Thorn in my Heel Years later after I got married, had a kid, I prayed to lord Murugan to fast for days doing prayers, wearing holy beads on neck, being bare foot with a small black shawl on shoulders. Seeing me transformed everyone were agape. Some really cared to ask how I walk barefooted on the roads of Chennai when it is raining all the way. All I had to tell was a small story. A new place, new search for home, a heart filled with happiness of bagging a new job. I was at cloud nine after getting placed in a reputed Chennai based IT MNC as recruiter for a talent acquisition team. A small bit of mine ached to leave my hometown Kancheepuram. It was exciting to move and experience this phase of life all alone without parents. I couldn’t ask for more when I with my 5 friends found a lavish 3 BHK home in the heart of Mamallapuram for only INR 10,000 per month as rent. It was pure luck. Any day, for such a flat, the nominal rent was INR 40,000 per month. The house owners were old people wh...
The Hair-loom My grandpa Ramakrishnan had a floor mill. The mill had a Shikakai (seeka) grinder as well. Dried Shikakai, Amla, Ritha, hibiscus etc. were ground together for washing our hair. Those days people seldom used shampoos. This powder was part of every household in the KGF town. Every Sunday morning was a hair bath day. Panjamani Atthai* or Panjattey worked in our floor mill and washed our hair every Sunday with seeka. Being the youngest, I was the first in queue followed by Rohini akka* (Chittappa’s daughter), Madhangi akka (Gowri Atthai’s daughter) and Selvi akka (Mathi Atthai’s daughter). After a long hair wash with sneezes and burning eyes, the hair was rolled up in bun with thin towel. Next, it got fumed with Sambrani smoke. Then, I drank kashayam* as shikakai cools the body and I caught cold easily. All of us sat in a row to get a small plait on our head crown leaving the rest of the hair free called as thenneer jada*. It resembled the flow of a water s...
I was brought up in Zawar, a small mines colony in Rajasthan near Udaipur... There the monkeys( the langur) ruled especially in summer season. The Monkey attacks - - - The monkeys captured all the mango trees (we had 1 in the backyard and 2 in the garden) as soon as the summer begins (in the midst of February). Whenever I had holidays, I played with them after having breakfast. I used to throw some mangoes on them and hid behind the mesh gate. then, they attacked back with plenty in return. Later on I would collect them and save near my bed and have whenever I want to. In summers we were not allowed/able to play in morning/afternoon so it was a good thing to do. I played the other game as well. This I played sometimes in the afternoon when Dad used to go back to office after having lunch and my elder brother dozes off. I stood in front of the door. Teased the monkey badly or threw something near the monkeys...ran back and hid behind the mesh door. the monkeys used to run b...
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