Friends Moving Away- New Neighbors
One thing that was happening very common in our KSEB colony was people moving out from Moolamattom once the kids finished their 10th ( SSLC). There was one good college near to Moolamattom and it was again run by Christian missionaries. One reason why people were moving out might be attributed to Engineering/Medicine fever. Engineering/Medicine seemed to be only option that was available for kids those days. For getting seat in good colleges you had to exceedingly well in entrance exams. All the students were studying in entrance coaching centers those days. That was required to get used to the questions in entrance exams and also to pick up the speed which was most essential for getting good marks in entrance exams.
In few years time Anup and his family moved out from Moolamattom once Anithachechi finished her 10th. They had moved out to Kalamassery (Ernakulam). In the same way, Arvind also moved out to Thrissur once Amrithachechi finished her 10th. The movement of people seemed to be inevitable at those stage. Amith and his family who had moved out to C-5 in an year or so after we moved in to Moolamattom also moved out when Kavithachechi finished her 10th. I am keeping in touch with many of my old friends thanks to some American’s brain whose idea was Orkut. Yesterday I got an invitation from my old friend Anup. We hadn’t heard of each other after Anup’s marriage. Now I hope I will be able to keep in touch with him again. Those good olden days will never come back again and but there is no point in weeping over it. Better to make use of available options to keep in touch with old friends, right? I always believe that the friendships that started during the childhood are really special as there is innocence associated with those relationships. That is something which is very hard to find these days.
Once Anup and his family moved out from C-3, we had another family. Mansoor Uncle, Hasina Aunty, Farzi and Fayaz. It was great to have them as our neighbors. Farzi was one year younger to Kingini and Fayaz was 2-3 years younger Farzi. Mansoor Uncle and Hasina Aunty were unlike from many other families who stayed at Moolamattom. Firstly they were more young and were less traditional than most of the other families. We always tend to associate certain level of orthodox mentality with Muslims but I don’t agree with it. That is not the case with all the Muslims. Hasina Aunty was always willing to be one among us and used to join us while we were playing cricket or badminton. Mansoor Uncle is no more and Hasina Aunty did well in bringing up the kids. Farzi is married now and settled in Middle East and Fayaz has finished his B’Tech. He is working now in Hyderabad.
Another family that were very close at Moolamattom was Sasi Uncle and Girija Aunty. They had a good library at home and I was very close with Priyachechi. She used to give me many good books and I got interested in reading that way. Those days we used to read fictions alone. I always feel that the best way to start reading is through fiction. Priyachechi was exception in her studies as well. She secured 5th rank in SSLC exam in spite of studying in government school. That was something quite unheard of during those days. She secured Gold Medal for Pre-Degree as well for MG University. They were at Moolamattom for more than 8 years.
How can I forget my Table Tennis sessions that we had with Nanu Sir? We used to go for playing Table Tennis those days. Nanu Sir was working in KSEB and he was instrumental in developing Table Tennis in Moolamattom. There used to be around 30 players who used to be trained by Nanu Sir during those days. He was a very strict person and because of this strictness alone Idukki Team was doing well.
More about Moolamattom in next one..:-)
Monday, July 12, 2010
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Life at Moolamattom-5
Weather at Moolamattom
Weather at Moolamattom was something quite different from most of other places in Kerala. In Idukki district itself, weather was very tough. During the rainy seasons there used to be heavy rains. When I say heavy rains, those rains never used to stop for 2-3 days. So it was like house arrest, We couldn’t go out anywhere except to schools. Things were not better at schools also as we were not able to go out and play.
Idukki district was quite famous for natural disasters during the rainy season. Most famous one being ‘urulpottal’. (Landslips are locally called "Urulpottal", resulting in loss of life and property are frequently reported in Idukki). We used to get holidays for schools when there used to be heavy ‘urulpottal’ in Idukki. So whenever there used to be heavy rains in our place, we used to listen to radio in the morning for news. We kids were just waiting to know if there were any urulpottal around and if any holiday was announced. Those days District Collector seemed to be all powerful man for me. Announcement for the school holiday came from District Collector.
There was a small bridge connecting our KSEB colony to outside world. All the school and office vehicles took that path to go from our colony. During one of the heavy rains this small bridge collapsed. I don’t think we went to school that days as there was not many options available during that day. In next day or so, they made alternate arrangements. Now when I think of it, they did something great in a day. There was a small bridge which was used people to cross the river by foot. It was of wooden frame it was not strong enough to carry any vehicles. But there was no alternate arrangement also. So they got 2 big metallic beams and placed them on the top of the bridge. Those beams were longer than length of the bridge and so weight was not going to come on the bridge. The distance between the 2 beams were adjusted in such a way as to carry a Jeep. It was just enough for a Jeep and not suited for any other vehicle. But then we had many jeeps in our campus and most of the people went to offices in jeeps only.
For us, this was a very big thing. But because of this disaster many families who was staying near the river side had to be evacuated. Many lost their houses also. They were staying inside the KSEB colony but were not part of the colony. I remember we used to collect money, food and clothes for those families in school. That was something good about studying in schools run by Christian missionaries. They have some social commitments and they try to do something back to the society. This is my thoughts and you can agree or disagree with me.
Weather at Moolamattom was something quite different from most of other places in Kerala. In Idukki district itself, weather was very tough. During the rainy seasons there used to be heavy rains. When I say heavy rains, those rains never used to stop for 2-3 days. So it was like house arrest, We couldn’t go out anywhere except to schools. Things were not better at schools also as we were not able to go out and play.
Idukki district was quite famous for natural disasters during the rainy season. Most famous one being ‘urulpottal’. (Landslips are locally called "Urulpottal", resulting in loss of life and property are frequently reported in Idukki). We used to get holidays for schools when there used to be heavy ‘urulpottal’ in Idukki. So whenever there used to be heavy rains in our place, we used to listen to radio in the morning for news. We kids were just waiting to know if there were any urulpottal around and if any holiday was announced. Those days District Collector seemed to be all powerful man for me. Announcement for the school holiday came from District Collector.
There was a small bridge connecting our KSEB colony to outside world. All the school and office vehicles took that path to go from our colony. During one of the heavy rains this small bridge collapsed. I don’t think we went to school that days as there was not many options available during that day. In next day or so, they made alternate arrangements. Now when I think of it, they did something great in a day. There was a small bridge which was used people to cross the river by foot. It was of wooden frame it was not strong enough to carry any vehicles. But there was no alternate arrangement also. So they got 2 big metallic beams and placed them on the top of the bridge. Those beams were longer than length of the bridge and so weight was not going to come on the bridge. The distance between the 2 beams were adjusted in such a way as to carry a Jeep. It was just enough for a Jeep and not suited for any other vehicle. But then we had many jeeps in our campus and most of the people went to offices in jeeps only.
For us, this was a very big thing. But because of this disaster many families who was staying near the river side had to be evacuated. Many lost their houses also. They were staying inside the KSEB colony but were not part of the colony. I remember we used to collect money, food and clothes for those families in school. That was something good about studying in schools run by Christian missionaries. They have some social commitments and they try to do something back to the society. This is my thoughts and you can agree or disagree with me.
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Life at Moolamattom-4
My love for cricket
As a young boy I was very much interested in playing different games. I was not a very good athlete and I was more in to games like cricket and football. Cricket was more easy for me as I was not the fastest of the movers around. Those days we didn’t play cricket near our quarters.I think I learned playing cricket by watching TV and playing with my cousins.
My friends who were staying in another part of colony had started playing cricket and they used to discuss cricket in school. So I felt I was left out of the group and I wanted to be part of them soon. I was waiting for an opportunity so that I could also join them and play cricket. One day we went to school only to know that there won’t be any classes for the day. I heard my friends saying that they will play cricket. I decided to join them.
Problem was, during those day we didn’t have any mobile phones to call and tell folks at home about our plan and I didn’t want to miss out the opportunity to make a name for myself among cricket playing students group. So I got down from the school bus at their place and started playing with them. I knew that I will be in trouble once I reach home but I still wanted to play. Another reason why I wanted to play was they were playing with good cricket bat and I have never used them till then.
I really liked playing with that bat and it was good fun when we were playing. I think Achan took me home when he went home for lunch. No prizes for guessing what followed.:-) Since I had never expected a hero’s welcome at home, I think it was OK. Now I can imagine the tension that my mother must have gone through when she didn’t see me along with others. She would have asked Kingini but then she also didn’t know where I was. But then it was all the problem with technology. Why didn’t they invent mobile phones those days?? Am I to blame for that?? No way.
Seriously speaking, I should not have done that. It was my love for cricket and chance to play with new cricket bat that urged me to do it. But that’s not a justification for what I did that day. My love for cricket is still intact and these days I fight for TV remote with Anju when ever there is match on TV.
As a young boy I was very much interested in playing different games. I was not a very good athlete and I was more in to games like cricket and football. Cricket was more easy for me as I was not the fastest of the movers around. Those days we didn’t play cricket near our quarters.I think I learned playing cricket by watching TV and playing with my cousins.
My friends who were staying in another part of colony had started playing cricket and they used to discuss cricket in school. So I felt I was left out of the group and I wanted to be part of them soon. I was waiting for an opportunity so that I could also join them and play cricket. One day we went to school only to know that there won’t be any classes for the day. I heard my friends saying that they will play cricket. I decided to join them.
Problem was, during those day we didn’t have any mobile phones to call and tell folks at home about our plan and I didn’t want to miss out the opportunity to make a name for myself among cricket playing students group. So I got down from the school bus at their place and started playing with them. I knew that I will be in trouble once I reach home but I still wanted to play. Another reason why I wanted to play was they were playing with good cricket bat and I have never used them till then.
I really liked playing with that bat and it was good fun when we were playing. I think Achan took me home when he went home for lunch. No prizes for guessing what followed.:-) Since I had never expected a hero’s welcome at home, I think it was OK. Now I can imagine the tension that my mother must have gone through when she didn’t see me along with others. She would have asked Kingini but then she also didn’t know where I was. But then it was all the problem with technology. Why didn’t they invent mobile phones those days?? Am I to blame for that?? No way.
Seriously speaking, I should not have done that. It was my love for cricket and chance to play with new cricket bat that urged me to do it. But that’s not a justification for what I did that day. My love for cricket is still intact and these days I fight for TV remote with Anju when ever there is match on TV.
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Life at Moolamattom-3
Events in School
We used to have assembly in the school most of the days before the classes started. If there was any message in general that need to be communicated to the students the formal announcements were made in the school assembly. In our school, there used to be ranking systems in the classes and not the grading system. So the students who got first three ranks in the class were given badges of different colors according to the ranks they secured for the exams. In some cases, PTA president of our school came to school and use give prizes to the students.
Dr. M.G. Menon (Our Dr. Uncle) was the PTA (Parent Teachers Association) president of our school during those days. He was practicing in Bishop Vayalil hospital at Moolamattom during those days. They were also part of our family get-together and we became family friends soon. Dr. Uncle and Kalyani Aunty had two kids. Arvind, who was my class mate, and Amrithachechi who was 2 years elder to me. Amrithachechi was her class topper and she was very good in other activities for school as well. Arvind later became one of my good friends. But things were not the same in the beginning.
We as kids always used to wait for drill in the school. It was the name given for the period in which we were allowed to play in school. Those days we used to play football in school. Cricket was also getting popular but it was not possible to get results in I hour and 45 min. That was the duration of our each period. And also there will be more participation for students if we are play football. So we preferred football. In our class there used to be few 10-12 students who were good in football. I was also one among them and so was Arvind. Mostly we used to play in opposite sides. Since there was no referee for our matches, fight between teams were imminent.
I don’t remember why we had a small flight that day but he was running behind me in the school ground. There were concrete walls around the school ground. It was not that tall, might be around 3 feet tall. I was running as fast as I could but I was sure that he was going to catch me pretty soon. He was taller and faster than me.:-) I tried to jump past the concrete wall to escape from him but my feet got locked somewhere and I feel down. My face hit the concrete wall. I got injured in multiple places on my face and blood was rushing through my face.
Few seniors took me to staff room and they tried to apply some medicines on my wounds. But bleeding was not going to stop that way. So they had to rush me to the hospital. It was really painful for me during that time and I was crying aloud during that time. Dr. Uncle was there in the hospital and he came to meet me in the hospital. There were 2-3 stitches on my face during that day. But when I met Dr. Uncle I told him that Arvind had pulled me down. There were many other doctors also in the same room and I was shouting at that time. Now I know I shouldn’t have done that. But then at that age and when you yourself are in pain, you won’t think of all these things right.
Arvind later become one of my good friends and since we are family friends we still have not lost touch of each other. At least we know where we are and our families meet each other once in a year or so.
We used to have assembly in the school most of the days before the classes started. If there was any message in general that need to be communicated to the students the formal announcements were made in the school assembly. In our school, there used to be ranking systems in the classes and not the grading system. So the students who got first three ranks in the class were given badges of different colors according to the ranks they secured for the exams. In some cases, PTA president of our school came to school and use give prizes to the students.
Dr. M.G. Menon (Our Dr. Uncle) was the PTA (Parent Teachers Association) president of our school during those days. He was practicing in Bishop Vayalil hospital at Moolamattom during those days. They were also part of our family get-together and we became family friends soon. Dr. Uncle and Kalyani Aunty had two kids. Arvind, who was my class mate, and Amrithachechi who was 2 years elder to me. Amrithachechi was her class topper and she was very good in other activities for school as well. Arvind later became one of my good friends. But things were not the same in the beginning.
We as kids always used to wait for drill in the school. It was the name given for the period in which we were allowed to play in school. Those days we used to play football in school. Cricket was also getting popular but it was not possible to get results in I hour and 45 min. That was the duration of our each period. And also there will be more participation for students if we are play football. So we preferred football. In our class there used to be few 10-12 students who were good in football. I was also one among them and so was Arvind. Mostly we used to play in opposite sides. Since there was no referee for our matches, fight between teams were imminent.
I don’t remember why we had a small flight that day but he was running behind me in the school ground. There were concrete walls around the school ground. It was not that tall, might be around 3 feet tall. I was running as fast as I could but I was sure that he was going to catch me pretty soon. He was taller and faster than me.:-) I tried to jump past the concrete wall to escape from him but my feet got locked somewhere and I feel down. My face hit the concrete wall. I got injured in multiple places on my face and blood was rushing through my face.
Few seniors took me to staff room and they tried to apply some medicines on my wounds. But bleeding was not going to stop that way. So they had to rush me to the hospital. It was really painful for me during that time and I was crying aloud during that time. Dr. Uncle was there in the hospital and he came to meet me in the hospital. There were 2-3 stitches on my face during that day. But when I met Dr. Uncle I told him that Arvind had pulled me down. There were many other doctors also in the same room and I was shouting at that time. Now I know I shouldn’t have done that. But then at that age and when you yourself are in pain, you won’t think of all these things right.
Arvind later become one of my good friends and since we are family friends we still have not lost touch of each other. At least we know where we are and our families meet each other once in a year or so.
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Life at Moolamattom-2
Small Incident in school
I think this happened one day in school in the month of June/July. School re-opened in the month of June and I was a new comer at that time. As I told, I was basically a very shy student. And since all of them were new to come, I took even more time to open up.
I don’t remember in which bench I was sitting at that time, anyway not in the front seat. It has to be in 3rd or 4th bench from the front. I think it was in seventh period (In total we had 8 periods/subjects) and someone sitting close to me whistled in the class. Teacher was taking the class and she somehow noted it. The sound might have come from the direction in which I was sitting and she thought it was me. At that time I didn’t even knew how to blow a whistle. So she asked me, if it was me who did, I told no. She didn’t believe me and I think she asked few others in the class. They also told that they heard sound from my side. Oh God, I was in trouble.
Teacher told me to go and meet headmistress immediately. Our headmistress Sr. Cyril was a terror at that time. So I was really afraid to go to her room. Somehow I went to the room and told the whole story. She was in no mood to believe what I told her and I got scolding from her. Did she beat me? I think so. But that was OK. Worse was about to come.
In our school we used to have prayers the before and after the classes every day. There was a mike set in Sr. Cyril’s room and there used to be a team in school who used to recite the prayers every day. The punishment that I got that day was to whistle in the mike after the prayer for the day. Imagine my situation when I didn’t know how to whistle at that age. She told me that I will be able to leave home only if whistle in front of the mike. Was I able to make some sort of noise in front of the mike? I’m not sure,but I think I was able to make some noise and leave for the day.
I told about this thing to Achan and Amma that day itself. I was very sad that nobody in the school was ready to believe me. But things were much better at home. You can imagine the happiness that it brought to me. I was really happy when Achan told that he will check the matter with headmistress. He came down to school in couple of day’s time and I was also called to the room of headmistress. This time they believed me and I was really happy.
Couple of years later, one of my friends told that he had lied that day to teacher. He knew the person who whistled that day and that was his best friend. So to save his best friend from punishment, he lied to the teachers. What was there in my mind when I heard that? I really don't know. Anyway I always believe delayed justice is denied justice.
I think this happened one day in school in the month of June/July. School re-opened in the month of June and I was a new comer at that time. As I told, I was basically a very shy student. And since all of them were new to come, I took even more time to open up.
I don’t remember in which bench I was sitting at that time, anyway not in the front seat. It has to be in 3rd or 4th bench from the front. I think it was in seventh period (In total we had 8 periods/subjects) and someone sitting close to me whistled in the class. Teacher was taking the class and she somehow noted it. The sound might have come from the direction in which I was sitting and she thought it was me. At that time I didn’t even knew how to blow a whistle. So she asked me, if it was me who did, I told no. She didn’t believe me and I think she asked few others in the class. They also told that they heard sound from my side. Oh God, I was in trouble.
Teacher told me to go and meet headmistress immediately. Our headmistress Sr. Cyril was a terror at that time. So I was really afraid to go to her room. Somehow I went to the room and told the whole story. She was in no mood to believe what I told her and I got scolding from her. Did she beat me? I think so. But that was OK. Worse was about to come.
In our school we used to have prayers the before and after the classes every day. There was a mike set in Sr. Cyril’s room and there used to be a team in school who used to recite the prayers every day. The punishment that I got that day was to whistle in the mike after the prayer for the day. Imagine my situation when I didn’t know how to whistle at that age. She told me that I will be able to leave home only if whistle in front of the mike. Was I able to make some sort of noise in front of the mike? I’m not sure,but I think I was able to make some noise and leave for the day.
I told about this thing to Achan and Amma that day itself. I was very sad that nobody in the school was ready to believe me. But things were much better at home. You can imagine the happiness that it brought to me. I was really happy when Achan told that he will check the matter with headmistress. He came down to school in couple of day’s time and I was also called to the room of headmistress. This time they believed me and I was really happy.
Couple of years later, one of my friends told that he had lied that day to teacher. He knew the person who whistled that day and that was his best friend. So to save his best friend from punishment, he lied to the teachers. What was there in my mind when I heard that? I really don't know. Anyway I always believe delayed justice is denied justice.
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Life at Moolamattom-1
Life at KSEB Colony was really special one. Last year, I had been to KSEB colony at Moolamattom with Anju and I was really sad to see the state of colony. When we were kids, the KSEB colony was a very happening place. There was families staying in most of the quarters and it was really fun with all the kids around. I don’t know why most of the people are staying alone in the colonies leaving their family at home town.
There were three good schools around Moolamattom. The quality of education during those days were also quite good as most of the schools were run by Christian missionaries. There was a good college also around the same place again run by Christian missionaries. These were managed in a very good manner.
I was an above average student in school during those days. But like most of the kids who were at that age group (7-8yrs), I was more interested in playing more than studying. We were waiting for the evenings so that we could go and play outside. I don’t remember what we used to play those days but it was not games like cricket or football. I think we really liked going for a walk to Inspection Bungalow (IB), Circuit House and water tank etc.
Circuit House was very big guest house of KSEB. There was a helipad also in circuit house. It was told that Late Mrs.Indira Gandhi stayed there in Circuit House when she came down for the inauguration of Moolamattom Power Station. She was the Prime Minister of India then. She came there in a helicopter but I have not seen much of helicopters landing in that helipad. We used to play in the helipad. I still remember Paatti (Grandma of Vijay) used to take us for a walk in the evening after the school time. There was very small pond and beautiful garden in circuit house. I was very happy to see that they have maintained garden and the pond in a good way even now.
Another thing that I remember now is the monthly parties that we used to have near IB. Almost all the families staying in the C quarters used to the attend the party. It was dinner party with small games for kids and family. There also used to be some cultural programs in which mainly kids used to sing songs and dance. Kingini used to sing in almost all the parties. Remember she was in LKG/UKG during those days. Pens/pencils were given to all who used to sing/dance. So she used to get a lot every time. After all those cultural programs, we used to have dinner. I think there were Porattas, Chicken/Egg/Vegetable curries served to us. We kids used to enjoy those small parties and it was time when we used to gel together and make friends. In few weeks time, we all knew each other and we kids were waiting for those parties.
We never had tuitions those days and Amma used to teach me in the initial days. One rule that she wanted us to follow was to finish home works before going to play. Though the schools finished at 4.00pm, we were traveling to quarters in the second trip which took us from school around 4.45pm. It was good in one way. We were able to play in school till 4.45pm till the bus came. I will just try to say why we were in second trip. In the morning, we used to go to school in first trip, which used to come around 8.30 or so. We were staying in the top of the hill and in the morning they first used to come to our place to pick us. That was not welcome for us as we were not able to play in the school in the morning even if we reach there early. Also we need to get ready early in the morning. People who used to stay in the bottom part of the hill were lucky in the morning. I used to have many friends there like Renjith, Prasanth, Prabhakumar etc.
Headmistress of the school was Sr. Cyril. She was a very strict person. In our class, there were around 40-45 students. I don’t remember the name of most of students but I remember few faces. Coming first in the class was very special those days. In the school assembly, first three students were given badges which they could wear on their dress till the results were out for the next exam. Since I was not the best student of the class I was never in the run for those badges. I think first three ranks in my class went for girls. Sreeja was the first rank holder in my class. Reason why I remember the name is because she had first rank in my class till she left the school. Another reason was that she was also from my colony and our parents were good friends. All the teachers were ladies in school and only one male staff in the school was PT sir. I don’t remember his name.
Those days, school was giving very much importance to Arts festival and all. But I don’t think it was in my blood those days. Not that its in my blood now.:-) But Kingini was exactly opposite to me, she was always one among the toppers in the class and she was very much in to art festivals also. When ever there was any competition in school she used to give her for it. I remember how Amma used to get tensed during those days when Kingini used to tell her about those competitions. Anyway I didn’t give that kind of tensions but gave her tension in some other ways!!
There were three good schools around Moolamattom. The quality of education during those days were also quite good as most of the schools were run by Christian missionaries. There was a good college also around the same place again run by Christian missionaries. These were managed in a very good manner.
I was an above average student in school during those days. But like most of the kids who were at that age group (7-8yrs), I was more interested in playing more than studying. We were waiting for the evenings so that we could go and play outside. I don’t remember what we used to play those days but it was not games like cricket or football. I think we really liked going for a walk to Inspection Bungalow (IB), Circuit House and water tank etc.
Circuit House was very big guest house of KSEB. There was a helipad also in circuit house. It was told that Late Mrs.Indira Gandhi stayed there in Circuit House when she came down for the inauguration of Moolamattom Power Station. She was the Prime Minister of India then. She came there in a helicopter but I have not seen much of helicopters landing in that helipad. We used to play in the helipad. I still remember Paatti (Grandma of Vijay) used to take us for a walk in the evening after the school time. There was very small pond and beautiful garden in circuit house. I was very happy to see that they have maintained garden and the pond in a good way even now.
Another thing that I remember now is the monthly parties that we used to have near IB. Almost all the families staying in the C quarters used to the attend the party. It was dinner party with small games for kids and family. There also used to be some cultural programs in which mainly kids used to sing songs and dance. Kingini used to sing in almost all the parties. Remember she was in LKG/UKG during those days. Pens/pencils were given to all who used to sing/dance. So she used to get a lot every time. After all those cultural programs, we used to have dinner. I think there were Porattas, Chicken/Egg/Vegetable curries served to us. We kids used to enjoy those small parties and it was time when we used to gel together and make friends. In few weeks time, we all knew each other and we kids were waiting for those parties.
We never had tuitions those days and Amma used to teach me in the initial days. One rule that she wanted us to follow was to finish home works before going to play. Though the schools finished at 4.00pm, we were traveling to quarters in the second trip which took us from school around 4.45pm. It was good in one way. We were able to play in school till 4.45pm till the bus came. I will just try to say why we were in second trip. In the morning, we used to go to school in first trip, which used to come around 8.30 or so. We were staying in the top of the hill and in the morning they first used to come to our place to pick us. That was not welcome for us as we were not able to play in the school in the morning even if we reach there early. Also we need to get ready early in the morning. People who used to stay in the bottom part of the hill were lucky in the morning. I used to have many friends there like Renjith, Prasanth, Prabhakumar etc.
Headmistress of the school was Sr. Cyril. She was a very strict person. In our class, there were around 40-45 students. I don’t remember the name of most of students but I remember few faces. Coming first in the class was very special those days. In the school assembly, first three students were given badges which they could wear on their dress till the results were out for the next exam. Since I was not the best student of the class I was never in the run for those badges. I think first three ranks in my class went for girls. Sreeja was the first rank holder in my class. Reason why I remember the name is because she had first rank in my class till she left the school. Another reason was that she was also from my colony and our parents were good friends. All the teachers were ladies in school and only one male staff in the school was PT sir. I don’t remember his name.
Those days, school was giving very much importance to Arts festival and all. But I don’t think it was in my blood those days. Not that its in my blood now.:-) But Kingini was exactly opposite to me, she was always one among the toppers in the class and she was very much in to art festivals also. When ever there was any competition in school she used to give her for it. I remember how Amma used to get tensed during those days when Kingini used to tell her about those competitions. Anyway I didn’t give that kind of tensions but gave her tension in some other ways!!
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
C-4-Our old quarter at Moolamattom..
We started from Koyilandy in train to Ernakulam. Distance was around 250kms (which is quite a distance in this part of world). Train took around 5-6 hours to reach Ernakulam. From Ernakulam we had lunch and took bus to Moolamattom. By the time we reached Moolamattom, it was already quite dark out there. Might have been around 7-8pm. We took auto from Bus Stand to our quarters. It was around 5kms around the hill to reach our quarters.
We were in for a shock when we reached our quarters. The quarters in itself was very beautiful with very big rooms. It had couple of bed rooms, living room, dining room, study, kitchen, work area, room for servant etc. There were big in-build wardrobes and glass shelves in all the rooms. It was built long ago during the commissioning of Idukki Hydro Electric project developed with the support of Canada. Every room had tube lights and big fans. Now that was good part about the quarters. About the shocking part now- We were opening the wardrobes that we had in room and check cloths kept inside the bags. We were able to see any bags or cloths but instead we could only see termites in all the wardrobes. Now that was something that we never expected there. It might be because of the climate out there. It was quite chilling there at that time. One of the major reasons why I prefer such climate as compared warm days might be because of getting used to such climate at Moolamattom. We had some cloths in the suitcases and which Achan didn’t keep inside any of the wardrobes. So that saved day for us. It might have quite difficult for Achan and Amma to manage all the things there with two of us running around in the new house.
It was closing days of the vacation time for the kids and most of kids in the neighborhood were not around. As I told earlier, everyone was going to their hometown during the vacations. So I could not see much of them at that time. There were 6 quarters in our place. Our quarter no was C-4.
Let me take you through the others who are staying from C-1 to C-6.
C-1
Balakrishnan Uncle and Jayasree Aunty. They had a daughter- Sreebala(Mithu). She was one year younger to me. We were family friends even before moving to Moolamattom. So it was to nice have them there. They were from Calicut itself.
C-2
Venkiti Uncle and Booma Aunty. They had a boy Vijay who was 3 years younger to me. They were from Chennai.
C-3
Gopi Uncle and Usha Aunty. They had two kids- Anitha Chechi and Anoop. Anoop was of my age and Anitha chechi was 5 years elder to me. They were from Perumbavoor.
C-5
That was vacant when we moved in.
C-6
Sasi Uncle and Girija Aunty. They have two kids. Priya Chechi and Lakshmi. Priyachechi was 4 years elder to me and Lakshmi was of Kingini’s age. They were from Kottayam.
Since there were only six quarters in the locality, all the families were very close to each other. We used to have family get together at any of the quarters once in a month.
After C-6, there were another 12 quarters belong to C class itself. C quarters belonged to Asst. Exe. Engineers of KSEB. C-7 to C-18 were in another part little far from our quarters. There were many kids staying in those quarters also. I still remember many of those faces even now. Rajish, Manu, Ashokan, Deepak, Eldhose, Darshan, Abhilash, Anish, Sajith and many older chettans. I don’t remember all of them now. I’m getting old.
Oh yes, there was one more C class quarters situated away from rest. That belonged to the doctor who was working in the hospital of KSEB. Yes, we had a hospital over there to look after all the people staying over there. In total there should be around 150 quarters and with almost 500 people residing there.
In addition to hospital, there was also an school and club facility available there. But I'm not sure if it was the best school available around. School was called IHEP (Idukki Hydro Electric Project) Upper Primary School. One thing I remember was there was big football ground for that school which was always filled with people in every day evening. Same can be told about club also.
I was asked to take a test before joining the school. School re-opened on first week of June as always. It was time for heavy rain during that time in Moolamattom. School bus used to come to our place around 8.30-8.45. I was sad that Anoop was studying in a different school. By the time school re-opened we had about 2-3 days to play with each other it was a good time. Anoop was a very good boy and we all kids played together. So I had started to enjoy the new place.
It is a totally different world when we join a new school, right? I was a stranger in the class and there were few like that who joined the new school. There were many people from KSEB colony and they all went to school in a green school bus. I still remember Ramachandran Chettan who used to drive our school bus. So in few days time, I was able to make few friends. But it takes some time to get in to any new group and that was the case with me also. Also me being a shy person at that time didn’t help me in anyway.
Kingini joined the same school in LKG and she was very interested in going to school. Almost opposite to how I was when I was a kid. I don’t think she ever cried while going to school. Though it is around 23 years ago, I still remember how I used to take Kingini to LKG class room. LKG and UKG were in a different building as compared to other classes.
As the school was run Christian management, there were lots of nuns who were taking the classes. It was the first time in my life I met a nun in my life. For me they resembled Muslim ladies whom we see in plenty in Calicut. But the only resemblance between them was that both were wearing Parda (scarf of their head). It was told to me that school was a very strict one and they won’t give you breathing space and all. On joining the school, I also understood that what ever I heard was true.:-)
More about Moolamattom and my school days in the coming posts….
We were in for a shock when we reached our quarters. The quarters in itself was very beautiful with very big rooms. It had couple of bed rooms, living room, dining room, study, kitchen, work area, room for servant etc. There were big in-build wardrobes and glass shelves in all the rooms. It was built long ago during the commissioning of Idukki Hydro Electric project developed with the support of Canada. Every room had tube lights and big fans. Now that was good part about the quarters. About the shocking part now- We were opening the wardrobes that we had in room and check cloths kept inside the bags. We were able to see any bags or cloths but instead we could only see termites in all the wardrobes. Now that was something that we never expected there. It might be because of the climate out there. It was quite chilling there at that time. One of the major reasons why I prefer such climate as compared warm days might be because of getting used to such climate at Moolamattom. We had some cloths in the suitcases and which Achan didn’t keep inside any of the wardrobes. So that saved day for us. It might have quite difficult for Achan and Amma to manage all the things there with two of us running around in the new house.
It was closing days of the vacation time for the kids and most of kids in the neighborhood were not around. As I told earlier, everyone was going to their hometown during the vacations. So I could not see much of them at that time. There were 6 quarters in our place. Our quarter no was C-4.
Let me take you through the others who are staying from C-1 to C-6.
C-1
Balakrishnan Uncle and Jayasree Aunty. They had a daughter- Sreebala(Mithu). She was one year younger to me. We were family friends even before moving to Moolamattom. So it was to nice have them there. They were from Calicut itself.
C-2
Venkiti Uncle and Booma Aunty. They had a boy Vijay who was 3 years younger to me. They were from Chennai.
C-3
Gopi Uncle and Usha Aunty. They had two kids- Anitha Chechi and Anoop. Anoop was of my age and Anitha chechi was 5 years elder to me. They were from Perumbavoor.
C-5
That was vacant when we moved in.
C-6
Sasi Uncle and Girija Aunty. They have two kids. Priya Chechi and Lakshmi. Priyachechi was 4 years elder to me and Lakshmi was of Kingini’s age. They were from Kottayam.
Since there were only six quarters in the locality, all the families were very close to each other. We used to have family get together at any of the quarters once in a month.
After C-6, there were another 12 quarters belong to C class itself. C quarters belonged to Asst. Exe. Engineers of KSEB. C-7 to C-18 were in another part little far from our quarters. There were many kids staying in those quarters also. I still remember many of those faces even now. Rajish, Manu, Ashokan, Deepak, Eldhose, Darshan, Abhilash, Anish, Sajith and many older chettans. I don’t remember all of them now. I’m getting old.
Oh yes, there was one more C class quarters situated away from rest. That belonged to the doctor who was working in the hospital of KSEB. Yes, we had a hospital over there to look after all the people staying over there. In total there should be around 150 quarters and with almost 500 people residing there.
In addition to hospital, there was also an school and club facility available there. But I'm not sure if it was the best school available around. School was called IHEP (Idukki Hydro Electric Project) Upper Primary School. One thing I remember was there was big football ground for that school which was always filled with people in every day evening. Same can be told about club also.
I was asked to take a test before joining the school. School re-opened on first week of June as always. It was time for heavy rain during that time in Moolamattom. School bus used to come to our place around 8.30-8.45. I was sad that Anoop was studying in a different school. By the time school re-opened we had about 2-3 days to play with each other it was a good time. Anoop was a very good boy and we all kids played together. So I had started to enjoy the new place.
It is a totally different world when we join a new school, right? I was a stranger in the class and there were few like that who joined the new school. There were many people from KSEB colony and they all went to school in a green school bus. I still remember Ramachandran Chettan who used to drive our school bus. So in few days time, I was able to make few friends. But it takes some time to get in to any new group and that was the case with me also. Also me being a shy person at that time didn’t help me in anyway.
Kingini joined the same school in LKG and she was very interested in going to school. Almost opposite to how I was when I was a kid. I don’t think she ever cried while going to school. Though it is around 23 years ago, I still remember how I used to take Kingini to LKG class room. LKG and UKG were in a different building as compared to other classes.
As the school was run Christian management, there were lots of nuns who were taking the classes. It was the first time in my life I met a nun in my life. For me they resembled Muslim ladies whom we see in plenty in Calicut. But the only resemblance between them was that both were wearing Parda (scarf of their head). It was told to me that school was a very strict one and they won’t give you breathing space and all. On joining the school, I also understood that what ever I heard was true.:-)
More about Moolamattom and my school days in the coming posts….
Monday, May 31, 2010
Preview- Moolamattom
Where do I start about my life at Moolamattom!!
I am totally at sea as I don’t know from where I can pen down my thoughts on my life at Moolamattom. I didn’t know anything about that place when I first heard about Moolamattom. Obviously no one will expect a 7yr old boy to know anything about a place like Moolamattom at that time. I think it was in the year ’87 Achan got transferred to Moolamattom from Neeleshwaram. I was in the middle of my 2nd standard. I don’t remember the exact month in which it happened. It might be Jan-Feb, I’m not sure of it. One thing that I knew was that I am going to miss all my friends out there.
When Achan went to Moolamattom, we three (Amma, Kingini and myself) went to Koyilandy. I think we stayed for 2-3 months, I’m not sure. Since it was in the middle of year with 2-3 monthly remaining to complete the academic year, we decided that I will be joining school in next academic year in the new class. Also we didn’t know anything about the new place. So Achan decided to go the new place initially and see how things are there and later we will join him if everything was alright.
Moolamattom was very far from Koyilandy. Also we can’t travel in train from Koyilandy to Moolamattom. I hate traveling in bus and I used to vomit while traveling in train. So whenever we used to travel in bus, I used to take ‘Avomin’ and sleep. So more bus travels and more ‘avomins’ to swallow. Achan told that we will be staying in staff quarters in Moolamattom. Also the entire set of quarters was location in big hill. So I was thrilled to hear that as I have seen those hills only in movies. Now I am going to stay in such place. Great!
Achan also enquired about the school and they agreed to take me in the new class. (3rd). It was a school run by nuns and it was supposed to be a good school in the locality. Name of the school was Sacred Hearts. Also there will be school buses that used to take us from our quarters to school. Sounds good. In the last school (Chinmaya mission Neeleshwaram), I used to walk to school as there was no school bus to our locality. Also there were more kids in the neighborhood. So I can play with them. But one thing that I didn’t like about the place was that, we will be traveling to Koyilandy only during the major holidays like Onam, Christmas and summer vacations. So only three visits a year! Now that’s not good. Kingini will also be joining in the new school in LKG.
Climate was also quite different there. It used to rain heavily in the months of June, July, Aug etc. So no going out and playing during those months. On added attraction was that we could see 2 waterfalls if we walk outside out house. Now that sounds good. I don’t think I have ever seen waterfall before that. That’s also good. I was really eager to go and see all these things over there.
Seems this were thoughts that I had before going to Moolamattom from what I heard from Achan.
Lets see how it goes from here. Will pen down more next time.
I am totally at sea as I don’t know from where I can pen down my thoughts on my life at Moolamattom. I didn’t know anything about that place when I first heard about Moolamattom. Obviously no one will expect a 7yr old boy to know anything about a place like Moolamattom at that time. I think it was in the year ’87 Achan got transferred to Moolamattom from Neeleshwaram. I was in the middle of my 2nd standard. I don’t remember the exact month in which it happened. It might be Jan-Feb, I’m not sure of it. One thing that I knew was that I am going to miss all my friends out there.
When Achan went to Moolamattom, we three (Amma, Kingini and myself) went to Koyilandy. I think we stayed for 2-3 months, I’m not sure. Since it was in the middle of year with 2-3 monthly remaining to complete the academic year, we decided that I will be joining school in next academic year in the new class. Also we didn’t know anything about the new place. So Achan decided to go the new place initially and see how things are there and later we will join him if everything was alright.
Moolamattom was very far from Koyilandy. Also we can’t travel in train from Koyilandy to Moolamattom. I hate traveling in bus and I used to vomit while traveling in train. So whenever we used to travel in bus, I used to take ‘Avomin’ and sleep. So more bus travels and more ‘avomins’ to swallow. Achan told that we will be staying in staff quarters in Moolamattom. Also the entire set of quarters was location in big hill. So I was thrilled to hear that as I have seen those hills only in movies. Now I am going to stay in such place. Great!
Achan also enquired about the school and they agreed to take me in the new class. (3rd). It was a school run by nuns and it was supposed to be a good school in the locality. Name of the school was Sacred Hearts. Also there will be school buses that used to take us from our quarters to school. Sounds good. In the last school (Chinmaya mission Neeleshwaram), I used to walk to school as there was no school bus to our locality. Also there were more kids in the neighborhood. So I can play with them. But one thing that I didn’t like about the place was that, we will be traveling to Koyilandy only during the major holidays like Onam, Christmas and summer vacations. So only three visits a year! Now that’s not good. Kingini will also be joining in the new school in LKG.
Climate was also quite different there. It used to rain heavily in the months of June, July, Aug etc. So no going out and playing during those months. On added attraction was that we could see 2 waterfalls if we walk outside out house. Now that sounds good. I don’t think I have ever seen waterfall before that. That’s also good. I was really eager to go and see all these things over there.
Seems this were thoughts that I had before going to Moolamattom from what I heard from Achan.
Lets see how it goes from here. Will pen down more next time.
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
After a long break...
It’s been a while since I wrote here.
Well I am not looking for any excuses; it’s just that I did not have enough motivation to write here. That’s the truth though I can look for common excuses like hectic schedule, work etc. I feel we go for excuses when someone is going to question us on something and somehow we need to defend our self.
Time is flying really fast. Quite lots of things happened from the time I stopped writing till today.
On the personal front, Adi is growing and he is quite a handful at this stage. He has started to stand up slowly on his own. Before he used to sit in one place and play from there but now it’s not same anymore. He doesn’t sit and play anymore. He is moving around in his own way all the time. Somebody needs to be with him all the time these days.
Anju and Adi are at her home in Cochin now. It’s been around one month now. They will be back in TVM by June mid or so. So I am all alone home at TVM. So I am a commuter between Cochin and TVM during the week ends.
Achan and Amma are now in Singapore for one month vacation. It’s vacation time for Achan and it seems that they are enjoying it over there. They visited Malaysia last weekend. We (me n Anju) had been to Singapore n Malaysia last year or so. It was a good break for us as well. We might be planning for our next vacation in a year or so.
News from office is that I have moved out to a new project. Though the new project is very small project compared to my old project, it feels good to be here. It’s a good learning experience for me as I move to a totally different domain. I am sure this will help me in my career one way or other. Only thing that I am missing from my old project is my friends. But we still keep in contact one way or other but I know that things won’t be same with them anymore.
Before when Anju, Amma n Adi were here at TVM with me I was not getting much of free time. I had lots of things in my mind to do then. I planned to do lots of things when I get free time. Bought lots of books and wanted to catch up with many movies. But now that I have lots of free time at home, I am not doing much. I do read books and watch movies but not enjoying it that much.
Last week I had been to Chennai for US Visa interview. It’s through and I got the visa stamped for 10 years. So I can travel to US anytime in the next 10 years. Before, getting US Visa was very tough. The rejection rate was more than 50%. Now it seems it’s easier. I could also feel the difference in the interview. The interviewer had many questions last time when I went for the interview. Then it was all your luck. Now it seems rejection rate is much less.
I am still not able to come out of one of the country's worst aviation disaster, of Air India Express, in which 158 people were killed. Before, aviation disaster was less frequent but it is becoming more n more frequent these days. On comparing with other modes of transportation, frequency might be less but the fatality rates are very high in this case. Dreams of many families might have shattered ‘coz of this mishap. Hope they are able to come out of it soon.
I had a chat with one of my childhood friends last week. He talked about our good olden days when we were kids. Only tension those days was home works and exams in school. Let me gather my thoughts on my school days at Moolamattom and I will try to pen down my thoughts soon.
Well I am not looking for any excuses; it’s just that I did not have enough motivation to write here. That’s the truth though I can look for common excuses like hectic schedule, work etc. I feel we go for excuses when someone is going to question us on something and somehow we need to defend our self.
Time is flying really fast. Quite lots of things happened from the time I stopped writing till today.
On the personal front, Adi is growing and he is quite a handful at this stage. He has started to stand up slowly on his own. Before he used to sit in one place and play from there but now it’s not same anymore. He doesn’t sit and play anymore. He is moving around in his own way all the time. Somebody needs to be with him all the time these days.
Anju and Adi are at her home in Cochin now. It’s been around one month now. They will be back in TVM by June mid or so. So I am all alone home at TVM. So I am a commuter between Cochin and TVM during the week ends.
Achan and Amma are now in Singapore for one month vacation. It’s vacation time for Achan and it seems that they are enjoying it over there. They visited Malaysia last weekend. We (me n Anju) had been to Singapore n Malaysia last year or so. It was a good break for us as well. We might be planning for our next vacation in a year or so.
News from office is that I have moved out to a new project. Though the new project is very small project compared to my old project, it feels good to be here. It’s a good learning experience for me as I move to a totally different domain. I am sure this will help me in my career one way or other. Only thing that I am missing from my old project is my friends. But we still keep in contact one way or other but I know that things won’t be same with them anymore.
Before when Anju, Amma n Adi were here at TVM with me I was not getting much of free time. I had lots of things in my mind to do then. I planned to do lots of things when I get free time. Bought lots of books and wanted to catch up with many movies. But now that I have lots of free time at home, I am not doing much. I do read books and watch movies but not enjoying it that much.
Last week I had been to Chennai for US Visa interview. It’s through and I got the visa stamped for 10 years. So I can travel to US anytime in the next 10 years. Before, getting US Visa was very tough. The rejection rate was more than 50%. Now it seems it’s easier. I could also feel the difference in the interview. The interviewer had many questions last time when I went for the interview. Then it was all your luck. Now it seems rejection rate is much less.
I am still not able to come out of one of the country's worst aviation disaster, of Air India Express, in which 158 people were killed. Before, aviation disaster was less frequent but it is becoming more n more frequent these days. On comparing with other modes of transportation, frequency might be less but the fatality rates are very high in this case. Dreams of many families might have shattered ‘coz of this mishap. Hope they are able to come out of it soon.
I had a chat with one of my childhood friends last week. He talked about our good olden days when we were kids. Only tension those days was home works and exams in school. Let me gather my thoughts on my school days at Moolamattom and I will try to pen down my thoughts soon.
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