Thoughts

The Zero Calorie Hour

2007-01-28T04:35:00.000-08:00

The Zero Calorie Hour

I don’t know about you, but I love my food.
The junkier the better.
Sadly my good friend Sharmila doesn’t share my sentiments on food. She’s so slim, trim and graceful, she could ride a feather.
She’s into fad diets. She once spent fifteen days on just boiled vegetables and she told me it was a lifting experience.
It would be, I thought, especially if you lived near the sea, that too in the windy months.

And yesterday I had dropped in at her place with some sweets fried in ghee. Actually they were meant for me, but I had managed to source some lettuces for her.

“Sin!” she cried when she saw my pack which said ”real ghee in our sweets!”.

” Just a little” I said apologetically.

“Fried sin!” she cried again.

“I’ll have just one” I said weakly but she snatched the bag of goodies from me and threw them in to the loft.

“From today you go on a diet” she commanded.
”What’s your weight?” she asked sternly.

“------------- Plus or minus ten kilos,”I said.

“@@##$$$$%%*^%!”she said and I blushed.

“Woman, you’ll not live beyond fifty!” she said cheerfully.

I’ll live that long, provided I don’t get swept away by cyclones, tsunamis or get shot by kind people, who have to kill me for their cause.

“Now, have this, you’ll become lighter and prettier!” she pushed a china plate towards me.

“Nice plate” I said wondering when she’ll serve food.

“These lettuces carry no calories, but they’d be filling. You can have just one after you get used to it” she said.

Lettuces? I had thought they were part of some design on that plate. There were two of them, thoughtfully arranged on that plate so that they wont feel lonely.

I burst out sobbing and she held me through my tears. Nice girl. All the while she told me I should try self hypnosis and “feel light”. She chanted that mantra for some time and I did feel considerably lighter after that.

Hip hip hurray for hypnosis!But what’s that thing slumped on the sofa? That looks like me! Omigod! That’s me! And I must be dead! No wonder I feel light!

“Hey, wake up! see, I told you’ll feel filled up with this magic food! You’ve fallen asleep!”It was Sharmila.

I was back in my body and I must tell you I just loved every extra pound of it.I pried myself away from that sofa and made a dash for her front door.

“I know of a certain zero- calorie food! Great on your skin too! Its called… water!” I said and scooted out of her place before she could shoot me.

Adi Shankara-A Malayali

2007-01-28T04:22:00.000-08:00

“Adi Shankara was a Malayali”

The statement was made in all earnestness and, hearing that, as you’d ve done, my first instinct was to laugh.
Then I looked at the expression on the young lady’s face and it reminded me of my nine -year old son’s face when he thought he’d discovered an Earth-shattering truth.
We were discussing her thesis on the vernacular architecture of Kerala and the discussion had turned to the great men the state had produced.
I reminded her gently that, even by the post-dating standards of white and
Brown babu-“scholars”, Shankara lived more than 1500 years back and Malayalam had not been born then.
She seemed to accept and I think that was because, unfortunately for her, she happened to be a student pursuing a degree in architecture and I happened to be her guide.
“Ma’m, he must’ve spoken Tamil then!” Said a colleague who believes that Tamil pre dates all the other languages in the world . ( I don’t believe that, call me a traitor –of- the-Tamils if you want!)
Well, Sanskrit must’ve been the English of those times and Shankara composed all his great works in that language,though he calls himself a “Dravida –shisu”(Aryan invasion theorists, note! Shankara didn’t consider himself an Aryan! These divisions were once only geographical and now, political J)
However he might have spoken Tamil when he had to talk to people who didn’t know Sanskrit.
Such arguments have no end, and it doesn’t do any of us any good when we call Ramana maharishi a Tamilian or Ramakrishna paramhamsa , a Bengali.

Great men like them carried a message for mankind and they should be respected as such
And not as a “Malyali or a Mara [means brave-word courtesy, regional parties] Tamilian!

All this linguistic talk reminds me of a friend in Hyderabad, who lamented the formation of linguistic states and said that it ‘d divided the country needlessly.

“I thought the first martyr in the language struggle spoke Telugu, I am surprised you say this” I told my Telugu –speaking friend.

“That was mere politics and what do ordinary folks like us have in common with that?
Why, do you agree with everything that your Dravidian party politicians in Tamil nadu say?”
He was right.
Even though I told him I thought that the divisions based on languages were inevitable, in a place like ours, I cant help thinking that it has done more harm than good,especially
statements like the title of this article.

The State less Sindhis

And not all of us are happy. I’ll always remember what the kindly old shopkeeper in Sharjah said of himself.
I was wondering in Tamil whether he was a fellow Indian or someone from the sub continent.

“I am one of those stateless Sindhis”.
He said in perfect Tamil and surprised me further by saying that his family had lived for a while in Madras after the partition.
We take our state-hood for granted and forget that a community which has suffered the pain of 1948 doesn’t have a state like we do. They have their own language, unique culture and customs not to mention high-profile leaders and yet no state of their own.
We have new states like Jharkhand and Uttaranchal and our power-mongering babus might be planning more, but what about the Sindhis?
Too many questions remain and as ordinary folks what else can we do but ask questions?
Glad we have the freedom to ask questions,anyway.

Coming back to the problem, now that we have linguistic states are we doomed for ever?

I don’t think so.
Instead of stuffing their version of History in the name of detoxification down our collective throats, our babus can try to enlighten people about the culture of other states in a more detailed way.
A lot of changes can be made in and through the text books. People can retain some regional pride, doesn’t hurt, but they can still be made aware of the greatness of the whole.

And, Joy-filled Flows The Yamuna

2007-01-16T22:38:00.000-08:00

And Joy-filled, Flows The Yamuna

Slowly, I am flowing,
carrying my fond hope
that the promise will come true
after all these years.
Nay, not a century,
I have waited for eons
Without a single glimpse
of the dark skinned prince.

The Ganga , the special one,
is in touch with
the fair one’s matted locks,
she flows with bliss
And ever since she glimpsed
Dasaratha’s beloved boy
She is beside herself
with unchecked joy.

I may be the lesser one,
but I have to hope
That today will be the day.
and today he would come.

Suddenly, very suddenly
fat rain drops fall on me
And become a torrent
in no time at all
Rain -laden clouds darken the sky
Thunder booms, lightning streaks
strange light patterns
across the dark sky dome

Is this the day?
Lord, is this the day?
I dance and sing
I slosh and swoosh
I throw naughty waves
All over my watery body
And joy filled
I almost jump over my banks

This is the day!
Yes! This is the day!
Yes! Says the Temple bell
Yes! Say the pretty birds
who are rushing home
Yes! Say every rock and
Pebble on my way.
Yes! Says my soul.

I stand still and watch
as a man from Mathura, with a
Basket in his hands, walks.
His gait unsteady, his gaze steady
Towards me he walks
Holding his basket safe
What could be so precious
To be carried on a rainy night
as dark as this?

My penances pay off
and I wake up from trance
Silly Yamuna!
Don’t you know what’s in the
Man’s basket, beneath the rags?
Not some earthly treasure, you fool!
The treasure of all treasures
has arrived in all his glory!

The prince has come!
The fruit of penances
has really come!
The slayer of sins has come!
The lord of compassion
has finally come!
The very essence of the Vedas
has come!
The one and only one
has come as a human once again!

I pause and reflect
This is my day
in all my long river life
and I’ll live up to it!
I watch with anxiety ,as
holding the basket tight
the man stops in my bank
his eyes wide with fright.

The frail man needs to cross
my swirling waters to reach
that place where the great one
has planned a stay
in a home away from home.
To the sky, the father looks up
And cries out his name
Just then a thunder booms
And pulls me out of
deep trance once again.

I muster all my might and
every bit of stored up strength
I make a space across my width
wide enough for a man to stand
It hurts a little to part up
but what is it, before the savior
who has decided to fill my cup of joy ,
so much that it brims all over!

The father sheds tears of joy
And happily across he walks
The blue safire on his head
Lighting up his entire path.
I long to touch the little feet
But hold myself very still.

My mind goads me to touch him
Go, on , Yamuna,
He might be a new born
But he’s still the mighty one
Your waves will not harm him
So go touch him! Touch that tiny feet1
For, this may be your last chance
and only he knows when
he’ll come back again.
Touch his feet, woman!
It’s now or never!

No , I will not,
As I am a mother
my heart seems to say
I will not rise up
And touch the newborn feet
If I have to wait for a
Million million eons
I will wait, but touch now, I will not.
For, that’s a tiny baby
already touched by rain
and a heartless cold wind

And then it happened
Pink little feet alight with glory
peeped out from the basket, they
thrashed and thrashed until they
reached down and
touched my waiting waters,
cleaning away years of
sorrow and collected sin.

Blessed am I, for my waiting
has now been rewarded.
And if ever you feel that
my waters taste salty, be aware that
they are but happy tears
shed by a simple river that glorious rainy night.

Nandlalah

2007-01-10T01:11:00.000-08:00

Eyes that shine

He’s been after me since morning, this Krishna
His greedy eyes upon the pot of butter and sweets
“Ma, please!” he begs with false tears, my heart melts
What good is any food, unless the thief eats first?

“In a few minutes” I say, my custom bound self
wanting to finish the puja first, as I get things ready
Krishna pouts, but sits like a lamb next to the shelf
Just where the pots of goodies are, smelling heady

As we sing the praise of the lord, Krishna glows
He looks not like an earthly child, I can’t describe
the feeling that shook me up from head to toe
As the puja finished, he gets back to his naughty self.

I can‘t describe either, the glow in those eyes
As I was about to feed him the coveted sweet
And if I had a million lives, I would give them all
For that look of pure bliss on his face, yes I would!

And as he smeared his pretty face with butter
I wondered whether this was the same one who
Sat like a god descended on earth, lost in himself
Glowed like someone out of this world, a while ago.

He read my mind,” Ma, to you, I’ll forever be a child
As I promised in the times we’ve passed through
If you want truth and knowledge, you shall have that
If so you want anything else, you can have that too!”

“Son, I am but a simple woman, with little wants
I have got this bliss with penances, so I want not
what the sages seek, all I want is simple love
So any time my mind tries to take over my heart
Throw your blanket of maya around me, for the only
Identity I want forever, is the title” Krishna’s mother”

Ramblings of a new Expat

2007-01-08T21:48:00.000-08:00
RAMBLINGS OF A NEW PARDESI

After nearly six months of self exile away from the cyber world it certainly feels good to be connected again.Last year this time I was sitting in my Chennai apartment and blogging and it still feels strange sitting in this apartment in Sharjah, UAE.
The Sharjah I’d always associated with cricket matches is where our family lives now.
Six months ago I landed at Dubai Airport and was immediately struck by how huge it was. Those who are already familiar with international airports might not have been impressed but I was overwhelmed because of another reason . Two reasons actually. My two little boy-terrors were zipping around the place shouting “Yipeee!”
As people gave me sympathetic looks a doctor we had met at chennai airport came forward to help.
I was asked not to wait at the tail end of any line and I was told as a lady, I could simply sidestep the males and get ahead .I did that while feeling a little guilty.But a long queue of men looked detached as I and few other women got our formalities completed without waiting.
The good Doctor waited until we met my husband in the lobby and we thanked him for his timely help.

As we traveled from Dubai Airport to Sharjah,past the stiff date palm trees,past the gleaming glass buildings,[in this heat?] my husband said he’d been worried that the kids would prove to be too troublesome .
”Well…they were acting like kids. But for the Doctor I’d still be there in the airport”
Before I unpacked things in the second floor apartment that is our home now, I called my Dad.
“You wont believe this”I told him about my adventures with the kids and how I was helped with the formalities.
My dad laughed.
“I told you you’d have no problem there”He said.
It turned out that my dad was worried about his little girl who was traveling with two little ones of her own and he’d asked the Dubai bound Doctor if he could help with the immigration formalities.
Thank God for Dads.I choked up a little said bye and hung up.
Thank God for kind folks who don’t mind spending time to help overwhelmed moms of hyper active kids.
And God bless “Ladies First”theory when it comes to Airport formalities.
Sometimes I just don’t want equal rights.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Subasri Narendran

You and I

2006-11-18T04:15:00.000-08:00
You are the infinite one, the great boundless
You are the one that’s within and without
Every thing in this very physical world and
those other worlds I can only imagine about.

I am the flawed one, the absolutely worthless
Surely not at all a design flaw, dear designer
But a case of maintenance flaw, gathered over
So many many years of gross misdemeanor.

Some folks say you are not at all needed
To prove how every thing came about
Most folks say you are very much needed
To give them solace, soothe when in doubt.

I swayed this way and that way for a while
And then, finally liked the idea that you exist.
A good force, a good thought in a world very wile
A presence, an idea on which the great ones insist.

Makes ordinary me feel safer and surer
Of my stay here, in this suffocating lair
To think and believe someone’s up there,
To soothe, to hold and to offer endless care.

The weird insurance policy, infinite its surrender value
The willing toddler who’ll walk in to any heart pure
The magic mirror reflecting what the observer holds true
The one and only one who’ll bail folks out of rut, for sure.

Yours is the face in the crowd, a presence unseen
Until the scales fall from someone’s eyes very keen
Only you know how many times you whiffed past me
Whenever I was down, hit by many situations mean.

Forms though you have many, formless too you can be
Paths there are many, to be one with you ultimately
Wars there needn’t be, for, you are a magic tree
With fruits of the kind what each one wants them to be.

I think of all those crazy deals and petty barters
I tried to make with you, almost every other day
Whenever things went wrong in my life’s quarter
Whenever I begged ” please ,don’t turn me away”

All those nickels promised, in all my ignorance,
To the one and only one who owns the universe.
All those “contracts” drawn, in my sheer arrogance
To the timeless one who is beyond word and verse.

All those salty tears shed, all those nasty brawls
Whenever I didn’t like at all the bitter pills I got
And all those all too hasty thank- you scrawls
Whenever I loved those gifts I eagerly sought.

Then again , the never ending “I want now” list
The all-new “please, bail me out of this!” list
All those dreams showing your faces through the mist
As I’ve been trained to see in my very short quest.

Was that really you? Or was that some illusion?
Was that my brain playing a nasty trick on me?
Was that you who said,” Hey, stop fretting
Worry not, I’ll take care” to a down and out me?

You know, like many, I too am looking for magic,
For a special rainbow which I can have and hold.
In a pathetic world which is, if any , all too tragic.
Always putting a ginger foot in the threshold.

The fun we seem to have in this “here now “ world
Is just a little sugar on a large piece of leathery dough
When bitten into, hard to spit out,so tough and cold.
A little more for some, a little less for some,though.

I do appreciate, whenever I visit a healing place
As a visitor, that Iam better off than most and
My loaf of life has more sugar , a sigh crosses my face.
I know I shouldn’t complain at all in the end.

I believe there are folks who get to talk to you
Who have gone up the ladder of consciousness
Who have reached almost there, their souls anew
And felt that bliss which is beyond the guileless.

I am still in the rut, well below ground level
That ladder way beyond me, in a faraway lane
extending in to the clouds of thoughts and spirit
While I am deeply rooted in the physical plane

Throw more boulders on my path if you have to
Give me more tests and trials if you really want to
Try my endurance if you need to, but forgetting you
is something your stubborn daughter will not stoop to.

For, she knows every problem comes with a toolkit
Faith being its golden key, thanks many for the gift,
Dear parent. With your grace she’ll add sheen to it
And with your help, can help friends find one like it.

That aside, patient one, I have another deal to offer
It’s this, I don’t want me to be me, but you!yes!you!
This little soul wants too much, way beyond its worth
The lowly sparrow wants to fly like a falcon, true.

So many major flaws, so many many doubts
So many wrong moves ,so many doubt-filled kinks
Not a well run company, this hopeless lout
Yet, I suggest a total take-over now, oh, yes!

And ,you know,frankly you don’t get much
In this very funny deal. Whatever that I own
I’ll surrender my all, which is your gift as such
Make a new me out of me and I’ll not be alone.

All that I own, my remaining term in this earth
My flawed mind, my strength that’s undependable
My less than perfect heart, take it all for all it’s worth
And dwell in me, for you would it be impossible?

Think your thought , speak your speech
Do your deed, all through imperfect me
Who doubted, who ranted, who looked around
All her life, the truth always beyond her reach.

Finish this unfinished, complete this incomplete
Water this barren soul, infuse it with pure joy
Of your knowledge, loosen those ties that bind
And, never, ever, leave this worthless toy.

I would like to lock you up now in my heart cage
And throw away the keys, but I am all too raw
And unsure of myself, you know, am no sage
So imprison yourself, leave not, the game will be a draw

But, before that, a word of caution, oh, great one
This heart of mine is bullet ridden, too many shots
Far too many hurts to take a lot of love all at once
Oh, gardener, like a wee blade of grass with weak roots,

This just cannot take too much water, might collapse
Needs a drop, now and then, and not all at once.
But needs water to stay afresh. Yes! Easy are the hurts
For the grass is used to being walked all over.

But love? The all encompassing , all powerful love?
The kind of which no true blue human is really guilty?
Little by little please, to begin with. No hurry
The grass might need lots of time to become a tree sturdy.

Seeking the ultimate is my job, granting is yours.
May be I am too greedy, but seek I have to.
For, if not in this term, I may yet get a chance
In one of my next terms. But seek I have to.

This is may be my too confident first step, oh great one
I know you’ll take at least two steps towards bridging
That huge gap between you and me, made by me
In some space-time my soul wanted to get away from you.

So there, this is my application. This is my final deal
with you. Mistakes, please pardon, Oh, patient one
Consider my plea and gladly I’ll wait for the seal
Of promise from you, my job for the term well done.

Thoughts: October 2005

2006-03-25T19:16:00.000-08:00
Boy Brigands

At the risk of sounding politically incorrect ,I want to say that I am happy my second offspring is a boy too. And before I duck a flying tomato I want to say it has made
life easier for me.
As a mother of an active seven year old boy, I feel I’ve become immune to that particular strain of homo sapiens. I am savvier and wiser as far as bringing up boys is concerned. So when boy no. 2 arrived I thought one more wont hurt.
Read on to find out why and learn some earth shattering truths about life with little boys.

Survival tips

*Buy nice baby wear in blue for your little boy when he is in the less harm full stage.
Once he reaches toddler age, buy pants, shirts, if possible, shoes and socks in a dirty brown color because that’s the color they’ll be coated in for the rest of their lives.

*Buy things for their endurance. The more like you the better. But if your boy is breaking up less fortunate things with the new unbreakable toy that you got for him, get philosophical. No point in getting mad.

*Photograph boys within seconds after their daily bath [if its daily] that’s when you can see the real face under the grime.

*The concept of “fair sex” is a myth .Men might be fair too. I haven’t run my male relatives, i.e., father, husband, two boy brigands and some assorted cousins of the male kind, thru’ a car wash yet. But I have a fair idea they would be a lot easier to look at, once the grime collected over many years is removed from their fair faces. [I am planning to be more politically incorrect. In case you are planning footwear and brooms for me, see that they are good. I could use them]

*I am all for child marriages [the more rotten tomatoes, the merrier] especially if you can send your child to his/her in –laws. But the flip side is you might end up with two children instead of one, but one has to take the risk.

*Though mothers of little girls tell me their darlings are as bad as boys [some yardstick],
I am sure even the worst of them will not gouge the eyes out of a teddy bear or kick soft toys around like they are footballs. So don’t buy stuffed toys.

*You need not worry about beautifying yourself if you have boys at home. No make up can hide the tiredness on your face. Your boys will pay you a lot of compliments whenever they do something naughty and want you to take it easy when you find out about it. Well, that particular habit stays on even after they grow up [for those who do]

*Forget pearls and silks. Both are bad stuff anyway. What you really need is a pair of worn out jeans and T-shirts to mismatch. You’ll anyway be spending most of your life cleaning the floor up or looking for things carelessly thrown around.

*.If your boy wants to leave home after his studies, shed sentimental tears, but let go.
Live on with your spouse if you have any energy left.

I have to sign off now because I just heard a loud crash in the living room. It could mean anything because all the males in the family are watching a cricket match in the TV and…
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© Subasri Narendran 2006 All Rights Reserved

Thoughts

2006-03-25T19:12:00.000-08:00
Thoughts

Krishna, my friend

2005-10-20T21:08:00.000-07:00
The palace is far away,
and my body is tiring
Sweat pours down my forehead
blurring my vision.
My sun scorched feet
are begging to be relieved.
My food-starved stomach
is angry and revolting.
And my rest- starved body
is promptly following.

But I can’t give up now
They’ll be waiting
Hungry and eager with
hope , their only ally.
One more mile,please!
One more mile
And one last chance
For lives almost lost.

Those must be the flags
of the proud city
Will a wreck be let in?
I’ll have to try.
My walk unsure,
I look up at the
Gem studded walls
I cower as one of the guards
Glares at the tatters
In my barely so, shawls.

Will he remember?
If he does
Will he welcome a
child hood friend
dressed in torn clothes?
Will he?

I stumble into a
pair of spears barring my path
and stammer his name
when roughly asked.

I look up as a
pair of strong arms
hold me steady
and recognize his smiling face.
through my instant tears.
From then on
I lose all sense of identity
I float in to a dream.

A dream where he hugs me
Asks about my loved ones
Orders his people
To bring this or that
for the very special guest.
Wipes the steady tears
With his shawl soft
Serves a meal
for this skinny wreck
with his wife, a smiling goddess.

This I could take, yes,
But not what he did next
with my little gift.
Filled with glee, like a child
he snatched my little bag
of parched rice
Yes, my sweat drenched
dirty bag of parched rice!

“Enough please!”
No, it wasn’t his queen
who held his hands
as you’ve always believed
but I !for,
I have enough sins
In my tattered book
and additions I don’t need.

That soft mouth used to
eating the richest of foods
That soft mouth pampered
by Mother Yashoda,
Those soft lips whose one smile
takes away all pain,
turns a little red
thanks to my parched rice.

I cry out loud, and
he holds me through my sobs.
No, I will not ask him
for any help, this one hug is
enough for me, Iam reborn.
this will do, for this
and many more terms.
Call me a fool, but I’ll not ask.

My own life,
And that of the little ones
are blessed now.
And together we’ll cross rough waters.
Later, with farewells said,
I float towards home.

I cry harder as
I see a vision never imagined
A smiling wife
Well fed kids
A happy house
All filled with riches.

As we sort out, I wonder
Is this the real test by
my dear friend?
Now that I’ve been touched
Nothing else can taint me.
The gold around me
remind me of his face
The gems, his eyes
These too can vanish in a flash
But I will not fail
For I‘ve been touched by
the one, the Vedas hail.

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© Subasri Narendran 2005 All Rights Reserved

Krishna is about to fall asleep

2005-10-20T21:04:00.000-07:00

Krishna is about to fall asleep, hush!
His lotus eyes now opening
Now closing
Long lashes now meeting
Now parting
Rose bud lips curving in a smile
Hush! Hush! hush!
Krishna is about to fall asleep.

Not so fast, oh, northern breeze
My baby had a long day today
Blow just right,
Neither too cold
Nor too warm,
My little one needs rest.

He had much work to do,
My Krishna
Pots had to be broken
Butter had to be smeared
Tails of bright eyed calves
were asking to be pulled
steps had to be climbed
and plants in the front yard
had to be terrorized, so hush!
Hush again you naughty breeze!

And, over there in the sky, through the
Eastern window, is that you Chitra?
I’ll keep this window open for you
and your other sapphire-star friends.
Take turns to see my little one
And behave yourselves!
For, when he opens his eyes, you’ll
find his eyes brighter than the
brightest of you, don’t you dare gasp
It might give my little one a body ache.

Wait, who let you in, you cheeky waft
Of jasmine fragrance?
Didn’t you have
Enough today with Krishna?
You can play with him in the morning
Now, be a good jasmine creeper
Pull your fragrance away
You might hurt his tender nose.

“Mother” whispered the jasmine plant
through her soft fragrant waft.
“mother, I come not to disturb
the little one, but to see you
The woman who has penance
enough in her books,
Who gets to stroke those tiny feet
everyday. I too have
a little penance in my book
Mother, today was the best day in
my short jasmine life
For, those rosy feet touched me!

Yes! Krishna kicked me in the stem
With his tiny feet!
The very feet the Vedas are Seeking
The touch of which liberates
Man and beast from life’s dream!
The touch of which the
Sages are praying for.
Yet, he chose me
A lowly jasmine creep!
With one kick he showed me
Who I am and who he is!

This will do for me, mother
Even if I have to come back
a million times as
plant bird beast or man
This will do.
Glory to you, mother,
Glory to you.

As the fragrance of jasmine left
Yashoda fell in to a soft slumber
Which the next day, as a dream
She’ll remember.
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© Subasri Narendran 2004 All Rights Reserved

KITTU’S TREE FRIEND

2005-10-20T20:56:00.000-07:00

Kittu kitten wanted to play.

It was morning. It was also summer vacation time.

“Bhavani’s holidays have started!” Kittu happily thought and ran into Bhavani’s room.

“Hi, Kittu!” Bhavani called out.

“Coming to play?” Kittu kitten asked.

“Sure!” Bhavani said and both of them happily ran outside to play.

They reached a big banyan tree at the end of the street.

A big brown cat was dozing under the tree.

He sleepily opened one of his eyes and said ”Kittu, is that you?”

“Yes, chacha! Coming to play?” Kittu eagerly asked.

“What sort of a cat are you? All awake in the morning! Let me sleep!” Babu brown cat grumbled.

Bhavani laughed. “Yes, what sort of a cat are you, Kittu!” she said.

“Sh… rrrr… sh… rrrr…”Babu brown cat snored.

“He’s slept off! Who will play with us now?” Kittu kitten wailed.

“I Will!”a booming voice said. It was a deep throaty voice.

Bhavani and Kittu were surprised. Who was talking?

“I am talking” the voice said.” I am Bunty the banyan tree!”

Bhavani and Kittu looked up at the big shady tree.

“Hey! I didn’t know trees could talk!” Kittu said.

“If kittens can talk trees can talk too!” The tree laughed.

“Can we play running and catching?” Bhavani eagerly asked.

The banyan tree laughed again.” No, we trees don’t move here and there!”

“Then how do you eat? Someone brings food for you everyday?” Kittu wanted to know.

“Ha ha! We trees make our own food!” Bunty said.

“Where’s your kitchen, then?” Bhavani wanted to know.

“Ha ha! We trees don’t need a kitchen for that! Mr. Sun here gives us some energy”

Bunty banyan tree pointed skywards with one of his branches.

“Then Ms. Earth gives us water and vitamins!” He pointed to the ground with a hanging root.

“That’s great! My daddy told about this. It’s called photo.. something” Bhavani said.

“Photosynthesis ! Photo means light. Photo synthesis means food made from light” Bala said.

“Don’t you feel bored being in one place?” Kittu wondered.

“Not at all!. We plants like it! Only then we can help animals and people! And we help cool the air around!” Bala said.

“Bunty, how many hands you have! You can write your homework very fast!” Bhavani exclaimed.

Bunty laughed hard. His many hanging roots swayed wildly as he shook with laughter

“They are my roots! When they become old enough they hold on to the ground and start growing like me!
So you can say I am not really one tree but a lot of trees! My grand uncle who lives nearby is soo…ooo big!”Bala said.

“Now can we play?” Kittu wanted to know.

“Yes, you both can hold my hanging roots and have a swing! So many children do that and I just love it!” Bunty said.

Bhavani and Kittu had a great time swinging from bunty’s roots.

They also played “rustle-a-leaf” with him.

“Bunty, the elders just laugh when I tell them Kittu talks to me. If I tell them you talked to me they’ll laugh even more!” Bhavani said.

“Well, child, people with a child’s heart can hear me talk! And I am not the only one who talks! The rivers talk, all the animals talk, even rocks talk!”

“And you don’t need specially ordered ears to hear that! Only a nice little heart!” Kittu touched his chest with his front paw dramatically.

The three of them laughed and the sweet sound filled the place like frozen music.

After sometime Bunty said ” Folks! It’s time for breakfast! Your Amma will be waiting! Come here every day and we’ll play a game!”

Bhavani and Kittu gave Bunty a thank you kiss.

“Bunty, We love you! You let us play, you told us about a lot of things, thanks a lot! We’ll come every day!” they said, and ran away happily.

Bunty the banyan tree rustled his leaves with joy. He felt healthier and greener.

Well, there’s a shining Banyan tree, [Yes! Trees can shine too! ] near Indira nagar water tank in Adyar, Chennai.

Yes! It shines because it knows it is loved!
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© Subasri Narendran 2005 All Rights Reserved

Surya and Chinna Lalah

2005-10-17T00:56:00.000-07:00
Soft moon light was just entering into Surya’s room when he asked his mother ” Amma, tell me about Chinna Lalah.. please.”

His mother was just tucking him up for the night. She smiled as she heard him.

“Why, Surya I thought you had forgotten about Lalah!” she said.

“Amma,” Surya said “how can I forget his story? Every day I see him through this window, well ,except on his holiday!”

Surya pointed at the bright yellow ball that was the Moon . It was clearly visible through his bed room window.
The window was huge, and it faced the East. Surya loved the view from his room, which was in the first floor of their beach house at Besant Nagar, Chennai.

He would spend his time watching the Moon, for as long as possible and fall asleep late in the night.

“Amma, please..”Surya said again” tomorrow is a Saturday, isn’t it? Please Amma” Mother had sat down on his bed by then. She too felt relaxed because it was a Friday night. She felt touched by the expression on her six year old son’s face.

Poor Surya! He , like the other kids his age these days led a very hectic life. Studies,coaching classes, competitions, what not?!

“Amma, you have one more admirer of Chinna Lalah story here!”

It was Surya’s father. Both Surya and his mother were delighted ‘cause he had arrived early from work. And it was almost 9’o’clock.

“Appa..!”

Surya got up from his bed and ran toward his father. His mother watched happily as father and son hugged each other hard and finally settled down on the bed.

“Story, story!, now!! !” father and son chanted together until mother stopped laughing.

How they all wished everyday was a Friday night! Mother started their family’s favorite story.

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Everyone knows, the Sun works everyday, no holiday at all, absolutely. No Sundays even though it’s supposed to be Mr.Sun’s day!

“Just like Appa” Surya said. “Surya, sshhh. The story teller might get angry!” father laughed.

The Sun gets up early every day and gets ready by about 6’o’ clock. He loves yellows and oranges, so he dresses up in gold bordered yellow garments.

He wears gold jewels, Oh, What a glorious sight he presents to us each day!

He also wears a shimmering yellow robe thrown casually over his shoulders.

Then he climbs on his golden chariot drawn by seven horses and starts from the east. He travels across the sky, checking whether lazy people have got up from bed.

He sends all the children to school, then… WH…OOO..M! With more energy he darts towards the high ceiling of the sky.

It becomes very hot then! Tirelessly he travels across, reaches the west, sighs a little then goes home to rest for the night. But before he goes to bed he calls up Mr. Moon, just to confirm.

By then Mr. Moon is ready, he too loves dressing up. He loves silver and white, so he wears a silver -zari bordered white garment.

And what a soothing and cool sight Mr.Moon presents! Pearls , silver Jewellery, Jasmine flowers and a gentle fragrance about him ,always! He also brings some cool breeze to help people sleep after a long day.

He rides his deer-drawn silver chariot across the sky. He too starts from the east, peeps out from the edge of our beach actually! Then he continues, stops in places to watch children playing.
Oh. He just loves that very much, better than even his wardrobe!
How he wishes every night he too can join the children! But he has work to do.
That too, a night duty kind of work. That’s why he gets a night off every month.

Poor little Moon!

Well.. in Tamil we call him “Nila” and as a child you used to call him “Lalah”! That’s how he got his strange name. Well, we’ll call him Lalah from now on ! He travels on and on, checks up whether naughty children go to bed without much fuss and goes on towards the west. It’s almost morning by then.

Lalah yawns and it’s…. DAWN!

So, this has been going on and on for no one really knows how long.

One fine November night, after a spell of rain Lalah peeped out from the sea as usual and started his day, well night actually. He climbed up high and reached the topmost point of the sky dome.

You know Lalah is like a child himself and he loves to watch children playing.

That day a kid called Surya was playing with his friends in front of his house. And they were playing near a puddle of water which had collected there. They were splashing water all over and were having a very good time doing that.

Lalah was curious, he stopped, yes, that happens some times. The moon actually stops and watches people, for he is a very playful fellow.

And that was what got him into trouble that day.

Lalah peeped into the puddle of water and the water was still that minute.
Lalah saw another ‘Lalah’ in the water and he was shocked!

” Hey, Who are you?”he demanded.

The other Lalah did the same. This shocked our Lalah even more.

”Hey, how dare you! You are only a Chinna Lalah!”he said.

He felt the “newcomer” was very small, so he called him Chinna Lalah, meaning small Moon. Imagine his outrage when ‘Chinna Lalah’ did the same! This broke him up and he sat down right there and started wailing!

Huge tear drops fell on the city as he cried bitterly. People thought it was raining at first, but the children looked up and understood.
Their beloved Lalah was Miserable! They felt bad too. They tried to console him but he just would’nt stop crying!

Children everywhere joined together , shouted up to him saying they loved him.
“Lalah we all love you! Please don’t cry! If you want something tell us!” they shouted.

Some children even offered their share of chocolates and other goodies to Lalah. Their parents watched the scene with anxiety. After all without Lalah, how will mothers make their young babies eat?

They were all so worried. A few TV reporters gathered there to telecast the Lalah drama live!

Finally Surya thought of an idea. He decided to send his friend the crow to console Lalah. Cappy the crow was all awake, thanks to the din and he flew up to Lalah.

”Hey, Moon man, whats up?’

Lalah looked at him and wailed all the more!

”I have.. comp.. comp..competition!”he sobbed.

”there’s another Mo..Moon!..o..oooh.. Iam finished!”

“Lalah,” Cappy said “You are the one and only one.”

“No! I saw another Moon in there!”

“Where?”

Lalah pointed to the puddle and sobbed some more.

Cappy wanted to laugh when he understood what had caused all this confusion. But he kept a straight face.

He then explained to Lalah about reflections. Lalah took some time but he understood finally.

“Now look at that puddle” Pappy said.

Lalah did . The puddle was so mixed up nothing was visible. Lalah sighed and smiled a little.

There were happy shouts from the ground below. Cappy gave hugs and kisses to Lalah on behalf of the children and himself.

He then said bye and started back.

Lalah has been in a happy mood ever since. He shines all the more because he knows he is loved!

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“But Amma” surya said ”surely Lalah must be passing above so many water bodies. my science ma’m says there are lots of lakes in the world. Does he cry everytime he sees himself in the water?”

Father burst out laughing.”Amma your son is growing up! So think of some new stories!” Mother laughed.

“Yes , this story worked when he was three. But it is not working now!”

Minutes passed. Mother stroked Surya’s back gently. Slowly he seemed to have fallen asleep.

Mother and Father gently kissed Surya and tucked him up with a
blanket.Then they tiptoed out of the room.

Well. surya was not really asleep yet. He opened his eyes and looked up at the Moon.
He felt so lonely suddenly. He wanted to run up to the next room to his parents. He wanted some more stories. But he did’nt want to disturb them. He knew his parents were too tired after a long week.

“I have no brothers or sisters” he thought sadly.”I don’t even have a pet dog!”

“Will you be my friend Lalah?” he looked up at the Moon .

.”Amma says you love children.I know Amma does not tell lies. Will you come and play with me , Lalah?’

Surya’s big black eyes filled with tears. He was very lonely indeed. He did have friends to play with, but sometimes they made fun of him. “Surya, you are fat!”,”Surya, you have big ears!” “Surya, your birthday is on the first of April! How funny!”

And how they all howled with laughter!

“Lalah, please will you be my friend?’Surya asked aloud.

Something very strange happened then.

Surya’s room filled with a soft light. He was suddenly able to see all the things in his room clearly.

Then… he saw someone sitting on his bed. Surya’s eyes widened as he saw the figure in front of him.

He looked almost as big as Surya. He had a perfectly round face which was glowing with a silvery light, from within. Small bright eyes filled with soft light looked at him. Little pink lips below a pert little nose seemed to be smiling.and, best of all, he had large ears sticking out of his ball-like head!

Surya watched with fascination as the stranger said ‘Namaste’ with his little hands. His cartoonish little legs were something out of a Walt Disney movie.

“Hi, won’t you say namaste or hello?’

Surya rubbed his eyes. The light that filled the room did not hurt at all, but it was dazzling.

What was happening? Was it a dream?

“No, it’s not a dream, Surya, I am Chinna Lalah, your friend” the stranger said.

“oh, Mother did not lie after all!” Surya managed to say finally.

“No, Surya, she did’nt. I am Chinna Lalah, believe me.”the glowing figure said.

But, Lalah is still up there..” surya pointed to the silvery disc hanging just above a tree.

“Sure, I am there too” the stranger smiled.

“Surya, I heard you calling out to me. So I came down in my other form to talk to you”

“So, you are really Chinna Lalah?’ Surya asked.

“Yes, I am “.”I am really Chinna Lalah, my dear.” Lalah smiled.

Oh, He looked so beautiful and radiant when he smiled!

“Chinna Lalah, Chinna Lalah, I am so happy you came! I love to look at you through my window. You are more beautiful in this form!” Surya said.

Suddenly there was a knock on the door. It was Mother.

“Surya , are you still awake?”

Surya looked at Chinna Lalah “Lalah, you want to meet my mother?”

Chinna Lalah shook his round head. ”No, Surya, please don’t tell anyone about me now, I’ll come later”

He disappeared as suddenly as he came.

Surya’s Mother walked in the next minute. She looked concerned.

”Surya were you talking to someone?”

“No, mother” Surya said rather vehemently. His mother hugged him and smeared some sacred ash on his forehead.
”You will have nice dreams” she smiled .
”Sure, Mother” Surya said ”sure!”.

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The next day, Surya got up earlier, which surprised his parents.

“Surya looks happy this morning!” his father remarked, as he saw his son smiling radiantly.
Mother got Surya’s lunch box ready and saw him off , as he started to school.

That day Surya was very cheerful. Even his teachers noticed that.

His class teacher asked everyone to write a few lines about the Moon.

She was pleasantly surprised when she saw Surya actually write a few lines!

Why, of all her children, this one had a lot of trouble with writing! He used to hold the pencil awkwardly, that is, when he felt like writing at all.

Normally when the other children wrote their classwork, Surya would just sit holding his pencil. But his class teacher Mrs.Sita was very kind and patient. She was in touch with Surya’s parents and knew he was an only and lonely child.
She knew he’ll catch up with the other kids , given some time.

But what was happening today was a miracle!

Surya was usually sad looking, but today he looked as though he had swallowed some moonlight!

Little did Mrs. Sita know that she was not far off the mark.

That afternoon she was telling the children about the Sun, the Moon and the Stars.
As usual she kept her eye on Surya as she talked.
He would fall asleep if he was not talked to! But to her surprise Surya was all ears, his eyes shone with delight.

“Well, Surya,what do you know about the moon?” she asked.

Surya didn’t miss a beat. “ He is very nice looking and very friendly too! He talked to me last night!”

The children laughed. Mrs. Sita looked at him thoughtfully.

There certainly was a lot of change in her usually sad looking child.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was evening and the children of lotus colony were busy playing cricket.

Madhi was bowling. Surya was batting and he looked at their star spin bowler with some alarm.
If he didn’t make a good number of runs his captain “big” Ramesh had threatened to kick him senseless.
Ramesh was big and all the boys in lotus colony were terrified of him. But Madhi was scary too. Surya held on to his courage as the bowler stood in front of him and smiled.

“Hey, Elephant ears, hey April fool, hey , hey !”Madhi taunted and his team members laughed.
“Hey, Scaredy cat!” Madhi jeered. “See if you are up to this!”

He hurled the ball through the air so fast it almost grazed Surya’s face and hit the “stump” that was the wall behind. Immediately almost instinctively Ramesh hit Surya. It wasn’t the pain but the way he got it made Surya break down into tears.

Surya ran into his house only half-hearing the other boys defending him angrily. He ran past his Mother, who tried to stop him. His Mother watched stunned as he pushed her away saying” It’s all because of you I got these ears!” and ran into his room crying.

She tried in vain to cheer him up. His Father came home from his office and talked to Surya for a while. Finally the parents managed to make him eat dinner.

They spent more time with him that night and when he looked asleep they left the room.
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“Surya” the voice was soft. Cool breeze touched Surya’s wet cheeks. ”Won’t you say hello?”
Surya opened his tear filled eyes. Chinna Lalah sat at his bedside smiling. His perfectly round face shone with happiness. His small eyes twinkled with mischief.

Today chinna Lalah seemed to have suddenly acquired saucer shaped ears!

“Do you like my new ears?”Lalah asked.

Surya sat up looked at the shining figure with wonder. Lalah’s soft white light bathed everything in the room; the night lamp didn’t have any work to do.

Chinna Lalah shook his head to show off …. A brand new pair of big ears!
They were too huge even for Lalah’s big round face!

Chinna Lalah shook his head some more.
He also chanted “DING.. DONG. DING DONG..” As he did that.Surya laughed so hard that he thought he will fall his cot!

Lalah looked so funny! Lalah looked like a cartoon elephant!

“Am I beautiful?” Lalah asked.

“Very! I love your ears! How did you get them, Lalah?”

“I bought them at a shop in T.nagar! Got a 50%discount too!”

“Oh, I’ll ask Appa to buy me a pair of ears like that!”

“So you like big ears” Chinna Lalah said.

“Yes!”

“Then why dont you like your ears?”Lalah asked.

Surya was quiet for a minute. Lalah was right. but…

“Listen Surya, yes, your “elephant” ears are really nice! Lots of clever people have elephant ears.”Lalah said.

“Then are elephants very clever too?’ Surya asked.

Lalah laughed a big laugh.

“Yes, elephants are very clever! Next time someone makes fun of you, tell them so!”

Then lalah told surya some nice elephant stories and stayed with him till he fell asleep.
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So it went on for many days.
Lalah met surya every night and told him stories until Surya fell asleep.

Surya was a happier child now, but at times he still felt lonely…

Then one day Surya was a bit sad and he went to bed, and waited for Lalah.

BOOM! BOOM! VROOM! VROOM!

Chinna Lalah whooshed through the window, big round head and big smile.

Chinna Lalah smiled his magic smile; it lit up the room like soft light from an oil lamp.

“Hey Surya, what’s wrong, now?”

“Lalah , you are my only friend, you know I have no one to play with at home.
My friends, they call me fatso they call me an April fool, what not” surya’s eyes filled up again. he started sobbing.

“We’ll see about that” Lalah said thoughtfully.

“Promise to me , you will not feel so sad again” Lalah said this and jumped out of the bed suddenly.

He made a monkey face and started singing.
He also did a little dance as he sang!

Lalah shone like gold as he danced.

GIBBERY GIBBERY GOO!
GIBBERY GIBBERY GOO!

MY LITTLE FRIEND, DON’T CRY
MY LITTLE FRIEND, DON’T CRY
FOR THIS WORLD IS A HAPPY PLACE
AND, REALLY! YOU HAVE A NICE FACE!

“AM NOT TOO GOOD AT SINGING
NOT GREAT AT DANCING EITHER
BUT SURE I CAN MAKE YOU LAUGH
SO MUCH THAT YOU WILL HAVE TO COUGH!

FAT OR THIN , BIG OR SMALL
FAIR OR DARK I LOVE YOU ALL!
I AM FAIR BUT LONELY
OO..H I AM SO LONELY!

MY FRIENDS ARE FARAWAY, OO..H SO FAR AWAY!
SOME ARE IN SATURN LAND
SOME ARE IN JUPITER LAND
AND IAM A VERY LONELY MOON

I WONT MIND THAT, IF ONLY
YOU WOULD TAKE SOME TIME TO SMILE AT ME
FOLKS! PLEASE LOOK ME UP ONCE A WHILE
LOOK CLOSELY, IAM READY WITH A SMILE!

GIBBERY GIBBERY GOO!
GIBBERY GIBBERY GOO!

Surya laughed.

This Moon was a real buffoon!

Then they heard footsteps outside. Surya and Lalah exchanged glances.

“I’ll see you later” Lalah whispered and vanished.

Surya closed his eyes and lay still.

His mother walked in and looked around. She found Surya’s play things on the floor.

They had fallen off the shelf during the moon dance!

But, Mother didn’t know that. She tidied up the room, kissed Surya and left.

Yes, Lalah was right. the next time his play mates made fun of his ears, Surya didn’t cry at all, as usual.

Instead he told them many intelligent people have big ears.

The kids were surprised by the way he said that.

Surya seemed so happy and confident!

That day’s cricket match went on well too.

Surya was a good bowler, he took two wickets and. His team won!

Their new captain Jaffer Anna hugged him.

“Thanks Surya”he said. “You helped us win”

“Thank Lalah” surya said.

Poor Jaffer didn’t know what Surya was talking about!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------That night Surya waited for Lalah happily.

Lalah came in as usual.

“Don’t you want to be a cricketer? Don’t you want to wear the India blue shirt and play?” he asked suddenly.

“Of course, I want to be a cricketer!” Surya said.

“Then you should grow well! You should be taller and be very strong when you grow up, Now you are almost as round as me!”Lalah said.

Surya looked pained. “You too are making fun of me Lalah” he said.

“No, dear, not at all, if you want to be a cricketer you should eat healthy food” Lalah said.

Then Lalah told Surya that he should eat a lot of veggies and fruits.

Chocolates and ice creams were fine, but a little boy should eat them between meals, he said.

Lalah taught Surya some simple exercises.

Before leaving he said” remember your summer camp, eat well”.

That night Surya had a lot of cricket filled dreams.!
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The next day onwards, Surya got up earlier than usual. He ate chocolates but he ate his food without fussing.
Days passed. Surya’s skin glowed!
“Dear, I am so happy you are happy! You look like the Moon!” Amma said.

Surya smiled.

”Thank you Lalah” he said softly.

In school his grades improved.

His class work was up-to- date and neat. And every one who knew Surya were surprised!

All the other teachers asked Mrs.Sita about that.

She too didn’t know how Surya improved but she was very happy!

Annual exams arrived. Surya did much better.

The summer holidays started.
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Then, Surya’s birthday arrived.

“Amma, lets party on march 31 st itself” Surya said.

“Why, dear”Amma wanted to know.
“Because, I don’t want to be an April fool!” Surya said and ran into his room.

His mother sighed.

That night Lalah appeared wearing a strange dress. He looked like a character from the English movies!

“Hey, you look like you are from a history book!” Surya laughed.

“Yes! I am from France, and my name is King Charles IX! And I am from lo…ng ago!”

“Lalah, Lalah, is that a story? Tell me! Tell me!.. now!”

“Sure! L..ong ago say before the year 1564 , that’s about 500 years back,..”

“S…o long ago! Where was I?”

Lalah laughed.”You were’nt born then! That time, people followed a calendar, like we do now. It was called the Julian calendar”

“Appa gets all kinds of calendars in January!” said Surya.

“Well, Surya, I mean, they used a calendar in which the first month was April!”

Surya’s eyes widened.

“You mean their happy new year was on my happy birthday?”

“Exactly!” Chinna Lalah beamed.

“What fun! Then..?” Surya asked.

“Then, King Charles IX passed an order which said happy new year should only be celebrated on January 1st.That calendar was called Gregorian calendar. That was in the year 1582.”

“L….ong ago! Why was it called gre.. what’s that?’Surya asked.

“Gregorian. Because Pope Gregory XIII worked it out” Lalah said.

“What about the fool’s day, then?” Surya asked.

Lalah smiled at him.

“Some people still followed the old calendar. They still celebrated happy new year on April 1st.Those who celebrated new year in January called the April chaps fools!”

“That wasn’t good , what do you think, Chinna Lalah” Surya said.

“Well. These things happen. I’ve been watching these things since so long.
Now you understand you or anyone is not an April fool?” lalah asked.

Surya didn’t answer. His eyes were still wet but he was smiling.

He got up and hugged Chinna Lalah.

Lalah felt soft and smelt like jasmines in the night…

“Thank you, Lalah” Surya said.

Lalah kissed surya’s forehead softly.

“Advance birthday wishes, Surya”

“Lalah, thank you, but surely you’ll be coming for my party?”

“I’ll be there on the first of April, but now that your exams are over.. I’d like to take a small break.”

“Lalah, are you going somewhere?”

“There’s a kid in Kenya who’s not feeling well right now, she needs me. I’ll go there and be back for your birthday. Surya. Please don’t cry”

“Surya wiped his eyes and looked at Lalah’s round dear face.

“You are right. Go and help the kid from Kenya, I’ll manage” Surya said.

Then Surya made a get well card for the little girl in Kenya.

It was a nice card showing Sun rise on a Chennai beach. Surya took just fifteen minutes to fill the colors.

Lalah loved it and promised to give it to the girl.

Then he gave a good night kiss to Surya and left.

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A quarter Moon rose over Elliots beach on the night of March 31st.

Surya’s Amma and Appa were busy making arrangements for his birthday.

His new dress was ready, his grandparents were home for the occasion, his Amma had already decorated the house with balloons..

But Surya was anxious. Where was Lalah?

Dinner was eaten, and Surya was in his room waiting.
Where was Lalah?

No sign of him. But he’d promised! Where was he?

Surya waited and waited …and waited.

The clock struck twelve, his parents came into the room. They were surprised he was still awake.

They gave him all that he’ll need for his cricket coaching.

Surya hugged them as they said goodnight.

Amma ruffled his hair and wanted to know why he was not in a cheerful mood

“Nothing, Amma, I am sleepy” Surya said.

Amma and Appa sensed something was wrong and stayed with him till he slept.
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April 1st dawned.

Surya’s house was full of people, laughter, balloons , toys and colorful paper mobiles.

Surya waited all day for Lalah, even though he knew Lalah visited at nights only.

What was wrong with Lalah?

And how he wished he could tell someone!

Was that kid from Kenya very sick? was Lalah into some sort of trouble?

Was he crying somewhere that there was another Lalah, trying to shoo him out of the sky?

His friends and cousins were talking about all fool’s day.

Surya told them how that started, and they all said WOW!

They were all impressed that Surya knew so much!

They asked him who told him that, Surya answered saying the moon told him a lot of things.

“Moon-Lalah tells me stories. He said he’ll come today”surya said.
“Surya, you are April-fooling us!” The children laughed.

“May be the Moon fooled him” one of them said.

Or, could it be that Lalah had played an April fool trick on him?

Surya felt very sad suddenly.

It can’t be! Not Lalah! Lalah was kind and sweet! He would never break a heart!

Then it happened.

The room was suddenly washed in soft light. Across the low table where the birthday cake was kept,… Lalah appeared.

“LALAH!” Surya gasped.

“I don’t know why, but suddenly its very nice and cool!”Appa said.

Lalah winked. “ ’Cause Iam here!”

“Why, Chennai weather is not so bad after all!” Granny said.

“Lalah!”

“What light is that you ‘ve used in this room?.. such soft white light!” Granpa said.

“Lalah!” Surya said.

They were all so very happy! They did not know why, for they could not see Lalah.

But he was there, singing “Happy Birthday!” with everyone.

The song was sweeter... the air fresher and more fragrant, the light was softer…

The celebrations were over; everyone had dinner and went to bed with cheer.

And… yes! Chinna Lalah met Surya in his room that night and gave his own gift.

A BRIGHT BEAM OF MOON LIGHT. JUST FOR SURYA!!!

He promised to come whenever Surya needed him.

He also passed on a thank you card from Kenya.

All this happened two years ago.

Now the kid from Besant nagar, Chennai is eight years old and he is a very happy child, loved by everyone.

If you see him in school or at his place, I bet you cannot miss that bright smile.

That was Chinna Lalah’s gift, for Chinna Surya.

And the next time you look at the night sky, don’t forget to smile at Chinna Lalah, for he is only waiting to be very friendly with anyone who’d take time for him!!!
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© Subasri Narendran 2004 All Rights Reserved

Who says “ What’s in a name?”

2005-10-02T19:15:00.000-07:00
A longstanding problem might be solved at last. The other day my favorite English daily proclaimed that henceforth disasters would have a name. The natural ones that is. The walking ones have a name each anyway.

I was thrilled at first but a little worried when I thought about the implications a name game will have on us.

I thought over this as I fasted last night after dinner which duly ended with a breakfast this morning . Here are my politically correct and all issues- under –the-sun sensitive suggestions

*First lets stop worrying about mundane issues like warning systems , rescue and relief operations. They are for mundane guys. A high level committee , duly represented by all groups should be formed immediately.and don’t forget that 33% reservation for women in that committee.

*Any parent knows bitter wars are fought in families before deciding a name for babies .In a big joint family like India where demo is a little crazy, what’ll happen if beastly cyclones and nasty tsunamis are not named properly? I don’t know about you, but I personally cannot stand tsunamis with unacceptable names. So we’ll have a list of nice names ready. And now!

*We have to be gender sensitive. So lets give female names to all cyclones churned out by the Bay of Bengal and male names to the ones made by the Arabian sea. Any self respecting, chaddi –clad toddler in coastal India knows more cyclones are churned out by the Bay of Bengal. Much more than we can handle. But there are no known groups fighting for men’s rights [how sad] and we are not likely to have them protesting against gross under-representation.

* We have to have secular names. A certain intellectual who lives at Chennai [ and who was not washed off by the nameless tsunami of last year because she was too lazy to be a beach walker] has compiled a list of wonderful secular and some pecular .. well ..peculiar names. Sample these. Neela Sheela lola shangrila flatella, killa, tabla… the list is endless.

*Each and every one of our official , unofficial and semi official languages have to be represented. Now this could be a little sticky.
Take a classic case in October –November here. We over worked people at chennai fondly hope our low pressure zone which developed near Nagapatnam will flatten Chennai for a day resulting in a well needed holiday. But any school kid knows from experience, that nine out of ten cyclones have this unshakeable habit of moving in a west ,north- westerly direction, meaning they go straight to Andhra pradesh.
As I grew up in Chennai , then , Madras ,I have bitter memories of wayward cyclones which promised to flatten our school building but changed their beastly minds at the last minute to strike Ongole in A. P. instead. So, what do we do?

A Tamil name or a Telugu name?

Name the disasters based on their place of birth. This sounds a little unfair on our neighbors, but they would love their cyclone if it’s named , say, Malar, a nice Tamil name meaning flower.

*If you can avoid it, no non-Tamil name for a regular “Tamil” cyclone. Meaning no Sanskrit or English names , even by accident. There are folks here who’d dab a little tar on any printed or written stuff in any foreign language. They would dab a hell of a lot of bitumen on the cyclone itself but that might anger the environmentalists. So a little
no nonsense cyclone can start a lot of more serious problems. You get my drift.

*Disasters should not be given very attractive names. Else they will come back to check whether Human Community is ready with more attractive Names, On the lines of Katrina followed by Rita

*After all these thoughtful allocations, in a working democracy, there still would be a group, say, the Samosa Samrakshan Association or the all –day- no -work association which feels under represented. We’ll have to tell them we’ll name our volcanoes after them. And who says “ha, ha” there? We all thought tsunami was a Japanese term like origami same time last year. And now it’s a household name. So lets be optimistic.

Any more suggestions are welcome and now its time to end my fasting since breakfast with a hearty lunch. But before signing off I would like you to imagine how nice it would be to be gleefully chased by a tsunami named Neela [a color sensitive name] when all you wanted was a little peace and quiet in the beach.

Subasri Narendran

Mayur, my friend

2005-10-02T10:21:00.000-07:00
“Hi, we see each other every day. But we don’t even know each other’s names. I am Deepak”

The curly haired, T- shirted, Bermuda clad young man smiled at me.

“Hi, Iam Karthik” I said and we shook hands.

As we jogged along the Thiruvanmiyur beach, we exchanged some pleasantries about ourselves and some unpleasantries about our respective project managers.

We had so many things in common, we both worked for IT majors, we both liked to jog in the mornings, and we both felt men weren’t given their due in this nation.

Then, suddenly he received a call on his cell, and he looked really worried.

“Mayur is not well. I shouldn’t have given him hotel food yesterday” he said. Mayur must be that curly haired kid I’d seen with him a couple of times on the beach. So this sensible looking guy was married after all. Appearances are deceptive.

“Mayur’s not well” he repeated with a lot of worry.

“His mother is there at home?” I asked with concern.

He looked at me strangely and said “God knows where she’s right now.”

My heart tried to go out to him and with some effort I managed to hold it in place. Another broken family. Another kid on the rocks. But Deepak looked like such a nice guy who was very much attached to his son. May be he worked long hours and one fine day his wife couldn’t recognize his face, and that led to the split.

Damn all P.M.’s! I thought bitterly.

“How old is he?” I asked, thinking about that nice looking kid.

Deepak said “five” and continued to stare vacantly at the busy waves.

“Do you think you can take care of him on your own?” too much for a first time meeting
But I wanted to know.

“Right now, there is a maid who takes care of him. I come as a package deal as far as marriage is concerned. Mayur will come along on our honeymoon trip!”

What conviction! What affection! Long live father-love! My eyes filled up. As we shook hands and said bye I couldn’t help thinking about the unsung dads of this Mom- centric country.

I went home and called my parents at Bangalore. Actually I wanted to speak to my dad but my mom picked up the phone as usual.

“I want to speak to dad” I said flatly.

She must‘ve sensed something was wrong but she gave the phone to dad. As I heard his voice I choked up and played the song ”I just called to say I love you”

May be he fainted on the other end, may be he didn’t, but I felt a lot better.

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I went through that workweek feeling sorry for Deepak and Mayur. Sad there is no organization fighting for men’s rights in this country.

I went to the beach that weekend and wondered where Deepak was.

“Hi, Karthik, this is Mayur. Mayur, say hi to Karthik uncle”. It was a happy looking Deepak.

I looked at the empty space at his waist level, but there was no Mayur.

“Woof” said a voice from somewhere near the ground.

“Mayur?” I asked.

“Woof” said the voice again.

I looked down to find a long black cylinder on four short legs with a tail attached may be as an afterthought. A pair of large brown eyes bored in to mine.

I laughed and said, “I didn’t know Mayur was a dog!” and as my stars were all in bad positions, curse them, I added, ”He looks funny!”

I smelt smoke and wondered what was burning.

I looked up and found smoke coming out of Deepak’s flared nostrils and ears. I swear I saw smoke coming out of what looked like a half opened eye on his forehead.
“Mayur is not a dog!” he shouted with sudden ferocity.

Well, he doesn’t look like an iguana to me, I thought.

A couple of stars must’ve been on my side, so I didn’t say anything about black cylinders with short legs.

“Mayur isn’t a mere dog! He’s family! And don’t you say anything bad about how funny he looks!” he hugged the dachshund and tearfully said” the last time someone remarked like that, he went off his food for two hours! He’s sensitive! Unlike guys like you!”

Some pet owners are so touchy. I hadn’t taken offence when he referred to me as uncle to his do.. Mayur.

But who was that curly haired kid?

I asked and Deepak said icily”I have no kids, curly haired or otherwise.. Iam not even married”

“Sorry” I said.

The smoke was getting thinner now and Deepak said “That kid is my neighbor’s kid.
A pest” he said with passion.

I know when a friendship is lost but still felt I had to make amends.

“Sorry if I’ve hurt Mayur’s sentiments .you’re right. Children are pests, and dogs are the best”

I said words to that effect and after we bid each other an uncomfortable farewell, I sighed with relief.

I was glad I didn’t get bitten by the dog, though the master made up for it. Its not that I dislike dogs, but I still remember the nasty dog bite I got as a teenager.
People sound sympathetic if you tell them you were bitten by a dog, but they cannot hide that momentary smirk on their faces. If you get badly mauled up by a tiger or a shark you might be hailed as a hero. But a dog bite?

Anyway I want to insist once again, I am no dog hater. I think all dogs are great [I don’t need any dachshund democratic association dragging me to court with a defamation suit slapped on me, my project is bad enough, thanks].

I watched dog and man walk in to the sunset and then went home.

I called my parents to tell them I’ll soon find myself an unsuspecting girl a.s.a.p. cause I needed a comforting presence when things got rough.

I heard my loving father say to my mom “The boy has gone nuts. That I.T. job must’ve got to him”.

Subasri Narendran

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The Zero Calorie Hour

2005-09-28T21:50:00.000-07:00
I don’t know about you, but I love my food. The junkier the better. Sadly my good friend Sharmila doesn’t share my sentiments on food. She’s so slim, trim and graceful, she could ride a feather.

She’s in to fad diets. She once spent fifteen days on just boiled vegetables and she told me it was a lifting experience.

It would be, I thought, especially if you lived near the sea, that too in the windy months.
And yesterday I had dropped in at her place with some sweets fried in ghee. Actually they were meant for me, but I had managed to source some lettuces for her.

“Sin!” she cried when she saw my pack which said ”real ghee in our sweets!”.
” Just a little” I said apologetically.

“Fried sin!” she cried again.

“I’ll have just one” I said weakly but she snatched the bag of goodies from me and threw them in to the loft.

“From today you go on a diet” she commanded. ”What’s your weight?” she asked sternly.
“------------- Plus or minus ten kilos,”I said.

“@@##$$$$%%*^%!”she said and I blushed.

“Woman, you’ll not live beyond fifty!” she said cheerfully.

I’ll live that long, provided I don’t get swept away by cyclones, tsunamis or get shot by kind people, who have to kill me for their cause.

“Now, have this, you’ll become lighter and prettier!” she pushed a china plate towards me.
“Nice plate” I said wondering when she’ll serve food.

“These lettuces carry no calories, but they’ll be filling. You can have just one after you get used to it” she said.

Lettuces? I had thought they were part of some design on that plate. There were two of them, thoughtfully arranged on that plate so that they wont feel lonely.

I burst out sobbing and she held me through my tears. Nice girl. All the while she told me I should try self hypnosis and “feel light”. She chanted that mantra for some time and I did feel considerably lighter after that. Hip hip hurray for hypnosis!

But what’s that thing slumped on the sofa? That looks like me! Omigod! That’s me! And I must be dead! No wonder I feel light!

“Hey, wake up! see, I told you’ll feel filled up with this magic food! You’ve fallen asleep!”

It was Sharmila. I was back in my body and I must tell you I just loved every extra pound of it.

I pried myself away from that sofa and made a dash for her front door.

“I know of a certain zero- calorie food! Great on your skin too! Its called… water!” I said and scooted out of her place before she could shoot me.

Subasri Narendran

The Number Game

2005-09-27T03:22:00.000-07:00
“V.RMMMKHNNDUR” the wooden name board on the grill gate said. I wondered whether I was in the right place. But Ramachander had given this address to me .I rang the bell to find a beaming Ramachander standing in front of me .He beamed some more when he saw the cheque book in my hand.

I asked about that strange name on his gate and he laughed saying it was very much his name but with an improved spelling. ”How do you pronounce it?” I asked.
”Ramachander, of course” he said looking at me strangely.

He told me ever since he changed the way his name was spelt, he had not stopped climbing the ladder of success. Now, where would that land him? I wondered.
The stratosphere? Or the ionosphere? Since I wasn’t sure which one was supposed be at a higher level I stopped the train of thoughts.

On a more mundane level though, he said good things were happening in the home front.
His wife watched less number of weepy serials and his children were doing better at school. They managed to get an average of 45% instead of their standard 40%.
His customers were complaining less and his assistants were working harder. He was even considering a business expansion.
All this sounded like a fairy tale but I felt bad about the lack of right vowels in his name.

“What’s a vowel? He said philosophically.” They are meant for people who are content with the peanuts they are earning”.

He noticed my face which went from medium brown to dark brown and had the grace to blush. But he said ”I didn’t mean to make fun of you” and rubbed some salt and
garam masala on my fresh wound.

I put my then boiling head down and filled his name on the cheque leaf. I managed to get his new spelling right as he dictated it with a kind of devotional fervor.
Suddenly the room seemed to fill with an unearthly light .It was magical.
May be this name –number theory is true after all! Yes!

I too should change my spelling to “ssbbadddissshoibll” or something and pronounce it the usual way, I thought.

I looked up to find rmmmkhnndur’s face glow like a 10000 watt bulb filling the place
with light and wondered why.

I found out the reason when I looked down at the cheque leaf on which I had written
“ten thousand only” instead of the part payment of “thousand only” I had planned to write.

Yes, let’s face it; numbers do have a lot of power.

Subasri Narendran, Chennai.