My Childhood & Family
This week’s featured nonsense
Father walked whole month for son who wouldn’t walk 50 meters
September 11, 2026
8 September was our 22nd wedding anniversary. But the day before, 7 September, was my dad’s 21st death anniversary. It is a strange arrangement of dates – one day I am remembering the man who raised me till I got married, and the next day I am celebrating the woman who has been raising me
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Nuclear bombs, Indian Ocean and secret agents
MN Devarajan was a nice fellow. Just that he always managed to put me in trouble. Back then, my father had a Bajaj Chetak scooter…and Devarajan sowed the seeds of … Read more
Fame, faith and failure
This post isn`t funny because I have been spending all of my time between ibibo.com and my daughter Rhea. Without that creative time slot to think and plan a blog … Read more
Hair growth on your ears? Remove them!
For the last 8-9 years of my life, there has been one outstanding feature of my personality – my ears….to be more specific, the hair on my ears. Legend is … Read more
Waking up early and related sub-plots
As you are all aware, my grand father was a farmer-shepherd. My father interned as a shepherd before finding out that it wasn`t his calling and moved to farming. Farming … Read more
The cycle of life
When I was growing up…and was still a student… traveling to school by bus had an advantage – you could say, “Mam, the bus was late.” But there were two … Read more
Why is it “Before Christ”?
Good the historians didn`t go by his first name. If only the historians had gone by Jesus Christ`s first name…it would have been B.J. and not B.C.. If you aren`t … Read more
Growth Pangs – for a 30+ man
My mother always said that I had a million dollar look. I doubted her till I was tall enough to see in the small mirror mounted on our bathroom`s wall. … Read more
The increasing cost of living
In 1985 my father was posted in Akhnoor, Jammu (a border area) and thus couldn`t take his family along. Back then, I was 10 years old and was studying in … Read more
Today is my 33rd happy birthday
The first birthday celebration of mine that I remember is when I was in class four and we were in Kholapur, Maharashtra. Those were the days when non-Maharashtrians could also … Read more
Flashback: My days in London
Year 1997 was a watershed in my life. I was adjudged Tamil Nadu`s second best Naval NCC Cadet (don`t ask me why I wasn`t the first – even my father … Read more
Father vs mother
In the last few days Rekha and I have been on warpath. Domestic terrorism, if you want to call it so. Being the mother that she is, she has been … Read more
Getting my hair cut under a tree was an adventure in itself
I have immense respect for barbers. I remember paying Rs 5 and getting my hair cut as a child. I would be provided a plank to sit on and a … Read more
Getting drugged slowly but steadily
Yesterday I took my grandmother to a hospital nearby. She had been coughing the whole night and I thought if I could fix her a meeting with the 65-year-old general … Read more
The art of swearing unnoticed
“My grandma`s little brownie ass,” said a friend trying to control his anger. “What?” I expressed my shock as much with the way I uttered the word, as with my … Read more
Seva Cafe – Hats off
Like me, my father has also been a story teller. When young, he told me a story about how one day, somebody told him about a restaurant where one could … Read more
Superstition
Last Saturday Rekha and I went to drop off my mother and younger sister at the railway station. They were catching the 9 p.m. Nellai Express to reach Madurai on … Read more
My world is suddenly crowded
Before marriage I was of the belief that one person can never crowd one`s world. Apparently that`s false…and unfortunately I learnt that after marriage. I will try to be subtle … Read more
Sense of direction
My father besides being the best shooter in his battalion (at least that`s what he always told us) was also a good map reader. Only a person with a good … Read more
Some parents and grandparents
Some children are not as lucky as I have been. You could blame it on their parents. While my father and mother taught me some damn nice things, I think … Read more
Here is a confession
I have a news which only five people in the World know. After you finish reading this paragraph, you would become the sixth person. The five already aware are my … Read more
My brother-in-law is a lawyer
My brother-in-law. i.e., Rekha`s sister`s hubby is a layer…oops lawyer. And like all lawyers he is quite an interesting guy. He and his family paid us a visit a few … Read more