There was a stream by my school

On every visit to our tharavad house I pass by my first school, at Palli Veli. That happens quite often. But I hardly notice the church owned institution consciously while driving by. You know, just another building, a different scene, en route....http://parayilat.blogspot.in/2012/05/there-was-stream-by-my-school.html 

And we were O.K.

To all the wonderful kids who were born in India , grew up in the 60's,70's and 80's and survived :

ERR's Bangalore, in mid-50s

Most of State Govt. employees would walk it out to Taluk office and Atahara Katcheri with Mysore Peta on their heads and wearing their marriage coat over Kachhe Panche! Few people rode cycles and fewer who wore Kachhes, because of the fear of unfolding risk!...More...

Washing away your echchal

...when I eat outside, I just close my mind to the way it is cooked. It is too scary to think about it...I have also realized that it is very difficult to explain the concept of echchal to a person who has never understood the importance of it...More...

Five minutes, please....

Get up. It is time to get ready.
Ma, 5 minutes, please!
I have no idea how many times I would have played out this situation in my life. It all started during my school days, when I had to get up early in the morning...More...

Nostalgia: A clock of time

A couple of weeks back when I was at Olavipe, it was not working. Swamy is no more and therefore my brother Jacob is sending the clock to Kothamangalam where, he was told, an expert named George repairs old clocks as a hobby. . .More. . .

When the Comrades came to Olavipe

I went back inside because a senior supervisor told me that my presence there might make them uncomfortable. After a while the slogan shouting could be heard, faintly at first and louder as the jatha approached. . . More. . .

A time when slide-rules ruled

Today I looked at the relic slide rule with great fondness as it brought back many a college memory, of early teen age days gone by, new friendships, the ragging period, the first days of independent hostel living….remember the Tamil song in ‘Autograph’ Nyapakam varuthe nyapakm varuthe…...More...

Bangalore memories (1951 vintage)

The only restaurant we could go to in the evenings was the India Coffee House on South Parade. Then came Parade Café on St. Marks Road, and later, Koshy’s on Brigade Road. All activities came to a stop by around 8 o’clock. Bangalore, the little town, used to go to sleep early those days. . .More. . .

Sears, the big book and America

It was a Sears’s catalog that my shippie (merchant navy officer) uncle had brought back from America. He had brought it along to show samples of life in the new world, to his mother, sisters and brother. . .More. . .

My Mysorean thatha

Do any old Mysorean recognize him ?. . . He was known for punctuality, according to a trader near his office. My grandfather had a “Sun-beam” bicycle that he rode to office daily in the morning. He followed a particular route. This particular trader informed us later that he used to set his watch when my grandfather passed his shop. . .More

My grand-aunt, the feminist?

She was an Education Officer in the Karnataka Government. . .Her life could have gone so horribly wrong. It had all the ingredients for the making of a disaster. She was married at seven to a 42 year-old man. Following the marriage he disappeared, never to be heard from again. . .More. . .

Visiting Mysore Again, Two Decades Later

Depending on which of the two mills in the shop was running, we would smell the warm spicy aromas of sambhar or rasam powders, or the toasty smell of rice, roasted wheat or ragi. The aroma of coffee from a shop that sold coffee powder was a permanent fixture, as was the sound from the tailor's sewing machines across the street from the house. . .More. . .

A bit nostalgic - "Mile sur mera tuhara..."

Mile Sur Mera Thumhaara... tho Suur Bane Hamhaara.. was one unique video by prasar bharathi, which showed the unity among diversity of our great country India. Watching this video would sure touch some nostalgia into our minds .. Watch video. . .

Mundane story behind a media scoop

As reporter on late night duty (also called the mortuary beat) it was Mr Nageswaran’s job to make late-night calls to all city police stations, followed by a visit to the General Hospital mortuary. . . More. . .

A Tamil writer on her granddad

The reputation he had with all his grandkids was that of a stern person who had firm beliefs about the status of women, and their place in our households. In his reckoning a woman’s place was firmly in the kitchen. . .More. . .