Vanakkam Doctor !

As I used him as a safety net To tread an often unsafe path, My nimble fingers were Tenderly caressed And I really cared for nothing…... My ideologies and beliefs Began with him During those late night Tedious Cycle trips to Chennai’s cinema halls Scattered along the Anna saalai!! He was full of contradictions; unknown and unheard logics…. No wonder, Life was hard on him As he was on life. Valour and pride, albeit self pitied, with self contained Inferiority complex….. Humble background; The eloped educational boat Along with his untimely father’s death. I revered him and adored him, for his whole package! Whilst he adored cricket And be up in the early hours, niggling my feet For an Australian telecast feast. Hated him for many reasons too…. The quintessential quarrelling and bickering Sequel- ling the monthly fiasco of insufficient pay slip!!! He was my friend, He was my unsung hero. Sincere smoker, possibly till the end Addicted to the rummy game especially with his friends! Simple ...

What swayed me over to the kites? We lived in North Chennai, that millennium and that was the entire pre requisite for flying kites. There were no barriers to kite flying in terms of caste, religion, class or anything for that matter. You just have to have kite and thread kandai or a lottai, sooner or later you will be surrounded by anyone from the list above! I have seen upper middle class mingling with ordinary class people very easily when it came to flying kites and I still feel that it was the common bonding factor that was widely prevailing in 70's and 80's North Chennai, a sense of camaraderie, which may possibly still exists in that part of Chennai.........I love and admire! Yes, My father did it, his brothers and uncles did it and I am sure, their fathers did it and we all did it! I was possibly four or five, when one fine day; my appa came home with bundle of black maanja nool, a meesaii baana kite and a cooler on his eyes. Here we go! That was the...