My paternal uncle, my chithappa, died almost exactly 24 hours ago (not COVID-related) – he was my father’s immediate next brother and the fifth of the eight siblings. The word ‘chithappa’ in tamizh, and equivalent words in many other Indian languages, indicates a younger father – literally speaking. My chithappa…
One evening late December, after I recovered my car from the Music Academy parking lot where the valets had left it (conveniently facing forward, of course), I realised, much to my chagrin, that the AC had stopped functioning. It had been just fine when I had driven it in. The…
Every year, at around this time, my father’s death anniversary, the 15th this time, I am flooded with thoughts. His presence hovers over me constantly, no matter where I am, this towering light house of a beacon. This time, I wonder about how he would feel about the increasing frustration…
This week marks 14 years since my father passed away. He left knowing two grandchildren were on the way but without seeing them – suddenly, abruptly. With no precursive events. I felt too young when it happened. I wondered ‘why me’. Soon, though, I realized he left without suffering. And…
One of the ways I attempt to alleviate tension in my life is to identify the stressors and eliminate/reduce them consciously. While I do drive, and am confident about driving, parking can be a downright headache in Chennai. I decided a long while ago that if I am traveling to…
Part 1 is here. A few years later came the next assignment – to Makeni – in Sierra Leone. My first exposure to school, my mother would braid my hair, pack me curd rice in an Aladdin flask that went into a pretty metal case. When I came back, it…
After my recent return from abroad, my right foot started acting up. It does so a couple of times a year – after-effects of a really bad Chikungunya attack in 2006. Usually, this is alleviated with two days of Naproxen. This time though, it lingered. When I mentioned to my…
Recently, I spent good, quality time with friends of old whom I have been in touch with constantly, though we have not physically met in a while, geographically separated as we are. As usually happens on such occasions, we reminisced – how we were then, barely into adulthood, and how…
I was first addressed as mami by an elderly waiter at a restaurant in Mahabalipuram, two days after my marriage. I remember looking behind and around myself then, to find who the addressee was! Until I realised it was I. 🙂 I was tickled pink at my new promotion! It made my…
‘Housewife’ is a dirty word. God forbid you utter it to the inevitable “What do you do?” and one either gets a bemused look or an embarrassed shrug of the shoulders accompanied by a turning away to greener, more employed pastures. This happens all the time. A few years ago,…