Bala chitpa to me is ( sorry, was) the toothy manifestation of selflessness. A seamless wide grin that was as disarming as infectious... ever clad in his shapeless elbow-sleeved white Kurta ( we named this Bala chitpa kurta every time we saw anyone wearing a sleeve that reaches the elbow) , his very presence brought me a sense of warmth, care and a strange sense of being safe and protected. Not a single wedding or function seemed complete without his imposing, assuring yet unassuming presence. Particularly during my school and college days I recall how he was not only a caring, concerned elder but neatly rounded off as a friend in whom I could confide in. He caught me smoking when he appeared out of the blues on a summer afternoon and I promptly dropped the butt and pleaded with him to forgive me...by tugging on to his elbow-long white sleeve as he kept walking the length of the Trichy Main Guard Gate. And I remember how with misty eyes he spoke about my late dad and all the while consciously led me to Vasantha Bhavan and ordered puris which he knew were my favourite... His emotion had a mystifying quality!
Cut to NOW! I knew he was bedridden and I knew he would have loved to see me by his side visiting him and I knew he was in his last miserable days and yet I could not visit him. I will not be able to get rid of this guilt. And as before he will forgive me again...not with Vasantha bhavan puris... but with his blessings from the Peaceful heavenly abode he finally will be in now...
Love you and will miss you Balachitpa...there will be none like you again on this earth..!
Will ever remain your dear Ravi.
Chitpa...Do you hear me?
Thursday, March 8, 2012
Monday, February 27, 2012
Matri-Money
Marriages are sure made in Heaven..yes, the choultries get decorated to resemble one! I attended atleast two marriages in the last week. The one later was a sixtieth birthday-cum-marriage celebration. I saw happily bonded couples whispering silent endearments to each other while the crowd looked on merrily... most of them being reminded of their own marriages when they sat centerstage. It was a sight to see the bride of the 60 year old groom in tears at the precise hour of muhurtham whereas the new bride last week seemed radiant and could not conceal her delight. I was wondering if it should have been the other way round. But then emotions also change with the times!
Two full days of hectic pomp, gaiety, pagentry and feasting marked each of these weddings. Like beasts we ate unmindful of the very short intervals between each of those eating bouts. A free for all...you only gain a few inches accross the waist and have nothing to lose. Even in this kind of a simple traditional wedding the father of the bride unhesitatingly takes it upon himself to blow away a princely sum of say Rs 25 lacs. He further tells me that it is the minimum price tag for an avergae middle class wedding. Not to mention what entails thereafter for the bride's father. Like the father of the bride in the 60th birthday wedding. He looked gracefully bereft of any valued possession save some emotion at ideal intervals during the rituals.
These raging thoughts brought me to a standstill. The rest of the festivities seemed to me like watching a movie unfold. My mind grappled with the enormity of the task that I seem to have on hand...right there! I have a 26 year old daughter and a one month old bank balance...if I wipe clean the total 9 ornamental bank accounts both I and my wife hold ! Some equation this!!!! And to think that I am always between jobs in the last two years. And of the post I just relinquished before leaving on this multiple matrimonial sojourn!
I must save from now and in the next four months or so raise if not twenty five atleast fifteen lacs... I must look for a paying job and a flexible employer.And Heaven for an Alliance for my daughter.
Matrimony Matrix. It is a Matter-of-Money!!!
Two full days of hectic pomp, gaiety, pagentry and feasting marked each of these weddings. Like beasts we ate unmindful of the very short intervals between each of those eating bouts. A free for all...you only gain a few inches accross the waist and have nothing to lose. Even in this kind of a simple traditional wedding the father of the bride unhesitatingly takes it upon himself to blow away a princely sum of say Rs 25 lacs. He further tells me that it is the minimum price tag for an avergae middle class wedding. Not to mention what entails thereafter for the bride's father. Like the father of the bride in the 60th birthday wedding. He looked gracefully bereft of any valued possession save some emotion at ideal intervals during the rituals.
These raging thoughts brought me to a standstill. The rest of the festivities seemed to me like watching a movie unfold. My mind grappled with the enormity of the task that I seem to have on hand...right there! I have a 26 year old daughter and a one month old bank balance...if I wipe clean the total 9 ornamental bank accounts both I and my wife hold ! Some equation this!!!! And to think that I am always between jobs in the last two years. And of the post I just relinquished before leaving on this multiple matrimonial sojourn!
I must save from now and in the next four months or so raise if not twenty five atleast fifteen lacs... I must look for a paying job and a flexible employer.And Heaven for an Alliance for my daughter.
Matrimony Matrix. It is a Matter-of-Money!!!
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