Memories #6-The Tea story

Epilogue

“Imagination, life is your creation”  one of the lines from the popular hit song of the 90’s titled “I am a Barbie girl” (band -Aqua) pretty much sums up the importance of imagination in my growing up years as I was a very imaginative kid. While going through my journal that I had written as a 13 year old I came across one of my write ups that I had prepared as part my English language class. The English Teacher comes to the class one fine day and gives you a topic for writing. Within 30 minutes you need to write something and submit. The teacher would take the books and grade it and give it back to you, this was the drill. In this case going against precedence she said she would select the best piece and ask it to be read in class. The following excerpt is straight out of my diary with very little editing so as to retain its originality

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Some two or three weeks before Lucy madam (English Teacher) gave one sentence, we had to make an interesting story. You have to the Sentence was “When I was drinking a cup of tea…”We have to continue writing and Madame said that she would tell the best 3 compositions. They should read that in class. She named 2 students and asked them to read. But she asked them to stop as it was not the one that she had in mind. Then she said the theme was about a cricket match. I had wrote one about a cricket match. So I and other two fellows told that they had written about a cricket match. Then she said that it ends when he is in the hospital. So I got up and the others told that it was not theirs. Madam checked mine and said that was it. Madam told that it was imagination in the story that made it special. Hearing this I was confident and went for essay writing. The composition that I wrote was like this.

When I was drinking a cup of team there came a cockroach from the cup. I fainted seeing that. I was suddenly in a ground wearing a yellow T-Shirt with the name Gilchrist written in it(Australia’s present wicket keeper) I saw that Glenn Mcgrath (Australian fast bowler) was running and coming to ball, on my front was Lance Klusener, on the non-striker’s end was Jonty Rhodes. I got an idea of the situation in which I was.

The ball pitched on the ground and went swinging to the right I darted towards the ball and caught it. The next over was to be bowled by the great and only Shane Warne. The ball hit the bat of Jonty Rhodes and was coming to my left I caught it somehow and heard a huge round of applause.

I couldn’t believe my eyes all the players came and congratulated me. Among them were Mark Waugh, Steve Waugh ,Warne, Bevan,Ponting etc etc. Then at that moment I glanced at the scoreboard, there was one over one wicket left and nine runs to win. First two balls went like lightning to the fence with only one run to win. Klusener hit the ball and ran but Bevan caught it,Alan Donald at the non striker’s end did not run. Bevan threw the ball to Fleming (the bowler) who in turn threw it to me. I ran to the front and stumped him. Then what I could remember was that I was at the ICU unit of a hospital. I came to know that I was unconscious for the past one day and the reason was food poisoning.

I also knew the reason why I had that particular dream while I was drinking coffee I was watching the semifinals of the world cup between Australia and South Africa.

X--------X

Howwas(is)it

I was called in the class as Gilchrist in the class because I had argued that he was the best wicket keeper batsman in the world.

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Prologue

Those were  the days when match fixing scandal was yet to come to light and I used to follow the not only the World Cup 99, but also cricket closely. This also gives me an insight as to how I have evolved as a writer over the years. My earliest memory of seriously writing something was at the age of 10. I had shared my first piece of writing in one of my previous posts in this blog a few years ago.

 

http://myrandomthoughts-bevin.blogspot.com/2013/10/memories-1.html

The compliment from my English teacher increased my confidence manifold. I had not written much after my article in the school magazine for a couple of years until then. My journal goes on to state that buoyed by this success I went to participate in the Essay Writing and Short Story Competition organized as part of our School’s Youth Festival. Further I went on to win prizes for the writing events which was a kind of first for me. I guess that was the point when I rediscovered the writer in me and turned to writing again. This incident goes onto prove that a small word of encouragement can go a long way in making an impact on a kid’s life. Just look at yourself and introspect as to when was the last time you complimented your kid or your younger cousins/friends.

Many years later during the UPSC Civil Service (IAS) coaching days in Delhi when I had shared the idea of this write up, my flat mates had complimented me for my wild imagination. Almost 2 decades after it was written and forgotten I discovered this by sheer chance. It reminded me of the importance of imagination in our day to day lives. I feel as we get older we need more of our imagination to navigate through the tests and tribulations of adult life.   

 

Memories #5-How I Met your Mother

As my 5 month old son lay cooing next to me, I decided to narrate the story to him of “How I met your Mother”in the voice of the protagonist Ted Moseby of the popular show. This was my favorite sitcom from the last decade only second to the all-time great F.R.I.E.N.D.S. For starters both our houses back in our hometown of Trivandrum (TVM), Kerala are merely a km apart. However, both of us left the place almost a decade back me for work and she for Post-Graduation/Work.  Growing up I recollect seeing her in a number of occasions since both of us went to the same church. But my wife has no recollection of seeing me at all. I was a bit unsettled when she told me this for the first time because I was fairly high profile in the church thanks to dabbling various roles like the Altar Server*, Catechism(Sunday School ) Teacher, Bible reader during the Church Service and so on. I guess it was her way to put me in my place then itself. To prove a point during our wedding ceremony I made sure that I did the Bible Reading myself which was unprecedented. My rationale was that way at least she would at least understand that I was not boasting.

*Altar Servers-An altar server is a lay assistant to a member of the clergy during a Christian liturgy. An altar server attends to supporting tasks at the altar such as fetching and carrying, ringing the altar bell, among other things. Source: Wikipedia

I also recollect vaguely seeing her in the White and Maroon School uniform of St Thomas School while waiting at the bus stop and all. Now a bit of history about our Schools there was a bit of rivalry among our schools since these were among the prominent Schools of the city. Today even while going to a get together involving the former Alumni of these schools we don’t let slip an opportunity to make fun of each other’s School.  Loyola my school was a boys only school while St Thomas School was a co-ed school. The rivalries in basketball tournaments is quite well known. Not only  that LA Fest, the one of its kind Cultural fest organized by Loyola for schools at that  time saw a whole hearted participation from St Thomas. I can’t go ahead without mentioning another School in the city  viz Holy Angels because this was a girls only School and a favorite topic of interest of the Loyolites.  In addition there were umpteen tuition classes in the city which comprised of students of all these schools. These were some of the forums that the students from schools interacted with each other .There is no chance we might have met in tuition classes because we are from 2 different batches.

Once while we were discussing our activities in the Church it came to our notice that in the year 2000 both of us had gone in the Church bus to write an exam conducted by the Trivandrum Archdiocese*. Both of us had topped for Catechism (Sunday school) in our respective classes and were selected to represent our Parish in that class. Come to think of it both of us were in that bus chatting with our friends oblivious of the fact that their life partner is in that very same bus. This could very well be a scene straight out of the movie. I remember that journey and the exam very well because it t was the first time I had topped the class and got to represent my Parish. I was in my 10^th grade at that time.

* An Archdiocese refers to an administrative territorial entity of the Catholic Church in a district headed by the Archbishop and is divided into Parishes under the charge of priests. Source: Wikipedia

I have often imagined how both of us would have interacted if we had the met back then. The following excerpt is prepared with inputs from Jeslin as well.

18 years ago during the Vacation Bible class in our Church both of us meet.

Angelo: Hi, my name is Angelo

Jeslin: Hi I am Jeslin

Angelo: I remember seeing you for the TVM Arch Diocese exam last month.

Jeslin: I don’t recollect seeing you

Angelo: How did the exam go?

Jeslin: It was okay

Angelo: I am studying in 10^th grade in Loyola School and also the Alter boys Leader

Jeslin (in her condescending tone): So what am I supposed to do?

Angelo: Just wanted to say hello

Jeslin: Okay

Angelo (Thinking to himself and beating a hasty retreat): She is very haughty, shouldn’t have spoken to her in the first place.
Jeslin (Thinking to herself): What is wrong with that guy?

XX End of story XX

Almost a decade and a half later both of us were attending the Marriage Preparation course at the Headquarters of the Trivandrum Arch Diocese. I was asked to assist the Archbishop in the Holy Mass Service that he was offering for all the couples present there. I have not assisted in a Holy Mass after my School days but more or less knew what needs to be done. As I was getting ready I remarked to the Mother Superior (Head Nun) that it was a strange co- incidence that the last time I served for this very same Bishop in a Holy Mass was about 15 years ago. He had visited our Parish for administering the Sacrament of Confirmation*. Incidentally my wife was also one of the recipients and I was the head alter server then. I felt as if life had come a full circle for me. The Nun told me that it is Providence that brought you two together and you guys are a blessed couple.

*The Sacrament of Confirmation is one of the three sacraments of initiation into the Catholic Church together with Baptism and Holy Communion. (source:www.catholiccompany.com)

Even today it beats me as to think as to how my wife could miss out such a prominent figure like me in the church during that time. Many a times I have tried to narrate incidents to her that might invoke in her some memory of me but I fail miserably .I always console myself by saying that maybe I might have looked very different at that time. This could be the reason why she couldn’t recognize me years later. Come to think of it every husband wants his wife to hold him in high regard.I would like to share an interesting anecdote in this regard of Field Marshal SFHJ Manekshaw one of the finest Military Generals of the Indian Army. During one of the public meetings where he was being felicitated for his extraordinary leadership during the Indo-Pak war, a speaker was going on and on singing praises of the General. While it was his chance to speak the General requested the speaker to write those praises in a piece of paper so that the General could show that to his wife which evoked a huge round of laughter.  

Memories #4 - Newspapers

 

Courtesy: Malayala Manorama website

 

Somewhere in the early 90’s I was introduced to “Malayala Manorama” the news paper that was subscribed in our home at that time.It has to be noted that this is one of the leading news dailies in Kerala. I used to observe the newspaper being closely read by each member of the household. At first I started checking out the paper out of curiosity. It was rather amusing to see that the men folk of the house were the most interested in the last page(sports page ). The magazine section that came along with the Sunday issue was eagerly awaited. There was a particular column in the Newspaper titled “Innathe Chinthavishayam”(Roughly translated to’ Today’s subject of thought’) which was religiously read everyone at home. It was a column on self-improvement, philosophy and the like. I never even bothered to look into that because it hardly made sense to me. But still it was interesting to see everyone asking each other if they had read it and they used to discuss its main points. This was my first initiation into the world of newspapers.

Gradually as I moved into adolescence The Indian Express was introduced to me with the intention of improving my English. At this stage of life there was competition for reading the newspaper now with my brother as we used to fight for the paper. We used to have fights with each other to get hold of the newspaper. My kid brother was interested mostly in the comic section of the newspaper. And yeah the TV guide section of the newspaper which detailed the programs of the Cartoon Network. It was the time when you started to read the newspaper from the last page. I still remember the Youth express titled “YES ” that was shared with the newspaper of Every Friday. It was here that I was introduced to the Page 3 news for the first time. This issue was half the size of the original paper and used to feature in its last page small posters of youth icons mostly Models and Sports stars. I remember vividly seeing such a picture of Trisha who had just started her career and was crowned Miss Chennai at that time. For the uninitiated Trisha is a leading Female Superstar of the Tamil movie industry who is still active. I remember there were also other columns in the issue that gave you the first taste of the tabloid culture. Another interesting thing I remember was the concept of Pen friend was introduced by this paper. I remember writing a couple of letters but never received any response. The language of the Indian Express was easy to understand and follow hence there was not much of an effort required to read it.

 

Courtesy: The Hindu website

Into the teens I was introduced to yet another newspaper “The Hindu” , to raise the bar of English vocabulary to another notch. I was in for a rude shock, this was totally different from the paper I was used to. For starters it was a very dry paper with only ‘news’. Young World was definitely a whiff of fresh air. For the first time you got to see the creations of the kids of your age who used to write from around the country. Even the language was very difficult to follow and not easy to comprehend. There were times when both of us used to get scolded for not spending time reading the newspaper. The major complaint was that the paper was as good as new even after a week, a testimony to the fact that no one had touched that. I even remember crumpling the paper intentionally to prevent such mishaps from happening. Thankfully my folks persisted. Slowly but steadily we started to get a hang of the newspaper. The Sunday Magazine was my favourite and I remember reading them cover to cover. For the record a good part of the Indian public first heard of Shashi Tharoor when he stood for election as the Secretary General of the UN. But long before that I was a regular reader of “The Shashi Tharoor Column” that was a part of the Hindu Sunday Magazine. He used to write on a varied list of subjects including his Alma mater St Stephen’s College Delhi. During that time when my friends at school were dreaming about joining IIT’s and AIMS I had this deep desire to study at St Stephen’s which never materialized. Years later while I was walking through the tree lined avenue of the North Campus of Delhi University I happened to pass through the gates of the college and immediately it sparked a string of memories. Over the years reading a newspaper turned out to be a leisure activity that I used to do when I took breaks from studying.

Moving to Delhi for the preparation of the UPSC Civil Services (IAS exam) it dawned on me that “The Hindu” was revered in this field of study.  Further it was extensively used for preparations and referred religiously .The editorials had to be read and analyzed in depth, this was the only thing new to me because I never used to pay much attention to the Editorials previously. Every day I used to spend considerable amount of time pouring through the paper and making notes on the daily happenings in a thick Spiral bound book. This came naturally to me since I was pretty comfortable with the newspaper right from my teens. It is in Delhi that I got the first taste of “Times of India” tabloid kind of masala newspaper. In my flat that I used to share with my fellow Civil Service aspirants we used to subscribe the paper for the glossy pictures in it. The colour section of the thick Delhi Times with news from Bollywood and the glamour world was the only source of entertainment for us at that time since our lives were devoid of Laptops and Cable Television.

After my stint in Delhi “The Hindu” became an integral part of my life. During my brief Tenure in an Engineering college in my home state of Kerala. I made it a point that I read through the Hindu to kill time in their Library since I was free after 6 PM and needed to go to the College Hostel only for dinner. As per the Library staff I was the only guy who used to go through the Hindu. They were even thinking of stopping the subscription of the newspaper since no one used to read it.

Then I landed up in Mumbai little did I know that I would have to bid goodbye to the habit called “The Hindu” in course of time. For starters there was no Mumbai edition back then. None of the newspaper stalls stocked it. I was in for a shock but luckily I found out a guy who was ready to provide me the previous day’s paper and that too at double its price. He said that these were specially flown in from Chennai. It was still fine for me because thanks to my work I was super busy and it didn’t matter which day you got the news. After sometime even this stopped because I started to get 2 days old newspapers and it was untenable. However,it was quite strange that I got the “Malayala Manorama”  in Mumbai. I made it a point that I would read the Malayalam dailies during the weekend and it made me reminiscent of my childhood.

I had great expectations when they started the Mumbai edition for my favourite newspaper. The series of ads that The Hindu and Times made spoofing each other was rather amusing to watch. The beauty of it was that I could relate to each of them because I had read both the papers. But still I couldn’t bring myself to take the Times seriously. Even today I read it feels just like I am reading some story not to be taken seriously. I was in for a huge disappointed when they brought out The Hindu Mumbai edition. It was an end to end colour print with double the price. It appeared to me that they were trying to mimic their rival in an effort to capture the market share. In the process they lost the readership of the serious readers like myself because I felt the newspaper lost its soul. However, the Trivandrum Edition which I used to read when I go to my hometown still maintains the high standards as before.

 In Mumbai I switched to The Indian Express which had a few stalwarts who had left the Hindu like Praveen Swami, Nirupama Subramanian, Praveen Swami, P Sainath etc. On Sundays when I go through the magazine section it is a sense of deja vu for me. I try to catch up during the weekends with Malayala Manorama which has started to loose its rustic charm, I strongly feel that I am slowly outgrowing it. That ladies and gentlemen is the story of the newspapers in my life, its like a cycle I started off with the Indian Express and ended up with Indian Express. If you ask me with the advent of technology Newspapers are dying a slow death. But believe me the feeling that you get with a hot cup of chai and the newspaper in your hand on a Sunday morning is irreplaceable.

I

Courtesy: Indian Express website