Happy People, Happier Times And Happy Places – Part 1

May 6, 2010 at 5:10 pm (My Reflections)

Years pass by but I always remember my summer vacations spent in the village clearly. It was undisputedly the best 2 months of my life every year until I married of course. This is not to say that getting married was a mistake. It was just a different kind of happy life spent with different people in a different place. My vacations after marriage were spent in the more exotic locations of Bangalore, Mysore, Mahabalipuram and places like Switzerland, Singapore and Japan. What I hold dearly to heart until today, are the two months I spent with the air of freedom and nothing to worry about in the tiny village of Alwarthirunagari, in VO Chidambaranar district exactly 96kms from the tip of India, Kanyakumari. Boy! Those were the days.

I just have to close my eyes and remember and I’m transported to my grandparents’ huge mansion which is about 200 years old and full of old time mysterious places and where the pillars in the verandas emanate the 7 musical notes if you tried tapping them with your knuckles casually. I also fondly remember the secret cellar which contains a small place where gramps’ erstwhile relatives hid when the village was under attack a very long time ago when provinces in India were still ruled by kings. Housed inside the wide hall is a small temple with a beautiful ornate double door, inside which are housed amazingly awesome idols of deities. Everyday, a priest comes and performs the daily pooja (Prayers) and then we were given “Prasaadam” of holy water and Tulsi leaves.

The attic with its huge library, high ceilings and old archaic portraits is a place to die for. The granary with its small rectangular window from which, on a particular day every month, the farmhands waited to bag the rice and other grains, are still a clear fascinating memory to a city dweller like me. The huge tall windows which flank the wide hall from where sunlight generously poured in, every dawn and the crowing of the rooster from our yard were our wake up calls every morning. The memorable fact is that I never woke up grumpy from the deep morning slumber like I do now.

Another constant in my time spent in the countryside, was mama thatha (great uncle) – paati’s cousin. He was an epitome of love and affection and always greeted us when we arrived and when we left and in between too, with an old film container full of candies, just for me. He talked to us in such a wonderful way and made sure we were happy when we were at his place, playing and hanging around. He too, is truly missed and I remember him fondly for the influence that he had on me. He was a very happy person – at least I thought so because he never let an inkling of his grief touch us in any way. In retrospect, I realize that he must have been so strong despite the loss of his only daughter to typhoid years ago.

To this day I associate him with a quote that I read:

“I like to pretend that everything’s alright. Because when everyone thinks you’re fine, sometimes you forget for a while that you’re not.”

An essential and significant part of my vacation would be incomplete if I don’t mention “Chithi paati”. She was Raman thatha’s sister- in-law and was a very important part of their lives and ours too, having lived with them, after she lost my great uncle – her husband at a very young age. She was as much support to them as they were to her. Admirable about her were her vibrancy and the pure steel of her strength and determination and her care and kindness for all.

She reminds me of Lao-Tse’s quote:

“By the accident of fortune a man may rule the world for a time,

But by virtue of love and kindness he may rule the world forever.”

So does she… she is in our thoughts always!