Ormakal marikkumo? Olangal Nilakkumo? Does the memories ever fade? Does tide ever cease?

Mulakulam- the quaint little village where I was born lies in Central Kerala in Kottayam District. Although, it has changed over the last 40 years since I have been there, it always brings back pleasant memories of my child hood. I was born in my Uncle's house. I have happy memories of following my Aunt around while she did her chores around the house and listening to my grandma reciting shlokas from Bhagvad gita. The west verandah where my Uncle used to sit and read his news paper and my grandpa would fix his "Murukkan" ( Tobacco chew).

The house was surrounded by coconut trees on all sides and a vast rice paddy field in the back. In front right across the road was a temple- Vadukunnapuzha kshetram. My Uncle's house was a big house during that time, in the early 60s. The wrought iron gate said- "Manimandiram". Mani was my uncle's nickname. The long winding road in one direction took you to another town - Peruva and the “Sri Lakshmana swamy kshetram” (temple)on the other side. That was my world till I turned 5. I did not know if anything existed beyond that. Neither did I care. My cousins would make me "Olapanthu" (ball made out of coconut leaves), Olawatch-watch made out of coconut leaves etc. There was a certain kind of leaf that would spin in circles when placed strategically on an "Eerkili" ( vein of coconut leaf), it was called "Kattadi".

One time a lottery ticket seller came to the house and my Aunt bought a ticket, I was curious to know how it worked, so my Aunt explained if our ticket wins, the next day we can go to kottayam to collect the winner's share, Rs 50,000.00. I was excited. the next day I woke up, took a shower and I was ready to go, My Aunt had forgotten about the whole thing and she asked me where to ? to which I replied to collect our money from the lottery winnings. She tried to make me understand , but I would have none of it, I threw tantrums and cried a lot. My aunt, God bless her soul.

What prompted me to write this? I don't know.....may be I am afraid that some day I will forget the details of the joy I had as a little child. Or maybe it is because I miss my chettan (oldest cousin) who passed away recently. I was lucky to be by his side when he passed away. I saw him slowly drifting away into blissful oblivion. May Lord Lakshmana always be with you, chetta.

Black Belt!

Can't believe it has been a year since I posted some thing here. A year older, gained a few pounds, lost a ton of hair and what is left of it is turning grey. All the depressing stuff.

On the bright side- the boys are 9 and 7 and collectively they have lost all their baby teeth. Jay had expanders on his upper jaw for 3 months and made our pockets lighter by a couple of thousand dollars. All worth it 'cos his smile can brighten up a room now, not that it was bad earlier, just enhanced. They will be finishing school in less than 10 days. Going on to 4th and 2nd grade.

If all goes well, in two days they will have their black belts in taekwondo. Jay got straight A's in 2 of the quarters missed the third by a single point. The last quarter is again too close to call, I think he will get straight A's but remains to be seen and may end up with one B+. that's OK, he did his best and that what counts.

Vinny has been consistent and stays sharp, way ahead of his classmates in 1st grade. They both did well in basketball this winter and also swimming. Jay played flag football and his team placed 3rd in the league. Vinny's soccer team did decently. I was the assistant coach for his soccer team.

Jay's science project was "potato battery and Vinny's- balloon hovercraft. In first grade jay's science project was an erupting volcano and in second grade he made a magnetic compass.

That was the academic year 2009-2010 in a nutshell.

On May 17th, I lost my oldest cousin to colon cancer. I was by his bedside along with his family when he took his last breath. It is a tragic loss, he was only 62 years old. He had so many plans for retirement with my bhabhi(Sister in law) but God took him away. We miss him and will always love him.

We are headed to India for 4 weeks towards the end of June for Lata's cousin's wedding and then visiting all the extended family. looking forward to a pleasant summer ahead.

On June 2nd, 2010, Jay and Vinny got their black belts in Taekwondo. Really proud of my boys. All their hard work paid off. Master C, their instructor is quite fond of them and says- I wish I had more kids like jay and vinny in the class. So does the teachers in their school.

For getting good grades and bringing all the accolades home they got what they wanted when school was out, Pokémon games for their DS. that should keep them busy at least for a few days.