4th July 2011
Suba moved from Pune to Pallavaram(Chennai ) by end May 11 and I came to Pallavarm to spend a few days with her by the 2nd week of June . While coming here , I forgot to bring the Amavasai Tharpanam book, Dharpai, pavithram etc. The Amavaasai fell on 1st July and I had two options. Go to Tiruvanmiyur and get these or manage locally. I decided to choose the 2nd option as I thought it was not worthwhile to travel 32 Km's just to fetch these things.In fact till 29th June , I did not bother much as I thought I could manage these things easily.
On 30th June, I went to the nearby Pillaiyar Koil and enquired with the Gurukkal there as to where I could get the pavithram, Dharpai etc. I was shocked to get an answer that these things are not available at Pallavaram and that one has to go to Nanganallur or T Nagar to get these ! Fortunately, he came to my help by making the Pavithram and Koorcham himself and gave them to me along with a few dharpais. So, one problem solved.
Suba did not have the sandhyavandanam book ( which will have the Tharpanam Mandiram ) .Being new in this building, she was not knowing many brahmin families and the one or two brahmin families she knew also did not have the book. So , I searched the net to get the Mandirams. But due to some BB problem, I did not succeed. Then I suddenly remembered that some two years back, I had downloaded the Mandirams in Suba's laptop. Luckily the file was in tact. So the 2nd problem also solved.
On 1st July morning,Suba realised that she did not have the எள். Luckily, grocery shop is very closeby and Suba got it within a few minutes.
Finally, I did the Tharpanam successfully, but when I wanted to do Brahma Yagnam, I found that the mandirams for the same was not available in the file and unfortunately, I could not access the net as there was no power. So, what to do ? I rang up Magesh ( who was at Pune ), asked him to chant the Brahma Yagnam mandiram over the Mobile and I did the puja here repeating the mandirams ! Namaskarams to my forefathers and fore-mothers.
Thus ended my Amavaasai Tharpanam - a different experience !! And what an experience. Being in Chennai, for a moment,I felt as if I was in China !
Monday, July 04, 2011
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Happy Birthday
25 1 2011
Dear Girija/Amma
We'll always remember that special smile,that caring heart,that warm embrace,you always gave us.
You were always there with us through good and bad times,and that made a lot of difference.
We'll always remember you, dear Girija/Amma because there'll never be another one to replace you in our hearts, and the love we will always have for you.
Happy Birth Day to you
Sugavanam ,Sudha, Suba
Dear Girija/Amma
We'll always remember that special smile,that caring heart,that warm embrace,you always gave us.
You were always there with us through good and bad times,and that made a lot of difference.
We'll always remember you, dear Girija/Amma because there'll never be another one to replace you in our hearts, and the love we will always have for you.
Happy Birth Day to you
Sugavanam ,Sudha, Suba
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Remembrance
25 11 2010
My Dearest Girija
I am sitting here in my room, looking at your picture.
Wondering why you couldn't be a part of my future.
Uncontrollable tears stream down my face,
while my heart beat starts to race.
Asking God why he took you from my life,
it was more painful than stabbing me in the heart with a knife.
I still needed you here
you were the one to make everything so clear.
You needed to be here to play with your wonderful grand kids.
They would have been happier getting the warm hugs from you
you are a part of me and I am a part of you
when you died a part of me died too.
I never knew how hard it was to loose someone you love
until the day you went to heaven above.
Even though I can't see,
I know you are up there watching over us
.
I miss you more and more everyday
and all I can do is pray.
In my heart you shall forever remain.
Sugavanam
My Dearest Girija
I am sitting here in my room, looking at your picture.
Wondering why you couldn't be a part of my future.
Uncontrollable tears stream down my face,
while my heart beat starts to race.
Asking God why he took you from my life,
it was more painful than stabbing me in the heart with a knife.
I still needed you here
you were the one to make everything so clear.
You needed to be here to play with your wonderful grand kids.
They would have been happier getting the warm hugs from you
you are a part of me and I am a part of you
when you died a part of me died too.
I never knew how hard it was to loose someone you love
until the day you went to heaven above.
Even though I can't see,
I know you are up there watching over us
.
I miss you more and more everyday
and all I can do is pray.
In my heart you shall forever remain.
Sugavanam
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Maharashtra and Vinayagar- Part 6 ( concluding part )
22 9 10
Today being the Chaturdasi day, it is the day of Visarjan ( Immersion ). The Ganesh utsav which starts on Chaturthi day ends on Chaturdasi when the Lord is immersed in water.
The reason for immersion is a way of saying goodbye to the Lord who descends down on earth from Ganesh Lok to partake in the festivities. We invoke Him and He willingly comes and stays with us. So when the time comes, He returns to His abode. This is marked by the ritual of immersion.
In Pune the main immersion procession concludes at the banks of the river Mula near the junction of Lakshmi Road/Tilak Road.
The immersion procession of the five important Ganapatis, known as the manache Ganapati is a visual treat in itself. These five Ganapatis which are among the oldest in Pune, get precedence over hundreds of other Ganapati idols in the procession/immersion function. The first of these five Ganapatis, The Kasba Ganapati leads the procession in Pune and is the first Ganapati to be immersed.
*The Kasba Ganapati immersion procession is unique in many ways. The procession of this Ganapati alone is more than half a Km long and there are series of bands, Silambaattam, folk dances, and what not. It is a treat to hear and watch more than 60 persons beating the huge drums in a highly rythemic fashion .
* The Tambadi Jogeshwari Ganapati comes second after Kasba Ganapati. This is amongst one of the Ganapatis that Tilak had started for the cause of social uprisement. Now the mandal is 107 years old. The idol of this Ganapati is unique that resembles the elephants of Africa and is always kept in a silver palkhi.
* The Guruji Taalim Mandal established in 1887 is the third manacha Ganapati. This was the first mandal in Pune to celebrate its 100 years even before Tilak started Ganesh festival for social awakening.
* The Tulshibaug Ganpati was installed in 1901. As Tulshibaug was the biggest market place in Pune at that time, traders from various places used to come here. It was thought that the message of independence movement could be spread by word of mouth through these traders at that time. This was the first mandal to present a moving tableau way back in 1952.
* The Kesari Wada Ganapati is the fifth Ganapati of honour in Pune. Lokmanya Tilak had established the idol of Ganesh for this mandal in the year 1893.
* While the above 5 ganapatis are immersed in the daytime itself, Sriman Dagdusheth Halwai Ganapati procession takes place after 8 pm as the chariot in which the Ganapati is taken will have beautiful decoration with jewellary which will glitter under thousands of serial bulbs in the night.
The immersion function was initially over by midnight in the earlier years . Now a days with more and more Ganesh pandals coming up every year, it takes two full days for the function to get over. This is inspite of the fact that many pandals choose to have immersion from the 5th day of festival itself( to avoid the rush on the Visarjan day )
Elaborate arrangements are made by the city police for ensuring a smooth procession and many roads are closed for traffic for the whole day today.
We, I, Magesh, Suba, Sughosh and Mahathi had a wonderful view of the procession of the five important Ganapatis today. We left our home at 1030 am and after parking our car about 1 km before Lakshmi Road walked to Lakshmi Road .
As the procession had just started at the other end of Lakshmi Road ( about 3 Km's away ), we decided to walk the stretch to meet the procession on the way.
What we saw then was unbelievable. We have heard of Red Carpet welcome when a VIP visits. Here on Lakshmi Road it was also a Red Carpet Welcome for the Ganapatis coming in that route for immersion , but it was a different kind of Red Carpet .Yes, it was Red Carpet of Rangoli.
In the middle of the road, Red Carpet Rangoli was put for a width of about 3 feet and on both the sides and inside the Carpet area, various excellent designs of flowers etc were drawn in white Rangoli. At junctions of four roads, very big round Rangoli Kolam were drawn ( each Kolam would be about 30 feet diameter and more than 10 different colors had been used in each kolam ).
When we were walking in the Lakshmi Road , we could see this Rangoli taking shape in the last stretch of the road. Hundreds of girls and boys were engaged in this marvellous hand work and it was a visual treat to watch the Rangoli being put with such expertise and precision that when somebody sees this from a distance, he/she will easily take it to be a real Red Carpet with beautiful borders and designs inside it . ஆயிரம் கண் போதாது இதை கண்டுகளிக்க.,
Then came the procession in the order mentioned above. We had excellent darshan of these Ganapatis and enjoyed the drums and other dances. After seeing these five Ganapatis, we walked back for some distance and then took an Auto to our Carpark by another road ( Lakshmi Road was full of people) and returned home by 4 30 pm ( after having lunch in a hotel ).
Today was a very satisfying day as we could see a number of our beloved God Vinayagar idols in eyecatching procession. One must see atleast once in his/her life time , the Visarjan procession in Pune .
During the procession, the following are chanted by the devotees.
(This chanting is to be said in the same manner as we say -
Namah Paarvatipathaye..... HaraHara Mahaadeva )
Ganapati Bappa ...... Moriya ( Oh father / Lord Ganesha.... Moriya* )
MangalMurthy......... Moriya* ( That which purifies both internally as well as externally is auspicious (mangal). An image bringing auspiciousness is thus Mangalmurti )
Pudhchya Varshi ...... Lavkar yaa ( come again speedily next year ).
* Moriya Gosavi was a 14th century saint of the Ganapatya sect. He was a great devotee of Ganesha. The word Moriya in "Ganapati Bappa Moriya" is attributed to him. This depicts the inseparable relationship between God and a devotee."
Ganapati Bappa ........ Moriya
MangalMurthy......... Moriya
Pudhchya Varshi ..... Lavkar yaa
OM GANESHAYA NAMAHA
Today being the Chaturdasi day, it is the day of Visarjan ( Immersion ). The Ganesh utsav which starts on Chaturthi day ends on Chaturdasi when the Lord is immersed in water.
The reason for immersion is a way of saying goodbye to the Lord who descends down on earth from Ganesh Lok to partake in the festivities. We invoke Him and He willingly comes and stays with us. So when the time comes, He returns to His abode. This is marked by the ritual of immersion.
In Pune the main immersion procession concludes at the banks of the river Mula near the junction of Lakshmi Road/Tilak Road.
The immersion procession of the five important Ganapatis, known as the manache Ganapati is a visual treat in itself. These five Ganapatis which are among the oldest in Pune, get precedence over hundreds of other Ganapati idols in the procession/immersion function. The first of these five Ganapatis, The Kasba Ganapati leads the procession in Pune and is the first Ganapati to be immersed.
*The Kasba Ganapati immersion procession is unique in many ways. The procession of this Ganapati alone is more than half a Km long and there are series of bands, Silambaattam, folk dances, and what not. It is a treat to hear and watch more than 60 persons beating the huge drums in a highly rythemic fashion .
* The Tambadi Jogeshwari Ganapati comes second after Kasba Ganapati. This is amongst one of the Ganapatis that Tilak had started for the cause of social uprisement. Now the mandal is 107 years old. The idol of this Ganapati is unique that resembles the elephants of Africa and is always kept in a silver palkhi.
* The Guruji Taalim Mandal established in 1887 is the third manacha Ganapati. This was the first mandal in Pune to celebrate its 100 years even before Tilak started Ganesh festival for social awakening.
* The Tulshibaug Ganpati was installed in 1901. As Tulshibaug was the biggest market place in Pune at that time, traders from various places used to come here. It was thought that the message of independence movement could be spread by word of mouth through these traders at that time. This was the first mandal to present a moving tableau way back in 1952.
* The Kesari Wada Ganapati is the fifth Ganapati of honour in Pune. Lokmanya Tilak had established the idol of Ganesh for this mandal in the year 1893.
* While the above 5 ganapatis are immersed in the daytime itself, Sriman Dagdusheth Halwai Ganapati procession takes place after 8 pm as the chariot in which the Ganapati is taken will have beautiful decoration with jewellary which will glitter under thousands of serial bulbs in the night.
The immersion function was initially over by midnight in the earlier years . Now a days with more and more Ganesh pandals coming up every year, it takes two full days for the function to get over. This is inspite of the fact that many pandals choose to have immersion from the 5th day of festival itself( to avoid the rush on the Visarjan day )
Elaborate arrangements are made by the city police for ensuring a smooth procession and many roads are closed for traffic for the whole day today.
We, I, Magesh, Suba, Sughosh and Mahathi had a wonderful view of the procession of the five important Ganapatis today. We left our home at 1030 am and after parking our car about 1 km before Lakshmi Road walked to Lakshmi Road .
As the procession had just started at the other end of Lakshmi Road ( about 3 Km's away ), we decided to walk the stretch to meet the procession on the way.
What we saw then was unbelievable. We have heard of Red Carpet welcome when a VIP visits. Here on Lakshmi Road it was also a Red Carpet Welcome for the Ganapatis coming in that route for immersion , but it was a different kind of Red Carpet .Yes, it was Red Carpet of Rangoli.
In the middle of the road, Red Carpet Rangoli was put for a width of about 3 feet and on both the sides and inside the Carpet area, various excellent designs of flowers etc were drawn in white Rangoli. At junctions of four roads, very big round Rangoli Kolam were drawn ( each Kolam would be about 30 feet diameter and more than 10 different colors had been used in each kolam ).
When we were walking in the Lakshmi Road , we could see this Rangoli taking shape in the last stretch of the road. Hundreds of girls and boys were engaged in this marvellous hand work and it was a visual treat to watch the Rangoli being put with such expertise and precision that when somebody sees this from a distance, he/she will easily take it to be a real Red Carpet with beautiful borders and designs inside it . ஆயிரம் கண் போதாது இதை கண்டுகளிக்க.,
Then came the procession in the order mentioned above. We had excellent darshan of these Ganapatis and enjoyed the drums and other dances. After seeing these five Ganapatis, we walked back for some distance and then took an Auto to our Carpark by another road ( Lakshmi Road was full of people) and returned home by 4 30 pm ( after having lunch in a hotel ).
Today was a very satisfying day as we could see a number of our beloved God Vinayagar idols in eyecatching procession. One must see atleast once in his/her life time , the Visarjan procession in Pune .
During the procession, the following are chanted by the devotees.
(This chanting is to be said in the same manner as we say -
Namah Paarvatipathaye..... HaraHara Mahaadeva )
Ganapati Bappa ...... Moriya ( Oh father / Lord Ganesha.... Moriya* )
MangalMurthy......... Moriya* ( That which purifies both internally as well as externally is auspicious (mangal). An image bringing auspiciousness is thus Mangalmurti )
Pudhchya Varshi ...... Lavkar yaa ( come again speedily next year ).
* Moriya Gosavi was a 14th century saint of the Ganapatya sect. He was a great devotee of Ganesha. The word Moriya in "Ganapati Bappa Moriya" is attributed to him. This depicts the inseparable relationship between God and a devotee."
Ganapati Bappa ........ Moriya
MangalMurthy......... Moriya
Pudhchya Varshi ..... Lavkar yaa
OM GANESHAYA NAMAHA
Monday, September 20, 2010
Maharashtra and Vinayagar- Part 5
20 9 10
There are many important Ganesh temples in Maharashtra. Among them, the AshtaVinayagar temples around Pune have a special place.
Ashtavinayaga temples are eight popular Lord Ganesha temples. The term ‘Ashtavinayaga Yatra’ refers to the pilgrimage or yatra to these eight ancient holy Ganapati temples around Pune. These Ashtavinayaga temples have eight distinct forms of Ganesh idols. The form of trunk of each Ganesha idol is different from one another. Some of the Ashtavinayaka are Swayambhu Ganpati murtis (self-existent).
There is a tradition or ritual of visiting these eight Ganesh temples in serial order mentioned in the Shastra. The Yatra starts with Moreshwar of Moregaon, and goes on through Siddhitek, Pali, Mahad, Theur, Lenyadri, Ozar, Ranjangoan, and then again Moregaon. Visiting Moregaon for second time concludes the Yatra.
Brief details of Ashtavinayaga temples:
Mayureshwar or Moreshwar Temple: Located along the banks of Karha River in Morgaon village in Pune District, Lord Ganesh is known as Mayureshwar or Moreshwar. Ganesha is here depicted as riding a peacock. It is believed that Lord Ganesha appeared in this form to destroy a demon named Sindhu. Morgaon village is located in Baramati Taluk and is around 55 km southeast of Pune city.
Siddhivinayak Temple: The idol of Ganesha at Siddhivinayak Temple is unique as it has a right turned trunk. This famous temple dedicated to Lord Ganesh is located at Siddhatek. It is believed that Lord Vishnu prayed to Ganesha before fighting demons Madhu and Kaitab. Ganesh is named Siddhivinayak here because it is believed that Lord Vishnu achieved success because he prayed here. Siddhatek Village is located on the banks of Bhima River near Karjat in Ahmadnagar District. It is south east of Pune city.
Ballaleshwar Temple: Lord Ganesha shrine at Pali in Raigad District known as Ballaleshwar Ganesh Temple is named after Ballal, a staunch devotee of Vinayaka. It is believed that Ganesha appeared here to save his devotee from irate villagers. Pali is around 115 km west of Pune city.
Varad Vinayak or Mahadcha Shri Varadavinayak Temple: Located in Mahad in Raigarh District, Lord Ganesha is believed to have given darshan to Gruthsmadh here who performed penance to get rid of sins. He was granted what he wished and therefore the Varad Vinayak here is known as one who fulfills wishes. A lamp named Nandadeep at the temple is burning constantly since 1892. Mahad is around 25 km southwest of Karjat.
Chintamani Vinayak Temple: Chintamani Ganesh Temple is located in Theur in Pune District. It is believed that Lord Ganesha took the form of Chintamani to get back the precious Chintamani jewel of Sage Kaptila from demon Guna. Another legend has it that Brahma’s mind once underwent turbulence and he called upon Ganesha at Theur to help in keeping his mind in calm. Theur or Theyoor is located 20 km south east of Pune city.
Girijatmaja or Girijatmak or Girijatmaj Temple: Located in Lekhan Hills or Lenaya Parvat or Lenyadri, it is believed that Girija (Goddess Parvati) performed intense austerities for 12 years at the present Girijatmaj Lenyadri Temple to beget Ganesha as her son. One has to climb 283 steps to reach this shrine, which is surrounded by beautiful hills. The Ganesh temple is part of a Buddhist Cave temple. It is located around 150 km north-east of Pune city on the Pune-Nasik Highway
Vighneshwar or Vighnahara or Vighneshwara Temple: Located on the banks of the Kukdeshwar River in Ojhar or Ozhar in Pune District, Vighneshwar Temple represents the form of Ganesha taken to destroy demon Vighnasura. This beautiful temple is located on Pune – Nasik Highway (NH 50) near Junnar and is around 80 km north east of Pune city.
Mahaganapati Temple: Located at Ranjangaon, Mahaganapati Temple is believed to be the spot where Lord Shiva worshipped Ganesha before fighting demon Tripurasura. This is also the most powerful idol of Ganesha as it is depicted having several arms. Ranjangaon is located on the Pune-Ahmadnagar highway and is around 55 km east of Pune City.
All these eight temples can be covered in 2/3 days. Try to spare time to visit these temples during your next visit.
There are many important Ganesh temples in Maharashtra. Among them, the AshtaVinayagar temples around Pune have a special place.
Ashtavinayaga temples are eight popular Lord Ganesha temples. The term ‘Ashtavinayaga Yatra’ refers to the pilgrimage or yatra to these eight ancient holy Ganapati temples around Pune. These Ashtavinayaga temples have eight distinct forms of Ganesh idols. The form of trunk of each Ganesha idol is different from one another. Some of the Ashtavinayaka are Swayambhu Ganpati murtis (self-existent).
There is a tradition or ritual of visiting these eight Ganesh temples in serial order mentioned in the Shastra. The Yatra starts with Moreshwar of Moregaon, and goes on through Siddhitek, Pali, Mahad, Theur, Lenyadri, Ozar, Ranjangoan, and then again Moregaon. Visiting Moregaon for second time concludes the Yatra.
Brief details of Ashtavinayaga temples:
Mayureshwar or Moreshwar Temple: Located along the banks of Karha River in Morgaon village in Pune District, Lord Ganesh is known as Mayureshwar or Moreshwar. Ganesha is here depicted as riding a peacock. It is believed that Lord Ganesha appeared in this form to destroy a demon named Sindhu. Morgaon village is located in Baramati Taluk and is around 55 km southeast of Pune city.
Siddhivinayak Temple: The idol of Ganesha at Siddhivinayak Temple is unique as it has a right turned trunk. This famous temple dedicated to Lord Ganesh is located at Siddhatek. It is believed that Lord Vishnu prayed to Ganesha before fighting demons Madhu and Kaitab. Ganesh is named Siddhivinayak here because it is believed that Lord Vishnu achieved success because he prayed here. Siddhatek Village is located on the banks of Bhima River near Karjat in Ahmadnagar District. It is south east of Pune city.
Ballaleshwar Temple: Lord Ganesha shrine at Pali in Raigad District known as Ballaleshwar Ganesh Temple is named after Ballal, a staunch devotee of Vinayaka. It is believed that Ganesha appeared here to save his devotee from irate villagers. Pali is around 115 km west of Pune city.
Varad Vinayak or Mahadcha Shri Varadavinayak Temple: Located in Mahad in Raigarh District, Lord Ganesha is believed to have given darshan to Gruthsmadh here who performed penance to get rid of sins. He was granted what he wished and therefore the Varad Vinayak here is known as one who fulfills wishes. A lamp named Nandadeep at the temple is burning constantly since 1892. Mahad is around 25 km southwest of Karjat.
Chintamani Vinayak Temple: Chintamani Ganesh Temple is located in Theur in Pune District. It is believed that Lord Ganesha took the form of Chintamani to get back the precious Chintamani jewel of Sage Kaptila from demon Guna. Another legend has it that Brahma’s mind once underwent turbulence and he called upon Ganesha at Theur to help in keeping his mind in calm. Theur or Theyoor is located 20 km south east of Pune city.
Girijatmaja or Girijatmak or Girijatmaj Temple: Located in Lekhan Hills or Lenaya Parvat or Lenyadri, it is believed that Girija (Goddess Parvati) performed intense austerities for 12 years at the present Girijatmaj Lenyadri Temple to beget Ganesha as her son. One has to climb 283 steps to reach this shrine, which is surrounded by beautiful hills. The Ganesh temple is part of a Buddhist Cave temple. It is located around 150 km north-east of Pune city on the Pune-Nasik Highway
Vighneshwar or Vighnahara or Vighneshwara Temple: Located on the banks of the Kukdeshwar River in Ojhar or Ozhar in Pune District, Vighneshwar Temple represents the form of Ganesha taken to destroy demon Vighnasura. This beautiful temple is located on Pune – Nasik Highway (NH 50) near Junnar and is around 80 km north east of Pune city.
Mahaganapati Temple: Located at Ranjangaon, Mahaganapati Temple is believed to be the spot where Lord Shiva worshipped Ganesha before fighting demon Tripurasura. This is also the most powerful idol of Ganesha as it is depicted having several arms. Ranjangaon is located on the Pune-Ahmadnagar highway and is around 55 km east of Pune City.
All these eight temples can be covered in 2/3 days. Try to spare time to visit these temples during your next visit.
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Maharashtra and Vinayagar- Part 4
19 9 10
Lalbaugcharaja Ganpati is the most famous Ganesh Pandal in Mumbai.
“LALBAUGCHA RAJA (The Emperor of Lalbaug)” is the name of the popular Ganesh Idol of “LALBAUGCHA RAJA SARVAJANIK GANESHOTSAV MANDAL”. The Mandal, formerly known as “SARVAJANIK GANESHOTSAV MANDAL, LALBAUG” was founded in the year 1934, at its existing place.
This Mandal will celebrate cool Ganeshotsav in 2010. The Lalbaugcha Raja Sarvajanik Ganeshotsav Mandal has built an air-conditioned waiting enclosure for devotees who throng the mandal to get the darshan of the Lord and wait for hours. This is the first of its kind in Mumbai. This will be a great help for lakhs of devotees who wait for hours in queues stretching up to kilometers.
Lalbaugcharaja Ganpati, will have its replica for Ganesh Chaturthi 2010 in Pune. It is the great news for Pune devotees who throng Mumbai to have darshan of Lalbaugcha Raja Ganesh every year.
Lalbaugcharaja Ganpati is the most famous Ganesh Pandal in Mumbai.
“LALBAUGCHA RAJA (The Emperor of Lalbaug)” is the name of the popular Ganesh Idol of “LALBAUGCHA RAJA SARVAJANIK GANESHOTSAV MANDAL”. The Mandal, formerly known as “SARVAJANIK GANESHOTSAV MANDAL, LALBAUG” was founded in the year 1934, at its existing place.
This Mandal will celebrate cool Ganeshotsav in 2010. The Lalbaugcha Raja Sarvajanik Ganeshotsav Mandal has built an air-conditioned waiting enclosure for devotees who throng the mandal to get the darshan of the Lord and wait for hours. This is the first of its kind in Mumbai. This will be a great help for lakhs of devotees who wait for hours in queues stretching up to kilometers.
Lalbaugcharaja Ganpati, will have its replica for Ganesh Chaturthi 2010 in Pune. It is the great news for Pune devotees who throng Mumbai to have darshan of Lalbaugcha Raja Ganesh every year.
Saturday, September 18, 2010
Maharashtra and Vinayagar- Part 3
18 9 10
I am today writing about one of the famous Ganesh temples in Maharashtra
Dagdusheth Halwai Ganapati Temple in Pune, is a temple dedicated to the Hindu God Ganesh. It is the most famous Ganapati Temple in Pune.The temple is located a short distance from the historical Shaniwar Wada fort, which was administrative headquarters of Peshwas of Maratha Empire. The temple is very popular in Maharashtra and is visited by lakhs of pilgrims every year.
Devotees of the temple include celebrities and Chief Ministers of Maharashtra who visit during the annual ten day Ganeshotsav festival.The main Ganesh idol is insured for a sum of Rs 1 crore .
This temple was founded in 1893 by Dagadusheth Halwai, a sweetmeat seller who became a wealthy businessman. Halwai had lost his son the previous year, and at the request of his guru built this temple.
The Halwai Ganapati Trust carries out philanthropic work from the donations received, and is one of the richest in Maharashtra. The trust operates an old age home called Pitashree at Kondhwa in Pune. The home was built at a cost of 1.5 crore and opened in May 2003. In the same building the trust provides housing and education for 40 destitute children. Other services provided by the trust include ambulance service for poor and health clinics in tribal belts of Pune Dist.
Every year during Ganes Festival, this Temple trust erects a a very big Pandal of various themes, many a times a replica of famous temples and forts, and in this pandal( generally called Mandal here ), the Lord Ganesh is worshipped for ten days. Laks of people make it a point to visit this Mandal to seek the blessings of Vinayagar.
This richest Ganapati mandal in Pune is leaving no stone unturned to ensure maximum security for its devotees. Of the Rs 31.50 crore income, they are spending a sizeable sum on security of the several lakhs of devotees visiting every year .
As a precautionary measure against the threat of a bomb in a coconut, the Mandal will have a conveyer belt to move the traditional offerings of coconuts out of the Pandal in just 11 seconds. This way they hope to avert major disaster if bombs are planted in coconuts. For your information, over 70 lakh coconuts were offered last year to Dagdusheth Ganpati by devotees during the 10 days of the festival. About a lakh coconuts were returned to the devotees in the form of prashad,while the rest were sent for auction.Dagdusheth Ganapati's income last year from coconuts alone was Rs 28.03 lakh!
A bagging cone will be placed at the end of the 50-feet-long belt to fill the coconuts in a jute bag for faster disposal.
"Next year we will prepare a portable coconut conveyer so that the coconuts can be directly carried to the tempo parked outside," the designer of the conveyor belt, Savgaonkar, said.
I am today writing about one of the famous Ganesh temples in Maharashtra
Dagdusheth Halwai Ganapati Temple in Pune, is a temple dedicated to the Hindu God Ganesh. It is the most famous Ganapati Temple in Pune.The temple is located a short distance from the historical Shaniwar Wada fort, which was administrative headquarters of Peshwas of Maratha Empire. The temple is very popular in Maharashtra and is visited by lakhs of pilgrims every year.
Devotees of the temple include celebrities and Chief Ministers of Maharashtra who visit during the annual ten day Ganeshotsav festival.The main Ganesh idol is insured for a sum of Rs 1 crore .
This temple was founded in 1893 by Dagadusheth Halwai, a sweetmeat seller who became a wealthy businessman. Halwai had lost his son the previous year, and at the request of his guru built this temple.
The Halwai Ganapati Trust carries out philanthropic work from the donations received, and is one of the richest in Maharashtra. The trust operates an old age home called Pitashree at Kondhwa in Pune. The home was built at a cost of 1.5 crore and opened in May 2003. In the same building the trust provides housing and education for 40 destitute children. Other services provided by the trust include ambulance service for poor and health clinics in tribal belts of Pune Dist.
Every year during Ganes Festival, this Temple trust erects a a very big Pandal of various themes, many a times a replica of famous temples and forts, and in this pandal( generally called Mandal here ), the Lord Ganesh is worshipped for ten days. Laks of people make it a point to visit this Mandal to seek the blessings of Vinayagar.
This richest Ganapati mandal in Pune is leaving no stone unturned to ensure maximum security for its devotees. Of the Rs 31.50 crore income, they are spending a sizeable sum on security of the several lakhs of devotees visiting every year .
As a precautionary measure against the threat of a bomb in a coconut, the Mandal will have a conveyer belt to move the traditional offerings of coconuts out of the Pandal in just 11 seconds. This way they hope to avert major disaster if bombs are planted in coconuts. For your information, over 70 lakh coconuts were offered last year to Dagdusheth Ganpati by devotees during the 10 days of the festival. About a lakh coconuts were returned to the devotees in the form of prashad,while the rest were sent for auction.Dagdusheth Ganapati's income last year from coconuts alone was Rs 28.03 lakh!
A bagging cone will be placed at the end of the 50-feet-long belt to fill the coconuts in a jute bag for faster disposal.
"Next year we will prepare a portable coconut conveyer so that the coconuts can be directly carried to the tempo parked outside," the designer of the conveyor belt, Savgaonkar, said.
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Maharashtra and Vinayagar- Part 2
16 9 10
The 10 day Ganapati festival in Maharashtra starts on the Vinayaga Chaturthi Day when the public welcome the Lord in a grand manner. Here is a report on how Ganapati was welcomed in Pune.
The foot-tapping rhythm of drums, tasha' and cymbals and chants of Ganapati Bappa Morya resounded throughout the city on Saturday the 11th Sep 2010 as Puneites welcomed Lord Ganapati into their homes, societies and mandals on the first day of the Ganesh festival.
The festivities started in the morning with the processions and consecration of the five important Ganapatis, Kasba Ganapati, Tambdi Jogeshwari, Guruji Talim, Tulshibaug and Kesariwada. Students from 20 countries, giving the message of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam (the whole world is one family), participated in the procession of Kasba Ganapati, which was also accompanied by the Prabhat brass band and a team of drummers of the Samartha Pratishthan.
The Tambdi Jogeshwari procession was accompanied by Nagara players, New Gandharva brass band and drummers of Shivmudra. The drummers of Shivgarjana, attired in white salwar-kurtas and red bandhani phetas, accompanying Guruji Talim mandal, caught the eye with their performance.
When the procession reached Bajirao road, there was an impromptu jugalbandi' between the Shivgarjana team and the Samartha Pratishthan team accompanying the Jilbya Maruti mandal. This interesting duel continued for about 20 minutes before both the mandals moved ahead, mindful of the traffic jam on Bajirao road and Laxmi road.
The consecration of the famous Dagdusheth Ganapati took place at 11 am and devotees thronged the pandal for the darshan' of the jewellery-decked idol.
As the day progressed and consecration of household Ganapatis was completed, members of other public Ganesh mandals started preparations for their processions in the respective areas. trucks decorated with flowers were kept ready along with brass band teams and drummers to welcome the god of wisdom.
Children and adults alike were dressed in finery and flocking to buy the best Ganesh idol. Women in colourful sarees were busy minding the durva,' aarti thaali' and all the accessories required to welcome the deity home.
The city streets wore a crowded look till late in the evening as the processions of smaller mandals continued. Areas near the Pune municipal corporation and Sarasbaug were particularly crowded as many idol makers had put up their stalls at these places.
The 10 day Ganapati festival in Maharashtra starts on the Vinayaga Chaturthi Day when the public welcome the Lord in a grand manner. Here is a report on how Ganapati was welcomed in Pune.
The foot-tapping rhythm of drums, tasha' and cymbals and chants of Ganapati Bappa Morya resounded throughout the city on Saturday the 11th Sep 2010 as Puneites welcomed Lord Ganapati into their homes, societies and mandals on the first day of the Ganesh festival.
The festivities started in the morning with the processions and consecration of the five important Ganapatis, Kasba Ganapati, Tambdi Jogeshwari, Guruji Talim, Tulshibaug and Kesariwada. Students from 20 countries, giving the message of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam (the whole world is one family), participated in the procession of Kasba Ganapati, which was also accompanied by the Prabhat brass band and a team of drummers of the Samartha Pratishthan.
The Tambdi Jogeshwari procession was accompanied by Nagara players, New Gandharva brass band and drummers of Shivmudra. The drummers of Shivgarjana, attired in white salwar-kurtas and red bandhani phetas, accompanying Guruji Talim mandal, caught the eye with their performance.
When the procession reached Bajirao road, there was an impromptu jugalbandi' between the Shivgarjana team and the Samartha Pratishthan team accompanying the Jilbya Maruti mandal. This interesting duel continued for about 20 minutes before both the mandals moved ahead, mindful of the traffic jam on Bajirao road and Laxmi road.
The consecration of the famous Dagdusheth Ganapati took place at 11 am and devotees thronged the pandal for the darshan' of the jewellery-decked idol.
As the day progressed and consecration of household Ganapatis was completed, members of other public Ganesh mandals started preparations for their processions in the respective areas. trucks decorated with flowers were kept ready along with brass band teams and drummers to welcome the god of wisdom.
Children and adults alike were dressed in finery and flocking to buy the best Ganesh idol. Women in colourful sarees were busy minding the durva,' aarti thaali' and all the accessories required to welcome the deity home.
The city streets wore a crowded look till late in the evening as the processions of smaller mandals continued. Areas near the Pune municipal corporation and Sarasbaug were particularly crowded as many idol makers had put up their stalls at these places.
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Maharashtra and Vinayagar- Part 1
15 9 10
We all know that Ganesh Chathurthi is celebrated in a grand manner in Maharashtra. Some details on how it all started ....
n 1894, as a protest to a law passed by the British that prohibited Indians from gathering in public places, noted leader of the Indian Freedom struggle, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, initiated a drive to convert the worship of Lord Ganesha as a large scale public event.
What began as an endeavor to propagate a feeling of unity among citizens has now transformed itself into a massive cultural and social affair. Ganesh Chaturthi is singularly the most important religious festival for the whole of Maharashtra. Meticulously decorated pandals with mock ups of places of historical importance, or depicting religious themes or contemporary events mushroom all over the city where devotees throng to pay homage to the Elephant God.
The more mellowed down version of the same involves the head of the family doing a puja within the premises of the residence itself, with other family members in attendance. A popular food preparation during the time of Ganesha Chaturthi is Modak — rice dumpling stuffed with coconut, dry fruits, jaggery, etc. A number of cultural events involving song and dance, dramas, are organized alongside events with a social cause, such as blood donation camps, free medical check ups, etc. On the eleventh day, serpentine processions carry the idol for immersion—a ceremony known as ‘Visarjan’—chanting the name of the Lord and inviting him to arrive early the next year.
We all know that Ganesh Chathurthi is celebrated in a grand manner in Maharashtra. Some details on how it all started ....
n 1894, as a protest to a law passed by the British that prohibited Indians from gathering in public places, noted leader of the Indian Freedom struggle, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, initiated a drive to convert the worship of Lord Ganesha as a large scale public event.
What began as an endeavor to propagate a feeling of unity among citizens has now transformed itself into a massive cultural and social affair. Ganesh Chaturthi is singularly the most important religious festival for the whole of Maharashtra. Meticulously decorated pandals with mock ups of places of historical importance, or depicting religious themes or contemporary events mushroom all over the city where devotees throng to pay homage to the Elephant God.
The more mellowed down version of the same involves the head of the family doing a puja within the premises of the residence itself, with other family members in attendance. A popular food preparation during the time of Ganesha Chaturthi is Modak — rice dumpling stuffed with coconut, dry fruits, jaggery, etc. A number of cultural events involving song and dance, dramas, are organized alongside events with a social cause, such as blood donation camps, free medical check ups, etc. On the eleventh day, serpentine processions carry the idol for immersion—a ceremony known as ‘Visarjan’—chanting the name of the Lord and inviting him to arrive early the next year.
Wednesday, September 08, 2010
Chennai Airport Improvements
9 9 10
I came to Pune on 6th Sep night by air.
When I entered the Chennai Airport on that day to take the flight to Pune, I could not believe my eyes. Though I was a frequent flyer before my retirement in 2004, I would have gone to Chennai airport only on a few occasions after 2004.Everytime I went there, I could see some developments taking place. This time however, there was a marked improvement and the airport has become very big ( compared to what it was six years back )
In those days,I remember that after getting out of the car just at the entrance gate, I had to walk only a few meters to the check in counter. On Monday, I had to walk for more than 5 mins to reach the check in counter! The waiting lounge has also undergone a vast change and I was wondering whether it was the same airport that I used to visit in those days.
The other improvement I could notice was in the operations side. Effective 1st Sep.,various steps for ontime departure of the flights have been introduced at Chennai airport- like passengers should report two hours prior to the sch dep time., the check in counter should be closed half an hour before the dep time,boarding should be completed before 15 mins etc- so that the flight can take off on time. Earlier, there used to be no discipline in adhering to the time schedules, as a result almost all the flights used to take off 10/15 mins behind schedule ,thus affecting the subsequent flights at the departing as well as at the destination airport.
The new initiative is a welcome one.In the 90 mins that I was at the airport, I could see that almost all the flights ( 7/8 ) took off on time. My flight in fact took off 5 mins earlier to the scheduled dep time !
On the minus side, earlier I used to take a cup of steaming coffee for Rs 5/- inside the airport.Now it has gone up by 5 times. May be a part of the cost of development is recovered this way !!
I came to Pune on 6th Sep night by air.
When I entered the Chennai Airport on that day to take the flight to Pune, I could not believe my eyes. Though I was a frequent flyer before my retirement in 2004, I would have gone to Chennai airport only on a few occasions after 2004.Everytime I went there, I could see some developments taking place. This time however, there was a marked improvement and the airport has become very big ( compared to what it was six years back )
In those days,I remember that after getting out of the car just at the entrance gate, I had to walk only a few meters to the check in counter. On Monday, I had to walk for more than 5 mins to reach the check in counter! The waiting lounge has also undergone a vast change and I was wondering whether it was the same airport that I used to visit in those days.
The other improvement I could notice was in the operations side. Effective 1st Sep.,various steps for ontime departure of the flights have been introduced at Chennai airport- like passengers should report two hours prior to the sch dep time., the check in counter should be closed half an hour before the dep time,boarding should be completed before 15 mins etc- so that the flight can take off on time. Earlier, there used to be no discipline in adhering to the time schedules, as a result almost all the flights used to take off 10/15 mins behind schedule ,thus affecting the subsequent flights at the departing as well as at the destination airport.
The new initiative is a welcome one.In the 90 mins that I was at the airport, I could see that almost all the flights ( 7/8 ) took off on time. My flight in fact took off 5 mins earlier to the scheduled dep time !
On the minus side, earlier I used to take a cup of steaming coffee for Rs 5/- inside the airport.Now it has gone up by 5 times. May be a part of the cost of development is recovered this way !!
Sunday, August 08, 2010
சந்தோஷம் என்பது என்ன ?
8 8 2010
சந்தோஷம் என்பது என்ன ?
1. குழந்தையை மடியில் வைத்திருக்கும் போது அது தன் பிஞ்சு கால்களை அப்படி இப்படி ஆட்டும் போது, அதன் மென்மையான மலர் பாதங்கள் நம் மீது படும் போது ஏற்படும் சிலிர்ப்பா ?
2. 2 (அ) 3 செ. மீ நீளமே உள்ள அதன் பூ விரல்களால் நம் விரல்களை பிடித்துக்கொள்ளும் போது ஏற்படும் உவகையா ?
3. Vijai TV Super Singer 3 ன் selection round ன் முதல் சுற்றிலேயே qualify ஆக முடியாத நம் பாட்டை கேட்டு சொக்கி (!) நம் மடியிலேயே அழகாக தூங்குகிறதே அந்த ஆனந்தமா ?
4. தனக்கு தெரிந்த மொழியில் ஆ, இ, உ என பேசி, தன் தேவையை ( பசியா, தூக்கமா, Jatti ஐ மாற்ற வேண்டுமா ) தெரிவிக்கும் அதன் அறிவை கண்டு வியக்கும் போதா ?
5. குழந்தையை மடியில் வைத்திருக்கும் போது அது நம் மேல் urine போய் விட்டு, ஒரு சிரிப்பு சிரிக்குமே, அந்த கள்ளமில்லா சிரிப்பை காணும் போதா ?
6. அழுது கொண்டிருக்கும் குழந்தையை நாம் தூக்கி கொண்டதும் அதன் அழுகை மறைந்து, நம் support கிடைத்து விட்டது என்ற நிம்மதியில் நம்மை பார்த்து சிரிக்குமே அந்த சிரிப்பிலா ?
7. சமயத்தில் நமக்கு சமமாக பேசி நம்மை திக்குமுக்காட வைக்கும் அதன் திறமையை
காணும் போதா ?
என்னை கேட்டால் , இந்த ஏழுமே மிக பெரிய சந்தோஷம் தான்.
சந்தோஷம் என்பது என்ன ?
1. குழந்தையை மடியில் வைத்திருக்கும் போது அது தன் பிஞ்சு கால்களை அப்படி இப்படி ஆட்டும் போது, அதன் மென்மையான மலர் பாதங்கள் நம் மீது படும் போது ஏற்படும் சிலிர்ப்பா ?
2. 2 (அ) 3 செ. மீ நீளமே உள்ள அதன் பூ விரல்களால் நம் விரல்களை பிடித்துக்கொள்ளும் போது ஏற்படும் உவகையா ?
3. Vijai TV Super Singer 3 ன் selection round ன் முதல் சுற்றிலேயே qualify ஆக முடியாத நம் பாட்டை கேட்டு சொக்கி (!) நம் மடியிலேயே அழகாக தூங்குகிறதே அந்த ஆனந்தமா ?
4. தனக்கு தெரிந்த மொழியில் ஆ, இ, உ என பேசி, தன் தேவையை ( பசியா, தூக்கமா, Jatti ஐ மாற்ற வேண்டுமா ) தெரிவிக்கும் அதன் அறிவை கண்டு வியக்கும் போதா ?
5. குழந்தையை மடியில் வைத்திருக்கும் போது அது நம் மேல் urine போய் விட்டு, ஒரு சிரிப்பு சிரிக்குமே, அந்த கள்ளமில்லா சிரிப்பை காணும் போதா ?
6. அழுது கொண்டிருக்கும் குழந்தையை நாம் தூக்கி கொண்டதும் அதன் அழுகை மறைந்து, நம் support கிடைத்து விட்டது என்ற நிம்மதியில் நம்மை பார்த்து சிரிக்குமே அந்த சிரிப்பிலா ?
7. சமயத்தில் நமக்கு சமமாக பேசி நம்மை திக்குமுக்காட வைக்கும் அதன் திறமையை
காணும் போதா ?
என்னை கேட்டால் , இந்த ஏழுமே மிக பெரிய சந்தோஷம் தான்.
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Garib Rath Chennai to Delhi
19 7 10
When I decided to book my ticket to Delhi, I had a lot of choices. To fly, to travel by the popular Tamilnadu or GT Express, or to choose the prestigious Rajdhani Exp ( R in short) or the Duronto Exp( D in short ) the new train introduced by Mamta or the Garib rath( G in short )
As the airfare was over Rs 4000 one way, I decided to travel by train. Since I have already travelled by all other trains ( in same sector or in some other sector ), this time I decided to check out the G .
G is a service introduced by Laloo Prasad in 2005 , mainly for the middle class to enable them travel in AC comfort on long journeys. It was a very good idea and became a very popular train in no time.
R and D are also basically AC trains and these three trains are the fastest between Chennai and Delhi, covering the distance of 2176 KM's in 28 hrs and 10 mins. ( TN Exp takes about 33 hrs and GT about 36 hrs.). But the difference lies in the Fare. For R and D, you will have to pay Rs 2000 for Chennai- Delhi for 3 tier AC sleeper whereas it is only Rs 892 in Garib Rath. Same distance, Same comfort ,but less than half the fare. Isn't it a good deal ?
What are the differences ?
In R & D , the breakfast, lunch, dinner, coffee/tea , snacks and water are served free. The bedding is free. You get a newspaper free . In G the bedding is provided at Rs 25 extra. ( I found many people carried their own bedding and did not avail of this facility). You will have to pay extra for the meals, water, paper etc. But you get all the items sitting in your seat.
For a person like me who prefers home food always, it did not matter whether the food is served free or on cost. So, all I had to spend extra was Rs 25 for the bedding ( I did not want to carry too many luggages ), Rs 6 for the newspaper and Rs 15 for three cups of coffee.
The journey ( left Chennai on 17th mor at 6 10 am reaching Delhi yesterday mor at 10 30 am. ) was quite comfortable.The temp was maintained well and it was pleasantly cool all thro. The train was running to time from Chennai to Delhi and arrived at Delhi just 10 mins behind sch ( waited in the outer for the platform to become ready ). There were no unwanted visitiors in the compartment, water for the toilet was availble from the beginning to the end of the journey.
The minus points were - the maintenance of the toilets were very poor and in many toilets, the latches were not working properly. The compartment was not cleaned anywhere enroute. ( Usually in TN or GT, small boys will wipe the floor clean and get a few rupees given voluntarily by the passengers).
But overall, it was a comfortable journey at a much reduced fare.
P.S The senoir citizens do not get the 30% concession in G ( since the fare itself is low )
Next time you have an opportunity, travel by G . It is time saving and money saving.
When I decided to book my ticket to Delhi, I had a lot of choices. To fly, to travel by the popular Tamilnadu or GT Express, or to choose the prestigious Rajdhani Exp ( R in short) or the Duronto Exp( D in short ) the new train introduced by Mamta or the Garib rath( G in short )
As the airfare was over Rs 4000 one way, I decided to travel by train. Since I have already travelled by all other trains ( in same sector or in some other sector ), this time I decided to check out the G .
G is a service introduced by Laloo Prasad in 2005 , mainly for the middle class to enable them travel in AC comfort on long journeys. It was a very good idea and became a very popular train in no time.
R and D are also basically AC trains and these three trains are the fastest between Chennai and Delhi, covering the distance of 2176 KM's in 28 hrs and 10 mins. ( TN Exp takes about 33 hrs and GT about 36 hrs.). But the difference lies in the Fare. For R and D, you will have to pay Rs 2000 for Chennai- Delhi for 3 tier AC sleeper whereas it is only Rs 892 in Garib Rath. Same distance, Same comfort ,but less than half the fare. Isn't it a good deal ?
What are the differences ?
In R & D , the breakfast, lunch, dinner, coffee/tea , snacks and water are served free. The bedding is free. You get a newspaper free . In G the bedding is provided at Rs 25 extra. ( I found many people carried their own bedding and did not avail of this facility). You will have to pay extra for the meals, water, paper etc. But you get all the items sitting in your seat.
For a person like me who prefers home food always, it did not matter whether the food is served free or on cost. So, all I had to spend extra was Rs 25 for the bedding ( I did not want to carry too many luggages ), Rs 6 for the newspaper and Rs 15 for three cups of coffee.
The journey ( left Chennai on 17th mor at 6 10 am reaching Delhi yesterday mor at 10 30 am. ) was quite comfortable.The temp was maintained well and it was pleasantly cool all thro. The train was running to time from Chennai to Delhi and arrived at Delhi just 10 mins behind sch ( waited in the outer for the platform to become ready ). There were no unwanted visitiors in the compartment, water for the toilet was availble from the beginning to the end of the journey.
The minus points were - the maintenance of the toilets were very poor and in many toilets, the latches were not working properly. The compartment was not cleaned anywhere enroute. ( Usually in TN or GT, small boys will wipe the floor clean and get a few rupees given voluntarily by the passengers).
But overall, it was a comfortable journey at a much reduced fare.
P.S The senoir citizens do not get the 30% concession in G ( since the fare itself is low )
Next time you have an opportunity, travel by G . It is time saving and money saving.
Friday, July 02, 2010
Sports in school.
I go to Hindu Sr Sec school Adyar everyday in the evening to bring Dhanush home.
The school has over 2000 students studying from LKG to Plus 2. This school is one of the very few schools in Chennai with a big playing ground. It has two big Cricket nets, one basket ball court , one throw ball court and one volleyball court, apart from a huge open ground for athletes sports and which can be doubled up for a football or Cricket ground.
I generally stay there for about 45 mins till Dhanush says Ok to leave after playing with his friends and I observe that not many students are keen in utilising the excellent facility of playing. Within 10 mins of school closing, more than 1600 students will leave for their home. About 200/250 students will be whiling away sometime eating snacks and chitchatting with their friends before they also return home. There will be about 25/30 students practising Basketball, about 10/15 girls practising throw ball and about 100 students of smaller classes ( including Dhanush ) running around the ground and playing merrily with their friends.
I do not know why the majority of students skip the opportunity of some physical exercise. Is it because of the study load or general lack of interest or lack of encouragement from school / parents?
This again throws some light on why India is not shining in most of the sports inspite of more than 120 cr population.
The school has over 2000 students studying from LKG to Plus 2. This school is one of the very few schools in Chennai with a big playing ground. It has two big Cricket nets, one basket ball court , one throw ball court and one volleyball court, apart from a huge open ground for athletes sports and which can be doubled up for a football or Cricket ground.
I generally stay there for about 45 mins till Dhanush says Ok to leave after playing with his friends and I observe that not many students are keen in utilising the excellent facility of playing. Within 10 mins of school closing, more than 1600 students will leave for their home. About 200/250 students will be whiling away sometime eating snacks and chitchatting with their friends before they also return home. There will be about 25/30 students practising Basketball, about 10/15 girls practising throw ball and about 100 students of smaller classes ( including Dhanush ) running around the ground and playing merrily with their friends.
I do not know why the majority of students skip the opportunity of some physical exercise. Is it because of the study load or general lack of interest or lack of encouragement from school / parents?
This again throws some light on why India is not shining in most of the sports inspite of more than 120 cr population.
Wednesday, June 02, 2010
Wrapping the school notes
2nd June 2010
Recently, Sudha was busy wrapping the notebooks and books of Dhanush. As I was seeing the act, my memories went back to my school days.
In those days, the newspaper used to be the main source of wrapper. The earlier year's calender papers( and many times the same year's calender papers also !) served the purpose.After wrapping, we used சாதம் for pasting the edges ! Then we used to cut white papers with scissors into shapes of rectangle, diamond etc to use them as labels.
Now a days, the children get laminated brown sheets for wrappers and cello tape is very handy for pasting the edges. Transparent plastic sheets are also available which are used for covering the text books. And you get self sticking labels with attractive cartoons or simply with the school name printed . All of these make the job of wrapping very easy and once the work is over, the books and notebooks present an excellent look and highly tempting to use them !
I understand that some schools supply ready cut wrappers to suit a notebook. All you have to do is to wrap it and remove the paper covering the gummed edges and stick the wrapper to the notebook. The job is over in less than a minute !!
Some people take the part time job of wrapping the books and notebooks (in the month of May ) at Rs 5/ per notebook or book. With both the parents going for jobs in many families, naturally there is a heavy demand for such persons . A thriving business indeed .
In my days, We had to go to shops and buy the note books and books ourselves. Many a times, a shop will not have stock and we may have to visit a no of shops or a no of times to get a book. Sometimes we might have to request our relatives at Chennai to buy the book and send it to us. Now a days, the school takes the responsibility and all you have to do is to remit the cost to the school and take delivery of the notebooks and books on the appointed day.
This is a win win situation for both the students and the school. The student gets the notebooks and books at a reasonable rate and without having to runaround for purchasing the same. The school is benefited that it will get commission for all the purchases from the notebook printers and the book publishers. And this is classic example of how we can benefit by avoiding the middleman.
Recently, Sudha was busy wrapping the notebooks and books of Dhanush. As I was seeing the act, my memories went back to my school days.
In those days, the newspaper used to be the main source of wrapper. The earlier year's calender papers( and many times the same year's calender papers also !) served the purpose.After wrapping, we used சாதம் for pasting the edges ! Then we used to cut white papers with scissors into shapes of rectangle, diamond etc to use them as labels.
Now a days, the children get laminated brown sheets for wrappers and cello tape is very handy for pasting the edges. Transparent plastic sheets are also available which are used for covering the text books. And you get self sticking labels with attractive cartoons or simply with the school name printed . All of these make the job of wrapping very easy and once the work is over, the books and notebooks present an excellent look and highly tempting to use them !
I understand that some schools supply ready cut wrappers to suit a notebook. All you have to do is to wrap it and remove the paper covering the gummed edges and stick the wrapper to the notebook. The job is over in less than a minute !!
Some people take the part time job of wrapping the books and notebooks (in the month of May ) at Rs 5/ per notebook or book. With both the parents going for jobs in many families, naturally there is a heavy demand for such persons . A thriving business indeed .
In my days, We had to go to shops and buy the note books and books ourselves. Many a times, a shop will not have stock and we may have to visit a no of shops or a no of times to get a book. Sometimes we might have to request our relatives at Chennai to buy the book and send it to us. Now a days, the school takes the responsibility and all you have to do is to remit the cost to the school and take delivery of the notebooks and books on the appointed day.
This is a win win situation for both the students and the school. The student gets the notebooks and books at a reasonable rate and without having to runaround for purchasing the same. The school is benefited that it will get commission for all the purchases from the notebook printers and the book publishers. And this is classic example of how we can benefit by avoiding the middleman.
Saturday, May 22, 2010
Telephone contact/ Personal Visit
2nd June 2010
"If everyone goes through the log on their mobile, I am sure everyone must be speaking for about a minimum of 30 min a day (I am using my mobile for about 120 min a day !!!). But still we are feeling that there is lack of communication within family"
This is an excerpt from Vasu's recent mail. It is true that most of us do not talk to others in the family as frequently as we would like . You ask anybody why they are not talking , inspite of telephone tariff coming down so steeply, the ready answer we would get is that " I don't have time ". Everybody , including the person making that excuse knows fully well that it is a lame excuse.
The real reason is that everybody has his/her own priorities and they stick to it. A person may talk 100 times with person X in the family but not even once with person Y. Because he thinks that Y is not important enough to talk to.
Same is the case with persons visiting a place. "A" may visit a place "B" but he/she will not meet / talk to others living in the city. It is definitely not the question of time since during the visit, "A" might have visited a no of persons and might have gone to a no of places. Only that the person does not have time to visit the family members. What does that mean ? The person simply thinks that the persons he is not visiting are not important enough to visit.
And so how do we take it ? I follow this policy . பேசினால் / வந்தால் சந்தோஷம், பேசவில்லையா / வரவில்லையா OK., என்ன நான் சொல்றது? Correct தானே ?
"If everyone goes through the log on their mobile, I am sure everyone must be speaking for about a minimum of 30 min a day (I am using my mobile for about 120 min a day !!!). But still we are feeling that there is lack of communication within family"
This is an excerpt from Vasu's recent mail. It is true that most of us do not talk to others in the family as frequently as we would like . You ask anybody why they are not talking , inspite of telephone tariff coming down so steeply, the ready answer we would get is that " I don't have time ". Everybody , including the person making that excuse knows fully well that it is a lame excuse.
The real reason is that everybody has his/her own priorities and they stick to it. A person may talk 100 times with person X in the family but not even once with person Y. Because he thinks that Y is not important enough to talk to.
Same is the case with persons visiting a place. "A" may visit a place "B" but he/she will not meet / talk to others living in the city. It is definitely not the question of time since during the visit, "A" might have visited a no of persons and might have gone to a no of places. Only that the person does not have time to visit the family members. What does that mean ? The person simply thinks that the persons he is not visiting are not important enough to visit.
And so how do we take it ? I follow this policy . பேசினால் / வந்தால் சந்தோஷம், பேசவில்லையா / வரவில்லையா OK., என்ன நான் சொல்றது? Correct தானே ?
Monday, March 15, 2010
Nostalgia trip to Coimbatore
When I planned my trip to Coimbatore on 10th Mar 2010 to sell off my land there, little did I realise that it would be a memorable trip. Thank God, I decided to travel in day time by Kovai Exp ( Leaves Chennai at 615 am. )
As I was sitting and enjoying the view thro the window while I was travelling to Coimbatore, a lot of memories flashed across my mind. As the train sped past Ambattur, my thoughts went back to 1971 when Padma and athimber purchased the ground and built a house there. Earlier they were in a rented house. Here on an evening, a few of Vijaya manni's family and a few of our family had a sort of gettogether after Rajappa had 'seen' Vijaya manni at Avadi. That was in 1970. A lot of happy gettogethers - Prakash's Poonal, Padma/ athimber's Shastiapthapoorthy, Srividya's marriage, Prakash's marriage and many other functions had taken place at their old and the new Ram Nagar house. Then a few tears rolled down my cheeks when 20th Nov 2008 came to my mind.
After sometime , the train went past Tiruppathur. I remember going there and spending a few days with Sundaresan's family in 1972. Yes, Sundaresan was working there at that time. I had an unusual long holiday as our factory was on lock out at that time due to workers strike. The lock out was lifted when I was there and I rushed back to Chennai.
The train then slowly crawled into the Salem platform after more than an hour's nonstop run. On seeing that platform, my memories took me to the night of 12th Dec 1977. Our full family was on the way to Erode ( from Cuddalore ) for the marriage of Jayaraman. As the train from Cuddalore reached Salem in the evening of 12th Dec 1977 and since the connecting train to Erode was in the early morning of the next day, we had to spend the whole night at Salem Jn platform. I and Girija celebrated our 2nd wedding anniversary at Cuddalore, and then in the train and finally at the platform! It was a pretty cold night and I remember taking four /five cups of coffee to keep me warm. Sudha was just one year old then.She was in the arms of our anna for most part of that night. While the gents were roaming in the platform, all the ladies were comfortably seated in the waiting room where they spent the night with a lot of ஊர் கதை !!
After an hour, the Kovai Exp reached Erode. Yes, this was the place where we had a nice time on 13th and 14th Dec 1977 when Jayaram got married to Kalyani. The marriage hall was a big one and there was a huge lawn in front of the hall. We had our group photo in the lawn. The marriage was celebrated in a grand manner.
When the train left Erode and picked up speed, my memories went to Perunthurai where Sundaresan was posted for a few years. Perunthurai does not have a Railway station but was on the main road between Erode and Coimbatore- about 15 Km's from Erode. We had visited their house at Perunthurai in the late seventies.
Kovai Exp then passed thro Coimbatore North when I had a glimpse of the street where Sundaresan was living before he moved into his own house. When we all went to the grahapravesam of their new house, we stayed in this house only. This house is very near to the railway track.
By the time the train finally came to a halt at Coimbatore after 7 1/2 hours journey, I had already lived thro a lot of memories , but on setting my feet at Coimbatore , a fresh set of sweet memories occupied my mind. This place is no doubt the home pitch of Sundaresan, I would say. The first function that I attended at Coimbatore was his marriage with Pattu manni in 1965. Then between 1985 and 1996, I had attended a no of functions at Coimbatore, starting from the grahapravesam of Sundaresan's Kurichi house. Uma's marriage,Bala and Satya's Poonal, Suresh's marriage ( pre marriage functions were held at Coimbatore ), Sudhakar's marriage, Rajappa's new house's Boomi pooja function,etc were some of the important functions I attended.
When Jayaraman was posted there, I had visited his house also. I remember, I and Ramamurthy Athimber once rushed to Coimbatore in Oct 2001 when Vijay met with an accident.
In addition, we had been there on vacations too. Girija was with me in almost all the visits to Coimbatore after our marriage . Oh ! they were some of the finest moments of our life.
When I and Rajappa bought the adjacent plots in the suburbs of Coimbatore in 1989 at the initiative of Sundaresan, we had all planned to have our life at Coimbatore after retirement. But as the saying goes, man proposes but God disposes.
This time, I visited Kovai Pudur where my plot was and then prayed at Marudhamalai and Perur Patteswaran Temple. Though I wished to visit some more places, due to paucity of time, I could not . While returning to Chennai on 12th Mar, I felt sorry that I had to severe the last one connection that I had with this beautiful city ( with excellent weather ). I wish I get some chances to visit this city in future also. In any case, I cannot forget this City.
As I was sitting and enjoying the view thro the window while I was travelling to Coimbatore, a lot of memories flashed across my mind. As the train sped past Ambattur, my thoughts went back to 1971 when Padma and athimber purchased the ground and built a house there. Earlier they were in a rented house. Here on an evening, a few of Vijaya manni's family and a few of our family had a sort of gettogether after Rajappa had 'seen' Vijaya manni at Avadi. That was in 1970. A lot of happy gettogethers - Prakash's Poonal, Padma/ athimber's Shastiapthapoorthy, Srividya's marriage, Prakash's marriage and many other functions had taken place at their old and the new Ram Nagar house. Then a few tears rolled down my cheeks when 20th Nov 2008 came to my mind.
After sometime , the train went past Tiruppathur. I remember going there and spending a few days with Sundaresan's family in 1972. Yes, Sundaresan was working there at that time. I had an unusual long holiday as our factory was on lock out at that time due to workers strike. The lock out was lifted when I was there and I rushed back to Chennai.
The train then slowly crawled into the Salem platform after more than an hour's nonstop run. On seeing that platform, my memories took me to the night of 12th Dec 1977. Our full family was on the way to Erode ( from Cuddalore ) for the marriage of Jayaraman. As the train from Cuddalore reached Salem in the evening of 12th Dec 1977 and since the connecting train to Erode was in the early morning of the next day, we had to spend the whole night at Salem Jn platform. I and Girija celebrated our 2nd wedding anniversary at Cuddalore, and then in the train and finally at the platform! It was a pretty cold night and I remember taking four /five cups of coffee to keep me warm. Sudha was just one year old then.She was in the arms of our anna for most part of that night. While the gents were roaming in the platform, all the ladies were comfortably seated in the waiting room where they spent the night with a lot of ஊர் கதை !!
After an hour, the Kovai Exp reached Erode. Yes, this was the place where we had a nice time on 13th and 14th Dec 1977 when Jayaram got married to Kalyani. The marriage hall was a big one and there was a huge lawn in front of the hall. We had our group photo in the lawn. The marriage was celebrated in a grand manner.
When the train left Erode and picked up speed, my memories went to Perunthurai where Sundaresan was posted for a few years. Perunthurai does not have a Railway station but was on the main road between Erode and Coimbatore- about 15 Km's from Erode. We had visited their house at Perunthurai in the late seventies.
Kovai Exp then passed thro Coimbatore North when I had a glimpse of the street where Sundaresan was living before he moved into his own house. When we all went to the grahapravesam of their new house, we stayed in this house only. This house is very near to the railway track.
By the time the train finally came to a halt at Coimbatore after 7 1/2 hours journey, I had already lived thro a lot of memories , but on setting my feet at Coimbatore , a fresh set of sweet memories occupied my mind. This place is no doubt the home pitch of Sundaresan, I would say. The first function that I attended at Coimbatore was his marriage with Pattu manni in 1965. Then between 1985 and 1996, I had attended a no of functions at Coimbatore, starting from the grahapravesam of Sundaresan's Kurichi house. Uma's marriage,Bala and Satya's Poonal, Suresh's marriage ( pre marriage functions were held at Coimbatore ), Sudhakar's marriage, Rajappa's new house's Boomi pooja function,etc were some of the important functions I attended.
When Jayaraman was posted there, I had visited his house also. I remember, I and Ramamurthy Athimber once rushed to Coimbatore in Oct 2001 when Vijay met with an accident.
In addition, we had been there on vacations too. Girija was with me in almost all the visits to Coimbatore after our marriage . Oh ! they were some of the finest moments of our life.
When I and Rajappa bought the adjacent plots in the suburbs of Coimbatore in 1989 at the initiative of Sundaresan, we had all planned to have our life at Coimbatore after retirement. But as the saying goes, man proposes but God disposes.
This time, I visited Kovai Pudur where my plot was and then prayed at Marudhamalai and Perur Patteswaran Temple. Though I wished to visit some more places, due to paucity of time, I could not . While returning to Chennai on 12th Mar, I felt sorry that I had to severe the last one connection that I had with this beautiful city ( with excellent weather ). I wish I get some chances to visit this city in future also. In any case, I cannot forget this City.
Friday, January 29, 2010
Mind Control
It was Feb 28th 1989. That was the day I said goodbye to a 24 year habit- of smoking
The habit started in 1965 , as a fun. From 1 or 2 cigarettes a day, it slowly went up to 40 a day in late eighties. This was a practice I found very difficult to stop , even after numerous requests from Girija , Sudha and Suba. It is not that I did not know the health hazard it posed, but somehow I could not stop it. I once tried to stop it in 1978 and was not smoking for about 15 days , but it started once again in Nov 1978, when my father in law expired and I had to be awake all thro the night.
Girija used many arguments, like health problems, economic reasons, the bad name it brings in the society, and the adverse effect that it may have on her and the children (by inhaling the smoke). After all these arguments, the only concession I gave her was that I would not smoke in front of children. This I think I could follow to a very great extent.
Then, how could I stop it in 1989 ? 28th Feb 1989 was the budget day. In those days, there used to be heavy taxation on Tobacco products in every budget and consequently, there used to be heavy price increase of Cigarettes immediately after the budget. So, in order to make quick money, the wholesalers and Retailers used to hoard the stock of Cigarettes they have just before the budget. And the customers will find it difficult to get Cigarettes till the fresh price is announced by the manufacturers.
Normally, I used to purchase the cigarettes from a particular shop on the way to the office. Being a regular customer, that shopowner ensured that I got my quota even if the hoarding takes place. But unfortunately ( or fortunately for me in hindsight ), that day he had run out of stock and I went to office with a plan to send the office boy to try in the nearby shops. Again unfortunately ( or fortunately,) the office boy did not come to office that day.
I then had the only option of myself going out to get the cigarettes. But early morning routene jobs at the office prevented me from going out immediately. When I became a bit free , it was 1100 am. I had not smoked for over two hours !! At that moment, I thought that If I could remain without cigarettes for over two hours, why not I try for the whole day ? So I refrained from purchasing cigarettes and spent the whole day in concentrating on work or going around the warehouse ( where smoking is prohibited ).
By the time I came back from office, I had more or less overcome the urge for smoking. So, I decided to continue my decision not to smoke and it continues till this day !!
Initially, I used to get the urge occasionally , esp after a cup of coffee, but I diverted my attention to some other activity and the urge will go away. Fortunately, I did not get into another bad habit like supari in trying to come out from smoking .
Needless to say, Girija and the children were extremely happy on this unexpected development. Incidentally, on a conservative estimate, I would have saved more than Rs 7 lacs in these 20 years,by not smoking.
While I left home for the office that day, I had one cigarette at home. I had it preserved as a momento in my show case for many years. ( I hope it is there somewhere in my house even today )
Coming out of a bad habit is after all the control of the mind.Luckily I got in 1989.
Where there is a will, there is a way.
The habit started in 1965 , as a fun. From 1 or 2 cigarettes a day, it slowly went up to 40 a day in late eighties. This was a practice I found very difficult to stop , even after numerous requests from Girija , Sudha and Suba. It is not that I did not know the health hazard it posed, but somehow I could not stop it. I once tried to stop it in 1978 and was not smoking for about 15 days , but it started once again in Nov 1978, when my father in law expired and I had to be awake all thro the night.
Girija used many arguments, like health problems, economic reasons, the bad name it brings in the society, and the adverse effect that it may have on her and the children (by inhaling the smoke). After all these arguments, the only concession I gave her was that I would not smoke in front of children. This I think I could follow to a very great extent.
Then, how could I stop it in 1989 ? 28th Feb 1989 was the budget day. In those days, there used to be heavy taxation on Tobacco products in every budget and consequently, there used to be heavy price increase of Cigarettes immediately after the budget. So, in order to make quick money, the wholesalers and Retailers used to hoard the stock of Cigarettes they have just before the budget. And the customers will find it difficult to get Cigarettes till the fresh price is announced by the manufacturers.
Normally, I used to purchase the cigarettes from a particular shop on the way to the office. Being a regular customer, that shopowner ensured that I got my quota even if the hoarding takes place. But unfortunately ( or fortunately for me in hindsight ), that day he had run out of stock and I went to office with a plan to send the office boy to try in the nearby shops. Again unfortunately ( or fortunately,) the office boy did not come to office that day.
I then had the only option of myself going out to get the cigarettes. But early morning routene jobs at the office prevented me from going out immediately. When I became a bit free , it was 1100 am. I had not smoked for over two hours !! At that moment, I thought that If I could remain without cigarettes for over two hours, why not I try for the whole day ? So I refrained from purchasing cigarettes and spent the whole day in concentrating on work or going around the warehouse ( where smoking is prohibited ).
By the time I came back from office, I had more or less overcome the urge for smoking. So, I decided to continue my decision not to smoke and it continues till this day !!
Initially, I used to get the urge occasionally , esp after a cup of coffee, but I diverted my attention to some other activity and the urge will go away. Fortunately, I did not get into another bad habit like supari in trying to come out from smoking .
Needless to say, Girija and the children were extremely happy on this unexpected development. Incidentally, on a conservative estimate, I would have saved more than Rs 7 lacs in these 20 years,by not smoking.
While I left home for the office that day, I had one cigarette at home. I had it preserved as a momento in my show case for many years. ( I hope it is there somewhere in my house even today )
Coming out of a bad habit is after all the control of the mind.Luckily I got in 1989.
Where there is a will, there is a way.
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Unforgettable moments - Part 6 - Girija in my life
25 11 09
Unforgettable moments - Part 6 – Girija in my life
I am recording here my unforgettable moments of five different days as these days are interrelated and integral part of my life.
1) 19th Sep 1974. It was on this day that I proposed to Girija. Till then, though I used to go their house, I would never talk to Girija , as she was always busy with her studies. But after seeing her manners and behaviour, I knew she would be an ideal wife .
On that day, I took the courage and asked her whether she would marry me. She was taken aback as she did not expect such a question from me. Not knowing what to say, she just said that she would convey it to her elder sister Ramana ( who was like her mother) . I came back disappointed, not getting a positive reply.
Her sister Ramana , who was not at home when I asked Girija, came to know about this from Girija. Ramana talked to me the next day and told me that she had no objection and that she would talk to her father in a day or two and if he also agrees, then she said that I could talk to my parents.
As for Girija, Ramana told me that she(Girija) had no opinion of herself and that she would agree for the marriage if the elders in both the families had no objection.
After three days, Ramana told me that her father too had no objection. I then immediately wrote a long letter of about 8 pages to our parents giving details about Girija’s family and why I wanted to marry her. In the end, I had made it very clear to them that it was only my wish and assured them that if they did not want me to marry her, I would stand by their decision and that I would not go against their wishes.
Within a week or so, I went to Cuddalore and had a frank discussion with our mother and father. Though amma was disappointed , after my talking to her, she seemed to agree with my viewpoint. Appa did not show his disappointment openly , but I know he would also have been disappointed as any parent would have felt.
Soon afterwards, they came to Chennai and ‘ saw ‘ Girija. After they saw and talked to her, I could feel that their fears ( on how she would be ), had come down a lot and they were convinced that Girija would make a good daughter in law. They then finalized the marriage after discussions with Girija’s father.
( Later , after the marriage, and after “knowing” Girija fully well, amma and appa were more than happy that they got such a wonderful daughter in law and they told me so in no uncertain words. I also felt very happy that Girija stood up to the expectation of my parents. )
2, ) 12th Dec 1975 . It was on this day that Girija and I got married at Thirukkazhukundram , a place ,about 50 Km’s from Chennai. The marriage was held at this place because Girija’s Mama was living here and he took the major responsibility of conducting Girija’s Marriage.
On 11th dec, our family travelled from Cuddalore to Chengalpet in a train and from there took a bus to Thirukkazhukundram. Immediately after lunch, many from the family went to the nearby Mahabalipuram and returned just before the Janvasam started .
On 12th Dec , the muhurtham was after 12 noon and I remember almost all our relatives and friends who had come for the marriage went to see the two eagles that used to come there daily at exactly 1130 am to take the prasadam from a saint.
The marriage went off well , attended by many of our relatives and about 50 colleagues of mine. We returned to Cuddalore on 13th Dec , by bus upto Chengalpet and then by train.
This being the most glorious moment of my life , I thanked God for His blessings and making Girija my wife.
3) 30th Oct 1976 . The day our first darling Sudha was born.
Earlier, when Girija was into her third month’s pregnancy, she had bleeding and when we consulted her doctor, she told us that it was an abortion and to avoid further complications, the Dr decided that Girija would have a D&C the next day morning. We were disappointed but prepared ourselves for the next day’s operation.
Ramana was then working in a clinic in Mylapore and on that evening, she told the lady doctor ( under whom she was working.) about Girija’s proposed operation. That Dr then told Ramana that her athai – Dr Subbulakshmi – was an experienced Gynecologist and advised that we take a second opinion from her immediately. Ramana came back from Mylapore and took me and Girija to Dr Subbulakshmi at Besant Nagar.
After prelimnary checks, the Dr asked us to come to her Hospital at Royapuram the next day morning for some tests. After the tests at Hospital, she confirmed that the baby was fine and that Girija would have a normal delivery. She lashed out at the earlier Dr for her poor diagnosis and assured me that she would take care of Girija till the delivery.
It is still a mystery as to why she had that heavy bleeding , though Dr Subbulakshmi did not rule out the possibility of conception of twins and the abortion of the second baby.
By God’s grace, everything went alright since then and on 29th Oct, Girija developed pain at about 7 pm. We admitted her in the nearby Kosha Hospital at Triplicane ( the famous Govt Hospital for women and children ) . Girija’s mami’s sister was a senior nurse in the delivery ward there and hence admission there.
I was waiting the whole night in the corridors of the delivery ward and at 450 am on 30th Oct , our first darling Sudha was born. Girija’s mami’s sister showed me the baby at 500 am ( normally in Govt Hospitals in those days, they don't show the baby so soon.) I thanked God and Dr Subbulakshmi for giving us a beautiful daughter. Another moment to cherish in our life
4 ) 9th June 1980 – The day our second darling Suba was born.
This time the pregnancy period went off smoothly under the care of the same doctor Dr Subbulakshmi . On 9th June , I had gone to a marriage in the morning. Soon after I returned at about 12 30 pm., Girija started having pain. We admitted her in the same ( Kosha ) hospital .
( This hospital named Kasturba Gandhi Hospital for women and Children , got the nick name Kosha Hospital because most of the women visiting the hospital were wearing Kosha ( purdha ), as Triplicane has a vast population of Muslims. )
Our second darling Suba was born at 910 pm on the same day. As in the case of Sudha, Girija's mami's sister showed me the baby within ten minutes of birth and I thanked once again the God for His blessings. Another happy moment in our life.
5. 25th Nov 07
Aval Parandhu Ponale; Ennai Marundhu ponale …….
Unforgettable moments - Part 6 – Girija in my life
I am recording here my unforgettable moments of five different days as these days are interrelated and integral part of my life.
1) 19th Sep 1974. It was on this day that I proposed to Girija. Till then, though I used to go their house, I would never talk to Girija , as she was always busy with her studies. But after seeing her manners and behaviour, I knew she would be an ideal wife .
On that day, I took the courage and asked her whether she would marry me. She was taken aback as she did not expect such a question from me. Not knowing what to say, she just said that she would convey it to her elder sister Ramana ( who was like her mother) . I came back disappointed, not getting a positive reply.
Her sister Ramana , who was not at home when I asked Girija, came to know about this from Girija. Ramana talked to me the next day and told me that she had no objection and that she would talk to her father in a day or two and if he also agrees, then she said that I could talk to my parents.
As for Girija, Ramana told me that she(Girija) had no opinion of herself and that she would agree for the marriage if the elders in both the families had no objection.
After three days, Ramana told me that her father too had no objection. I then immediately wrote a long letter of about 8 pages to our parents giving details about Girija’s family and why I wanted to marry her. In the end, I had made it very clear to them that it was only my wish and assured them that if they did not want me to marry her, I would stand by their decision and that I would not go against their wishes.
Within a week or so, I went to Cuddalore and had a frank discussion with our mother and father. Though amma was disappointed , after my talking to her, she seemed to agree with my viewpoint. Appa did not show his disappointment openly , but I know he would also have been disappointed as any parent would have felt.
Soon afterwards, they came to Chennai and ‘ saw ‘ Girija. After they saw and talked to her, I could feel that their fears ( on how she would be ), had come down a lot and they were convinced that Girija would make a good daughter in law. They then finalized the marriage after discussions with Girija’s father.
( Later , after the marriage, and after “knowing” Girija fully well, amma and appa were more than happy that they got such a wonderful daughter in law and they told me so in no uncertain words. I also felt very happy that Girija stood up to the expectation of my parents. )
2, ) 12th Dec 1975 . It was on this day that Girija and I got married at Thirukkazhukundram , a place ,about 50 Km’s from Chennai. The marriage was held at this place because Girija’s Mama was living here and he took the major responsibility of conducting Girija’s Marriage.
On 11th dec, our family travelled from Cuddalore to Chengalpet in a train and from there took a bus to Thirukkazhukundram. Immediately after lunch, many from the family went to the nearby Mahabalipuram and returned just before the Janvasam started .
On 12th Dec , the muhurtham was after 12 noon and I remember almost all our relatives and friends who had come for the marriage went to see the two eagles that used to come there daily at exactly 1130 am to take the prasadam from a saint.
The marriage went off well , attended by many of our relatives and about 50 colleagues of mine. We returned to Cuddalore on 13th Dec , by bus upto Chengalpet and then by train.
This being the most glorious moment of my life , I thanked God for His blessings and making Girija my wife.
3) 30th Oct 1976 . The day our first darling Sudha was born.
Earlier, when Girija was into her third month’s pregnancy, she had bleeding and when we consulted her doctor, she told us that it was an abortion and to avoid further complications, the Dr decided that Girija would have a D&C the next day morning. We were disappointed but prepared ourselves for the next day’s operation.
Ramana was then working in a clinic in Mylapore and on that evening, she told the lady doctor ( under whom she was working.) about Girija’s proposed operation. That Dr then told Ramana that her athai – Dr Subbulakshmi – was an experienced Gynecologist and advised that we take a second opinion from her immediately. Ramana came back from Mylapore and took me and Girija to Dr Subbulakshmi at Besant Nagar.
After prelimnary checks, the Dr asked us to come to her Hospital at Royapuram the next day morning for some tests. After the tests at Hospital, she confirmed that the baby was fine and that Girija would have a normal delivery. She lashed out at the earlier Dr for her poor diagnosis and assured me that she would take care of Girija till the delivery.
It is still a mystery as to why she had that heavy bleeding , though Dr Subbulakshmi did not rule out the possibility of conception of twins and the abortion of the second baby.
By God’s grace, everything went alright since then and on 29th Oct, Girija developed pain at about 7 pm. We admitted her in the nearby Kosha Hospital at Triplicane ( the famous Govt Hospital for women and children ) . Girija’s mami’s sister was a senior nurse in the delivery ward there and hence admission there.
I was waiting the whole night in the corridors of the delivery ward and at 450 am on 30th Oct , our first darling Sudha was born. Girija’s mami’s sister showed me the baby at 500 am ( normally in Govt Hospitals in those days, they don't show the baby so soon.) I thanked God and Dr Subbulakshmi for giving us a beautiful daughter. Another moment to cherish in our life
4 ) 9th June 1980 – The day our second darling Suba was born.
This time the pregnancy period went off smoothly under the care of the same doctor Dr Subbulakshmi . On 9th June , I had gone to a marriage in the morning. Soon after I returned at about 12 30 pm., Girija started having pain. We admitted her in the same ( Kosha ) hospital .
( This hospital named Kasturba Gandhi Hospital for women and Children , got the nick name Kosha Hospital because most of the women visiting the hospital were wearing Kosha ( purdha ), as Triplicane has a vast population of Muslims. )
Our second darling Suba was born at 910 pm on the same day. As in the case of Sudha, Girija's mami's sister showed me the baby within ten minutes of birth and I thanked once again the God for His blessings. Another happy moment in our life.
5. 25th Nov 07
Aval Parandhu Ponale; Ennai Marundhu ponale …….
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Unforgettable moments - Part 5
When I was working at Ashok Leyland Ennore, we, the staff of Parts Office, used to go on pilgrimage tours every year. In 1976, we,about 25 staff and another 35 family members ( mostly women and children,), went in a chartered bus to Guruvayur, Coimbatore, Palani and Madurai. As per plan, we were to reach Madurai on the last leg of our journey, on a particular day at about 8 pm. On our request, the Parts Manager of our dealer TVS at Madurai, had kindly agreed to make arrangements for our stay on that night and for taking us to the temples the next day.
After good darshans at Guruvayur, Coimbatore and Palani as per plan, we left for Madurai, but unfortunately, the bus broke down immediately after we left Palani. We informed TVS Madurai that we were likely to be delayed , but we did not expect that it would be over 5 hours delay. When the bus was repaired, it was 10 pm and as it was already very late, we finished our dinner on the way and reached Madurai by about 1 am.
When we reached the place where our stay had been arranged, we were stunned to see 4/5 officials of TVS and the catering staff, waiting for us with dinner !. As soon as they saw our bus, they spread the Vazhai ilai for all of us and as we got down from the bus, they guided us to the dining hall straight. On seeing that the officials had been waiting for us without sleep, none of us had the guts to tell them that we had finished the dinner. We all silently sat and had the second dinner of the night. Most of us ate with tears in our eyes.
TVS had arranged comfortable beds for all of us to sleep and we had a short nap for about 4 hours. When we got up at 530am, steaming coffee/ tea/ milk was waiting for us. When we got ready for the temple visit by 7 am.,delicious breakfast of idly, Vada, Pongal etc was served. Though none of us felt hungry ,again, we all ate silently in order not to offend them. Next on the list was Poo. Girija and the other ladies ( about 25 ) were thrilled to get 100 muzhams of Malligai Poo ( You know Madurai is known for Malli ).
We were then taken to all the temples where we got VIP treatment, thanks to TVS. When we returned to our place of stay at about 1 pm., it was once again the time for a grand lunch.
After lunch, when we got into our bus to leave for Chennai at about 2 pm., we saw three big baskets in the bus. Two baskets had packed food for our dinner on the way and the third basket had 100 muzhams of Malligai Poo !!.
We all , esp the ladies, could not control the tears on seeing ( perhaps for the first time ) such great Virundhombal. After thanking the TVS officials profusely, we left Madurai with an unforgettable experience of hospitality, the memeories of which will be cherished by all of us throughout our life.
Three cheers to TVS
Sugavanam
After good darshans at Guruvayur, Coimbatore and Palani as per plan, we left for Madurai, but unfortunately, the bus broke down immediately after we left Palani. We informed TVS Madurai that we were likely to be delayed , but we did not expect that it would be over 5 hours delay. When the bus was repaired, it was 10 pm and as it was already very late, we finished our dinner on the way and reached Madurai by about 1 am.
When we reached the place where our stay had been arranged, we were stunned to see 4/5 officials of TVS and the catering staff, waiting for us with dinner !. As soon as they saw our bus, they spread the Vazhai ilai for all of us and as we got down from the bus, they guided us to the dining hall straight. On seeing that the officials had been waiting for us without sleep, none of us had the guts to tell them that we had finished the dinner. We all silently sat and had the second dinner of the night. Most of us ate with tears in our eyes.
TVS had arranged comfortable beds for all of us to sleep and we had a short nap for about 4 hours. When we got up at 530am, steaming coffee/ tea/ milk was waiting for us. When we got ready for the temple visit by 7 am.,delicious breakfast of idly, Vada, Pongal etc was served. Though none of us felt hungry ,again, we all ate silently in order not to offend them. Next on the list was Poo. Girija and the other ladies ( about 25 ) were thrilled to get 100 muzhams of Malligai Poo ( You know Madurai is known for Malli ).
We were then taken to all the temples where we got VIP treatment, thanks to TVS. When we returned to our place of stay at about 1 pm., it was once again the time for a grand lunch.
After lunch, when we got into our bus to leave for Chennai at about 2 pm., we saw three big baskets in the bus. Two baskets had packed food for our dinner on the way and the third basket had 100 muzhams of Malligai Poo !!.
We all , esp the ladies, could not control the tears on seeing ( perhaps for the first time ) such great Virundhombal. After thanking the TVS officials profusely, we left Madurai with an unforgettable experience of hospitality, the memeories of which will be cherished by all of us throughout our life.
Three cheers to TVS
Sugavanam
Wednesday, October 07, 2009
The Homes That Shaped My Life - Part 3 ( Concluding Part )
7th Oct 2009
For earlier blog on this topic,click here.
Read on for the concluding Part
11. 9 , Dacres Lane, Calcutta
When I was transferred to Cal, I was quite new to that place and hence I had requested one of my dealer friends to locate a suitable accommodation and he had fixed up this flat.
The advantage of this place was that it was in the heart of the city. And as it was very near to Rajbhavan, there was no power cut here. (In those days, there used to be power cuts for over 12 hrs a day in all the parts of Calcutta).
The disadvantage was that it was a business place and there were only a very few families in that area and almost all of them were north Indians/ Bengalis. So Girija had a difficult time as she had to manage the two children and the house all by herself and that too without knowing Hindi and Bengali.
Since it was a recession time, I had double the work at the office to get orders and collect money from the customers. As I was in charge of the Eastern region, comprising West Bengal, Bihar, Orissa and North Eastern States, I had to tour a lot. Hence I decided to send back Girija and children to Madras after about two months of our stay there. Girija and children were with Babu and Raja at Triplicane for about 6 months and when the work pressure came down for me, I took them back to Calcutta.
Mama Pillai Jaggu was at Calcutta then. Thro him, we got the acquaintance of Jaggu’s co brother, Mr. M V Viswanathan, ( who incidentally continues to be in touch with us even today ) . Mr. Viswanathan’s wife became a very close friend of Girija and this family helped us a lot during our stay there. I admitted Sudha in South Point School, which was a well-known school in Calcutta. This school was near the house of Mr. Viswanathan, but it was about 10 km’s from our house.
Girija used to take both the children by Tram in the morning leaving the house by 830 am, and after leaving Sudha in the school, she will go to Mr Viswanathan’s house, spend three hours there, pick up Sudha by 12 noon and then travel back with the two children to our home. She also used to purchase groceries etc there and carry them home.
All these, she used to do without any murmur and I could only sympathise with her as my working time prevented me from doing any sort of help to her. But we used to forget the sufferings in the talks and pranks of Sudha and Suba.
In order to overcome the problems, we shifted to Lake Gardens, a predominantly residential location with lots of Tamil families, in Nov 1982.
The stay in Dacres lane was really a turbulent one in our life and I would like to forget those miserable days.
12. 58/14 Prince Anwar Shah Road, Lake Gardens, Calcutta.
This house was a very welcome change for Girija and me too. Reasons?
It was in a residential locality. It was like a mini Chennai with lots of Tamilians around.. The house was next to a Ram Mandir and you could see the temple pragaram from the open terrace of our house ( We lived in the first floor which had a big open terrace ). The house owner was a Tamilian . Theirs was a big family of mother and seven sons, two of whom three were married at that time. The names of all the sons will end with Kumar ( Sukumar, Sunil Kumar, Sudhir Kumar etc ) _ Incidentally, this family is still in touch with us. Their two sons are at Chennai now . Last Year, I met all of them during the marriage of Sudhir Kumar’s son.-
Girija became friendly with this family in no time and they all liked her very much. They were also very fond of the kids Sudha and Suba . S&S also spent a lot of time in their house , playing with the three children in their house.
We used to go the temple almost everyday and met a lot of Tamilians there. The famous Lake , Lake Market , the shopping paradise Gariahat were all very nearby and we had a nice time in visiting these places. Sudha’s school was about five KM’s from there and we sent her to the school in the school bus which came very near to our house. In 1983 , we admitted Suba in a nearby school .
Though there used to be power cuts for five /six hours a day, the other advantages we had here made us forget about the discomforts of power cuts.
It was while we were in this house that we lost our dear mother. It was July 3rd 1983. The earliest train after I got the news was at 2pm. One of my friends helped me in getting the tickets and another friend came with us to the stn to help us. We left the home at 12 noon and it would normally take 30 mins to reach the stn if there is no traffic jam on the way. ( Calcutta was very notorious for traffic jams esp in the Howrah Bridge – near the Rly stn – in those days. ).
Unfortunately for us, we were caught in a very bad traffic jam when we were just two KM’s from the stn. With 4 big luggages and two children, it was impossible to walk the distance. After waiting for about 15 mins, we had no other go than to get down from the taxi and take alternate action.
For those of you who have not been to Calcutta, the Calcutta city is on one side of river Hoogli ( Ganges as known in Calcutta ) and the stn is on the other side of the river. While the famous Howrah bridge was the only road route connecting the stn and the city, there was boat service also across the river Ganges .
Fortunately, one of the boarding points of this boat service was at about ½ Km’s distance form where we were stranded and we had to walk this distance. With great difficulty, we managed this , caught the boat service , alighted at the Stn stop – which is just in front of the stn., - and reached the platform at 1 55 pm. We all literally ran and got into the train just one minute before the train departed ! Unforgettable.
I also remember the day - 25th June 1983 – when India won the world cup at Lords. The match started in the evening and went past midnight. As usual there was no power for most of the time but luckily, I had a transistor then . I heard the commentary from the beginning till the last ball and immediately afterwards, I enjoyed the fireworks ( sound ) that went on for about one hour in all parts of Calcutta.
It was October 1983. Girija started drinking water quite frequently and she also felt a bit weak. When we consulted a doctor, we got the shock news that she had diabetes. Diabetes at a such young age ? I could not even imagine. I could only cry to God silently as to why He had to make Girija suffer at that young age. But, Girija took it quite sportingly, I would say.
Our stay in this house was limited to about a year only as I was transferred in Nov 1983 to Pondicherry to take charge of the branch newly opened there.
Though we had initial problems when we shifted to Calcutta, we started liking the place after some time ( esp after moving to Lake Gardens ). It was a lively city and the people were generally nice people ( as long as you don’t hurt their ego !) The city had many charms and the education was good. It was perhaps the only city In India where women could go out without any fear even in midnight. So, we were not really interested in moving out of Calcutta but what to do . Kadamai Azhaithathaal, Piriya manamillamal antha oorai vittu Pondy Vanthom.
I came to Pondy in Nov and Girija came with children in Dec 83 after the final exam for Sudha was over. Since it was Margazhi by the time Girija reached , we stayed at Cuddalore for about 45 days and moved to our new Home at Pondy – 139 6th Cross st., Rainbow Nagar , by end of Jan 84.
13 . 139 , 6th Cross St., Rainbow Nagar , Pondicherry.
This was the first big house that we lived in (apart from ,of course , the Cuddalore home ) Two bed rooms, big hall, separate dining hall, a big kitchen etc., The land lord stayed upstairs and as usual we had a very cordial relationship with them. And needless to repeat, Girija became friendly with lots of families in the Rainbow Nagar in a very short time.
Pondy life was a simple quiet life. As my office was nearby, I normally left by 845 am and came back by 600 pm. Hence I had a lot of time to spend with the family. We got admission for Sudha in the well known St Joseph’s Cluny school and admitted Suba in a school at Rainbow Nagar itself. ( After two years, she was also admitted in Cluny ). They used to go to Cluny school by ricksha.
It was not even a month after we moved to Pondy. We got a call from Anna from Cuddalore that they were coming to Pondy with Rama’s newborn premature child to admit the him in the famous Jipmer hospital so that he could kept in the incubator there . I and Girija joined them at Pondy and went to the hospital . We were glad that we were there at that time to be of some help to anna till Santhosh was discharged after a few days.
Later anna was also hospitalized in the same hospital for a few days because of heart problem. Again, Girija used to visit the hospital frequently to take care of Anna and also to consult doctors on the progress of Anna’s health.
As Cuddalore was nearby, we made frequent visits to 17 Babu Rao St., to be with our father. Though he declined to be with us permanently, ( as he did not want to move out of his dear home and Pataleeswarar ), he came and stayed with us on a few occasions and this made us very happy.
Our Nana chittappa’s daughter Rajam akka was living with her family about two KM’s from our house and we were meeting frequently. Radha aththan ( Rajam akka’s husband and our athai’s son ) was a manager in a nearby Theatre and he was a well known figure in all the theatres in Pondy. Hence we had a standing offer of free tickets in any theatre , though we seldom used it. Pondy as many of you know had lots of theatres compared to its size and people from outside Pondy also would come to Pondy to see cinemas.
Girija’s sister Babu and her husband Raja used to come to Pondy at least once a month to spend the week end with S&S. In 1985, they had come to our house for Deepavali . We had very heavy rains at that time and they were forced to stay back in Pondy for a few more days since all the bus and train service to Chennai were suspended due to heavy floods enroute. We saw five cinemas- all new Deepavali releases- in five days !
I purchased my first two wheeler ( the great Silver Plus ) in April 1985 thro Raja. He came all the way from Chennai in the new vehicle and delivered it to me !. This vehicle was quite useful to me and it remained with me for the next 19 years. I had gone to Cuddalore in this vehicle on quite a few occasions and later on when I was in Delhi, we four used to go to Anna’s house (a distance of about 30 Km’s) in this Silver Plus. I had a great liking for this vehicle as it was serving me well without much of a problem.
It was in Pondy that I got my residential telephone provided by the Company ( Number- 7416 ) and this perk continued till I retired from AL in 2004. After I got the telephone, contacting relatives became that much easier.
When our father left for his Heavenly abode on 15th Sep 1986, I got the information within 10 mins and I was at Cuddalore within another two hours. It was a great loss for all of us .I felt as if I was orphaned with the loss of both mother ( three years back ) and father. But what to . That is life.
On the office front, things were going pretty smooth and I was also happy that I got a chance to set up an office of 20000 sq ft from scratch. It was also my first experience of managing a large workforce- About 15 workers and 8 Executives.
This assignment also gave me an opportunity to learn a lot of new things like training the staff ( 90% of the staff were new recruits ) , managing the accounts of a big office, labour relations, managing the statutory requirements like Shop and Establishment act, ESI coverage of the workmen, PF accounting, payment of Sales Tax and filing Sales Tax return , interaction with Govt offices, managing an inventory of about Rs 200 lacs, etc etc.
I think I managed these things well as could be seen from the reports of the Company’s auditors as well as the External Auditors. I also got a very special Performance rating and a cash award for the job well done.
We got our first Computer in Oct 1984 , on the day Indira Gandhi was assassinated. I alongwith our Systems software engineer, developed the various programs for the spare Parts operation.
But after three years, I had very little job at the office as everything got settled by that time and the office was running smoothly based on the systems introduced and without needing much of my intervention . Hence I felt bored and requested my General Manger to consider me for a higher responsibility. But I did not imagine that it would be a posting at Delhi !. Yes, I was transferred to Delhi in Sep 1988 to take charge of a bigger office there.
So my 5 years stay at Pondy ended on 1st Oct when we left for Chennai from where we flew to Delhi on 2nd Oct Morning.
14. H157, Ashok Vihar Phase 2, Delhi
Before going to Delhi, I had requested one of my colleagues at Delhi to look for a suitable house for me . He had short listed two houses for me and when I went to Delhi in Sep 88, I decided on this house, as the rent was cheaper , though the other house was a bit bigger. The house we took was on the first floor and was a 2BHK apartment. It was quite spacious and comfortable.
After we landed at Delhi on 2nd Oct , we stayed with Anna’s family for three/four days till our belongings reached Delhi by road. Anna and Manni came to Ashok Vihar to help us set up the house. This place is in North West Delhi ( nearer to my office ) while Anna’s family lived in South Delhi. Though the distance between our houses was about 30 Km’s it did not deter us from visiting each other. We used to go to their house on many week ends, and they, esp. the younger ones - Sridhar, Srikanth, Ravi , Usha , Bama – used to come to Ashok Vihar quite frequently. (Vasu was at Bombay then) We also used to have many get-togethers at their place and our place when Sridhar’s mama’s family also used to join us and we had great fun.
I cannot forget the days when we used to play Carrom till late in the night and only after repeated pleas by Girija that we might miss even the last bus to Ashok Vihar that we reluctantly closed our game . And I remember, the sleepy Sudha and Suba cursing me for making them wait for the bus and travel at that late hours ( by about 930 / 10 pm ! )
When we were here, Ravi got a job near our house. As he had to leave his house early in the morning, he could not take breakfast there. So, he used to come to our house straight, have breakfast and then go to his office.
There were only a few Tamilians in Ashok Vihar and we became friendlier with 6 families. We were all living very close (within a radius of about 2 KM’s ) with frequent visits to one another’s houses. The house owner was a Punjabi who had no children. The husband and wife liked us very much and they were very fond of Sudha and Suba . So, I had no problem in staying in that house till I was transferred to Chennai in June 1993.
Delhi stay provided us a chance to see a number of places of interest. Agra, Jaipur, Haridwar, Rishikesh, Badrinath, Vaishnava Devi temple are some of the important places we could go during our stay there.
The trips to Badrinath and VaishnaDevi temple were esp memorable. Some from anna's family ( I don't remember who all came ) and Vasu's mama's family accompanied us in the pilgrimage to Badrinath (via Haridwar and Rishikesh). We all went in a bus and the mountain roads to Badrinath were very steep and risky. When we neared Badrinath, we were thrilled to see the snow clad mountains at a touching distance. Badrinath was very cold , but we still managed to take bath and perform the puja ( tharpanam ) to our forefathers with just a dhoti and towel on our body. On all the seven days of this tour, the organiser of the trip took care of our boarding ( good homely brahmin food ) and lodging. We were quite comfortable.
The pilgrimage to VaishnavaDevi temple was equally thrilling and satisfying. We ( our family and most of anna's family ) went to Jammu by train and from there went to Katra by bus. From there it was a long walk, for about 14 Km's up the mountain to reach Vaishnadevi temple. In between, there is a place called Arth-quary where you have to cross a tunnel by crawling thro a very narrow passage. It was a breathtaking experience. Similarly, one has to crawl thro a tunnel to reach the shrine of VaishnavaDevi. You may not believe, we all, including the children, had a cold water bath ( the temp was 2 or 3 deg C. ),before we had the darshan of Mata. After the darshan, we walked down 14 Km's ( it takes about 5 hrs to go up and anpther 5 hrs to come down ), took rest in the night and boarded the train to Delhi the next afternoon.
We missed out some places like, Kasi, Dehradun, Simla, Golden Temple Jullandar etc due to some unavoidable reasons.
Girija had two operations while at Delhi , first for appendicitis in 1988 ( yes, within a month of our going there ) and the second one for removal of uterus. Sudha and Suba managed both the times admirably well with help from Anna’s family.Babu also came to Delhi to help us during the second operation.
We lost our dear anna while we were at Delhi. On 4th June 1989 , we went to their house in the morning as we got the news that Anna was not well. He was however alright throughout that day but suddenly his health deteriorated by about 9 pm. We rushed him to a hospital ,but he left us all in the early hours of 5th June in spite of the treatment given throughout the night.
Another sad thing to happen was the sudden brain fever that Vignesh ( son of Usha ) developed in Jan 1993 and his going to coma stage . (He was barely three years old then ) He did not recover till we left that place in June 1993. He was a very bright child and was the darling of all of us. ( He joined his Thatha in Heaven later ) . That was a blow not only to Usha and Gopal , but to all of us who were seeing his pranks and hearing his mazhalai.
When Vignesh started talking, he used to call me thatha , but I taught him to call me Anna ( as I thought that I was young and did not want to sound old !!). All others, including Girija used to tell him to call me thatha. Finally, perhaps to please all, he started calling me 'anna thatha'!!! . Later all other children at Delhi also used to call me anna thatha.
While we were at Delhi, I purchased a ground in Kovai Pudur , Coimbatore , alongwith Rajappa who purchased the adjacent ground, My thanks to Sundaresan, who took the initiative and trouble of locating the place, negotiating the price, doing the needful for legal scrutiny and registration . This ground continues to be an asset for me today.
Vasu / Raji got married in 1990 . About 25 of us traveled in the train together from Delhi to Chennai for the marriage . It was a highly entertaining journey. Nonstop Seettu Kutchey in one bay, songs in another bay and the management of food , norukku theeni etc in the third bay ! Oh, what a journey it was !
Sridhar / Chitra got married at Delhi itself in 1991. It was also a joyful occasion . I remember the part played by Girija in finalizing his marriage. ( Do you remember Sridhar / Chitra ? )
Sudha and Suba studied in a Tamil School at Delhi , run by the Delhi Tamil Educational Association ( DTEA in short ) . The school was about 10 KM’s from our house and they traveled by the school bus. which picked them up from very near to our house. They have to leave the house by 745 am and I used to wonder how they managed to travel during winter. Though they will wear a sweater over the shirt, both the legs would be exposed to the bitter cold as they would have only just a skirt and socks. ( I used to go to office with inner pant, normal pant, banian, shirt, sweater and Coat ! ) .
Incidentally, when we talk of winter, we were never used to such low degrees ( 1 , 2 etc ) and we had a terrible time during the first winter. But subsequently, we became used to it and in fact started enjoying the winter by 1992. Starting from beginning of Dec, the max temp would gradually come down from about 28 deg to about 12 deg by mid Jan. I used to joke to S&S that at this rate, one day the max temp will fall below the min temp !. You can bear very low min temp ( because it happens in the night when you are under a rajai ), but when the max temp comes below 15 deg, you start shivering ! ( because it happens in the day when you are in the office or traveling ) But , during winter it was a joy seeing TV programs with a thick rajai over you and the hot Verkadalai in your hand !!
Similarly in summer, it would be a hell outside but it was a heaven sitting in a room with cool breeze flowing from the aircooler . So , aircooler is a must and good asset in Delhi ,but you should have enough water in the house ( Water was not freely available at Delhi in those days and I think the situation has not changed much even today.)
Having gained the experience in a bigger office , it was only natural that I was considered for taking charge of the biggest parts office of AL at Ennore, Chennai, when the then in charge retired in 1993. To be frank, I did not want a transfer to Chennai , but my GM was very particular that I was the only person capable of handling that office and I had to give in. Sometimes, being efficient also works against you ! So , over to Chennai .
15. 13A, Luz Church Road , Mylapore, Chennai.
I got the transfer in April 1993. In early May . I alone came to Chennai to finalise the school for S&S and to look for a house near the school.
With the help of Raja and Babu, I contacted a few good schools in and around Mylapore and finally got the admission in the Lady Sivaswamy Kalalaya ,Mylapore , a CBSE school with the first batch in Plus 1 in that year.
Then started my house hunt. I decided that the house should be in Mylapore so that S&S would not have difficulty in going to the school. I would have seen atleast 50 houses in two/three days but , I did not like any of them.
I cannot forget one of the houses I saw in those three days. The broker told me that there was a house near Kapaleeswarar temple with 3 bedrooms, hall and a kitchen and the rent was Rs 3000. I was thrilled ,but at the same time apprehensive on how such a house could be available at such a cheap rent. Anyway, I decided to have a look at it and when I saw the house, I was shocked .
The house had all the rooms as told by the broker but the sizes of the bedrooms were 6’ x 6’ . The hall was of 8’X8’. And the kitchen measured 3’ x 6’. You can imagine the size of the toilet ! The whole portion was within four walls with no windows or any sort of ventilation. My run from there ended only when I reached Raja’s house ! I am still wondering how a portion can be built like that.
The next day, when I was talking to my GM and was telling him about my fruitless efforts in locating a suitable flat, he phoned up a broker known to him at Mylapore and enquired whether there was flat/ house available and the broker told him that there was a flat which might suit my needs. I immediately rushed to Mylapore and the broker took me to 13A, Luz Church Road. I liked the 2nd floor flat very much and had preliminary discussions with Mr Balu and his wife Meera who were residing in the ground floor and were the friends of the owner of the 2nd floor flat Mr Krishnan. On knowing the details about our family and my employment, Mr Balu was satisfied and he called his friend , the owner. The owner came there in about 15 mins and the deal was finalized in another 10 mins. So I got the flat at last. This house was located right at the busy Luz corner , next to Rex Fashions., on a side road.
We came to Chennai in early June . My office was at Ennore , about 22 km’s from Mylapore. All the managers were required to travel to the company in car only. The managers were utilizing the pool car system and 5 managers used to travel in one car and share the expenses . Fortunately for me, one of the managers residing in Mylapore got transferred to Hosur Plant and I joined in that car .
The car would pick me up at 645 am to reach the company before 7 30 am. In the morning it was alright but the disadvantage of the pool system is that we have to wait in the evening for all the five to finish their work . This invariably delayed our departure and we normally left only by 530 pm even though our working hours was over by 400 pm. Add to that the traffic jam of the evening peak hour, we returned home only by 645 or 700 pm.
The job at Ennore was challenging as it involved managing an unruly workforce of 150 workmen and 25 executives. On many days , I used to have very heated arguments with the union office bearers . But I managed to keep good relations with the workers and I had a comparatively peaceful time there when compared to my predecessors.
I was transferred to the Marketing head office at Nandanam in 1997. Since this office was only 4 KM’s from our house and as the office started only at 900 am., the life became much easier after I came to this office. In this office, I was given the responsibility of managing the 17 Parts offices all over India. This gave me an opportunity to visit our relatives in places like Hyderabad, Delhi, Pune, Bangalore, Hosur and Ahmedabad,
Mylapore being Mylapore, we had some wonderful time there. The fresh green vegetables , with more than 25/30 varieties at a very cheap rate in the nearby Thanni Thurai market made me visit that market quite frequently. It was a delight to purchase Veg and fruits here. In the evenings, we had a number of temples to visit, from Kapaleeswarar temple to the Navashakti Vinayagar opp to our house.
We are especially very fond of Navashakti Vinayagar who we believe is blessing us in all we do . After coming to Chennai, we go to this temple on 31st Dec night at about 10 pm every year, witness the special abishekham, see the Maha Aarthi and have the darshan of the great Vinayagar exactly at 1200 midnight when the new years begins, and then return home. I have visited this temple on all the new year days except one, in the past 16 years.
We used to eagerly wait for the festivals at Kapaleeswarar temple, and Navashakti Vinayagar temple when we used to visit these temples on all the days and also hear a lot of Kutcheries.
Girija and the downstairs Meera mami combined their evening walk with temple worship. They used to go to Vedanta Desikar Koil ( 2 km’s away ) on almost everyday and did 108 pradhakshanams of the Lord Chakkarathalwar.
Though Girija , S & S had started collecting Ganesh idols in various forms a few years back, it became a passion when we were in this house . The result ? We have today more than 150 Vinayagars in our house !.
Then there was the Nageswara Park nearby where I used to go for morning walk at 500 am. On many days, I used to go to beach road at 500 am and walked there for about 45 mins.
Myself, Girija and Suba joined a Yoga class which was conducted on the terrace of Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan in East Mada St and attended Yoga classes on four days a week for more than a year.
Needless to say, shopping in Mylapore has its own charm. From platform shops to big shops like Nalli Silks, Rex Fashion etc., we did not spare any shop there !.
After we came to Chennai, we wanted to buy a flat and our search ended when we bought the Rangarajapuram flat from Uma / Sundar in 1996. For obvious reasons, we could not stay there and we let it out till it was disposed off in 2007.
As our company was doing well in those times, we were taken to foreign locations for the annual conference . I visited Italy, UK, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Lanka, Mauritius, Nepal , Dubai etc when I was in this house .
Mylapore being strategically located , it was very easy to go to any place , be it Railway stations, S& S school / college, relatives houses or the famous T Nagar shopping center Pondy Bazaar and Usman road., as there were buses connected to all the localities and the bus stops were just 100’ from our house !
Sudha did her Plus 1 and Plus 2 in Mylapore and after that did Bsc in Vaishnav College , Nungambakkam. In 1998, She joined MCA in Therasa University Kodaikanal. Suba was in 9th Std when we came here and she completed her BA in 2000 . She then joined MBA in the same college.
Arun who got employment in Hotel Ambassador Pallav , stayed with us for a few years in this house. Arvind also stayed with us for a few months when he got his first employment in Bluestar. They later shifted to Kilpauk.
Arun / Gayathri’s betrothal was held in the terrace of this house in Aug 2000 just before we vacated this house. About hundred persons attended that gala function.
Raja and Babu stayed in Alwarpet , about 2 KM’s from our house. So, there were frequent visits by both the families to each other’s house.
Quite unfortunately, Babu became unwell by mid 1999 and she became very weak. She was hospitalized by mid Dec 1999 due to severe headache. Before it could be diagnosed as meningitis , her condition worsened and she passed away on 11th Jan 2000. It was a big shock to all of us , esp to Girija who loved her sister very much.
We were concerned about Raja and we did not want him to stay alone. Since our house was not big enough to take him also, we started searching for a house with three bedrooms. It was then that Raja told us about his friend’s house at Tiruvanmiyur . The house had a ground floor portion of about 1000 sqft and a bath attached room of about 200 sq ft in the first floor. Raja talked to his friend whether it would be possible to construct another portion in the 1st floor. His friend agreed and we decided to move in there after the construction was over.
The construction started in April and got finished in Aug. Raja’s family friend Shobu’s family ( who were living in the ground floor portion at their Alwarpet house ) moved in to the ground floor portion at Tiruvanmiyur while we occupied the newly constructed 1st floor portion at 10, 10th East Street, Kamaraj nagar , Tiruvanmiyur effective 1st Sep 2000. Raja moved into the 200 sqft room in the 1st floor.
This arrangement ensured that he had his privacy while he could stay with us also. This is the reason why we had to move from Mylapore to Tiruvanmiyur.
Our stay at Mylapore was quite enjoyable and we were rather sad that we had to leave that place.
16. 10, 10th East Street, Kamaraj Nagar, Tiruvanmiyur
From 1 9 2000 till date – more than 9 years and still counting. This house takes the cake for our longest stay ( next only to 17 Babu Rao St., of course.) .
As I write about this house, mixed feelings go thro my mind. Even as I start this para, tears roll down my cheeks. But let me start with good things first.
The owner of the house asked us to perform the Grahapravesam , on their behalf and we did that before moving in here . Perhaps we would have been the only ones to have performed the Grahapravesam without being the owner of the house !
In the very next month, Arun / Gayathri’s marriage took place. The pre marriage functions were held in our house . ( As Rajappa was at Hyd then ) . It was great to have many of our relatives in our new house at that time.
In another two months, in Dec 2000, we celebrated our wedding silver Jubilee. It was a big get-together with about 100 of our relatives and friends turning up to greet us on that occasion.
I wanted to give Girija a rare Gift on that occasion. So I decided to take her on a holiday to Malaysia and Singapore. We four went to these places and spent 3 days in Kuala Lumpur and six days at Singapore, in early Feb 2001. It was an enjoyable tour and we could see many places of interest during our trip.
Then came the big moment. Sudha finished her MCA in 2001 and we started looking alliance for her. In Oct 2001, her marriage with Chandar was finalized and the betrothal was held on 28th Oct 2001 . As usual our relatives and close friends gathered in our house and we went to the function in a big convoy of Seven cars.
The marriage was held on 8th Feb 2002 at Rama Kalyana Mandapam , Nungambakkam. We would have seen at least 30/35 mandapams before we finalized this mandapam. In fact I wanted to have the marriage in Krishnaswamy Kalyana Mandapam , T Nagar , but it was booked till May and hence I had to look for another Mandapam.
We had a hectic time in the preparations for the marriage. We made it a point to invite all our relatives and friends residing at Chennai personally. This took us from Avadi to Tambaram, and from Royapuram to Virungambakkam !. Thanks to Raja and our friend Venkat, we could make it to all the houses in Raja’s car and my own friend the Silver Plus.
Since it was the first marriage in our house, we wanted to make it as grand as possible . A lot of planning, purchases, arrangements etc., made the marriage a memorable affair. Most of the credit should go to Girija who meticulously planned and executed all our wishes.
After marriage, Sudha and Chandar along with his parents moved to a house which was just five minutes walking distance from our house. We were very happy to have her so near to us . It was a God’s blessing.
Sudha was blessed with a baby boy, Dhanush, on 25th Nov 2002 and it brought more joy to us. Our first Peran is very much attached to us and we have had a lovely time in his company all these years. When he was 1 year old , I purchased a video camera and I could record his plays, pranks ,mazhalai and achievements from then on.
Suba completed her MBA in 2002. She went for a job temporarily for a few months. We finalized her marriage with Magesh in Oct 2003 , but the marriage was held on 27th Apr 2005 , after Magesh’s two elder brothers got married . Earlier on 27th Jan 2005, the formal betrothal function was held in a grand manner.
This time we could get the Krishnaswamy Kalyana Mandapam, T Nagar. I like this Mandapam very much because, it has a great look, and has many facilities like beautiful and spacious marriage main hall, good car parking place, lift , big AC rooms etc. I remember sleeping in the hall in many marriages Here, everybody could sleep in AC comfort inside the room .
For Suba’s marriage also, we personally invited all the relatives and friends in Chennai. This time, Sudha and Chandar accompanied me to most of the places. Raja and Venkat also helped me to visit a few places. Thanks to the experience we had during Sudha’s marriage, this time, marriage and other arrangements were more streamlined and less taxing.
Suba / Magesh Marriage went off smoothly and in a grand manner . Since she had to go to Pune to start her married life, we felt her absence very much, since she was of very great help to us esp., after Nov 2003 as, she took complete care of Girija, like a mother, after her heart attack.
But we were able to be together quite often as I and Girija made two visits to Pune and she came to Chennai for delivery in Feb 2006 . Our second Peran, Sughosh was born on 18th May 2006. We were immensely happy to have two Perans at our house at that time. 24 hrs were just not sufficient !
In Jan 2004, I purchased a Honda Activa two-wheeler and sold off the ever-reliable Silver Plus after it served me superbly for over 19 years.
I turned 60 on 19th Oct 2006 and the Shastiapthapoorthy was celebrated on 13th Nov 2006, my star birth day . Near and dear ones gathered in good numbers to grace this occasion too. Earlier I retired from the services of Ashok Leyland on 31st Oct 2004, when I attained the superannuation age of 58. I got a touching farewell from my colleagues at a function got up on the evening of the last day of my service.About 20 of them accompanied me from the office to home,after the function. Thus my service spanning over 38 years in Ashok Leyland ( the only company I have worked for ) came to an end.
During our stay in this house, Sudha/ Chandar and Suba/ Magesh purchased new flats and we were very glad to participate in the Grahapravesams. When Suba’s Grahapravesam was held in Nov 2007, we were particularly happy that we have seen all the happy moments in our daughters’ lives.
In Mar 2002, 7 ½ naattu Sani entered my Raasi . May be because of this or may be God thought we had had enough of happiness , He started testing us from the year 2003.
Girija started suffering from various ailments from Nov 2003 when she had the 1st heart attack. When we thought that she had come out of the worst , she suffered a second attack in Nov 2007 from which she did not revive and the light went out of my life on 25th Nov 2007 at 515 pm after keeping me bright for 32 years.
It was heartbreaking to see Girija lying at this house motionless as I had never before seen her lying idle for so many hours at a stretch. I did not know what to do. The life suddenly became meaningless to me. But the love of my daughters, sons in law and grandsons and also the constant moral and physical support of all the relatives and close friends, helped me to overcome the sorrow slowly.
Girija fulfilled all her responsibilities to the family, ensured that her two daughters were brought up nicely, gave them good education , got them married, helped them in their deliveries, played with the grandsons merrily, did the seer etc for the Grahapravesams of her daughters’ new flats and had shastiapthapoorthy, She was a source of great strength and support throughout my career. I must thank God for all these favours that He has bestowed on my family. I am sure He will keep Girija happy in His heaven.
Suba / Magesh became parents to a baby girl , Mahathi on 4th July, 2009. The birth of the Petthi ( has Girija come back ? ) was a welcome relief to me as it brought tears of joy in the eyes which had only tears of sorrow for quite sometime.
Girija was there to take care of Sudha and Suba and the newborns when Dhanush and Sughosh were born. This time it was Sudha who took up the responsibility of Girija’s role. Like a mother, she took complete care of Suba and the newborn with help from Ramana who had specially come from Ahmedabad .
And before the 7 ½ naattu Sani went out of my Raasi on 26th Sep 2009, I also developed heart problem and underwent Bypass surgery in Malar Hospital on 7th Aug 2009. I am presently recovering under mother Sudha / Chandar’s care. During these 7 ½ years Shani Baghavan has given me lots of good things too. I must thank Lord Shani Baghavan for all the blessings He has bestowed on me and my family.
The house is there,I continue to live there with Girija's ninaivugal. And it is the love and support of near and dear ones that keep me going.
Though I am concluding this now, I will write again on this topic in future, God willing.
Sugavanam
Concluded
For earlier blog on this topic,click here.
Read on for the concluding Part
11. 9 , Dacres Lane, Calcutta
When I was transferred to Cal, I was quite new to that place and hence I had requested one of my dealer friends to locate a suitable accommodation and he had fixed up this flat.
The advantage of this place was that it was in the heart of the city. And as it was very near to Rajbhavan, there was no power cut here. (In those days, there used to be power cuts for over 12 hrs a day in all the parts of Calcutta).
The disadvantage was that it was a business place and there were only a very few families in that area and almost all of them were north Indians/ Bengalis. So Girija had a difficult time as she had to manage the two children and the house all by herself and that too without knowing Hindi and Bengali.
Since it was a recession time, I had double the work at the office to get orders and collect money from the customers. As I was in charge of the Eastern region, comprising West Bengal, Bihar, Orissa and North Eastern States, I had to tour a lot. Hence I decided to send back Girija and children to Madras after about two months of our stay there. Girija and children were with Babu and Raja at Triplicane for about 6 months and when the work pressure came down for me, I took them back to Calcutta.
Mama Pillai Jaggu was at Calcutta then. Thro him, we got the acquaintance of Jaggu’s co brother, Mr. M V Viswanathan, ( who incidentally continues to be in touch with us even today ) . Mr. Viswanathan’s wife became a very close friend of Girija and this family helped us a lot during our stay there. I admitted Sudha in South Point School, which was a well-known school in Calcutta. This school was near the house of Mr. Viswanathan, but it was about 10 km’s from our house.
Girija used to take both the children by Tram in the morning leaving the house by 830 am, and after leaving Sudha in the school, she will go to Mr Viswanathan’s house, spend three hours there, pick up Sudha by 12 noon and then travel back with the two children to our home. She also used to purchase groceries etc there and carry them home.
All these, she used to do without any murmur and I could only sympathise with her as my working time prevented me from doing any sort of help to her. But we used to forget the sufferings in the talks and pranks of Sudha and Suba.
In order to overcome the problems, we shifted to Lake Gardens, a predominantly residential location with lots of Tamil families, in Nov 1982.
The stay in Dacres lane was really a turbulent one in our life and I would like to forget those miserable days.
12. 58/14 Prince Anwar Shah Road, Lake Gardens, Calcutta.
This house was a very welcome change for Girija and me too. Reasons?
It was in a residential locality. It was like a mini Chennai with lots of Tamilians around.. The house was next to a Ram Mandir and you could see the temple pragaram from the open terrace of our house ( We lived in the first floor which had a big open terrace ). The house owner was a Tamilian . Theirs was a big family of mother and seven sons, two of whom three were married at that time. The names of all the sons will end with Kumar ( Sukumar, Sunil Kumar, Sudhir Kumar etc ) _ Incidentally, this family is still in touch with us. Their two sons are at Chennai now . Last Year, I met all of them during the marriage of Sudhir Kumar’s son.-
Girija became friendly with this family in no time and they all liked her very much. They were also very fond of the kids Sudha and Suba . S&S also spent a lot of time in their house , playing with the three children in their house.
We used to go the temple almost everyday and met a lot of Tamilians there. The famous Lake , Lake Market , the shopping paradise Gariahat were all very nearby and we had a nice time in visiting these places. Sudha’s school was about five KM’s from there and we sent her to the school in the school bus which came very near to our house. In 1983 , we admitted Suba in a nearby school .
Though there used to be power cuts for five /six hours a day, the other advantages we had here made us forget about the discomforts of power cuts.
It was while we were in this house that we lost our dear mother. It was July 3rd 1983. The earliest train after I got the news was at 2pm. One of my friends helped me in getting the tickets and another friend came with us to the stn to help us. We left the home at 12 noon and it would normally take 30 mins to reach the stn if there is no traffic jam on the way. ( Calcutta was very notorious for traffic jams esp in the Howrah Bridge – near the Rly stn – in those days. ).
Unfortunately for us, we were caught in a very bad traffic jam when we were just two KM’s from the stn. With 4 big luggages and two children, it was impossible to walk the distance. After waiting for about 15 mins, we had no other go than to get down from the taxi and take alternate action.
For those of you who have not been to Calcutta, the Calcutta city is on one side of river Hoogli ( Ganges as known in Calcutta ) and the stn is on the other side of the river. While the famous Howrah bridge was the only road route connecting the stn and the city, there was boat service also across the river Ganges .
Fortunately, one of the boarding points of this boat service was at about ½ Km’s distance form where we were stranded and we had to walk this distance. With great difficulty, we managed this , caught the boat service , alighted at the Stn stop – which is just in front of the stn., - and reached the platform at 1 55 pm. We all literally ran and got into the train just one minute before the train departed ! Unforgettable.
I also remember the day - 25th June 1983 – when India won the world cup at Lords. The match started in the evening and went past midnight. As usual there was no power for most of the time but luckily, I had a transistor then . I heard the commentary from the beginning till the last ball and immediately afterwards, I enjoyed the fireworks ( sound ) that went on for about one hour in all parts of Calcutta.
It was October 1983. Girija started drinking water quite frequently and she also felt a bit weak. When we consulted a doctor, we got the shock news that she had diabetes. Diabetes at a such young age ? I could not even imagine. I could only cry to God silently as to why He had to make Girija suffer at that young age. But, Girija took it quite sportingly, I would say.
Our stay in this house was limited to about a year only as I was transferred in Nov 1983 to Pondicherry to take charge of the branch newly opened there.
Though we had initial problems when we shifted to Calcutta, we started liking the place after some time ( esp after moving to Lake Gardens ). It was a lively city and the people were generally nice people ( as long as you don’t hurt their ego !) The city had many charms and the education was good. It was perhaps the only city In India where women could go out without any fear even in midnight. So, we were not really interested in moving out of Calcutta but what to do . Kadamai Azhaithathaal, Piriya manamillamal antha oorai vittu Pondy Vanthom.
I came to Pondy in Nov and Girija came with children in Dec 83 after the final exam for Sudha was over. Since it was Margazhi by the time Girija reached , we stayed at Cuddalore for about 45 days and moved to our new Home at Pondy – 139 6th Cross st., Rainbow Nagar , by end of Jan 84.
13 . 139 , 6th Cross St., Rainbow Nagar , Pondicherry.
This was the first big house that we lived in (apart from ,of course , the Cuddalore home ) Two bed rooms, big hall, separate dining hall, a big kitchen etc., The land lord stayed upstairs and as usual we had a very cordial relationship with them. And needless to repeat, Girija became friendly with lots of families in the Rainbow Nagar in a very short time.
Pondy life was a simple quiet life. As my office was nearby, I normally left by 845 am and came back by 600 pm. Hence I had a lot of time to spend with the family. We got admission for Sudha in the well known St Joseph’s Cluny school and admitted Suba in a school at Rainbow Nagar itself. ( After two years, she was also admitted in Cluny ). They used to go to Cluny school by ricksha.
It was not even a month after we moved to Pondy. We got a call from Anna from Cuddalore that they were coming to Pondy with Rama’s newborn premature child to admit the him in the famous Jipmer hospital so that he could kept in the incubator there . I and Girija joined them at Pondy and went to the hospital . We were glad that we were there at that time to be of some help to anna till Santhosh was discharged after a few days.
Later anna was also hospitalized in the same hospital for a few days because of heart problem. Again, Girija used to visit the hospital frequently to take care of Anna and also to consult doctors on the progress of Anna’s health.
As Cuddalore was nearby, we made frequent visits to 17 Babu Rao St., to be with our father. Though he declined to be with us permanently, ( as he did not want to move out of his dear home and Pataleeswarar ), he came and stayed with us on a few occasions and this made us very happy.
Our Nana chittappa’s daughter Rajam akka was living with her family about two KM’s from our house and we were meeting frequently. Radha aththan ( Rajam akka’s husband and our athai’s son ) was a manager in a nearby Theatre and he was a well known figure in all the theatres in Pondy. Hence we had a standing offer of free tickets in any theatre , though we seldom used it. Pondy as many of you know had lots of theatres compared to its size and people from outside Pondy also would come to Pondy to see cinemas.
Girija’s sister Babu and her husband Raja used to come to Pondy at least once a month to spend the week end with S&S. In 1985, they had come to our house for Deepavali . We had very heavy rains at that time and they were forced to stay back in Pondy for a few more days since all the bus and train service to Chennai were suspended due to heavy floods enroute. We saw five cinemas- all new Deepavali releases- in five days !
I purchased my first two wheeler ( the great Silver Plus ) in April 1985 thro Raja. He came all the way from Chennai in the new vehicle and delivered it to me !. This vehicle was quite useful to me and it remained with me for the next 19 years. I had gone to Cuddalore in this vehicle on quite a few occasions and later on when I was in Delhi, we four used to go to Anna’s house (a distance of about 30 Km’s) in this Silver Plus. I had a great liking for this vehicle as it was serving me well without much of a problem.
It was in Pondy that I got my residential telephone provided by the Company ( Number- 7416 ) and this perk continued till I retired from AL in 2004. After I got the telephone, contacting relatives became that much easier.
When our father left for his Heavenly abode on 15th Sep 1986, I got the information within 10 mins and I was at Cuddalore within another two hours. It was a great loss for all of us .I felt as if I was orphaned with the loss of both mother ( three years back ) and father. But what to . That is life.
On the office front, things were going pretty smooth and I was also happy that I got a chance to set up an office of 20000 sq ft from scratch. It was also my first experience of managing a large workforce- About 15 workers and 8 Executives.
This assignment also gave me an opportunity to learn a lot of new things like training the staff ( 90% of the staff were new recruits ) , managing the accounts of a big office, labour relations, managing the statutory requirements like Shop and Establishment act, ESI coverage of the workmen, PF accounting, payment of Sales Tax and filing Sales Tax return , interaction with Govt offices, managing an inventory of about Rs 200 lacs, etc etc.
I think I managed these things well as could be seen from the reports of the Company’s auditors as well as the External Auditors. I also got a very special Performance rating and a cash award for the job well done.
We got our first Computer in Oct 1984 , on the day Indira Gandhi was assassinated. I alongwith our Systems software engineer, developed the various programs for the spare Parts operation.
But after three years, I had very little job at the office as everything got settled by that time and the office was running smoothly based on the systems introduced and without needing much of my intervention . Hence I felt bored and requested my General Manger to consider me for a higher responsibility. But I did not imagine that it would be a posting at Delhi !. Yes, I was transferred to Delhi in Sep 1988 to take charge of a bigger office there.
So my 5 years stay at Pondy ended on 1st Oct when we left for Chennai from where we flew to Delhi on 2nd Oct Morning.
14. H157, Ashok Vihar Phase 2, Delhi
Before going to Delhi, I had requested one of my colleagues at Delhi to look for a suitable house for me . He had short listed two houses for me and when I went to Delhi in Sep 88, I decided on this house, as the rent was cheaper , though the other house was a bit bigger. The house we took was on the first floor and was a 2BHK apartment. It was quite spacious and comfortable.
After we landed at Delhi on 2nd Oct , we stayed with Anna’s family for three/four days till our belongings reached Delhi by road. Anna and Manni came to Ashok Vihar to help us set up the house. This place is in North West Delhi ( nearer to my office ) while Anna’s family lived in South Delhi. Though the distance between our houses was about 30 Km’s it did not deter us from visiting each other. We used to go to their house on many week ends, and they, esp. the younger ones - Sridhar, Srikanth, Ravi , Usha , Bama – used to come to Ashok Vihar quite frequently. (Vasu was at Bombay then) We also used to have many get-togethers at their place and our place when Sridhar’s mama’s family also used to join us and we had great fun.
I cannot forget the days when we used to play Carrom till late in the night and only after repeated pleas by Girija that we might miss even the last bus to Ashok Vihar that we reluctantly closed our game . And I remember, the sleepy Sudha and Suba cursing me for making them wait for the bus and travel at that late hours ( by about 930 / 10 pm ! )
When we were here, Ravi got a job near our house. As he had to leave his house early in the morning, he could not take breakfast there. So, he used to come to our house straight, have breakfast and then go to his office.
There were only a few Tamilians in Ashok Vihar and we became friendlier with 6 families. We were all living very close (within a radius of about 2 KM’s ) with frequent visits to one another’s houses. The house owner was a Punjabi who had no children. The husband and wife liked us very much and they were very fond of Sudha and Suba . So, I had no problem in staying in that house till I was transferred to Chennai in June 1993.
Delhi stay provided us a chance to see a number of places of interest. Agra, Jaipur, Haridwar, Rishikesh, Badrinath, Vaishnava Devi temple are some of the important places we could go during our stay there.
The trips to Badrinath and VaishnaDevi temple were esp memorable. Some from anna's family ( I don't remember who all came ) and Vasu's mama's family accompanied us in the pilgrimage to Badrinath (via Haridwar and Rishikesh). We all went in a bus and the mountain roads to Badrinath were very steep and risky. When we neared Badrinath, we were thrilled to see the snow clad mountains at a touching distance. Badrinath was very cold , but we still managed to take bath and perform the puja ( tharpanam ) to our forefathers with just a dhoti and towel on our body. On all the seven days of this tour, the organiser of the trip took care of our boarding ( good homely brahmin food ) and lodging. We were quite comfortable.
The pilgrimage to VaishnavaDevi temple was equally thrilling and satisfying. We ( our family and most of anna's family ) went to Jammu by train and from there went to Katra by bus. From there it was a long walk, for about 14 Km's up the mountain to reach Vaishnadevi temple. In between, there is a place called Arth-quary where you have to cross a tunnel by crawling thro a very narrow passage. It was a breathtaking experience. Similarly, one has to crawl thro a tunnel to reach the shrine of VaishnavaDevi. You may not believe, we all, including the children, had a cold water bath ( the temp was 2 or 3 deg C. ),before we had the darshan of Mata. After the darshan, we walked down 14 Km's ( it takes about 5 hrs to go up and anpther 5 hrs to come down ), took rest in the night and boarded the train to Delhi the next afternoon.
We missed out some places like, Kasi, Dehradun, Simla, Golden Temple Jullandar etc due to some unavoidable reasons.
Girija had two operations while at Delhi , first for appendicitis in 1988 ( yes, within a month of our going there ) and the second one for removal of uterus. Sudha and Suba managed both the times admirably well with help from Anna’s family.Babu also came to Delhi to help us during the second operation.
We lost our dear anna while we were at Delhi. On 4th June 1989 , we went to their house in the morning as we got the news that Anna was not well. He was however alright throughout that day but suddenly his health deteriorated by about 9 pm. We rushed him to a hospital ,but he left us all in the early hours of 5th June in spite of the treatment given throughout the night.
Another sad thing to happen was the sudden brain fever that Vignesh ( son of Usha ) developed in Jan 1993 and his going to coma stage . (He was barely three years old then ) He did not recover till we left that place in June 1993. He was a very bright child and was the darling of all of us. ( He joined his Thatha in Heaven later ) . That was a blow not only to Usha and Gopal , but to all of us who were seeing his pranks and hearing his mazhalai.
When Vignesh started talking, he used to call me thatha , but I taught him to call me Anna ( as I thought that I was young and did not want to sound old !!). All others, including Girija used to tell him to call me thatha. Finally, perhaps to please all, he started calling me 'anna thatha'!!! . Later all other children at Delhi also used to call me anna thatha.
While we were at Delhi, I purchased a ground in Kovai Pudur , Coimbatore , alongwith Rajappa who purchased the adjacent ground, My thanks to Sundaresan, who took the initiative and trouble of locating the place, negotiating the price, doing the needful for legal scrutiny and registration . This ground continues to be an asset for me today.
Vasu / Raji got married in 1990 . About 25 of us traveled in the train together from Delhi to Chennai for the marriage . It was a highly entertaining journey. Nonstop Seettu Kutchey in one bay, songs in another bay and the management of food , norukku theeni etc in the third bay ! Oh, what a journey it was !
Sridhar / Chitra got married at Delhi itself in 1991. It was also a joyful occasion . I remember the part played by Girija in finalizing his marriage. ( Do you remember Sridhar / Chitra ? )
Sudha and Suba studied in a Tamil School at Delhi , run by the Delhi Tamil Educational Association ( DTEA in short ) . The school was about 10 KM’s from our house and they traveled by the school bus. which picked them up from very near to our house. They have to leave the house by 745 am and I used to wonder how they managed to travel during winter. Though they will wear a sweater over the shirt, both the legs would be exposed to the bitter cold as they would have only just a skirt and socks. ( I used to go to office with inner pant, normal pant, banian, shirt, sweater and Coat ! ) .
Incidentally, when we talk of winter, we were never used to such low degrees ( 1 , 2 etc ) and we had a terrible time during the first winter. But subsequently, we became used to it and in fact started enjoying the winter by 1992. Starting from beginning of Dec, the max temp would gradually come down from about 28 deg to about 12 deg by mid Jan. I used to joke to S&S that at this rate, one day the max temp will fall below the min temp !. You can bear very low min temp ( because it happens in the night when you are under a rajai ), but when the max temp comes below 15 deg, you start shivering ! ( because it happens in the day when you are in the office or traveling ) But , during winter it was a joy seeing TV programs with a thick rajai over you and the hot Verkadalai in your hand !!
Similarly in summer, it would be a hell outside but it was a heaven sitting in a room with cool breeze flowing from the aircooler . So , aircooler is a must and good asset in Delhi ,but you should have enough water in the house ( Water was not freely available at Delhi in those days and I think the situation has not changed much even today.)
Having gained the experience in a bigger office , it was only natural that I was considered for taking charge of the biggest parts office of AL at Ennore, Chennai, when the then in charge retired in 1993. To be frank, I did not want a transfer to Chennai , but my GM was very particular that I was the only person capable of handling that office and I had to give in. Sometimes, being efficient also works against you ! So , over to Chennai .
15. 13A, Luz Church Road , Mylapore, Chennai.
I got the transfer in April 1993. In early May . I alone came to Chennai to finalise the school for S&S and to look for a house near the school.
With the help of Raja and Babu, I contacted a few good schools in and around Mylapore and finally got the admission in the Lady Sivaswamy Kalalaya ,Mylapore , a CBSE school with the first batch in Plus 1 in that year.
Then started my house hunt. I decided that the house should be in Mylapore so that S&S would not have difficulty in going to the school. I would have seen atleast 50 houses in two/three days but , I did not like any of them.
I cannot forget one of the houses I saw in those three days. The broker told me that there was a house near Kapaleeswarar temple with 3 bedrooms, hall and a kitchen and the rent was Rs 3000. I was thrilled ,but at the same time apprehensive on how such a house could be available at such a cheap rent. Anyway, I decided to have a look at it and when I saw the house, I was shocked .
The house had all the rooms as told by the broker but the sizes of the bedrooms were 6’ x 6’ . The hall was of 8’X8’. And the kitchen measured 3’ x 6’. You can imagine the size of the toilet ! The whole portion was within four walls with no windows or any sort of ventilation. My run from there ended only when I reached Raja’s house ! I am still wondering how a portion can be built like that.
The next day, when I was talking to my GM and was telling him about my fruitless efforts in locating a suitable flat, he phoned up a broker known to him at Mylapore and enquired whether there was flat/ house available and the broker told him that there was a flat which might suit my needs. I immediately rushed to Mylapore and the broker took me to 13A, Luz Church Road. I liked the 2nd floor flat very much and had preliminary discussions with Mr Balu and his wife Meera who were residing in the ground floor and were the friends of the owner of the 2nd floor flat Mr Krishnan. On knowing the details about our family and my employment, Mr Balu was satisfied and he called his friend , the owner. The owner came there in about 15 mins and the deal was finalized in another 10 mins. So I got the flat at last. This house was located right at the busy Luz corner , next to Rex Fashions., on a side road.
We came to Chennai in early June . My office was at Ennore , about 22 km’s from Mylapore. All the managers were required to travel to the company in car only. The managers were utilizing the pool car system and 5 managers used to travel in one car and share the expenses . Fortunately for me, one of the managers residing in Mylapore got transferred to Hosur Plant and I joined in that car .
The car would pick me up at 645 am to reach the company before 7 30 am. In the morning it was alright but the disadvantage of the pool system is that we have to wait in the evening for all the five to finish their work . This invariably delayed our departure and we normally left only by 530 pm even though our working hours was over by 400 pm. Add to that the traffic jam of the evening peak hour, we returned home only by 645 or 700 pm.
The job at Ennore was challenging as it involved managing an unruly workforce of 150 workmen and 25 executives. On many days , I used to have very heated arguments with the union office bearers . But I managed to keep good relations with the workers and I had a comparatively peaceful time there when compared to my predecessors.
I was transferred to the Marketing head office at Nandanam in 1997. Since this office was only 4 KM’s from our house and as the office started only at 900 am., the life became much easier after I came to this office. In this office, I was given the responsibility of managing the 17 Parts offices all over India. This gave me an opportunity to visit our relatives in places like Hyderabad, Delhi, Pune, Bangalore, Hosur and Ahmedabad,
Mylapore being Mylapore, we had some wonderful time there. The fresh green vegetables , with more than 25/30 varieties at a very cheap rate in the nearby Thanni Thurai market made me visit that market quite frequently. It was a delight to purchase Veg and fruits here. In the evenings, we had a number of temples to visit, from Kapaleeswarar temple to the Navashakti Vinayagar opp to our house.
We are especially very fond of Navashakti Vinayagar who we believe is blessing us in all we do . After coming to Chennai, we go to this temple on 31st Dec night at about 10 pm every year, witness the special abishekham, see the Maha Aarthi and have the darshan of the great Vinayagar exactly at 1200 midnight when the new years begins, and then return home. I have visited this temple on all the new year days except one, in the past 16 years.
We used to eagerly wait for the festivals at Kapaleeswarar temple, and Navashakti Vinayagar temple when we used to visit these temples on all the days and also hear a lot of Kutcheries.
Girija and the downstairs Meera mami combined their evening walk with temple worship. They used to go to Vedanta Desikar Koil ( 2 km’s away ) on almost everyday and did 108 pradhakshanams of the Lord Chakkarathalwar.
Though Girija , S & S had started collecting Ganesh idols in various forms a few years back, it became a passion when we were in this house . The result ? We have today more than 150 Vinayagars in our house !.
Then there was the Nageswara Park nearby where I used to go for morning walk at 500 am. On many days, I used to go to beach road at 500 am and walked there for about 45 mins.
Myself, Girija and Suba joined a Yoga class which was conducted on the terrace of Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan in East Mada St and attended Yoga classes on four days a week for more than a year.
Needless to say, shopping in Mylapore has its own charm. From platform shops to big shops like Nalli Silks, Rex Fashion etc., we did not spare any shop there !.
After we came to Chennai, we wanted to buy a flat and our search ended when we bought the Rangarajapuram flat from Uma / Sundar in 1996. For obvious reasons, we could not stay there and we let it out till it was disposed off in 2007.
As our company was doing well in those times, we were taken to foreign locations for the annual conference . I visited Italy, UK, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Lanka, Mauritius, Nepal , Dubai etc when I was in this house .
Mylapore being strategically located , it was very easy to go to any place , be it Railway stations, S& S school / college, relatives houses or the famous T Nagar shopping center Pondy Bazaar and Usman road., as there were buses connected to all the localities and the bus stops were just 100’ from our house !
Sudha did her Plus 1 and Plus 2 in Mylapore and after that did Bsc in Vaishnav College , Nungambakkam. In 1998, She joined MCA in Therasa University Kodaikanal. Suba was in 9th Std when we came here and she completed her BA in 2000 . She then joined MBA in the same college.
Arun who got employment in Hotel Ambassador Pallav , stayed with us for a few years in this house. Arvind also stayed with us for a few months when he got his first employment in Bluestar. They later shifted to Kilpauk.
Arun / Gayathri’s betrothal was held in the terrace of this house in Aug 2000 just before we vacated this house. About hundred persons attended that gala function.
Raja and Babu stayed in Alwarpet , about 2 KM’s from our house. So, there were frequent visits by both the families to each other’s house.
Quite unfortunately, Babu became unwell by mid 1999 and she became very weak. She was hospitalized by mid Dec 1999 due to severe headache. Before it could be diagnosed as meningitis , her condition worsened and she passed away on 11th Jan 2000. It was a big shock to all of us , esp to Girija who loved her sister very much.
We were concerned about Raja and we did not want him to stay alone. Since our house was not big enough to take him also, we started searching for a house with three bedrooms. It was then that Raja told us about his friend’s house at Tiruvanmiyur . The house had a ground floor portion of about 1000 sqft and a bath attached room of about 200 sq ft in the first floor. Raja talked to his friend whether it would be possible to construct another portion in the 1st floor. His friend agreed and we decided to move in there after the construction was over.
The construction started in April and got finished in Aug. Raja’s family friend Shobu’s family ( who were living in the ground floor portion at their Alwarpet house ) moved in to the ground floor portion at Tiruvanmiyur while we occupied the newly constructed 1st floor portion at 10, 10th East Street, Kamaraj nagar , Tiruvanmiyur effective 1st Sep 2000. Raja moved into the 200 sqft room in the 1st floor.
This arrangement ensured that he had his privacy while he could stay with us also. This is the reason why we had to move from Mylapore to Tiruvanmiyur.
Our stay at Mylapore was quite enjoyable and we were rather sad that we had to leave that place.
16. 10, 10th East Street, Kamaraj Nagar, Tiruvanmiyur
From 1 9 2000 till date – more than 9 years and still counting. This house takes the cake for our longest stay ( next only to 17 Babu Rao St., of course.) .
As I write about this house, mixed feelings go thro my mind. Even as I start this para, tears roll down my cheeks. But let me start with good things first.
The owner of the house asked us to perform the Grahapravesam , on their behalf and we did that before moving in here . Perhaps we would have been the only ones to have performed the Grahapravesam without being the owner of the house !
In the very next month, Arun / Gayathri’s marriage took place. The pre marriage functions were held in our house . ( As Rajappa was at Hyd then ) . It was great to have many of our relatives in our new house at that time.
In another two months, in Dec 2000, we celebrated our wedding silver Jubilee. It was a big get-together with about 100 of our relatives and friends turning up to greet us on that occasion.
I wanted to give Girija a rare Gift on that occasion. So I decided to take her on a holiday to Malaysia and Singapore. We four went to these places and spent 3 days in Kuala Lumpur and six days at Singapore, in early Feb 2001. It was an enjoyable tour and we could see many places of interest during our trip.
Then came the big moment. Sudha finished her MCA in 2001 and we started looking alliance for her. In Oct 2001, her marriage with Chandar was finalized and the betrothal was held on 28th Oct 2001 . As usual our relatives and close friends gathered in our house and we went to the function in a big convoy of Seven cars.
The marriage was held on 8th Feb 2002 at Rama Kalyana Mandapam , Nungambakkam. We would have seen at least 30/35 mandapams before we finalized this mandapam. In fact I wanted to have the marriage in Krishnaswamy Kalyana Mandapam , T Nagar , but it was booked till May and hence I had to look for another Mandapam.
We had a hectic time in the preparations for the marriage. We made it a point to invite all our relatives and friends residing at Chennai personally. This took us from Avadi to Tambaram, and from Royapuram to Virungambakkam !. Thanks to Raja and our friend Venkat, we could make it to all the houses in Raja’s car and my own friend the Silver Plus.
Since it was the first marriage in our house, we wanted to make it as grand as possible . A lot of planning, purchases, arrangements etc., made the marriage a memorable affair. Most of the credit should go to Girija who meticulously planned and executed all our wishes.
After marriage, Sudha and Chandar along with his parents moved to a house which was just five minutes walking distance from our house. We were very happy to have her so near to us . It was a God’s blessing.
Sudha was blessed with a baby boy, Dhanush, on 25th Nov 2002 and it brought more joy to us. Our first Peran is very much attached to us and we have had a lovely time in his company all these years. When he was 1 year old , I purchased a video camera and I could record his plays, pranks ,mazhalai and achievements from then on.
Suba completed her MBA in 2002. She went for a job temporarily for a few months. We finalized her marriage with Magesh in Oct 2003 , but the marriage was held on 27th Apr 2005 , after Magesh’s two elder brothers got married . Earlier on 27th Jan 2005, the formal betrothal function was held in a grand manner.
This time we could get the Krishnaswamy Kalyana Mandapam, T Nagar. I like this Mandapam very much because, it has a great look, and has many facilities like beautiful and spacious marriage main hall, good car parking place, lift , big AC rooms etc. I remember sleeping in the hall in many marriages Here, everybody could sleep in AC comfort inside the room .
For Suba’s marriage also, we personally invited all the relatives and friends in Chennai. This time, Sudha and Chandar accompanied me to most of the places. Raja and Venkat also helped me to visit a few places. Thanks to the experience we had during Sudha’s marriage, this time, marriage and other arrangements were more streamlined and less taxing.
Suba / Magesh Marriage went off smoothly and in a grand manner . Since she had to go to Pune to start her married life, we felt her absence very much, since she was of very great help to us esp., after Nov 2003 as, she took complete care of Girija, like a mother, after her heart attack.
But we were able to be together quite often as I and Girija made two visits to Pune and she came to Chennai for delivery in Feb 2006 . Our second Peran, Sughosh was born on 18th May 2006. We were immensely happy to have two Perans at our house at that time. 24 hrs were just not sufficient !
In Jan 2004, I purchased a Honda Activa two-wheeler and sold off the ever-reliable Silver Plus after it served me superbly for over 19 years.
I turned 60 on 19th Oct 2006 and the Shastiapthapoorthy was celebrated on 13th Nov 2006, my star birth day . Near and dear ones gathered in good numbers to grace this occasion too. Earlier I retired from the services of Ashok Leyland on 31st Oct 2004, when I attained the superannuation age of 58. I got a touching farewell from my colleagues at a function got up on the evening of the last day of my service.About 20 of them accompanied me from the office to home,after the function. Thus my service spanning over 38 years in Ashok Leyland ( the only company I have worked for ) came to an end.
During our stay in this house, Sudha/ Chandar and Suba/ Magesh purchased new flats and we were very glad to participate in the Grahapravesams. When Suba’s Grahapravesam was held in Nov 2007, we were particularly happy that we have seen all the happy moments in our daughters’ lives.
In Mar 2002, 7 ½ naattu Sani entered my Raasi . May be because of this or may be God thought we had had enough of happiness , He started testing us from the year 2003.
Girija started suffering from various ailments from Nov 2003 when she had the 1st heart attack. When we thought that she had come out of the worst , she suffered a second attack in Nov 2007 from which she did not revive and the light went out of my life on 25th Nov 2007 at 515 pm after keeping me bright for 32 years.
It was heartbreaking to see Girija lying at this house motionless as I had never before seen her lying idle for so many hours at a stretch. I did not know what to do. The life suddenly became meaningless to me. But the love of my daughters, sons in law and grandsons and also the constant moral and physical support of all the relatives and close friends, helped me to overcome the sorrow slowly.
Girija fulfilled all her responsibilities to the family, ensured that her two daughters were brought up nicely, gave them good education , got them married, helped them in their deliveries, played with the grandsons merrily, did the seer etc for the Grahapravesams of her daughters’ new flats and had shastiapthapoorthy, She was a source of great strength and support throughout my career. I must thank God for all these favours that He has bestowed on my family. I am sure He will keep Girija happy in His heaven.
Suba / Magesh became parents to a baby girl , Mahathi on 4th July, 2009. The birth of the Petthi ( has Girija come back ? ) was a welcome relief to me as it brought tears of joy in the eyes which had only tears of sorrow for quite sometime.
Girija was there to take care of Sudha and Suba and the newborns when Dhanush and Sughosh were born. This time it was Sudha who took up the responsibility of Girija’s role. Like a mother, she took complete care of Suba and the newborn with help from Ramana who had specially come from Ahmedabad .
And before the 7 ½ naattu Sani went out of my Raasi on 26th Sep 2009, I also developed heart problem and underwent Bypass surgery in Malar Hospital on 7th Aug 2009. I am presently recovering under mother Sudha / Chandar’s care. During these 7 ½ years Shani Baghavan has given me lots of good things too. I must thank Lord Shani Baghavan for all the blessings He has bestowed on me and my family.
The house is there,I continue to live there with Girija's ninaivugal. And it is the love and support of near and dear ones that keep me going.
Though I am concluding this now, I will write again on this topic in future, God willing.
Sugavanam
Concluded
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