PONNAPPA പൊന്നപ്പാ

MANJU ON ASIANET

2011-09-08T23:54:00.000-07:00

Excerpts from Manju's Interview on Asianet TV Channel Telecast on Tiruvonam Day inSeptember 2007.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJtBa9NYwFY

P.S: Videoquality is not very great because this was recorded on a VHS Tape while it was telecast in 2007. I recently found the VHS Cassette and converted the tape intoDVD format.

Kannan

MANJU'S INTERVIEW ON MAKKAL TV ON 14/04/11

2011-05-02T03:10:00.000-07:00

Manju's Interview in Dubai, Telecast on Makkal TV Channel on 14/04/2011 (Vishu Day & Tamil New Year Day) at 14:30 Hrs IST. Uploaded on YouTube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mFE8UbGk2bo

BEING CAUGHT ON THE RIGHT FOOT

2010-11-06T05:35:00.000-07:00

No.. I haven’t got it wrong. In fact, there is nothing unusual about being caught on the wrong foot and I am sure this has happened to all of us at some time or other. But, being caught on the right foot? This happened to me and the worst part of it is that it happened because I got the pronunciation right or so I believed!!

I visit India with Manju and children twice a year for short stints of 10 days to two weeks and in each trip we divide our time between Madras and Bangalore. From Dubai we directly fly to Madras and spend a few days there because most of my friends and batch mates live in Madras and I somehow find time to contact and hobnob with them. Manju’s mother and some of her relatives also live in Madras and in each of our trip to India, a visit to Madras is a given for her. Forgive me for sticking to the moniker Madras because I cannot bring myself to acknowledge that my beautiful city is rechristened as Chennai, as that does not sound right!!

We also visit Bangalore for two reasons. One, many of Manju’s relatives live in Bangalore and Manju insists on calling on every one of them. Two, we have our luxury Villa at Palm Meadows, the most sought after address in Bangalore, and we have given our villa on corporate lease to a MNC operating in Bangalore. So, we make it a point to visit Palm Meadows and say 'Hello' to our tenant in each of our trip to Bangalore.

Besides these, we visit Guruvayur and Tirupati Temples for Darshan, however short our stay in India may be.

A visit to Guruvayur Temple is relatively straightforward and hassle-free. We fly from Madras to Kochi, take the taxi we have already booked over phone from Madras, waiting for us at Nedumbassery airport, reach Guruvayur late in the evening, check into Elite Hotel in Kizakke Nada and call my friend, a member of the Ambala Committee and organize an early morning Darshan.

A VIEW OF GURUVAYUR TEMPLE

The Temple visit takes exactly less than 30 minutes, we have a good Darshan, sometimes two, by rejoining the last segment of the queue and back to Elite for breakfast, pack-up and leave for Nedumbassery (Kochi) airport to board the afternoon flight to Madras.

However, a trip to Tirupati Temple is not such an easy and straightforward affair and needs a good deal of strategy in organizing. If you go through the normal procedure and book for Darshan through the Internet, you will get a slot anytime after 8 to 10 years waiting!! Otherwise you have to join the queue, wait close to 12 hours for a 2-second glimpse of the Lord.

So every time, I unashamedly do something which we Indians are very adept at doing i.e. pulling a few strings!! And believe me, that works. So, I don’t feel guilty about pulling a few strings, after making sure I pull the right ones!!

This time around my trip to Tirupati was in mid October when the Hill Temple gets busy and overcrowded with Pilgrims for Bhrammotsavam festival. We got the Darshan Tickets alright for Suprabadha Seva but we couldn’t get a cottage for our overnight stay at Tirumala hills before our early morning Darshan. My contact person said ”Sorry, I cannot organize a cottage for you in the eleventh hour. You know, it is Bhrammotsavam season and we are overbooked. All our cottages have been booked well in advance by Ministers, Government officials and VIPs”.

I toyed with the idea of a snappy retort, telling him that VIP also means Very Insignificant Person (as most of the politicians are) but wiser counsels prevailed and restrained myself and applied as much pressure as one could over a telephone call from Dubai, seeking favors. But no use. The best he could offer was a suite in one of the new facilities for pilgrims, that too by flouting a few rules, which most of the TTD employees are very adept at!!

I agreed as I had no choice and more importantly, he also offered Darshan Tickets for AAD (Archananda Seva) as an added bonus, presumably because he was feeling bad about not being able to organize a cottage. On my part, I was prepared to shack up in a suite which I presumed was a glorified twin-bedroom, although I was sure Manju and my daughters Shilpa and Madhu would turn their pretty noses up and sniff at this prospect but like I said, I did not have a choice and accepted it. AAD Seva involves at least one to one-and-a-half hours waiting in the queue but we were happy to get it, as the main purpose of our visit to Tirupati is having a good Darshan of the Lord and we are happy to have a repeat Darshan, immediately following our Suprabadha Seva Darshan.

So on the scheduled day, we booked a cab from Madras and embarked on our 3 hour journey to Tirupati. We reached Tirupati town around 6:30P.M and drove straight to Bheema’s for coffee. We rested a while in the hotel lobby and when our cab driver Ram Babu was good and ready we started the ascent. Ram Babu knew Tirumala like the back of his hand and took us straight to the TTD Office for collecting the keys to our suite.

A VIEW OF THE VIMAANAM AT TIRUPATI TEMPLE

I walked up to the man behind the counter and told him that I have a booking for a suite in my name and can I please have the keys. The man behind the counter was amused. “Sweet, you have booked a sweet?!!”

“Yes, that’s right. I have booked a sweet.” I insisted.

I could see the lady sitting in the adjoining counter was also amused and my man, encouraged by the admiration of his colleague decided to impress her with his keen sense of humor. He switched over to Hindi and asked “Kya sweet chhahiye aapko? Rasmalai, Gulab-jamun, Basundhi yaa Halwa?” (What sweet do you want? Is it, Rasmalai, Gulab-jamun, Basundhi or Halwa?)

The lady burst into a chuckle and our man decided to carry on the show to further heights in his mission to entertain his admiring colleague. “Dhekkiye, yahaang aapko sweet nahin milega kyun ki yeh sweetshop nahi hain. Agar aapko Suit chaahiye tho miljayega.” (Look here, you will not get any sweets here as this is not a sweet-shop. You may get a suit here if you are interested).

He told his admiring colleague something in Telugu and both of them burst out laughing. Although I had only a nodding acquaintance with Telugu language, I could make out that he was telling his lady colleague “What can I do if this guy does not know the difference between a sweet and a suit?!!” Soon the laughter became contagious and all the other staff members sitting in the adjoining tables joined in and a good time was had by all. I presume this was a good entertainment break for them in their otherwise drab and lackluster working-day.

I resigned myself to my present lot and told him “Yes Sir, I have booked a suit and can I please have the keys to my suit?” He passed on the keys to me and as I was leaving the booking office I could sense the sympathetic glance from everyone at the man who does not know the difference between a sweet and a suit!!

We deposited our luggage in our suit (!!), freshened-up and drove to Mayura restaurant for dinner.

After dinner I offered to Manju and children “Would you all care for a suit for desert?” and they all burst out laughing. This time around I certainly didn’t want to say 'sweet' and be caught on the right foot!!

ENDHIRAN (எந்திரன்) REVIEW

2010-10-06T11:21:00.000-07:00

The pre-specs for embarking on our sojourn to see Endhiran was quite exciting. “I am driving by the side of Galleria Cinema and if you guys are interested I will book tickets for all of us to see Endhiran” our friend Krishnan offered on phone. "Yes, yes, yes, please" Manju and I squealed in excitement. "Book the next available slot, any day, any show. Luckily, Krishnan got the tickets for night-show on Monday (04/10/10) and I was saved from the embarrassment and hassles of bunking office or leaving early. The journey from our home at Springs to Galleria Cinema was equally exciting. "Let us take the Metro and Krishnan can pick us up at Bur-Juman Station (Khalid Bin Walid Station)" Manju suggested.

On Monday evening we hopped on Manju's Pajero at 6:15 P.M (for the 8:00 P.M show) and I stepped on the accelerator and steered the Car to the Nakheel Harbour Metro Station. I parked at Nakheel Harbour and we rode the escalator to the platform. Just before entering the platform, I checked the balance Credit in our NOL Cards. Manju had sufficient Credit for the return journey but I had only 7.00 Dirhams Credit in my NOL Card; 1.20 Dirhams short for the return journey. So I refilled my Card for 20 Dirhams and passed triumphantly through the turnstiles into the Platform only to see the Rashidiya bound train leaving the Platform. After 7 minutes waiting the next train to Rashidiya stopped at the Platform but the time was already 6:45 P.M and the Metro takes about 45 Minutes for the journey from Nakheel Harbour to Bur-juman Station. By simple arithmetic, we will reach Bur-Juman station by 7:30 P.M and 30 Minutes is not at all sufficient if Al-Shindagah Tunnel is choked with the evening traffic.

I kept looking at my watch as the Metro slowly trundled through Dubai Marina, Mall of the Emirates, World Trade Center Stations and I was in a state of frenzy by the time the train left Al Karamaa Station. However Manju was keeping her cool and enjoying the ride. We alighted on the dot at 7:30 P.M at Bur-Juman Station and came out. Krishnan whisked us away in his Prado and thankfully traffic was moving fast in the road to Al Shindagah Tunnel. We parked at Galleria Cinema at 10 Minutes to 8:00 and walked into the Cinema Hall for Screen 1. The usher showed us to our seats and the moment we sat, the hall lights were switched-off and the screen came alive.

OVER TO ENDHIRAN

THE GOOD

Rajni’s acting – well executed given that the ageing superstar is 62 plus

Visual delight – Computer graphics and animation are superb. You sit zapped for the last 15 Minutes

Danny Denzongpa the Bollywood villain of yesteryears as the jealous Professor

Cameo by Delhi Kumar (the stage veteran) as Rajni’s father, the Late Kochi Haneefa as traffic police inspector and Kalabhavan Mani as the ruffian rustic

The first-half (till Interval) is thoroughly enjoyable, especially Rajni’s stunt and fight with the local goons in the suburban electric train

THE BAD

Comedy track by Karunas & Santhanam – the less said about it, the better

A.R. Rahman’s Music – a disappointment. You don’t remember a single number of his in this flick as you walk out of the theater and that is indeed a disappointment

Passing-off Aishwarya Rai at 37 as a College Girl - Agreed that she is ex-Miss World and beauty queen of 1994 but now she is 37 and much water has flown under the bridge in these 16 Years. Most of the Bollywood heroines move off the shelf to mother roles at 37 but Aishwarya Rai is adamantly sticking to the showcase. She is used as an eye-candy yes,but the candy is shopsoiled!!

Robot falling in love with a girl – this theme is as old as the hill

AND THE UGLY

Hello there – why no mention of writer Sujata except as an also-ran in the titles. This Science fiction came out of the late writer’s brain and I am sure he was the man behind all the technical aspects and computer graphics in this movie. Even the name ‘Endhiran’ was given by Sujata but I didn’t see any credit to the late writer.

There is nothing new in the climax - the Giant Robot made of tens of thousands of Robots sticking together walking in the traffic and crushing cars, buses and trucks with his giant sized toes – we have already seen this in Godzilla. So, what else is new?!!

VERDICT

Recommended as a visual delight but nothing much to write home about.

RAJAN REMEMBERED

2010-09-27T00:39:00.000-07:00

കനകസിംഹാസനത്തില് കയറിയിരിക്കുന്നവന്
ശുനകനോ വെറും ശുംഭനോ

The disappearance of Rajan, son of Prof.T.V. Eachara Warrier and a student of the Regional Engineering College, Calicut, during the emergency in 1976 and the furor created by the media brought this case to countrywide attention. Rajan was whisked away from the hostel one night and never seen again. It is presumed that he was killed in police custody, one among so many other 'disappearances' during the dark days of emergency. Based on the testimony of other jailed students, it is believed that Rajan was tortured to death.

The habeas corpus petition filed by T. V. Eachara Warrier was the first one to be presented before the court right after the emergency. This petition and subsequent investigations found that Rajan had indeed been taken into custody, and perhaps died when in police custody. His body was not found and due to this many charges against the accused, this case had to be dropped. The accused included the then chief of the Crime Branch wing of Kerala Police, DIG Jayaram Padikkal. K. Karunakaran was the Home Minister during the emergency. He resigned from the post of the Chief Minister of Kerala in 1978 due to adverse judgement in the case. After 30 years of struggle, Eachara Warrier passed away on 13th April 2006 most appropriately, on martyrs' day, the day of the jallianwallah bagh massacre.

I request you to spare a moment and enjoy the song, “Kanaka Simhasanatthil kayariyirikkunnavan chunakano verum chumbano” (The guy who is sitting on the throne – is he a dog or a mere idiot?) from the film Arakkallan Mukkaakkallan (1974) which Rajan rendered on stage directed at the Chief Guest of the function, with which Rajan signed his own death warrant.

1974ഠ വര്ഷം പുറത്തിറങ്ങിയ 'അരക്കള്ളന്‍ മുക്കാക്കള്ളന്‍' എന്ന ചിത്രത്തിനു വേണ്ടി പി.ഭാസ്ക്കരന്റെ വരികള്ക്ക് ദക്ഷിണാമൂര്‍ത്തി സ്വാമി ഈണം പകര്ന്നു യേശുദാസും ജയചന്ദ്രനും ചേര്ന്ന് ആലപിച്ച ഈ ഗാനത്തെ ഒന്നു ച്രെവിക്കുവാന് ഞാന് നിങ്ങളോട് അഭ്യര്ത്ഥിക്കുന്നു..

Excerpts from the book "With Malice against none" written by Eachara Warrier

Koru, Benhar and Chathamangalam Rajan told me about Kakkayam camp, shivering while narrating stories of bloodclotting torture, as if trying hard to forget. I never asked; I never wished to know. Still they told me all.

Mr. Jayaram Padikkal would sit on a chair and pass orders, while police jeeps rushed in and out and youngsters were dragged forth. They were beaten, and then tied to a wooden bench with their hands and legs down. A heavy wooden roller would be rolled over their thighs; many could not stand the pain, and fell unconscious. To prevent them from crying out, the police pushed cloth into their mouths. Afterwards, they would be bought before Mr. Jayaram Padikkal. While questioning them, he would roll a sharpened pencil in his hands; suddenly he would stab the pencil into the muscles worked loose from the bones on the thighs of the tortured. Koru said that at that moment you thought it would be better to die. The cries from being stabbed with that pencil could be heard outside the camp.

Why torture so much? They were shivering while describing all this. When one gets over the pain of the body, more wounds are born in the mind.

My son Rajan was tortured first. They asked him where the rifle was that had been stolen during the attack on the Kayanna police station. He had never been beaten even once in his short life, so with the first round of torture he became weary. Then he was tied to the wooden bench and rolled. He cried out for his mother; they stuffed cloth into his mouth. At the end of the torture, to get away from it he told them that he would find the rifle. Then he was taken to Mr. Jayaram Padikkal, who told the policemen to take Rajan to a jeep and go in search of the rifle. Then he cried again. He told them that he was not aware of the rifle at all, and had said that to escape further torture. Mr. Pulikkodan Narayanan began kicking him in his stomach with his heavy police boots. With a loud cry he fell back and writhed on the floor, then became quiet and motionless.

The policemen started to worry when they were sure that Rajan was dead. Other youngsters overheard some of the duty guards murmuring that one had been killed during the day. They packed Rajan’s body into a sack and took it away in a jeep. They burned it in the midst of some forest with sugar, to ensure that not even the bones would be left behind, so it was said.

These are all stories told by the children who got out of the camp alive. When they showed me the never-fading scars of torture on their bodies, saliva filled my mouth and darkness, my eyes. A whistle echoed in my ears. For a moment I remembered the son who would have come back with an engineering degree, the son of my expectations.

The light went away. No, it didn’t go away; it was beaten away. Somebody said that Rajan was begging for his life before Pulikkodan Narayan kicked him to death. Enough children, enough—enough of these stories of my son begging for his life. His tender face comes into my mind, begging for life with hands pressed together. Oh my son, please pardon this helpless father, I cry out.

The world of stories is going away. In every piece of knowledge there is the echo of truth. The hunters are continuing the hunt. The victims are begging for life with pressed hands.

***

I went around Kakkayam camp with Advocate Ram Kumar and Mr. Appukuttan Vallikkunnu, a journalist. The waves of the Emergency had receded. The building where the camp was run had been deserted. It was in a remote place. I felt sure that its remoteness was the reason that Mr. Jayaram Padikkal selected it from which to run the camp. Maybe he decided that the cries from the camp should not even reach the clouds.

Mr. Appukuttan Vallikkunnu brought out the inside story of Rajan’s case through a series titled “Kakkayam Camp Kadhaparayunnu” (“Kakkayam Camp Narratives”). The war he waged through the Communist Party mouthpiece Desabhimani is a model for the struggle for democracy and human rights. He had been deputed to report the Coimbatore hearing, and he was very precise in informing me of the details. He correctly predicted beforehand that the witnesses would change sides. His ability to study and observe the details and to analyze issues struck me with wonder. Within a short time there developed a strong emotional bond between us. He treated me like his father.

I felt emotional as we went around Kakkayam camp. When we entered the room where Mr. Jayaram Padikkal used to sit, I imagined him in that chair, rolling a sharp pencil in his hands. It was in this room that my son bid farewell to this good earth. It was in this room that he writhed with pain after cruel torture. What might have been in his mind during the last moments? He might have cursed; he might have cursed all the green freshness of this world before death… no, it could never have been like that. How could he remember his mother who waited for him every day, his father who held him as he walked around, and all his dear ones, with a wounded mind? My eyes started getting moist in memories.

Both Mr. Appukuttan and Mr. Ram Kumar kept quiet. When they talked, they took care to talk only about the case. The crickets and other tiny insects were still crying out from the silence outside the camp. I have read of great men who have talked of life, and struggles from the other end of death. It is sure that death will never be a burden to those who have crossed those great worlds of ideas and ideals. But I don’t believe that Rajan had imbibed those fresh winds of faith blowing through the country after the Naxalbari uprising. When I asked a Naxalite friend of mine whether Rajan was one of them, he replied that he was only a sympathiser. That would have been the truth. It would have been beyond Rajan to attack a police station and snatch away a rifle. He was so weak in mind that he would not even have been able to think of that.

One story is that there was a Rajan among those who attacked the Kayanna police station, so the police picked up all youngsters with the name Rajan, brought them to the camp and tortured them. I could not reconcile this within my sense of justice. The rolling torture was done in front of other inmates, I was told. Going through the dark alleys of torture, they were also made to see and hear the writhing of the tortured, the loud helpless wailing and drained eyes. As one prey was writhing, the next was waiting for his turn.

I came to know that Rajan yielded himself silently to the torture. I have read about people being called to their deaths in Nazi camps. As an officer called out names, others were queuing up, waiting for their turn. They even took care not to call a husband and wife together into death; Hitler knew that the pain of separation and getting lost was more intense than death.

Mr. Paul, the proprietor of the famous spare parts dealer, M/S Popular Automobiles, was an inmate at Kakkayam. His father contacted Mr. Karunakaran, and got him released because he came to know of it very early. Mr. Paul had Rs. 500 on him, and when leaving the camp he gave it to the other boys. After influencing someone, they bought food; up till then they were all starving. Rajan was not able to stand hunger; such a boy would have been burned in its forest fire. His mother could not even feed him a handful of rice before his death. Nor could I offer one to him in funeral rites after his death. That still weighs on me. When I hear him calling “father” in the heavy rain some nights it is the cry of hunger. Thinking that my child is hungry, I too never escape hunger, however much I eat.

“We must be able to face everything; must be able to face all that happened with a balanced mind. Only if you are able to do that will we be able to do our social duties,” Mr. Appukuttan Vallikkunnu consoled me. I understood that. The struggle against such brutalities had to begin with Kakkayam camp after the Emergency. I should not leave the new generation to that wooden bench and the rolling.

I fell silent. There were no signs of the police camp left in the building. The wounds that the thirteen-day-long camp inflicted on the bodies of those youths had not been posted on its walls. But those walls knew Rajan’s sighs and cries. They stood silent and detached, watching the young men writhing with pain. There were cobwebs on those walls. There were termites in those closed windows. I opened one of them, and light entered the room. In which mysterious wilderness is my son’s soul still wandering? I pressed my face against the iron bars. Oh, my son, here is your father…

The sunlight outside blurred my vision. If the soul has eyes, he will be seeing me, I thought. He will recognise my throbbing eyes. Is there a sound coming out of the dry leaves on the ground outside? Whose footsteps am I hearing? I set my ears to listen.

I had to face the question of whether or not I had vengeance towards those police officers responsible for Rajan’s death. This question pulled me down into doubt. I grew up among Hindu beliefs. To one born in a house guarded by a temple, prayers, offerings and religious customs, the feeling of vengeance is quite unnatural. But whenever I saw Mr. Pulikkodan Narayanan on television, arguing heatedly with his curled-up moustache shivering vigourously, vengeance flashed through my mind. I remembered the helpless and painful moments my son faced. Unconsciously, I start thinking of settling the score. A previously unknown anger entered my mind. Whenever I think that I have forgotten everything, I remember it more clearly.

***

“You didn’t care for him,” his mother said to me on her deathbed. Then, I had the face of a father who ran around the country like a horse, running through the days meaninglessly. But as time withered day after day in Kakkayam camp, her comment about the helpless father who couldn’t get his son might have been meaningful. I still have tears in my eyes to weep. This body still has weak throbs of life. So please, my dear ones, pardon this cursed father if I have pained you all.

Advocates Eeswara Iyer and Ram Kumar, Mr. Vahabudeen the principal, Mr. Appukuttan Vallikkunnu… there were so many who tried to cheer me up when I went down into darkness. With which birth will I repay them for their outstretched hands, among those unseen and unknown experiences? Thanks, friends, thanks.

My path is ending. The rain that lashed all over will thin out soon. I feel blessed that so many were drenched in that rain for me, and along with me. Let me hold this feeling close to my heart as an offering.

Rajan used to sing well. When I wrote that he sang only when his mother asked him, my daughters got angry. They said that Rajan used to sing for them too. He never sang for me. I had no time for his songs. So he might have decided that his father should hear his poorly recorded songs only after his death. Oh Rajan, how sad those songs were that you sang while alive, and which I never heard then. I see in them something that meditates for death. Did you hate life so much, my son?

I shall stop. The rain is still lashing out. I remember my son when this heavy rain drums my rooftop, as if someone is opening the locked gate and knocking at the front door. It is not right to write that a living soul has no communication with the soul of the dead.

I hear his songs from a cassette on this rainy night. I am trying to retrieve a lost wave with this tape recorder. The good earth is getting filled with songs till now unheard by me, this crude man. My son is standing outside, drenched in rain.

I still have no answer to the question of whether or not I feel vengeance. But I leave a question to the world: why are you making my innocent child stand in the rain even after his death?

I still have no answer to the question of whether or not I feel vengeance. But I leave a question to the world: why are you making my innocent child stand in the rain even after his death?

*** ***

ANOTHER PARUR CONNECTION FROM THE US

2010-05-05T04:12:00.000-07:00

It was indeed apleasant surprise to receive a mail from Radhu, a recent visitor fromUSA stating that he is also connected to a branch of the Parur Thoppil Madomfamily and Radhu is eagerly looking forward to more information on the Thoppil Madomfamily. Radhu’s mother was like a daughter to Chelli Athai and SundaramAthimber and I am sure Radhu will share more information with us.

Here is the exchange of my e-mails with Radhu.

------------------------------------------------

On Fri, Sep 2, 2011at 12:42 AM,

SUBRAMANIAN RADHAKRISHNAN wrote:

Hello,

My name is Radhakrishnan. I was browsing the internet and bychance I saw your blog mentioning your relatives from North Paravoor.

I was thinking that we may have some common relatives since Ihave heard the names like Vaidyanatha Iyer, Chelli ( his sister ). Mymother who pased away recently was raised by Chelli. Chelli's husband, SundaramIyer retired as a postmaster in Coonoor. He passed away sometine in 1978or so. Chelli passed away a couple of years before his demise.

Please email me if you think there is a common thread. I will bedelighted to know you all.

Thanks

Radhakrishnan

On Fri, Sep 2, 2011 at 2:39 AM, Ram <ramkidxb@gmail.com> wrote:

Dear Radhu,

Extremely glad to receive your mail and more so you visited myblog on Ponnappamy grandfather.

Yes, there is indeed a common thread and I am sure we arerelated. My grandfather Ponnappa was the youngest of the 4 brothers, and Shri.Vaidyanatha Iyer, who retired as DSP of Kerala Police was his elder brother.Chelli Athai (as we call her) was Ponnappa's younger sister (perhaps theyoungest of Amma Paatti's 7 children) and her husband Sundaram Athimbaer was aPost Master.

Chelli Athai died in July 1977 and Athimbaer passed away in1978.

I live in Dubai with my family and I have two daughters, bothmarried. My wife Manjula is from Madras. Please do write about yourself,your family, what you are doing and where you have settled etc.

Best
Kannan

---------- Original message ----------
From: SUBRAMANIAN RADHAKRISHNAN
Date: Fri, Sep 2, 2011 at 6:09 PM
Subject: Re: North Paravoor relative ?
To: Ram

So it is now confirmed!

Amazing.
It is now my turn. I think from what I have heard, mygrandfather and your grandfather were first cousins. My grandfather's name wasRanganatha Iyer, and his dad's name was Rama Iyer or Sastrigal. My grandfatherwas a poor school teacher teaching sanskrit at the Parur sanskrit school ( Ithink). He had three sons and two daughters. My father , K.R Subramanian, washis second son. My dad passed away in 1979. He retired as Commercial Manager,Air India.The third son ( my fathers younger brother) was Prof K R Chandrasekharan)who passed away a few years ago in Mumbai. The first son ( my dad's elderbrother ) passed away in the sixties.
The initial 'K' stands for Kannankulangara ( in N. Parur).

I am in the US for the past 16 years. I am a Scientist byprofession but am now in IT. My wife's name is Subbalakshmy(Subba) and we have 2 daughters, Swarna and Divya.

I was in Parur when Chelli athai passed away in 1977. She raisedmy mom since her childhood.

I remember Sivan, his brother ( I forgot his name ) andthe eldest one who was a doctor at that time ( early 1980's). I think theperson standing on your left is Gopu- ( in one ofyour blogs). They had a house in Cochin.

I remember Mani ( Chandrasekharan) who had a fiercemoustache. He was the only son of Vaidyanatha Iyer, Retd DSP.

I shall send you some of our old pictures one of these days.

We will be in touch.

Radhu.

REWIND

2010-05-05T03:01:00.000-07:00

Here I would like to share some photographs of me taken between the years 1952 and 1976, some from my childhood and some more during my adolescence and my early twenties. These are to revisit my childhood, a temporary escape from the late fifties that I am in!!

PONNANI 1952

This Group Photo was taken in 1952 at our family home in Ponnani, my father’s native place, a small town in the Malappuram District of Kerala.

You can see me snugly sitting in my Mother’s lap in the extreme left on the front row, surrounded by assorted aunts and cousins. I was about 6 to 8 months old when this photo was shot. I am indeed happy to be part of this rare and perhaps the only group photo of all the daughters and daughters-in-law of the Ponnani family!!

MADRAS 1955

This Photo was taken in Madras, in the Year 1955 and I practically grew up with this Photo as it was displayed in one of the rooms of our house for as long as I could remember.

I am sitting in the middle and there is a little story behind this photograph told by my Mother. I look a bit unhappy in this photo, with my toes all twitched because I had done some mischief at home and was berated by my Mom just before we were packed and taken to a nearby studio for this photograph and hence the grumpy look!!!

ALUVA HOME 1961

This Photo was taken at Ponnappa’s Stately Home at Aluva in the Year 1961.

I am standing in the extreme right, next to my grandmother Chithammai. I can decipher the Year to 1961 because of the toy-gun that I am holding, which Ponnappa bought for me at a toyshop in Karaikkal town when we were living in Nagappattinam in 1960-61. I am sure the Year was 1961 and not latter because none of my toys survived for more than 6 months due to my childhood curiosity and skill to dismantle my toys to see what’s inside and how they work but I have never been able to reassemble them!!!

PALANI 1962

I can still recollect our one day trip from Madurai to Palani in the winter of 1962 in Sampath’s (Father’s friend) Austin A40 and returning the same night. Sampath was behind the wheel and father was sitting in the off-side bucket seat in front. Sampath’s wife Padma, my Mother, my brother and me, all of us squeezed in the back seat of Sampath’s car for the 3 + 3 hours return trip to Palani.

From Left: Father, Mother, Padma and Sampath – I am standing in the front row on the right

This photo was clicked in the precincts of the Palani Shri Dhandayuthapani Swamy Temple atop the Palani hills. I was made to wear a Dhoti meant for adults (several sizes bigger for me) and the excess material were all rolled and bundled around my midriff!!

SALEM 1963

Those were the days when I used to walk around the streets of Salem in my knickers and mostly barefooted so much so that even wearing Hawaii slippers is reserved only for ceremonial occasions such as posing for the photograph below.

I am standing on the right and you will notice that my shirtsleeves are extending beyond my trouser belt!!

PARUR 1968

This was during my summer vacation and I think this Photograph was clicked just a day or two before my Poonal ceremony. You can see me standing in the left.

This was the house to which Ponnappa shifted after vacating his Stately Home in Bank Road, Aluva to which most of my childhood memories are associated. Ponnappa stayed in this house barely for one Year and shifted back to Aluva, to another house very near the Aluva Court to resume his practice.

POONAL 1968

My Poonal Ceremony was conducted by Ponnappa at Parur with lot of fanfare and the function was well attended by all our relatives plus the local guests, Ponnappa’s friends and well-wishers from Parur, Aluva, Kochi etc.

Here I am standing with my father holding the leaves of a shrub, which I presume is part of the religious ceremonies.

ALUVA 1969

This Photo was taken in April/May 1969 in Alwaye, when Ponnappa was staying in a house bang opposite to Alwaye Court and near Zeenat Cinema. The house was owned by a Teashop owner called Aiyppu.

I am standing in the extreme right and the baby that my mother (second from left) is holding is my cousin Ganesh who was 1 Year old at the time. Standing to my right is my aunt Rukmini, mother of Ganesh. fter one Year Ponnappa moved to another house near Tass Hall befoe buying the present house.

BREAKUP SOCIAL 1971

This Photo was taken during the breakup-social of our B.Sc Chemistry batch at Hotel Geetha, Egmore. This should be around Mar or Apr 1971 just before the B.Sc final exams.

You may notice that I was in a state of dazed stupor as I had my first dose of liquor - a full bottle of Kalyani Beer. Around this time prohibition was revoked in Tamil Nadu and liquor shops were opening everywhere in the city. My friend Jagannathan (in the middle) is looking at my condition with concern and Mukundan (left) the Iyangar fanatic that he is, refused to touch the liquor and sitting with an air of disapproval!!

STANDARD-10 1973

The occasion was the Satabhishekam of my Grandfather and Grandmother, (a function to celebrate the senior having sighted 1,000 full-moons in his life – which means the senior should be 83 plus) celebrated in Madras in June 1973.

Here I am, ready to take my father’s car to Madras Central Station, either to drop or to pickup some relatives/guests for the Satabhishekam. The Car is Dad's 1961 Model Standard 10 Pennant and the License Plate Number was MSW 4189. It is in this car that I learned the rudimentary skills of driving, thanks to Perumal, my father's driver who taught me how to cope with Madras traffic conditions, which is standing me in good stead when I cruise at 120KM per hour in my Mercedes in the fast moving 6 lane traffic of Emirates Road in Dubai.

Those days I used to wear my watch on my right-hand!!

TIRUTTANI 1976

This was taken during a marriage in the family, held at Tiruttani in the Year 1976, through the good offices of my father as he had tremendous clout to organize all the logistics required for a marriage at short notice when he was in power.

I am standing second from the right, and this photo was clicked at the most inopportune moment when I was scratching my nose!!

More………….

PONNAPPA'S CASE DIARY 2 KALLA SAAKSHI (കള്ള സാക്ഷി)

2010-03-21T22:37:00.000-07:00

CASE DIARY 2 KALLA SAAKSHI (കള്ള സാക്ഷി)

Ponnappa was interviewing a potential Kalla Saakshi, referred by Bhasi in his Office. The man walks into Ponnappa’s Office and settles himself comfortably in one of the visitors’ chairs.

“Cheee ezunnekkado.. thannodu njnaan irikkaan paranjo?” Ponnappa flares up. The gentleman gets off the chair like a flash!!

Enthaado thande paeru?

My name, Mr. Mathew.

“Ppooohh…avanda ammaide oru odukkatha engleeshu, malayalathee parayado pambara viddi..”

Mr. Mathew switches over to his native dialect ‘Swamy,kshemikkanam, adiyande peru Maathachan aane..

Enthaado thande joli?

Cheriya cheriya contraactu panikalaana

Cheee niruthado.. satyam paranjillankil ninde kathankuttikku njnaan rendannam pottikkum!!

Swamy kshemikkanam.. cheriya cheriya moshanangalaanu ende joli.

Ponnappa instinctively locks his gold capped Parker pen in his desk drawer.

Thaan enthokka moshtikkum?

Aalillaatha Parambii kayari Naalikeram, Kappa, Pacha kari ithokka moshtikkum. Nalla oru avasaram kittiyaa aalillatha veettik kayari kayyii kittunna enthum njnaan moshtikkum.

Thaan naalikeram moshtikkumo? Athu enganayado?

Swamy, njnaan thengil kayariyaanu naalikeram moshtikkunnathu.

Ponnappa’s eyebrows lift in a frown “Appo, thanikku thengu keyaraan ariyaam alle?”

“Oova, thengu keyattam ende thozilalle Swamy!!”

Suddenly an idea flashes in Ponnappa’s alert mind to break the Prosecution's “Haajiyaarude moonamatha Bharya Vatha Case” (The murder of Haji Mohamed Koya’s third wife).

‘Irikkado’ Ponnappa commands his Kalla saakshi with a trace of indulgence in his voice.

“Vendaa Swamy, adiyan ninnolaave..” Maathachan respectfully declines Ponnappa’s invitation to sit.

‘Thaan irikkado..’ Ponnappa insists and calls Bhasi inside. ‘Bhaskara, thaan vanne, namukku Thomaachante Mozi vakkalkathil rekappatuthaam..”

Bhaskaran walks in. There was an air of diffidence about him. Ponnappa notices this and asks “Bhaskara, thanikku oorjam theere llallo. Enthaa kariyam?”

Bhaskaran expresses his misgivings. “Yenikkentho.. ee case atthara nishprayaasam vijayikkaan pattumennu thonunnilla. Njaan kandatholam ee casil chela sakthamaaya kadambakalundu.”

“Kadambakalo..? athinenthaa..? kadambakalokka mari kadakkaanum, pradhisanthikalokka athijeevikkaanumalle njnaan ivide abhibhaashakante veshavum katti natakkunathu?” Ponnappa allays Bhaskaran’s fears and closes the chapter!!

Case No: 7/62 - State of Kerala vs. Haji Mohamed Koya (Haajiyaarude moonamatha Bharya Vatha Case) was being heard in Hall No:1of Aluva First Class Judicial Magistrate Court.

On the Bench: Poonkunnathu Veettil Vasudeva Kaimal, First Judicial Magistrate

Prosecution Counsel: Mr. Oomen Chandy a.k.a Chandy kunju

Defense Counsel: Mr. T.R. Ramakrishna Iyer a.k.a Ponnappa

Accused: Makkathu Manzil Haji Mohammed Koya a.k.a Haajiyaar

Ponnappa was examining his star witness Mathew a.k.a Mathachan.

P: Ningalde Paeru?

M: Swamy, adiyan Maathan aane..

P: Maathachannu vechaal..?

M: Mulankunnathukkaavu Pallimukku Veettil Mathachan….

P: Enthaanu ningalde joli.

M: Moshanam.. thattippu, pidichupari ethokkayaanu ende joli

There was uproar in the Court as everyone (including the Public Prosecutor) burst out laughing.

“Oodarr..oodarr..” Justice Vasudeva Kaimal bangs his gavel on the table and the court becomes silent.

Sambhava dhivasam ningal Haajiyarinte Prambil kayariyathu enthukontaanu?

Thengil kayari thenga moshtikkaan…

There was uproar in the Court again and Justice Kaimal bangs his gavel on the table once again saying “Oodarr..oodarr..”

Ennuttu ningal thenkil kayari thenga moshticho?

Thengil kayari, pakshe thenga moshtichillaa..

Enthukontu?

Thenkil kayariya njnaan, Manaseeka sangharshathinu vidheyanayathukontu thengaa moshtichilla..

Thenga moshtikkaan thengil kayaria ningalkku enganayaanu manaseeka sangharsham undaayathu? Onnu visatheekarikkaamo?

Thengin mukalilninnu thazottu nokkiyappo njnaan oru kolapaathakathinte dhirrsaakshiyaakenti vannu... athukontaanu njnaan manaseeka sangharshathinu vidheyanaayathu..

There was an audible gasp from everyone in the court but Justice Kaimal did not bother with his gavel routine this time!!

Thengin mukalilninnu ningal enthaanu kantathu? Onnu visatheekarikkamo?

Oru kallan, pichaathi kaanichu Haajiyarinte moonamatha bharyaye beeshanyappatuthi avarute kazuthilulla aaparanam moshtikkaan shremikkunnathum, Haajiyarinte bharya athu thatayukaiyum kantu. Appol sambavicha yaettumuttalil kallan pichaathi kontu Haajiyarinte moonamatha bharyaye kuthi kolapatuthi aaparanamum kattontu odi rakshappatunnathum njnaan kantu…

There was total commotion in the Court and Justice Kaimal warned that if Oodar is not restored, he will be forced to evict the spectators from the Court, upon which Oodar was restored!!

Kolapaathakiye ningal kandaayirunno? Aarana athunnu parayaam pattuvo?

Kolapaathakiye njnaan kandu. Pakshe aarana Kolapaathakiyennu parayaam vaiyyaa..

Kaaranam?

Kaaranam kolapaathaki oru aparijithanaayathukontu.. ee pradesathu ithinu mumbu njnaan ayyaale kantutiilla. Pakshe ayyaaley neril kantaal enikku thirichariyaam..

“Objection Your Honor” public prosecutor Oomen Chandy was on his feet. “Postmortem Report prakaaram Kolapaathakam nadannathu rathiri 11 manikkaanu. Sambava dhivasam vaithithi illayirunnu.. vaithithi illatha karanathaal Aluva town muzuvanum iruttu moodik kidannu.. ee oru sagajariyathil, prathibakam sakshikku engane kolapathakiye vyakthamaayittu kanaan patti? Saakshi mozi, prathibakam vakeelinte kattukathaiyaayathinaal begumanappata kodathi sakshi moziye nila nilkaatha nunayaanennu thiraskarikkanam”. Chandi kunju made his point.

The Judge looked at Ponnappa quizzically.

Ponnappa was unperturbed. Your Honor, ente maanya suharthum Sarkarbakam vakeelumaya Chandy Kunju unnayichirikkunathu valare prasakthiyulla oru chodhiyamaanu. Addhekathinu ente abhinandanangal. Sambavadhivasam Aluva nagaram muzuvanum vaithithi illayirunnuvennu addhekam paranjathu sathyamaanu.

Public Prosecutor exchanged a smug grin with the Police Inspector.

Pakshe, Aluva town muzuvanum iruttu moodik kedannu ennu adhekam parayunnathotu enikku yojippilla.. karanam sambhava dhivasam August 27nu Velutha Vaavayirunnu.. aayathinaal, vaithithi illankil polum saakshikku aa rathri nadanna sambavangale vyathathaiyotu kaanaan kaziyukaiyundaayirunnu. Ente maanya suharthu Chandy Kunju Mathrubhumi Calendar onnu nokkiyirunnaal annu Velutha Vaavaanannulla kariyam ariyaamaayirunnu.

There was pandemonium in the Court and Justice Kaimal adjourned the proceedings to the following week for the final summation:

Ponnappa’s final summation to the Court:

“Prosecutionde visthaaravum, Prathibhaga Visthaaravum, Saakshi Visthaaravum kazinju anthima ghattathil ethittulla ee casil enikku eduthu parayenta chila karyangaluntu.

Onnaamathu, ente Katshi Makkathu Manzil Siraajudeen Koyayude Makan Makkathu Manzil Haji Mohamed Koya enna Haajiyaar kuttavaaliyaanennu sthitheekarikkunnathil Prosecution Parajiyappattirikkunnu. Ente maanya suharthu, sarkaar bhagam vakil Chandy kunju katti chamacha aaropanankalokka verum ookaa bhokankalaathu nilanilkkunna satyangalalla. prosecutionde aaropanathil ottum kazhambilla.

Rendaamathu, ee casil Poleesu kaanicha anaasthaiyum pidippukedum valare kethakaramaanu. Haajiyarude moonamatha bhayaikku vere oru cheruppakkaranumaai avihitha bhandam undaayirunnennum, haajiyaar thande moonamatha bharyaye avarute kamukanotu olichotippokumpol kantathanaal untaya manaseeka avasthayil, haajiyar avare (third wife) niyantaranam nashtappattu kolapatuthiyennum parayunna Police aropanam thikachum oru Kaabhattiyamanu. Kola krithyathinde dhirsaakshi Thomaachan moziyilinnu kolapaathaki oru aparijithanaanennum, Haajiyarute Moonamathe Bharyayute Aapranam thattiedukkanulla chramathil nadanna yaettumuttalil ayyaal hajiyaarinte bharyaye kolapatuthi ennulla sathyam vyakthammayirikkunnu.

Thaan jeevanu thulyam snehikkunna thande moonamatha Bharyaye maricha nilayil kanda ente katshi Makkathu Manzil Haji Mohamed Koya enna Haajiyar valare dhukkithanaaittulla oru manaseeka avasthayilaanu police stationil paraathi nalkaan poyathu. Paraathii nalkaan poya ente katshiye poleesukar prathiyaaki arrestu cheithu, custodyil eduthu krooramaai marthichu. Daiva viswaasiyum, samookya pravarthakanum, Naattu Pramaaniyum, Prakalpanumaaya ente katshi police marthanthium peetanathinum vidheyanaayi, innu ezunnechu natakkaan polum pattatha avasthayil wheelchair aasrayikkenta sthithiyilaanu ethiyirikkunathu.

Haajiyaar, sitting in his wheelchair (borrowed for the day from a local clinic) in the stand for the accused dabs his eyes with his hanky.

Haajiyaarum addhegatthinde 4 bhaaryamaarum, orey veettil snehavum sougrithavum pangu vechu oru santhushta kutumbamaayittu kazinjirinnavaraa.

As Justice Vasudeva Kaimal grimaced at Ponnappa’s reference to “Santhushta kutumbam,” Ponnappa gave him a conspiratorial wink!!

“Haajiyaarute moonaamatha bharyayute kolapaathakathinu sesham aa santhushta kutumbam innu vallaatha oru manaseega sangharshathil parithavikkukayaanu. Aa kutumpathinde maanaseekavasthakku parikatana nalki, vasthuthai illatha prosecutionte aaropanathe thiraskarichu ente katshi Makkathu Manzil Siraajudeen Koyayude Makan Makkathu Manzil Haji Mohamed Koya enna Haajiyaare nirvaathikam vittayakkanamennu behumaanappatta kodathiyotu njnaan vineethamaayittu abhyarthikkunnu”. That’s all Your Honor!!

Hajiyaar was acquitted as innocent, without a stain on his character. Hajiyaar did not want to press charges against Maathachan (understandably) for trying to steal coconuts from his farm. Justice Vasudeva Kaimal acceded to Hajiyaar’s request and let off Maathachan with a suspended sentence of 3 months and a stern warning to mend his ways. Justice Kaimal reprimanded the Police for the wrongful arrest of Haajiyaar and instructed them to investigate the case more efficiently and arrest the real culprit!!

NB: While I have no idea about the princely sum that Haajiyaar would have paid Ponnappa as fees for winning this case, what I do know and still remember is the gift hamper of several baskets of goodies delivered from Haajiyaar’s estates consisting of Kasuvandi Paruppu (Cashew nuts), Pazutha Maanga (ripe mangos), Kaitha Chakka (Pineapple), Kappalangaai (Papayas), Yaethap paza kola (Bananas), munthiringaa (grapes), Kozikkodan Aluwa (Kozikode special Halwa), Sarkarai undaa (Jaggery balls) and eethap pazam (dates) among others as I went on a rampage for the next few days enjoying all these goodies.!!

Translation:

Ponnappa was interviewing a potential Kalla Saakshi, referred by Bhasi in his Office. The man walks into Ponnappa’s Office and settles himself comfortably in one of the visitors’ chairs.

“Get off the chair you scamp.. Did I ask you to sit?” Ponnappa flares up. The gentleman gets off the chair like a flash!!

Hey.. your name?

My name, Mr. Mathew.

“Ppooohh…don’t you dare talk to me in your stupid English you illiterate fool. Speak in Malayalam..”

Mr. Mathew switches over to his native dialect “Forgive me sir .. Maathachan is my name..”

What’s your job?

Smalltime contract jobs..

Shutup you fool.. I will slap you if you don’t tell me the truth!!

Sorry sir.. I am a petty thief.

Ponnappa instinctively locks his gold capped Parker pen in his desk drawer.

What all you will steal?

I stealthily enter into unmanned farms and steal vegetables, tapioca, coconuts etc. If I get a good opportunity I break into a house and steal anything that I can lay my hands on..

You steal coconuts? How do you do it?

Sir, I climb the coconut tree and steal coconuts.

Ponnappa’s eyebrows lift in a frown “So, you know how to climb a coconut tree?”

“Yes sir. Climbing coconut trees is my profession!!”

Suddenly an idea flashes in Ponnappa’s alert mind to break the Prosecution's “The Case of Haji Mohamed Koya’s third wife’s Murder”.

‘Sit-down’ Ponnappa commands his Kalla saakshi with a trace of indulgence in his voice.

“No sir, I will stand..” Maathachan respectfully declines Ponnappa’s invitation to sit.

‘You sit man..’ Ponnappa insists and calls Bhasi inside. ‘Bhaskara, come, we have to record Mathew’s statement in the vakkalath..”

Bhaskaran walks in. There was an air of diffidence about him. Ponnappa notices this and asks “Bhaskara, you look diffident. What’s the matter?”

Bhaskaran expresses his misgivings. “Somehow, I feel that winning this case will not be a cakewalk. From what I have seen, here are certain major challenges in this case.”

“Challenges..? So what? I am here as a lawyer to face the challenges and overcome whatever be the crisis.” Ponnappa allays Bhaskaran’s fears and closes the chapter!!

Case No: 7/62 - State of Kerala vs. Haji Mohamed Koya (Haajiyaarude moonamatha Bharya Vatha Case) was being heard in Hall No:1of Aluva First Class Judicial Magistrate Court.

On the Bench: Poonkunnathu Veettil Vasudeva Kaimal, First Judicial Magistrate

Prosecution Counsel: Mr. Oomen Chandy a.k.a Chandy kunju

Defense Counsel: Mr. T.R. Ramakrishna Iyer a.k.a Ponnappa

Accused: Makkathu Manzil Haji Mohammed Koya a.k.a Haajiyaar

Ponnappa was examining his star witness Mathew a.k.a Mathachan.

P: What is your name?

M: Sir, I am Maathachan

P: Maathachan who..?

M: Mulankunnathukkaavu Pallimukku Veettil Mathachan….

P: What is your job?.

M: Petty thievery, mugging, cheating .. these are my jobs.

There was uproar in the Court as everyone (including the Public Prosecutor) burst out laughing.

“Oodarr..oodarr..” Justice Vasudeva Kaimal bangs his gavel on the table and the court becomes silent.

P: Why did you enter Haajiyar’s farm on the day of the incident??

M: To climb the coconut tree and steal coconuts.

There was uproar in the Court again and Justice Kaimal bangs his gavel on the table once again saying “Oodarr..oodarr..”

P: Then, did you climb the coconut tree and stole coconuts?

M: I did climb the coconut tree but did not steal coconuts..

P: Why?

M: After climbing the coconut tree I was subjected to considerable mental agony.

P: Can you explain what caused you the mental agony after you ascended the coconut tree?

M: Unwittingly I became an eyewitness to a brutal murder which caused the mental agony.

There was an audible gasp from everyone in the court but Justice Kaimal did not bother with his gavel routine this time!!

P: What did you see from the top of the coconut tree? Can you explain??

M: I saw a thief wielding a knife and threatening Haajiyaar’s third wife to steal her jewels and Haajiyaar’s third wife resisting his attempt to steal. In the skirmish that followed, the thief knifed and killed her stole her jewels and escaped.

There was total commotion in the Court and Justice Kaimal warned that if Oodar is not restored, he will be forced to evict the spectators from the Court, upon which Oodar was restored!!

P: Did you see the murderer? Can you say who he is?

M: I saw the murderer. But I cannot say who he is. He is a stranger. I have not seen him in this area before. However, if I see him I can identify him.

“Objection Your Honor” public prosecutor Oomen Chandy was on his feet. “As per the postmortem report, the time of death was 11:00 P.M in the night. There was no electricity supply on that night. As there was no electricity, the entire Aluva town was engulfed in darkness. Under these circumstances, how was it possible for the defense witness to see the murderer clearly? The Honorable Court should reject the statement of the witness as a false story concocted by the defense lawyer.” Oomen Chandi made his point.

The Judge looked at Ponnappa quizzically.

Ponnappa was unperturbed. “Your Honor, I admit that my learned friend Mr. Oomen Chandy has raised a very valid question. I record my appreciation to him. It is true that there was no electricity supply in Aluva town on the day of the incident.”

Public Prosecutor Oomen Chandy exchanged a triumphant and smug grin with the Circle Inspector of Police.

“But I don’t agree with his statement that the entire Aluva town was engulfed in darkness. Because, we all know that 27^th August, the day of the incident, was a full moon night. So, my witness could clearly see the incident that night, although there was no electricity. If only my learned friend Oomen Chandy had referred to the Mathrubhumi Calendar, he would have come to know that it was a full moon night.

There was total pandemonium in the Court and Justice Kaimal adjourned the proceedings to the following week for the final summation:

Ponnappa’s final summation to the Court:

“This Case has reached its final stage after debriefing by Prosecution, Defense and examination and cross-examination of the witnesses and at this juncture I want to emphasize certain important issues.

Firstly, Prosecution has summarily failed in establishing that my client Makkathu Manzil Haji Mohamed Koya, son of Makkathu Manzil Siraajudeen Koya, is guilty of the murder charge against him. All the accusations against my client put forth by my learned friend Mr. Oomen Chandy were mere assumptions and conjectures without any substance in them.

Secondly, the total indifference and incompetence with which the Police have handled this case is regrettable. The Police accusation that Haajiyar’s third wife had a clandestine relationship with another person and Hajiyar lost his temper and killed his third wife when he caught her trying to elope with her paramour is totally malicious and baseless. It has been clearly established from the statement of the eye witness to the murder, Mr. Mathew that the murderer is a total stranger, and he killed Haajiyar’s third wife in the skirmish that ensued when the stranger tried to rob her jewels.

My client Mr. Haji Mohammed Koya went to the Police Station to lodge a complaint, in a state of total mental depression, after seeing his third wife, for whom his love was insurmountable, murdered and dead. Although my client went to the Police station to lodge a complaint, the Police unfairly arrested him as the accused, and brutally tortured him. My God fearing client, who is also a Social activist and leading citizen became a victim of Police brutality and as a result today he is not even able to stand up and walk and has to depend on a wheelchair for his movements.

Haajiyaar, sitting in his wheelchair (borrowed for the day from a local clinic) in the stand for the accused dabs his eyes with his hanky.

Haajiyaar and his 4 wives lived under the same roof, sharing love and affection as a happy and contented family.

As Justice Vasudeva Kaimal grimaced at Ponnappa’s reference to “Haajiyar’s contented family of 4 wives” Ponnappa gave him a conspiratorial wink!!

“Today, after the brutal murder of Haajiyar’s third wife, his contented family is suffering in a state of acute mental depression. I request the Honorable Court to give due consideration to the mental depression of his family, reject the baseless allegations made by the Prosecution and acquit my client Makkathu Manzil Haji Mohammed Koya as innocent. That’s all Your Honor!!”

Hajiyaar was acquitted as innocent, without a stain on his character. Hajiyaar did not want to press charges against Maathachan (understandably) for trying to steal coconuts from his farm. Justice Vasudeva Kaimal acceded to Hajiyaar’s request and let off Maathachan with a suspended sentence of 3 months and a stern warning to mend his ways. Justice Kaimal reprimanded the Police for the wrongful arrest of Haajiyaar and instructed them to investigate the case more efficiently and arrest the real culprit!!

NB: While I have no idea about the princely sum that Haajiyaar would have paid Ponnappa as fees for winning this case, what I do know and still remember is the gift hamper of several baskets of goodies delivered from Haajiyaar’s estates consisting of Cashew nuts, Mangos, Pineapple, Papayas, Bananas, Grapes, Kozikode special Halwa, Jaggery balls and Dates among others as I went on a rampage for the next few days enjoying all these goodies.!!

Kannan

PEEPING INTO PONNAPPA’S CASE DIARIES

2010-02-25T03:21:00.000-08:00

CASE DIARY 1 - ബസ് ഡ്രൈവര് തോമാച്ചന്നു പറ്റിയ അമളി

Sitting in his swivel chair, in his Office, smoking his pipe, Ponnappa was dictating case notes to Basi (Bhaskaran Pilla) his Clerk, in chaste Malayalam and Bhasi was religiously penning the notes in green colored bond papers.

“Pradhishedha prakatanam sangharshaaparamaakumpol athu kalaabathil avaseshikkunnathum, prakobanamaakunnathum sowbaavikamaanu. Ee oru saagajariyathil poleesukaar paalikkenta chila maanathandangalundu. Uthaakaranathinu, laathi charju, jala beerangi prayokam, muttinu thaaze vedi vaikkuka ivaiyokka kerala police bharana katanayil adivarayittu kurichuttulla maanathandangalaanu. Pakshe, poleesukaar ee parimithikalokka avakanichukontaanu pravarthichathu. Poleesinte ee athikramathine, anaasthaye njnaan rookshamaayittu abalabikkunnu.

Aluva railway station parisarathu. gadagatha kurukku anubhavappatunnathu naam thainantharam kaanunnathaanu. Pradhishedha prakatanam karanam annu vaakana gadagadam sthambicha avasthaiyaanu undaayathu. Ee oru saagajariyathil ente katshi, A.T. Union Bus Driver, Padinjaaru Parambil purayidathu Ousepachante makan Thoma enna Thomaachan, 40 Mile speedil bus odichu oru aal mel bassu keyatti konnu ennu parayunna poleesinte aaropanam thikachum oru kaabattiyamaanu. Poleesinte F.I.R il thane orupaadu apaagathakaluntu. Yathaartha prathiye kittiyillankil oru niraparaathiye prathiyakki kotathi mumbil avatharippikkunna poleesinte ee pravanathaye kurichu bekumaanappatta kotathiyotu njnaan visatheekarikkenta kariyamilla.

Ente Katshi Thomaachan Saanthanum, sansobhaaviyumaaya oru satya kristhiyaaniyaanu. Addhekam 40 Mile speedil bus odichu oru aal mel bassu keyatti konnu ennu parayunna Policinte F.I.R il ottum kazhambilla. Vasthuthai illaatha Prosecutionte aarobanathe nirasichukontu niraparaathiyaaya ente katshi Thomaye nirvaathikam vittayakkanamennu begumaanappatta kodtathiyotu jnaan vinayapoorvam abhyarthikkunnu. That's all Your Honor.”

Translation

When the protest demonstration turns violent, it naturally culminates into a riot. Under these circumstances, there are certain clear cut procedures and limitations that the Police should adhere to. For example, lathi charge, use ofwater canon, shooting below the knee etc. These procedures are very clearly underlined in the Kerala Police Procedure Manual. However, the Police have totally ignored these limitations and acted highhandedly. I vehemently condemn this highhandedness and indifference of the Police.

We all know that traffic-jam is a daily occurrence in the vicinity of Aluva Railway station. Because of the protest demonstration, the entire traffic came to a total standstill on the day of this incident. Under these circumstances, the Police allegation that my client, A.T. Union Bus driver Thomas, son of Ouseph was driving the bus at a speed of 40 Miles, ran over and killed the victim is totally false and malicious. There are many irregularities and contradictions in the Police F.I.R itself. The Honorable Court needs no elaboration from me about this tendency of the Police to present an innocent person to the Court as the accused when they (Police) fail to apprehend the real culprit.

My client Thomas is a peaceful and good natured true Christian. There is no substance in the Police F.I.R that he ran the bus at a speed of 40 Miles, ran over and killed the victim. Hence, I humbly pray to the Honorable Court to dismiss the false allegation which the Prosecution has failed to establish and unconditionally release my innocent client. That’s all Your Honor.

Ponnappa paused to light his pipe once again and Bhasi looked up. “Enthaa kaariyam Bhaskara?” (what’s the matter Bhaskaran?) Ponnappa enquired.

“Eente arivil sambhava dhivasam, Pradhishedha prakatanam onnum nadannuttilla” (To my knowledge, no protest demonstration was held during the day of the incident). Bhasi expressed his concern in an undertone.

“Bhaskara, annu Pradhishedha prakatanam nadannuttillannu theliyikkentathu prosecutionde joliyaanu. Nammudedhalla. Thannayumalla, ee nachicha naattil Pradhishedha prakatanam natakkaatha divasankalilla. Pradhishedha prakatanam kalaabathil kalaasichathukontu thaan polum annu veettil etthaan vaikiyille?” (Bhaskara, it is the job of the Police and not ours to prove that no protest demonstration was held during the day of the incident. Besides, there is not a single day when some protest demonstration or other was not held in this cursed country. Also, were you not delayed in reaching home that day because the protest demonstration became violent and turned into a riot?)

As Ponnappa tossed the ball back into Bhasi’s Court , Bhasi unwittingly became an eyewitness to a Protest Demonstration that never happened!!

Needless to add that Prosecution case was dismissed by the Court as unsustainable and bus driver Padinjaaru Parambil Purayidathu Ousepachante makan Thoma enna Padinjaaru Parambil Thomaachan was acquitted as innocent and his boss Julian (proprietor of A.T. Union) rewarded Ponnappa with a purse of Gold, out of which Bhasi also got his fair share!!

I confess that the above is not really an extract from one of Ponnappa’s case diaries but only my imagination. Forgive me for reminiscing about an imaginary hit-and-run case for the sake of nostalgia, to revisit my childhood memories of Ponnappa dictating case notes to Bhaskaran!!

Kannan

BHARTHAAVU ഭര്ത്താവ് 1964

2009-12-20T10:50:00.000-08:00

കാക്കക്കുയിലേ ചൊല്ലൂ കൈനോക്കാനറിയാമോ?

Take a moment to enjoy “Kakka Kuyile Chollu. Kai Nokaanariyamo” a duet rendered by Yesudas & L.R. Eswari in the film Bharthaavu (1964) music composed by Dakshinamurthy to P. Bhaskaran’s lyric. I rate this number as the best amongst Malayalam duets.

1964ഠ വര്ഷം പുറത്തിറങ്ങിയ ഭര്ത്താവ് എന്ന ചിത്രത്തിനു വേണ്ടി പി.ഭാസ്ക്കരന്റെ വരിക ള്ക്ക് സ്വാമി ഈണം പകര്ന്നു യേശുദാസും ,LR ഈശ്വരിയും ചേര്ന്ന് ആലപിച്ച ഈ ഗാനത്തെ ഒന്നു ച്രെവിക്കുവാന് ഞാന് നിങ്ങളോട് അഭ്യര്ത്ഥിക്കുന്നു..

കാക്കക്കുയിലേ ചൊല്ലൂ കൈനോക്കാനറിയാമോ?
പൂത്തുനില്ക്കുിമാശകളെന്നു കായ്ക്കുമെന്നു പറയാമോ?
(കാക്കക്കുയിലേ ചൊല്ലൂ..)

കാറ്റേ കാറ്റേ കുളിര്കാറ്റേ,
കണിയാന്‍ ജോലിയറിയാമോ?
കണ്ട കാര്യം പറയാമോ?
കാട്ടിലഞ്ഞി പൂക്കളാലേ
കവടി വയ്ക്കാനറിയാമോ?
(കാക്കക്കുയിലേ...)

കുരുവീ നീലക്കുരുവീ
കുറികൊടുക്കാന്‍ നീ വരുമോ?
കുരവയിടാന്‍ നീ വരുമോ?
കുഴലുവിളിക്കാന്‍ മേളം കൊട്ടാന്
കൂട്ടരൊത്തു നീവരുമോ?
(കാക്കക്കുയിലേ...)

തുമ്പീ തുള്ളും തുമ്പീ തംബുരു മീട്ടാന്‍ നീ വരുമൊ?
പന്തലിലിരുന്നു പാടാമോ
കൈതപൂത്ത പൂമണത്താല്
കളഭമരയ്ക്കാന്‍ നീ വരുമോ?
(കാക്കക്കുയിലേ...)

ആയിരം കണ്ണുമായ് കാത്തിരുന്നു നിന്നെ ഞാന്

2009-12-08T00:16:00.000-08:00

Although 25 Years have gone by since the Movie “നോക്കെത്താ ദൂരത്ത് കണ്ണും നട്ട്” hit the screens, this number “ആയിരം കണ്ണുമായ് കാത്തിരുന്നു നിന്നെ ഞാന്” a solo by Yesudas remains evergreen in my memory. The Lyric by Bichu Thirumala is so heartrending and complemented with tuneful music by Jerry Amaldev and rendered soulfully by Yesudas that each time when I listen to this number I can’t help feeling close to tears!!

ആയിരം കണ്ണുമായ് കാത്തിരുന്നു നിന്നെ ഞാന്
എന്നില്‍ നിന്നും പറന്നകന്നൊരു പൈങ്കിളി മലര്‍ തേന്കിളി
പൈങ്കിളി മലര്‍ തേന്കിളി

മഞ്ഞു വീണതറിഞ്ഞില്ല പൈങ്കിളി മലര്‍ തേന്കിളി
വെയില്‍ വന്നു പോയതറിഞ്ഞില്ല പൈങ്കിളി മലര്‍ തേന്കിളി
ഓമലേ നീ വരും നാളും എണ്ണി ഇരുന്നു ഞാന്
പൈങ്കിളി മലര്‍ തേന്കിളി

വന്നു നീ വന്നു നിന്നു നീയെന്റെ ജന്മ സാഫല്യമേ
പൈങ്കിളി മലര്‍ തേന്കിളി
ആയിരം കണ്ണുമായ് കാത്തിരുന്നു നിന്നെ ഞാന്
എന്നില്‍ നിന്നും പറന്നകന്നൊരു പൈങ്കിളി മലര്‍ തേന്കിളി

തെന്നലും മകളേകിയോ കുഞ്ഞു തുമ്പി തംബുരു മീട്ടിയോ
ഉള്ളിലെ മാമയില്‍ നീലപീലികള്‍ വീശിയോ
പൈങ്കിളി മലര്‍ തേന്കിളി

എന്റെ ഓര്മ്മ യില്‍ പൂത്തു നിന്നൊരു മഞ്ഞ മന്ദാരമേ
എന്നില്‍ നിന്നും പറന്നു പോയൊരു ജീവ ചൈതന്യമേ
ആയിരം കണ്ണുമായ് കാത്തിരുന്നു നിന്നെ ഞാന്
എന്നില്‍ നിന്നും പറന്നകന്നൊരു പൈങ്കിളി മലര്‍ തേന്കി്ളി
പൈങ്കിളി മലര്‍ തേന്കിളി

I request you to take a moment to enjoy the Video clip of this beautiful song:

PADMINI AND NADIYA MOIDU ON SCREEN

FAST FORWARD

2009-09-06T21:40:00.000-07:00

While I have included Video Clips of old Malayalam, Hindi and Tamil songs (mostly from the 50s and 60s) as these are reminiscent of my vacations in Aluva, it does not mean that the latest film songs (of the 90s and latter) are any less in quality to the old numbers. Thanks to the latest innovations in computerized audio and recording techniques, these are a real treat to savour. Here, I have pleasure in sharing with you video clips of some sweet melodies from films of the 90s and latter that I enjoyed the most.

KALIYAATTAM (1997)

The film Kaliyattam is an adaptation of Shakespeare’s play ‘Othello’ and narrates the story of how Thamara (Desdemona), defy her father, her community and marry Perumalayan for the sake of an illogical love.

Manju Warrier plays the role of Thamara with strength of quiet conviction and Suresh Gopi dons the role of Perumalayan, a rather ugly-looking man, but regarded highly for his 'theyyam' skills and expertise in Kaliyattam. The cast also includes Biju Menon and Lal.
'Kaliyattam' is said to be the ancestral form of 'Kathakali' Kerala's premier dance-form.

Enjoy the Video clip of എന്നോടെന്തിനി പിണക്കം (Ennodenthini Pinakkam) a solo rendered by Bhavana Radhakrishnan to music composed by Kaithapram Damodaran Nampoothiri.

MANJU WARRIER & SURESH GOPI ON SCREEN

THANMATHRA (2005)

Thanmathra directed by Blessy portrays the effects of Alzheimer's disease on the life of an individual and his family. The film bagged five Kerala state film awards for the Best Film, Best Actor, Best Director, Best Screenplay and a special mention for the debutant actor Arjun Lal.
I have pleasure in sharing with you the Video clip of “Kaatru Veliyidai Kannammaa” an immortal Tamil lyric of Maha Kavi Bharathiyar, rewritten by Kaithapram and rendered by Sheela Mani, Sunil, Unnikrishnan and Vidhu Prathap to Mohan Sithara’s brilliant music composition.

MOHANLAL, MEERAVASUDEVAN AND ARJUNLAL ON SCREEN

BANARAS (2009)

Savour this sweet Gujarati style folk song from the film "Banaras"
rendered by Shreya Ghosh. Music composed by Jayachandran to Gireesh Puthenchery’s tantalizing Lyric.

പ്രിയനൊരാള് ഇന്നുവന്നുവോ
എന്റെ ജാലകത്തില് രാത്രി മൈന കാതില് മൂളിയോ
ചാന്ത് തൊട്ടില്ലേ നീ ചന്തനം തൊട്ടില്ലേ
കാറ്റു ചിമ്മിയ ചാറ്റല് മഴ ചിലങ്ങ കട്ടിയില്ലേ

KAVYA MADHAVAN AND VINEETH ON SCREEN

HIS HIGHNESS ABDULLAH (1991)

I consider “Gopika Vasantham Thedi” as the best number from Mohanlal’s Musical, His Highness Abdullah. Tuneful music rendered by the Late Raveendran Master to Kaithapram Damodaran Nampoothiri’s lyric and rendered by Yesudas and Chitra, you will never tire of devouring this video clip again and again.

നൂറു ജന്മം നോമ്പ് നോട്ടൊരു
തിരുവാതിരയാണീ രാധ
അലിയും തോറും അലിയും എന്
പരിഭവമെന്നരിയതെന്തേ
ഗോപിക വസന്തം തേടി വനമാലി

MOHANLAL AND GAUTAMI ON SCREEN

CHENKOL (1993)

Chenkol is a sequel to 'Kireedom' which is one of the all time best movies of Mohanlal. Sethumadhavan (Mohanlal), released from prison after serving time for murder, returns to find his mother ill, his younger sister working to support the family, his father not accepting him in the family because he is a jailbird, all his dreams shattered and a bleak future.

This Video clip “Madhuram, Jeevamrutha Bindhu” clearly depicts his present lot with nothing to look forward to. Music composed by M.G. Radhakrishnan to Gireesh Puthenchery’s lyric, this is a solo rendered by Yesudas.

സൌങന്ധികങ്ങളെ ..ഉണരൂ വീണ്ടുമെന്
മോകമാം രാത്രിയില് പാര്വനം പെയ്യുമീ
ഏകാന്ത യാമവീതിയില്‍
ശാന്തമാണെങ്കിലും ….ആആ ….ആആ
ശാന്തമാണെങ്കിലും പാതിരാകാറ്റിലും
വാടാതെ നില്ക്കുമെന്റെ ചേതന
പാടുമീ സ്നേഹരൂപകം …പോലെ
മധരം ജീവാമ്രിത ബിന്ദു

MOHANLAL ON SCREEN

DEVASURAM (1993)

സൂര്യകിരീടം വീണുടഞ്ഞു രാവിന് തിരുവരങ്ങില്

In Devasuram, Mohanlal has given a memorable performance as Mangalassery Neelakandan (Neelan) the rich, spoilt, wayward feudal lord with élan. Devasuram, directed by I.V. Sasi has a strong storyline backed by brilliant performance from Mohanlal and Revathy besides excellent musical score by M.G. Radhakrishnan to Gireesh Puthenchery’s lyrics.

Enjoy the Video clip of “Surya Kireedom Veenudanju” in Devasuram, rendered by M.G. Sreekumar.

MY DAYS IN ALUVA - KANNAN'S REMINISCENCES

2008-01-06T00:53:00.001-08:00

ALUVA MANAPURAM ON MAHA SIVARATRI DAY

"ആനത്തലയോളം വെണ്ണ തരാമടാ ആനന്ദ ശ്രീകൃഷ്ണാ വാമുരുക്ക്" എന്ന ഈ അവിസ്മരണീയമായ ഗാനത്തേ ഒന്നു ച്രെവിക്കുവാന് ഞാന് നിങ്ങളോട് അഭ്യര്ത്ഥിക്കുന്നു. 1951ന്നാം വര്ഷത്തില് പുറത്തിറങ്ങിയ "ജീവിത നൌക"എന്ന ചിത്രത്തില് കുഞ്ഞു കുഞ്ഞു ഭാഗവതരും അധ്ധേങതിണ്ടേ മകള് പുഷ്പൈയും ചേര്ന്നു ആലപിച്ച ഗാനം. ഞങ്ങളുടെ പ്രിയങ്ങരനായ അപ്പൂപ്പന് പൊന്നപ്പവിനു ഏറ്റവും ഇഷ്ടപ്പെട്ട ഗാനമാണിത്.

Actress B.S. Saroja in a still from Jeevitha Nauka

I invite you to take a moment and enjoy this evergreen melody "Aanathalayolam venna tharamada Aananda sree Krishna vaa Murukku" a duet by Kunju kunju Bhagavathar and his daughter Pushpa in the 1951 Malayalam Movi "Jeevitha Nouka" to get the flavour of a bygone era in Kerala.

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Now, let me elaborate a little bit into the background of this song.This melody follows an old custom in Kerala (especially in Malabar) wherein people belonging to a particular community sing (as husband and wife duo) in the forecourt of the houses of rich landlords (Janmies) during the famine month of Karkatakam (which runs in tandem to the Tamil month Aadi), and the Janmies used to give them rice, vegetables and sometimes money to alleviate their distress. Karkatakam, also called Kalla Karkatakam is considered as an inauspicious month as there are no festivals or celebrations during this month and no new ventures are tried as is the case with Tamil month Aadi. Then good tidings follow with the onset of Chingam the festive month of Uthradam, Tiruvonam & Avittam.

‘Jeevithan Nauka’ is still considered as the first Malayalam ‘mega hit’ film. It was simultaneously shot in Tamil and Telugu. The success of the different versions prompted the producers to dub the film in Hindi as ‘Jeevan Nauka’ (1952). The Hindi version also did well.

The film portrayed the life of simple folk in a small village in Kerala. The treatment is simple, straightforward and objective. At a time when most south Indian films told stories of kings and gods, ‘Jeevitha Nauka’ spoke of human sufferings. This was a new experience.

There were 14 songs in the film. Music by Dakshinamoorthy Swamy followed the then prevailing trend of imitating popular Hindi tunes. Mehboob entered the cinema world by singing for this film. Though an imitation of the Mohammed Rafi song from the Hindi film ‘Dulari’ (1949) ‘Suhani raat dhal chuki…’ (Naushad), the soulful rendering by Mehboob made the song ‘Akaale aarum kaividum…..’ memorable. Other songs like, ‘Aaanandamiyalum bale….’ (P. Leela) , ‘Thoraathasru dhaara….’ (Revamma), imitations of tunes from ‘Barsaat’ (1949, Shanker-Jaikishen) failed to impress. A duet, ‘Aanathalayolam venna tharameda…’ sung by Sebastian Kunjukunju Bhagavathar and Alappuzha Pushpam, father and daughter, in real life, became a super hit.

Noted playback singer Kozhikodu Mehboob made his film debut in Jeevitha Nauka. It will also be remembered for the songs, ‘Aanathalayolam venna tharameda…’ (Bhagavathar & his daughter Alapuzha Pushpam) and ‘Vana gayike vinnil varoo nayike...’ (P. Leela, Mehboob).

MY VACATIONS IN ALUVA

The No: 19 Down Cochin Express was speeding past Chalakkudi Railway Station Outer and my mind was racing ahead of the train, with excitement building up within me. The year was 1962, the season the beginning of summer. Seated comfortably by the window in a First class compartment, I looked around to see Ponnappa, dressed in his immaculate white mundu and silk shirt with all the folds in place, seated by my side, smoking his State express 555 Cigarette, immersed in “The Illustrated Weekly of India.” My mother sitting across was reading Kalaimagal a Tamil monthly and looking at her watch from time to time to see how long it would take to reach Alwaye. My brother Sudarsan, sitting by the opposite window was reading “Sports & Pastime” a sports publication of “The Hindu”, which he bought that morning at the Railway book stall in Coimbatore Junction a few hours ago. He was reading about the record third wicket partnership of 104 runs between Nari Contractor (86) and the Nawab of Pataudi (106) in the Madras Test against Ted Dexter’s English team in January 1962 that India won by 128 runs and the 5 match series 2-0. Cricket did not interest me and I looked out through the window. My mind was busy working, wondering what would be the movie on show at Pankajam Cinema and whether there was sufficient time to reach home, bask in the warmth of my grandmother Chithammai pampering me with her cuddly hugs, change, have my lunch and sneak to the matinee show at Pankajam cinema. The time was 11:00 A.M and as the show starts only at 3:00 PM, there was sufficient time as it takes only about 45 minutes to reach Alwaye from Chalakkudi. All the same, I was feeling restless wishing the train to reach Aluva sooner than it does.

Enjoy a ride behind the world's best looking steam engines:

My brother Sudarsan has provided a very interesting link which has a goldmine of information on the WP Engines of the Steam Locomotives used by the Indian Railways in the 60s and 70s, which were slowly phased out in the early 80s eventually giving way for the Diesel powered monsters. There are many pictures of these beauties available on http://www.geocities.com/ and here I am sharing with you a few of the picture of the magnificient WP Engines.

Living up to her fabulous reputation of being a beauty queen among locomotives is WP 7254 as she departs

A few words from master photographer Hal Hughes himself:

About WP No 7295 being got ready for Republic day I must point out that the Smoke Box door was not Painted with Silver paint it was Burnished by hand useing ash and pads made out of rope the door was taken off laid on the ground and 6 Cleaners were put to work on it for a number of days also the Cowcatcher and all other parts were Burnished the same way no Silver Paint was ever used on that WP the Year was 1957 and it was keept clean and was like that when I left the Northern Railway Delhi Divison SRE Shed in 1962 I was a Grade A Fireman on the Northern Railway Stationed at Saharanpur Best Regards to you keep up the good work.

Hal Hughes

By now, you undoubtedly agree about the WPs being one of the most handsome classes of steam engine built in the world. The glorious beasts live on eternally in the hearts of their admirers.
Concluding your ride behind one of the world's best looking Steam Engines:

This series, being mostly from the Southern Railway or South Central Railway, must be my favourite. This one is at Mettupalayam, near Coimbetore and at the Ooty foothills. She has obviously hauled the Blue Mountain Express (now, als, the Nilgiri Express) from Madras upto here. Now the pax will shift to a narrow gauge rake for the Ootacamund Hill Railway - 30 miles in 3 1/2 hours!! (V.Narayanaswami)

Back to Kannan

These WP Engines are more popularly known as Canadian Engines, perhaps due to the fact that they were either imported from Canada or imported CKD from Canada and assembled at Chitranjan. Our favourite No: 19 Down Cochin Express was endowed with one such beauty and we always identified the arrival of the train by its whistling, a distinct bray, unlike the normal whistle of other steam locomotives of the 60s.
A trip down the memory lane on the WP Steam locomotives has really excited me so much that you should bear with me for digressing a bit to quote a few lines from the beautiful melody "Naale Varunnu Thozi" a solo by P.Leela in the 1967 Malayalam Film Indhulekha, wherein an young wife awaiting the arrival of her husband, sings to her close friend (saheli), that goes like this:

"ഏഴൃ വെളുപ്പിന് ദൂരേ,
ഏലക്കാടുകള് കീരി
കാതളവൂതി പാഞ്ഞു വരും
തീവണ്ടിയിലാണ് നാളേ വരുന്നു തോഴി
മാരന് താമരത്താളുഠ എഴുതി "

(My husband will be arriving tomorrow at 7:00 in the morning, in the train, that is now speeding at a far away place, cutting across cardamom forests and surging forward, with its distinct whistle!!)

I have not been able to get a downloadable version of the widget for this song to upload the Audio in my Blog for your listening pleasure. However, you can savour this melody (and many such) in Malayalavedhi website by clicking on the following link:

http://www.malayalavedhi.com/

Back to my Reminiscences:

The train sped past Koratti, Karukutty and Angamali Railway stations and suddenly with the exotic sway of the compartment and a change in the rhythmic clattering of the wheels I realized that we were crossing Aluva Puza and I could not contain my excitement. I peeped out of the window, oblivious of the disapproving look of Ponnappa, for whom it was always ‘safety-first’ for his grandchildren, though he was much more adventurous when it comes to his own affairs. The scenic beauty of the huge sheet of water gushing underneath promised me an exciting vacation for the next one month, although I was aware that we will seldom get a chance to enjoy a dip in its soothing cool waters unless accompanied by an adult, chances of which were non-existent as neither Ponnappa nor our uncle Kunjamani ever go to Aluva Puza for a bath. So it was only film shows at Pankajam Cinema for us!!

The volume of the clattering of wheels increased with the engine driver applying the brakes as the train was grinding to a halt at Alwaye Station. The din and noise made by the passengers disembarking and those waiting at the station to receive their relatives/friends was pleasantly exacerbated by the noise from the hawkers selling their wares. Predominant among them was "ചായ്.. ചായ്.. ചായ്.. ചായാ... ചായ്.. ചായ്.. ചായ്.. ചായാ...(Chaai, Chaai, Chaai.. Chaayaaa…. Chaai, Chaai, Chaai.. Chaayaaa) repeated at regular intervals from the tea vendor, followed by ബീഡി... മുറുക്കാന്.. സിഗരറ്റ്... ബീഡി... മുറുക്കാന്.. സിഗരറ്റ്... (Beedi, murukkaan, cigarette, beedi, murukkaan, cigarette) from the man selling cigarettes and betel leaves and തേശാഭിമാനി പത്രം... തേശാഭിമാനി പത്രം... ( Desaabbhimani Pathram, Desaabbhimani Pathram” from the hawker of the Malayalam daily Desaabbhimani)” There was also a weak rendition of കാപ്പി ഉപ്പുമാ... കാപ്പി ഉപ്പുമാ... Kaapi.. Uppuma, Kaapi.. Uppuma” from a guy selling the staple South Indian breakfast of Coffee and Uppuma. I was happily drinking in all the din and noise at the station as these signposted the beginning of a pleasant vacation.

A VIEW OF ALUVA RAILWAY STATION

I think it is not out of place to elaborate a little about the significance of Alwaye railway Station. The station is right in the heart of Alwaye, bisecting the town into two halves with the rail-tracks running across the entire length of the town. It was not an uncommon sight to find people crossing either way through the main platform of the station to reach the other part of the town. They were seldom questioned or disturbed by the Railway staff who collect tickets only from the disembarking passengers. The station was a thoroughfare for one and all during periods of lull when no trains were passing through the railway station. Alwaye, though not a junction had a significance of its own because passengers from Parur, Perumbavoor, Kalamaserry and Eloor board the train or disembark at Aluva railway station. Alwaye railway station used to be the centre of a myriad of activities and perennially busy those days as the station receives and sends at least half a dozen trains to Mangalore, Salem, Madras, Bombay and other upcountry destinations..

FACADE OF ALUVA RAILWAY STATION

Ponnappa’s clerk Bhasi, who was waiting at the station to receive us, hands over our luggage to the porter, respectfully answers a few questions of Ponnappa about the status of a few ongoing cases during his absence, welcomes us with a warm smile and exchanges a few pleasantries with us. Ponnappa, acknowledging the bow of the Station Master with a nod, leads us out of Alwaye railway station, as the ticket collector at the exit gate, ushers Ponnappa outside respectfully without demanding the tickets from him. We reach the taxi rank, and driver Krishnan rushes forward, collects the luggage and deposits it into the enormous boot of his waiting Landmaster, and hold the door respectfully for Swamy (as Ponnappa was reverently addressed by one and all) to climb in. I squeeze-in with Bhasi in the front bench-seat of the car and enquire with him in a whisper what was the movie on show at Pankajam. Bhasi informs me in an undertone that “Sneha Deepam” a Malayalam film was on show. Driver Krishnan engages gear and eases his Landmaster out of the Parking lot. A ride home in Krishnan’s 1957 Landmaster normally heralds the beginning of our vacation in Alwaye.

THE 1957 LANDMASTER - TO US SHE IS A THING OF BEAUTY AND A JOY FOREVER AND WE LOVE HER!!

The vehicle, powered by a 1950 Morris Oxford side-valve engine, ignited by a conventional cam-point distributor and an electric fuel-pump that goes tick, tick tick when the engine gets heated up, was by no means a hi-tech car but we love her as the best automobile man has ever made. The alamode squire instrument panel in the middle looks exactly like an old valve-radio, with a huge speedometer dial in the left that seldom works and a cluster dial on the right with fuel gauge, Amp meter and temperature gauge none of which show the slightest sign of life even after starting the car. But the engine comes to life with a gentle purr at a slight tug of the self-starter knob and this beauty gets ready to take us places albeit at her own sedate pace of 50 KM per hour.

Driver Krishnan, then in his mid-fifties was a real character out of a storybook. Attired in Khaki shirt and mundu (the uniform of most of the public transport employees) with long unruly hair dripping with coconut oil and sporting a handlebar moustache and a pair of ear studs (Kadukkan as they’re called in Malayalam) to boot!! However, Krishnan’s signature tune was the pretension of servility he exhibits in Ponnappa’s presence, a demeanour that had won him the privilege of being Ponnappa’s favourite driver transporting him to the Court and back home everyday. Krishnan’s son Vijayan, also a taxi driver, used to substitute as Krishnan’s understudy, chauffeuring Ponnappa in his 1956 model Hindustan-14 on those occasions when Krishnan was indisposed or off duty due to his inebriated condition!!

It takes hardly about ten minutes drive from the railway station to reach our destination and even before the car comes to a complete halt in front of Pnnappa’s stately home in Bank road, I jump out of the car and rush inside like a bullet. There was Chithammai our grandmother waiting for us in the long veranda (Ummaram) of the house and I rush into her arms for a cuddly hug and a little bit of pampering. As Chithammai gets ready to receive her daughter and other grandchildren I disengage myself from her grip and shoot inside straight to the dining room cupboard to open a row of big stainless steel vessels (Sampadam) one after the other to inspect what were the goodies Chithammai had made for us to indulge in. I was not disappointed as I see huge vessels of golden fried banana chips, jackfruit chips, sweet banana chips (Sarkara varati), murukku, manoharam, Halwa and Jangiris (the last two made by a professional cook at Ponnappa’s behest). I immediately stuff my mouth and all my shirt and trouser pockets with all the eatables.

After the initial exchange of pleasantries and pampering and the subtle demonstration of love between mother and daughter i.e. our grandmother Chithammai and our mother Dorai, we were all instructed to go and have our bath to refresh ourselves from the travel fatigue and become cleaner before lunch. In the meanwhile, our mother had opened her suitcase and distributes our change clothes, towel (thorthu) and soap to each one of us. Oil bath was a daily ritual during our vacation in Alwaye and mandatory for the children. Chithammai used to douse a generous supply of coconut oil on our person and gently massage our scalp and body before giving the green signal to go and have our bath, as and when the bathroom becomes vacant.

The huge bathroom in the Aluva house needs special mention. It was detached by about 60 yards from the main building and adjoins the cattle shed (thozuthu in Malayalam) and overlooks the kitchen and the backyard. Previously used as a garage for Ponnappa’s car (an estate-wagon) it had two huge arch-shaped doors reaching almost to the 15 feet high roof. The makeshift bathroom was about 200 sq. Ft in area and the rear portion of the bathroom was used as storage for firewood and assorted items. The front half of the bathroom was the washing area with two huge buckets of cold water fetched from the well in the house and Ammoommai the 67+ old servant maid was in charge of replenishing the water each time someone takes bath. Hot water was available in the morning hours, in a huge open vessel (Arukkanchatty) boiled by Ammoommai in the conventional manner using firewood stacked in the rear portion of the bathroom.

The huge bathroom doors did not have a bolt to lock them in and the only signal to caution the intended user that the bathroom was already engaged as someone was taking bath was the sound of water splashing inside and the two huge doors almost touching each other in a closed position although invariably there used to be a gap between the doors for the daylight to filter-in as the bathroom had no electricity connection and natural light was the only source of lighting. The two huge doors used to remain open at all the other times. As children, we never used to bother about the lack of a locking facility and Ammoommai the elderly maid, used to pass in and out of the bathroom during our bath either to replenish cold water in the buckets or to tend to the hot water oblivious to our state of undress. However, when the elder members of the household were having their bath, she used to abstain from trespassing into the bathroom as a mark of courtesy to their privacy!!

The bathroom used to have an exotic smell of a mixture of assorted brands of soaps used by various members of the household, talcum powder, toothpaste, sandalwood paste used by Ponnappa, soap nut powder (Shikakhai), boiling water, firewood, coconut oil et al. I could still sense the smell in my nostrils taking me back on a nostalgic trip down my memory lane, although 40 years have passed since we have last visited our house in Alwaye!!
"വാസന്ത പഞ്ചമി നാളില് വരുമെന്നൊരു കിനാവ് കണ്ടു കിളിവാധിലില് മിഴിയും നട്ട് കാത്തിരുന്നു ഞാന്". 1964ഠ വര്ഷം റിലീസായ ഭാര്‍ഗവി നിലയം എന്ന സൂപ്പര് ഹിറ്റ് ചിത്രത്തില് ബാബുരാജ് മാസ്റ്റര് ഈണം പകര്ന്നു ജാനകി ആലപിച്ച ഈ ചോക ഗാനത്തെ ഒന്നു ച്രെവിക്കുവാന് ഞാന് നിങ്ങളോട് അഭ്യര്ത്ഥിക്കുന്നു.

Please spare a moment to listen to the song “Vaasantha Panchami Naalil Varumennoru Kinaavu kandu kili vaadhilil miziyum nattu kaathirunnu jnaanThis sad song denotes the disappointment and despair of an young girl awaiting the arrival of her beloved who never turns up. A solo by S. Janaki ” in the 1964 super hit Bhargavi Nilayam. Music composed by Baburaj.

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IT’S MEALTIME IN ALUVA!!

As I step out of the bathroom after a refreshing bath, the exotic aroma of Pappadoms being fried, ripe mango pulp boiling in delicious Pulissery, green banana & roasted yam curries being stir fried in coconut oil wafts through the air tingling my taste buds. By God, it’s mealtime in Aluva!! I walk briskly towards the kitchen, which is the main entry point for members of the household to enter the house unobtrusively after a bath in semi-attired state, as the long veranda in front used to be filled with Ponnappa’s clients in the morning hours.

I enter the kitchen and greedily grab a few Pappadoms, breaking a few more in the process and Chithammai my sweet grandmother who was frying the pappadoms, chides me calling me a themmaadi pattuzuvaan (roughly translated as little scamp) albeit with her tone of indulgent affection and asks me to go, change and have my lunch with Ponnappa.

The Kitchen in our Aluva house overlooks the long backyard of the house through its long window running through the entire breath of the backside wall and it is a convenient point for Chithammai to supervise the work of the daytime maid Ammoommai and call her in if necessary as her work spot is directly in front of the kitchen window.

First and foremost let me elaborate about the mealtime nuances of Ponnappa and his distinct tastes and preferences. It is in fact an interesting experience to just sit by his side and watch Ponnappa taking his meals as he has framed his own sets of dos and don’ts that have to be strictly followed by other members of the household particularly by Chithammai.

Ponnappa does not use a dining table but squats on the floor following the typical Pattar tradition atop a tortoise shaped wooden plank colloquially called as Aama Palakai. Even before he comes and sits for his meal, two silver platters should be kept in front of his Aama palakai, one main plate for the rice and curries and a side plate for Pappadoms with a bowl of curd to his left and water in a unique shaped vessel called Kindy.
As soon as rice was served on Ponnappa’s platter and two spoons of ghee (clarified butter) poured on it, Ponnappa sprinkles a few drops of water on the rice and recites Parseshana Mantram, which is performing Nivedhanam to the Bhagawan who resides in each one of us as an Antharyami, by reciting the Sloka and simultaneously eating a few grains of rice and ghee using only the thumb, index and middle fingers of the right hand do this. Once this is done the meal begins.
My favourite meal was “Neyyin Chadam” or Ghee-rice, a tasty concoction of piping hot rice mixed with a generous dose of ghee (surely, you wouldn’t worry about cholesterol problems, at the tender age of 10!!) and broken pieces of four or five large sized Pappadoms (no Sambar or Curry please) and consumed with gusto with Kadu Manga or Avakka Achaar as accompaniments. A real gourmet’s delight!!

Let me assure you that no dish prepared by the best of chefs in any Five star Hotels can come anywhere near my favourite Neyyin Chadam either in taste or flavour!!

Neyyin Chadam should not be confused with Nei-Choru or biriyani which is a meat preparation and cannot even be mentioned in Ponnappa’s household!!

LAZING POST LUNCH

After a sinfully heavy lunch, surely one cannot expect your brain and other mental faculties to be at their best, turbo charged and functioning on all their six cylinders!! No way!!! Some brainless activity and generally lazing around is certainly called for.

Our age being 10 or thereabouts, our appetite being insatiable it is little wonder that immediately after lunch we shoot straight into the larder like unguided missiles and raid the containers there and fill our snacks plates with all the goodies awaiting us in stainless steel containers (Sampadams). Most of them are fried ums like banana and jackfruit upperies (Chips), murukku, cheedai and thattai. There are also plenty of sweet concoctions like Halwa, Jangiri, Manoharam, Chakka Varati and above all Puttu.

This is a divine tasting sweet concoction made of fried semolina with saffron, jaggery, cardamom and cashew nuts, powdery in consistency and smooth to the touch.

Now, this delicacy Puttu is totally different from “puttu,” the staple breakfast food of Malayalees which is powdered rice and scrapped coconut steamed together in a tubular vessel, cylindrical in shape, consumed with Kadala, Pazham and two or three pappadoms.

Greedily grabbing huge helpings of all these sweets and savouries stuffed into all our shirt and trouser pockets and sometimes heaped in small plates, we make our way to the row of wooden easy chairs (five of them in all) in the front verandah (Ummaram) of Ponnappa’s Stately home. The verandah used to be cool and cozy from the shades of mango & jackfruit trees in the front, an ideal place to laze in the afternoons.

Sometimes, we pickup a few back copies of Ananda Vikatan and Kumudam, Tamil weeklies, patiently stacked by Chithammai in the order of their dates in the hall window, overlooking the verandah. We pull out copies of the weeklies paying no particular attention to the dates and mostly guided by the pictures on the cover page. We quickly riffle through the pages, stopping only to read the jokes and cartoons and throw the books back into the window ledge in no particular order.

I rush through the contents of these weeklies absently, my mouth and taste buds working overtime chomping on the sweets and savouries while my ears were attuned to wait for the broadcast of film songs from Pankajam Cinema, signaling the commencement of the matinee show shortly.

PANKAJAM CINEMA

Frequent visits to the Pankajam Cinema was an integral part of our vacations in Alwaye, and for me it used to be a daily treat in store and high-point of my vacation. Every afternoon, after enjoying an elaborate three-course lunch prepared by Chithammai, I used to wait for the broadcast of film songs from the cinema, played through a loudspeaker, signaling the commencement of the matinee show shortly.

I have blanket permission from Ponnappa to visit the theatre daily and see the movie on show, subject to two conditions. One, I was allowed to go alone only for the matinee show and two, an adult should accompany me and leave me within the precincts of the cinema, if I prefer to go for an evening show. Normally Ponnappa’s clerk Bhasi used to accompany me and leave me at the theatre and Panki, my grandmother’s nighttime maid used to bring me back after the show.

The usher in-charge of the balcony at Pankajam was Rahmanikka (Abdul Rehman) a thin and grumpy looking man, then in his early 50s. Rahmanikka was gifted with a razor-sharp memory as he not only remembers each and every member of Ponnappa’s household who were entitled to free entry to the cinema (the freebies include our second-cousins from Kochi) but remembers our faces even after the lapse of one year between our two consecutive vacations and ushers us in, albeit with a look of disapproval on his grumpy face. He also used to keep tabs on repeat visits to the same cinema by some members of the freebies-club, and I am sure my name was the topmost in his rogues-gallery.

What enticed me most to Pankajam Cinema were not the movies on show on the Silver Screen, as one would imagine, but the Projection Room and the cycle of activities there for each show.

The Projection room in Pankajam Cinema or for that matter in any movie-house used to be out of bounds for the movie-goers (not that the average movie-goer may even be remotely interested in visiting the projection booth) but to me it was the sanctum-sanctorum of the Cinema and the very purpose of my daily visits. The Projection room in Pankajam was at a slightly higher level (just a few steps) from the first-floor balcony and the domain of Madhavan, the Projectionist. For performing odd jobs like rewinding the film-reel after each show, cleaning the projectors, changing the carbon-arcs etc, Madhavan was assisted by his handyman and sidekick Jabbar, a boy then in his early twenties.

The two giant sized heavy-duty 35MM “Devi” Projectors (a locally assembled brand) standing side-by-side and the smaller slide projector in the farther corner of the projection booth used to fascinate me no end. Taking advantage of my interest and curiosity, Madhavan initiated me into the task of rewinding the film by hand, using a chain-driven freewheeling re-winder. Rewinding each film reel by hand-cranking takes about 10 to 15 minutes and used to be the most monotonous and tiresome activity in any cinema house, but I used to enjoy it and this activity used to give me a sense of importance as unless and until I rewind the film reel the next show cannot go-on. It was only much latter, may be in my early twenties, that I realized that Madhavan and his sidekick Jabbar, found a gullible sucker in me to dump this monotonous task.

Soon, I graduated from the rewinding activity to more important assignments as Madhavan used to allow me access to the Projectors. He taught me how to load the film-reel into the feeder-spool on top, how to thread the leader (the first few feet of blank-film in each reel) through the aperture-gate into the take-on spool below, how to gently run my hand on the film to check for slack if any and how to make the film taut by adjusting the sprockets with my fingers. I also learnt to install the carbon-arcs into the Arc-housing in the Projector, how to maintain the gap between the carbon sticks for maximum brightness and when to change the carbon sticks. However, the most important activity was constantly monitoring the remaining film in the feeder-spool through the film level window and start the standby projector at the appropriate time. The cue for changeover used to appear as alerts in the form of circles or triangles in the corner of the projected image.

The first alert appears about ten seconds before the end of the reel when you have to start the standby projector, already loaded with the next reel. After another seven or eight seconds, the changeover alert appears again, when you have to make the changeover within the next two seconds. The two projectors were interconnected through a changeover switch and as soon as the switch was pressed, the playing projector gets switched-off in sync with the switching-on of the standby projector.

This activity had to be carried out so deftly such that the screen never goes blank and the audience in the cinema-hall are oblivious to the change in the source projector. If you mess-up this activity (as I used to in the first few attempts) the tail-leader (the last few feet of blank-film in each reel) will pass through the aperture gate and the screen goes blank. This was nothing short of a catastrophe as you get immediate reaction from the audience in the cinema-hall, especially the frontbenchers, by whistling, booing and catcalls sometimes accompanied by loud expletives in pristine Malayalam!!

I loved all these activities and learnt the tricks of the trade faster than Jabbar and soon I was ready to run a show all by myself, although Madhavan never allowed that, understandably since, if anything goes wrong it was his job that would be at jeopardy and he had to face the music.

Another important and equally enjoyable part of my visits to Pankajam cinema was patronizing the petty-shop inside the theatre compound during interval break for refreshments. The shop, run by Jamalikka (Jamal) and his son, used to sell to the movie goers and passers by, an assortment of beedies, cigarettes, betel leaves, tobacco and soft-drinks. The last mentioned amongst Jamalikka’s wares was the object of my interest and I had two interesting choices to indulge in. One was a Sherbet (Sarbath in Malayalam!!) made of Sarsaparilla essence and fresh-lime juice doused with ice and water, a really tasty and restorative drink. The other was a soft-drink called “Love-O” a divine tasting Indian made cola, good till the last drop. It was really unfortunate that this superb cola had vanished from the market having lost the race to tasteless colas made by American soft-drink giants.

CRICKET

Our own version of the gentlemen’s game used to occupy most of our afternoons and evenings during our vacations in Alwaye. The game was played on the sprawling grounds in the forecourt of our Aluva house. The rules of our version of the game were quite different and varied from the official version of the game and tailor-made to suit our own requirements and limitations. Our limitations are numerous but I will list below just the major ones:

1. None of us have played the official version of cricket - neither at the school level nor at the lowest rung of league divisions.
2. We were not well equipped with the required gear like good bats, balls, pads, gloves or shoes.
3. Our knowledge of cricket was limited to bowling, batting and fielding and we had no clue about the finer nuances of the game.

However, we never shied away from shouting some of the cricketing jargons like ‘Howzaat?’ No ball, leg-bye etc., that we have picked up by listening to the running commentary of ongoing Test Matches broadcasted by All India Radio.

It may be noted that, unlike the present day generation, we did not have the facility of watching the game on TV those days, but I can assure you that listening to the running commentary of the game from some of the all-time greats like Beri Sarbadhikari, Chakrapani, Devraj Puri and Anand Rao was sheer pleasure and gave us the feeling as if we were sitting and watching the game in the stadium in the midst of all the action. Such was the verbal power of these commentators!!

Now, for the rules and regulations of our own version of the game:

1. There were two teams consisting of only 3 Players on each side and my brother Sudarsan and I were the rival captains for our respective teams.
2. Each batsman had to bat alone without a partner (non-striker) so even if the batsman scores a quick single, he still gets to face the next delivery.
3. Bowling was always done from the Pankajam Cinema End and the batsman always bats at the Federal Bank end of the field (the next building adjoining our house was a branch of the Federal Bank).
4. As there were only 3 Players on each side, all the players other than the batsman should field, no matter even if your team is batting.
5. Thus, once the batsman is given ‘out’ he does not return to the pavilion (the verandah of the house) but immediately takes his position as a fielder.
6. There were no Umpires and whether or not a batsman is out is decided mostly by loud arguments, the decibel level being the decider and sometimes by the elder members of the family, if our verbal duel reaches a crescendo necessitating intervention by the senior members of the household!!.

It may be noted that the verdict by the senior members of the family seldom had any relevance to what actually transpired on the field and mostly guided by their own equation with the player concerned or what is the best course of action to follow to avoid the present situation getting out of hand!!

7. We used to play without a wicketkeeper as the stumps were very close to the Eastern wall of the compound and wall deflects the ball to one of the fielders.
8. Scores were never recorded but maintained by each player only in his memory and always used to be a subject matter of dispute with substantial differences and had sufficient room for cheating. The ultimate scores were finalized by hectic bargaining between the rival sides!!

9. The game was played with a homemade ball designed by us, by patiently collecting the secretions of the rubber trees (4 of them) inside our compound each morning and rolling them into an oblong shaped ball.

The ball used to shoot-off like a missile, in a trajectory of its own and the bowler had absolutely no control on his deliveries or the batsman on his strokes!!

10. The rule of LBW had no sanctity and the batsmen were allowed to block the ball with their legs to avoid hitting the stumps.
11. Each member of the team gets to bowl in turns, no matter whether the bowling is effective or not. If it takes 12 overs to bowl-out the opponents, each player in a team bowls 4 overs.
12. Each over is restricted to strictly 6 deliveries, noballs and wides were not recognized and no extra deliveries were allowed.
13. On the same token, a batsman is declared out, if he were clean bowled or caught, noballs and wides not withstanding.

14. Fielding positions were always fixed with two fielders on the on-side and two on the off-side and the bowler or the captain need not strain his brain about setting the field or changing field positions.

15. Strange as it may appear, but it is true that sometimes the batsman also duplicates as a fielder chasing his own strike, if one of the four fielders were to be temporarily absent, either to drink a glass of water or to pursue matters of other interests!!

Our rival teams had six permanent members (3 a side) and sometimes guest players strengthened the teams in numbers whenever our second cousins from Kochi and Parur visit Aluva. Besides my brother and me, there were 4 other permanent players in our two rival teams. These were four brothers from a neighbouring house namely (a) Dorai Mani (b) Rajamani (c) Harimani and (d) Veeramani in the order named. They were in fact five brothers in all, including Kontha Mani the eldest, who never used to join us for cricket, may be because he was not in our age group.

Let me digress a bit to explain the concept behind the moniker ‘Kontha Mani’ which follows an age-old tradition followed amongst all Palakkad Bhramin households.

The first son of the Palakkad Bhramin household is invariably given the name of his Paternal Grandfather. In the joint family system those days, where the married sons live together with their parents in the same house, it becomes a tad embarrassing for the mother to call her son by his first name, which is also the name of her father-in-law as it may sound disrespectful when the old man lives in the same premises and may unwittingly respond to his name being called!! More so, when the mother wants to reprimand her child for some of his misdemeanour, which may appear to her mother-in-law as if she is using her son as a façade to give vent to her real feelings against her father-in-law to settle scores!!

So the name Konthai, meaning baby, comes in handy, as the mother and other members of the household are free to discipline the errant child by shouting at him and calling him names. Thus the first-born son becomes Konthai Anna to his brothers and sisters, Kontha Periappa or Kontha Mama to his siblings' children and Kontha Pattappa to their grandchildren!! It is not uncommon to find many Konthais within the same household in a joint family, as the first son of each brother gets the name of his paternal grandfather.

The same rule goes for the first female child who is named after her paternal grandmother but called Kunja or Chingi or Inja or some such. However, this problem does not arise for the second and subsequent children as they get the name of their maternal grandparents who do not live with them in the same house save occasional courtesy visits.

More………

YAADEIN

2007-12-19T21:35:00.001-08:00

Any discussion on movies is incomplete without a reference to Bollywood, the hub of the entertainment scene in India. Though I was born and brought up in the Southern parts of India , where Hindi is not widely spoken, I had a good dose of Bollywood films in the places I grew up and again my memory rewinds to the nostalgic 1950s & 60s, the era of legends like Dev Anand, Dilip Kumar not to forget the Kapoor Khandan (of all shapes, sizes and ages) and heroines like Nutan, Vyjayantimala, Sadhana,Simi et al.
Here I am sharing with you some of the evergreen melodies of my childhood from Bollywood films of the 50s & 60s.

KOHINOOR

Kohinoor is a 1960 entertainer produced by Dr V. N. Sinha and directed by S U Sunny. The film stars Dilip Kumar, Meena Kumari, Kum Kum and Leela Chitnis. It is said that Dilip Kumar went into depression after playing tragic roles in films such as Devdas and his psychiatrist recommended that he do lighter roles. One such role that he took up was Kohinoor. Kohinoor had Dilip Kumar and Meena Kumari play a prince and princess of different kingdoms and was full of sword fights, songs and dances. Its tone was light and it lacked the intense characterizations of his earlier films.

This song 'Madhuban mein Radhika Nache Re' is an all-time hit and remembered even today, after almost 50 years, for its tuneful music by Naushad and soulful rendering by the Greatest ever, the one and only Mohamed Rafi.

DILIPKUMAR AND KUM-KUM ON SCREEN

MADHUMATI

Madhumati (1958) directed by Bimal Roy and written by Ritwik Ghatak deals with reincarnation and had a gothic noir feel to it. The film was one of Roy's greatest commercial successes. Madhumati is the very first Hindi Movie that I saw and it perehaps baptized me into a string of other Hindi Films.. Music by Salil Choudhury, lyrics by Shailendra. The movie stars Dilip Kumar, Vyjayantimala, Pran and Johnny Walker.

While all the songs in Madhumati were super-hits, here I am sharing with you what I consider as the best number in Madhumati.

“Dil tadap tadap ke keh raha hai aa bhi ja

Tu humse aankh na chura, tujhe kasam hai aa bhi ja

Tu nahin tho yeh bahaar kya bahaar hai

Gul nahin khile ke tera intezaar hai.. ke tera intezaar hai”

VYJAYANTIMALA & DILIPKUMAR ON SCREEN

HUM DONO

Hum Dono (1961) is a Dev Anand super-hit produced by Navketan films. Written by Vijay Anand, the film is directed by Amarjeet. The film stars Dev Anand in a double role, and also has Nanda, Sadhana and Leela Chitnis. Hum Dono is also known for its mellifluous music by Jaidev. Here I have pleasure in sharing with you “Abhi Na Jao Chodkar” a duet rendered by Mohamed Rafi & Asha, an all time super-hit number in Hum Dono.

SADHANA WITH DEVANAND ON SCREEN

CID

C.I.D (1956) produced by Guru Dutt and directed by Raj Khosla features Dev Anand, Shakila, Johnny Walker, K. N. Singh and Waheeda Rehman. The movie was a crime thriller and has Dev playing a police inspector investigating a case. O. P. Nayyar composed music to the lyrics of Majrooh Sultanpuri.

I invie you to savour “Ankhon Hi Mein” a duet rendered by Mohamed Rafi & Geeta Dutt.

Geeta Dutt (1930 - 1972) originally known as Geeta Ghosh Roy Chowdhuri was a prominent Indian playback singer in Hindi films in the 1950s and 60s, and also a singer of Bengali songs.

SHREE 420

Raj Kapoor (1924-88) is considered one of the greatest showmen of the "golden age" of Bombay musicals, and one of Bollywood's first megastars: producer and director, as well as star, of a string of box office hits. Shri 420 is one of the masterpieces of the Bombay cinema of the 50s, This is the second film to feature Raj Kapoor’s trademark character Raju, a Chaplinesque Indian Everyman. The title refers to section 420 of the Indian penal code, which deals with fraudsters; to call someone "a 420" is to imply that he is a cheat; "Shri" is an honorific prefix.

The song "Ramayya vastavayya, Ramayya vastavayya…." is an evergreen number from Shree 420 rendered by the two legends of Hindi Cinema, Mohamed Rafi & Mukesh besides Lata and chorus.

AWAARA

Awaara (The Rogue) released in 1951 and directed and produced by Raj Kapoor who also did the lead role. His father Prithviraj Kapoor also stars as his on-screen father and Prithiviraj's father Dewan Bashwanath Kapoor also played a cameo in his only film appearance.

I invite you to enjoy the Video clip of “Ghar Aaya Mera Pardesi” an evergreen hit from Awara. Music composed by Shankar Jaikishan duo to Shailendra’s inimitable lyric.

TERE MERE SAPNE

Tere Mere Sapne (1971) was produced by Navketan Films and written & directed by Vijay Anand. The movie features Dev Anand, Mumtaz, Hema Malini, Vijay Anand and Prem Nath. The film's music is by S. D. Burman, and the story is based on "The Citadel", a novel by A.J. Cronin. Please enjoy the Video clip of "Jeevan Ki Bagiya Mehkaygi" a sweet melody rendered by Kishore Kumar & Lata to S.D.Burman's Music in Tere Mere Sapne.

DEVANAND AND MUMTAZ ON SCREEN

PADOSAN (1968)

Padosan is a lighthearted comedy and tells the story of a simpleton (Sunil Dutt) who falls in love with his neighbour (Saira Banu) and woos her with ceaseless support from his friends (Kishore Kumar, Mukri, Raj Kishore and Keshto Mukherjee). Mehmood donning the role of a Tamil musician and rival to Sunil Dutt is the highlights of the film.
It is a remake of the super-hit Tamil film Adutha Veettu Penn (1960) starring Anjali Devi, Thangavelu and T.R. Ramachandran.

KISHORE KUMAR , MEHMOOD, SUNIL DUTT AND SAIRA BHANU ON SCREEN

DOSTI 1964

Dosti is an amazing depiction of friendship between Mohan (Sudhir Kumar) who is blind and Ramu (Shushil Kumar) a cripple. Sudhir Kumar and Sushil Kumar have performed as if they were born to play the role. The bonding between the two is perfect in the movie. Direction by Satyen Bose is faultless with each emotion being captured and portrayed so vividly. The scene where Mohan brings a lantern for Ramu was just superb and the way Ramu's examination result is disclosed to Mohan at the end is so heart wrenching and emotional that one can hardly resist one's tears.

The fact that Dosti was released on the same day as Sangam (the magnum opus from RK banner) and gave the latter a run in box-office ratings was hard to digest for some of the super powers of Bollywood and SudhirKumar (the role of blind boy) died under mysterious circumstances soon after the release of Dosti.

I invite you to enjoy the Video Clip of the song ‘Raahi Manwa Dukh Ki Chinta’ a solo by Mohamed Rafi in Dosti.

SUDHIR AND SUSHIL KUMAR DUO ON SCREEN

ENDNOTE

2007-08-22T05:03:00.001-07:00

I know I have not done enough justice to Ponnappa in this blog as whatever reminiscences I have recorded herein are from my childhood memories, which are fading, as all these happened in the early and mid 60s, more than 45 years back and I have only posted what I could recollect. Our visits to Aluva abruptly ended in 1970 after my grandmother Chithammai’s death, and after that although I have made a few more trips to Aluva, these were not the same except to rekindle some nostalgic memories of the past.

MANJU, MY BETTERHALF

After reading my Blog, my wife Manju and daughters Shilpa and Madhu, the three ladies who rule my life, were quite surprised by the way I have chronicled my childhood - the sights, smells and sounds and the extent of affinity I have shown for Aluva. The appreciation from my family triggered a brainwave in me and I said I will buy one or two acres of land in a residential locality in Aluva and construct a house, replicating Ponnappa’s Bank road home in every detail. I thought this will sort of preserve some of my memories associated with Ponnappa and Chithammai and my days in Aluva. But Manju, Shilpa and Madhu were not quite enthusiastic about this and naturally so. To them, Aluva is some obscure town in some part of Kerala, a place they have no intention to visit even for a brief stopover.

SHILPA - QUEEN OF HER SPECIES

I pondered on this a good deal. Replicating Ponnappa’s Bank Road home in Aluva, seems to be a good idea to me but it's not fair to force my clichéd fascination for a hackneyed construction on my family, to relive my childhood memories. Suddenly the balloon was pricked and I realized it will not be the same.

MADHU - BEWITCHING SMILE!!!

A replicated Aluva home without Chithammai & Ponnappa, without Bhasi, Ammommai, Milkman Sankaran & Paperboy Mohideen and last but not the least an Aluva without Pankajam Cinema!!! No way!!

MOM'S BABES - SHILPA'S WEDDING

It’s impossible to recreate our childhood memories by constructing another house as revisiting one’s childhood is something money cannot buy. Further, Aluva itself has faded into further oblivion, what with Nedumbaserry airport having suddenly brought Angamali into limelight and the rapid development of Kochi on one side and Thrissur on the other with the influx of Gulf remittances in the 80s and 90s haves left Aluva in the lurch without any development to boast about except for a surge in real-estate prices.

THE TWO CHARMERS!!

I think, this Blog will remain as a standing testimony to the life of a great and unique person Ponnappa, and Chithammai our sweet grandmother and their abundant love for their grandchildren, which I was fortunate to savour in good measures that made Ponnappa’s Bank Road Home a haven of unadulterated joy for us. I think it is best to leave things as they are!!!

Kannan

தேன் துளிகள்

2007-08-22T05:02:00.002-07:00

Any visitor to my Blog on Ponnappa may get the impression that I am a Malayalee and the blog is meant for promoting old Malayalam films and songs and all the anecdotes associated with the blog pertain to our days in Kerala. Well, this impression would be light-years away from the truth and my love for Tamil is no less than my love for Malayalam and this Chapter “Thaen Thulikal” is dedicated to Tamil, my favorite language replete with sweetness and a rich heritage.

தேன் துளிகள் என்ற இந்தப் பகுதியில் நான் எனது பள்ளி மற்றும் கல்லூரி நாட்களில் மிகவும் ரசித்த சில அருமையான பழைய தமிழ் சினிமாப் பாடல்களின் வீடியோ காட்சிகளை பகிர்ந்து கொள்ளுவதில் பெரு மகிழ்ச்சி அடைகின்றேன். கண்டு ரசியுங்கள்.

அபூர்வ சகோதரர்கள் (1949)

This Tamil folk song ‘Laddu, laddu Mittaai Venuma?” rendered by Bhanumati in Apoorva Sahodararkal (1949) is more like a childhood Psalm to us as we used to repeatedly listen and savour this melody during our vacations in Alwaye. One specialty of this song is that it starts in Tamil and flows through many other South Indian dialects viz.. Malayalam, Telugu, Kannada and ultimately ends in Hindi.

Apoorva Sahodararkal had tuneful music by Rajeswara Rao, M.D. Parthasarathy & Reema and, as is the case with any Gemini Studios venture, production values were of the highest order - sets, costumes, dances and the lot. Bhanumathi soared to new heights with her facile acting, good singing and innate charm. This song, ‘Laddu…Ladduuu…Mittaai Venumaa?’ an adaptation of the original folk song, rewritten by Kothamangalam Subbu and V. Sitaraman had lines in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and Hindi. This song became a highlight of the movie due to Bhanumati’s brilliant rendition and histrionics.

1949ம் வருடம் ரிலீசான அபூர்வ சகோதரர்கள் என்ற படத்தில் பானுமதி பாடி இருக்கும் "லட்டு லட்டு மிட்டாய் வேணுமா? ரவாலாடு பூந்தியும் வேணுமா?" என்ற இந்த அருமையான நாட்டுப்புறப் பாடலின் வீடியோ காட்சியை கண்டு ரசியுங்கள்.

அபூர்வ சகோதரர்களில் பானுமதி

PUDHU PENNIN MANATHAI THOTTU PORAVARE

The film Parasakthi was released in 1952 on Deepavali Day, after months of shooting and preparations. AVM Productions, after a series of hits like Naam Iruvar and Vazhkai planned to make this film in 1952, with Sivaji Ganesan a newcomer who was catapulted to fame overnight and went on to become a legend in Tamil Cinema.

Made at an impressive budget, Parasakthi critcally examined the social issues prevalent those days and by the time the film was off the theatres, it had created a revolution. The film was accused of trying to portray Brahmins in poor light and abuse Hindu customs and religious practices. Chakravarthi Rajagopalachari (Rajaji) the then Chief Minister of Madras State was unhappy with the extremely provocative nature of the film but allowed it to be screened.
Music composed by R. Sudarsanam to Udumalai Narayana Kavi’s lyric, this duet portrays Sivaji Ganesan and Pandari Bai on screen.

1952ம் வருடம் தீபாவளி ரிலீசான பராசக்தி என்ற படத்திலிருந்து "புதுப் பெண்ணின் மனதைத் தொட்டுப் போறவரே" என்ற பாடலின் வீடியோ காட்சியைக் கண்டு ரசியுங்கள்.

SIVAJI GANESAN AND PANDARI BAI IN PARASAKTHI

கூண்டுக்கிளி (1954)

எழுத்தாளர் விந்தன் கதை, வசனம் மற்றும் பாடல்கள் எழுதி, சிவாஜி கணேசனும் எம்ஜிஆரும் சேர்ந்து நடித்து பெருமை பெற்ற ஒரே படம்தான் கூண்டுக்கிளி.

கொஞ்சும் கிளியான பெண்ணை
கூண்டுக்கிளியாக்கி விட்டு
கெட்டி மேளம் கொட்டுவது சரியா தப்பா?

விண்ணுலக ஆசையின்றி
விரும்பும் பெண்ணை நேசத்தோடு
கண்ணியமாய் காதலித்தல் சரியா தப்பா?

மற்றொருவன் வாழ்வுக்காக
மனமறிந்த பெண்ணை விட்டு
மனமுடைந்து சுற்றுவது சரியா தப்பா?

சரியா தப்பா? சரியா தப்பா?

Koondukkili (1954) is the only film where Sivaji and MGR, the two heavyweights of Tamil Cinema featured together. I am one of the lucky few who had the privilege of seeing this movie in one of its re-runs in the 70s at a place called Tindivanam, a small town in the interior of Tamil Nadu.
Although this is a Sivaji-MGR starrer, within 15 minutes into the movie, MGR goes to jail, voluntarily taking the blame for a crime committed by Sivaji Ganesan and then it's Sivaji Ganesan all the way till MGR returns in the end. This is one of the very few movies wherein Sivaji dons the role of a villain, "Antha Naal" and "Uthama Puthiran" being the other two, although in "Uthama Puthiran" Sivaji has done a dual role - both the Hero and the Villain.

Besides being a Sivaji-MGR starrer, Koondukkili has one more distinction. This is the debut film for playback singer TMS (T.M. Soundararajan) who shot to overnite fame with Koondukkili and dominated the Tamil Film Industry for more than three decades as a playback singer with an unique ability to modulate his voice to suit both Sivaji Ganesan and MGR.

Here I have pleasure in sharing with you a scene in Koondukkili, wherein MGR saves Sivaji Ganesan from committing suicide and changes his mind by counseling.

SIVAJI GANESAN & MGR ON SCREEN

நாடோடி மன்னன்

After Madurai Veeran, Nadodi Mannan was the second movie to cross the Rs 1 Crore collection mark. It was also selected as the best film for the year 1958 amidst competition from other superhits like "Uthama Puthiran" and "Sampoorna Ramayanam".

This was the first film to surpass 100 days for the second time re-release in the same theatre. First and only movie released subsequently in 6 movie halls in Srilanka to cross 100 days.

The 100th day celebration function in Madurai, MGR was awarded a 110 sovereign Gold Sword (தங்க வீர வாள்) by the DMK supremo C.N. Annadurai. Later in 1985 MGR gifted the sword to Kollur Moogambigai Temple in Karnataka. MGR is the first Director to get the Best Director award on his debut as Director.

Nadodi Mannan was the first Tamil movie screened continuously for 8 weeks in London.

Nadodi Mannan has a run time of nearly 4 hours. It is the lengthiest MGR movie so far. This movie holds the record for the most number of Special Edition issued by 10 national Newspapers and the Indian Movie News of Singapore has also issued a Special Edition on the success of Nadodi Mannan.

And this was the first movie in the World to show a Political flag as a Banner. All the Actors and Actress who participated in the film gave a memento, a 6 feet Silver Cup which is now kept as an exhibit in MGR Memorial house.

"தூங்காதே தம்பி தூங்காதே நீயும் சோம்பேரி என்ற பெயர் வாங்காதே" நாடோடி மன்னனில், பட்டுக்கோட்டை கல்யாணசுந்தரம் எழுதிய இந்த அற்புதமான பாடலின் வீடியோ காட்சியை கண்டு ரசியுங்கள்.

MGR & Bhanumati in Nadodi Mannan

வியட்னாம் வீடு

உன் கண்ணில் நீர் வழிந்தால்

என் நெஞ்சில் உதிரம் கொட்டுதடி

என் கண்ணில் பாவையன்றோ

கண்ணம்மா என்னுயிர் நின்னதன்றோ

Vietnam Veedu may be considered as a major milestone in Tamil Cinema inasmuch as it deviated from the run off the mill formula love stories of Tamil Films of the late 60s and portrayed an aged couple as the central characters. Sivaji Ganesan, in a scintillating performance as Prestige Padmanabhan, brought to life a retired middleclass Brahmin and his failure in disciplining his wayward children to instill the right values in them.

While it may be difficult to believe, it is also true that Vietnam Veedu is the debut venture for writer/director Vietnaam Veedu Sundaram, who penned the immortal central character, Prestige Padmanabha Iyer.

This adaptation of one of Maha Kavi Bharathiyar's songs from his Kannamma series, rewritten by Kannadasan, has been picturised so well and depicts beautifully the strong bond of love between an aged couple and how the husband in despair finds some solace and comfort in his wife’s proximity. In this scene, Padmini has matched and perhaps surpassed Sivaji Ganesan’s histrionic talents in every conceivable way as the middle-aged wife comforting her desolate husband.

SIVAJI GANESAN AND PADMINI IN A SCENE FROM VIETNAM VEEDU

சம்பூர்ண ராமாயணம்

1958ம் வருஷம் ரிலீசான சம்பூர்ண ராமாயணம் என்ற படத்தில் வரும் சில மிக அருமையான பாடல்களின் வீடியோ காட்சிகளை உங்களுடன் பகிர்ந்துகொள்வதில் பெரு மகிழ்ச்சி அடைகிறேன்.

வீணை கொடியுடைய வேந்தனே

This scene is the famous court scene from the Tamil film 'Sampoorna Ramayanam' . The court of Ravana honours a musician and Ravana himself joins him in entertaining the court with his Veena Skills. In this scene, at the request of his deputies in his court, Ravana explores the nuances of various Ragas that are sung on various occasions.

T.K. BHAGAVATY, SANDHYA AND SUPPORTING CAST

பாதுகையே துணையாகும்

This is the most touching scene when Bharatan (Sivaji Ganesan) leaves the forest after visiting Sri Raman and taking with him Raman's Sri Paduka (footwear) and to symbolically keep it in the throne when he rules Ayodhya as Rama's understudy.

SIVAJI GANESAN, N.T. RAMARAO AND PADMINI ON SCREEN