My First Love

It was a strange as well as wonderful feeling, I felt, for the first time in my life in the year 1978. I was studying my 4th year Mechanical Engineering ( 5 years degree course in those days).

A Keralite couple with a baby, was living opposite to our house in the police quarters. Guests visit them very frequently. Either the gentleman's mother or the lady's sister used to stay in the house to help the lady tending to her new born baby.

The lady had two younger sisters. The elder was a graduate and the younger was studying in school. I never knew that the elder of the two sisters had a crush on me, until one fine morning she gave me this strange and sweet feeling. 

I used to sleep on the small veranda at the entrance, due to high humidity inside the house. I also didn't want to be disturbed by the early morning noise from the kitchen.Ours was a Mangalore tiled row of houses. Six in a row. The other row was facing ours which had 6 houses too. 

As usual, I woke up, hearing the water splashing in front of the house. It is an Indian custom for the womenfolks to clean the floor in front of their house and draw Rangoli every morning. 

I folded the mat and picked up the pillow to go inside. A pen that was there at the entrance of the verandah caught my eye. I was wondering whose pen was that. I was curious to find out the type of pen. So I opened the pen cap and found that it was a fountain pen. I was confused, because the nib was missing. I found a small piece of paper at the ink compartment of that fountain pen.

I pulled out the paper and tried to figure out that was scribbled on it. It took a few seconds for me to realize that it was a love note written to me. Just then, I saw some one closing the main door of the opposite house. I had enough time to figure out that, that was the elder of two sisters who closed the door. I could easily conclude that, it was she who found this novel way of expressing her love to me.

I could sense, for the first time in my life, different kind of feelings and vibrations all over my body. Many dramatic sequences followed after this first expression of love, by that girl, which I would share it with you, in my next blog.

Until then, take care. Happy weekend to you all.

Vijayan ( friend of Uma, Co-writer)
www.jayvani.blogspot.com 
vijay19562007@gmail.com

My First Encounter with Death

This happened when I was about 4 years old. I write this from my vague memory.

Its a police quarters where we lived from 1960? to till I was sent out by my father one day after I started working, soon after my graduation as a Mechanical Engineer.

This was the place which molded me into a Man - teaching me good and bad things of life. Its heart of today's Chennai, Kilpauk, one of the oldest Police Colonies where families of policemen stay and it is called Lotus Garden Police Quarters. The Colony, I guess, was named after the pond that was there, where lotus flowers grew.

My mother was washing clothes near a water sump (open) those days. It was a common practice for the people to come there to wash clothes and dry it next to the sump, where many trees where grown around. My mother was deaf and unless you speak loudly she would not be able to hear.

As a Child, I was curious to play in water when she was doing her work. I was the only child at that time. Sister and Brother were born later. I was playing splashing water around, from the sump. My mother was engrossed with her work facing the other side. Suddenly I fell into the sump. The sump was so deep that I was getting drowned. I do not remember what really went in my mind as I was too young. I struggled to come up twice trying my way up, but in vain. It only took me deep down inside. My mother should have seen the water splashing outside from the sump when I tried for the third time to come up. She pulled my hand and dragged me out as soon as she saw my hands from the water. First aid was given to me and people assembled to watch me. Today I am alive to write my first blog ( though my blog for poems is a separate one in tamil www.jayvani.blogspot.com ) at the age of 55.

Had my mother not turned back and saw my hands that day in that split second, I wouldn't have survived to share my experience with you. That was my first encounter with death. Water has always been associated with my life.

More to come. Stay tuned.
Vijayan ( friend of Uma, Co-writer)
www.jayvani.blogspot.com 
vijay19562007@gmail.com