Here I go recording a strip of my memory not just because I will forget it but because I feel like writing...
Getting reminded of the vacations as a kid… I can even now recall the days I used spend my holidays with my Thatha and Patti (mom’s dad and mum) along with my Cousins in Chrompet... We used to device our own games - building kovil, new card games, new rules for kannambuchi and the list is never ending...
Not only games - fighting for Thatha's sleeping chair, listening to his stories, sleeping on patti's lap, eating patti's food and fighting for "raja va" :-)
One of the stories Thatha always narrates - making a comparison of the three brothers in the story with my sis, bro and I...
The story goes like this
"Once upon a time their lived three brothers and they were lazy… A height of laziness is what you can associate them with… These three brothers had gone on a trip and on the way back home they had stayed in a traveler’s hut as it was growing dark...
They were in a deep sleep when the hut caught fire and one of the brothers realized it and said as all the three of them were still lying down
Brother 1: Kooraiyil neerupu pattri ullathu.. enna saivathu enru theriyavillai.. sombalambalam veevuthaaiya.. (Translated: Hey the hut has caught file… I am feeling lazy...)
Brother 2: Athathan solvane vayaithan novane.. (Translated: Why do you want to talk and cause pain to your mouth)
While the third brother did not open his mouth and continued to sleep...
The next day morning all the three of them were dead"
At the end he would say “Roni (my sis) you are brother 1, cheena (my bro) you are brother 2, bagu (me) you are the worst of the lot and you are brother 3 :-)”.
This is just one of the stories and he used to have ready stock of stories depending on the situation :). Thatha you could have become a great screenplay writer and that too for tamil cinema you would have been famous ;).
Patti - She is a dynamic lady. Imagine getting 5 daughters married, with Thatha working as clerk in Birla Paper mills.
Thatha on the other hand is very silent, calm and composed person. I have hardly seen him speaking… A silent man and he enjoys watching his kids and grand-kids talk and making fun :-). I can even now remember the hours of struggle he used to undergo teaching us all slogam and in the evenings he goes out for a walk and get backs with loads of sweets….
Thinking about Thatha - A great person, talks less and only lots of sense if at all he converses, loves to read newspaper and watch news :-), does sandhya regularly, he loves coffee, mangoes and saapota, and of course a very sweet person... I share lots of my childhood memories with him...
Patti and Thatha - They make a very cute couple and both of them are very different and yet very understanding… Patti was sweet 16 and Thatha was 22 when they got married…
At 6.30 PM on Friday 29th September, I was standing there thinking about all these looking at Thatha lying inside the freezer box… It looked as though he was just having a very long nap... Would miss him and his stories :-).
The next day afternoon, after the cremation Uncle came back with a cup of ash (Thatha)...
End of a 83 years peaceful life...
End of a 60 year old romantic story, but I would rather say one half of the story, while patti still continues with the rest - with his memories...
Getting reminded of the vacations as a kid… I can even now recall the days I used spend my holidays with my Thatha and Patti (mom’s dad and mum) along with my Cousins in Chrompet... We used to device our own games - building kovil, new card games, new rules for kannambuchi and the list is never ending...
Not only games - fighting for Thatha's sleeping chair, listening to his stories, sleeping on patti's lap, eating patti's food and fighting for "raja va" :-)
One of the stories Thatha always narrates - making a comparison of the three brothers in the story with my sis, bro and I...
The story goes like this
"Once upon a time their lived three brothers and they were lazy… A height of laziness is what you can associate them with… These three brothers had gone on a trip and on the way back home they had stayed in a traveler’s hut as it was growing dark...
They were in a deep sleep when the hut caught fire and one of the brothers realized it and said as all the three of them were still lying down
Brother 1: Kooraiyil neerupu pattri ullathu.. enna saivathu enru theriyavillai.. sombalambalam veevuthaaiya.. (Translated: Hey the hut has caught file… I am feeling lazy...)
Brother 2: Athathan solvane vayaithan novane.. (Translated: Why do you want to talk and cause pain to your mouth)
While the third brother did not open his mouth and continued to sleep...
The next day morning all the three of them were dead"
At the end he would say “Roni (my sis) you are brother 1, cheena (my bro) you are brother 2, bagu (me) you are the worst of the lot and you are brother 3 :-)”.
This is just one of the stories and he used to have ready stock of stories depending on the situation :). Thatha you could have become a great screenplay writer and that too for tamil cinema you would have been famous ;).
Patti - She is a dynamic lady. Imagine getting 5 daughters married, with Thatha working as clerk in Birla Paper mills.
Thatha on the other hand is very silent, calm and composed person. I have hardly seen him speaking… A silent man and he enjoys watching his kids and grand-kids talk and making fun :-). I can even now remember the hours of struggle he used to undergo teaching us all slogam and in the evenings he goes out for a walk and get backs with loads of sweets….
Thinking about Thatha - A great person, talks less and only lots of sense if at all he converses, loves to read newspaper and watch news :-), does sandhya regularly, he loves coffee, mangoes and saapota, and of course a very sweet person... I share lots of my childhood memories with him...
Patti and Thatha - They make a very cute couple and both of them are very different and yet very understanding… Patti was sweet 16 and Thatha was 22 when they got married…
At 6.30 PM on Friday 29th September, I was standing there thinking about all these looking at Thatha lying inside the freezer box… It looked as though he was just having a very long nap... Would miss him and his stories :-).
The next day afternoon, after the cremation Uncle came back with a cup of ash (Thatha)...
End of a 83 years peaceful life...
End of a 60 year old romantic story, but I would rather say one half of the story, while patti still continues with the rest - with his memories...