Forest
View Apts I mean, after a gap of six months. Nice to be back, no doubt.
Change
is constant, they say. That is exactly
what we found on arrival. New humans moving around the complex. Just blank
faces, no greetings, no smile – but thankfully no stare. We thought SFV’s
accredited cab driver Akram’s substitute got it wrong and dropped us, instead,
in another Sobha complex until we spotted a few familiar faces all eager to hug
us in the long-lost Ram-Bharat milap
style. Yes, in the interim many families have moved in. The present occupancy,
we learn, stands at 550 families out of the total strength of 889. What a
fantastic feeling. The more the merrier.
We
were in time to attend the AGM of the Association, in no way by design. In one
stroke you get to meet all your friends and well-wishers. You felt a bit taken
in when entry to the meeting hall entailed a lot of procedures. But as you got involved
with the proceedings you realized this filtration process was necessary to get
an accurate feedback of the audience, and prevent dual voting and the like. Most
of us made a day of it what with coffee on arrival, lunch, and again tea in the
evening. It was purely a working lunch, as it was supposed to be, and in no way
reminded you of Onam Sadhya.
Onam
celebration in SFV is on the cards, on 2 September. Alas, we realize it is Gokulashtami
that day when homemakers will be busy from morning trying their hands at
Murukku, salt Cheedai, jaggery Cheedai, Nei Appam and Avil (poha), as prasadam
for the evening. The menfolk normally assist in preparing Cheedai balls with
homemakers looking back now and then from the kitchen shouting, “Not so big,” to
be followed soon by “Not so small either…” The whole exercise will last till
3.30 pm. And then comes the most unbearable two-hour wait for the sunset when only
they are offered to God and we get to taste them initially, before mounting a full
fledged attack.
Back
to the Onam programme, if Plan A works, which it should, you are in for a
day-long entertainment. By this I mean, to the entire SFV community. A
selection of known orchestra groups are being invited to elevate the mood of
the audience with Malayalam, Kannada, Hindi and Tamil songs. The star attraction
would be Vaishnav Girish. He was the winner of Star Singer contest some years
ago. He also featured in a national Hindi channel and rendered the Hindi song Bin Tere... It was so soulful that the
judges came to the stage and ventured to lift him, his heavy weight
notwithstanding. Aside this musical bonanza, there will be the usual Chenda
Melam, and Kerala-specific dances, not to speak of the Onam Sadya (feast) at
noon. We all look forward to the event next month.
While
that is a little way off, SFV is now geared to celebrate Independence Day next
week at the Amphitheatre starting at 9 in the morning.
Preoccupation
on the personal front has been no less. Even before we could unpack suitcases,
we had to rush to Hosur to attend the 80th birthday celebrations of
my colleague. Yes, a reminder that “if it is his today, it will be mine
tomorrow.” “How are you Raja?” I asked him when he gave me ‘audience’ amidst
the 300-odd guests. “Can’t be better Sundaram.”
“No health issues, no BP, no Sugar?” I persisted. “Perfect Sundaram. No
BP. Just sugar. And for that I inject insulin myself daily,” he delivered a
googly nonchalantly.
Then
the filing the Income tax returns before deadline round the corner. As is wont,
the Auditor was out of station. Fortunately with less hassle the returns were
filed. What a relief when the system popped with refund figures in both our
cases.
It
is Aadi masam now. Some communities perform Bhagawat Sevai (Devi puja). In the
evenings we could hear chants reverberating from one building or the other. We
had the pleasure to attend two, and perform one in our home too. The occasion?
Birthday of both our sons, yes both born on 3rd August. Only the
year is different.
Aunty
resumed her Narayaneeyam class with aplomb this morning - with probably double
the attendance. Moral: Stay away for long to feel wanted.
