So,it is that time of the year again,when ladies & young girls in resplendent silk arrange the lovely dolls of different hues,idols of myriad gods in all sizes on specially erected steps with a whole lot of decorations.It is a 9 day long festival usually occurring in the month of Oct/Nov starting with Mahalaya Amavasya,the new moon day,though the actual pooja starts from the next day onwards.Each day is dedicated to the different "avatars" of Goddess Durga culminating in Vijayadasami,the day on which she vanquished the demon Mahishasura.Being in Bangalore,it is a delight to see the city of Mysore all decked up for the beautiful event with the grand procession of elephants carrying Goddess Chamundeswari.
I am transported back in time,we as young children longed for those 9 days - accompanying our mothers to various households who arrange these 'kolus'.There would be lots of lovely things to munch like 'chundal' etc.More than the savouries we would relish the small momentos which were given away as souvenir.These usually assumed the form of small combs,fancy "kumkum" boxes,tiny mirrors,colourful bangles & if we were lucky enough,we would even end up receiving miniature brass idols.For the males in the household,the work was to prop up wooden planks to form steps which were odd in number & indulge in flashy decorative lighting up of the mantap.The young brigade's craftmanship came to the fore when the artist created models of gardens & the play areas with clay.Our main job was to count the number of Ganeshas,Sivas & Krishnas on the step.Then came the "Ayudha Pooja" - the day when all tools were dedicated to the God & not to be used.We had to neatly arrange the books on white silk cloth & not to read the whole day - well that was the most enjoyable part but was shortlived as the next day was 'Vijayadasami',the day when all things had to begin afresh to have a wonderful & productive year ahead!All vehicles were also washed & garlanded.Lemons were kept under the wheels & driven over them.Even our bicycles would be all gleaming & glistening & looking as new as ever!
Such was the joy of Dussehra festival & merely thinking about those good old days bring much enthusiasm,happiness & cheer.
SUNITA SRIRAM
One lazy afternoon, I got a call from my Appa ,who sounded very exuberant & thrilled - "Hey Suni,you know what,Amma & myself have cleared the interview!" Interview,what interview for this silver haired couple hitting the 60s,I wondered.Before I let my imagination run loose,to my amusement,Appa went on to elaborate that they had managed to get visa from the American Embassy for their long awaited trip across seven seas.The stern looking American officer at the Embassy appeared to be satisfied that they had no idea of settling in Bush's ranch since both their children were not domiciled in that part of the globe.
So the first hurdle crossed,the house "SYAM" was abuzz with activity.Appa with one hand on the mobile,another on the world map,precariously hanging on the newly whitewashed walls of his humble domain,probably he could do with another hand to type in instructions on his PC for online reservations of Airline tickets, accomodation,planning his itinerary etc. I set the clock back & vividly remembered the scene when we were kids standing in front of the very same big world map & Appa like a Geography teacher telling us the various hotspots across the world."Here is the great barrier reef, the next moment it would be the Niagra falls & on yet another trip it would be our very own chilka lake".These Geography lessons were embedded in our brains & stood us in good stead in our future mapping of the continents.This map has withstood the test of time & Appa still enjoying globe trotting & drooling over it!
In another part of the house,Achoo! Achoo! my Amma cursing her nasty cold & hoarsely crying out " this lousy cold had to come only now".I paused to think at the ruckus she was creating over this,as normally she doesn't care for any of the diseases dogging her,least of all an influenza.The reason I soon found out was the fear of a strict scanning by the Americans literally down to the innerwears.If they find her with some antibiotics,they may refuse entry for fear of spreading an epidemic! Not to mention the umpteen number of fatal diseases they bring to our India!
The dust & the storm finally settled & the decks were cleared for a smooth takeoff from " nammalude Nedumbassery" , Appa&Amma equipped with digicam to instantly capture the golden moments.The delay in takeoff removed all obstacles in the onward journey,like how we say "Pillayar chuzhi" .This also meant a chance meeting with the parents of my old chum Minu,who passed on the good news of Minu giving birth to a baby boy after many years of marriage.
The whirlwind tour of the Americas,the world's largest democracy, finally began with a real bang & Appa's esteemed toy manufacturing company taking over the reins completely,arranging for the stay,good Indian vegetarian fare in friends' places (they were wary of food which contained crawling & creeping creatures tickling their palette!),sightseeing tours on the "city's airconditioned spic & span buses" to put it in Amma's words & finally not to speak of glow on Amma's cheeks drinking apple juice,orange juice all the way.
However,the moment of reckoning came when Appa stood in awe at the stupendous Empire State building.For few breathless moments,I think he reminiscenced the days,when as a young of 10 carried his little sister on his tiny shoulders & enjoyed the magnificent Chidambaram Temple of Lord Nataraja! It is hard to compare the stature of the Gopuram of the Chola temple built with love & toil of 100s of labourers with that of the technologically advanced tower of America - both unique & distinct in its own rights.
Then came the torrents,the gush of the Niagra & the omnipresent rainbow in all its wonderous hues & one could findout from the snaps,the child like enthusiasm bubbling on the couple's faces! They could manage to squeeze in couple of other important destinations & also the long lost meeting with old colleague's daughter Papu.
The second honeymoon over,it was back to ground reality,they even managed to beat the deluge at Mumbai as they landed a few hours before the sky opened up.In a flash they were home & dry,Amma back to her routine Narayaneeyam classes & daily visit to Trikkakara Temple.
When I asked my Appa about one incident that stood out in the whole trip - he told me, it was,when he received his old trousers misplaced by the launderers in the hotel,safely returned to him via courier.I presumed that the reason for this honest service would be that nobody could fit into his diminutive trouser size,not to mention the age of the same!
This piece is dedicated to Shri.M.Gopakumar Nair,Director (Indian operations) of K&M International,who in all magnanimity created an environment & ambience for this "second honeymoon" in the twilight of their life!
SUNITA SRIRAM
As a young girl of six,the record player was the first "box" to enter my life.Thankfully,I did not belong to the era of gramophone.Naughty that I was,the intentional changing of the RPM was real music to my ears.The slow numbers of the bygone era could be heard in the real rocking hip hop style & vice versa.
On lazy afternoons,the other hit box was the radio,the huge one at that & I would by fluke tune into ABC & BBC channels & their accent enchant me.As I grew older,when I won my first scholarship,dad got me a flashy red two-in-one cassette player-the one in vogue those days & that box gave me company night & day.I grew up listening to the likes of Madonna,Michael Jackson that too in high decibels- wonder how dad & mom tolerated this cacophony of sounds despite their hectic work schedule.
Then came the biggest box in everybody's life - the idiot box.I still vividly remember when my dad took us to buy one - definitely not an array to choose from but the fact that we children were given a say in deciding on the brand made us feel big! It was such a thing in my otherwise monotonous life style that I did not miss out even on 'krishi darshan' on our dear Doordarshan.
The television gradually assumed the form of another wonder box,the VCR/VCP which our club bought by paying an exorbitant sum of money.We friends used to anxiously await Friday evenings to enjoy the regular movie shows.
This gave way to the next big revolution I think after the invention of the wheel,the computer.When it was installed for the very first time in the electronic data processing department of the public sector undertaking,I was on cloud nine & peeping through the glass window of the much hyped chamber of mystery,I was in for a bigger surprise as the room had big machines all wired up.It was explained to me that it being a mainframe computer was huge,bulky & costly! I did not make head or tail of what it was then,not that it has made any sense to me even now.
Being married to an electronics man,I was exposed to a whole room of boxes- the mini TV fondly called "kunju TV",the kids educational PC,the home PC with all sorts of drives,the dvd/ MP3 players(as I am writing this piece MP4 has already hit the market) - the concept of home entertainment reaching to real great heights.
Did I mention to you,my own prestige box in the kitchen,yes,you guessed it right - it is the OTG/Microwave oven.Be it the first salary gift to one's beloved or a b'day/anniversary present it is the oven these days.
When my first son was born,he started his life seeing the first box of his world the 'incubator' which kept him warm & protected like the mother's womb.A plethora of boxes await him as he treads the world & only the time will tell what shapes & sizes these magnificent boxes will assume! It is for the present a mad mad "box world" indeed.
-SUNITA SRIRAM
