My Daughter

 Madras today's Chennai was always known for its sultry humidity ,imagine if one could get a glass of cool milk flavored by rose syrup there it would be ambrosia itself .

So was the rose milk sold by the famous Kalathi and sons which was a small newspaper mart in East mada street corner near Kapaleeswarar temple the downtown of Mylapore itself .

Even after five decades I find kalathi continues with the same popularity ,of course the original owners have handed it over to their sons and nephews ,

The rose milk of kalathi was made of pure milk with no additives and rose syrup and powdered ice and churned well ,those days I remember the ice used to be in saw dust laden sacks as Refrigerators were yet to make an appearance and the owner himself would take a big rock like piece of ice and put it in a sack and hit it with a hammer like handle and then put the crushed pieces into the glass and give it a quick whisk with his spoon and hand over the glass of rose milk ,it used to cost 25 paise and today too it isnt very costly it is fifteen rupees for a glass of paradise .

As the cool milk flavored in rose touched out tongue myriad sensations would well up and the icy coldness would spread a pleasant chill into our souls and all the stress and heat would seep off ,it would taste till the last drop the same .

which is why the rose milk was so popular ,

Actors like Sivaji Ganesan were regular visitors and fans ,the nearby R R Sabha was a well known theater for live dramas and most drama personalities were also aficionados ,

once when I was in eight standard I think I  had gone to a drama with a friend and found Nagesh the well known comedian who came as a guest for the day walking out with AP Nagarajan the very famous director ,

we watched them sending their car off telling the driver 

we want a walk and we will reach home ,

there was literally no one in the streets and we followed them to the shop ,they were very surprised at Nagesh who was very popular then ,they did not have a rose milk but bought a cigarette which Nagesh lightened with cinematic elegance looking at us children following him ,later he whistled for  an auto and they both went off .

I found an article in the Hindu on this shop 

It had a phone number and I called up the owner and told him of my nostalgia for his rose milk he was thrilled to hear it though he wasn't born when I had taken  rose milk from his shop .

So when you go to Chennai dont forget to take a rose milk from Kalathi stores in East mada street Mylapore .

Today we found thier Rose milk sold in plastic bottles ..a bit more diluted

You can easily make this at home

Use unwatered fresh or refrigerated milk use rose milk syp some ice and a spoon of sugar .

The Madras Medical College

 The Madras Medical College more than 170 years old churned out some of the best names in Indian Doctors .

This college inspired me to join medicine brcause no one misses it if living in Madras  bang opposite the Central Railway station .

The Medical exhibition it held was attended by many and a wide eyed high school student me was so impressed that I decided I would study here .

Though I did my undergraduation in Kilpauk medical college an equally legendary institution in Madras

 (ok Chennai ) did live my dream for my postgraduation in Radiotherapy in Bernard Institute of Radiology and Cancer in 1984 .

Finally I was in the hallow portals of the great college I dreamed of a decade back .

I walked and worked in its wards 

I sat in its lecture classes and ate in its messes late at nights on call .

But my daughter lived my dream in selecting MMC for her MBBS and lived in its hostel for all the five years and more .

Some places are like that .

They direct your life and are in your mind forever .

Houses lived

 Houses lived and living 

During childhood we lived in a rented house in busy Mylapore in Madras .

It had one floor and a terrace .

Childhood memories and those of my father who passed away when i was ten years are filled in this house .

We all lived those days as a big family with every neighbour knowing each other reaching out in need and taking part in festivals and events as one big family.

Even after our dad left us neighbouring uncle used to ask me about my studies and nod happily whenever he saw me reading books 

Most weddings of nearby houses we celebrated as our own .

We stayed with them during those times .

That kind of affection was gone forever once we moved to our own house in Kilpauk built by my dad when he was alive .

It was a bigger house with lot of space for a garden but my mother alone was keen i.was never good in that .

During my college days and early married life we lived in Kilpauk till we moved to Cochin .

For one year we stayed in mattancherry in hospital quarters then moved to a rented house in palluruthy till we built one house cum clinic on the main road .

This was where our Sruthi and Shyam lived thier childhood and Shilpa left us too .

It had enough space and lot of trees mango coconut teak and jackfruit .

After we moved abroad and children flew to different countries we preferred a cosy apartment on return hence sold house to a known doctor couple friends .

In UAE initially i was in hotel Hilton then in a villa then in an apartment later into a massive villa .

In Brunei we lived for 6 years in a very lovely bungalow with lawn and potted flowers .

Now back to our apartment in Thripunithura ideal for a relaxed phase of life .

My First Tea Estate

It was during my medical college days i went to a Manathavady tea estate .

I loved the hills even then though I had gone to many those days .

So when an uncle I met in a family friends house invited me over to come to his estate once i just took it up .

Uncle was a manager in a tea estate in Mananthavady in Wyanad in Kerala and i was in Madras .

But i had gone to my native village for holidays and i decided i will take up uncles invitation.

Those days no mobiles and i didnt warn uncle that iam taking up his invit !

So i took a train to calicut and later a KSRTC bus to Manathawady which takes 4 to 5 hours of winding strenous roads .

I reached the place by around 3 pm .

It was cold when i got down from the bus and the place looked beautiful and foggy a bit drizzly .

I asked in a shop on uncles tea estate

I was told it wasnt very far off i just had to walk for 5 minutes .

It was a pleasant walk

I walked into the tea estate factory an uphill walk to reach it .

Straight away i saw uncle dressed like a British plantation manager in shorts giving his piece of mind to an arrogant worker the kind you see only in Kerala tea estates unlike in other states .

Uncle was glad to see me asked me to wait for some time in the office .

He came shortly and took me in his Bullet along tiny paths in midst of tea plantations to reach his bungalow quite a huge one very British .

The door was opened by his man friday Lonappan .

Uncle told me to freshen myself .

In hill stations it gets dark quite early and we met again for dinner in a cavernous dining room where Lonappan served us hot pooris with fresh potatoe curry and hot tea .

Uncle a man of few words told me to go to bed as it was around 8.30 pm and people went to bed early .

I retired to a palatial bed room and laid down in a fourstead ,it was bit scary in beggining as it was pitch dark and every sound made me startle but somehow the warm blankets my travrl fatigue and Lonappans hot food made me sleep off .

In the morning i saw uncle for a glimpse he said Hari i need to go around estate please have your breakfast before you leave as i had told him i would return by morning bus

I thanked uncle as he sped in his Bullet .

Lonappan was more human in the daytime as he chatted with me gave me some hot dosas and tea which i had standing in the lawn bracing a chilly wind looking down at the lovely tea estate lying below me .

I still cant forget my first trip to a tea estate .

10

Bala

 

Railway houses

The stories they tell .....
These are houses along the  Railway line on the way to Madras ..no not Chennai as the days these houses existed with its people was when it was Madras .

These houses housed Raiway staff like gaurds ,station masters,engine drivers,etc .

Most in days of the British hailed from Anglo indian community which was the same till about 2 to 3 decades following independence ,
remember the malayalam film Chattakari based on an anglo indian engine drivers daughter .
Most migrated to thier home country or England or to Australia  .

Slowly Indians occupied these houses and later they were abandoned to become shells .
If one stands by their side in empty moonlight I am sure one can hear the tinkle of glasses , the chords of the piano  ,  the clink of glasses in the flickering light of candles and a robust
 good night dahling Rosie .
You bet Fredrick

Last day in job

One year back on this day I left my last job in Brunei in The Brunei Cancer center .
I wrote this then

Adhu anginne aanu bai
Thats the way it is buddy

Last day in job

Though not for many years for the last 5 years today was my last day in The Brunei Cancer Center now under Pantai jerudong speciality center Brunei Darussalam .

Before this I had a last day in Lakeshore hospital  Cochin 12 yrs back and one in Tawam hospital Al Ain UAE 5 yrs back .

Last day last prescription and shutting down the desktop has  a sort of finality for the phase .

Its the full stop of one chapter .

I have no plans for the next , in fact thinking back I never had grand strategies in my career .

I wasnt ever pushy never the typical A type achiever .
The Alpha male no never ever .

I just did what I knew best as honestly as possible .
I always answered to one person , no  no not to  God or any celestial being but to  my inner mind .

Somehow cheating him wasnt easy though I did try on off .

But I have been lucky too to get into places and work with people who were like steps for me  to climb up  my career .

Maybe if I was more hard working less diverted more focussed on my chosen career instead of indulging in my passions I may have reached higher peaks .

Now I did just climb small hills but I enjoyed the climbs as I had time to gaze at the scenery I had pauses to smell the flowers and I could taste the raindrops .

And I have a blank slate for the future which I am sure has an etch which will reveal in time like hidden writing .

So iam looking into the future with the wide eyed innocence of a child

Maybe with the foolish vision of an idiot with no strategies but as i gaze into my past I find i hadnt been much different before too .

My career like my writing or my cooking has been spontaneous impulsive with no punctuations and i just let go so that invisible something shapes my destiny as i am too lazy to do it myself.

Not an inspiring example for youngsters but as they say in malayalam

Adu anginne aanu bai

Which means
its like that buddy .