The Starry Connection!

The Krishnamurthy siblings had a passion for friends and were more Bengali than Thamizh..They spoke the language with ease...fluently, with the correct diction and pronunciation.Even at this age their language skills would put any Bengali to shame.The young men were live wires...they made friends instantly and were much sought after for their company.They shared a common flair for humour & wit.A day in the Krishnamurthy family was never complete without an ADDA & a Bridge Round Table.The brothers were masters of the game and years later Chandru was to participate in national and international tournaments as well .The kitchen was always buzzing with Dosactivity & the Bong friends had made it their second home.Friends jumped in uninvited with potfuls of Rasogollas and yummy singadas(samosas).The vigilant Kannamani also ensured a constant supply of the Idli/dosa batter.The young multi linguistic sports fanatic Bahu was also an instant hit and Bhabhi Ma endeared to all.Bhoudi to some,Mashima to others the jovial Subbu Vijaya couple was soon to become the Universal Anna Manni to the entire Tambong fraternity as well.

Subbu was serving in the IRS and frequent postings in various positions proved to be a boon.The young man in service was lucky to have interacted with people from all streams and walks of life.....and maintains some of the contacts even today.Given the social networking today.where a constant interaction could perhaps be practically feasible with only a very few, inspite of a long  list of friends...Subbu had a real live active circle of vibrant pals,who came along with happy families....and they celebrated festivals,wedding anniversaries & birthdays together.

A birthday party was a gala celebration. Lil Nayaki & her brother were pampered with the luxury of a bash no ordinary child could dream of these days.The guest list included some of the Bengali film & theatre stars some of whom would seek an appointment with the assessing income Tax Officer during the day & barge in for a tete-a-tete into the Iyer home in the evenings.Subbu's stint as the assessing officer in the Film Circle was a dream come true for Lil Nayaki & her kid brother .The weekends would be reserved for exclusive first shows & premieres...& the kid siblings would share space with some of the greats of the Bengali Film industry....Then there were the special invites for the film shoots as well.It was during these years that Subbu's family had the privilige of meeting the stars.A star struck nayaki watched the stars with admiration & alas !Subbu's network does not include them now.Its been nearly 3 decades since the family migrated to a city on the shores of the bay of bengal....and as Nayaki strolls down the Marina ,the typical piscean that she is....is lost yet again in fantasy land.The dreamy middle aged mother of two twenty year old girls would rather befriend a Ranbir Kapoor or a Surya today.....

FOOTPRINTS IN THE SANDS OF TIME!

Chokkanayaki had barely managed to reach the airport on time.The flight was scheduled to leave at 8.20PM and she was stuck in the highway traffic on the way to SantaCruz airport.The couple had left home at 4.30 PM and the long drive from Chembur was nervewracking.Vehicles moved in snail like precision inch by inch and the slow movement was getting a little unbearable.She wondered "Was it the sheer grit and determination of its residents that made Mumbai move?"Just back from Shirdi ,the constant utterance of Sai Nama was the  only solace.A bag holding the sacred udi and the samadhi flowers served as the life jacket and Nayaki was still very much grounded.She gasped for the gas of life and her hands unconsciously reached out for the non existent oxygen pump.A constantly honking ambulance added to the traffic woes and  it had no clue as to where it headed. The Nayaki's chaffeur was a staunch Marthi manus with a brave heart and he waded through the procession unfazed by the string of bottlenecks.

With a restless consort by her side the Nayaki was flying.......& was slowly slipping back to her oriental days.A trip to the railway station at Howrah was equally painful in the seventies and eightys.Subbu was a meticulous planner and had a great eye for detail.Time flies and if past experiences are anything to go by......the training taken to reach the station on time was now proving to be useful for the Nayaki.Subbu had prepared her for this day ,instilled confidence and the will to think positive .Holidays were a pleasure and the Subbu family  would reach the station much ahead of the departure time and wait for hours...rather than miss the train.

The drive on the Rajiv Gandhi sea link is a delight and the beauty of the Rabindra Sethu bridge over the Hooghly is unparalleled.With thoughts meandering and alternating between time zones...Nayaki was plain lucky and Sai was her saviour.Her spirits were set to soar as the TamBong watched the  magnificent Arabian Sea turn into the great Bay Of Bengal......

The summer months were vacation time down South & in winters the Subbu family headed north.Planned meticulously th

Of Katrinas & Goldfishes!

The Krishnanmoorthys had a roof above their head....a roof with gaping holes and cracked walls to complement.The house got a facelift every year.The walls would be whitewashed and the ceilings plastered.Yet a Kal Boisakhi was enough to restore the exteriors and the  interiors to their original glory. For those who may be not familiar with the term......the Kal Boisakhis are severe thunderstorms commonly called as Norwesters which occur in Bengal  during the summer months .Some of them reach tornadic violence and cause considerable damage to life and property.The landmark on Rash Behari Avenue presented a grim look always......a heritage monument ready to fall into pieces.Kannamani was a naive village belle and had made it her home.Decades later the jigsaw puzzle is complete.The abode was Vaasthu compliant and FengShui friendly.  Kannamani was however never aware of it.Three generations of the Krishnamoorthy family had made it their home and flourished....and now I know the secret of their success.A little Fish Aquarium store on the ground floor was the Guardian Angel of the edifice.The house had no taps but boasted of an abundant water tank and a warm buzzing kitchen that catered to the varied tastes of family members and friends 365X24X7.......

A Filmy Reunion:-)

The Chennai Dadar Express was slowly chugging out of Egmore station.Nayaki was seated in a II Tier A/C compartment.Over the years the railway decor had changed to suit the comfort levels of the fast paced 21st century Indian.
 A journey from Calcutta to Secunderabad meant nearly 48 hours of travel in the seventies.There were no direct trains those days.In March 1966 Little Nayaki had celebrated her first birthday with much fanfare.May & June were the vacation months & Bhabhi Ma was given a break every year.It was another much awaited holiday for Bhabhi Ma and the yearly visit to her maternal home at Secunderabad.Trains had to be changed and the journey made comfortable by a ready stock of eatables to last for two full days.
The train left Howrah early in the morning and reached Vijaywada late in the night.Bhabhi Ma and her lil girl had to spend the night in the waiting room.The next connecting train to Secunderabad was scheduled to arrive only the next morning.Leaving lil Nayaki in the care of an elderly couple Bhabhi Ma went in search of hot water.Unawares that the baby girl was following her ,Bhabhi Ma headed straight into the Railway Pantry Room.The elderly couple were also in for a rude shock a few minutes later.Bhabhi Ma returned to find the couple franctically searching for the kid.

The young mother was crestfallen and her world seemed to have come to an end.She panicked and ran helter skelter in search of her precious one.The lil one was nowhere to be seen.A shaken helpless mother was appealing to the Gods.It was an overcast night and to add to the woes rains came pouring down.The eyes searched for a one year old and the drenched mom ran from one platform to another.The few hours of agony were thankfully soon to end as a Good Samaritan in the guise of a Coolie guided the woman to an engine at the far end of a platform.The little Nayaki dressed in Birthday finery....a Kanjeevaram silk skirt & blouse was playing in the rain close to a steam engine.From a distance the mom's heart skipped a beat.Hurriedly she ran and embraced the child close to her heart.This was a moment both mother and daughter were to cherish for the rest of their lives......a moment captured in their memory for ever.....

The Cricket Fans

Subbu passed out of St Lawrence High School and graduated in honours from St Xaviers College Calcuuta.The days were tough and in order to supplement his father's income young Subbu took up employment and his first job was with the Bengal pottery.A proud septuagenarian, he still treasures the farewell mementoes...a set of porcelain dinner plates which are in use even today.Chandru also completed his schooling and went To Sir Ashutosh college.The self made men rose to great heights and served in top positions of the Indian Revenue Service.
Young Lucky was a carefree lad and in the seventh standard when Subbu got married in 1963.The bride was from the land of the Krishna and the Godavari.She was the first woman graduate in the Krishnamurthy family and  was well versed in English,Tamil,Telugu,Kannada,& Hindi.The little Lucky was lucky to have a teacher and she doted on him.The BHABHI MA was a live wire and a MAD HATTER.An avid cricket and football buff,the radio was a constant companion. The 21 yr old was a storehouse of sporting statistics and facts.The sporting ma-in-law had no complaints either.Times have changed but the seventy year old is still charged.Ask her even today and see her face light up explaining how India were all out for 47 even before she could make a couple of Dosas.T20 has pepped up her enthusiasm and this 21st century Grand Mom now proficient in Bengali as well has a large fan following today......

THE COFFEE ADDICTS...

The scene is a shot straight from a war zone.The period is the 21st century and the time a typical morning in a family with school going children.Kids are pulled out off their beds and they go right into the bathtubs.A bath apparently given,off they are bundled into cramped school buses with a load the tender backs can barely bear.
Little Subbu,Chandru, Lucky & the two Kumaris were however a fortunate lot.The eldest son of Kannamani went straight to the Vth std.& brags of the so acquired Penta Fold promotion even today .It was a Walk In admission for the heir apparent and the younger siblings in some of the most prestigious schools of Calcutta and later in the best colleges too.The mother oblivious of the happenings around her was carrying out her daily rituals with steadfast devotion & commitment.
The little boys took turns in getting the daily bottles of milk....and little Nayaki loved the taste of Haringhata milk.The day began with the cup of coffee...and it used to be a COFFEE DAY each day.. All they  needed to do was to roast the coffee beans,grind it to a fine powder in a hand machine ,extract the decoction in a coffee filter &.....Hey presto!!!!!! the cuppa was ready to be served........