THE FAMILY MUSEUM

                                 

                        

Everyone has a bit of Brahma, Vishnu & Shiva in oneself; the difference lies only in the proportion of each! Okay I am a creator alright and a preserver too; my husband is an amalgam of all three. Yeah, I don't have the heart to destroy or cast aside my still-as-new possessions. But during spring cleaning sessions, I let my better half take the reins and turn a blind eye so that some clutter would be given a fitting farewell. Still we are proud of our family collections that are preserved in our 'home-museum'.

We have preserved collectibles through the years - I know you have read my earlier posts on them. But what I'm going to speak about now is different - it's about family 'creations' preserved over the years. My family gets excited during every visit as I dig up some interesting souvenirs connected with their growing-up years. They love to show off to their little ones - how it was "When Daddy was little". That's not all - there are similar stuff from my school days still used by me. I have to thank my mom for those as she had included them in my wedding 'luggage'! I can say I have her genes! 

I got to organize all of these treasures together recently when there was complete re-hauling of the various storage spaces during the recent house painting session. 

Take for example this beautifully embroidered table cloth - my name embroidered in one corner.  

                           

This was what I had made for 'Needle-work' class in my ninth grade and it is still in use. 

After the mother's handiwork, wouldn't you like to take a look at my kids' creations for 'Needle work' class in sixth / seventh grade? Don't look surprised - even the boys had to use the needle creatively! Here is their embroidery work.

                               

And look at the scarf each of them knitted in school. Believe me, their Dad uses them for his early morning walks in winter! Well created and well preserved and well utilized! Sorry I don't have the sweater and socks I had knitted in school! Too bad. But the sweaters I knitted for the entire family after my marriage have been put to good use. One of the sweaters I had made for my elder son (when he was five) has been gifted to his daughter and the one knitted for my younger son has been worn by his son. My mom had preserved and handed over my lovely green frock-sweater knitted by her (with all the fancy buttons intact) during one of her visits. She knew I couldn't put it to use as I didn't have a daughter. Neither did my sister. Mom expected me to give it to the next generation kids in course of time. But I'm ashamed to admit I lost it - I mean I didn't realize when my husband had discarded it!

Next let's look at the art work section. As a teenager, I loved to draw faces - that too of ladies. My kid sister wouldn't want to be left behind - sometimes she did come up with awesome creations. Look at the sisters' art works. Don't ask me how I have these 50 year-old gems!

                              

It would be no surprise to hear that we have preserved the drawings and paintings of our boys - even the ones which bagged first prizes for them in their respective group at the annual painting competition for children in CME, Pune. 

                                

Even the connoisseurs ourselves don't remember how we had got hold of them - in all probability, the award -winning entries had been displayed and forgotten and we'd have laid our hands on our children's creations! 

A couple of years ago, when our grand daughter made cute cards for us, we could not but notice her dad's genes in her. We were absolutely delighted to see an uncanny resemblance to ourselves in the first one.

The second card was a drawing of all our four grandchildren - she seemed to have inherited the family's aesthetic sense.

Recently when my grandson was around, I showed him the Nissan his dad had drawn. His instant reaction was 'WOW!' He then asked for a paper and in the next ten minutes finished drawing his version of the Nissan - with the bonnet open! So now I have this father-son creations too.

                              

Next, our literary works. I have a whole file of newspaper 'Middle's as well as articles published through the years - most of them by yours truly and some by my sons. What takes the cake is the detective novel written in Malayalam by my husband at 13 - it was published and won acclaim. 

                                 

My sons proved to be chips off the old block(s) - we have the manuscripts of the novels they had written as school boys but unfortunately their parents were not enterprising enough to get them published! Our sons and their better halves now would roll with laughter reading the stories together and enjoying the illustrations. Just waiting for the kids to grow a bit more to enjoy reading them.

What is really admirable is that there are barely any cuts or corrections in any of the pages - and mind you it is the first and only copy!

Next take a look at our film songs diaries. I started writing down the lyrics of Hindi, Malayalam and Tamil film songs as early as 1965 (see the diary year). I'd borrow film-song books from my friends and dutifully copy them in my diary - no dears, there was no xerox facilities those days! 

After marriage, both of us have been adding to the collection and we now have five diaries. The Hindi songs are penned in Hindi script. As for the other two languages, the same song would be written in Malayalam by hubby and in Tamil script by me (we have an unending dispute about our mother tongue - he says his is Malayalam and I say it is Tamil, though both of us speak the same dialect - Palakkad Tamil).

I have preserved my modest collection of 'paattu pustakam' (song books) sold at the theatres during the screening of movies for 50 paise. 

The interesting part is the song book of 'Arzoo' (Hindi movie) is in Malayalam and that of 'Aradhana' is in Tamil. Most of the Tamil movie song books I have are also in Malayalam. So you can guess that I had spent most of my teenage years in Kerala. 

There are more interesting collections lovingly tucked away as heirloom - like the albums of my sons'stamp collection. My husband deserves kudos for neatly preserving the Progress Reports of each grade of each of our sons. More for being able to retrieve any of these collections at the snap of a finger!

A WEDDING TO REMEMBER

Our housing society was agog with excitement at the impending BIG FAT WEDDING in its very own 'Ambani' family! It was the second and last wedding in the family - everyone had either experienced the lavishness of the first wedding or heard about it from others. And everyone wanted to be be a part of this too. The desire turned into resolve as the hosts visited every house to personally hand over the massive invitation card along with a box of 'designer' chocolates and also informed about the bus facility available from our society.

There was one hitch though for the invitees - there was another wedding in our building the same day. At first we thought our whole day was booked but it so turned out that both weddings were in the evening - the muhurats almost an hour apart - both in two different ends of the city. Some of us decided pack off our husbands to the neighbor's wedding and we'd ourselves take the bus to the other. Some of my ambitious building friends decided to put in an appearance at the first and then take off for the second. Hubby was hitchhiking with them - on my insistence. 

The big day dawned. A casual glance at the newspaper somewhat unnerved me - it forecast thundershowers in parts of the city. Not that I have faith in our Met department but when I'm all excited about something, I am wary of some hitch! Anyway, it seemed a pretty bright December  day. 

The luxury bus was abuzz with the banter of enthusiastic ladies and chatter of excited kids - all attired in their colorful best! I didn't fail to notice the wet roads in parts of our drive - I felt relieved that the rains had come and gone, thank God! 

We landed at the venue well in advance and we were glad we could have a good 'dekho' at the grand decorations. 

As we entered we let ourselves be photographed individually - my number was 12, so you can imagine how early we were! We could collect our copy after thirty minutes. 

The decorations totally floored us as expected and I excitedly captured them on camera - the folk corner, the well-laden fruit stall, the various yet-to-function food stalls, the floral decorations, the artistically decorated stages ....

In fact our group had got split and just three of us stuck together like triplets. We found ourselves a good spot at one of the front tables. The satin-cushioned chairs covered in plastic had raindrops all over - we had to just remove the plastic and sit - I was impressed with their meticulous planning and eye for details. 

Plenty of entertaining shows were lined up - melodious live orchestra  and impressive gymnastics........ 

Soon the bridal pair descended on the venue in their own inimitable style and grandeur and took center stage. The resplendent red-n-white bridal wear of the couple were an eyeful - but naturally! They exchanged garlands and then the groom tied the 'mangalsutra' and the surging crowd blessed them with akshata. More shows were announced. But then I sensed a raindrop on my hand. Oops! We should get going, we decided and joined the closest and shortest line-up for soup. Sensing imminent threat from the dark skies, we proceeded in the queue for the adjacent sweet stall and dinner counter. While waiting in the queue, I kept my mouth and hand active - doing justice to the sweets on my plate. That turned out to be a good move - we barely got seven minutes to enjoy our food. The rains caught us almost unawares - without a prelude or warning. The massive downpour seemed as if the Gods made a last minute decision to descend unceremoniously on the venue in full force. I shoved my clean plate and quickly joined the rest to take shelter in the adjacent spacious hall - but not before getting wet. Surely the bridal couple too would have got wet, not to mention the expensive equipment - cameras, musical instruments, mikes ...... Imagine the hullabaloo as the crowd of young and old, with and without plates standing around drenched to various degrees and the commotion outside as the organizers tried to retrieve the spread laid out even as the decorations were battered mercilessly by the fierce downpour! And the rains lingered on in full throttle for an hour!

We soon bumped into our lost group and realized that they had not had anything except pani-puri and the kids were hungry yet well behaved. It was a good half an hour before people could get something on their plates. My friends brought in a few plates with rice and chana / dal / vegetables and sat down on the floor in their silks and shared their plates. Some shared gulab jamuns / cakes; others shared fruits - whatever they could manage to lay hands upon. I guess I was one of the lucky few to have had a basic meal accompanied with sweets.

I called my husband to know his status - he told me that they had blessed the couple at the first wedding and were on the way to the second in the pouring rain. Another fifteen minutes and the rest of my building folks landed there. I did manage to locate my husband as soon as he landed. They all took a stock of the situation and chose to start for home around 9.30 after attending two weddings and not having had a morsel - with another long drive on traffic-filled, rain-battered roads. Many of them stopped by restaurants and either ate there or did a take-away.

And what about us? The 'bus' group wanted to stay put together and so none of them accepted a ride back home with friends. The crowd had petered out in the confusion and melee. When all in our group had eaten something, the driver was given a call only to be told that the bus was full and had left the venue. We were shocked - it was 9.45 and there was no transport that our 30-odd group could avail to go back to our far-off homes. Even if the husbands were to come in cars to ferry us back, it wouldn't be before 90 minutes. We checked out the parking lot for other buses but all of them had left. Frantic by now, we were cursing ourselves for putting ourselves in this predicament and vowed never to take any means of transport other than our own vehicle. Soon we were pacified by the manager in charge of transport that we would be sent in the bus as soon as it returned. That meant a wait of not less than an hour. We were cribbing about our plight and cursing the torrential rains. Spoilsport rain chose to trouble us again and we sought refuge in shelters - as we looked around we could see how rain had battered the venue so meticulously decorated. 

As we took the bus, we could not but heave a sigh of relief. So far we had been so engrossed in our own predicament that we did not think beyond ourselves. It was during this hour-long drive that we pondered about the feelings of the parents who had painstakingly planned and executed this massive function catering to some thousands of guests who they had personally invited and welcomed with warmth and sincerity. And that of the bride who had personally supervised all the rehearsals of the entire shows, the bridal couple who lost out on the personal handshakes, greetings and blessings from the well-wishers, the tons of photos and reels of video footage they would have wished to cherish ... and the caterers who had presented the spread most of which were washed out and barely tasted. I did not have the heart to take shots of the battered place - such was my sorrow. No words can adequately describe the depth of the hosts' disappointment and grief - all the lavish preparations for their darling daughter's wedding had been so unceremoniously washed away by the uninvited, unexpected, nonseasonal rains - reminding the adage 'Man proposes, God disposes'. In spite of man's prowess, we have to admit Nature's supremacy. As our heart went out to the family, we renewed our blessings for the couple from the bottom of our hearts - the abundant blessings should be some consolation and compensation for them.

Let's not fail to see the silver lining in the cloud - the rains timed themselves soon after the marriage and not before!

DEAR LITTLE TREASURES

How often do we take stock of the trivia that have been 'living' with us? We do acknowledge them with a smile or a touch now and then. It was during the recent 'repaint the house' project that all my collectibles came together and vied for my attention. As I lovingly tried to bring back their original sparkle, each took me for a stroll down memory lane .......

Allow me to present glimpses of some of the exclusive stuff that have been occupying a space of their own at our place. Not necessarily dear cost-wise but definitely dear to our hearts. Not huge or expensive but definitely unique and irreplaceable.

You see I have these shells - from my parents. The shell lamp is a souvenir of my father's tenure in Port Blair as Principal Engineer in the sixties - custom-made; he had very thoughtfully got one made for the parents as well as for us children. 

So it became a part of my 'dowry' and is still sitting pretty in our showcase. I know you will get better ones from the sophisticated shops in Andamans now but there is a part of my father in this nearly fifty year old piece! 

Coming to this second shell, it must be around 35 years old. 

This is custom-made too - it has my name on it. My mother had got such souvenirs for her children when they had once visited Kanyakumari. Again not a big deal but a sweet gesture! And I still have it on display at home.

Trophies and mementos are treasured by most of us. I want to tell you only about my unique collectibles.

I have had this cute little trophy which reads 'Best Teacher Trophy'.

It is a simple 4 inch bone china trophy gifted by a group of my students - I'm ashamed to admit I don't remember the students who gifted me this nor the year. Must be in the early 90's. Again not costly but so very endearing that you will love it when you see it! 

We are saddled with a large number of mementos - reminders of our activities in College of Military Engineering where hubby served for several years. Though they are nothing like A R Rahman's collection of trophies, they do take us down memory lane and help relive the prime time of our lives. So I still have them lined up in some corner of the house as I don't have the heart to discard them. 

                               

                                         

Again they are special. My hubby has mementos for his association with the plays put up year after year and a few for the Musical Evening too. 

As for my part, I have reminders of my prize-winning Phool Rangoli entries at the annual Flower Show in the campus. 

They would flood my mind with nostalgic memories about my ambitious projects year after year. I started the first year on a humble note by making a 'Kathakali' face with flowers and was happy to get the second prize. The next year it was a 5 x 4 ft butterfly which brought me the first prize. The following year I became over-ambitious - made two - Kathakali dancer as well as Appu the elephant and bagged the first and second prizes! My my, I do sound boastful, don't I? 

When I look back on those efforts I really wonder how I managed to do that. Of course my hubby and school-going boys did lend a hand in procuring colorful flowers ( from our garden as well as friends') and helping me get them in small pieces and sort them out in separate plastic bags. Also in making the stencil for the rangoli. The flowers for each part would be pre-decided but there was always this doubt whether there were sufficient flowers for the whole rangoli. Adding to the tension was the time factor - without a help, I had to finish by 8 am - so I'd start as early as 5 am. Hubby would come around 7.30 to inquire if I needed any more flowers. When the mega efforts were rewarded, the house would be agog with exhilaration.  The next couple of days would witness me limp and my cramped legs would beg for mercy!

The boys have brought home their share of trophies too. Most of them are tucked away in a box in the loft - just a few are within arm's reach.

My sons are particularly nostalgic about their trophies earned in CME for various campus activities.

I have preserved them all ......

but my favorites are senior's Best Outgoing Student Trophy - it still looks so shiny within though tarnished outwardly.....

and Junior's cute silver Memento from Agarwal Classes for his 66th rank in IIT-JEE. 

I also have this big airtight plastic container. Well this was what my elder son got for coming first in cycle race on a Children's Day celebration in the early 80's - he was disappointed with his prize but it has stood the test of time!

I still use it to store the mixture / chakli prepared during Diwali or even to store fried pappadam during family get-togethers. It is still airtight. 

Another interesting collection that we have is that of Hot Wheel cars - prized possession of my younger son. As a boy, he'd keep adding to his collection with his pocket money. 

                                     

He'd be so careful with them that even a small dent would break his heart and he'd be seen 'nursing' the car with concern. Needless to say he'd not share them with anyone except his brother! I have still treasured the good ones. He still remembers which of them are the smoothest and shows them off to his kids when he comes on holidays.

After my kids were born, my mom handed me two stainless steel possessions which had been bought for me by my paternal grandma when I was a kid. 

One is a an early version of the 'sippy cup' ( called 'kindi'). This was bought for me when I broke my chin as a four year old and found difficulty in drinking milk from the glass. 

Another is a small steel 'thookku' which was my first 'lunchbox' - I remember my grandma packing pieces of steamed 'nendrapazham' (big Kerala plantain) for snack when she put me in Nursery school. Both of these items have my name in Malayalam - interestingly it is 'Vrinda' (interestingly it was my grandma who had chosen my name)!

As mentioned earlier I am only highlighting the really unique possessions among all my valuable 'inheritance'! My maternal grandma visited us in the mid seventies, a few years after my marriage and enjoyed a week with us. Among other gifts, she had given me a green plastic container with lid - I have many steel 'doonga's but a plastic one is unique! 

                                     

I still use it to keep some stuff. You won't believe it but the color hasn't faded to this day.

My paternal grandfather was a voracious reader; he would gift us classics during every visit and make sure we read them. Of course I have them all with me. But I'd like to make special mention of the Oxford English Dictionary he gifted me and my brother 51 years ago. 

I think I use it even today more than any present-day student!

Next in the list is my maternal grandpa. He was a prim-n-proper gentleman, suited and booted for formal occasions and wearing 'pattu veshti' and 'angavastram' for traditional functions. For his 'sashtiabdapoorthi' (60th birthday) which was celebrated on a grand scale, silk saris were purchased for all relatives. I was 13 then and I was also getting a sari. They took me to Nalli's and wanted me to select mine. I have always loved grand saris, so I chose the grey Kanchipuram sari with tomato red border with grand jari. 

Grandpa pointed to a light green one - I liked it but it didn't have that much jari. The price for my selection was marginally more but I knew it  was not an issue. But the color was - Thatha felt grey wouldn't suit me. But I was in no mood to relent, so grandma put in a word for me and Thatha gave in. I still don't know how much he approved of my choice but it has elicited compliments whenever I drape it. Even after 49 years, it still looks so rich and beautiful!

This was just a sample of my store of little treasures and souvenirs sharing space with us. Not antiques but exclusive personal 'treasures' - 'heirlooms-in-the-making' perhaps?!