Madras-my memories-II

Those days weekend meant nothing for the family except for elaborate cooking and television. How we would wait for the Fridays and Sundays. The ozhiyum oliyum on Fridays , cartoon shows , ramayan / Mahabharath and evening movie on Sunday. We would wait for the turn of either tamil/telugu in the regional movies category for the extra movie to be shown on Sunday. Today we get to watch 100s of channels and not to leave behind the internet which provides you everything in a platter at the click of the mouse, still we don’t derive the happiness or pleasure which we got those days. TV watching was a wholesome experience with whole family assembling before the TV. Now, when P is in front of the TV, I take over the system and vice-versa. (aathukarar kekkave vendam, he is settled with his potti)
Movie watching in a theatre belonged to a different genre those days. No frills or elaborate preparations. We had four theatres in our vicinity – two were for ordinary occasions and the other two were treated as outings. Out of the ordinary ones, one was just a stones throw from our home and another one hardly 10 minutes by walk. But I liked the first one more because it gave me a sense of belonging – enga theatre sort of thing (owner ketta othakka varuvanga). It is one of the famous theatre and it is itself a celebrity in its own ways J
The first movie which I remember watching in a theatre – VIKRAM. I went with an uncle’s family. Still the memory is very vague but I remember we had an accident while returning and it was a minor one. So my memory always mixes the accident and the scene in the movie where kamal rushes in to the theatre in that scooter after the chasing scene (its an important scene in the movie ) where he sees the villain in the news reel. So my memory plays a collage sort of thing and mixes both these incidents where I imagine myself in the side box of the scooter. No one can forget the sidebox shown in that Bhagyaraj movie “Chinna veedu”. LOL…….
(to be continued)

Kiddie Talks-23

Actually this blog has become like a scrapbook sort for me. Recording all the happenings and the fun , anger and embarrassment associated with P as well our life as a whole. Sometimes i just read from the beginning and would experience them once more. Wish i had started earlier. At times i would feel, am i boring everybody or bragging too much. Cos for every parent whatever a child does or speaks becomes more important but i haven't updated everything only things which i consider worth recording have been posted. (in the sense it should not sound ordinary when i turn later or brag sort of thing).
Earlier i said P wanted to become a fire-fighter someday now the ambition had undergone a change once more.
Want to know what it is? DIRECTOR . Yes u got it rite. Its film director only.
Whenever a movie or a song comes,
P would ask me , Amma ithu enna padam, yaar hero and yaar heroine?
Now two more addition to the above question - Yaaru director and music director. I think ithu endhiran oda effect nnu.
So when he was having a bath he asked amma singam padathoda director yaaru, i replied saying "Hari" (nalla vela Vijaykumar ellam theriyaathu, apparam avanga family history ellam solli irukkanum, and thank god we dont watch the sun news)
After few seconds he said, Amma naan director aaga poren.
I kept quiet for some time and thought he got confused between actor and director and asked him again, R u sure. Do u want to become actor or director?
P : Yes, i want to become Director only and not actor.
Me : Do u know what a director does?
P : Avar thaan ellarukkum solli kuduppar enna pannanum , eppadi pannanumnu?
Me : hmm (thelivaathaaan irukkanga)

Now during bed time,
P : Amma naaan Raja aaga mudiyumaaa?
Me : Oh yes aagalaame. Prime Minister, Chief Minister ellarume raaja thaaan (Naan raasa va sollalainga)
P : Athukku naan enna pannanum.
Me : (Unmaiya sollanumaanu ore confusion - athaanga onnum panna vendamnu) Nee good ah padikkanum, padicha mattum porathu good ah nadanthukkanum (athukku mela theriyala)

Waiting for next thing in the list....

Double dhamaka

Day before yesterday night , some professional has gained entry into our office and created a mayhem in the process of looting our office. Luckily not much cash was there but around 7k.(No,no this didnt make it to the 2/3 page of The Hindu, cos Rasa and 26/11 occupied them) In the process he had destroyed all the locked cupboards and threw all the papers and documents with the help of a candle and few match sticks. How iam able to acknowledge his professionalism is due to the fact that he gained entry through the grill of the window by unlocking the nails.

Since my patti got scared hearing the news i had to stay put at home. My aathu described the scene of crime as straight out of some cinema. And the process which followed like giving complaint and arrival of the inspector, sub-inspector and each one of the staff (incl tea-shop man i suppose) , forensic team to record the finger-print (how much i missed being part of the mess "sigh" all things replica of "Krotham" Prem's thriller movie). As always, the policemen have assured us the best. :)

As i was hearing running commentary from aathu, i was constantly on my mobile. And this news just reached us after sending P to school (poor him goes to school at 7.30), so he didnt have a chance of hearing this. When he came home i was speaking with aathu and was just giving pep talks and assuring that everything would be all right. The conversation had phrases like "its okay da, seri daa etc"
P came and asked me " Yaar kittaa pesindu irukka"
I replied " appa kittaa" (normally he would fuss demanding that he should have spoken to him first, but that day kept quiet and went about his routine)
After some time he came.
P : Nee pesarche "daa" sonniye.
Me: Aamam unna solven illa antha maathiri thaan sonnen.
P : Nee enna sollalaaam , aanaaa, appava solla koodathu. Respect kudukkanum seriyaaa
Me: dumb struck...... Ennatha sollaaa :(

Two lessons in one day. What u say!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Pic courtesy: Google images - Cartoon stock

Smart!!!!!!!!!!!!

Couple of weeks back we had given an ad in The Hindu regarding purchase of property. We were receiving calls but none of it proved to be fruitful. The next day one gentleman called and enquired aathu if it was the number as given in the ad...
Aathu : yes sollunga
G : Veedu 1/2 or one ground ketruntheenga sir antha ad la
A : Aamam sir sollunga.
G : Enna range la paakkareenga, car parking venuma
A : Car parking iruntha better, unga kitta veedu irukka, neenga land-owner or broker aa?
G : Illa sir actual ah naanum veedu thedindu irukken, unga ad paarthen, ungalukku neraiya calls vanthurukkum illaiya, response eppadi vanthathu? ungalukku seripadaathathu or ethanum nalla deal which u cannot pursue irunthaaa konjam enakku solreengala
A : grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr (face pakkanume) Illa sir onnum solraa maathiri illa.
G : Ok sir ennoda number store pannikkonga , ethanum irunthaa sollunga thanks.
Would have given hundred million dollars just for the look :)

Kiddie talks - 22

If given an opportunity, we never fail to remind P that he is privileged to have the comforts and luxury which other under-privileged children are deprived of. Whenever he refuses to wear any particular dress, or finish of his food , we gently start the topic and vitta pothumnu he would comply ;) (such is our tactics , donot know how long we can use this )
Today while returning from class following conversation took place -
P : Amma innaikku naan school porache rendu kids paarthen , they were puppy shame.
Me : Oh, paavam avangalukku dress eh irunthirukkathu, athanaalathaan pola irukku.
P : Illamma avangulukku neraiya dress irukku.
Me : Unakku eppadi theriyum ?
P : Avanga amma dress potrunthaangale !!!!!!!!!! And avanga iron pannindu irunthaanga, so avanga ella dress um thoikka pottu , athu dry aagathathaala podale. Avanga kitta ellame irukku.
Me : @#$%$%^&^ muzhichufying for a repartee

Role reversal

Yesterday i went to Spencers daily - Ashok Nagar. It was literally empty with only one or two customers. They have changed the entire set up and the display patterns.
Logic and the strategy behind the display and arrangement of products were pathetic. It was not customer friendly at all. I could see so many unwanted products on display and a clutter of the products. The products were just thrown in their shelves and were packed. I think same disorganisation drove Subiksha - the once pioneer in the departmental stores segment out of the market. And it seems Spencers too is following the same mantra. The staffs were just acting disoriented and without concern.
This reminds me of the book "As the crow flies" - Jeffrey Archer. He would have dealt beautifully the rise of the conglomerate and the strategies and policies that goes into the upbringing of the largest store. Right from the AGM to appointment of directors to the motion study all aspects related to the accounting and commerce would have been methodologically dealt with. Even the world wars would find its place and the impact of the same on the trade and commerce would have been dealt. Instead of maintaining bitterness towards the British who held us, we, at some point of time would feel sympathy towards them.
On the whole I like Archer simply for the fact that he not only deals with the plot of the story but also with other information related.
Now to the original context of the post, In this story he would enlist how one should deal with the customers and the importance of display and strategical placement of goods.
Local departmental stores seems to have caught up with the trend with their personal attention to the details and customer friendly approach.
Is this called role reversal?

Movies

Watched both BEB and Endhiran. Two very contrast films. Where do i begin first?
BEB - Out and out entertainment. Even if i turn around to get the water bottle i miss a one-liner and deprived of the joke which P and aathukarar share. Surprise! Surprise! Nayanthara can humour us with her expressions rather with her costumes. She attempted similar in a sarathkumar movie and vishals satyam. Both cannot be sagichufied merely for the reason she tried to copy other heroines. This one was really original. Story - Why do we need one when you can laugh non-stop? Did we have any thing of that sort in Thillumullu or MMKR? All we had to do was laugh our lungs out.


Endhiran - Aathu being a hardcore rajini fan didnt like the film. He expected sort of - singa mugam, singam thaniyaathaan varum, bajji venuma sort of dialogues. And saying all this he saw the movie on first day first night show paying Rs.1000/- along with his brother.
Avaroda complaint ennannaaaa Rajini padam how do you suppose to hear the dialogues and that too first day athuvumaaaa people were quiet and at the end of the film everyone stood up and started clapping ... grrr.... is this the sort of response u give a rajini film.....Die hard fans are unable to accept in any other roles......His verdict was this is not chitti chitti robot film but chutti Tv robot film......
On the other hand, i liked the film. The thing is iam not able to appreciate the acting of Robot Rajini simply for the fact that i was not able to relate him to rajini or a character. I just saw him as robot. It is evident in the scene when he intends to find the black sheep in the fleet of robots. Your heart skips a beat when he slashes the robots trying to find the scientist. P enjoyed the film but said at the end of the movie that -Amma i liked the good robot only not the bad one.


P.S - A robot drawn by P while i was doing his holiday homework ;)