In 1951, When I was 6, I was in Manimuthaar Dam in Tirunelveli district. My father was working in P.W.D in the construction of the dam. It was constructed in between two hills on the river Manimuthaar. The water was tasty and it was supposed to be the best in Tamil Nadu.
I was then studying in 2nd std in Thilak Vidyalaya High School in Kallidaikurichi nearby. Every day we went to the school in a van provided by the project. My father was given an independent house. I still remember the hills behind our house.
During nights wild animals used to take away domestic pets. It was not safe to go out during the night. I still remember a 15 feet python crossing the road around sunset when one of the passersby fired twice at it with his gun and killed it.
Vasumathi, the daughter of an engineer, was my best girlfriend. We used to play together. She was fair and beautiful. I missed her for a long time after leaving the place. Since my father was on the transferable job, after a year in 1952, we next went to Periakulam in Madurai district.
There, I was studying at Victoria Memorial Board High School or V.M.B.H.S. Opposite to our house was the Hindi Prachar Sabha where I studied Hindi in the evening. Periakulam was separated by a river into North bank and South bank.
I was 7 then and my next brother was 4. At that time, the movie "Haridas" which ran for more than two years was shown in Jaya theatre. My mother gave me 8 annas for two tickets to see the movie along with my brother. Somewhere, the coin fell through a hole in my brother's pocket.
Our mother gave another 8 annas to see the movie. It was a story about a bad man turning into a devotee. In one scene, due to a curse by a sage, Haridas's legs got separated at the knee level and fled to a distant place making him lame. That scene was long in my memory.
One day, my one-year-old sister was missing. We searched for her in many places but it was difficult to identify her as her head was tonsured then. Finally, we got her from an old Muslim who was searching for its parents.
In later years, whenever all our brothers and sisters got together, we used to make fun of her saying that she might be a Muslim. It was here, my father took me to a hotel for the first time. He got me a dosaa for 4 annas which was so big that I could eat only half of it.
I was then studying in 2nd std in Thilak Vidyalaya High School in Kallidaikurichi nearby. Every day we went to the school in a van provided by the project. My father was given an independent house. I still remember the hills behind our house.
During nights wild animals used to take away domestic pets. It was not safe to go out during the night. I still remember a 15 feet python crossing the road around sunset when one of the passersby fired twice at it with his gun and killed it.
Vasumathi, the daughter of an engineer, was my best girlfriend. We used to play together. She was fair and beautiful. I missed her for a long time after leaving the place. Since my father was on the transferable job, after a year in 1952, we next went to Periakulam in Madurai district.
There, I was studying at Victoria Memorial Board High School or V.M.B.H.S. Opposite to our house was the Hindi Prachar Sabha where I studied Hindi in the evening. Periakulam was separated by a river into North bank and South bank.
I was 7 then and my next brother was 4. At that time, the movie "Haridas" which ran for more than two years was shown in Jaya theatre. My mother gave me 8 annas for two tickets to see the movie along with my brother. Somewhere, the coin fell through a hole in my brother's pocket.
Our mother gave another 8 annas to see the movie. It was a story about a bad man turning into a devotee. In one scene, due to a curse by a sage, Haridas's legs got separated at the knee level and fled to a distant place making him lame. That scene was long in my memory.
One day, my one-year-old sister was missing. We searched for her in many places but it was difficult to identify her as her head was tonsured then. Finally, we got her from an old Muslim who was searching for its parents.
In later years, whenever all our brothers and sisters got together, we used to make fun of her saying that she might be a Muslim. It was here, my father took me to a hotel for the first time. He got me a dosaa for 4 annas which was so big that I could eat only half of it.
No comments :
Post a Comment