Pappa - a memoir of my childhood

  When I was a baby my mom used to put me in the thinnai and I used to play with whatever my finger runs through, be it sand, water, fire, all pancha boothams. Once my mom left me in thinnai and went to buy fish outside .I saw a few giant ants quietly queuing by me, my fingers got curious about it. My mom came back with the fish and she found me sitting very quietly which is quiet abnormal as I am restless baby, she checked me if I had wet my nappy nope!! she was wondering how and immediately asked me to open my mouth I never did it until my mom took a spoon and forcefully opened my mouth to find a few big ants lying inside dead!! Let their soul rest in peace...

Next one, when I was a tea toddler I used to play with my neighbors Devi akka and Nandu anna. I love to roam and usually I never like to stay indoors I went missing once and all the people got tensed in my home except my dad as he was in sound sleep even after giving an alarm that I was missing! I was missing for more than 2 hours. So my chinna took his scooter and came in search of me, I was found 2 miles away from home sitting on road and playing in a heap of sand!.  "Hey pappa, enga eppadi vandha? Enga enna panra? “I smiled and answered,” naan chumma walking vandhen china, Devi akka kooda! “He took me back home and my mom got really furious, you know what she did? She tied me to a neem tree with a rope, actually I never felt any pain but gave too many expressions, acted like crying and the rope is hurting and I yelled. Finally my mom got severe scolding from my grandma. I giggled at last..!

I guess I was 2 years old. My dad lived in Delhi for 8 years and he had a whole gang of good friends there and he still maintains his relations that created family friendships too. Mr.Ramalingam, one his pal came to visit Madurai with his family and he had a kiddo Suganya. We all planned to visit Meenakshi Temple but unluckily suganya was not able to find a dress for her. I went inside and came with my silk gown and gave it to her. Uncle must have been really astonished by my kind act!  He still gifts me a dress whenever he meets me!!

According to my dad, I am very good child who s never stubborn over things and never cries for it. My way of asking was different I should say!! It was like, when we used to go shopping I never ask my dad, I want that dress or anything, I just say “Dad, that dress would suit pappa well right?” what else a parent can do without buying it for his humble daughter!!

I had a keen interest in dance and I joined sathangai (Bharathanatyam class) during my kinder garden itself. I was too small to showcase the perfect gestures (muthira’s) in the classical dance. They bet me once for not doing a step properly and my dad saw this. In anguish for beating his daughter he pulled me from that class and stopped me from going. But still I had a deep interest in dancing. A dance competition was announced in my school when I was in class I but my dad did not permit me so I escaped from my home went to my classmate’s (suriya) home and borrowed her dress participated in dance competition and kept the small gift (which was given to every child participated) at her home, changed my dress back and came home silently. All went fine until suriya’s mom met my mom at the market and said,”upasana danced very well but y did she leave her gift at our home?”!!!

I grew up very careless in handling things. Whenever I do such things my mom always reminds me of this particular incident at Illupur, my mom’s native. Our family went there for a function for two days and I was 2 years old. My parents started to get ready they brushed, bathed and started dressing up. I suddenly went to bathroom took my brush, mom’s and dad’s brush, soap cases, came back and put it in our bags and zipped it!! My grand pa who saw this commented to my mom, your kiddo is very shrewd!! He He nowadays my mom carries my brush and soap case along and she keeps it safe cos I lose it somewhere always!!

 I have to tell my experience in the theatre, my first movie of life. Kamal’s Michael madhana kamarajan.. Wow! what a movie! But I spoiled the whole theatre s mood that day!! During the interval I saw people getting pop corns, ice creams, cool drinks for their loved ones. But my mom got me nothing. She was talking with my aunt and nobody took a notice of me. I got up in my seat and started talking to my self in Telugu. (I never knew Tamil until I went to school!!) I asked my self “pappaku emi kavali?” which means "what does pappa want?” since nobody asked me. I repeatedly kept asking pappaku emi kavali,pappaku emi kavali. Successfully I was able to grab people s attention!! Got contented..i was shouting the same lines repeatedly. Finally my mom unable to control me asked “pappa ku emi thaan kaavali?” .I said “dinchukkuuuu ".it means drinks!!! Everybody burst in laughter. Finally I pulled out my mom and aunt outside by shouting again and again and we all returned home with the movie getting half over!!

 As I grew, I was put up at a small school near by named, Mary immaculate and I used to go by auto driven by Logu anna. He is my all time fav. Driver since he takes care that all children reach home safely and also a worst driver he scolds me a lot. I hate going to school as most of the kiddies do .One day I got into my auto. When I reached my school I got behind the back seat of the auto and lied down, hid myself..! My auto carried about eleven kids and Logu anna did not notice me. When he was returning home I was patiently waiting to cross my home, when I crossed Baskar Nivas I suddenly came out anna .He was shocked, Looked back gasping!!!.I got down and went back home!! 

 I can’t forget this particular incident for a life time. I was in class 3 and I do my home works regularly, but one day as I went out shopping with my parents i could complete the next day' s home work so I got a black mark and my teacher wrote a note to my parents that I did not finish my hw. I was supposed to get a sign from my dad. My dad is very strict and I get more beatings and scolding more often than a normal child would get.(But he is my best friend now!)  He is short tempered, and I had lied to him last day that I had completed all my works and went shopping with them. In order to clear the situation I took a pen, practiced my dad's sign and I signed in my school diary. I was cool and later in the morning a bottle of water was slipped over my diary oops! More than half of the pages got wet, the page I signed even!! I took it to school but my teacher got a slight doubt on me as I am always a naughty kid. The class rep took me over to princi and she asked me to come with my dad the next day!! I was trembling with fear anyways I got caught so I went straight to my dad and said what happened. Instead of thrashing me he laughed loudly. That hit me more!!! And till date I respect for signatures. Be it anybody’s. I know the value of it!!!

I loved puppies and I have always asked my parents permission to have one and they strictly said no, cos they both work and the puppy cannot be taken care of well when there’s nobody at home. It took a lot of time to convince myself and I stopped wishing to have a pet at home. It was that time my dad gave the good news that he had bought a dog cos he always wanted to fulfill his daughter’s wish ( until it was affordable by him and if not he will make me understand that he couldn’t get it for me, I never pestered him after that) so I was shouting in joy and was looking forward to welcome a new member into my family, And there came Raja(the dog ) taking away all my joys once for all. For me it looked like a monster!! Raja was huge, Rajapalayam breed (well known for its ferocious activity) I ran inside my home seeing its size. I wanted a cute little puppy but my dad bought a big dog, well trained and vaccinated. I did not go closer and stayed away from it. The next morning, I was brushing my teeth in the garden, my dad could not control that dog and he left its chain loose. It came straight running to me and put its fore arms in my shoulders and pulled away my brush. It was taller than me (I must accept) I was almost about to faint. It started running amok, finally brought under control. Going to school seemed to me better than staying at home so I got ready as fast as I could and left my home. That evening I came home to find our verandah totally in mess, with torn screens, broken wooden pieces, ripped clothes, and squeezed papers.( courtesy : Raja ) that same evening a lady came to our home telling she is the owner of Raja from Ooty and she cant live without Raja, she missed him and got fever out of it. We gave her Raja and she went happily. I found peace at home later and a Dog made me realize that.