A place to relax and chill

 It was a short trip with a twin purpose- to attend the wedding of my cousin`s son in Bangalore, followed by an eagerly awaited visit to my younger daughter Sowmya`s farmhouse in Thally. While at the wedding, I caught up with a lot of relatives, I did not venture to meet any other friends in Bangalore because of the fear of getting caught in the suffocating traffic in Bangalore. I left for Thalli by a taxi accompanied by my elder daughter, Kavitha, who had also come to attend the wedding. The farmhouse is located in a village called Thogarai Agraharam, which is equidistant from both Thally and Denkanikottai towns, both part of Hosur District, 1000ft above the sea level. The area has a cool, salubrious weather with hill-surrounded landscape which reminded the British of England, and hence it is called `Little England. It has been a major supplier of a variety of flowers and fruits to markets all over the country.

My daughter's farmhouse is located on a property developed by Heritage Group of Bangalore, which sells quarter-acre plots to those interested in buying a plot. Aptly named `Sukh Nivas`, the house is built on a quarter-acre plot. What is special about the house? It is built using mud bricks for the entire masonry work, with only 5% of cement used in the construction. The bricks are made using the soil in the plot and dried for 20 days under the Sun, before use. It was a dream project of my son-in-law, Sathya ( @ D.Srinivasan – Group Captain, IAF (retd.), who is an avid bird watcher and a nature lover. The choice of the place was also influenced by the fact that his eldest sister and her two daughters have their farmhouses in the same property.

This architect-designed house is built in the centre of the plot with provisions for growing trees/plants or lawns in the front as well as the backyard. You get into the house from an entrance located on the side, into a hall which accommodates a beautifully designed open kitchen with the dining area and a drawing room opening to a large backyard through a French door. The adjoining `Thinnai`- a raised sit out has two Swings to chill out. The other end of the hall has two bedrooms built on either side of the hall. With an arch shaped separation wall and a sloping roof with transparent glass panels to percolate light, the house looks beautiful. It is also tastefully furnished. While the front area also houses an open garage, the utility room is located on the first floor. Though the process of construction witnessed a lot of ups & downs, including cost escalations, the final outcome can be termed as a dream project come true. As they say, all's well that ends well,

The weather, the rustic feeling, and the overall ambience lend themselves to lead a calm and peaceful life. However, as the property is still under development, and there are many empty plots where the owners have yet to build their homes, it is sparsely populated. It lacks cemented roads and street lights. Besides, the place is located a few miles away from a nearby town where you have to go for all your shopping and medical facilities. While it is a great place to live after you have fulfilled all your commitments and you have a passion for nature, it can be used only for short duration stays, like what Sowmya and Sathya are doing now, since they still have professional commitments.. Congratulations, Sowmya and Sathya for realising one of your dreams.

While I tried to `chill` during my brief stay at Sukh Nivas, I seemed to have got the `Chill` of the place resulting in my suffering from Cold and Cough after my return to Coimbatore. That does not prevent me from visiting Thally once again to spend a more relaxed time.

 

STRESS - POSITIVE & NEGATIVE

 One of the reasons why I decided to move to Coimbatore and stay in Nana Nani was because of the stress, both physical and mental stress, I was going through maintaining the independent home I was sharing with my son`s family in Chennai. Every other day, I had to sort out some problem or the other - chasing the elusive electrician, plumber, carpenter, mason and other service providers to attend to specific problems. It was frustrating. In my old age, I was looking forward to a stress-free life without any responsibilities. Today, I am leading a life without any family responsibilities and the only stress I have is health-related. And I have learnt to live with age-related health issues. Besides, I find my writing and cooking act as effective stress busters.

Google knowledge says that `Stress is the body's physical, mental, or emotional reaction to any demand, challenge, or pressure from a "stressor". There are both positive and negative stressors or painful or pleasurable stressors, as I call them.

 

Positive stress is what you experience when you are bringing up children, or preparing for an important event like a wedding in the family, or anything that eventually brings joy.

 

The kind of stress I experienced when I was building an independent home for my family- buying a plot, finding the money for building the house, getting the plans cleared by the authorities, chasing the contractor for speeding up the work and many other issues that kept me stressed through that journey. At the end of the day, when the house was ready, and we moved in, the joy and happiness I felt made all the stress worth going through. Living in a 250 sq. ft. tenement in a chawl in Mumbai, sharing two toilets with 56 others in the portion where my family lived, to owning my own independent home with two bedrooms with attached toilets in Chennai, was indeed a pleasurable experience, in spite of all the stress it involved.

 

The negative form of stress causes discomfort and can lead to feeling overwhelmed, unable to cope, and eventually burnout. When you have major differences with some near and dear ones, leading to misunderstanding, it can cause painful stress or when your life partner is suffering from a terminal disease, or someone close to you has had an accident and is on life support, what you feel a painful stress. Caregivers of family members suffering from chronic diseases suffer from such painful stress, which sometimes contributes to their own health issues getting aggravated.

 

Periodic stresses are part of everyone`s life. I have gone through many such painful stresses in my life and each time came out of it because of my positive attitude and my belief that `everything happens for the good`. Having learnt a lesson or two from such experiences, I move on with my life, ready to face the next challenge.

PONGAL FESTIVAL IN A GAUSHALA

 It was my first exposure to the Pongal Festival organised by Nana Nani management at Ananya`s Gaushala. What an experience it was! I was overwhelmed by the mega event to which the residents of all six Phases of Nana Nani Homes were invited.

The huge property where the Gaushala is located was transformed into a Mega Rural Fair, complete with food courts where visitors were served a choice of fruits, snacks, and beverages. They could also witness the typical games that are played in rural areas. As a rural marketing specialist, I have participated in hundreds of Mega Melas in Rural India promoting my clients` products. This Mela was different. It was like a happy family get-together of the Appas and Ammas of Nana Nani. It was meticulously planned and executed by the dynamic team of Ananya group under the inspiring leadership of Dr Uma Maheshwari. The location of the Mela in the well-run Gaushala lent authenticity to the celebrations coinciding with the Mattu Pongal theme. There was the traditional display of pots with overflowing milk to the chanting of `Pongalo Pongal` by the visitors, complete with the `Patti Pongal `featuring a favourite cow decked up for the occasion being worshipped.

The way the Cows, numbering 450 with their identification numbers, were roaming around within their enclosures was a sight to behold. I understand that this scientifically run Gaushala, looked after by the committed staff and qualified veterinarians, yields on average 1200 litres of milk, which is used in all milk and milk-based products supplied to the residents in Nana Nani.

My sister, a resident of Asiana Subham, a senior citizen Home in Chennai, during her recent visit to Phase 4, commended the high quality of milk and curds supplied at Nana Nani as compared to what she gets in her Home in Asiana.

No Mela is complete without the mandatory entertainment programme. I was proud to witness the very first item by members of Phase 4. A prayer song on the theme specially written for the occasion by the multi-talented Shylaja. It was composed by the MSV of Phase 4 Padmanabhan, and sung by the Nightingales of Phase 4 – Bhanu, Usha Padmanabhan and Radha Shanakarraman. They were accompanied by the talented dancing trio of Meera, Meena and Bhooma. While all other Phases were given only one slot to display their talents, Phase 4 had the privilege of having a second dance number led by Vidya Venkatachlam, the `mover & shaker` of Phase 4, supported by her team. Kudos to both teams for keeping the flag of Phase 4 flying high.

Although the uneven flooring surface, despite the beautiful carpets covering it, and the high toilets were a cause for anxiety for many elders like me, I was happy to hear that the event, with thousands of residents attending, passed off without any hitch or untoward incidents. It was indeed a memorable event.

Hearty congratulations to the management of the Ananya group for organising such a get-together of Nana Nanians year after year. God Bless them.

A ROLE IN A FILM AFTER SIX YEARS!

 My good friend Sambad Kumar (82), popularly known as Samji, the self-taught filmmaker, has produced and directed eight short films since he moved into Nana Nani, Phase 4, eight years ago. All the films were based on stories conceived by him and enacted by talented members staying in the community

When he offered me a small role in the film `ISAI`, I readily agreed. I don't like acting  on stage these days because of my inability to remember long dialogues, but playing character roles in front of a camera for a film is okay with me. I had acted in scores of plays in Tamil during my school and college days. I remember playing three-bit roles in the play `Saint Theagaraja` staged by Matunga Dramatic Society (MDS) , which had several shows in Bombay and other cities. I had also acted in many other plays for Manavar Kalai Arangam and the Fine Arts Society started by a group of friends. I could not continue acting once I joined the high-pressure advertising profession. Though I had stopped acting on the stage, that did not stop me from accepting roles in short films or advertising shorts produced by friends. I enjoy working in films because of the possibility of retakes until you get the act right.

I was excited because I was going to act in a film after 6 years. The last one was a three-minute promo film titled ` Not Out` for a web series, centred around funny stories based on the lives of senior citizens, in which I was to play the central character. It was to be produced by Rajeshwari Anand, a very talented writer-director, who, along with her cinematographer husband Anand, had produced scores of advertising and telefilms for my agency, Anugrah Madison Advertising. The idea was dropped because of the pandemic and the uncertainty that followed.

The short film ISAI is based on the life of a talented Carnatic singer and his inability to get chances to sing in Sabhas until a good Samaritan, in the form of a popular Vidwan, helps him get one in a Sabha. The Sabha President, earlier, had refused to give the poor artist a chance without getting a donation from him. I played the role of the aggressive and arrogant Sabha President. It was a small role, but it offered me an opportunity to display my talent as a character actor. The success of the film and the appreciation I have received for living the role ( not just acting)  has made my day.

Babu Krishnaswamy A film maker with passion for history

 The news of Babu Krishnaswamy`s demise on this Sunday came as a surprise to me. I knew he was ailing for some time, but did not expect the news so soon after receiving a telephone call from him just a few weeks ago. He said it was just a courtesy call, wanting to know how I was doing and that he would be happy to meet me during my next trip to Chennai. During the earlier two trips to Chennai, I could not meet him as he was not in a condition to see me. His wife Mohana also came on the line and said that they would be happy to see me during my next trip, scheduled any time during January 2026. I feel bad that I will not be meeting my good friend of 55 years anymore.

 I was introduced to Babu by another good friend, Desikan, who was then with Reader`s Digest. It was the early seventies when Babu was still associated with Jaishree Pictures, in which his two elder brothers were partners, producing ad films, documentaries and radio spots. I had moved to Delhi in 1971 to join ACIL, the sister company of Clarion McCann. A few radio spots produced by them for our Delhi clients brought me closer to Babu.

 Babu and his wife Mohana, accompanied by Desi and Nirmala, had attended my wedding on 26^th January,1972 in Chennai. Knowing my devotion to Venkatachalapathy, they had organised a car to take Prabha and me to Tirupati for a darshan the next morning. In the evening, Babu hosted a dinner at his house on MG Road, which his whole family, including all his brothers and his famous dancer sister Padma Subramaniam, attended. It was indeed a touching gesture by Babu, which brought us very close, a friendship that grew over the years.

 While I was still in Delhi, ACIL commissioned Babu to produce a film for our client CARE, an NGO headquartered in the US, which works in the areas of health and nutrition. We had recommended two alternative approaches — one ‘positive’ to be tested in the villages of Uttar Pradesh and another ‘negative’ to be tested in the villages of Andhra Pradesh. A benchmark study and a post-study conducted by CARE revealed that the negative approach, which used fear produced by Babu, worked better than the positive approach. That experience was also the beginning of my long association with Rural marketing

 That was also the time when Babu decided to part company with his brothers to pursue his dream of producing a documentary on the 5000 years of subcontinental history, under his own banner- Kishnaswamy Associates. While he was still fleshing out the idea and seeking funding for the mega project, including from the government, he and Mohana visited my home in Delhi and stayed with me for two days. I got to know more about his mega dream for which he had staked every resource at his command. After many ups and downs, including a mild heart attack caused by the extreme stress he was undergoing, his magnum opus, `Indus Valley to Indira Gandhi`, became a reality. The enormous success of the film made him undertake many other projects dealing with various aspects of Indian civilisation, and television serials on interesting subjects.

 I moved to Chennai in 1974 and built a house, close to his palatial home on the first main  road in Sastri Nagar. Like me, he also had two daughters and a son with similar age profiles, all of them studying in Sishya. The families became close thanks to the use of our family`s cars in rotation to take the children to school. Babu`s son Bharath was a classmate of my elder daughter Kavita.

 The years rolled on with both of us pursuing our businesses, meeting only during family get-togethers or special occasions. Later, my involvement with Consumer Association India started by our friend Desikan, in which Babu was also a part, provided  opportunities for us to meet more often.

 In all the years that I have known Babu, he has been a dear, caring friend. I found him to be a scholar and passionate about whatever he undertook. An excellent conversationalist, he was very articulate both as a speaker and writer. I had the privilege of extracting  the  abridged version of his  autobiography  published  in  the Madras Musings issue dated June 2018,

 His wife Mohana had been a pillar of strength to him in all his endeavours. Babu was always proud of his wife and her immense contributions to his achievements as a filmmaker. Blessed with talented children brought up with the right values, Babu lived a full life, winning many accolades and awards for his role as a filmmaker.

 I will always remember Babu for his encouragement and the moral support he extended to me, along with Desikan, when I was going through a turbulent period in my professional life, before I moved to Chennai.

 While offering my heartfelt condolences to the family, I pray to god that his soul attains Satgati!

 

 

REINVENTION OF INDIA POST

 The following  information about Indian Postal Service made me go down memory lane about our postal system. How it has been replaced  by the instant communication, across the world, possible through emails and social media today forcing the India Post to reinvent itself.

 “India Post is undergoing a major digital transformation with its IT 2.0 initiative, launching Advanced Postal Technology (APT) to modernise services, integrate banking (IPPB), and enhance rural reach. Key recent changes include the discontinuation of the traditional Registered Post service in favour of Speed Post for better tracking, and new "Generation Z" post offices focused on youth”

 Remember the times, not long ago, when all communication to your near and dear ones, staying near or far, was done through letters written by hand or typewritten on a self-stamped postcard, or an Inland letter or postal covers. If we were sending the letter in plain envelopes, then we had to buy stamps of different denominations depending on the weight of the envelope and paste them on the envelopes using some form of adhesive. Even grains of cooked rice came in handy as an adhesive!. This task was later made easy by the Post Office, which provided self-adhesive stamps, and all that you had to do was to wet it by using a wet sponge or just lick it!.

 We used the postcard for open communication and Inland letters or enveloped letters for any communication which required some privacy. If we wanted to secure the delivery of letters or important documents, we had the facility of sending them by Registered Post, with or without Acknowledgement Due. When the electronic payment facilities or even basic banking services did not have the kind of reach it has today, Money Orders were the sure way of sending money from one place to another. VPP was another service offered.

 In the olden days, our elders believed in using postcards more often, with information packed using every centimeter of space available in the postcard. It was not unusual to see sentences squeezed into the margins and even the address portions. You had to wait patiently for letters from your near and dear ones, living abroad, sent by Sea Post. They would take more than a month to reach you. Later, the waiting time was reduced to a week when the letters started arriving by air mail.

 The government, in its wisdom, has been providing this as a subsidised service. India can proudly claim to have one of the best postal systems in the world. We have 1,55,000 post offices to serve the 6,00,000 villages of India of which 1,38,000 are located in villages. In many of the villages, the Post Offices are located in the home of a prominent resident of the village. I have heard that my maternal grandfather was operating one such Post office from his home in our village in Tamil Nadu

 With the growing popularity of Social media, when the Postal Department found reduced patronage for its services, making huge losses, it had to reinvent itself. It had to think of non-conventional services using its wide network connecting the remotest villages of India. IPO has one of the best distribution networks available in the country for any product or service. No wonder that Post Offices diversified into offering services like Life Insurance, Postal savings. They even offer their Network to Corporates for selling their products. The Indian Post Payments Bank has been taking  Banking services to the doorsteps of households, especially rural households.

 While the Postal Department is trying its best to stay relevant, it is sad that a whole generation of Indians has grown up without any idea of postal services. The other day, I asked a schoolboy if he had heard of post offices. His response was `What is a Post Office?`

 {Updated version of my article titled ``Snail Mail` which appeared in one of the issues of Adyar Times in 2019 under my column `Rajan`s Random Reflections )

 

A BOOK BY A TEENAGER

 I have attended several book launches in my long life, both as a member of the audience and some as a guest of honour. Authors of most of these book launches were adults, including some senior citizens who were releasing their memoirs or biographies. The book launch that I attended on Friday, 19th December, was different. The author was a seventeen-year-old Aadhya Surendar, a school student studying in the 12th standard. Her book `Seventeen and Anxious` was being released at the Cosmopolitan Club, Coimbatore, attended by a large gathering of relatives and friends.

Aadhya lost her mother when she was five. Though she was being brought up by her loving grandmother, she could not come out of the irreparable loss, leading to her developing mental health problems. A bright girl with a lot of creativity, she would suffer from pangs of anxiety. In writing, she found a personal outlet to process her thoughts and emotions, evolving into a form of reflection and healing. This book is her first, a deeply personal exploration of living with anxiety, growth and resilience. Through her book she seeks to bring awareness to mental health and help others navigate similar experiences.

I had helped her in getting the book published in record time, thanks to my good friend Diwakar of Compuprint. Despite the tremendous workload he had because of the music season, he ensured that the book was ready in time for the release function. It was a well-planned and executed event where Aadhya gave a moving and inspiring account of her turbulent journey, thanking everyone who stood by her during the difficult period. She proved that she is not only a good writer but also a good speaker. I had goosebumps listening to her brilliant speech. There was also audience participation in the form of a few friends and relatives talking about Aadhya.

As the guest of honour at the event, I was privileged to receive the first copy of the book from A G. Guruswamy, Aadhya`s grandfather, who runs a popular Cricket Academy in Coimbatore. In the attached photo, you can see her father, Surendar, standing at the extreme left.

Aadhya is a bundle of talent with a lot of creative energy. I am sure that this book is the first step towards her long journey as a creative person. I wish her all the best in all her future endeavours.

The book, priced at Rs 250, is available on Amazon.