It was after almost an hour of this endeavour that I looked up to see light...A dry patch of ground...and the same continued henceforth...
Did it mean the end was near..? My legs hurried through the remaining and Yes..! I was through...I stopped, took a deep breath and looked back at what had been me for a long time now...Yes, the floods in Mumbai were taking a toll on normal life...
With thoughts blaming the stars, the BMC, my maid's kid's school principal, that lady in red in the news yesterday and a million other things, I entered office...drenched to the tip..and the AC dint help either....
13 June 2006
Papa's girl..
It seems like a near two months since Goddess had decided that H (lets call my lil sis that henceforth!!) needed her more than us here...and was gone...and I think God and i did a pretty decent job...I managed to get goign with "the art of cooking"...now dont expect me to start writing 'Cooking for dummies ' or go ahead and host a Devil's kitchen for you guys...you dont really need to know much of the art to do one of these anyway....But "decent" is what I would call myself...
I atleast knew that the garam masala dint really add a special taste to all the sabjis you made...and too much of puli* in the lemon rasam* made it real aweful...So you see..I got a hang of things...What if i hadnt found recipes that used a lot of what my mom had stocked up for us...We did go for a few refills...Thats how good we got..and it was a nice family experience...
Things got bad though when late work times would leave me in bed for good hours in the day...letting the poor man resort to his own culinary skills...I wonder if I expected too much in wanting him to serve a meal up himself coz I was dead...I did get up on most times...but on those occasional few..it felt like shit...With Goddess calling me long distance, just to let me know that I had failed them...That was mean..
It hurts to realise the clash in images of you; one in their mind and the other in yours...you surely want to be out and independent...And sometimes want to get out of that papa's girl image...How long would you still be called one...? I felt childish to be still treated like one..
And in that phase of cognition, it dawned; that at any point of time in life, one is more grown up than the other..No! the age's always one way...but the growth of thought is always gapped...Why else would they act innocent and fail to accept that I was an adult now..especially when I sure felt like one..?? Why else would he act a proud father about my cooking when I'd missed the salt many times but one..?? Why else would he wake me up to make the easy-to-make coffee, but do all the distilling for tea himself...??
It started as Papa's girl...and graduated to Girl's papa recently...
*puli - the tamil equivalent for tamarind..imli in hindi..forms a major part of many south indian dishes.
*rasam - a broth to be mixed with steamed rice while eating..mainly made up of tamarind water..and a specific ingredient is added to spice up the taste and differentiate the various kinds.
I atleast knew that the garam masala dint really add a special taste to all the sabjis you made...and too much of puli* in the lemon rasam* made it real aweful...So you see..I got a hang of things...What if i hadnt found recipes that used a lot of what my mom had stocked up for us...We did go for a few refills...Thats how good we got..and it was a nice family experience...
Things got bad though when late work times would leave me in bed for good hours in the day...letting the poor man resort to his own culinary skills...I wonder if I expected too much in wanting him to serve a meal up himself coz I was dead...I did get up on most times...but on those occasional few..it felt like shit...With Goddess calling me long distance, just to let me know that I had failed them...That was mean..
It hurts to realise the clash in images of you; one in their mind and the other in yours...you surely want to be out and independent...And sometimes want to get out of that papa's girl image...How long would you still be called one...? I felt childish to be still treated like one..
And in that phase of cognition, it dawned; that at any point of time in life, one is more grown up than the other..No! the age's always one way...but the growth of thought is always gapped...Why else would they act innocent and fail to accept that I was an adult now..especially when I sure felt like one..?? Why else would he act a proud father about my cooking when I'd missed the salt many times but one..?? Why else would he wake me up to make the easy-to-make coffee, but do all the distilling for tea himself...??
It started as Papa's girl...and graduated to Girl's papa recently...
*puli - the tamil equivalent for tamarind..imli in hindi..forms a major part of many south indian dishes.
*rasam - a broth to be mixed with steamed rice while eating..mainly made up of tamarind water..and a specific ingredient is added to spice up the taste and differentiate the various kinds.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)