Burnt but not extinguished

Tragedy struck the Adyar Saravana Bakery at Bessy  where a group of my walking  friends used to meet for a cup of coffee every morning after a brisk walk on the Elliots Beach road at  Besant  Nagar. With the friendly Velu , owner of the bakery/coffee shop  serving customized coffee; with half, full  or without sugar, with nattu chakkarai ( powdered jaggery) or even Sugar free tablets! He would make it strong or medium strong coffee, depending on the choice of his regular customers. He truly believed in delighting his customers.

The shop was gutted by fire one evening last week.  It was a coincidence that I had gone to see my Ayurvedic doctor across the road from the coffee shop around 5 pm. After nearly two months it was pleasure to see the lovely Elliots beach front . Thanks  to the restrictions the road was empty with no vehicles or people walking. As I was returning to my car I witnessed that  my favourite coffee shop was open. only to get some work done in preparation for the lifting of the lockdown. I took a keepsake picture of the shop, least realising that the shop would be gutted by fire in another hour because of a gas burst. The photo ( attached )  I took would be the last photo of the shop before the fire accident. While there was no casualty ,the insides of the shop with all the baking equipment & stocks of snacks was  totally gutted  by fire. I felt bad and felt something must be done to help Velu & his family, who were already suffering with no income  because of the lockdown. The tragedy was compounded by the fact that Velu had not insured the shop.

Thanks to Velu`s  immense belief in  his Perumal, friends and well wishers  have swung into action to bail him out. My group of friends have raised enough funds to  take care of the complete electrical job in the shop. The restoration work has started . I hope Velu will be  ready with his ever friendly service in the renovated shop by the time the beaches are open to the public. Like all my walking friends I am eagerly looking forward to resuming my morning walks at the beautiful Elliots Beach front followed by the aromatic Kumbakonam  degree coffee with half tea spoon `Nattu Chakkarai` accompanied by the boisterous gossip sessions with friends!

Saravana story reminds me  of `Liberty`  the iconic brand of ready made shirts , popular in sixties and seventies. The day after their factory was completely gutted by fire they released  an advertisement in all the leading newspapers in Bombay with the headline `Liberty- Burnt but not extinguished`

I would like to say- Adyar Saravana Bakery- Burnt but not extinguished`

Fighting Covid with Dignity

I am an active member of the Dignity Foundation(DF) for the last couple of years. I also  regularly contribute articles to the Dignity Dialogue- the monthly magazine of the Foundation. DF has been conducting regular  `Chai Masti `Sessions ( Theneer Aranagm in Chennai) providing opportunities for members to interact personally through various activities. These sessions are held in the evenings between 4 & 5.30pm  on a daily basis five days a week  in designated locations. Many members, who are all senior citizens living alone or with their spouses, use this facility  to unwind themselves, and have a good time. Unfortunately due  to the Lock down these  activities could not be held  for the last 2 months. To beat Covid with dignity, the Dignity Foundation has come up with daily Zoom sessions that feature well known speakers, members going down memory lane, jokes, kitchen tips & recipes, online singing & acting,  playing  online Tambola and  many more. Members, have adapted to this new idea and can be seen participating  in large numbers. I also participate in sessions that interest me. Recently in a session featuring new recipes I talked about my favourite recipe for `Cheese paniyaram`.

The success of this idea is best described by one of the members , `It feels wonderful to be connected despite the distance. We are having so much fun. I look forward to 4 pm every day. Also, those members who have been unable to come to the centre have now been able to stay in touch through this online facility. It’s a matter of pride to say I also ‘zoom’ at my age! The meaning of being an extended family has been proved in this period thanks to the DF staff.

Dementia Day Care centre is one of the very useful services DF  offers  in Chennai.  Due to restriction on movements imposed by the Lock down, this service,  under which they look after about 30 dementia patients spread across Chennai, is temporarily suspended. This service involves picking up the patients  in Vans from their homes in the morning and after looking after them during day time ( including providing them meals and refreshments)  they are dropped back. Of course the users of this service have to pay a nominal fee for the service. The temporary suspension has led to many patients going into deep depression. To help them get over it, dynamic volunteers at the Chennai chapter take turns to provide video counseling to  such patients and try to boost their morale. A thoughtful gesture indeed! The Chennai chapter headed Ms Felicita the dynamic leader  and her dedicated Team are doing a great job.

For those who are not aware,  Dignity Foundation is a non profit organization that has been working for the cause of senior citizens for over 25 years. DF deals with the psycho- social challenges of senior citizens in India irrespective of their caste, creed and economic strata.  Headquartered in Mumbai, DF has chapters in Kolkatta, Chennai, Bengaluru, Pune, Ahmedabad and Delhi NCR.  Chennai Chapter with the main administrative office in Anna Nagar also has branches in Thiruvanmiyur, Abhiramapuram and Alwarpet.

Dignity Foundation also manages a  Dignity Lifestyle Retirement Township  located at Neral, just 90 kms from Mumbai.  It is spread over 25 acres of land near the picturesque hill station of Matheran. Dignity Lifestyle offers senior citizens an opportunity to live in a secure, unpolluted, quiet and clean environment with other people of similar age group. A dream child of Mrs. Shielu Sreenivasan of Mumbai, Dignity Founation is one of the most professionally run facility for senior citizens in India. I am proud to be associated with Dignity Foundation.

Talent is inherent.

On the Mother`s day my second grandson, 16 year old  Keshav presented a very eloquent pencil sketch to his mother( attached). I thought the drawing without any caption, spoke more than what mere  words could convey. He is shaping up to be a good artist apart from his interest in Guitar. I am proud of the fact that all my grand children (see photo taken last year) are talented in some creative area.  Arul, the eldest of the lot, who is doing his Masters at Carnegie Melon  in U S A is also  a talented  writer. A brilliant student I feel he has the potential to earn a big name in the world of writing, if he continues to write in addition to pursuing his chosen career. Uthara is shaping up to be  a promising singer of Carnatic music, while she is studying for a degree at the Wipro University in Bangalore. I dream of seeing her perform in Music Academy in my life time! Nila, a multi talented girl  who enjoys acting and also dancing- the folk variety. The youngest of the lot, two years old Thavam, my resident grandson has natural instinct for music and sports. His father, my son Balaji,  was the only serious sportsman in the family- he was a Sports Captain in his final year at Sishya school.

All my three children were also trained in some art.  Kavitha & Sowmya learnt Bharat Natyam. In addition Kavitha learnt to play on Veena and Sowmya learnt Carnatic music. A Gold medalist in Fine Arts from Madras University, Kavitha is also a brilliant artist. She has chosen to lie low while Sowmya is making waves in the world of story telling.  Balaji learnt violin from (late)Alandur Natarajan for 12 years. My wife Prabha was a great support to my children in their creative pursuits.

I believe that talent is inherent in every one. It is for somebody to discover the specific talent in a youngster and encourage him/her to blossom in his/her chosen filed. Invariably this responsibility falls on the mothers. Children must be exposed to different creative opportunities so that they can decide on  what they want to specialize.

In my long career as an advertising man I have had the privilege of spotting many talented youngsters and encouraged them  to be successful in their chosen fields. I am proud that many of them have reached great heights!.

LOCKDOWN AND WHAT I MISS MOST!

Lockdown has thrown different kinds of challenges to different families with or without kids. A couple of days ago I saw a news item which reported that a frustrated and depressed 12 year old boy, unable to bear the constant pressure his mother was putting on him to do something or the other, slapped her! Shocking! Another forwarded  video featured a harassed father constantly busy trying to separate his three years old twins fighting and hurting each other. Many other parents also face similar situations  with bored kids constantly up to some mischief. A video showed two small boys gone berserk painting each other with colours that they looked like two little ghosts. A  friend was complaining that his  teenage daughter had gone into deep depression.

Then there are cases of domestic violence; mostly by violent alcoholic fathers beating their spouses and children for silly reasons. Earlier they used to do this under the influence of liquor. Now they take out their frustrations on the family for not getting their regular quota of dharu.

While there are many such negative stories,  we cannot ignore the positive aspects of the Lockdown on families. For the first time families are spending quality times together. They are learning to be happy with home cooked meals, instead of the junk food they ordered at the slightest excuse. Most importantly members of families have learnt to share the responsibilities of running a home in the absence of the ubiquitous velaikari (maid). To give some relief to the home maker of the house from her 24x7x365 work days.

I saw this happening in my daughter`s home where I spent the first 21 days of the Lockdown. She had made a detailed time table, prominently displayed on the side of the refrigerator,  assigning responsibilities for her husband and daughter while also  indicating what she would do. I was given the easy job  of cutting vegetables. Knowing my interest in cooking she even allowed me  to cook my favourite recipes a couple of times.

Many men who had  never entered the kitchen in their life, agreed to help their wives in the kitchen. Lockdown has helped some of them to learn cooking, an essential life skill. A friend, in his early sixties,  was so proud of his new hobby that every day he was posting the photos of the items that he had learnt to cook from  his wife on his Facebook page. Many other friends discovered their ability to write well. Some of the senior citizens have even started writing their memoires. I know of friends who are catching up on all good  movies they missed seeing or viewing their old favourite movies again. There are music buffs who are getting lost in their world of music and the spiritually inclined watch the many religious discourses on their favourite TV channels. Working from home has become the norm for millions of IT professionals and others whose work is mainly done using their laptops. Luckily school going children are kept busy with online teaching. Meetings on Zoom have become common with members of several voluntary organizations. My Rotary Club even conducted a Tambola programme online  for members.

As for me, I  completed the first draft of my long pending novel project and read three books when I was at my daughter`s home. After I returned to my home, apart from regular exercise, reading  & writing  I am spending more time in the kitchen experimenting with new recipes. It is also  a sheer joy to play with   with my two year old resident grand son. I have had no reasons to feel bored.

If you ask me what I miss most during the Lockdown- it is my walking friends. Yes friends who would help me recharge my batteries every morning. I miss the friendly banter, vegetarian and non vegetarian jokes, helpful  health tips and of course the Kumbakonam degree coffee at the Saravana Coffee house at the Bessy.  With the friendly Velu  serving customized coffee; with sugar, without sugar, with nattu chakkarai ( powdered jaggery) or even Sugar free tablets!

 Like all of you I am also eagerly waiting for the Lockdown to be lifted so that I can relive my normal life all over again! But will the life be the same post Lockdown? I wonder!

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