Half a century ago

Life is a Gift, Open it! 

Fortunate to be born endowed with a sound body, mind and family. 50 years so far that's been so good thanks to everyone who has touched my life. The 50th year started with a surprise party with family and friends a year ago set up by Vidya, Pranav, Thejas, Ram and got completed today 5 Jan 2015 at the stroke of midnight in Chennai with family and later in Mumbai during the day at office and then with my sister Anandhi and family to finish the birthday fun. Vidya and kids presented me with a scarp book taking things down memory lane with friends and family saying lovely things. Thank you all.

Life has intuitively taught me to be different and I felt it best to celebrate the journey by refreshing every week this year kindling memories. Will be great if you add flavours to this steamed idli and make it delicious. 

I was named Sundaresan in memory of my paternal grandfather who had passed away - he studied medicine in Chennai & Dhaka, practised in the Madras Presidency across the present Seemandhra and TN. He was both adored for his outlook and feared for his temper and while my grandmother was worried if I may inherit the temper because of the name, it prevailed. So here was Arumbakkam Suryanarayana Sundaresan s/o Arumbakkam Sundaresan Suryanarayana - a handful for all the immigration officers in times to come. 

The earliest glimpse I have of myself is by a pic of me sitting on my Dad's Jawa bike, all of 8 months. 

And then the PK pic. There was this great tradition of non-discrimination with the then generation. Almost all homes (at least in south) will have this array of framed black and white photos of infants taken in a studio with kajal in the eyes, tika and sometimes a dot on the cheek, adorned with a gold chain, ear studs, bangles, trinklets etc.and all on their tummy, looking up in a studio shoot. It was non discriminatory because looking at the photo you cant say if it is boy or girl etc.

 An additional piece was the 'Arai Ana Kayiru' ( 1/2 Anna thread) a black thread around the waist that was called so may be bcos you could get it for 1/2 Ana (3 Paise) or bcos it would have a string of small coins with impressions of protective symbols (for the well to do the entire string would all be in gold). Well this string also had a functional purpose to tuck the nappy or loin cloth in circa ' bp' ( before pampers). 

Well,no one remembers birth and the early years. It is that blissful phase of life when one gets without speaking and probably is just giving! It is when monologues rule and anything can be said either way and forgotten, a time when a smile or a hug can change the world. What everyone remembers is what fun or trouble as a bundle one transmits. We then lived in Swarnambika layout in Coimbatore, a place I don't remember. 

Later my cousins would narrate how they would play throw-ball tossing me across a partition in the Verandah of the house and how I would turn red if irritated or excited, especially the ears - like a monkey's, something that continues to date ...

..to be continued..