AMMOOOOOOS

I am most certain it was summer of 1987. There were lots of kids in the neighborhood. Unni, Kuttan, Rajani, Raju, Babiechi etc etc. Ammu and her little sister were in elementary school. Summer times used to be splendid with lots of fun/friends/games/swimming.  One of the fondest memories of summer time was about a mango orchard in the neighborhood. There were about 20 mango trees there. Each mango tasted very different. At first, Ammu couldn't believe that there could be that many varieties of mangoes. There were very tiny mangoes and very big mangoes. Sweet mangoes and sour mangoes. Green mangoes, red mangoes and yellow mangoes. Mangoes which had worms inside all the time, mangoes which didn't even have a spot on those. Her dad used to tell her that no one could abuse mangoes in front of a Malayalee because it was their fruit - king of the fruits. After a thunderstorm  or a wind in summer, lots of mangoes used to drop from the trees . All the ...

There was a baby girl born into a family almost 40 years back. Her parents were very happy when she was born. They adored her. They wanted to give her everything, but they couldn't because they never had enough money. Later she was joined by a younger sister. And then there was a golden necklace. A small necklace. One pawan thookkam, meaning it weighed 8 grams. It was given to the girl by her dad for her first birthday. At that time, she couldn't understand the value of that. It was not at all an expensive thing for a middle class family but it was for her family. Every time her dad needed some extra money, he used to loan this necklace to the bank and bank used to give him some money. So it was their security whenever they needed to borrow money from the bank. So, this necklace was in the bank most of the time. This necklace being in their house meant that their family didn't have any loan at that time and dad could take the necklace from the bank. It was in her...

എനിയ്ക്കു കരയാൻ മലയാളത്തിലെ  പറ്റുള്ളൂ എനിയ്ക്കു ചിരിക്കാൻ ഇംഗ്ലീഷിലോ മലയാളത്തിലോ ഹിന്ദിയിലോ തമിഴിലോ പറ്റുമായിരിക്കും പക്ഷേ എനിയ്ക്കു കരയാൻ ഉള്ളു തുറന്നു കരയാൻ മലയാളത്തിൽ മാത്രമേ കഴിയൂ എനിക്കു പ്രേമിക്കാൻ മലയാളത്തിൽ മാത്രമേ പറ്റുള്ളു എനിയ്ക്കു തെറി പറയാൻ മലയാളത്തിൽ മാത്രമേ കഴിയുള്ളു അതു എന്റെ പ്രശ്‌നമാണ് അത് നിന്റെ പരാജയമാണ് ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Translation: I can weep only in Malayalam I may be able to laugh in English, Hindi or Tamil but I can cry my heart out only in Malayalam I can show my intense feeling of deep affection only in Malayalam I can curse only in Malayalam That is my problem! That is your failure!

വളരെക്കാലം  മുൻപേ സംഭവിച്ചതാണ് ഇക്കാര്യം .... രാവിലെ നല്ല പണിയിലാണ് ... ഇതെല്ലം തീര്‍ത്തിട്ട് വേണം ഓഫീസി - ഇല് പോകാന്‍ ... അപ്പോളത എന്റെ മകന്‍ വരുന്നു ... ഈ ടോയ് എങ്ങിനെയ കളിക്കുക അമ്മേഎന്നതാണ് ചോദ്യം ... ഒന്ന് രണ്ടു തവണ അവനോടു ഞാന്‍ മര്യാദയ്ക്ക് പറഞ്ഞു "മോനേ  വൈകുന്നേരം  നമ്മള്‍ക്ക് കളിക്കാം  .. ഇപ്പോള്‍ അമ്മയ്ക്ക് സമയമില്ല " വീണ്ടും അതെ ചോദ്യവുമായി വന്നപ്പോള്‍ ദേഷ്യം വന്നു ... എന്റെ സ്ഥിരമുള്ള സ്വഭാവമാണ് അവനു നേരെ  ഒച്ചയെടുക്കുക   എന്നത് ... ദേഷ്യം പിടിച്ചു ഞാന്‍ പറഞ്ഞു "കൊണ്ട്  പോയി പുഴുങ്ങി തിന്നോ " ( അങ്ങിനെ പറയാന്‍ പാടില്ലായിരുന്നു ) അപ്പോള്‍ അവന്റെ വളരെ നിഷ്കലങ്ങമായ മറുപടി " അമ്മേ ഇതു ബ്രേക്ഫാസ്റ്റ് അല്ല "... പുഴുങ്ങിതിന്നൊ    എന്ന്  ഞാൻ   പറഞ്ഞത് അവന്‍  ലിറ്ററേലി   എടുത്തു ... അമ്മ കഴിക്കാനുള്ള എന്തോ ആണെന്ന് കരുതി  തിന്നോ   എന്ന് പറയുകയാണെന്ന് കരുതി ... പാവം കുട്ടി .. അവനു ഈ വക മോശം സംസരമോനും  മനസ്സിലാക്കാന...

This is one my favorite lines in my very limited knowledge of western music, and I love it. From one of the Eagles songs. I really don't know how to describe the feeling, but it is like an infactuation. "I have been searching for the daughter of the devil himself I have been searching for an angel in white" I don't rememebr when I heard it first. Probably I didn't understand any words when I heard it first time and I did have to read the lyrics to totally understand the words. It was definitely not a love at first hearing. It was a maturing love, increasing bit by bit, gradually but constantly. Each time I hear it, I love it little bit more than the last time. The voice is very masculine and sexy and the guitar playing in the background is mesmorizing. So, I started pondering about it! What did the writer mean? Dosen't all women little bit mean and good? Can anyone be only good or bad? May be the author meant extreme goodness or meanness. Who ...

Whenever I see the lavender flowers of jacaranda, I am dazzled by the beauty of it Like it came straight from the heaven. Mesmerizing color and the vibe the tree/flowers bring is priceless. Usually those bloom in summer and the flowers drop making a carpet of violet petals around the tree. It is not very ornamental like Japanese maples or rhododendron, not very fragrant like magnolia, not complicated like wisterias, but it is very much elegant. You have my heart Jacarandas! A beautiful lavender spring in summer! I want to be buried under a jacaranda tree. And every time you visit me there, I  want you to think of me as those flowers(in summer only but that is ok). I can live with that. Well, I'll be dead then. So, that will be a paradox :) But you get the gist of it, don't you? I want you to think about that jacaranda tree which I wanted to plant once we buy our first home. You said that we'd have lot of work cleaning up the petals, but added that you ...