PARU

                     Paru- this is how I fondly call her. My childhood and adulthood life’s most nostalgic moments were with her. When I think of her so many incidents flash upon that inward eye. She was a good pal, considerate kin, supportive sibling, lovable friend, fair critic , strict parent and guide and above all the adorable love of my life. She has played the role of all in my life.

I remember the days we used to sit in the front of our house and chit chat about the day’s happenings. She  was an awesome narrator, I used to listen to her spell bound.  Every evening she lets me play only after I complete  my homework. When I get slouchy she motivates me telling I could take rest after the game and that I would be done with all of it. If I still don’t budge I would have to face the wrath of paru. She’s  been an indispensable  part of my childhood. She could not bear  to see me cry or get disappointed. No matter what , she fixes my disappointment and gets glory seeing me happy. Here I go narrating one such incident.

When I was in my kindergarten  I had expected my teachers at school to pamper me, coz am the most pampered at home especially   by paru. It had disappointed me so much then that I had come home and complained to her saying the teachers din’t pamper me and additionally that the teachers had apple during the break and that they never offered me a piece ( I’ve been such a mean kid😀),on hearing this my mom being a teacher immediately warned me that it’s their right to eat and am not supposed to question and advised that I would be pampered if I behave well. I was quietly listening to her and my mom concluded that I got compromised. But cunning me dropped  my face sadly to paru and asked if my teachers were right. Hurray the next day she came to school and advised the teachers to pamper toddlers  and that's the way to encourage and bring in the best the of their abilities and finally added a word “neenga apple sapdradhu   na thani ya poi saapudunga..kuzhadha   Munadi   saapta   avaluku kudunga…pavam engi   poida   poranu” ( there’s no harm eating apples during the break, with kids around try to eat in the staff room or if u eat before her , offer her a piece, she is a kid and might feel bad ). Paru had such a charisma , that whatever she conveyed was totally agreed by my teachers (so sweet of them) and they ensured I was pampered every day, not only me but all kids in the class and they also made sure not to eat in the classroom before kids.

   Paru ascertained  everyday once am back from school if the teachers behaved well to me (lol) , my mom  was in utter shock when she heard what paru had done . But that it happened she could do nothing but sigh. She knew there would be no use offering suggestions  to both of us, so she left us to fend for ourselves , she warned she would never come to my teacher to defend me at any cost in future just in case I commit a mistake  , I never understood what my mom meant then. But paru had so much of confidence and hope that I would be an obedient and sincere student and so was I. She was my guiding angel throughout.

Any incident that happens at school I promptly update her. Once in my second grade during the annual examination I remember passing on the eraser to my neighbour. My teacher misunderstood   that we were trying to discuss and deducted marks as a punishment  , it was only 2 marks, but I was shattered since I was punished for no mistake of mine and that too for helping . I was in all tears when I came home , she quickly enquired and reassured me. Later when I got back to normal she patiently explained to me that helping others could lead to grave consequences  if done inappropriately. She was a fair critic.

Paru was so modern in thoughts and she behaved like a friend of our age (my sister and me). She played all indoor games with us from snake and ladder to  palanguli. She was the mediator   between me and my sister. When we had cat fights she was the one who announced the final judgement on punishments. She ensured we obeyed her. She was a considerate kin. She nurtured our talents and additionally took pride. She boasts of our singing and English speaking skills to every neighbour  and friend. There was one Spanish ship that had landed in our coast and people were rushing to have a glimpse of it since we had never seen such a huge ship. My sister a very enthusiastic gal, caught the attention of an English speaking employee of the ship, the lady was so impressed by my sister that we bypassed the crowd and boarded the ship to look around. Paru was beaming with pride. The ship and it’s architectural  marvel was of no significance to her now. She was waiting to leave the place and boast to everyone of my sisters skill. She was a lovable friend.

She used to watch all the latest movies with us, a huge fan of rajinikanth  and madhavan , she wanted to look for grooms similar to madhavan for me and my sister 😂. Did we get such handsome grooms  ? Of course yes. Both me and my sister have got madhavans  by personality. Both son in laws showered lots of love on paru and vice versa. Paru’s magnificence would spare none.

Talking of movies , am reminded of an incident.
I was a huge fan of mani ratnam and arvindswamy. I remember the movie Bombay was released when I was in my seventh grade. I was just waiting to watch it after my exams were over , but to my dismay my sister had her tenth board exams and everyone at home advocated I watch it at the theaters after my sister completes her exams. I was totally not for it, but none was willing to accompany me, it was when paru came for rescue .  She argued it wasn’t fair to deprive me of watching  the movie and she accompanied me. Although my sister was fuming paru had her own tactics to pacify my sister and make everyone accept her decision. With grudges or grins everyone at home obeyed the final judgement  passed by paru. I happily watched the movie in the theater with my all time friend paru.

 Paru had a magnetic perosnality. She was loved by all. The friends and relatives who visit home would be bowled down by the love and hospitality she showers. She attains pleasure serving others. She insists us to invite our friends home. She never showed a sign of tiredness in her face  anytime. She was such a loving soul.

Speaking of paru, her slang and phrases were so catchy. Whenever someone  was in a dilemma and delay decision making she used to call them "dhirdrashtran", a king in mahabharatham who made delayed decisions. "Asamandham" meaning dull headed for not doing things quickly.
"Achu pichu nu pesadha"meaning not to speak foolishly. "Pithukulli" frequently used on me meaning a nut and many many more in the bucket.

oops I havent revealed who is paru. She is none other than my most adorable grandma. Although she lives at the celestial world now ,she is part of me. She has molded me so well that I leave behind her impression after every action. I still strive to be kind and loving and hospitable as her  . Whatever I am is only a nutshell of her. She is part of my daily routine and part of my thought , word and  action.

First in flight

First in flight - Synonymous to the title I'm currently put up at Charlotte the place where the trial run of the first flight happened. It is because of this speciality all vehicles in Charlotte were tagged with title 'First in flight' in their number plates. This is just a piece of information and has a relevance with me choosing this title. This is totally about my first international flying experience alone. This might sound cynical  to many and even to me now. But before I could board the flight i could sense my tummy churning... Is it excitement , anxiety, fear, accomplishment..I really do not know which emotion to tag. It was all together.

The preparation to flight is an awesome time synonymous to how we prepare for festivals , the joy of the festival is more when we prepare more, likewise was our (my entire family i should say) preparation to the journey. I was starting a new life in the US from the scratch. So i had to purchase for the bare essentials cheaply available in our country, from little spoons to tawa. More than cutlery it was the sambar podi, rasa podi, vathal, vadam , milagai podi, oorukai(pickle), that was indispensable for living. Any tambrahm married girl travelling from india to any foreign country will surely have the above in her list. Life is almost nullified without the above items to us.

The heedful preparation of  all these items are taken care by moms and grannies in the family. Packing, weighing and ensuring it doesnt spill even if the suitcase is tossed from few feet height , is taken care of by dads and grandpas. They hold lots of experience packing for their cousins or brothers in laws or some distant relative of the family. So we can totally rely on their expertise.

Having got all the items ready, the next herculean task is to fit in all the items into the suitcase and ensure it doesnt go beyond the stipulated weight. Yes. Economy class has its weight limits and this being the middle class boon , we had to fit into the limit. The worst part is all the time i get overloaded, I get terribly confused as to which item to discard. But luckily I had one of my friends and cousin travelling to US on the same month and they were generous enough to carry few items for me. Atlast i was all set with 2 suitcases and 1 hand luggage fully loaded to his maximum occupamcy. The night finally arrived. Despite the fact i was going to miss my family, i was excited to meet my husband and about the new country and new life.

My sister and mom had prepared thachi mamu(curd rice) and idly for me with extra scoops of love. Although the flight provides food, not a thing stands before home made food. I finally reached the airport and checked in the luggage. Amazingly all of them weighed perfect, on the dot. I got my boarding passes and stepped in to pick the immigration slip. My family was waiting at the waiting arena. I went and bid a final good bye before i could join the queue. Everyone must have left with mixed feelings. As i stood in  the queue i was lost in thoughts. After I had completed the immigration I had to wait for an hour or so to board the flight. I completed a series of phone calls with parents, inlaws and husband when they announced passengers could board the flight. It was 4 am in the morning and I was feeling fresh. Paying less heed to all that was flashing in my mind, i boarded the flight. Less did i expect i would enjoy my journey as much as I did.

I could sense the bliss of solitude like how wordsworth had exclaimed. I was feeling completely independent and passionate about travelling alone. Soon the nightmare of the flight being highjacked and blasting mid way and crashing in the middle of the sea withered. Yes i had always had trouble flying, reason being i watch and imagine such incidents. I brushed behind all these thoughts and had my own time. Me and only me. I had taken my most favorite novel. What could be more blissful !Flying amidst clouds, coffee served at ur place, getting to read the most favorite book, watching movies or just simply sitting . I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of my time. I had 2 transits. The first part of my flight was less than 5 hrs and that being mid night , I could not have much time for myself. I soon landed qatar, after few rounds of security clearance ,I boarded the longest leg and had the total bliss.

I sat beside the window, watching the flight take off. I was awestruck and feeling as light as a feather while the airplane was travelling amidst clouds. I started off my book and was engrossed in it. Then came the first meal time. I had a hearty meal and got occupied with movies from life of pi to Cinderella. I took a short nap here and there and the time had come for landing. Oops that was pretty quick. 16 hrs of travel whisked away so fast. Then the usual procedure of port of entry, immigration, luggage checkout and customs. I had to take the domestic flight, so i had this procedure of luggage recheck in. This part was little cumbersome since i had really huge suitcases. Once that was done, i got my tickets and walked towards the terminal. I was early and had to wait here again for an hour. I relished the idly mom had given and was very relaxed. I had couple of hours more to meet my husband. There were very few passengers in my terminal to board the flight.

This flight was really short that i felt the flight landed almost immediately. Few more steps to reach the exit  and i met my husband at the baggage counter. He was waiting wide eyed and gave me a quick hug. I had an extremely awesome time. It was when I understood that such simple joys in life are those that stand by as blissful memories.