Down memory lane…

Of late, I have caught myself wandering down memory lane a bit more than is usual for me. The oddest things trigger the oddest memories…

• Waking up in the morning to the strains of Vishnu Sahasaranamam takes me back to what I call the golden age in my life… Kerala-Karnataka days. When mom had her way, it would be Kanda Sashti Kavacham, and when dad had his, it would be Vishnu… Combined with Lalitha and Mahishasura mardhini, it was the traditional way to start the day in a city which spoke no Tamizh, and we had no cable those days…

• Songs of the 70s and early 80s – Hindi and English… Dad’s albums of BoneyM and ABBA still are with me. I have Disco Dancer, Chaudhvi ka chaand, Hits of geeta dutt cassettes from an era before hindi compilations really were “in”. Pop songs of Alisha (Baby Doll) and Nazia Hassan (Disco deewane) from a time when pop in India was in its most nascent stage. It’s been 15 years since Dad was around. But his cassette collection – still intact!!!

• I passed through a church in Bangalore the other, and remembered that its been awhile since I set foot in one. Not counting my visit last year to Roslyn Chapel in Edinburgh. But that triggered more memories of Kollam. Morning mass at school was restricted to catholics, and I used to spend time after lunch there just sitting at the pews. Evenings to the Ganesha temple almost every other day. And never a moment of conflict. Never did mom ask me why I loved the church. Or why I read the bible cover to cover after I finished devouring C Rajagopalachari’s Mahabharat. I remember my term exams, which used to be 2 a day, 830-1130 and 130 to 430. I hated studying last minute and comparing notes, so I used to sit by the chapel side, watching the waves go up and down rhythmically before my first exam. And I got into the habit of spending one hour between two exams in the chapel. Silent. An achievement indeed, given my affinity for the spoken word

• I saw someone post a review of Mills and Boon by an author called Jessica Steele. And it kicked off a whole host of memories. This happened before I used to be a afficianado of this genre, and my sister used to read them all the time. I loved our public library in Kollam. Looking back, given it was a government one, I realize it must have been one-of-a-kind in its day, as it had a whole host of genres of books from M&Bs to Tamizh books by Sivasankari to Enid Blytons. I used to blindly pick up M&Bs for my sister from the racks. And I remember that I picked up the same book (I even remember its title – “No holds barred” by Jessica Steele) every alternate week for her till she blew up at me and told me to stop being so charitable!!!

• Went to landmark last week. And not the new ones, but the one on NH Road, the original store. What a visit. As I browsed through the aisles, a host of memories hit me. Of picking up archies and enid blytons. Of shopping in nearby FAMCO during my summer vacations before heading back to Kollam or Gulbarga. Of meeting my mom and uncle who would join us from their visit to the dentist…And the smell of books. Wow. I used to go shopping once a month in Kollam with Dad, to a shop called Caroline. The store was the only one which stocked Asterix/ Archies/ Tintin. And that monthly visit was a pilgrimage for dad and i. We would feel bereft if that didn’t happen.

• And finally, I saw a movie (albeit a lousy one) at Prarthna. A place we used to go when my aunt got her first car, a 800. My first ever theater movie was with my aunt and cousins in Albert. (Jackie Chan, Meals on wheels). My second was at Prarthna. I think it was Singaravelan, but I may be wrong. We used to literally picnic to prarthna with first cousins, to third cousins. From in-laws to best friends. From Beach chairs to Jamakalams. From home made curd rice, to prarthna fried rice… We saw movies from Singaravelan, Kalaignan, Ullathe allithaa, Baba, Alaipayuthe, Dum dum dum, Mahanadi, Duet and a zillion more…

Damn I miss those days.