Vanakkam Doctor !

"Maha Nadhi” a Kamal starrer was released for 1994 Pongal and that was the last movie, I had watched with all my family members, in Feb 1994, before my departure to London . Ilayaraja was scintillating as ever and the movie I would opine is one of the bests Kamal’s starrer.   However, it was a tear breaker and watching it was an emotional roller coaster ride, expecting the unexpected.   What I still vividly recollect is that after watching the movie at Abirami in Purasaiwalkam, and after coming out and even whilst dining out in the nearby Saravana Bhavan, most of my family were silent and evidently gobsmacked. Watching “Maha Nadhi,” possibly was not a good selection for my farewell stuff, however that’s how life plan and span out most our moments. By this time, I had begun and finished most of my official trips to my relatives with Amma, collecting best wishes (!) from in and around Chennai and the abutting districts.   It took me alm...

So, the preparations had begun for the exams and we were slowly getting the hang of it.  Lots of studies and group discussions were done at both the Hostel and at our house, 22 Coral Merchant Street , Mannadi, and Chennai 600001.  Most of the time we were trying to remain focussed.  Albeit for few evenings, we were not tempted to close early, our books and waft into down town watching few movies, which was our chore until then! Occasional alcoholic frenzy was not missed either.  Deepavali of 1993 came and with that few movies too.  “Kizhakku Seemaiyile” with Raman’s music was everywhere and needless to say I was still longing for IR. Ilayaraja had become a Maestro by this time.  He became the first Asian to compose a Symphony that was recorded at the Royal Philharmonic symphony orchestra.  “Valli” from Rajinikanth came after his symphony and the music was superb, though the movie was a dud.  “Ennulle ennulle” was litera...

March 19- 1977 22 Coral Merchant Street Madras 600 001 930pm.......... I am so excited tonight and I can’t go to sleep.  I am thinking of Amma; waking me up early in the morning, and giving me a hot water bath.  She would then dry my hair with a piece of towel, when I also smell her sweaty fragrance.  Appa possibly would have woken up by this time and given me a big hug and wished me “Happy Birth day.”  Appa is an early morning bird and I would be surprised only, if he was not ready by six in the morning.  Appa starts at 6.30 in the morning, every day, except Sundays, to ride on his bicycle to Tiruvotriyoor and that’s where he works.  It is possibly a 10-15km trip from our home in Mannadi, according to Amma. At 630 am, he might have already had his usual Dosais with “Poondu Milaka podi.”  The smell of fresh Garlic would kill my nostril, and me, longing for early morning Dosais.  Amma would always say no, as I would...

Time slips through or travels very unassumingly, on its own terms, as good as a leaf, which has withered off and falling off from a branch, very unnoticed.  None to bother and none too bothered. Scenarios left untouched and events go unnoticed, whilst I am on this line.  Do we have to bother? Do we have to worry? Do we have to pretend? Does it matter? We began the preparations as suggested by few good old friends who had already holed up in UK in 1993, for the same exam. All three of us, the would be musketeers, met in Chennai and chalked out plans for a combined (!) or group effort for the next six months .The scope of our project was discussed and the deadlines were arrived. We must have started working on collecting the relevant materials and the pathways for application, Visa and etc, sometime in September 1993.  The D Day, selected was in March 1994. We thought 6 months would do for the preparation and not surprisingly enough, in our case! ...

Nayagan shook me.  It Surprised me.  Stirred me and left me shaken for some time.  The aftermath was my new hair do and facial uplift minus the moustache, emulating the young protagonist, the memorable Velu or Velu Naicker.  The year was 1987 and it is 25 years since. There were many in my  batch in 1987, who were trying to compete with me, however Seshu, in my opinion was the likely winner, as he was on one of my birthdays, visited me with the same attire that of old Velu naicker, supported by kungumam on his forehead. That was the reach of Nayagan!!! Well, the movie released to critical and lay accolades, in 1987, was a deepavali release.  The song “Anthi mazhai neram” was aired on the Deepavali Oliyum Oliyum and I had not seen a Tamil song picturised the same way until then.  The very next day, I was watching the movie with my friends at the “Crown” cinema near our college and I watched it the very next day ...

March 1994 and PLAB…….  (Part – 1) I am sure we all have a fascinating story to tell our friends, relatives, well wishers and of course our enemies.  At least we try at occasions to make it as fascinating as possible. I often meet relatives both here and back in Chennai, who would be wishing to know or possibly curious to know and in case not to do,  by knowing  what they know or not about my arrival and so perform a root cause analysis of my arrival to survival so far in England.  Some times it would be future friends too. In my case it has always been my Self bragging story i.e. the evolution of me and me in United Kingdom .  In the process, I have been successful most of the times in bringing about the emotive aspects behind my ventures and in the process, them emotional and possibly compel them to shed and drop few tears too.  (May be few crocodile tears …) Well, I never dreamt nor even in my wildest dreams, of my arrival in U...

Bread, butter and Jam. I was once offered a loaf of sweet bread by our next door neighbour, possibly as a gift or deed of good will or may have been an act of bribery. That was almost 30 years ago and the deed was that I had to wash and clean his bicycle, just for once, over a weekend and which I did to perfection. I was 10-11 year old then. My obsession with a loaf of sweet bread must have been so enormous, for me to request it as a gift from our friendly neighbour rather than a box of choclate or a toy to play with. Looking back at this on the hindsight, this obsession of mine possibly may have sprung from what I had seen and smelt at their (our neighbour’s) house and kitchen incessantly, throughout those happy school years. Not to deny that I had all those time, reluctantly been eating bread, albeit, sparsely at home, especially the odd sloppy ones soaked in hot milk!! This happened traditionally, whenever we at home caught up with a fever or two and...