Going under the scalpel of a surgeon for the first time.

The very first time an Urologist recommended a  preventive surgery for my  enlarged prostrate problem was in 2007. After delaying the decision  for 14years I decided to go under the scalpel of a surgeon  as a solution to the problem  which was bothering me beyond endurance limits for the last few months Fortunately since it was a TURP  procedure  done under local anesthesia, I was discharged the day after the surgery, with a catheter and the accompanying  plastic bag to clear the accumulated urine discharged without my knowledge. I had to endure the ordeal for five days before the catheter and the bag were removed and I could walk  free. 

When I thought the treatment was over and that I could look forward to complete recovery from my problem in a few days, the doctor threw a bombshell at me. He recommended that in order to ensure a long term solution to my problem I will have to undergo another  procedure for the next 30 days. It involved  gently inserting a 15 inches long plastic tube (Use & throw catheter)  once a day into my urethra and remove  it gently after it discharges the accumulated urine in  my bladder. An assistant   in his clinic taught me  the procedure. When I was not sure of my ability to go through the procedure on my own the doctor told me in no  uncertain terms that I will have to do it if I have to avoid an emergency situation at a future date. Though it was a simple procedure lasting not more than a minute, I was worried that  I may hurt myself while performing it .

 So for the first  few days  I requested my son to standby  in the room adjacent to the toilet  while I  was going through the procedure in case I made a mistake and he had to rush me to the clinic. Fortunately over the next few days I mastered the procedure without the need for  moral support. As I am  writing this piece I have successfully gone through the procedure for 30 days and am walking free from  all  the issues for which I underwent the surgery.

The surgeon who performed the surgery is a well known Urologist in the most popular five star hospital  in the city specialising in Robotic surgery. When  I told him that while I was very keen that he should perform the surgery, I was apprehensive about getting it done In the five star hospital  in which  he was practicing because of my family`s bad experience with the hospital. He smiled and  as a special case  agreed to perform the surgery  at the good old Seethapathy Clinic and Hospital on Royapettah High Road, Mylapore.  From the time I checked into the hospital to the time I was discharged 36 hours later, I had the most pleasant experience in the hospital.  Right from the nursing staff to the housekeeping assistants every one was caring and efficient. Though it lacked the ambience of a five star hospital  I felt at home and not intimidated. I owe a special thanks to the surgeon and the hospital management for making this possible.

Throughout my life I have tried to avoid going  under the scalpel of a surgeon  for various health issues like stone in the kidney, Glaucoma, Fissure and so on but got cured  by using alternate therapies  with the divine grace of my favourite Lord Venkatachalapathy. This is the first time  that I have undergone  a proper surgery. I hope that this is the last time I will have to see the masked face of a surgeon in an operation theatre.

My journey as a writer

Though my reputation as a writer in English is only 12 years old, my interest in writing goes back to my school days when  I was a Tamil fanatic. My school in Bombay  had Tamil as a medium of instruction  until the 8th standard. .An active student member of Bombay Tamil Sangam, I was an avid reader of all the popular Tamil weeklies and books by well-known authors of the time. I was bursting with creative energy. I started channelizing the energy into writing in Tamil. I wrote short stories and plays in Tamil. Not only did I act in plays written by me but one of my plays was even  staged by students of another college. I was also actively involved with some friends in running a manuscript magazine called `Kalai ( ART). When the school management did not encourage extracurricular activities like plays I along with a few  friends started `Manavar Kalai Arangam ( Students Cultural association) with the motto `To encourage ourselves`. Those were heady days.

 All this was behind me when I took up the demanding advertising career and the next 43 years were spent in building a reputation as a Rural Marketing  specialist.  A city boy becoming a Rural Marketing Guru!. This gave me opportunities to write  about my profession and my experiences in helping clients build their brands in rural India in English. Many business magazines carried my articles. Simultaneously  I also got involved in contributing articles and editing the magazines of the several voluntary associations in which I was active. I edited `Tenor` the quarterly magazine of the Madras West Round Table No.10 for three years winning the `Krish Chitale trophy` for the Best Club magazine award from Round Table India one year. I was the editor of `Fellowship`, a quarterly magazine of the 41 Clubs of India which is the Association of ex-Tablers, for six terms. Another  challenging job was as the editor of `Rural Marketing Journal` the quarterly magazine of the Rural Marketing Association of India( RMAI) which I initiated as the Founder president of RMAI and  brought it  out for four consecutive years as its editor. Another toughest assignment I took on was to bring out the Golden Jubilee commemoration volume of the Advertising Club, Madras, as the Chairman of the Golden Jubilee celebrations committee. My good friend Krishna, a senior member of the club  helped me in my  hunt for historical materials and together we wrote most of the articles in the volume. Though I had the advantage of my creative and production executives helping me in producing the magazines I was totally responsible for the contents in every issue.  

 I wrote a lot during my long career as an adman and as an active member of several voluntary  organisations, honing my skills as a writer all the time. So, when I  decided to write my autobiography, a childhood dream, it was not difficult. It had to be in English as I had completely lost touch with writing in Tamil for over four decades, though I continued to read popular Tamil weeklies.

 I started writing my autobiography the day after I retired as the CMD of my own advertising agency at the age of 65- without any diary, notes or records - purely depending on my memory. I found that every time I sat down to write, the events and characters would float in front of me like a film. Going down memory lane was not only fun but also therapeutic.

The success of my autobiography in English published in 2009 paved the way for my taking up writing as a serious hobby post retirement. At this juncture I must record my sincere gratitude to late Mr.S.Muthiah, a veteran journalist for his role as a mentor, constantly encouraging me to write and guiding me all the time. Many of my articles on a variety of topics were published in the Eves Touch magazine and Madras Musings which were edited by Mr.Muthiah. .A few of my articles also started appearing in all the leading English dailies published from Chennai. One of my dreams of becoming a regular columnist became a reality when Adyar Times, a popular community weekly in Chennai started featuring my column `Rajan`s Random Reflections `once a fortnight. Later my good friend  (late) Charukesi , the veteran bilingual writer encouraged me to write fiction. I wrote short stories. I even wrote a novel which was published last year. Another veteran journalist and an old classmate of mine from my college days, S.R.Madhu has also been helping me to improve my writings with his candid comments. I quote from a letter he wrote about my writings.

 “I have read scores of Rajan's articles. He's no wordsmith, he sometimes needs editing, but he appeals to a wide spectrum of readers because of  four qualities  (a) a genuine interest in people. (b) a flair for  story-telling (c) a keen and observant eye (d)a simple and straight forward approach -- no frills, no pomp, no philosophy, no lecturing, no bla-bla”

 I am very conscious that I am neither a scholar nor an intellectual. My memory is poor. I cannot quote from our scriptures, mythology or literature. I am no good at long descriptions of places and things. My vocabulary is limited. Yet  if have managed to appeal  to my  readers, I believe it is  because of my simple language , spoken straight from the heart.

 In my long stint as a writer I always  wrote the first drafts by hand. Since I could not decipher my own handwriting, it was my ever efficient secretary Srividya, who would  type the drafts as she could decipher 90% of my writing correctly. I would then start correcting and revising the typed drafts until I was satisfied with the output. Even after I retired I continued to send the scanned copies of my manuscripts  to her which she would  transcribe and send me. It was a great help. In the last couple of years I have learnt  to key in my articles/stories directly on the computer.  Saving a lot of time.

 As a person who believes in the policy of `Early to Bed, early to rise` I find that I am at my creative best during the morning hours between 4.30 am and 6.00am, considered as the Brahmamuhurtham by our elders.

 Very early in my evolution as a writer /author I had decided that I will try to cover all genres of writing.. So far my published books cover six genres: autobiography, rural marketing (an industry), essays, history of an association, short stories and a novel.

 As the seventh genre of writing, I chose  a translation job because of my comfort level with both English and Tamil. Besides I also had the lessons I learnt from  Charukesi, who had translated my autobiography into Tamil. I am grateful to Dr.J.Bhaskaran, a practicing dermatologist and rising star in the world of Tamil literature, for giving me permission to translate selected short stories from his first collection `Thedal` which has been published with the title `The Search and other stories`

 Though the initial response to my translation job is encouraging, I am not sure I would like to continue with this genre of writing. I always like to challenge myself with new projects which keep my adrenalin flowing and make my life interesting. Poetry does not interest me and I am too far removed from plays to write one. What else? Any suggestions from my readers?

My association with the creative world.

Though I was born in a village called Nerkuppai in Ramanad District in 1942, I was brought up in Bombay where I lived for the first 29 years of my life. I did both my schooling and college and started my career in advertising in Bombay. My association  with the creative world started from my school days.

  I remember when I was in the 9th standard, my school, South Indian Welfare Society`s High School moved from Matunga to its own premises in Wadala which was a 30 to 40 minute walk from my house in Matunga. A group of us from the neighbourhood  would  walk every day to the school. This enlarged my circle of friends which was earlier restricted to only friends who lived in the chawl complex where I was living.

 I became a part of a  group of bright students bursting with  creative energy! It was a multitalented group that wanted to participate in extra curricular activities like writing, singing, acting, drama etc. But the school management was against the idea. I remember the Lady Principal of the school  telling the students “Don’t waste your time on ` dramas and shamas`. Education is the only thing which will give you a good career!” So she banned all extra curricular activities in the school except the mandatory sports activities.

 My group began to feel frustrated. Some of us joined the “Bombay Tamil Sangam” as student members as it  was encouraging students with talent in writing, debating, etc. I also mooted the idea of starting a Students Cultural Association through which we could express our creative talents outside the school. Thus was born the “Manavar Kalai Arangam”(MKA) with the motto ‘To encourage ourselves’ and I became its  Founder Secretary. All those interested in creative pursuits from senior  classes became members of MKA. We started staging plays, some  scripted by me. At the age of 16, I was given the role of the father of the hero. There were other character roles with minimum dialogues that I donned during that period.

 Apart from staging plays and conducting musical programmes, we also ran a manuscript magazine called ‘Kalai’ (Art) in which some of us contributed stories and poems. I wrote  short stories and plays  in Tamil. A friend, who had excellent hand writing and who could draw illustrations for the articles, produced the magazine! The one and only copy was circulated among all those interested friends!

 While in school I also passed the Govt. Commercial Diploma in drawing which helped me hone my skills as an artist. This would help me later in my advertising career. Thanks to a  box camera gifted to me by my uncle, I was also trying my hand at amateur photography — limited though by the persistent cash crunch at home! This interest in photography would later lead me to be involved in the production of scores of A/V presentations for voluntary organizations like Round Table and Rotary to raise funds for their projects. Those days  A/V presentations were mainly  slide/tape presentations. I would write the script, shoot the slides myself and put together the presentation using professional  voices. Even today I like to be involved in some A/V presentations to keep in touch with my interest in the subject. The last  AV I produced was on my good friend Charukesi. The six minute video film giving his life story in brief was presented at a special function at Tag Centre to commemorate his first death anniversary in January, 2020..

 My involvement with the stage

 Though MKA was wound up after the  group left the school, we decided to start an amateur stage group called Fine Arts Creations. My friend Raghavan,considered Nagesh of Bombay because of his thin stature and his ability to act like Nagesh on the stage became a key figure of this group. One of our earliest plays was a one act play titled ‘Pushpalatha’ written by Director K. Balachander. At that time he had just got into directing plays. I remember visiting Madras with Raghavan in 1962  to get  KB`s  permission to stage the play in Bombay. In another play, I donned the role of Munuswamy a rowdy with one Muniamma as his  wife. For the role of Muniamma we had to get a female artist from Madras, as no Bombay girls agreed to act in our plays. My performance as a rowdy in a lungi with a menacing  mustache speaking the Madras Bashai was one of the highlights of the play and one of the best roles I donned in my life. I felt elated  that I also had a lady accomplice in the play. It also led to my being invited  to take up roles in plays staged by Matunga Dramatic Society (MDS) headed by S.R.Kasturi,who was then  the Secretary of the prestigious Shanmugananda Sabha of Bombay. MDS was the most famous amateur dramatic society in Bombay at the time which staged a couple social plays every year. However the play on Saint Thyagaraja featuring S.R.Kasturi in the main role became one of the best plays staged by the group. It was awesome to see Kasturi  sing the sage`s  Keerthanais live on the stage accompanied by live orchestra. I must confess that I picked up some knowledge of Thyagaraja Keerthanais thanks to my involvement with the play.

 I can never forget the three bit roles I played in the  play .In the opening scene depicting Vaikundam I  would appear as Naradhar.  In the middle of the play in a court  scene of the king I appeared  as a minister and in a scene in the last part of the play where dacoits  attack Thiagaraja and his entourage, I was  one of the dacoits. It was fun donning different make ups for each of the role but for the discomfort of wearing the special costumes and other items like beard and moustache etc. hired for the roles. They were not only stinking but I found it very difficult to control  the itching sensation that the false beard and moustaches  provoked. The play  was not only staged at the prestigious Shanmugananda Sabha in Bombay a couple of times but also was  taken to  other suburbs in Bombay besides cities like Nagpur & Ahmedabad. Being with the group was lot of fun.  Since I had a problem of memorizing long dialogues I was denied meaty roles by the director.  However I enjoyed whatever role I played and tried to give my best performance. Once I got into advertising and became busy 24x7 I had to give up my interest in acting on stage.

However I continued to nurture my passion for acting even after I left Bombay. Acting  was  still in my blood. Since moving to Chennai  in 1974, I have acted in a couple of  advertising  & short films. JS films, a joint venture of director Jayendra and the award winning cinematographer P.C.Sriram, was  producing a lot of memorable advertising films in the nineties. I was offered a double role of a father and a grandfather in an ad film for Shriram Chit Funds. I was thrilled when at the end of the shooting , P.C.Sriram complimented  me for being an` one take artist`. There would be heavy schedule of the  Shriram  Chit spots promoting their new series of chits in Sun TV for two weeks preceding the  Tamil New Year and  Navarathri featuring  me and another well known actress. During those weeks whenever I went out  for shopping I would be recognized and people would stop me and ask me if I was the same person who appeared in the Shriram spots.  I used to enjoy the mini celebrity status during the  periods  when the spots were being  telecast for  seven years in a row.

Recently I also played a cameo role in a short film in Tamil based on my wife`s novella `Thayumanaval`, released at the Tag Centre on the occasion of my wife Prabha`s  5^th death anniversary. It was the role of a henpecked husband without any dialogues. But I think I was noticed for my performance because my ability to use my eyes and face to depict the moods  the scenes demanded. The latest exciting project  I  am eagerly looking  forward to is  the Fun Web Series titled `Not Out` directed by my favourite director  Usha Rajeshwari,  targeting senior citizens in which I will be playing the main role.  It was  fun acting for the promo video of the film. Unfortunately because of  the restrictions imposed by the pandemic the project has been delayed.

Interestingly during the 45 years of my life as an adman running ad agencies, I never produced any campaigns  myself. But the deep understanding of the different aspects of the creative world helped me to motivate and get the best out of some of the great creative minds I worked with. It was a long but an enjoyable journey in the creative world the  memories of  which I continue to cherish even today!

( This article, translated into Tamil, is featured in this year`s ( 2021) Diwali Issue of Ladies Special magazine,  a popular Tamil monthly with the dynamic Girija Raghavan as the editor)

Entertaining guests at home - the new normal!

This year my son  decided to organize a dinner for the family members numbering 14 adults plus kids on the Diwali night at our home in Sastri Nagar. As I was getting tensed up about the arrangements for the dinner, he made it clear that he would take care of everything and asked me not to worry. Being a ‘tension party’, I was worried that even at 6.30 pm there was no sign of any activity – not even laying the table with necessary crockeries required for serving the dinner. What about the menu for the evening dinner? When I asked my son  he said he was waiting for all the guests to arrive and order the food of their choice  on swiggy/zomato/dunzo etc. I was shocked- it was going to be  a multi cuisine  `A la carte` dinner for the guests. Will it work? Will all the items arrive on time?

As the guests were arriving, while  my son was checking their  preference for food,

my daughter in law was busy serving the guests soft drinks and ready snacks. When my siblings said that they cannot take any item  with onion or garlic because it was the evening of Amavasya, he had a ready solution for them-Jain Thalis from the Agarwals. While, others had ordered for items ranging from Fried rice,  Cauliflower Manchurian, Veg .Noodles , Paneer butter masala with parathas and so on  my son in law & I got masala dosas  from A2B ( Adyar Ananda Bhavan ). All the items were delivered by the service providers within 45 minutes of placing the order on line.

While I was wondering how these items were  going to be consumed by guests, out came the disposable dinner plates and  water cups. The serving spoons and table spoons from the kitchen were also out in a jiffy and  the items were piled up on the dining table without any order and the guests were asked to have a go. The very senior citizens managed to squeeze some space on the table so that they could sit and eat and others picked up their items and moved to the drawing room. Though every guest got  the item of their choice, it did not stop them from taking  a bite or two from the items ordered by others. Every one seemed  to be enjoying the dinner as most of them got what they wanted and more!

In my long working career,  my wife and  I have organized several dinner get togethers for guests ranging from 10 to 30 people. The tension of hosting the dinner will start from the morning and will continue till every guest left home having enjoyed a home cooked meal served with a lot of love and affection. When we tried to get outside food on a couple of occasions , we were not happy. But today`s youngsters have  their own priorities. They don`t believe in wasting time and efforts on things they can get at the press of a button. Ultimately what matters is that the guests are  happy. My family members, majority of whom are senior citizens seemed to have enjoyed the dinner on the Diwali night.

I realised that it is time that I learn to live with the `New Normal` while entertaining guests at home!

A Computer semi-literate

I consider myself semi-literate when it comes to computer knowledge. While I have enough knowledge to take care of my requirements as a writer and also deal with my mails, anything beyond I am at a loss. Though the computer is the most user-friendly gadget invented, my problem is my impatience in dealing with it. When I encounter even the slightest problem while working, I panic and start desperately pressing the buttons on the keyboard resulting in the friendly computer becoming unfriendly.

When I call my tech savvy son to help me out, he would come and click some buttons and presto the computer would get back to normal. The speed with which he solves the problem would often baffle me. I would ask him to explain to me what he did, so that I don`t have to disturb him again. I would then religiously note down his instructions. But the next time I face the same problem , and try to refer to the instructions given to me, I would find that I can`t read my own handwriting. So back to my son who would reluctantly solve the problem after giving me a dressing down for  being such a moron when dealing with the computer.

“How many times I have told you not to  bang the buttons. Modern day keyboards are feather touch and the moment you use force they are bound to fail you”  is the constant refrain I hear not only from my son  and but also from my equally tech savvy son in law who has a lot more patience to teach me how to get the best out of the modern day gadgets like computers, laptops, smart phones etc. But the problem  again is my poor memory which has gone from bad to worse over the years that these days I cannot  remember even simple instructions. I always envy some senior citizens who are tech savvy even in their old  age.

In spite of my discomfort with gadgets I am blessed to own all possible gadgets. Though I have been owning a PC for a long time, I was presented with  a laptop by my children on my 75^th birthday. I am also a recipient of a smart phone and a Tablet from my daughter Kavitha. Do I use all of them ? The answer is “yes, I do”. I use my PC for directly keying-in  all my writings because of  the big keyboard and also to deal with my emails. While I use my laptop  as a standby and when I am travelling, I use it  mainly  for participating in zoom meetings. My comfort level with the laptop is greater with zoom meetings because of the mobility it offers. The Tablet is the latest gift which I use to see movies on OTT platforms or on  YouTube. I have begun to also down load books on the Kindle app on my Tablet. And of course  the `Over-smart phone` I use not only to be connected to the world through  WhatsApp but also for minute to minute  access to my emails, Facebook  and other messages.  Undoubtedly a smart phone is the ideal gadget for instant communication in spite of the embarrassment it causes with its auto correct service and the tendency to connect you to people without your knowledge.

While I continue to be semi-literate in dealing with the gadgets, I am proud that I own four of them!

Time to get back to `Old ` normal!

It was time to get back to old normal. This weekend  I attended two get togethers. The first one was the family participation dinner of Rotary Club  Madras South at the spacious open air  Pool side of Hyatt Regency on Saturday. What a joy it was to meet Southerners and their families, numbering over 100, after nearly 18 months. The second one involved my walking friends- the small group which meets for filter coffee every morni ng at Velu`s coffee shop at Bessy.  Nagappan and Bala jointly hosted  a birthday lunch at the Presidency Club where the spouses also joined. It was also a morning of fun and frolics. With `American` Jagdeesh ( he had worked in American Embassy for 35 years as the chief Librarian) starting the entertainment with a lovely song on the elephant god, followed by the 90 years old German Iyer belting our German songs and German jokes.  84 years old Mrs Vasantha, wife of Iyer mama set the ball rolling on behalf of the ladies with a pleasing Carnatic number. Inspired by this  senior most couple we had 80 years old `Kuchi` Narayan and `Vengala Kuralon ( Sound ) Veerappan cracking jokes. The real  discovery were Krishnamoorthy and Nagappan.  While Krish came across as a good social singer  Nagappan belted out a naughty  Tamil song  which his wife Chitra referred to as a family song. After the cake cutting ceremony by the birthday babies, the party ended  with a delicious lunch preceded by `fellowsip` The success of the party was when some  ladies in the group wanted to know when  the next party is scheduled.  Pray  the dreaded Covid is permanently behind us so that we can have more such get togethers!

German Iyer releases his autobiography

Mr T.H.Iyer, a walking friend  whom I have known only for the  last four years but feels like I have known him all my life. A popular man in our walking group he is a role model  as a person who is fit as a fiddle even at 90.

In some context I had an opportunity to read Mama`s  Curriculam vitae and I was impressed with his achievements as a professional, as a social worker and for his deep involvement with many  spiritual gurus. Besides he is a multitalented man who is a  poet, writer, motivational speaker and much more.  A widely travelled man linguist Mr Iyer  spent 35 years in  Germany. I Understand it was Maha Periava of Kanchi who named him German Iyer.

Though Mr Iyer had published three books earlier ( two of them in German) he had not published his  memoirs. I planted the idea in his mind and started pushing him into action as I have been doing with many senior citizens I come across. I am glad Mr Iyer took up the challenge and his dream of publishing his autobiography has become a reality. A surprise addition in the book is a collection of Mr.Iyer`s compositions in Tamil in praise of  Lord Krishna

Mr Mama  always used to say that there are many similarities in our lives. Apart from many other things I noticed two interesting similarities from our childhood, Mama had an accident  as a young boy requiring stitches on the forehead, the mark of which is still visible and is used as an identification mark in his passport. I too had a similar accident when  I was six and use the scar as an identification mark in my passport. Another similarity is mama being dressed as a girl when he was a little boy as his mother wanted a  girl as her second child.  I too was dressed up like a girl with my long hair tied into a bun adorned with mallippoo. My parents too wanted their second child to be a girl- and it did happen. My sister Prema was born four years after I was born.

Mama`s autobiography is the sixth book published in the last eight months influenced by me and 15^th in the last  three years.  Many more are in the pipeline and I hope to achieve a target of 25 before end of next year.

I congratulate Mama for writing the book which is  not only  an interesting record  of the story of his life story for posterity but also contains valuable gems of wisdom gained over the years which the youngsters will find useful. The book printed by the talented team of Compuprint is for private circulation only.

The book was released at a small function at Gandhi Nagar Club, Chennai by  Mr R.Natarajan,  Commissioner of Police ( Retd.). The first two copies were received by Mr T.R.Gopalan and me in the presence of the author and his son Mani.

I pray god to bestow good health on mama so that he can continue to inspire his younger friends

I was detained by German Police

Some forgettable experiences from my  first trip to Europe!

 My first trip to Europe happened kind courtesy Tabler Jagdish Chandran, ( CMD of Premier Mills ,Coimbatore) who  was the second Indian after Deepak Banker to become the President of World Council of Young Men`s service clubs (WoCo), the international body to which Round Table India was affiliated. As it was Bob’s AGM at Stockholm in 1980 and RTI was pitching India as the venue for the 1983 AGM,  Bob persuaded a group of Indian Tablers to accompany him. While other Tablers could afford the trip on their own, Bob decided to partially sponsor me and Tr. Muralidharan of Coimbatore. I was to be one of the rapporteurs at the AGM, taking minutes of the proceedings. I used the opportunity to plan my first trip to Europe and USA in the summer of 1980.

 My first halt in Europe was at Amsterdam, the beautiful city of dykes and canals, a place famous for its wine and cheese boat parties. The red light district where prostitutes sit in rooms with glass windows illuminated by red lights is a ‘must see’ for visitors. I was a guest of Tabler  Rajesh Duggal of Delhi who was posted in Amsterdam at that point of time and stayed in an apartment complex at Zan Fort, a sea resort suburb overlooking the sea. It was summer and the sun was known to set only around 10 or 11 pm and rise around 4.00 am. It was a new experience for me! In the evening the beach was packed with young couples having fun, many of them spending the night in sleeping bags that they carried with them. I realized that most of them were the ‘back packing’ hippies who generally wandered arounthe world hitch-hiking and wasting their rich parents’ money on fun, liquor and sex!

 After spending five days at Amsterdam, I bought myself a two-week Euro Rail pass and travelled in comfort during nights while visiting places during the day. My first halt was at Lausanne in Switzerland, the French speaking town located on the border of France. Here I was to join my group consisting of Tr. R. Anand, the tall and lanky bachelor who was then working with the India Today group and Tr. K.K. Sood and his charming wife Kitty — both from my table. We were also joined by Bijone Ghosh, an Apexian from Ambattur, Madras.

 As I had a tough time trying to locate the address of Anand’s cousin with whom we were supposed to stay for three days, I checked my things into the station locker and went around the station asking people in English for directions to the house. None of them even bothered to respond to me and literally brushed me aside saying “No English”. I then took a taxi whose driver was equally unfriendly and after roaming around for 30 minutes, with the taxi meter shooting up I managed to locate a sales girl at a shop who could speak English. Much to my dismay and minus 40 dollars I found that the building I was looking for was just a stone’s throw away from the station.

 Anand’s cousin was a friendly girl who took us around the city and also joined us on our trip to Geneva and Interlaken, a town on top of the Alps. It was to be my first experience with snow and all of us behaved like kids throwing snow balls at each other. The train journey from Basel to Interlaken was a breathtaking experience and this is where I tasted my first Martini. All of us gulped it down like sherbet and got quite high and ended up with headaches on our return journey.

 On our way to Stockholm from Lausanne, we stopped at Venice and Vienna. The train journey from Vienna to Stockholm was unforgettable because of an incident that occurred during the journey! Throughout the journey I was pulling up Anand for being careless about his passport and

tickets. I was carrying my passport in my trouser pocket and the tickets in my T shirt pocket When the train stopped at a wayside station I decided to get down to buy something to eat. After the purchase, though there was plenty of time, I ran back to board the train for Stockholm which left the station after five minutes!

 In Europe, when you travel by train, every one or two hours you pass through a different country and at every border town, a ticket checker will inspect your ticket and passport. As the train was in motion, an Austrian TC came to our coach asking for our tickets when I discovered to my horror that the ticket that I was carrying in my T-Shirt pocket was missing. After intensive searching, I realized that it must have fallen on the platform of the station where I had got down earlier.

 I tried to convince the TC that I was a genuine passenger and showed him the receipt I got at the Amsterdam station while buying the Euro Rail Pass. The TC was adamant and said that rules are rules. He insisted that without a valid ticket, I could not travel in the train and wanted me to get off at the next station. My efforts to bribe him also did not work out. My friends also decided to get off though they all had their tickets and I could see Anand laughing at me for my carelessness.

 At the next station, we approached the station master and explained our plight. He promptly called the station master of the previous station to find out if any ticket had been found on the platform and surprisingly, he had! He confirmed that another passenger had found the ticket and had handed it over to him. He was willing to send it through the TC travelling by the next train, which was expected just after an hour. I could not believe my luck! I wondered if such a thing could ever happen in our country! I did get my ticket back and when the next train arrived, we continued our journey to Stockholm.

 My return train journey from Copenhagen to Amsterdam was a horrible experience! After a tiring day of sightseeing, I went to sleep as soon as I got into the comfortable reclining bed that the train offers. Around 2.00 am, I found myself being woken up by somebody who asked to see my passport. After inspecting the same, he growled at me in German which I could not understand. One of the ladies in the compartment who could speak both English and German told me that there was something wrong with my passport and that unless I got down with my baggage, the train would not proceed. My pleas did not have any impact on that tough looking police official, who literally dragged me out of the train. When I was out, I realized I was in some wayside station in Germany, on the border of another country. It was very cold with poor lighting and with not a soul in the station. The police official gestured me to follow him but would not help me with my baggage. The only sound there was from his shoes, as he was walking. I was frightened beyond words! I thought I was going to be punished for some crime which I might have committed unintentionally. I imagined myself inside a German prison with no one in the world knowing where I was! Faces of my wife and kids passed through my mind and I invoked the name of every God I could think of. The police officer made me walk up a flight of stairs and led me to a small police outpost. Fortunately for me there was an inspector who could speak English. He went through my passport carefully and said, “You seem to be the Director of a company but you did not know that you were passing through Germany without a valid visa?”

 I tried to explain to him that my destination was Amsterdam and that I had no plans to get down at any station in Germany. He clarified that the new Visa law with India had come into force from midnight of 26th July 1980 and at 2.30 am in the morning, I was the first traveler to be detained for not having a valid visa to pass through Germany. Unlike the police officer who forced me out of the train, the inspector was friendly and said he would try and help me. He had to wake up the Asst. Commissioner of Police to find out what can be done. As per the instructions he received, he gave me a temporary visa valid for 24 hours, on his official letterhead and that was when I heaved a sigh of relief.

 But that was not all. The train I was offloaded from was a direct train from Copenhagen to Amsterdam, reaching that city at 7.30 am, giving me sufficient time to reach Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam by road, to catch my noon KLM flight to New York. With the help of the local stationmaster, the inspector rerouted my ticket, under which I had to change trains in three different places before I reached Amsterdam at 11.00 am. What a nightmare I went through changing trains! I was lugging my huge suitcase and even the portable baggage trolley was useless as I had to carry the baggage up and down the flight of stairs since the stations and the platforms were at two different levels. At Hamburg station, though I was given clear instructions, I was misled by a fellow Indian and found myself in the wrong platform when the train was streaming into the station. How I ran up the steps with the heavy baggages in hand and reached the compartment just in time is another story by itself! As soon as I dumped my bags inside and got into the train, the doors closed behind me and the train started. I literally fell on top of my suitcase and was panting for the next ten minutes. I could clearly hear my heartbeat and was sure I wasgoing to die of a heart attack that day.

 Though the train reached Amsterdam at 11.00 am, I was able to reach the airport only by 12.00 noon, the exact time of the departure of the flight. When I saw no passengers at the counter from a distance, I was sure I had missed the flight. When I reached the counter and handed over my tickets and passport, the assistant looked at me and asked me sarcastically, “Mr. Rajan, have you come for today’s flight or tomorrow’s?”. Then she smiled and said, “You are lucky. The flight is delayed and will be leaving only at 2.00 pm”. What a relief I felt. I thanked the assistant, thanked all my Gods and proceeded to the departure lounge to catch my flight to New York.

 In the next post I will share both my shocking and pleasant experiences in USA!

 

 

My first trip abroad -Five countries in five weeks

It was in early 1976 when I was 34, that Round Table India chose me as a candidate for the Travel Grant of WoCo (World Council of Young Men’s Service — the parent body to which Round Table India was affiliated) to attend the AGM of Apex Australia (another youth organization affiliated to WoCo) in Mount Gambia, Southern Australia. It was a five week trip that covered 5 countries — Sri Lanka (Colombo), Singapore, KL in Malaysia, Melbourne, Sydney and Perth in Australia, Christchurch & Auckland in NewZealand.

The Association paid for the air fare and I was by members of the association in each country. Staying with families in every country was a memorable experience.

 I would like to share three  interesting experiences I had during this trip Melbourne was my first halt in Australia. I was hosted by Alan Harvey, President of the Mt. Eliza club near Melboune He had mentioned to his 6-year-old son that an Indian was coming home to stay with them. When I arrived at his home and was introduced to the family, his son appeared disappointed to find me suited and booted. He innocently asked, “Daddy, you told me he is an Indian, but he is not wearing any feathers”. Thanks to the Idiot Box those days which used to portray Indians as ‘Red Indians’ .

 Another memorable moment was the visit to the famous Melbourne Cricket  Club  . It was a dream come true for me since I was a keen cricket enthusiast as a student, for whom names like Melbourne or Sydney sounded mystic. I had never imagined  that one day I would be standing on the stands of the Melbourne cricket grounds, clicking away in the huge stadium (capacity — 1,20,000) with my instamatic. The cricket club also boasts of the best cricket museum in the world. The curator of the museum, an old man in his 70’s, was all enthusiasm . He presented me two mementos- a  c hipped dinner plate used by the Indian Team and a MCG tie. I was delighted beyond words.

 In Christchurch, I stayed with Alistair, a bachelor! My hope of painting the town red with a bachelor was deflated when I found that  Alistair was very busy courting his charming fiancée Pauline. They had the misfortune of tasting an Indian meal that I prepared. What else but plain rice, yoghurt, pickles (donated by my host in Colombo) and a special rasam, made with Madras curry powder (without tamarind or lime). The rasam was the limit as both felt that I could not be a human being to swallow such a pungent concoction. But even that concoction tasted like nectar to me after being on a diet of boiled vegetables & leafy sandwiches.

 In the next post I will share with you my unforgettable experiences during my first trip to Europe.

Girija Raghavan – a human dynamo!

It was Ravi Tamilvanan of Manimekalai Prasuram who introduced me to Girija Raghavan in 2013. He would refer to her as  a `one woman army. I was wondering why. I got the answer I as came  to know her closely through the several contests that Prabha Rajan Talent Foundation sponsored in association with Ladies Special magazine.   I realized  that she is really  a `human dynamo` and a  fountain head of ideas  to encourage talented women to come to lime light. The number of activities connected with empowering women she is involved in, is mind boggling. A multi talented woman she is personification of what a determined person with clear vision and focus can achieve in life- all single handedly.

It was indeed courageous of her to start a Ladies magazine , without any kind of knowledge of publishing and make it a success. The fact that the magazine is entering its 25^th year of  existence  is no mean achievement especially in a market where readership of print media is going down and advertisers are increasingly supporting social media. What impressed me most was when she continued to bring out the magazine for six months without fail  while  she was in USA spending time with her son`s family.

I have also witnessed her active involvement with Rotary  and the innovative ideas she introduced at the District level. Her  idea of recognizing and giving Shakthi awards to young and old female achievers everyday virtually for 31 days during March this year in association with the Rotary Dist 3232 was unique. I was happy to find that my  daughter Sowmya who is a big name in the world of professional story tellers  was one of them.

A workaholic, she is also an excellent communicator both in person and in public. I am an ardent admirer of this dynamic lady.

While wishing the Ladies Special magazine continued success in the  years to come I pray god to bestow  good health and long life on Girija Raghavan so that she continues to serve the society.

(The Translated version of the above Greetings in Tamil was done by my sister in law Mythili Seshadri and appears in the latest Silver Jubilee Special issue of Ladies Special magazine).

 

I have entered the world of Octogenarians!

It was celebration time again. One year ahead of  my 80th birthday and one day ahead of my Calender birthday. Though  I turn 79 only today and enter  the world of Octogenarians,  the celebrations took place yesterday- a Sunday. It started with my getting the best birthday gift of my life from my family. I opened my mail box yesterday morning  to find a mail from my daughter Sowmya attaching a book containing greetings and matching photos from my close family, extended family, old friends including a few walking friends. It was full of encomiums which I don`t know if I deserve. But I accept the sentiments expressed  with all humility. I had planned for a big get together  at GNC but that had to be cancelled due to restrictions on the number of guests allowed ( I promise to have that party later when the restrictions are totally relaxed).Instead I hosted a breakfast at Matsya restaurant in Gandhi Nagar for my walking friends whom I meet every morning. This was followed by a lunch at my residence in Sastri Nagar for close family in which my  resident grand kids Thavam and Bakthi and the non resident grand daughter Nila were VIP guests. The food from Eden restaurant which my son Balaji had arranged was delicious. I broke my resolve of not touching the spirits for the last seven years by having a glass of wine to celebrate the special occasion.

 In the evening Sowmya had arranged for a zoom meeting, anchored by my son in law RU,  at which over two dozen members of  my close and extended family conveyed their greetings to me online. Going down memory lane is always interesting. I thoroughly enjoyed interacting with every one. On the whole it  was a good start for another year which I hope to celebrate every day, God Willing!

My first out station trip after eighteen months- a unique experience!

When my daughter`s family  decided to visit Kumbakonam to offer prayers to her in law`s family deity, Uppiliappan, she agreed to take  me with them. I was more than delighted because I had been wanting  to visit Balaji temple in Tirupathi but was happy that instead I was getting an opportunity to offer prayers at the temple of Uppiliappan considered elder brother of Balaji. The visit turned out to be unique because my son in law RU had booked our accommodation in a home stay facility located  in the Agraharam of a  village instead of a modest star hotel we usually stay in.  The village was Konerirajapuram, about 25 kms away from Kumbakonam famous for the ancient  `Uma Maheshwari samedha Nataraja temple`. The facility was booked through the `Airbnb ` app.

The last few kilometers to the facility was through narrow winding  roads with green fields  on either side. The drive was pleasant and beautiful. When we reached the spot I was surprised to see a typical village house  with sloping tiled roof with a big `Thinnai in front`. We entered  the house to find the facility having  all the things that you would  find in a typical village home , as seen in many Tamil films. The owner had ensured that the guests experience  a life in a typical village home by retaining all the items found in such homes like a big swing ( Oonjal), an easy chair,  a grandfather clock which announced time every hour and many more.   

The three bedrooms in the home were very basic  without  attached toilets  which  were located in the back of the home. There were two toilets out of which  one  had a western style commode and the second one the Indian type. The other improvement was instead of the typical open wells used in the olden days, piped water supply was available through taps located in bathrooms and other strategic locations. There was also a simple Geyser in the bath rooms for those who prefer hot water for a bath. There are  no air conditioners in the house . Instead  Air coolers are  provided on request. Fresh linen and towels are also provided. Though WIFI facility is available , there is  no TV in the house. The care taker  Kumaresan ensured that we  were served delicious  home cooked  South Indian vegetarian meals from a family providing this service in the village.

After some rest,   post lunch consisting of a three  course meal, in the evening we visited the Uma Maheshwari  temple in the village followed by a visit to Sarangapani and Ramaswamy temples  in Kumbakonam. When we returned by 8 pm, hot idlis and Rava Upma were waiting for us for dinner. Though the beds were not very comfortable, it was a peaceful night that we spent at the end of the first day. 

The next morning after an early breakfast consisting of Idly, vada and hot pongal we checked out of the home and decided to visit Nachhiar temple and Uppiliappan temple  before returning  to Chennai. Standing before the imposing statue of Lord Uppiliappan  for  more than 10 minutes , I was lost in my prayers, without any crowd to push me around. Thanks to the fear of the pandemic, in spite of relaxations there was hardly any crowd in all  the temples.  I was happy that I had a darshan of a famous deity in my first outstation trip after eighteen months.

Though we had no time to go around  the village I learnt from the care taker that the village had about 2500 households out of which 400 houses were located in the Agraharam around the temple. Out of these only 40 are occupied now and rest of them were lying vacant used by the owners settled in other cities or abroad visiting the village during festival times. The home we were put up was 150 years old and is owned by a gentleman  settled in Japan, who had bought the property from the descendants of the original family. It was a big  house which had the main entrance on one road  and the back exit gate located on  a parallel road behind the home.  The new owner had demolished a portion of the house on the rear to create a small garden in which fruits and vegetable are grown now. 

Away from the hustle and bustle of a city or a  town it was an interesting experience staying in a typical village home and enjoying the peace and quiet  of the place. I learnt that the facility cost us Rs 5900/- for hiring the whole house for  one night for four people including all the meals and other supporting services. Ideal for people who are not too fussy in spite  of  the place not having  all the facilities and comfort they take for granted in a star hotel,  but would like  to have a  new experience.

 

My 11th book in 12 years-

 `The Search and other stories`- my first attempt at a translation job

My 11^th book in 12 years is out. It is a translation  of selected  short stories of Dr.J.Bhaskaran (JB)  from Tamil to English.  Based in Chennai .JB is a practicing Neurologist and Dermatologist whose articles/stories have been published   in popular Tamil Magazines  and also posted on his  Face Book page. He has so far published  nine books in Tamil - 3 medical, 4 general essays and 2 short story collections. He is a rising star in the world of Tamil literature.

When I decided to take up my next book project of translating a Tamil book into English I chanced upon a collection of Tamil short stories by JB  titled ‘Thedal’.( Search) The stories in the book, covered a variety of subjects with different settings, different characters, some serious and some humorous—but all of them with some message. Doctor was more than delighted to give me permission to translate any 15 stories from the book. As this was my first attempt at a translation job I started translating the first story with great trepidation, as I was worried if I would be able to get the correct translation of all the words and phrases in English. I did not have to worry. The ubiquitous Google Search which has replaced every  available dictionary/ Thesaurus in any language came to my rescue. When I sent the translations of two selected stories to JB, his response was more than encouraging..

 

You may wonder what is my credential for translating a Tamil book into English. In my student days in Bombay, where I studied in a Tamil medium school until 8th standard

I was a Tamil fanatic. An active student member of Bombay Tamil Sangam, I was an avid reader of all the popular Tamil weeklies and books by well-known authors of the time. I also tried my hands at writing short stories and plays in Tamil. I was active on the Tamil stage in Bombay donning character roles. But all this was behind me when I took up the demanding advertising career and left Bombay for good in pursuit of better opportunities in Delhi and Chennai where I am settled since 1974. Though I completely lost touch with writing in Tamil, I continued to keep in touch with the Tamil literary world by being a regular reader of the popular Tamil magazines.

 

In the meanwhile, the success of my autobiography in English published in 2009 paved the way for my taking up writing as a serious hobby post retirement. Very early in my evolution as a writer /author I had decided that I will try and cover all genres of writing. So far I have covered six genres: autobiography, rural marketing ( an industry), essays, history of an association, short stories and  novel.

 

As the seventh genre of writing, I chose  a translation job because of my comfort level with both English and Tamil. Besides I also had the lessons I learnt from my good friend (late) Charukesi, a well-known bilingual writer of his time, who had translated my autobiography into Tamil.

 

This book titled `The Search and other stories`  has a Foreword by R.Seshasayee, Vice Chairman of Hinduja group. Following is an extract:

 

“There is something that is very simple and elegant about Dr J. Bhaskaran’s short stories- like the  murmur of a small brook; like a modest nandiavattai flower. Like the strumming of a thampura, like   an unpretentious, tasty milagu rasam that only your mother could make. Every story has an uncluttered theme, characters being built up just to the point where they are ready to carry the story on their shoulders without losing speed or straying from the storyline. Not surprisingly, the stories leave you feeling good and satisfied

A word about the translator. Language needs to remain unobtrusive in a translation, never coming in the way of the narration. Like the right measure of salt in your sambhar, unnoticed, yet contributing significantly to the taste. R. V. Rajan, being a seasoned hand at writing, achieves this effortlessly.”

The book was informally released at the end of  a small event held  to commemorate the release of the 90^th Anniversary Special  of Kalaimagal, the popular Tamil monthly.

The book is published by Creative workshop, designed and printed by Compuprint.. Priced at Rs 150/- the book is available with the author ( bhaskaran_jayaraman@yahoo.co.in) and from me. It  will soon be available on Amazon.

Like a student awaiting the results of an examination he/she wrote, I now eagerly await the response from readers to my first translation job!

 

 

Grand Children – best gifts one can get in life!

I consider  Grand parenthood as the greatest promotion one can get in life. There cannot be a greater gift than getting a grandson or a  grand daughter. I had the privilege of becoming a grand father at the age of 54 when my grandson Arul was born. I remember the day vividly. I was busy in the office in discussion with my Secretary, when I got a call informing me of the arrival of a  baby boy - my first grand child through my eldest daughter Kavitha & RU. I literally jumped with joy shouting `I have become a Thatha!` Arul had arrived  in this world seven  weeks before my silver wedding anniversary. I had a grand function planned at Savera Hotel. The invitation went  in the name of Arul which carried a line at the end `No gifts please. My grandparents say  I am the best gift they got for their Silver Wedding Anniversary`

Since that day 25 years ago I have been blessed with five more grand children. Three grandsons  and three grand daughters including the two late arrivals – my resident grand children  3 years old Thavam and 5 month old baby doll Bakthi. The lovely kids of my son are keeping me entertained and spreading joy around.  Though I must confess  that at 79,  I don`t have the energy that I had 20 years ago to indulge them physically. It is always good fun when all my children and grand children visit my home for a family get together. We had one such occasion three days ago.  A lunch get together in honour of my second daughter Sowmya and her family visiting us after nearly two years thanks to the restriction imposed by the pandemic. The occasion also provided photo ops. Attached is a photo of my grand kids taken on the occasion. I missed Arul as he is now based in San Diego in USA ,doing well in his fist job that  he got after completing his Masters from the Carnegie Mellon university.

While the four senior grand kids, all talented in fields of their choice,  have grown into mature kids with their heads on their shoulders- I am sure the latest arrivals also will follow suit judging by the way my son Balaji and daughter in law Tulse are bringing them up. Please join me in  blessing  all my grand kids a bright future.

Prabha`s landmark birthday today

Prabha would have turned 70 today (27/7/21).  Though I miss her physical presence I  continue  to live with Prabha in my virtual world. As I have always said, instead of mourning her death I have been celebrating her memory every day for the last eight years. She was my life partner for 40 years. She more than lived up to my expectations over the years (I still don`t know if I lived up to her expectations) Befitting our Indian culture, she helped me look after my family, which included my aging parents. As I was busy with my career and involved with several voluntary organizations, she did a great job of balancing  her duty to the family and her other interests.

A fast learner, she overcame several of her initial inhibitions to become a wonderful partner, good daughter-in-law, lovely mother, doting grand mother and above all a great homemaker! In the last two decades of her life, she  acquired an identity of her own as a writer  and as a socially active person. She walked  tall in our social circles! I was  certainly proud of her achievements.

Though she lived to see the four grand children through my daughters Kavitha and Sowmya  arrive in the world it is a pity that  she is not there to enjoy the two bundles of joy-  3 years old Thavam &  5 months old Bhakthi- our resident grand children born to my son Balaji/Tulse.

In celebration of her memory I am involved with many activities to identify and bring to lime light talented women writers under the auspices of  Prabha Rajan Talent Foundation. In the process  I am  trying to spread happiness around to the best of my abilities. Hope that keeps my dear Prabha`s soul happy!