Below is the most precious piece of unedited excerpt from the many I have in possession, written by my late uncle (Govindaraja Mama). The following excerpt is a response by my uncle to the blog I wrote in the year 2006 about my daughter Ramya’s FIRST DAY AT SCHOOL (click here for the original blog). Special attention is to be drawn to the highlighted text below which will be quite significant as a synopsis for this blog.
My father (with spectacles) along with his close friend (Govindaraja Mama)
****EXCERPT STARTS HERE ****
Subject: Ramya’s Narrative “My First Day At School”
Coming to the narrative under the title of “my first day at school” to tell u the truth it really left me breathless literally and if I were to type it, may be physically too I believe.
Oh what a testament for your prowess in becoming a futuristic and also an optimistic writer. My boy, believe me when I say I am much impressed and proud too to see a lad who grew up on my lap and shoulder much of the time, blossoming into a poetic writer. Kudos and many kudos to u.
Going down the memory lane, when u,{Kanna, Raja and Sumathi who slightly had a lesser chance} were infants and kids were much adorable to me too akin to Ramya to u but still I did not get to the chance of making out a classic like this.
I still vividly remember how Kanna was taken to school on his first day to school {vidhyarambam ceremony} in a open car with flower decked and all the mela thalam and Nayanam ‘surrounded by a number of relatives and friends, but then there was no Raja in me to write on ‘behalf of Kanna, unlike for Ramya the ravishing Regina the lucky girl. I am sure she will cherish and nourish it as a treasure on her own moments in her life.
Well I am not a Shakespeare and then you are not born in Yorkshire’, so I loved every bt of your narration, perception and above all the imagination. WOW!
There goes a couplet from Thirukkural:
Amizhdhinilum aarral inidhe tham makkal
Sirukai alavia koozh.”
That is it, even the messed up porridge/gruel by our Kids hands will taste sweeter than Nectar.
We learnt, experienced and enjoyed it and now your turn to Yearn it. I could visualize too your jubilation when you heard from the Head of the Institution saying about the ‘organizational and management skill’ of our Ramya the Regina.
What a way to present an everlasting gift to one’s child in a way narrating a story on her/his ‘first day at school’, which I am quite sure will and shall be cherished closest to her/his heart when they grow up.
****EXCERPT ENDS HERE ****
My BIG Brother (Big B) Kanna, was the first child of our parents born after 10 long years of marriage.
My parents
Being the first baby, and that too almost after a decade, this guy received the greatest of attention not only from my parents but from the entire families and friends of my parents. I am told that he was never left alone on the floor or cradle to explore and enjoy his infancy. Instead, he was always carried around in the arms of my father and all his friends (Govindaraja Mama and many others) and relatives.
My father carrying Big B
Big B is being carried around
Being a spoilt child (not his fault though), he seems to have enjoyed the finest of the adoration and attention from everyone. My mama, being a photographer, used to carry my Big B to many different locations and take some wonderful photographs it seems (treasured even now).
Big B photographed by my uncle (Govindaraja Mama)
His monopoly of being in the spotlight did not last for more than 2 years, because a guy named Raja (me) came into his life as his baby brother. Our house was full of joy with two boys who suddenly became a handful for our parents who had longed for a baby for more than 10 years. To add more joy and glory to their parenthood, we were joined by our baby sister (Sumathi) when I was around 2 years old.
Kanna, Raja & Sumathi
My father, I am told was on cloud nine, with the three kids at home, and heard that he strongly believed that the three of us would carry on his legacy. His expression of love and affection to us was indeed very unique and sometimes so naive it seems.
Maybe, as a reader, you are now thinking “What is the big deal about a dad being so loving and caring?” Well, the story starts to take shape here when my father wanted to be an “OUT OF THE WORLD FATHER” not intentionally though, but that was the crazy love he had towards his kids. Yes, he started discussing with his friends about a project that was absolutely unheard of and unseen in the locality and some say even in their life terms.
Yes, my parents decided that Big B should start his long journey of schooling soon. Well, we know that parents seldom take consent from their kids in this regard. Poor Big B did not realize the pros and cons of it and was bribed for a liberal quantity of GLAXO milk powder to eat. Nobody in the neighborhood had an iota of knowledge about the history which was in the making. My parents, their friends, and relatives were busy preparing for the mega event which was to unfold the following day. Yes, it was all about the most nostalgic, memorable, and historic, FIRST DAY AT SCHOOL for my BIG B Kanna.
Glaxo milk powder, Big B’s favorite food
My parents woke up very early in the morning and my father hardly slept that night it seems. Since my father was a very familiar figure in the locality, there were a lot of well-wishers for him other than our relatives and friends I am told. The street we lived in was very narrow but it certainly had a lot of friends who had a very wide heart to execute his dream project.
My father gave a totally new dimension and meaning to the Sanskrit term Vidyarambham, (Initiation ceremony that is performed before a child begins their formal education ) by making it a pompous ceremony that to date is never seen or experienced by anyone I am told. Start visualizing the scene and the ambiance along with me from now on, and I will take you through the grand procession that just began.
An open top, Plymouth car attractively decorated with marigold flowers and beautiful roses, to be driven by a chauffeur in uniform was waiting outside to transport my Big B to the school. An elevated car seat with colorful flowers adorning it was placed for my brother to get the necessary attention from the public and also to make him feel special.
Illustrative image of Big B sitting in the open top Plymouth car
Even though light travels faster than sound, on that particular day it was the musical sound from the traditional wind instrument called Nadaswaram which reverberated through the entire street with its traditional percussion accompaniments setting the right rhythm. In South India, Nadaswaram is the instrument that sets the auspicious mood for any traditional event. People from the neighborhood started peeping out of their windows to check out the fanfare, and a few others lined up on both sides of the streets making way for the Plymouth car to sail through. My brother clung to my father when he came down the stairs of our house along with my mother and was made to sit in the designated and decorated high seat in the car. He was made to wear a few gold chains and two gold rings on his tender fingers which were connected to his wrist through a bangle it seems.
House where my father lived in Triplicane, Chennai, India. These are the stairs in which he carried Big B down.
Ladies donned in colorful sarees were holding plates filled with varieties of fruits, flowers, and chocolates, and men in their traditional attire of dhoti were majestically escorting the beautiful ladies. Our parents garlanded my brother who was cutely sitting in the HIGH SEAT designed for him.
This flagged off the procession, which made its way to the nearby school through some of the main streets of Triplicane, Chennai, India. Various classical songs and other chartbusters from the yesteryears were played by the Nadaswaram musical troupe, setting up a jubilant atmosphere. But little did the young chap in the car know the grandeur of the events unfolding in front of him and he was only busy playing with his garland in one hand and pulling my father’s shirt with his other hand.
Chocolates and sweets were distributed to the bystanders in the street, and at last, the procession reached the school destined for my Big B to start his long school years. It was indeed a sizeable crowd that converged at the school (Mara Nursery School, Triplicane) for the school admission of my brother. My parents and close relatives met with the head of the school and other kindergarten teachers and did all the traditional formalities to express their respects and formally inducted my Big B in his class.
Mara Nursery School, Triplicane
Apparently, his FIRST DAY AT SCHOOL turned out to be a brief sojourn for him, because he started crying and screaming and wanted to get back home and be with my father and mother. No one could pacify him, and all the pomp and ceremony of Vidyarambham came to a close when he came back home in a couple of hours. But the events that happened on that day are still being narrated by my close family elders with a sense of great pride and awe. Also, I am indeed proud that I could fulfill the wish of my mama in recording the FIRST DAY AT SCHOOL for my Big B Kanna.
Roughly 8 months time, after the spectacular event of admitting my brother to the school, my father passed away suddenly. This put an abrupt end to my brother’s school life for 2 more years, until I became eligible to join kindergarten. Ever since, we both were PARTNERS IN CRIME, because we studied together from kindergarten till class 12 in the same school and in the same class which is also quite unprecedented (unseen and unheard of).
Of course, all this would not have been possible without the hard work, courage, and determination of our mother who toiled so hard to bring us all to this stage. Our gratitude also goes without saying to the close friends of my father and our relatives and friends who had been of great support to us.
Kanna and Raja are in the same school and class
Kanna & Raja (orange color shirt) now
Special thanks to Mr. Natesan Swaminathan, Mrs. Lalitha Vasudevan, and Mrs. Rajalakshmi Krishnan for their input, because all three were witnesses to this memorable EVENT IN MY FAMILY and who were fondly recollecting those wonderful and nostalgic memories for me to write this blog. And another big thanks to our Govindaraja mama for having captured all these stunning photos during our infancy and childhood.
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