SUNDAY SERMONS

A six-day week school followed by The Sabbath didn't help my case of love for sleeping in. Needless to say 'the church-aunties', whose favorite time pass involved correcting other's children, were never too pleased in me. (Nor was I with their preaching and their butting in, but that somehow is not a good enough reason for some to abstain from doing the right thing.) So a couple of years ago, on one of those days when I had turned up late to church (as usual), just as I was getting out after the service, the heaviest and most virtuous of the church aunties came up to me and asked "What made you late today?" blocking my way to the door.

SPOTLIGHT ISSUES

SPOTLIGHT ISSUE Part I:

When I was born, Chech was having a nice 'me-time' (getting thoroughly spoilt and having her favorite yellow gems, I suppose) here at my grandparent's place in Kottayam and showed up with them at the hospital, like some casual visitor to see me.

This is how our first meeting went...
Chech (in her hoity-toity tone): "Chechiya!" - Hi! I am your elder sister!
"UKG-A yil padikua!" - Studying in UKG-A!
"Ist Rank'aa!" - I am the Ist ranker!
I have a feeling that was followed by collective "Aaaww...!'s"
and that-was-a-smart-&-mature-thing-to-say looks by everyone, i.e. everyone except me,

HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER

(HIMYM - appa&amma's story)

This Sunday for our Easter special breakfast, it was me who made the 'Palappams' from scratch (Okay, so the chicken stew was all Amma's work, but  I am telling you, that anybody can make!) Now, about my palappams, they came out quite decently for an amateur like myself and Appa did a good job of praising me lavishly on a full stomach, sitting in front of his emptied plate. I know he did that to just to inspire me to get involved in the kitchen-front more often (thanks to my mother, who always gives these biased reports of 'me and Kitchen' much like that Zyed Khan's 'temple/library scene' in Mein Hoon Na.)

Now, Amma being a rather hard one to please or get appreciation from, it was always better to take a direct aporoach regarding these matters.
"So Amma, you didn't like them?"
No response.
Pause. "Amma?"
"Do you know how old you are?"
("Yep I do..but I am sure you are not interested in my answer, so how about you simply get to the point? huh..")
"If your Father's Mother was alive today.." she resumed "she would have told you how she managed her 5 kids, the household and all the labourers at your age."
"Hmm..." (so no compliments today!)
Amma continued, this time looking at Appa "You are the one, spoiling these brats!" pointing at me and Babes.
He just gave his guilty-but-I-thought-I-was-helping-your-cause look.
"But you got married when you were 24, no? So its not like you were some superwomen at my age either, you were also simply fooling around till then no?." I retorted.
("Hah! Tit for tat, yeah!")
"Are you even listening? I am talking about your total incapacity to........."

"Mmhnhhrem.." Appa interrupted, clearing his throat ".....And she was the most beautiful 24 year old bride too, your mother!" slowly turning from me to looking in Amma's direction
(Ahaa.. trying to win back her confidence in response to her 'you-are-the-one spoiling...-attack', Appa you clever you!)

SPARES

I think its only fair (now, don't ask 'to who?') that I start from the very beginning.  It was in the middle of my 1st standard that Amma got transfered to Kochi. So the whole family, Appa Amma and us kids (I am the middle child, I have two sisters) had to get relocated. I dont' remember the date or month, I don't remember much of my old school (at Trivandrum) either, or of the year and the next at the new school, Err.. better I skip to standard-3. That year D and S were my bench-mates, about them, they were both good kids. They didn't have the habit of pinching or poking you during the class, when they bought chocolates to school; they shared and most importantly we used to watch the same cartoons on Doordarshan (remember He-man, Flintstones, Duck tales, Chip and Dale? Ah good old days!) so we could gossip like grown-ups about important issues featured in them, over food, during our lunch breaks. (We were a pretty evolved group, you see.) That year was a good one.

The next year though, things changed, our seating arrangements changed. Our new classroom had this slightly different type of tables and chairs which were taller than our old ones but not much wide i.e. they wouldn't accomodate us all three.. and that was not a welcome change, (infact that was to me, what acorn was to Chicken Little, a sky-is-falling-moment!) but then D offered to go sit with a new kid 'A' (or maybe she wasn't new and I just saw her that day, coz very few people existed in my perfect little world those days!) who used to ride the same school bus as her, thereby depriving me of some drama.