As a young lad, the very first thing that I would look in the morning newspaper everyday was photos of the rich and famous. My dream then was to have my photograph in Malayala Manorama, the famous Malayalam newspaper, and that too with none other than my favorite political icon and state minister Shri K M Mani whom people fondly called ‘Mani Sir’.
In Kerala, normally a state minister or a local MLA(member of the legislative assembly) would inaugurate new roads, even if the road was just a mile long! All the local newspapers would feature it with a photograph of the minister and a few local people around him.
Having seen this trend, I eagerly awaited the upcoming inauguration of a connecting road between two villages namely, Uzhavoor and Kudakkachira. My plan was to study all newspaper reports (read photos!!) of ministers inaugurating roads to make my own strategy. The effort was to place myself in such a place from where I for sure will appear somewhere in the background when the minister does the honours.
After a long study and in-depth strategy formation, I was finally prepared. The event was identified, the day was zeroed in and obviously the location was ‘picture-perfect’. I waited for the D-day. I was one of the first ones to reach the venue on that day and ensure my place as per my plan. I stood right behind the large inaugural stone covered by a colourful silk cloth which the minister would unveil as a sign of inauguration and officially open the road for the public. Though there was not enough space in the area behind for me to stand, I managed to balance myself in the little elevated place behind the inauguration stone. Now I was waiting for the Minister to arrive.
Alas the minister arrived, but he also brought along with him a lot of new people whom I had never seen. In addition, there erupted a mad rush among the already present people. Each of them pushed, pulled and grabbed each other to get a glimpse of Mani Sir. I tried to hold on real strong but the pressure of over two dozen people pushing on me was too much for my lean body to withstand and in that chaos I got pushed out and fell down just right at the moment when the minister unveiled the stone. Overrun by the crowd, almost biting the dust under the legs of so many people, tired and exhausted, I saw the cameras flashing, heard people clapping and malapadakkam bursting.
The next day’s newspaper featured a photo of the event with those latecomers in the backdrop but no trace of me. I looked at it over and again with my sprained leg and bruises all over my hands and face, determined that I would become a minister someday and inaugurate roads. The newspapers then will have to publish my photo!
There are one set of memorable or rather funny instances in our childhood which we remember more because of our ‘ignorant innocence’ then, which we now realize. Then there is another set of instances which occurred more because there was no alternative. It was the best choice then under all constraints, and needless to say, they became some of the most heart-touching moments of our life. Hats off to my mother and all mothers who leave such memorable moments for their children.
Gosh, do I miss those lovely memories of my childhood in our village especially during Christmas season!!
As a young lad, I grew up in a small but densely populated colony in Rajasthan. Our colony had some very interesting characters, and even more interesting was Theyyamma. She was specially brought in miles down from Kerala primarily to take care of a ‘young me’. As I recall, she was bold, smart, very talkative, and did not know an iota of Hindi.
As a child, I won several awards. These include some of the ‘top’ awards for sports, the best student award and a few for acting too. I was once awarded the ‘most promising young writer’ trophy and then the big one at the age of ten – award for ’outstanding contribution towards Indian cinema’. However, what I loved the most was when I had to speak to the amazed and cheering audience after receiving each of these awards. In my speech, I would emotionally thank everyone starting from the Almighty to my parents and most important my wife for being my strength in all what I do. The media covered each of these functions extravagantly as many film celebrities attended them often. Most of these ceremonies were held in the mornings and most interestingly, the venue and the sets of this ceremony would be same for each award. The venue was none other than our bathroom and the center stage would be…..my toilet seat!!!!
Ice creams have been a timeless fascination for kids of all ages in India. At the same time, Ice creams have also been the biggest bone of contention between parents and kids, even today.
I watch more KCET TV than any other channel these days. If you have a toddler at home, you know what I am talking about. “I grew up with KCET TV, in fact I grew up because of KCET” – this made me think about my own childhood. There are many people who steered my young mind into somewhat maturity and balance that I believe I have achieved over the years.
My three year old son, to my surprise, hasn’t yet shown any interest in honking horns when we play games. Neither do I expect him to grow up dreaming of driving around the city honking when he gets his first car. Well, all I can say is that he is going to miss the thrill of this honking which his dad always dreamt of and as a matter of fact still does!
Sakti Talkies, the age-old movie hall in our village, occupied a special place in the hearts of all of us irrespective of our age. In fact, it still does. The tottered cinema hall, covered with weary coconut leaves had an ambience of its own. There were no comfortable push-back seats, no Dolby sound system, not even an air conditioner, yet it was like the mecca of entertainment for us.
