Change

The first thing that hit me when I came back to settle down in TVM a few years back was the change to the ‘city’. The TVM I grew up in was a large village with one important ‘high street’. If you wanted to purchase anything, the shop to go to had to be on either end of M G Road – either in Palayam or more likely near the Chala end. The main places to go to relax were near LMS (Museum, Kanakakonnu). Trips to ‘far away’ Shankumukham, Kovalam etc. by bus were rarer.

 The biggest change I noticed now was the change to the Plamood – Kesavadasapuram stretch. Today you can get everything from a needle to a car from the shops that dot this stretch.

 Though we get our provisions from the locality we live in, we still miss going to some of the old landmarks – these shops are still there but I wonder whether they are thriving. Some memories from my adolescence –

 

-         Good Morning store at Palayam – this shop probably marked the start of the ‘city centre’!

-         We always used to buy coffee from Shankers at Pulimood – there was a friendly salesman with a quick wit and sharp tongue!

-         School books and stationery religiously purchased at the beginning of the school year from Academic Book House (Pulimoodu)

-         Plastic items from Ibrahims in Chalai. The smells and sounds of Chala had a fun element then. When I ‘revisited’ the place in the 21^st century, the stench was unbearable!

 Question about the last point – has Chala changed or have I? With time and progress is it just the city that has changed or have I also changed? I agree that the physical aspect of the city has changed (development of the Pattom stretch as a case in point) but in the case of Chala – the change is really in me!

 Incidentally Shankumukam seems to have got nearer (just a short drive away)!

 After ranting on about nothing in particular above, I want to end with a nostalgic fun memory – the fondest food memories of TVM are the times my father took the family out for dosas at ‘Dasarataram’ near the Secretariat. If I am correct this small restaurant was renamed as ‘Shree Ram Sweet Shop’ and now it does not exist. There is some other shop in it’s place.

 Probably it is just a case of ‘those were the days’ but the memories of those ‘paper roasts’ and ‘rocket dosas’ are that they were the best I have ever tasted! 

Musings from a short journey

Last week I had cause to travel by train to Kochi. Nothing exciting happened but a couple of incidents ignited some thoughts and I wanted to share with you...

 I am not a voyeur nor do I poke my nose into other people’s affairs, but during a train journey lots of small incidents are played out in front of you and you can’t help but observe and sometime be part of them.

 Chengannur is a small station around about the half way mark between TVM and EKM. Though a small town and an even smaller station, it is always a busy one. Lots of Chengannur-vasis make a living outside the state. When the train (a long distance one) chugged into Chengannur, there was this lady in her late twenties boarding with a lot of luggage. Looking at the folks on the platform I could guess that they were her mother, sister, brother in law and nephew. She was obviously very sad to depart and had her face away from them. Her eyes were red. It was sad to see this parting scene which got worse when the train started to move.

 Fast forward to 30 mins later – we were approaching Kottayam. There were shrieks of laughter coming from the adjacent cabin – the same lady was joking with and chatting up her co-passengers.

 I do not want to pass judgment or comment but the point I want to make is – the power of emotions is great but power of time to heal is even greater. The lady’s obvious sorrow at moving away from her loved ones was great but it took just half an hour to cope with it.

 Last time I saw her and her new friends, they were having vada and pazhampori.

 The other interesting thing that happened during the journey was that a differently-abled (the politically correct way of saying disabled) person was selling books. The books were priced at Rs 10/- and most of the travelers purchased at least 1 book. He would be earning a rupee or two at the most from the sale of the books but he was making living with dignity and that is much better than begging.

 I purchased a coloring book for my daughter. Better that the person mentioned above benefits than a big retail giant.

TVM Rising

Came across a very good blog a few days back.  It's a blog about the development of Trivandrum.

Found it very informative and more importantly up-to-date.

Would recommend it to any TVM - lover.

URL - http://tvmrising.blogspot.com/ 

Out of the mouths of babes

My darling daughter is 3 years old. She has picked up the concept of ‘big’ and ‘small’ in the past few weeks. She says she is ‘small’ and her mother and father are ‘big’.  As with other kids her age, she is naughty at times. Nothing interesting so far, right?

 What is interesting is that she has this idea that as she grows up and becomes taller, her parents will grow shorter and younger. She says that when she is ‘big’ she will drive a car and take us to school. Then, we should not cry for chocolate and she will get us the same only if we have our lunch properly. She carries on in this vein.

 We tried explaining to her that when grows up we will not grow in the reverse direction.

 Then I thought – she does have a point….

 When kids are young, they are dependent on their parents for food, transportation, shelter etc. As they grow up, their parents grow older and move into retirement. Then, it is the kids turn to provide food, transportation, shelter etc. 

 Life turns a full circle….

Valentine’s Day

Over the past few weeks, there has been a lot of talk in the media over the Mangalore pub incident, the approaching V day and what the self appointed guardians of Indian culture plan to do.

 First about the Mangalore incident: This is a democratic country where consumption of alcohol or dancing in appropriate places is not prohibited (for persons of both genders). As far as decent/indecent clothing goes, it is subjective. You also have to take into account the time and place. If the person(s) were consuming alcohol and dancing in revealing clothes in a public place (like a place of worship or in the city centre), yes, it is unlawful. Even in such instances, citizens should not take the law into their own hands but inform the law enforcement agencies.

 Secondly about V day and its impact on Indian culture and values. I personally am not a big fan of V day – when we were in school or college, we were not even aware about such a day. It is only in the past decade or so that there is a hype and hoopla around this Also, I do not need a specific day in the year to remind me of my loved ones and to prove my love for them.

 Having said that, what is wrong if people celebrate togetherness with flowers, chocolates or gifts? I mean it is not as if people are doing something illegal and infringing on others’ rights, is it?

 I said earlier that I am not a big fan of V day. However of late (especially if it falls on a holiday as it does this time around), my take on this is why not relax and have fun? Maybe go out for lunch / dinner for a change.

 What the so called moral policemen need to understand is this – different strokes for different people.  Chill out… man!

Drive to succeed

The journey of life is so interesting. You briefly meet some people in life who are so extraordinary that you can never forget them. You also meet some people who look so ordinary but never give up, keep trying to improve their skills and never waver in their quest to grow. Recently I happened to have a tele-talk with one such person from my past.

 This friend - let’s call him Kutty for the purpose of this story – is one from my Delhi days. He was from a middle class family and moved to Delhi in search of a job in the early eighties when he was around 18/19. He did not even have a degree and could not speak a word of English or Hindi.  He got a menial job in a small private company. Had he continued there and not tried to improve his skills, after all these years he might still be in Delhi struggling.

 However Kutty was made of sterner stuff. He worked his way through a degree and picked up reasonably good Hindi and English speaking and writing skills along the way. By the time I met him in the early nineties he was working as an administrative office in a Japanese firm. He had completed a diploma in management also by then.

 Kutty was a good friend during the three years I worked in Delhi and after that we hardly kept in touch. Last month he got my number from a common friend in Bangalore and called me up from – of all places – the US of A! His story in the last decade is even more amazing. It seems his wife, a nurse, got a job in the US, and he followed her. Instead of trying for a small job, he joined up for a nursing course himself and completed it. Right now he is pursuing a specialisation in a niche area.

 Remember Kutty must be around 46-47 years old now! When I asked him how he managed to cope with studies now, his humorous reply was – ‘I am the youngest in this class’!

 I am sure that 10 years from now he will be in an even higher orbit.

Cooking escapades

Cooking is one of my hobbies – it helps me relax. During the many years of bachelorhood, I have had the chance to try out many things in the kitchen. After marriage though the interest has not waned, I have less time and lesser compulsion to enter the kitchen.

 One of my favourite food stories is from my Bombay days. I was abroad for an assignment and a friend joined me. This chap was an expert database administrator but was a rookie as far as cooking was concerned. His roomie back in Bombay packed his bags with spices, dal and one packet of rice. A week or so later when he rang up his roomie, he was asked if he had started cooking. It was then that he realised that he had not properly unpacked and was not even aware of the existence of the food items in his luggage.

 Feeling sorry that his roomie had taken so much trouble and he had not even attempted to cook, that weekend he decided to try out cooking. He did not consult with me or the others staying in the same hotel (we were staying in studio rooms with a kitchenette).

 After 30 minutes or so, the smoke detector in his room started screaming. We all went down to his room, pacified the hotel chaps who had gathered there by then and settled down to listen to his adventure.

 It so happened that there was an electric rice cooker in his room and he decided to start with the basic task of cooking rice. He put the rice in the cooker and plugged it in. But no one told him that he also had to pour water!!! After sometime the rice in the cooker got burnt, he opened it and the smoke had triggered off the alarm. 

 That was the last time he tried anything. For the rest of the duration of his (and our) stay, he performed the role of helper and excelled in cutting vegetables, cleaning dishes etc.

 Guru

 My first guru in cooking was my Delhi roommate’s father. This gentleman had two sons in Delhi – one was married and the other a bachelor staying with us. He used to come to Delhi with a sack full of jackfruit, coconut, nadan kaya, jaggery, ground spices etc. For the first few weeks he stayed with his married son, and then he would stay with us for a few weeks. During his stay he would not use ready made masalas or other purchased ingredients. The stuff he brought from Kerala would be his source.  He taught us the basics - how to make good sambhar, thoran etc.

 The day his stock of ingredients and magic powders from Kerala got over, he would return from Delhi only to return the next year with a new sack.

 Hero

 My hero in cooking has been my mother. Now, it sounds like a cliché - everyone says their mother’s cooking is the best. Well true, but in my mother’s case, when she was in Madras she had attended a cookery course and became an expert in many different types of cuisines. Of course she cooked Kerala vegetarian food well. But she also started trying out Tamil and North Indian dishes and western bakery items as well.

 This training came to fruit many years later in Delhi in the late eighties and early nineties when she had time on her hands as well (myself in college). She and a friend bought two OTGs (Oven Toaster Griller) and started preparing snacks and food items for their friends circle. This relationship was symbiotic. Aunty had been in Delhi for many decades and had a large circle of influence. She was also very marketing savvy and pushy. Mother was the one with the golden touch. She would prepare the food and aunty would ‘sell’ them. In due course they even participated in food shows held on occasions and the proceeds contributed to charity.