Remembering College Days as it Celebrates 133 Years

My village friend sent me a clipping that Government Victoria College in Palakkad where I studied is now133 years old.  Long live the college with its vast expanse, scenic surroundings, let alone my youthful student days and memories that I cherish. 

The College could legitimately boast of being a springboard for many who made it big in life - V R Krishna Iyer (Chief Justice of India), EMR Namboodiripad (Chief Minister of Kerala), E. Sreedharan (the Metro Man of India), T.N. Seshan (Chief Election Commissioner), to name a few. Simultaneously, the college also admitted lesser mortals like me.

The faculty was a mixture of good, bad and indifferent individuals. The English professor was jovial and enlivened the class. The Sanskrit lecturer, with his namam on forehead always staying in an upright position. Students listened to him with rapt attention while he taught Shankuntalam and other lessons. With starched kurta and panchagacham he was so immaculate that one wondered if ever Modi-ji visited the campus incognito and took cues to imitate him later in life.

The Physics professor was handsome, and he was conscious of it too. He was also in-charge of NCC.  So, often he would take class in NCC uniform. 

The Biology professor believed in talking to himself rather than to the class. Despite stretching one’s ears to listen to him one keeps guessing the last three words in every sentence. In sharp contrast, the History professor could be heard in the seventeenth row although the class had only seven rows. If only students in the adjoining class, divided by wall, were a little attentive, they could take notes word for word.

In sports, the college fared better in football. In the inter-college tournaments, roughly it won 6 out of 10 matches. Ali was the full back. He seldom allowed the ball from the opponent get past him to the goalkeeper. His only snag was his return hits of the ball more often went skywards rather than towards the opponent’s goal post. 

Cricket team mostly consisted of boys from Vadakkanthara, Kalpathy and Nurani villages. Each one was given a nickname - Vijay Hazare, Vinoo Mankad, Nandu Phadkar, or Poly Umrigar - based on one’s skills. 

It is now over six decades since I moved out of Palakkad. But each time I went there, I would pass through College Road and ask the driver to slow down so that I could see my school and college on each side and explain the surroundings to my sons and wife: ‘See that tree, it is under that the ice-vendor used to sell crushed ice with syrup. And over there, Nataraj Café, used to be the rendezvous for college boys and girls for coffee and tea. 

One such visit was specifically for a darshan of village and family deities before my elder son took off to USA for higher studies. As we passed by College Road, I pointed my finger and said: “That is Syed Mohammad’s stationery shop. He did brisk business.”  Just then I heard a feeble voice, “Samikutty’s son?”. I looked here and there and saw a frail hand jetting out, trying to wave at me from the shop. Yes, it was Syed Mohammad, at a ripe age. He and my father often greeted each other at Fort Maidan in the evenings during their respective weight-reduction walks. He ordered for us ‘Crush’, the local soft drink. We had a chat. As we were about to leave, he whispered into his assistant’s ears, and he suddenly disappeared into the deep store only to return with a high-end pen-set. Syed gave it to my elder son wishing him all the best in his higher studies. Seeing the younger one a little disappointed, Syed picked a ball-pen that was handy and said, “and this one is for you, my boy.” The younger too was overjoyed.

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Celebrating 85th Birthday

Yes, it’s my birthday today. Time flies. Time and tide waits for none. Luckily, only yesterday I received a WhatsApp message, “Old Age Now begins at 80”, after research at Dublin’s Trinity College, Institute of Neuroscience.  That makes me feel quite young - just been four years with the Old Age group. Not bad.

Birthday is also the occasion when, aside from friends and relatives, one gets a lot of greetings from most unexpected quarters. In fact, the latter group is more active.

Life Insurance Corporation sends, along with the greetings, their catchy slogan, Jeevan ke saath, Jeevan ke baat with a host of offers. Banks whose accounts you have closed long back, shoot out automated messages offering loans at attractive terms without a re-look at recovery-risk factors.

Now I have a clearer idea why at some billing counter the stores clerk asks for your mobile number and date of birth before accepting payment. Once I just bought a bun or bread from a bakery shop. He now sends me birthday greetings offering 50% discount on birthday cakes weighing 2 kg or more. 

In another instance, I had paid for garments that my wife had bought. Today I receive an offer of 70% discount on salwar, kameez, churidar, and dress materials.

The jewellery firms are smooth operators. They assert that gifts that are cherished the most are the ones given on birthdays. And they come up with offers ranging from less levy for ‘waste’ to reduced making charges, and the like.  

The best however is from Secretary of a retirees’ association. He greets me with choicest words on happiness and health along with a post-script on the sidelines: “It would seem you are yet to pay last two years’ subscriptions. If already paid, please ignore this note.” He knows as much as I do that I have not paid. But just trying to be courteous.

Then there’s my friend in Pune. He is a poet of a sort. He sends me unfailingly a ten-line poem prepared specially for me. Each time I manage to elicit the meaning with the help of a dictionary.

His son is good at drawing caricature. He draws and sends me one every time. Somehow, he focuses on that side of me which I detest to be projected. But then that is what caricature is meant to be.

On the brighter side, a very dear friend of mine telephoned me to say that ‘amidst the multiplicity of your engagements’ (his words, not mine), he and his wife would like to drop in for fifteen minutes to do pranams to us on the occasion. His hidden agenda was to give me a shirt or dhoti, or both. This time he came fully prepared. He had the cab driver wait downstairs, had me wear two shirts bought from two different shops, so that just in case any alteration was required he could take the same cab and get it either exchanged or altered. “Why two shirts?” I quipped. “Because I know that the rat that raided your home recently had made a good dinner out of the long blue silk kurta that I gave you earlier and which you had hung on the back of your door.” 

Shanthy, my sister-in law staying in Cedar rang me up this morning. “Athimbar, you just have two choices: would you like us to prepare dinner tonight at home or order from outside?” I reminded her: “Just bear in mind that I am hosting lunch to my ‘shirts’ friend and wife. Make it very light’. Alas, half of Punjab Grill menu was spread on the table. Her daughter Pooja had ordered a special cake to make it ceremonious. 

My brother-in-law rang up to greet and ask me to be ready mid next week. “Chitra and I will pick you and Akka for a four-day long drive in my new Innova Hybrid van to Sringeri, Kudremukh, Horanadu, Dharmastala…” Yes, there is no dearth of love and affection. 

Incidentally, this write-up should also fulfil my Oak friend’s greetings which inter alia wishing me health, long life and happiness, included, “also more blogs from you”.

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Festivity Unabated – That’s SFV

With Navaratri-2024 having just concluded it was a resplendent SFV all along - all over. Ladies donning the prescribed daily dress code were hurrying from one tower to the other to honour haldi-kumkum invitations – four to five houses a day on an average. 

The SFV Devi Mahatmyam group consisting of around 25 members who, over a period of time, had learned how to recite DM with ease, organized full Devi Mahatmyam chant at nine different houses every day from 10.30 am to 1.30 pm. The rest of the members responded with full participation. 

This also meant that they had to get up in the early hours to prepare breakfast and lunch for the home before rushing for the chant – day after day. But all the 20-odd ladies who attended every day seemed to enjoy the rigour, as we saw all of them in one piece at the end.

As is wont during such festive seasons, the prices of pooja items hit the ceiling. Coconut price soared high – touching Rs 40, from Rs 22 a piece. We thought we would be clever and ordered with the flower lady five days in advance for 6 mulams (finger-tip to elbow) of jasmine flower-mala for distribution on the day the DM chant was due in our home. She accepted the order but made it clear that the rate would be as it prevailed on the morning of purchase. Understandable. It was Rs 60/ on the day we ordered, and Rs 100 on the day executed.  Betal-leaf sellers made hay while the sun shone.  We bought at Rs 3 a piece. Children enjoyed their holidays riding cycling or going around in groups. It was fun, frolic and gaiety all the way.

Shanthi Vaidya, Devi Upasaka of a high order, who, only the other day released a heavy-weight book in two volumes, 1500 pages, explaining Lalitha Sahasranamam meaning word for word, performed  Nava Varana pooja lasting over five hours. If corridor news is correct, one witnessed ladies from all other towers parading to Alder – like the Pied Piper of Hamelin. 

As though these are not enough, to give the event a fitting finale, the ever-active group of Sudarshan Acharya, Naveen and Vasuki Kashyap, Vaidya, Panindra, Ramasubramanian, and the gentleman attired in a smart purple panchagacham (forgive me, I could not get his name), a welcome addition Bhuvana, and many others, organized yet another pooja – this time Durga Deepa Namaskara this evening. 

First the ladies of the Satsang group chanted Lalitha Sahasranamam in unison. Menfolk joined them. This was followed by the Durga Deepa Namaskara. As it warmed up, almost everyone felt that the entire celestial world would descend on MPH1 breaking open the ceiling in response to the combination of enchanting pancha vadyam, the resonating chant of purohits, the inviting song Himagiri Tanaye Hemalathe by Ravichandran (of Alder, not Ebony – only his daughter is an accomplished singer), and a series of songs by the adolescent boy and girl much to the full participation and enjoyment of those who managed squeeze a space for themselves in the hall. The Mangalarati was simply matchless. It had all the ingredients to elevate the spiritual mood of the audience, let alone swing in joy unknowingly.

In the end the organizers had arranged Thamboolam on second floor, and prasadam on first floor for everyone present. Managed meticulously. As he distributed prasadam, one volunteer whispered into my ears, “So, sir, may we expect your blog on this tonight?”  “I shall try sir,” I replied. Glad I was able to piece together something.

Yes, as a WhatsApp message shared by a friend conveys, “Dasha Hara is a Sanskrit word which means removal of ten bad qualities within oneself: Ahankara (ego), Amanatva (cruelty), Anyaaya (injustice), Kama Vasana (lust), Krodha (anger), Lobha (greed), Mada (over pride), Matsara (jealousy), Moha (attachment), and Swartha (selfishness). And aptly, today, Vijayadashami signifies Vijaya over these ten bad qualities”.  Let’s hope victory over these will be perpetual and not like the short-lived New Year resolutions we tend to make year after year. 

Meanwhile, full compliments to the organizers, and congrats to SFVians for their no less enthusiastic response. 

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Visarjan Over; But Ganeshji intact in Our Hearts

It was a Sunday. Not yet another Sunday with no alarm to wake you up; no ritualistic shoulder-, neck- or knee-exercises to keep stiffness at bay. No hasty finish to be with your senior friends for the morning walk -  circumambulation of Pine and Maple towers. Yes, it was SFV Ganesh Puja 2024, a day-long programme from 7 am to 7 pm. 

The gathering at Club House headed to Gate 1 for the Agamana procession of the beautifully decorated Ganesha idol from Gate 1 via all towers to Oak playground for Homa and then to Club House to the accompaniment of nadaswaram and dolu - and saxophone as bonus. Yes, ever since Kadri Gopalnath added this instrument to Carnatic music, this has become a welcome trend in all nadaswaram programmes. They played some really hummable tunes, to the foot-tapping beats of dolu. 

I got a call from Aunty. “I say, join us at Cedar. Your friends V…., K….., M…., and have all come. You better hurry.” And so I did picking the shirt that was handy and not the one I had reserved for the occasion. Too late for Cedar. The procession had already reached Oak. Better late than never. 

The idol was installed and after homa, it was taken in procession to Club House where it was placed with a ‘live’ forest serving as a backdrop. ‘But what is the significance of peacocks in front of Ganesha?” I asked my friend sitting next. “I couldn’t guess. Maybe the forest at the background is Turahalli, and we have several peacocks dancing around every morning.”   

A short break for breakfast followed – not a dish more, not a dish less. Excellent. Hats off to the organizers.

The purohits for the function were specially ‘flown’ from Mangalore. Their decibel level hardly needed any public address system. The house was full by then. The atmosphere was charged. After puja it was time for Mangala aarati. The nadaswaram troupe which was till then subjected to stop and start signals, was given a free hand. With a liberated feeling they played their instruments in full blast. The acoustics of the auditorium being what they are, capable of producing three times echo effect, some of my friends seated near the troupe, moved to a place where they could enjoy the performance in the required decibel. On my part as a duty-bound resident, I looked up at the ceiling now and then to check for any hairline crack. None, luckily.

Managala aarati was followed by a small cultural programme, proving the point Small is Beautiful. This was followed by prasadam distribution. I wondered if MPH2 was the right venue for such a huge gathering. But the arrangements were so perfect that in less than 10 minutes everyone was seen carrying a sumptuous plate in hand – and delicious too. Yes, prasadams have a knack to be so.

The evening session included taking the idol around all towers accompanied by Dhol Tashe for everyone to dance and raise the merriment level, which they did. At one time, I too felt like indulging in that pleasure. “No way,’ protested my friends.  “What if we sprain ourselves of fall?” they quipped. “No worry, Dr Vijay Chandra, our bone and joint specialist is right behind us. He will fix it.”

After an elaborate closing puja the beautiful idol was all set for visarjana. The crowd thronged, some with their kids on their shoulders to their own delight and not so much to those behind. The idol was brought up and down the immersion tank probably three times as required, much to the suspense of the gathering. And then Lord Ganesha condescended to be immersed. The spectators reacted with mixed feelings. Some felt overjoyed, others shed tears. The crowd applauded spontaneously partly to bid farewell to Lord Ganesha, and very much to thank the Managing Committee of SFV Association for a wonderful day they had organized for them - the highlight of which was doing everything with clockwork precision. Kudos.

Yes, the idol might have been immersed but Ganesha-ji stays very much in our hearts.

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