The Gift

Today i was reading "The Gift" by Nora Roberts and coincidentally yesterdays Ananda vikatan too carried an article on the same topic by S.Ramakrishnan.
Gift - dictionary meaning - v. t.) Anything given; anything voluntarily transferred by one person to another without compensation; a present; an offering.
Aana, innaikku it has lost its sheer meaning. We shower our children with abundance that they lose the real meaning of gift. Their joy in seeing new things are just in minutes only.
Still, i remember my first real gift. A magnetic chess board which i used to keep under lock and key. Those days there were no toys to play with. We would do with kottankuchi , old utensils and with all the 5 paise mittais. Girls having barbie dolls were looked upon with great admiration and jealousy. Having a cycle was luxury. Today, P has this toy car worth 3500 and it is just lying in a corner and his tri-cycle and bi-cycle adorn various corners of our hall. Only when company arrives those would be touched upon.
Elders though they say that "dont get anything and dont waste your money" actually look upon for the things. Its not the cost or the worth of the gift that matters to them but the act itself plays major role. Till i reached my 12th std i never knew the birthday of my paatti. All of a sudden gnanothayam happened and found from her. Still i remember , after attending tax class, i purchased just bar chocolates and ice-creams(she loves them) and made a call from PCO to home. I wished her and here she was all the more embarrassing and it was a lovely sight.
And so, i made it a point to get something or the other. Once, my aathukarar got her a exclusive music player and she just keeps and takes care of it like any other child and man you should say she is so possessive about that player. Never allows P to touch even...
Whenever aathukarar goes out-of-station and comes back, Ps standard dialogue would be 'Enakku enna vangindu vanthurukka'.
My first gift from my aathukarar was a silver chain and i gave him a wall hanging saying

" One heart-to-heart
You talk, i will listen"
Annaikku intha gift ah paarthu emaanthathuthaan , innaiya varaikkum atha nee follow pannathe illa nnu sollinde iruppar. To remind himself and yours truly, it adorns our bedroom.(To be precise it was given before 13yrs)

Fasting.....

Today is my fil's srartham, and only when iam fasting, hunger strikes me more.....Athuvum, when the samaiyal is ready with mouth-watering dishes, especially when you yourself are preparing them..... Nejammave testing times....
Usually, i dont feel like eating break-fast, its been practiced rite from schooldays. Hey, dieting ellam illa, athukkum namakkum romba thooram...bt just iam tuned, i know it is a wrong practice.
But i make sure aathukarar and P are having their break-fast....
Aanaa, innaikku mattum illa, during varalakshmi vratham, karadaiyar nonbu and all other where iam required to fast, rombavume pasikkum....
Waiting for Bil's call , which he would give once the srartham is over... Guilty :(

Raja raja cholan...

Topic paarthuttu naan etho history pathi solla varennu nenachikaatheenga...
Today , while i was leaving from office (nambathaan office porathe oru post podra maathiri ayiduche) , one of my collegue (actually retired thathaa...enga office actually extremes, either they would be retired or freshers....or with kids so my aathukarar would jokingly say next namba muthiyor illamum, creche um aarambichudalaamnu) asked me a question...

I heard only the question and not the crux " how is ........... going?" Namba thaan eppavume etho oru olagathula iruppome, so seriyaa kooda kaathula vaangikkama , i said ,"yaa, all are going well". "So, is he comfortable singing, appothaan throat infection ellam varaathu...." Appothaan it struck my mind that, he was enquiring about P's paattu class nnu..... Odane samalichu, i said yess he enjoys it, bt a bit lazy to go on sunday. All the time he wants the company of chotta bheem, hanuman nna nadakkumaaannu.....sollittu i started home..

All the while, during the journey back to office i was thinking about my singing expedition....
Enakku literal ah keech keech voice...And whenever i call my friend , only her sister would pick up the call. (during my 6th std and appothaan telephone enga veettukku vantha puthusu, so phone suththa karanamaa venum). And she is elder by 7-8 yrs. She used to always tell me that my voice was sweet and i would like to see you...(avangalukku appo otta yaarum kedaikkalaiyo ennavo, enna bayangaramaa ethi ethi vittutaanga, nambathaan oru appaviyaache yaar enna sonnalum nambiduvome). And believing that i went to her house one-day.

Her father was actually serving in the temple as priest , and her mother is a very good cook u know. Athuvum avangaathu pulikaachal kaagave naan thayir saatham thaan eduthindu poven (erkanave oru thayir saatha payithiyam, ithula nalla combination kedacha kekkavaa venum). Seri when i actually went to her home , her brother and sister constantly were admiring and avanga akka oru padi mela poi, called her friend too to introduce me .
And we all went to the evening show to udayam theatre that day (appathaan thalapathi and mmkr vanthirunthu, bt engaloda time ticket kedaikkathanaala we were forced to watch brahmaa)

Whenever i used to narrate that incident, my aathukarar used to say, hey they would have made fun and teased you and atha nambi nee ippadi yellam oru aagasa kotta katti irukkakoodaathunnu. And what the next step , oru music teacher thedarthuthaan.....So oru vazhiyaaa, got a music teacher in the opposite street.
My music lessons also started, naanum enna oru chithra and swarnalatha aava ellam karpana panna aarambichachu...(sorry appo sudha ragunathan, sowmya pathi ellam theriyaathu)
Sarali varisa mudichu janda varisai thaaan arambichaa antha maami, and athukkulla antha maamavukku transfer aayiduchu.......... So ennoda music kanavu ithoda mudinjathu.....
Apparam next class , appathiya craze hindi private examinations and athu madhyama voda mudinjuthunnu naan thaniya vera sollanumaaa ennaa.....

Okie, now P is going to music class and trust me he is really good at it. And when you observe him in close quarters while he is busy with something, always he would be murmuring some song... And it ranges from vettaikkaran doi to kanne kalaimaane ... (hehehee...ellam yours truly and aathukarars influence only, lullaby paada theriyaathathunaala we solely depended on IRs melodies and courtesy late night FM) Ippo in his class they teach bhajan songs as well carnatic lessons - half-an-hour session this and that. First few classes i stayed with him and yessss i learnt close to around 20 songs. And believe me, all age-group of people come there. And even i thought of going there and renewing my interest, even my aathukarar said yess, bt the pblm is sunday 12-1 class and that is when u go advanced stage (they think kids would take time and elders would learn fast....enna oru wrong calculation ;) ) the timings would be different and cannot afford to spend 1 hr there.........

We took P to planetorium when he was 2.5 yrs and in order to prepare himself for the atmosphere, we started educating him about the experience.. P , anga ulla stars, moon, sun ellame kaattuvaanga. And it would be dark inside but dont worry , appa and amma would be there with you. You can actually enjoy and they would tell you a story ....- ippadi yellam avana pepare panni ulla poi utkaarnthom.....
He stubbornly refused to sit on our lap and sat seperately. As soon as the lights went off, we thought he would scream or cry...But, we heard a voice singing........
"raja raja chozhan naan enai aalum kaathal desam neethaan
poove kaathal theeve "
Avvalavuthaan the whole room broke into a loud applause.........

kiddie talks - 12

P was watching Pogo (should i say, as usual) and came to me rushing...

P : Amma, to nna enna?
Me : "To" nna vaa, ethukku ketkara? (actually i didnt know wat context he was asking, athuvum as usual)
P : Amma, tonight nna ennammaa? (i know he is slightly irritated, cos his favourite thing is going on in TV and he quickly wants me to clarify his doubt)
Me : Tonight appadinna, innaikku night nnu artham..To emphasise more, (avanukku innum nalla solli tharanumngara enthu la i said), today solluvom illa, antha maathiri
P : Todaynna appo innaikku thaane, apparam en tonight nnu solrom?
Me : Todaynnu pagal , i mean day refer panrache solluvom :)
P : Appo afternoon naa, toafternoon ah?
Ithukku thaan over ah enthu aagakoodathunnu sollrathu.......Logic correct thaaane

Tit-bits

In todays session, (dance class thaan ;) ),we were discussing lots of things (naattukku romba thevannu kaathula vizharthu), athula konjam interesting i would post...

1. Heard that in chettiars family , it is the Mother-in-law who would put the metti onto the daughter-in-laws toe.....Usually, it would be the groom, they say annaikku mattum he would hold the feet and pledge his familys well being and respect to the woman of the family. (bt the truth is now-a-days , daily thaan avanga kaala pidikkaraangale, no offence intended, naan perumaiyathaan sonnen ;) )

2. There is a carnival at the church park convent on 30th January,2010 - Timings - 10.00 am to 4.00 pm. Interested people can visit and the entry fee is just Rs.5/-(as per information). If you have got children, niece, nephews or even friends you can visit. It would be real fun cos so many children at one place and iam planning to take P.

3. We were also discussing about the thirukalyanam at thirupathi. It seems previously they would allow 5 people to watch, but now only 2 people are allowed (not sure whether any two people or couples).. sigh..so in the near future i cannot do my venduthal, cannot leave P and go..(manasu varala even though just outside the premises naaa kooda). Three months after the marriage , we got an opportunity to attend the sevas at thirumala (it is only we people who refer to it commonly as thirupathi, bt the locals call the main shrine as thirumala only). Three sevas in succession - suprabatham, thomala, sahasranama archanai - and on the whole we spent close to around 3 hrs near the deity but everytime at the end of the seva we are required to come out and join the queue , so we were always at the back...
It was really worth the time and the efforts (athaavathu 1.00 kku ezhunthu kulichu though hot water, 2.30 kku reporting ) hearing live suprabathams that too at around 3.00 in the morning...We in the sense, mil-fil, me and my aathukarar....
Though i spent considerable time inside i would have been watching (worshipping ellam kedaiyathu) the deity only for around 30 mins on the whole i would say...Baakki ella neramum parakku paarthathoda sari...I think everyone would be doing the same, if allowed. Honestly, athuthaan human psychology. Only when you are pushed and hear the word " thallunga thallunga" you would be more eager to catch the glimpse. Athileyum pogum bothu kazhuthu sulikkikara varaikkum thirumbi thirumbi paarthu nadanthaaathaan thripthiye.....
So,no use in complaining, swamiya paarkave vidalainnu...(Atleast in my case)

Giggles all the way....

Yesterdays experience was like re-visiting good olden school days..It was more lively and memorable because i had been giggling all the way for about half-an-hour and that too with not so close friends but with just known people. And that indeed made it all the way more reminiscing....
Actuallah athu oru periya vishayame illa.... From the morning i had this nagging headache and all the more nagging due to sinusitis (thanks to Ps homework - naanga ellathaiyume last minute thaane pannuvom, so got up at 4.30 and did his homework, the reason for not doing the previous night was aathukarars cousins marriage reception which itself warrants a seperate post).
And being Monday P had his dance class and me thought of having a cup of coffee after dropping him. Actually his class is in a mall and myself and another friend decided to go to the basement and have coffee. All the way we came in lift and just didnt notice that the shop was closed. We were so animatedly engrossed with our talks that we failed to notice and it was pointed by another friend who was about to leave her daughter too.
So, we decided to stay in the ground floor and were waiting for her to leave her daughter and come. The place we were standing was exactly opposite to a shop which dealt with sherwanis, and specialist in bride-grooms apparel. Ippothaan ellarume antha sherwani type of wear thaaan reception kku pottukarale.....(My aathukarar is sick of them and refuses to wear even kurthas , aasaiyaa vaangina oru half-white kurthaa appadiye cup-board la thoongarthu... hmmmm, and P athukkum mela , athu pakkathileye porathilla, appadiye appava kondu irukkan - poor me :( )
Seri , now on to the topic.... There was this man who was trying various types and i think probably for his reception....It was so funny and you should just look at the types of dresses he chose.... We three were all the time looking and gazing and making fun of him. You know what it was one blue outfit athileyum peacock blue with the same material tie hanging like one loop , and atha vitta reddddd colour inner jacket with all the jiginaaas and work with a white over-coat with loads and loads of thread work and chamikki... Seri itha kooda mannichu vittudalaamnaa oru grey colour sherwani thaan thaanga mudiyala..
I have nothing against men wearing the sherwani, but some come with gaudy designs and it hampers the whole businesss.... Anyway, he came alone and all the while was on the phone (may be fiance kittaa mms anupi kettunde irunthaaro ennavo ;) ) while trying different outfitss...Avar mattum oru gang oda vanthirunthaarunna kandippa naanga escape aagi iruppom......Avaroda ketta neram, seriyaa kooda try pannama enga alambal thaangama escape aagittaru.....
Only during school days, we would just giggle and laugh endlessly without any purpose and substance....And i had such a good time that ennoda thala vali kanamale poiruchu.....;)

PS - Sorry folks, ennoda intention sherwani tease panrathu illa, bt the gaudy outfits which the particular person tried, avvalavuthaaann

P : Unakku eppadi panam kedaikkarthu?
Me:Appa kuduthaar.
P : Appakku eppadi kedaikkum?
Me: Neeye sollu paarkalaam?
P : Velaikku ponathaala kedaichathu.
Me : Yes, correct...Unakkuthaan theriyarthe apparam en ketkara
P : Appo, appa unakku mattum thaan panam tharuvaara, enakku tharamaattara,
naaan mattum toys ellam vaangikka koodathaa, nee thaan enakku vaangitharanumaa..
Ithukku ennatha sollaaa, oru vazhiya periyavanga, chinnavangannu oppethi samalikka vendiyathuthaaan....

Another rambling

Right now, iam experiencing whole lot of emotions....I cannot particularly describe them cos , everything comes and goes as in a slide show... anger, frustration, disappointment, relief and a sort of histrionics...
It all started when my aathukarar announced his plan to go out of station. Not that he is going for the first time... He has been away for weeks together even. Bt this time, i didnt even like it a bit. Bt the thing was i didnt want to say "No" on the face of it and secretly prayed and hoped for the last minute cancellation. Bt nothing happened and everything was under control. Not even a last minute meeting or tender or an appointment came to my rescue. When i learned that the flight was delayed , i was happy and hoped that it would get cancelled. Alas , nothing happened.......
I desperately wanted him to be home by sunday so that we could attend a marriage of his cousin. Even we haven't been to their engagement and all the curses stand on me. Its not that i mind going alone, bt i altogether avoid going alone without his presence to any of the functions on his side . (a boon that comes with love marriage)
And now he says it gets to extend to one more week..........I do not know whether i should take this positively and say " everything is for good" or just indulge in self pity and throw tantrums (of course silent ah thaaaan)
(The Uncanny - this post is surely not for you)