Providence

I was involved in a near fatal accident when in Secuderabad in 1992. Since Venu had left for office, and Pravin to school, I felt bored and decided to visit an aunt in whose we were staying as tenants. When company provided a flat for Venu, we shifted. I know aunty from my Kolkatta days. Hailed a auto. When I am in any vehicle , I am oblivious of everything. I am just in my own world. Suddenly I found my mouth hitting the iron rod and my knee also hitting the bottom rod with full force. The hit was enough to break all teeth and fracture the knee. Everyone at home considers me weird. Maybe I am not a normal human being,, the reason was proved when there was no fracture or broken teeth. As I sat dazed, the auto driver rushed to me enquiring if I was ok. Then I noticed the front portion of a van inside the driver's seat. Luckily the driver was not harmed and no damage to auto. . Still with the throbbing pain on my knee I decided to visit my aunt. I did not find any problem with my teeth. When we reached the road leading to aunty's house, I found a herd of buffaloes blocking the road. The driver expressed his inability to go forward. I got down. The pain on my knee was really bad, but still I manaded to reach aunty's house. I told her what happened. She immediately got Narayana thailam, an Ayurvedic oil and started massaging my knee. The massage was a great relief and I did not have any problem after that. I feel my guardian angel is with me. For the number. of falls I have experienced, a normal person will not be in one piece. Once counted my falls and found they were 18 in total. Twice had slipped inside bathroom and hit my spine on the raised platform of two bathrooms, once in Kolkatta and once in Bangalore. Twice I escaped as doc said I had fallen on my side so no damage to spine. Had missed a step when returning home from a neighbour's first floor flat in Kolkatta. Kolkatta used to have load shedding at 6pm everyday. I wanted to reach home before the load shedding. As i put my foot down on the first step leading down, the power went off. I missed my next step and fell rolling down the stairs to the landing. I balanced with my right hand so as not to hit my head. Luckily no fracture only a bad pain on left wrist that was there for a week. Still keep falling but always my guardian angel protects me. Hope she does not get bored and leaves me. My surivival with good health is in her hands.

The helpful auto driver

In January 2023, I was in guruvayoor. I had planned to visit a few relatives and stay with them for two days. I have a very friendly auto driver, rajesh, who is at my beck and call. Takes me to Shree Krishna temple whenever I call him. Had taken me to Kuttipuram , an hr away ride from Guruvayoor to catch the Kannur express. On the way there were stunning scenic views, Rajesh went on explaining the places. Truly some spots make one believe that Kerala is God's own country. One day told Rajesh, I wanted to go to Pollachi. I checked and found a bus leaving at 7 am. I called up rajesh at 6am asking whether he can drop me at the bus stop. What he said truly overwhelmed me. He said, Chechi I am at the bus stop looking for Pollachi buses. He asked me if I was ready. I told him yes. You come down Chechi fast. There is a bus leaving at 6am. Since bus stop was close by, Rajesh came within minutes and told me to get into auto fast as a bus was leaving. The time was 6am. He was speeding and I told him not to hurry as my trip was not urgent and I can go anyday. Rajesh said Chechi since you are dressed you should go today. He entered the bus stop. waylaid a bus that was leaving. He got down to enquire and ran towards me saying Checchi get in, this bus is leaving for Pollachi. He got me a comfortable seat, put my bag inside and after making sure I was comfortble, he left. Will be happy to avail of his services on this visit also. If ever he is not free, he sends his friend. Had dropped me at my friend's house in Trissur. From Trissur,I was to board my Bangalore mail after 3 days. From Guruvayoor to Trissur, there are stunning churches. Rajesh used to stop the auto and help me take some beautiful snaps.

The good deed

Last year while travelling from Chennai to Trissur, it was sleeping time in train. So snice I had a middle berth, I made ready to sleep. Had seen a father and daughter get into the coach. The daugher was in a burkha, found they were Malayalee Muslims.As I got ready to climp to my berh , the daugher looked perplexed. The father asked for my ticket and said my ticket was for the next coach. I told sorry and proceed to go to the adjoining coach. To my surprise, I saw the father carrying both my luggage. When I objected , he said no problem with a little help. I found the berth, thanked him whole heartedly. Then realized, I had left my charger hanging in the previous coach. Was getting ready to go when I saw the Muslim father, coming back with my charger. Truly a positive minded person. In the couch as I was ready to get up the middle berth, I found it difficult to heave myself up the laddre. I was having a blanket with me. A couple, who was by the side seat, the lady noticed and immediately helped me with the blanket and my climb. When she found I was finding it difficult, . she requested a young girl on the lower berth to exchange her seat with me. She willing agreed saying Sure aunty. So it was a comfortable journey as I felt the presence of my gurdian angel in the form of the father and the kind ladies.

God's Mysterious Ways

I had booked a train ticket to Trissur for 25th Nov. and reaching on 26th Nonember two months back. From Trissur, I take a cab usually to Guruvayoor. This time the ticket I booked for Trissur was reaching early morning at 2.30 AM. So I decided to get down at Trivandrum reaching at 5.30 AM. I booked a ticket from Trivandrum to Guruvayoor for the 26th Nov. I had got the print out for the ticket for 29th Nov not noticing the date. Since I did not find my berth on the train from Bangalore I went through my IRCTC booking. I found my Bangalore train and also the train from Trivandrum dated 29th Nov. I panicked and wondered whether I had to stay two more days in the hotel.. But call it a miracle, just below the ticket was another ticket for November 26. I truly have no idea when I booked the 29th ticket because I had made sure to book for the 26th November. I immediately cancelled the 29th ticket. I really wonder what would have happened if I had boarded the 26th train with my 29th ticket. God's ways are truly strange.

The Good Samaritan

The Samaritan My Bobworld on my mob just conked off one fine day. My incessent trying, proved to be of no use. Try try try again is the mantra, but here the mantra proved wrong. Since I used to depend on my mob for my bank affairs, I got cold feet as I was going to travel to Kerala and wanted my Bob World to be activated. Called my usual autu guy. I went to my branch. It was a very busy day. I waited for sometime and then approached a staff. She asked to activate and reactivate my account in the ATM outside. Saw an ATM under repair and tried in the other. I failed in my mission, and decided to approach another staff. I waited as he was busy talking to a customer. I went to him with my problem. He made many attempts and then declared, madam I am an insurance guy so not much aware of all these. I stood shocked. How in hell did he solve his problem if something like this happened to him? Luckily another staff came and said ATM was under repair and the machine I tried was not an ATM. She told me to go to the other branch a furlong away. Went there and asked a staff at the counter. Don't know whether she had got up from the wrong side of the bed because she seemed grumpy waving me off saying RBI has blocked all Bob World IDs and nothing can be done without RBI order. Approached another staff and she seemed very helpful. With the details she gave me I tried again but did not succeed. Then decided to attempt opening BobNetworking. I was not sure of the customer id. Since my son knew it, I called up and in the din was not able to make out what he was saaying properly. I told him to give me in Whatsapp message. As I got up the pen I was using fell of and rolled away, so did some coins from my pouch bag. A lady sitting close to me immediately got my picked up a coin near by and my pen and went to the next counter to pick up another coin. Truly a very helpful lady. I thanked her wholeheartedly. Then something promted me to approach the manager. He was busy with a few staff. I waited and seeing him free walked into his room. A very young person. I went to him and told him my problem. He asked me to sit and went through all procedure and said my Bobworld login is unlocked. I told him a staff has said all IDs blocked. He smiled and said only for new users. I sat before him trying myself and again I was not able to. He very patiently did it for me a few times changing login id and transaction id. Hats off to his patience. I then told him about my BOB networking. He went through and and and created a sign on id and trans id. Indeed a true Samaritan. My mission completed, I thanked him with glee writ all over my face, blessed him and took my leave. My belief in God and miracles will never cease.

My Calcutta University days

My university memories. Calcutta University was established on 24 January 1857 and is the oldest multidisciplinary university. Some prominent personalities were, Swami Vivekananda, Rabindranath Tagore, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan and Rajendra Prasad Bankim Chandra Chatterjee became one of the first graduates of the university. I am a proud alumni of this prestigious university. Joined Calcutta University in the late 76 to pursue my MA. literature. Our English classes were on the 1st, 2nd and 3rd floors. Got to make some good friends also. Once when entering university, I saw a blind male student floundering through the gate to reach the stairs. Without thinking, I rushed towards him, held his hand and lead him to his class on the 3rd floor. Within a few months, in the mid 77, I got married. My MIL an elderly and affectionate lady was staying with us. I am fortunate that my MIL and husband allowed me to continue my studies. My MIL used to make sure that I was having enough money with me when I left for university. On returning, I used to see her sitting on the stairs waiting anxiously. The smile that lit up her face at my sight was truly heart warming. I would be delighted to see hot bajji and steaming tea waiting for me. Very soon I conceived. I used to go by a particular No. 5 double decker bus which stopped near the university. If I missed the bus, I had to take 2 buses. I remember running behind the no. 5 bus in my pregnant state when it used to leave the stop and stop some distance away. Once my husband took me to his TOI office. I was wearing a white organdi with orange flowers. A sari my father had given me knowing I loved organdi sarees. At the office, the receptionist a boisterous lady seeing me said that I looked beautiful and surely it was going to be a boy. (Unfortunately, a few years later she passed away at a young age from brain hemmorage.) Later, my husband dropped me at a lane leading to my university as he was in a hurry to reach a place. It was quite a long walk to the university. I started walking and was aghast to see my sari opening out and following a cycle. I stood shocked and bewildered in my petticot and pregnant state. No one around came to help. The cyclist who had gone some distance felt something wrong, turned back and simply freed a stitch of the sari hem that had got caught on his cycle wheel and nonchalantly rode away. I was in tears feeling uneasy with all the stares. I quickly scooped up my torn sari held it and walked slowly to university. Upon reaching, I rushed to the washroom and wore the sare upside down so that the torn area was hidden in the pleats tucked above. A sorry tale of a beautiful sari. It was during my MA exam that an unfortunate incident in the family made me refuse writing the exam. It was my father whose coaxing and advice made me write the exam and clear it. My son was 4 moths old. My witty husband who knew I had not studied well used to make fun saying I bribed Ma Kali to pass my exam. Truly some precious memories of my educattion in Calcutta university. See less

My Gokhale College Days

My Gokhale College Days From school I graduated to college. Since the college was walking distance from my house, along with a sikh neighbor Baljit Kaur's daughter Pinky, I went to the college to get my admission for BA (Hons') English. It was a women's college. The recruiter looked at Pinky and asked if she was my sisiter. When I answered in the negative, he said she resembled me. The fact was no one ever thought I was a Malayali. It was either a North Indian, a Bengali or a Kashmiri. My sibling Paddu menon and my son too don't look like Malayalees. Going through my board result, I was asked to take up pyschology as I had scored good marks in the subject. But I was insistent that I wanted to take English. It was then I realized the there was a test for all those who had opted for English (Hons.) I managed to scrape through. There were students too who were not lucky enough to pursue their English (Hons) I was lucky to scrape through with a warning. The college was just across the famous SSKM Hospital called PG Hospital those days. Our college gates used to be kept locked as a story went around that a student had run off with a hospital staff. We had uniform sarees. White with coloured border. I had a pleasant surprise when my mother gave a voile white sari with a red printed border with a printed red pallu. It was a beautiful saree. Then there were many sarees bought for my college sojourn. I had later given my sarees to printing shops that were all over the area and nearby places. Now such shops are hardly seen. I used to go to college with Jassbir, a sikh friend, my neighbour from my previous house. I got a chance to visit The Gurudwara near the college. Used to go not with ant regigious fervour but to get the Kada prasad a wheat halwa. Till today my fav prasad. I always had to go past her house. Somehow her mother trusted me, so waited for me to pick up her daughter. But the moment we reached college, she used to go away with her boyfriend. Her father was a goon and everyone feared him. My friend had even married the Begali boy on the sly. Later I came to know that her father had beaten up the boy and taken awaay his daughter. Don't know what happenedd to her. When we usedd to walk to college, there was a wood furniture shop and a staff used to keep looking at us as we went past the shop. It got too much, so I told my friend that in future, we would walk on the opposite side. Don't know whether it was providence, as we were walking on the opposite side, the huge lampost near the shop toppled and fell, I shuddr to think what wwould have happenedd if we had taken that way and not taken the opposite footpath? I made some wonderful Bengali friends. All had thought I was a Bengali. It was then that I saw my old school teacher Paromita and she turned out to be one of my professors. A professor Mrs Sinha once was explaining a Shakespearean tale and came out with a word asking to be translated to Hindi. Though I was good at Hindi, I wasn't able to place it, so did the other students. Finally, she came out with the word DIwana. All my professors were vry good in their teaching. We had women's scout. My friend who used to come to college after her visit to her boyfriend and I used to skip the class and go to see movies. Had gone to see Rafoo Chakkar when the whole college had gon to watch WTT (Word Table Tennis). The movies I had seen with my friens were Yadon KI Baraat, Julie, Agni Rekha to name a few. Used to frolic arounf Parkstreet and at Chinese restaurants. Mrs. Sinha used to take us to British Counsil to watch classics like Shakesperean plays made into movies, charles Dicken's and Oliver Gold Smith stories made into movies. I used to take my younger brother with me, Two sisters studied with me. Their house was in the suburbs and people all over knew it as Gol Badi. It was because of the design. A beautiful palatial house. Enjoyed lovely Bong dishes at all my friends houses. A friend soon got married while in college. She was very pretty but slightly overweight. My father had provied us with his company car as her house was quite far. The house was an independant and beautiful sprawling house. The marriage was held in the open illuminated premises. My friend was fully decked up in her bridal finery and looked heavenly. A small boy was staring at her. She chanced to ask him how she lookeed. The boy immediately said in Bengali, Gonesh Thakur. People around were shell shocked not knowing how to react. After the graduation test I was whisked off by my paternal uncle to kerala saying I needed a good rest. Stayed with my cousinn sister In Alleppey for 3 months. Had even gone with her for the inaugural opening Of Chinmaya Vidhyalaya. All the high and mighty of Kerala were present. Bhima Jewellery owner too had presided over the meeting. He was quite aged in the year 1976. Saw a lot of movies and had a wonderful stay with my cousin's maternal cousin in Ernakulam. It was there at a theatre called Little Shenoys, we saw the Hindi movie Charas, a dharam Hema starrer. At my aunts house in Alleppy, it was mathi or Sardine everyday. Relished the simple dishes she made. Learned to make plastic wicker bags from my cousin. One day my aunt said whoever came and stayed there got married soon. Infact left Allepy in September 1976 and got married in May 1977, It was a memorable 3 month stay. Once a family was having a Devi Puja in their house. We had all gone. It was a very friendly neighourhood. Every family knew each other. Mostly teachers from Thiruvam badi High school. The Thirumbadi Sree Krishna temple was ancient and beautiful. A huge temple. The appams given as pradad were hevenly. It was on a Krisha Janmashtami we had got the appams, big sized. Coming back to Devi Puja. As the priest was chanting the slogas, a a telegaram meant for me was delivered. It was from my father saying I had graduated. The pujari noticed this and asked to see the girl who had graduated. Truly God;s grace to be blessed by him. Even had gone to the famous Ambalaapuzha Sree Krishna temple and had got a container full of the famous payasam. as fortunate to see The Indra Gandhi trophy VallmKali or boar race on Onam day. A memorable experience. After returning to Kolkatta my father handed me the MA admission fomm.