The Sundars Suffer a Second Bereavement

Hardly had I set foot on Wednesday for my morning walk when I saw an Eye Donation ambulance negotiating slowly its way into B block. I guessed two possibilities. Either it is here to enroll a new eye donor (a remote possibility at such an early morning), or to collect eyes of an already registered donor who has deceased since. Before I could verify, other morning walkers came up to me and said that Dr Sundar's father, Dr T. Sankaran, had passed away early morning. He was 85 years old, and the end came after a prolonged illness. An entomologist by profession, he retired as the Director of Commonwealth Institute of Biological Control, Bangalore. An insect is named after him, Thomsonisca Sankarani, for his interest in the natural control of insect pests and his contribution to the field of entomology. A distinguished and satisfying career, one would guess.

"He passed away exactly a year after I lost my own father," shared Shobha, in grief. Dr (Maj.Gen.) N. Lakshmipathi), Shobha's father, passed away on 6 January last year.

Shri and Smt Sankaran have two children - Dr Sundar, and Sujatha Balakrishnan. The type of breed that the parents have nurtured is evident from the fact that whenever there is an eye contact with a busy Dr Sundar in Columbia Asia, either with patients or his team, he unfailingly stops by to ask you, "Any help, uncle?"

"I saw the Eye Donation ambulance, and I felt it was a very nice gesture," I told Shobha after the preliminary enquiries when we went to offer condolences. "Yes it was to be, but unfortunately it couldn't take place. For some technical reasons the Centre simply could not remove the eyes. In fact my m-i-l had wanted that his whole body should be donated to M.S. Ramaiah Hospital to benefit the student community. Again, this too could not happen. Maybe, it was preordained that his body should be cremated in one piece," clarified Shobha now in better command of her emotions.

"Change with the changing spirit of time. That is the essence of life, Sundaram," I reminded myself as I admired the family's intention to go all the nine yards.

"Please do take coffee or milk, be it a sip. It is a custom," insisted Mrs Ganga Sankaran (Mami, to be informal). She seemed the most composed among those present. She is an ardent practitioner of Tirupukazh bhajan (hymns in praise of Lord Kartikeya), as many Srishti-ites would vouch. "My granddaughter was Mama's pet, and it was her good fortune that she is here from US along with my daughter and was able to attend to her Thatha's needs these last few days. See, it has so happened that they are booked to fly back exactly a day after the Shubha Sweekaram - the 13th day. That is not to suggest that grandsons are less dear to him. But a daughter and a granddaughter have their own place," Mami added in haste.

Personally, for me and my wife, just a day before our departure to US last January we attended their Kanakabhishekam celebrations. I distinctly remember having whispered into my wife's ears then, "Doesn't it look like we are attending a belated coronation of an old royal couple?"

The Sundars went yesterday morning to Srirangapatnam to immerse the ashes, and they propose to perform the Shuba Sweekaram, on Monday, 20 January, at the Shiva-Vishnu temple premises.

We pray for the departed soul to rest in peace.

V.V. Sundaram

12 January 201

New-Year Eve in Srishti (2013-14)

NEW-YEAR EVE IN SRISHTI

Yes, it is always a pleasure to be back home and join the mainstream. And we did it just in time for the Sports Day as well as the New Year eve celebrations. Before I continue, let me wish all my Srishti-ites and their families a very very happy and prosperous 2014. May the year address all their concerns - their children's 10th, 12th examinations, admission worries, career prospects of bread-winners, and health issues (if any). I know the list is a Hanuman tail.

It was nice to see several new energetic, exuberant and smiling faces, as we missed a few old friends. Srinivasanji was not around making his customary slow and calculated round with a plate in hand. Harihara Sarma, who I think still holds record for having served the maximum number of sub- committees in Srishti, is recuperating at his son's place. The never-get-old Bhashyams could not be present, excusably. On Christmas, their daughter gifted them with a charming granddaughter. My friend, whose identity I shall protect, shuttled between his apartment and the venue, just not to miss the climax of a Mohanlal film in TV.

Food stalls were aplenty - the chief attraction on such occasions. What with chats, pani puri (gol gappa as we call it in Delhi), sabudana kichdi, and a host of mouth-watering items, there were gajar-halwa, ice cream as dessert, Coke and other beverages to wash them down with, or hot coffee, tea, milk to keep us warm on an somewhat chilly, windy night.

"Old order changeth yielding place to new," wrote a poet in my XI class English text. Yes, only change is constant. We find a new team at the helm for Sports Day and the New Year Eve. Sunil, Sujatha, and their friends deserve full compliments for doing an excellent job. If only the public address system had been a little more cooperative, they would have walked away with a centum for the show. But let that not rob the pleasurable evening that we all had.

The events started off with an invocation by Surekha. The hullabaloo at the Food Court managed to drown the audibility, but not what she prayed for. The children's torch dance, with lights around switched off, seemed an innovation - some torches glittering more, some less, and some refusing to take off. But children are always a fun to watch. Then prizes were distributed for those who made the grade on the Sports Day - some in bits and others in bulk.

Housie' (Tambola?) followed next. With an aggressive marketing of retail and wholesale booking of tickets, the counter was closed in no time. The one and only Sanjay took charge and did it with professional competence. (I suspect if he did a part time job in any club in his college days. Anyway.) One couple (don't ask me who) bagged three prizes in the event, only to hear healthy catcalls from the audience, 'lottery'.

In the Antakshari programme, Sujatha and her daughter managed to keep the interest of the audience alive at 11 in the evening when people were just about to slip. By draw of lots the teams were divided into East, West, South and North. The formidable Sudha-Srikant duo and Bharti (the dark horse) on East, the unassuming but treasure-house Surekha in the West, the spontaneous Gita (Ashok) in the South, and the poor Aunty and a few others in North, took up positions. As it happens always, fortune favoured the other sides. They had to guess songs from Pakeeza and other popular films, whereas it fell upon North to guess an obscure Helicopter song by Dharmendra and Hema Malini. Apparently we couldn't; in fact no team could, and Sujatha had to reveal it. "Yeh bhi koi gana hai?" we heard someone from North muttering (not me). Anyway, it was a landslide victory for the East, followed by West. The South and North scored equally, thus North narrowly escaping a fourth position.

An ensemble of Bollywood songs dance-number by young mothers stole the evening, however. Starting with the song from Navrang, "Aadha hai Chandrama," they danced merrily to half a dozen tunes with aplomb. Considering that many are career women, others tending their children with very little time for rehearsal, the applause for them lasted a little longer. For me personally, I felt a bit nostalgic. as a young bachelor I saw V. Shantaram's 'Navrang', with music by C. Ramchandra, on the first day, late night show, at Odeon (in Delhi) on a wintry night, and had to hire a taxi to get back home.

A wonderful New Year eve it was, for those who missed it.

05 January 2014