Aaj Ki Kahani

It's election time in India and it so happened that I was in Chennai. If I was elsewhere I doubt if I would have taken pains to come to Chennai to cast my vote. With election fever gripping the country and media spewing an over enthusiastic dosage of whitewashing and dirt throwing and propagation of false fake news, it was very difficult to judge and decide on the right person and party to handover the nation to, for the next tenure. I was getting clouded by mom's political leanings. Where ever people meet, political discussions and arguments only were heard. People trying to force their views on each other. They succeeded in discombobulating me. My brain was more addled! Anyways the election day dawned in Chennai, a humid sultry one. My mom was surprised to see me awake and ready before 7 am. I spent some time talking to the Gods in the puja... sincerely asked God to help us elect a good leader to lead our country. Hadn't received a slip informing our vo...

I prefer taking a circuitous route from Tambaram to Annanagar.. EMU till Nungambakkam climb up the 90 steps huffing and puffing and pray at the small temple at the end of the road, (never have I seen the temple open!) Then amble down to the bookstall selling duplicates. I invariably spend a good 30 mins browsing and buying. Then a share auto to Annanagar, rubbing shoulders and thighs with strangers inhaling the sweat and perfume! Today I decided to forgo all these pleasures and took the bus from the MEPZ bus stop to Annanagar. I asked a few people waiting for the bus "Annanagar bus?" After confirming I waited craning my neck to read the bus numbers, wiping my spectacles clean. People were running to catch their buses all in a hurry to reach office probably. Buses to all other destinations came and went, some unheard of places too. A lady came to me and asked about a bus and if it had gone, I told her 3 buses to her destination passed by in the last 15 mins. She st...

Well I am here on the sofa again... that favourite place in my home. Revelling in indolence, I am found, with 3 cushions supporting my spine, (2 big and 1 small), one for the neck and another one for the hand, the other side has the armrest. Its a recliner, so all the more comfortable with my stubby legs stretched. I love these cushions and the husband flings them on to the floor if it's on his side of the sofa. He does borrow one at times for his neck though and I grudgingly part with one, rearranging the cushions and muttering under my breath. Now where was I?! Hah on the sofa ensconced in my cocoon.....with the Gulf news in my hand and Illayaraja on the stereo crooning melodies from the 80's and 90's. I think I have ADHD, I drop the paper pick up my phone and start typing! Music is an integral part of my (our) life! I listen to songs almost most of my waking time. I have the radio on tuned onto a Malayalam station when I am making coffee and breakfast. The husba...

I was flying again. This time with mom and my aunt both recently widowed. My aunt on her maiden foreign trip and my mom on her second trip to Dubai, this time without dad. She was in a tensed mood 2 days before the flight and was weeping and delaying even when the cab came to pick us up. We reached the airport well before time, finished the formalities and waited at the gate. We were busy talking to ourselves that I didn't observe much of what was happening around me. At the boarding announcement, we got into our flight. The business class was empty and we were just 2 rows after the business class. I was sandwiched between my aunt in the window seat and my mom in the aisle. We switched off the mobiles and were ready for the air hostess to begin her routine. But absolutely no trace of her or the pilots announcement. Just then a young girl of 20 years sprung up from the seat behind and rushed to the front. Mom and I commented that she might be asking for changing her seat from ...

Signs of advancement of age is when you begin to reminisce about things of the past. So yesterday afternoon lounging on the sofa, looking at my house - a total disarray as I was in the throes of moving out of Dubai - selling, packing, throwing away things ...I looked fondly at the place where my music system was placed earlier, just sold it to a Pathan - Suleiman Bhai, my TV, music system and my microwave. India and Pakistan were in a dicey state now with wing commander Abhinandan awaiting his release, I was serving "Roohafsa" to Suleiman Bhai. And the "thing" I was particularly remembering fondly was the cassettes, tape recorders and the walkman! hah..what fond memories indeed.  My first tape recorder was a Philips make, (incidentally S Bhai took away another Phillips from me) initially I bought a BPL stereo but had to return it the next day as it was emitting fumes along with the music. The BPL one was sleek, the Phillips wasn't too great looking but...

I don't like pets,especially the hairy ones! I find them scary and repelling. I had a harrowing experience when I was forced to share my home with a feline ....for just a few hours! With the daily morning drill done,and sending the husband off to toil, I switched on the TV to watch a movie. Browsing Netflix, Amazon Prime and the kind for a while, selected the hindi flick "Trapped ", the trailer and review being acceptable. Rajkumar Rao trapped in an apartment on the top floor of an unoccupied building and his troubles. I was so engrossed in the movie, and had a start as I sensed a movement in the balcony. Not wanting to move my, well, you know what I am implying at (wink), I stayed glued onto the screen. But something was pulling my attention away from the TV... I heaved myself up from the comfort of my sofa and cushions,  irritably muttering, (this muttering is becoming a habit) to see a  big  brown  cat staring at me.  I sensed it was absolutely scare...

I am not the gardening type. This thought has taken root since childhood when I tried to grow a plant. We stayed in the Air force quarters, a small modest accommodation with a patch of land. We had a fence of shrubs and a rickety wicket gate in the front. Mom loved crotons, she didn't want the flowering plants as the neighbourhood kids would ransack the flowers, leave the gate open for the grazing cows and goats to finish the job. Yes we lived in perfect harmony with the cows and goats, hens and crows and wild plants surrounding the quarters. These crotons grow aplenty in Air force station compound and dad would get a branch of the various colourful plants. After work he would take the gardening equipment and dig holes in the land after mom decides and plans the pattern of our garden. I would be dad's assistant, feeling very important, although dad wouldn't let me touch the sharp instruments or carry load, yes totally pampered single child I was! We would lay out our gard...