A journey down the lane; Malarum ninaivugal

Four days holidays at a stretch,thanks to present CM of Tamil nadu.
Celebration of Pongal, Kanupongal, Mattu Pongal , Kanum Pongal and so on and so forth,.
Irrespective of the age there is always a liking to wards holidays, especially when they come in plenty,but as the aging process goes on, the enthusiasm with which these are used to be celebrated undergoes a change.

My earliest memories of Pongal goes back when i was in School (reading in first standard) and when my sisters used to celebrate KANU PONGAL . And i am blessed with sisters, 4 own sisters and half a dozen cousin sisters. Those days , it is customary for the girls who have offered Kanu podi (for the well being of their brothers) to approach elders and take their blessings. Blessings usually will be accompanied by gifts in cash, I remember my sisters getting Rs 10 each (good money in 1960s) and since i used to accompany them, i will always get a few rupees.Mind you , 25 paise in those days can get you one plate iddly, one vada and a cup of coffee.Thus in one day, by simply accompanying my sisters, i would have temporarily become rich. If the gifts are good, the luxury of having a masal dosai in India Coffe house, accompanied by a movie in Krishnaveni theater are the addl benefits.

And then the memories go to the point of time when i reached my teens.This is the difficult age.On the one hand you will have to give something to your younger sisters as gift and on the other hand you have to recoup your reources, with out making it to appear too obvious. The fact that i had only one sister younger to me and all other sisters elder to me saved me the embarrassment.This was the time i was living in one of those houses (Recall server sundaram, if you want to have an idea about the house we lived in), containing, one small verandah, one hall and one kitchen in which me , my two unmarried sisters, my elder sister and my brother in law along with their three kids have to live.Some one said, the constraints are not outside, but inside, Yes 100% true. The happiness which we used to get while celebrating Pongal in these "ondu kudiththanam " as they used to be called, despite limitation in moving space, is still evading me after two decades.There used to be a Radha krishna temple near by and the loud speakers will start playing songs both from movies aswell as devotional songs, right from the day before the
Pongal which used to last till the week end, almost 4-5 days at a stretch.This is the time when girls in their teens in the neighboring houses will visit and exchange glances, on the pretext of taking asirvathams from elders in the house. No formal talking, only eyes will meet. That is enough to keep the day wholesome.

Then comes the College days.Along with attendant pressures. Still, home preparations which have always been a speciality during Pongal, used to keep the interest at its best. These are also the days when participation in tamil speeches used to take a front seat. And emerging victorious, nine out of ten times added glitter to the same.This was to be the trend setter for a reward later obtained from the hands of Kaviyarasu Kannadasan later in 1980s in Kolkatta when the undersigned was fortunate to win three awards for best speech, best story writing and best analytical skills of a novel(MARAPPASU) by Thi. Janagi raman.

And then came the long and sullen officialdom.The time spent for literary activities and to enjoy the little pleasures that is offered by the Pongal festival have all gone into oblivion till a break took place, when i was given an opportunity to work in Hongkong. I was elected the president of HK Tamil cultural association which gave an opportunity and time to make good the last time to some extent. This was the time when Chinese New Year will be celebrated. Combining both events there was occasion to rejoice by organising patti mandrams, Vazhakkadu mandrams, drama festivals etc.

And now in CHENNAI, with official duties keeping one as prisoner of circumstances,Pongal comes and goes But the pleasures associated with it, are seldom enjoyed, especially when my two loving eyes (Son and daughter) are not around to enjoy the same,

But i am a hard core optimist, waiting for the union to come and then to redouble the happiness of enjoying Pongal in all its grandeur,

Till then hats off to all those sisters, elders, damsels and my dear son and daughter who make the remembrances of Pongal to be very personal and very enjoyable,

kodvasri